Not Amiga but Commodore related - C64 Tape adapter

[Merlin]

@ all

Just when you thought the A608 project was all that was happening.....there is some 80s hackery at work as well......

I have started a new project over at AmiBay and I thought it may be of interest here as it's C64 related (well, it's still Commodore). I am working to produce a new updated version of Markus Brenner's C64S adapter, with a couple of twists.

Firstly, the new design will allow for a mains adapter to be connected for those PCs that don't have a Joystick/MIDI port, although there will be an optional adapter for those PCs that do have the Joystick port to provide the 5 volt supply.

Secondly, this unit should also work as a stand-alone tape duplicator and won't need a C64 to backup a tape. The new unit will allow connection of two datasette units, whilst still retaining the 6-pin DIN connector that will allow a 1541 disk drive to be connected. The external power supply allows for this stand-alone function.

The unit will also have LEDs to indicate that data transfer is in progress, either from the PC to tape or from tape to tape. This will be handy when it's used as a standalone unit, as you will know when data transfer has ended from the 'read' tape or from the PC. This was partly inspired by the photos posted by Arkanoid on Lemon64 and the fact that I need one to get my C64 Tap collection onto tape as I don't have a 1541.

The project is here:-

http://www.amibay.com/viewtopic.php?f=88&t=2742

I would appreciate any comments or improvement suggestions on the evolving design and I hope to be putting a stripboard prototype together in the next week or so for testing. If it works, we will get it drawn up in Eagle and see what it will cost to get some PCBs professionally made.

If you are interested in purchasing one, please let me know either here or at AmiBay. so that we get an idea of how many we will need. The Markus Brenner C64S board is no longer available and the Gerber drawings have been lost, so this is our project to come up with a new replacement unit with more useful functions.

Thanks