Codemasters CD Games Pack (ZX Spectrum) - games on CD for a Spectrum! :O - Page 3

alexh · 11 May 2010, 15:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmicfrog

ist` the cable just a 3.5mm to 9 pin

Possibly. What would the wiring be? I've never seen any technical details on the net.

For the spectrum you also needed the cassette which includes the loader.

JACK98 · 11 May 2010, 15:51

Found something here.but its for cpc,maybe a use to someone.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&ct=clnk&gl=ie

seuden · 11 May 2010, 16:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

And no disc? How did that happen?

I have no idea, hehe. I'll dig it out later as I'm sure it's the correct cable.

Allen1 · 11 May 2010, 16:33

I've got the speccy version and I believe that the moulded joystick plug contains a digital to analogue converter from what I remember reading when I bought it.

The 3 pins being used on the joystick plug are 1, 6 and 8, the only pin that gives a reading in No 8 and that is around 450 ohms on the negative of the headphone plug and between 1400-1500 ohms on left and right.

Although the CD contains 735MB according to Nero, it actually shows up a 0bytes in my computer, it plays ok using media player etc which also show up the tracks (maybe just my drive)

Here's a couple of pics off my phone of the doings, don't blame the camera, I am a crap photographer

I should have also mentioned that the booklet is for both the spectrum and commodore 64, from the looks of those other auctions that have been mentioned (C64), the cable is the same as mine to at least look at.

MethodGit · 11 May 2010, 22:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

AFAIK it is next to useless without the adapter cable, maybe slightly more useful than the spectrum one but pretty useless none the less.

I was hoping someone would donate the gear to, say, the VICE team, so that maybe they could find a way of emulating the process, like how RealSpectrum added support for the Speccy version.

dlfrsilver · 12 May 2010, 01:52

The titles on this CD have been burned from WAV files, the very same you can have from the CDT files converted to WAV with tools like cdt2wav or tzx2wav. Once those are burned on a CD, you access them via a cable that allow a greater speed for loading.

alexh · 12 May 2010, 08:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allen1

I believe that the moulded joystick plug contains a digital to analogue converter from what I remember reading when I bought it.

Analogue to digital converter even :-)

The joystick end looks far too large to be just a passive wiring.

Thanks for the information.

alexh · 12 May 2010, 08:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

The titles on this CD have been burned from WAV files, the very same you can have from the CDT files converted to WAV with tools like cdt2wav or tzx2wav.

You sure this is true? I thought these applications just convert the files to audio files. Exact reproductions of the original (perhaps speeded up) which load from CD via the standard audio in ports?

If the codemasters CD was the same then why the need to input the data via the joystick port? And why the need for the special loader tape?

Allen1 · 12 May 2010, 11:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

Analogue to digital converter even :-)

The joystick end looks far too large to be just a passive wiring.

Thanks for the information.

Hehe, I never get my DACs and ADCs right

this may be interesting it may not show up as I used google translate to read it but here goes LINK

alexh · 12 May 2010, 11:49

Ooooh. Nice find.

Allen1 · 13 May 2010, 12:04

Blimey, talk about getting side tracked, I have been reading posts on various speccy related sites and it is amazing how many people are reliving their youth or are using a speccy for the first time. The passion for the good old speccy is quite strong and Fleabay or Car bootsales seem to be where a lot of folks are buying them from.

The Codemasters CD is a great idea but it is now far surpassed by the WAV/MP3 method or even more by the Divide hardware option for speedier loading.

I think the best thing that I tried is the OTLA program that I first read about in a post by alexh in another thread and this one, I used it to converts tap and other files to WAV and which I loaded via my mobile phone/pocket PCs stereo headphone socket. With this method or the Divide hardware, using a real speccy is easier now than it was back then, a lot of the fun with the speccy though was getting past the security loaders and saving the loaded code to tape and transferring it to disk for faster loading and easier backups.

@JACK98 your link has some extra bits on it (cache) that stops it from finding the page ie here so I have just put it here ok.

Allen1 · 13 May 2010, 19:37

Hey up, whats going on here and here the seller has cancelled both auctions and removed all bids ie click on the 0 bids to see the cancelled bids. These are the items pointed out earlier in this thread so maybe the seller knows something of the possible value?

alexh · 13 May 2010, 20:08

He's been told their value and withdrawn the items and re-listed them with a higher reserve.

The result is he's never going to sell them.

Allen1 · 13 May 2010, 20:42

Although I can understand anyone wanting to get a fair price for an item, I still can't say that I approve of this type of action especially once a bid has been placed. It must be a fairly common practice though as I have seen many an Amiga item being withdrawn (even with bids in place) only to re-appear the same as these items have shortly after the cancellation. I do hope he gets a good price for the items but in reality I would also like to see potential bidders biding their time till a normal sale of such items comes up.

I would laugh if you are right and no-one buys these or that they go for a really low price in the end after having to re-list them and paying extra fees to fleabay

but that's the evil side of me showing through

cosmicfrog · 13 May 2010, 21:33

thing is they now have a reserve price and they did`t before

how he/she expects to get more money now is beyond me

Allen1 · 13 May 2010, 22:27

I reckon alexh has hit the nail on the head when he says someone must have told him that they could be valuable hence the reserve price. It still is no excuse for ending an auction with live bids on them though, I know that I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole now and I would think that the people in the C64 sites alexh mentioned earlier on will also be taken notice of what has occurred on those auctions too.

alexh · 14 May 2010, 00:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allen1

I know that I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole now

That is far too emotional. If I can still buy them for a "value for money" price then I'm 'avin' 'em

Cauterize · 14 May 2010, 10:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allen1

Hey up, whats going on here and here the seller has cancelled both auctions and removed all bids ie click on the 0 bids to see the cancelled bids. These are the items pointed out earlier in this thread so maybe the seller knows something of the possible value?

God damn... I too was secretly watching them.

I had the chance to buy one of these from Gamestation, in the days they officially did Retro for £9.99. I always regeretted it.

Allen1 · 14 May 2010, 11:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

That is far too emotional. If I can still buy them for a "value for money" price then I'm 'avin' 'em

Now that really comes down to what the seller has deemed the reserve price to be.

I wouldn't have a problem if the auction and bids that were already placed had not been cancelled only then to be put back up with the reserve price in place, remember the reason given for cancelling the auctions were:-

Explanation:The seller ended this listing early because the item is no longer available for sale.

If that isn't against Fleabays rules, then it is to say the very least unethical especially to the people who had placed bids on those items. I certainly wouldn't entertain starting a bidding war on any item that I knew this sort of tactic was used on.

Remember these items were between £19.95 and £30 when new, yes they are not than common, but they are not rare either. These are not something you would use apart from initially trying it out in reality, they are a novel approach to what could be done but I would think your OTLA method could be used via the C64s tape lead just the same as the speccy with just as good a result but I have never tried it (no C64).

Seriously though, after the initial WOW this is a great bit of kit has faded, you are never likely to use it ever again! I have had mine from when they first came out and got fed up with having to plug it into an extension lead to the Hi-Fi and trailing the lead over to the Speccy to load a game, not very practical in reality. Nowadays you get CD players on almost everything so distance between items may not be a problem but volume may be.

As a collector item, these may be good but as a user of items, the novelty pretty soon wears off...... if serious money is likely to be used then I would personally put it towards hardware such as the Divide interface for the Speccy or whatever is available in that type of hardware for the C64 but that's my personal opinion.

I hope you do get the item/s for a good price but as I already said, it depends on the reserve price and if people bid up to whatever that price may be, I know your wise enough to put a ceiling on what you are willing to pay for an item and that you also know that sooner or later another one will come along

have you also noticed the postage on these has jumped from £2.99 to £4.99

MethodGit · 14 May 2010, 13:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cauterize

God damn... I too was secretly watching them.

I had the chance to buy one of these from Gamestation, in the days they officially did Retro for £9.99. I always regeretted it.

I similarly regret not bagging a Sega MultiMega and/or a Virtual Boy off them back when my local shop displayed both in the shop window. >.<

11 May 2010, 15:51	#42
JACK98 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: N/A Posts: 420	Found something here.but its for cpc,maybe a use to someone. http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&ct=clnk&gl=ie Last edited by JACK98; 15 November 2013 at 18:15.

11 May 2010, 16:33	#44
Allen1 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Blyth England Age: 68 Posts: 786	I've got the speccy version and I believe that the moulded joystick plug contains a digital to analogue converter from what I remember reading when I bought it. The 3 pins being used on the joystick plug are 1, 6 and 8, the only pin that gives a reading in No 8 and that is around 450 ohms on the negative of the headphone plug and between 1400-1500 ohms on left and right. Although the CD contains 735MB according to Nero, it actually shows up a 0bytes in my computer, it plays ok using media player etc which also show up the tracks (maybe just my drive) Here's a couple of pics off my phone of the doings, don't blame the camera, I am a crap photographer I should have also mentioned that the booklet is for both the spectrum and commodore 64, from the looks of those other auctions that have been mentioned (C64), the cable is the same as mine to at least look at. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Allen1; 11 May 2010 at 19:57.

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12 May 2010, 01:52	#46
dlfrsilver CaptainM68K-SPS France Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Melun nearby Paris/France Age: 46 Posts: 10,424	The titles on this CD have been burned from WAV files, the very same you can have from the CDT files converted to WAV with tools like cdt2wav or tzx2wav. Once those are burned on a CD, you access them via a cable that allow a greater speed for loading.

12 May 2010, 11:49	#50
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,354	Ooooh. Nice find.

13 May 2010, 12:04	#51
Allen1 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Blyth England Age: 68 Posts: 786	Blimey, talk about getting side tracked, I have been reading posts on various speccy related sites and it is amazing how many people are reliving their youth or are using a speccy for the first time. The passion for the good old speccy is quite strong and Fleabay or Car bootsales seem to be where a lot of folks are buying them from. The Codemasters CD is a great idea but it is now far surpassed by the WAV/MP3 method or even more by the Divide hardware option for speedier loading. I think the best thing that I tried is the OTLA program that I first read about in a post by alexh in another thread and this one, I used it to converts tap and other files to WAV and which I loaded via my mobile phone/pocket PCs stereo headphone socket. With this method or the Divide hardware, using a real speccy is easier now than it was back then, a lot of the fun with the speccy though was getting past the security loaders and saving the loaded code to tape and transferring it to disk for faster loading and easier backups. @JACK98 your link has some extra bits on it (cache) that stops it from finding the page ie here so I have just put it here ok.

13 May 2010, 19:37	#52
Allen1 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Blyth England Age: 68 Posts: 786	Hey up, whats going on here and here the seller has cancelled both auctions and removed all bids ie click on the 0 bids to see the cancelled bids. These are the items pointed out earlier in this thread so maybe the seller knows something of the possible value?

13 May 2010, 20:08	#53
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,354	He's been told their value and withdrawn the items and re-listed them with a higher reserve. The result is he's never going to sell them.

13 May 2010, 20:42	#54
Allen1 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Blyth England Age: 68 Posts: 786	Although I can understand anyone wanting to get a fair price for an item, I still can't say that I approve of this type of action especially once a bid has been placed. It must be a fairly common practice though as I have seen many an Amiga item being withdrawn (even with bids in place) only to re-appear the same as these items have shortly after the cancellation. I do hope he gets a good price for the items but in reality I would also like to see potential bidders biding their time till a normal sale of such items comes up. I would laugh if you are right and no-one buys these or that they go for a really low price in the end after having to re-list them and paying extra fees to fleabay but that's the evil side of me showing through

13 May 2010, 21:33	#55
cosmicfrog The 1 who ribbits Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: leek, Staffs, UK Age: 56 Posts: 3,557	thing is they now have a reserve price and they did`t before how he/she expects to get more money now is beyond me

13 May 2010, 22:27	#56
Allen1 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Blyth England Age: 68 Posts: 786	I reckon alexh has hit the nail on the head when he says someone must have told him that they could be valuable hence the reserve price. It still is no excuse for ending an auction with live bids on them though, I know that I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole now and I would think that the people in the C64 sites alexh mentioned earlier on will also be taken notice of what has occurred on those auctions too.

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