SD2IEC - C64 Hardware Device Review (Future was 8 bit)

[Neil79]

Our next review is available to read!

You may remember we did our very first C64 review for the UCassette and then moved onto a lovely SD device, the SD2IEC. Well today thanks to The Future was 8bit we are now going to feature a rather special SD2IEC device which enables you to play games on an SD. Also included is an Epyx Fastload Reloaded cart which improves loading time by many factors that will not only impress but may get C64 users rushing to the buy now button

http://www.indieretronews.com/2014/1...d-for-c64.html

[hansel75]

Again, nice review Neil!

In regards to the Epyx Fastload Reloaded cart, does anyone know if there compatible with all the various SD2IEC Devices including the C64SD v2.0 Infinity i own?

I presume they would be but just wanted to check, and if they are compatible i think i might buy one.

[Neil79]

Originally Posted by hansel75

Again, nice review Neil!

Thank you so much, it's only our third hardware review . IF you know of any other C64 sites that you are apart of please give us a mention

[Cpt. Hindsight]

Hey, I own one of those as well (the one in the middle to be precise).

@Hansel: Since they are all using the same firmware, I can't see why the infinity should refuse to work with an Epyx cartridge, but I would go for a FC III or jiffydos instead.

[hansel75]

If anyone is interested Manosoft have updated there C64SD Infinity rom packs recently.

I would imagine they should be of use to any sd2iec owner, Neil you could try them on your new sd2iec's if you wanted!

There may even be some newly fixed games and demos in them.

C64SD-AIO-EASY-PACK-10-10-2014 -106mb

C64SD-C64-4gb-10-10-2014 -887mb

C64SD-AIO-8gb-10-10-2014 -1.7gb

Download here-
http://www.manosoft.it/?page_id=1050&lang=en

Edit- This may also interest C64 users here in Oz!- http://commodore64collection.com/

Also Capt Hindsight, i actually have a Super Snapshot v3 here that i acquired years ago, it says in the manual that it supports Turbo Dos which is there load enhancement, it supports fast load and fast save.
Is this of any use with an sd2iec? I actually tried it last night and had no luck with it's turbo system making stuff load quicker.

[Neil79]

Nice Cheers! Have also contacted regarding a number of hardware reviews

[Cpt. Hindsight]

Originally Posted by hansel75

Also Capt Hindsight, i actually have a Super Snapshot v3 here that i acquired years ago, it says in the manual that it supports Turbo Dos which is there load enhancement, it supports fast load and fast save.
Is this of any use with an sd2iec? I actually tried it last night and had no luck with it's turbo system making stuff load quicker.

Unfortunately the SD2IEC firmware is limited to just a few fastload cartridges (Epyx Fastload, FC III and JiffyDOS iirc). If you'll ever plan to buy a Final Cartridge III, I'll try to translate you a very handy tutorial I got from a german forum, how to use both of them with just F1-F8 inputs. It needs a little work (copy and paste most of the times), but afterwards your C64 will work like a console with brief loading times.

[hansel75]

Hi Neil! I'm not sure if your aware of this or not, but the sd2iec's are not only good for games, utils and demos, you can also play sid tunes with them directly from your sd card using a sid player.
All you need to do is put this sidplay64 player onto your sd card, then load it onto your c64 through your sd2iec in the same way you would load a game from it-

Sidplay64 v0.8
http://csdb.dk/release/?id=126095

It will come up a menu and allow you to browse and play sids directly from your sdcard.

But firstly do yourself a favour and download this sid pack called the High Voltage SID Collection which contains every sid that ever came out up until this point for the c64.
And there all sorted nicely into folders like, game sids, demos sids, musician sids etc.
The zip is about 90mb, when uncompressed it comes to about 250mb and contains around 45000 sids, it takes a while to copy them all over to an sd card because there are so many files, but once done it's worth it.
Also with some sid files they have multiple tunes on the one sid, for example if you were to play the sid file from the game Turrican 2, you can press keys on your c64 to go through about a dozen tunes in it.

And this is the info and download link for the latest HVSC collection-
http://www.hvsc.c64.org/#download
http://www.prg.dtu.dk/HVSC/HVSC_61-all-of-them.zip

The beauty of this of course is that once you load sidplay64, it lets you browse those 45000 sid files directly from your sd card, you just select a sid file and it loads and plays it all from a simple to use menu system.
It's like having a c64 jukebox
And as we all know the c64 has amazing sound, so to have 45000 sid tracks to play at your fingertips on a real c64 is just really really cool!

Of note, if you happened to of downloaded those 4+8gb manosoft roms packs, they already contain the sid player and sids as well as the usual games and demos roms.

My favourite c64 tunes at the moment are by the musician called 'Sharp', he does techno with big bass and cool sounds on the sid chip!
Make sure to look them up in the HSVC pack.
Also check out the Martin Galway sids that came from games, they are brilliant, tracks like Wizball and Green Beret, plus the Ocean Loaders.
And you must listen to the 11min psychedelic soundtrack by Rob Hubbard from the game Delta which is influenced by Pink Floyd, it's my favourite sid tune ever!

--And Capt Hinsight, in regards to what fast loaders are supported by sd2iec's, this is some info taken from my Infinity's text doc-

CARTRIDGE:
TURBODISK A.K.A CARTRIDGE. EPYX FAST LOADER, FINAL CARTRIDGE III
VIC20 MEGACART – FE3 – EASYFLASH 1.4-1.5-V3

KERNAL:
EXOS,TORNADO DOS .JIFFYDOS ©

FASTLOADER SOFTWARE:
Dreamload
ULoad M3
ELoad Version 1
Nippon fast loader
GEOS 2.0 support (d64/d71/d81 images only)
other…..
TAP files (ONLY FOR C64SDV2.0+ITS module installed OR C64SD V3.0)

[Neil79]

Nice one bud, great help there

[hansel75]

After reading Neil's SD2IEC review and the details about fast loading with the Epyx cart, i think i am going to buy one.

I was looking at this one here-
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Epyx-Fast...-/231234436426

Capt Hindsight, what is the difference between the Epyx cart and the Final cart 3, is one better then the other?

I can't seem to find any Final cart 3's on ebay and that's why i was looking at getting the Epyx cart instead.

[Neil79]

You haven't even got an Epyx Fast Load cart? DO IT HANSEL! It was like a new system when I got one.

[Cpt. Hindsight]

Originally Posted by hansel75

After reading Neil's SD2IEC review and the details about fast loading with the Epyx cart, i think i am going to buy one.

I was looking at this one here-
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Epyx-Fast...-/231234436426

Capt Hindsight, what is the difference between the Epyx cart and the Final cart 3, is one better then the other?

I can't seem to find any Final cart 3's on ebay and that's why i was looking at getting the Epyx cart instead.

I can't say a lot about the Epyx Fastload cartridge, but here's a little overview of the FC III. http://www.c64-wiki.com/index.php/Final_Cartridge_3

It's a lot easier to find one of those than the Epyx here in germany. Prices are usually about 20 euros on ebay. http://www.ebay.de/itm/The-Final-Car...-/131316594528

[hansel75]

Thanks guys, i think i will go with the Epyx cart simply for the fact that it's more accessible and easier for me to buy.
All i need one for is to speed up the load times and from Neil's review it sounds perfect for my needs.

The FC3 does have a lot of extra features, but i already have a Super Snapshot cart that has a tonne of features as well if ever i need them, which is very unlikely anyway!
And Neil i guess i just didn't give it much thought and just put up with the standard load times, but now i know different

[Neil79]

Good good!

Just make sure that if it doesn't come up with the word "Fastload" when booted, you may need extra force in pushing in the Epyx Cart. You may be fine, but mine needed some help

[hansel75]

I just purchased the Epyx Fastload Reloaded cart from ebay

[fitzsteve]

Nice thread - I've sub'd for a proper read over the weekend

[Retrofan]

Originally Posted by fitzsteve

Nice thread - I've sub'd for a proper read over the weekend

Yep, you always find they have made something new... http://www.sd2iec.co.uk/id9.html

[Neil79]

Originally Posted by fitzsteve

Nice thread - I've sub'd for a proper read over the weekend

Don't forget to check out our review with much praise from the developer

[h0ffman]

Anyone know if the works with the popular krill loader used in most demos?

[hansel75]

Originally Posted by h0ffman

Anyone know if the works with the popular krill loader used in most demos?

I could be wrong but from what i know the krill loader won't work with sd2iec's.

This could change though-

http://csdb.dk/release/?id=118713&show=summary

""Some planned features for future versions:
- protocol overhaul for SD2IEC support""