===========================
== Commodore Free Magazine ==
===========================

    www.commodorefree.com
     Issue 16 February 2008
   Free to download magazine
Dedicated to Commodore Computers

Available as Text, Html, PDF, SEQ and
   Commodore 64 D64 disk image

Editor

I re-did the logo and while I am no
artist I think it almost looks quite
good (ish) I would love the whole thing
designed using a real Commodore 64 and
maybe if I get the time I will give it
a go maybe as a low resolution blocky
image. You will see the change as the
reflected Commodore Free is graded and
moved up slightly. Looks more natural
looking as my old art teacher would
have said, I expect if he saw this he
would be on the floor dying in fits of
laughter, I didnt last long in art and
dropped the subject as quickly as
possible when I was at school.

Maurice Randel continues to upset
people and he remains quiet about what
is happening and so manages to upset
everyone by his lack of communication.
Can the rights to produce CMD products
be removed from him?

Remember the Poster competition ends at
the end of this month and so I cant
accept any more entries after the last
day in February, I presume by the time
you read this text the competition has
already ended, thanks to all who
entered, I had a hard job deciding a
winner and it may not be to everyones
liking, but I think its interesting
reading; so unless a flood of other
entries come in before the end of
February, I have already picked a
winner and you can read the comments
next issue.

Again I am suffering from exams and
struggling to fit all the time in, but
I managed another issue. Hope its to
your liking, keep the readers comments
coming in they seem to have dried up, I
dont mind just a simple Hi great issue
keep up the work or even hi I read
every issue I think you should give it
up as a bad job because the issues are
rubbish.

Ok you can stop reading this rubbish
and get onto the main magazine speak to
you next month.

Regards
Nigel
Commodore Free

HOW CAN I HELP COMMODORE FREE
Ok the best way to help would be write
something about Commodore (yes for the
observant I spelled the company
correctly this time) grin seriously
though articles are always welcome.

WHAT ARTICLES DO YOU NEED
Well they vary, contact me if you have
an idea but I am looking for Tutorials
(beginners and Expert)
Experiences with Commodore
Why I love Commodore machines
Interviews  maybe you have access to a
power user

Thanks Nigel 
www.commodorefree
commodorefree`commodorefree.com


Contents in PDF copy

NEWS
News stories about Commodore Page 3

MESSIAH Page 23

INTERVIEWS
Al Anger
(Commodore Modder) Page 5

Ray Carlson   Page 7
(Repair engineer still supporting C=)

Simon Ullyat Page 15
Cronosoft (new games)

PRESS PLAY ON TAPE   Page 28
Commodore tribute band playing
Commodore SID Tune4s on real
instruments

TUTORIALS
THE END   Page 10
The start of a new beginners Guide for
the Commodore 64

In the beginning  Page 11
Part 1 beginners guide for C64

1541 Idiots guide  Page 17
How to make a X1541 cable
What it is and how to use it

PARTY
Commodore nights    Page 21

INFORMATION CMD   Page 22
Where did it all go wrong?

======================================
News
=====
Cottonwood BBS
In an effort to consolidate my various
websites onto my own server, the
C64/128 BBS List is now located at
http://cottonwood.servebbs.com/cbm-
bbs-list.txt ... I'll still keep it
posted at the old address for a while,
but eventually it'll only be available
at the new address.

Additionally, the Cottonwood BBS Info-
rmational Website is now at
http://cottonwood.servebbs.com , and my
personal website is at
http://cottonwood.servebbs.com/wiskow 
Simple HTML pages with a note providing
the new addresses have been posted at
the old addresses.


Amiga Forever runs on Eee pc & Onlaptop
per Child Hardware

I thought you might be interested in
seeing the Amiga OS running on the OLPC
and the Eee.
As we are putting the finishing touches
to Amiga Forever 2008, we just
previewed the Amiga emulation and OS
running unmodified from Amiga Forever
on both the OLPC XO and an Asus Eee PC:

Amiga Forever 2008 Running on One
Laptop per Child Hardware
http://www.amigaforever.com/news-
 events/20080105oapc/

Amiga Forever 2008 Running on Asus Eee
PC
http://www.amigaforever.com/news-
 events/20080115eee/

I'd be happy to provide more details
and answer any questions you may have.
You are free to use the text & photos
from the above two pages.

Thank you
Regards,
Takeo
http://www.amigaforever.com


Computerworld
Computerworld has posted an interview
with Amiga V.P. of technology, Adam
Chowaniec.  He talks a bit about the
Commodore and a lot about Amiga.
Go to

<http://www.computerworld.com/action/
article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&
articleId=9052598>


Artillery Duel Network 1.0 Released
Here it is! The first non-beta release
of the first multiplayer game for
RR-Net, ETH64, and FB-Net.
http://home.ica.net/^leifb/commodore/
duel/ 

Download it here:
http://noname.c64.org/csdb/release/
?id=45526

Major update to the C64 PAL/NTSC core

FPGA64 for the C-One is now available
in V0.23 - Peter has re-written large
parts of the VIC-II code with the
result that DMA-delay now works
perfectly! Also, VIC-tricks like
displaying 9 sprites in the same row
are working correctly, and Mark
McDougall has contributed a joystick
emulation to the keyboard interface, so
the numeric keypad can be used as a
joystick. As always, the new version of
the core can be found on the download
page of this website. Thanks, Peter and
Mark!  Final core bounty: We really
want the board to leave beta state now.
The final thing to test is the 65816
processor, therefore we have a bounty
of 500,- EUR for the first person who
is making a VIC-20 or C64 core using
the 65816 processor on the CPU/RAM
card. The bounty is good until March
20th of this year! All necessary
technical information has been
published in May 2007 in the conecores
Yahoo group. Read message number 89 for
all the details. That Yahoo group is a
very good place for finding technical
answers. If you want to claim that
bounty, joining this group will
increase your chances!


SCACOM Aktuell issue 4
New (German) issue 4 is available via
www.scacom.de.vu

Its a special issue about the C264
Series of computers that Commodore made
(C16, C116 and plus4). To download:
www.scacom.de.vu
in the menu on the Left click on SCACOM
Click on SCACAOM Aktuell (PDF Magazin)
and download the latest issue 4.
Hope you enjoy reading

SCACOM Team


MossyCon 4 is on track as the first
North American C=/Amiga event of 2008.
Here are the details -- Date: Sunday,
March 16 Set-up time: 10 AM Official
show time: 11 AM to 3 PM Unofficial
show time: 3 PM to ?

Location: Fultano's Pizza 620 Olney Ave
just off of Highway 101/5th St Astoria,
Oregon 97103 Phone: 503 325-2855
<http://216.151.27.205:8080/apache
2-default/index.php>
Admission: Chip in for pizza, sodas,
beer, coffee, etc.

Raffle prizes: new-in-box GEOS 64 2.0,
DTV stamps, and more Presentations
(tentative): JiffyDOSsed VIC-20 with
CMD FD drives and hard drive, Lt.
Kernal hard drive for the C64,
Behr-Bonz VIC-20 Multicart, Beginner's
walkthrough of the C64 User's Manual,
Commodore/Amiga videos, Prophet 64 in a
modded SX-64 On exhibit: Dave Haynie-
autographed Amiga 4000, CommodoreOne,
modded SX-64s

For nearby accomodations, go to
http://www.hotels.com
and input Astoria, OR

For more MossyCon 4 information,
contact the chancellor of the Anything
Commodore User Group (ACUG), David
Mohr, at lordronin(at)vcsweb.com
Fab!
Robert Bernardo


NEWS Continued
Prophet Cartridge discontinued!
Yes the cartridge is discontinued but
read more about why this is good news
later in the MESSIAH article & online `
 www.prophet64.com


SCACOM Aktuell English
A version 1 of the English edition of
SCACOM magazine is available to
download
www.scacom.de.vu


Guinnes book of records Gamers edition
http://gamers.guinnessworldrecords.com/
default.aspx

Read more about whats included 
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/02/
14/guinnessworldrecordsvideo
gameedition/


CCCC Expo
CCCC is pleased to announce beginning
on June 28, 2008, and continuing thru
the 29th, we are hosting an expo for
all Commodore enthusiasts. The event is
taking place within greater Cincinnati,
Ohio, at the Drawbridge Inn of Fort
Mitchell KY.
A huge room will be available for demos
and dealers. More details will be
coming soon.
David Witmer Cincinnati Commodore
Computer Club PresidentWebpage
http://www.geocities.com/c64-128-amig

Commodore Videos
Thanks to Robert Bernardo's video work
and 1.5 solid days of editing and
converting by www.commodore.ca, we now
have a substantial amount of video
content posted from the Computer
History Museum's: Impact of the
Commodore 64.

Note that many of these files are large
and we only have a limited amount of
bandwidth. As such I recommend that you
RIGHT CLICK ON THE APPROPRIATE LINK AND
SELECT "SAVE TARGET AS" to download the
files to your computer rather than
having them run through your browser

http://www.commodore.ca/gallery/
video/video.htm

Bil Herd - Commodore C128, Plus/4,
Early Days
Bil Herd - Everyone Worked for Jack
Tramiel
Bill Lowe - Father of the IBM PC
Jack Tramiel - Atari Deal, Amiga Chips,
Irving Gould
Jack Tramiel - MOS Technology was
Critical
Jack Tramiel - Commodore History His
Own Words
Jack Tramiel - Commodore History
Interview Steve Wozniak - Tries to Sell
Apple to Commodore


LOADSTAR 248
It has been a long time in coming, but
LOADSTAR Issue 248 shipped on
Valentines Day, with emails shipping on
Sunday, Feb 17. We do apologize about
the long hiatus, but we are finally
back in the swing. During the year,
disks -- both 5.25 and 3.5 DD/DS have
become hard to come by and expensive.
Fortunately, we now have enough 5.25
disks to finish our run of 256 issues!
And the cost of 3.5 disks is not too
much. So, if you want to get in on the
last 8 issues (249-256), email is the
way to go. We email D81 and D64
versions. The subscription price on
these last 8 issues is $24 for all
eight.

Thanks to all LOADSTARites for your
Loyal Support
Dave www.eloadstar.com

Contents
LOADSTAR by the Dozen.
Get your back issues in a convenient
 Windows-ready format.

The Commodore 64 Book. by Andrew Fisher
 A new published perspective on our
 favorite computer.
          
F U N   W A R E
Shamrocks Solitaire. by Maurice Jones A
 completely different and addicting way
 to play cards.
Shisen-Sho. by Ron & Kate Slaminko It's
 tile matching with a twist, and a
 little help from the C64
Alfredo's Pitfall by Ricky Derocher The
 little guy is back, with music & more.
Elevator Music by Fender Tucker A
 puzzling piece of cyber-enigma,
 wrapped in a fog of binary pasta.
Misfortune by Bad Bytes  A classy game
 from Down Under that will certainly
 silence any who call LOADSTAR "lame!"

M U S I C   W A R E
Corky's Classy Classics by Henry
 "Corky" Cochran
Three songs you will love to hear.
Graphics and Music  by Dave Moorman A
 step by step tutorial for putting
 bitmap graphics and SID Songs in your
 programs  with DotBASIC Plus!
          
M O R E   F U N   W A R E
Knight's Journey by Ricky Derocher As a
 Knight Errant, you must carefully pick
 your way through this adventure.
Corsair by Jon Mattson Make your
 fortune trading on the frontiers of
 civilization.
MOOD by Perff of No Name DOOM on the
 C64 never looked or played better.
          
C O D E R   W A R E
DotBASIC Plus by Dave Moorman An Object
 Oriented BASIC Extension that can keep
 on extending for years to come!
           
======================================

Interview with Al Anger
Hardware modder
http://alanger.net/


Hello Nigel. Thanks for the interview.
To use this, I require it be included
as is, with no changes of any kind to
your questions or my answers. If you
can not abide by this requirement, do
not use it.
Thanks for your understanding.

Q - Please introduce yourself to our reader

A - Hi, I'm Al.

Q - Can you tell us about your
computing history what was your first
machine etc

A - IBM Card Punch. Followed by the IBM
Card Sorter. And then the IBM403
Accounting Machine. This was in 1967.
In my Jr. & Sr. years of high school, I
took the regular classes, math,
history, etc. in the morning. In the
afternoons I road a school bus, by
myself (plus the driver, of course), 50
some miles to Buffalo NY. There I took
the local community collage classes in
Data Processing, as it was called then.

http://www.columbia.edu/acis/
 history/026.html
http://www.columbia.edu/acis/
 history/sorter.html
I've included pictures of a panel
similar to one that plugged into the
403. The banana tip jumpers were how
the machine was programmed. They told
the machine where to print various bits
of information. More here:

http://www.columbia.edu/acis/
 history/407.html

These machines were from the 50s to
early 60s, but were still used for
teaching in the late 60s.

I was not the type to wear the thin
black tie, so after high school I moved
to Miami FL. and worked at restoring
old wooden boats. I played with
computers on the side during the 70s.
Mostly building computer kits.

In the 80s, I took classes at Miami
Dade Community Collage. Mostly program-
ming classes, just for fun, not for
credit. In 82, I bought a VIC 20. That
began a life long love affaire with C=
Which runs through today.

In the mid 80s, I was asked by a friend
to manage a computer store; Computer
Warehouse. We sold everything from the
Adam to Zenith laptops.

In the 90s, I managed 150 desktops for
an import/export broker. They had 8
offices from Tennessee to Florida.

Q - Can you tell our reader what you do
for a living?

A - As little as possible. Right now
it's running a small PC repair shop.

Q - Can you tell our reader about your
website?

A - It has a blue background, & lots of
pictures.

Q - Can you tell our reader about your
collection of machines (C= & non C=)

A - I don't collect anymore. I've given
away or sold most of what I don't use.
I don't need to have stuff, just to
have stuff.

Q - What is the term "modding" & how
does this relate to C= machines?

A - Mod is short for modifying. It
relates to C= as to modifying anything
else.

Q - Why did you decide to Modify C=
Machines?

A - Because I had lots of them, & they
are relatively cheap. If you braeak it,
no big loss, financially.

Q - Are any of the modded machines
available for sale?

A - No. I tested the waters with a sale
on eBay, & didn't receive near what it
was worth.

Q - Can you tell our reader about Ray
Allen's 128DCR,  how was the project
started & why.

A - I had taken a few years off from
modding. I wanted to do something again
& made some remark on IRC or mailing
list, I forget now. He had the courage
to follow up on it.

Q - Ray Allen's 128DCR project looks
brilliant do you  have plans for any
more maybe to sell off or was this
purely a 1 of?

A - Thanks for the kind words. It is a
one of. No one wants to pay what it's
worth. even at say, $20/hour; it took
hundreds of hours.

Q - Did you think about painting the
drives in Ray Allen's 128DCR, blue so
they matched the case?

A - No I didn't.

Q - Ray Allen's 128DCR did you come to
a point where  you thought you had
"bitten of more than you could chew" &
think about giving up?

A- No, not at all. I enjoyed every
minute of it.

Q - How long did the project take &
what would be the costs involved in
time & materials

A - I didn't keep track of the time.
100s of hours. The materials were
minimal. IIRC less that $200.

Q - Did you have any problems obtaining
materials for  the conversion?

A - No. With the exception of the power
supply. Danny crapped out on us. He's
an idiot.

Q - The Commodore 128 in a tower case
of course still looks great can you
give our reader information on what you
managed to fit into this Modification

A - http://alanger.net/comm/tower/
     index.html

A C128 installed in a PC tower case.

Installed in the tower are a Ramlink;
CMD FD 4000; CMD Hard Drive; & 14.4
modem attached to a SwiftLink.

Every connector on the motherboard was
modified.

What you see is what you get, as the
expression goes.

Q - How long would a tower conversion
of a C= system take, I presume this is
a question like how long is a piece of
string

A - 100s of hours.

Q - The problem most users have is with
power supplies, have you ever thought
about going into production modifying
power supplies for these tower
conversions 

A - Nope. No thanks. :)

Q- I asked C= gaming if they would do a
"tower  case and psu" to convert a C64
or C128 they said they may think about
it depending on the Sales of their PCs
have you any thoughts, do you think
there is any Commercial value in such a
product

A -I really don't know. I have no
experience in large (relatively) scale
production. Generally, I don't think
there is enough market for C= to make
any real money.

Q - Have you seen Commodore Gamings
cases and do you  have any comments 

A - Yes, I've seen them. De gustibus
non est disputandum.(google is your
friend :)

Q- Do you think its still good to see
the C= name on products even if they
are just PC systems

A - rose by any other name would still
have thorns.

Q - What C= mod are you most proud of?

A - That's like asking which child I
like the most. (if I had children) Very
hard to answer. How 'bout; whichever
one I'm looking at?

Q - Do you still actively use C=
machines?

A - Less all the time. Haven't turned
one on in several months. A case of
been there done that; made the T shirt.

Q - Do you think If Commodore was still
in business they would be creating just
PC systems or do you think  they would
carry on building on the Amiga system

A - C= missed the boat years ago. The
Amiga, or some derivative, should/could
have been the PC in widespread use
today.

Best Regards,
al
======================================

Interview with Ray Carlson
Repair engineer still supporting
Commodore Machines
http://personalpages.tds.net/rcarlsen/

Nigel,
      This interview was tougher than
it seemed at the start. I wrote and
rewrote it many times, and I'm still
not sure it's what you wanted. But,
here goes...

     Add one more name to the
endangered species list: the
Electronic Service Technician. Due to
the way electronic devices are built
nowadays, lack of support from the
manufacturers with regards parts and
service information, and the initial
low cost of complex devices such as 
DVD Players and Computers, the
independent service facility has
become a thing of the past. I've
worked in and out of repair shops all
my adult life. 

         Presently, I'm in the A/V
department of the University of
Washington in Seattle, Northwest
Washington State, USA. As of this
writing, I expect to retire in about
three years. I install, maintain and
repair all the equipment in their
electronic classrooms, from control
systems to data projectors. Most of
that stuff is not considered
Repairable, but I tackle it anyway.
Working without schematics or a parts
stock, I can still manage to salvage
some that would otherwise goto State
Surplus or the garbage can.

     Repair technicians were the
buffers between the consumer and the
manufacturer. The tech had to know how
the device worked, what mistakes were
likely to be made in its' use and, of
course, how to fix it when it failed.
The ever-increasing knowledge
necessary to do the job took a
tremendous investment. In the tube
days, a technician could make a living
repairing TV sets alone. Later, just
to survive, servicers had to learn to
repair (dare I say it... at a profit)
just about anything the designers
dreamed up. Repair techs must have a
working knowledge of electricity,
electronics, optics, physics,
chemistry and mechanics. Their tasks
are as mundane as wiping the dust off
a repaired TV or as  important as
servicing that electronic
defibrillator so the doctor can work
his "magic".

     The first consumer VCRs sold for
more than $1500. Repairs amounting to
several hundred dollars were
acceptable. Now the customer can and
does buy new product for less than the
cost of repairs! Even new technology
is obsolete in just a few years and it
is cheaper for the manufacturers, now
mostly based in China, to produce
products that are not repairable.
Glass picture tubes in TV sets and
computer monitors are being replaced
by LCD and other displays. The world
is shifting from analog to digital.
Fewer after-market parts vendors, and
more specialized and proprietary parts
add to the "repair not possible"
problem for older equipment. Generic
parts are virtually unknown for new
electronic devices.

     Many times, I didn't see that
electronic gizmo until a broken one
showed up on my repair bench. Repair
technicians are detectives searching
for clues and we actually enjoy
zeroing in on the bad part(s). It's
rarely a matter of just seeing "where
the smoke came from". A good tech will
not only find the bad part but will
find out what caused the problem in
the first place. If a resistor is
overheating, there is a reason. When a
transistor fails, it often times points
to another fault.

         Just to replace that part is
not enough. To do our job right, we
don't just treat the symptoms; we must
"cure the disease". Re-work on a
repair angers the customer and costs
us time and money. Although the work
is often frustrating, there is a
pleasure in seeing that gadget work
again, no matter what it is or who
owns it. We enjoy sharing our
knowledge, too. It's part of the fun.

      We hate waste. It hurts to have
to give up on a job because it's
uneconomical to repair or we can't get
the parts, and then see the equipment
go in the trash. Therefore, many of us
end up as "packrats". We salvage and
store anything which we think may be
useful later because we see a time
when repair parts will be impossible
to obtain. Even though the
manufacturers do not support our
efforts, we still try to repair down
to the component level, rather than
replacing a whole PC board, or the
whole unit.

      We take pride in a job well
done. It is often times our only
"thanks". Our motivation comes from
within. No one but another tech knows
what we do and why. You might say we
have an image problem. We are
Misunderstood and, for the most part,
invisible. In all my life, I have seen
exactly ONE Television Commercial
featuring a TV repair tech. When we do
our jobs right, no one knows or cares.
We are "video janitors". It is only
when we goof that it shows. As with
all professions, there are those who
shouldn't be in the business. Some are
sloppy... they may be Competent but
are careless and/or don't follow up on
details. That drives me crazy...
especially if I have to do their
re-work. A few can't solder. No
excuse! Dishonest shop owners reflect
badly on all of us but are,
fortunately, in the minority. The
"last gasp" of independent service
turned some saints into sinners. Most
techs I've met are middle-aged men.
This profession didn't draw many young
people. I have Only known two female
techs. They were professional,
intelligent, fearless in attacking
problems, and a joy to work with.
I miss them.

      A repair shop was usually a
Management afterthought... support for
a Sales facility. It was the grubby
little room in the back, cluttered
with equipment waiting to be looked at
and repaired sets as well as mountains
of debris of every description... and
an overworked tech. It was rare indeed
to find a clean, quiet, well lit area
free of clutter. I worked in two of
them, so I know they existed. The need
has always been there but the overhead
costs are enormous. Management (and the
general public) sees us as a necessary
evil and we look the part. Most of the
shops I worked in were similar: the
uninsulated back corner of the
warehouse, someones garage, basement,
back room, etc.

         I have always fought for more
space, more schooling (new product
update classes, at least) and better
test equipment. Since the "bean
counters" never really understood what
it was we did, how could we hope to
get them to spend more money on
service. With those handicaps, we
technicians laboured along the best we
could. We knew the customer would come
out on the short end and we would take
the blame! The only worse thing would
be no techs at all. With a fixed
salary, we got only a fraction of the
labour charged to the customer and
nothing for the parts. We knew we
would never be rich no matter how hard
we worked. It was not the kind of club
that attracted new members.

      I didn't choose this profession.
At the beginning it was a hobby. Like
most kids I was curious about how
things worked. I took apart toys and
watches and radios. I fixed bicycles
and roller skates. If anyone deserves
credit for getting me started in
electronics, it was my father.  He
provided the fertile ground for my
education and he bought the first
tools and test instruments I owned. I
remember working on a table radio
salvaged from the neighbours trash
back in the early 1950s. I spent
months trying to make it work again.
That one never did. 

      No one around could answer my
questions, so I learned to read
technical manuals. I progressed to
black and white TV sets and would
spend most of my spare time trying to
figure out how the various circuits
worked to produce that magical
picture. Try discussing stuff like
that with your grade-school and
high-school classmates. I was
literally an outcast. I spent months
building and rebuilding sections of a
TV set to see if I could make it
better. All of this was play to me. I
loved it! My first job (early 1960s)
was fixing tube and (then new)
transistor radios and reel-to-reel
tape recorders at a "wage" of a few
dollars per item repaired. I always
liked "piecework" (getting paid by the
job rather than a fixed salary) with
personal initiative as the motive for
better pay.

      I'll never forget the first time
I saw a color TV in a department
store. I was 18 years old in 1962. I
sat on the floor in front of the set
for half an hour in total amazement.
"How do they do that?" A year later, I
paid $50 for a color TV no one could
fix and spent several months learning
about color circuits. The first
program I watched in color on my set
was "Bonanza". By then, the Disney TV
shows were in color too. Real Magic! I
later talked the guy who sold me the
set into hiring me part time for $50 a
week. My "career" was flying!

      The Army "borrowed" me for two
years (1965-67) and, with my
electronics background, of course made
me a Military Policeman. Army logic.
With a rifle over my shoulder, I
guarded a missle base in Germany for
14 months. About three months before
my tour of duty was to end, someone
learned of my "talents" and sent me to
"Radio School" in the Bavarian
mountains. I almost slept through it
and still made Honor Graduate. They
figured I would re-enlist but I
hungered for freedom and electronics
(in that order). I remember angering a
re-enlistment Officer by answering: "Do
I look crazy to you?" A month later, I
was "back in the world". Imagine being
anxious to get back to work.

      Since that time, my education
and on-the-job training has been an
accelerating spiral... VCRs, videodisc
players, microwave ovens, audio
cassette and CD players, test
equipment, and on and on. Just to keep
up, it was necessary to regularly
update my schooling on various pieces
of equipment, new VCRs, TV Studio
gear, microprocessors everywhere...
and computers. Like most of my
education in electronics, what I
learned about computers has been
self-taught. I'm a "hardware" kind of
guy. Early on, I spent more time
inside the box than I did pounding the
keys. Commodore, IBM, DEC, Kaypro...
all have been my teachers. I bought my
first computer system, a C64 with 1541
and printer in 1986... relatively late
in the game. The learning curve was
rather steep. I "consumed" utility
programs, learning how the devices
worked. I never liked games.

      The majority of people outside
the circle of technicians who fix all
these magical boxes must assume it's
done with mirrors and smoke, assuming
they think about it at all. They don't
know what happens inside that box and
most of them don't want to know...
until it breaks! How amazed (or bored)
they must be to stare into a Computer
or VCR. Most of it makes logical sense
to the tech. Sometimes WE stare in awe!
We see the wonders around us
contributing to our enrichment... and
our demise as technicians. High-priced
items like a Camcorder that is un-
economical to repair or a two year old
"obsolete" computer are good examples.

      Before the internet went
mainstream, I was repairing Commodore
equipment and writing repair articles
for the local computer clubs. Being an
electronics tech, it was a natural
progression to get into computer
repair. The main problem at that time
was that there was virtually no
service information out there. I've
been acquiring and sharing everything
I can since then. In the early 1990s,
I started answering hardware repair
questions on the Internet newsgroup
comp.sys.cbm, and I still frequent
that group when I have time. I later
put up my own websites after I saw my
repair information, mistakes and all,
appear on other sites all over the
world. The only way I could easily
make corrections and add updates to
existing material was to control my
own websites, so that's how they got
started. It appears to be the only
comprehensive source of repair info
and schematics for Commodore gear in
the world.

      It's amazing to me, now that I
think about it. One of a kind. My two
sites include not only repair articles
but hardware "hacks" such as how to
install a reset switch in an SX
without drilling holes in the case,
and a "protector" circuit to prevent
power supply damage to the C64.
Schematic diagrams for Commodore
computers, monitors, disk drives, etc.
are available on another site.

      Commodore computer hardware has
proved itself to be quality equipment.
They used fiber glass epoxy silk
screened boards and quality components
throughout. How else could such
equipment survive over two decades.
The downside of proprietary parts such
as their custom ICs is that they are
scarce now and only available from
salvaged boards. When the last SID
(sound) chip has failed, that's the
end of it although there are emulators
out there designed to run on a PC. For
the diehard original hardware
enthusiast, there is a limit, but it
will be at least a decade or more if I
have anything to say (and do) about
it. I have quite a bit of experience
with the C64 and 128 but have not done
much with PETs or the Amiga so I limit
my repair efforts to the former 8 bit
stuff.

     Along with full time employment,
I've always had a home-based repair
business to supplement my income, up
until about two years ago. Although I
have stopped repairing consumer
electronics for a living, I still keep
my hand in for friends and family, at
least for the stuff that can still be
repaired. Included in that is
Commodore equipment which I'll
continue to repair for anyone who asks
until I run out of  repair parts.
Being a packrat by nature, I have many
computers and drives stashed away for
salvage. The "black brick" power
supply is a common failure item but is
not repairable because it's "potted"
in epoxy inside. I recently managed to
develop a replacement for the PLA chip
in the C64. It's the IC that fails so
often because it runs very hot
normally.  I now install heat sinks on
the PLA, SID and the MPU whenever I
repair a board. If too many chips have
been damaged by over voltage  from a
failed "black brick" power supply, I
simply swap that board out to keep the
repair cost down, then keep the dead
board for salvage. Not all chips are
bad even if the board has been so
damaged.

      I've never advertised, so all of
my Commodore repair jobs have come by
word-of-mouth. I don't know how much I
could handle if lots of people
suddenly started sending me work
because I still have a full time job.
That said, I'm available if anyone
wants to have their equipment
serviced. A few years back, a
Commodore user in the UK was amazed to
find anyone anywhere who could repair
his 128DCR boards. He sent me two of
them and some spare chips. Everything
in the USA uses the NTSC television
format and both his boards were
European PAL format, something I've
never worked with.

         Those were the most
interesting repairs I ever did. Some
chips were installed backwards, some
in the wrong sockets, bent pins, etc.
In addition, the surface-mounted disk
drive head amplifier chip in both
boards was bad. I hate working on
surface mount stuff, but through the
kindness of a friend, I got two
1541-II spare boards that each
contained that same IC and was able to
do the SMD chip swaps and repair the
DCR motherboards. It cost more to ship
them back and forth than I charged to
repair them, but the UK owner didn't
care. He was thrilled to get them
working again at any price.

      I usually charge a flat rate
rather than by the hour. The charges
depend on what I have to do, but I
prefer to put a "cap" on the costs
that I will not go over without
customer approval, or if they need
custom work done. I try to make an
initial diagnosis and estimate cost of
repairs based on symptoms before the
customer ships the equipment. In some
cases, a user can repair his/her  own
stuff with my help, via email. That
said, I don't like to sell parts only.
Diagnosis by swapping parts around is
hardly the best way to troubleshoot
for the inexperienced. Unless they have
spare boards on hand. It usually ends
up being a waste of money if I have to
supply chips that may not even be used.
Further, ICs have become even more
precious (read more expensive) as the
supply continues to shrink and I can't
afford to waste any. When I'm doing a
repair, I don't discard anything unless
I KNOW it's bad.

   I've done very little with CMD
products mainly due to lack of
support. Without schematics and a
stock of parts, I would have little
chance of fixing their equipment.
After-market disk drives are another
matter as they are much like Commodore
drives with regards design and parts
equivalents.

      I once heard of a car made in
France that had no hood opening. You
put gas in one end and oil in the
other... no maintenance. When it
stops, you haul it in, it's ground up
and you buy a new one. Electronics is
headed in that direction. In the mean
time, the electronics service tech-
nician, like the auto mechanic, is
hated and feared and needed. Until we
are needed, we are invisible. Soon we
will be gone. It's happening... it's
history.

Ray Carlsen

COMMODORE FREE

I would like to thank Ray for taking
the time to do this interview, I
appreciate you spent a lot of time
forming the replies and I was
transfixed reading the information you
sent back.

I feel many people work hard and no on
appreciates them, I work in IT support
and never receive any thanks for the
work I do people just expect every-
thing to work. Most times people only
notice you when the network and
computers Stop working, then they
wonder what you actually do all day
and when it will be fixed.  Ray is a
rare breed of technician rather than
fix a broken part he is looking at why
the part failed and addressing the
root cause so it wont fail again.

Commodore machines never get any
younger and parts do fail eventually
we will have no spares left what will
we do then, just use emulation.

======================================

Intro "THE END"
Lord Ronin from Q-Link

Funny that I am writing this after all
the parts and the outro have been
written. Guess it is best as now I can
explain things, after they are done, in
a better light. I call this the end,
because after you have gone through
this poorly written drivel. You will
have ended your lack of knowledge on
the worlds greatest PC. But know now
that I am exceptionally biased towards
the C=PC platform. <VBG>

Sort of explain this in part #1.What
this is all about, a personal look at
the Commodore 64. Using besides
personal experiences and my ueber bias
for the C=64. The Commodore 64 Users
Manual. A book that was included in the
box, when the PC was sold new.

I wrote this for many reasons. My own
users group of beginners. But also for
those that are the 2nd generation of C=
users. Like I am and face the same
problems of finding some form of
assistance on how to use the C=. I mean
by that statement, just what it says.
In fact I have taught people locally
and on line how to load a programme
from a disk. Because they didn't have
any information on that subject.

No way am I an expert. At best I am a
lamer. A very dedicated, use the
C= everyday, it is my primary computer
platform, lamer. What follows in the 12
parts is a personal look and inter-
pretation of the information of the
users manual. Full of bad grammar,
spellings and typos. Each section was
worked upon with the local users group
in a programming class. Before it was
written up in this series. Which in no
way proves any accuracy <G>.

One thing that I have heard about is
people attempting to learn how to use
the C=. But coming from other
platforms. These people have trouble
with the terms used in the C= PC world,
as compared to their current platform.
I understand that problem well, except
in the reverse. I had not a lick of
home computer experience before I was
given a C=64 system in the early 90s.
Through out this monograph, I attempt
to deal with the terms & give meanings
to them for the user. A task that is
hard, when I have no reference to the
other platforms.

What I hope you will see in this series
is not only the method to hook up your
C= 64 PC. As yes I do cover that part.
But the fact that you are in control of
the computer. Even with the little that
is here on programming. You will be
making some music, some different forms
of animation and a couple simple little
games. A taste of what you can learn to
do with the C=. And you don't have to
be a geeky nerd to programme this
machine.

Along with that part. There is also the
understanding that you do not need to
programme to enjoy this machine. Though
there is a lot on the programming in
Basic in this series. Because the
manual deals with the topic in some
depth. I did make a couple sections on
just the parts of the 64 for the user.
Where I talk a bit on different games,
Word Processors, Desk Top Publishing,
Scanning, Voice recognition and other
topics, that we have had since the mid
80s. Plus some of the more recent
developments.

How to use this series is a big
question. I write it on a C128DCR. Put
in 64 mode and used the EdStar II
writing tool from LoadStar disk Mag.
What I don't know is if you are using a
64 breadbox, 64c, 128 in 64 mode, or
trying this in emulation, such as vice.
Nor if you are reading this on a screen
or have printed it out. Or reading it
on a now C= screen while trying it out
on a C=.

Trying to take all of that into
consideration. Best way to do this
series is to have a copy at someplace.
Screen or print out. Then go over the
material, as there are typed in things
and proceed to work step by step. My
intention is to have it personal and
friendly in style. I can tell you that
you won't understand everything, after
the first run through. Truth be told,
took me 5 times through the book.
Before this old brain started to make
any sense of the material. While others
in the group did the same in 2-3 times
through the book.

So now you have the intro. Lets start
on the world of the greatest PC ever
made, loved by millions for over 20
years.

 Lord Ronin from Q-Link

Chancellor A.C.U.G. #447
 Editor The Village Green
 Managing Editor Commodore MaiLink
 Contributor to C= publications
 SysOp of a C= BBS
 Fanatical, devoted C= user.

======================================

The Beginning
Lord Ronin from Q-Link

 "How do I use this thing?". To quote
The Cat from Red Dwarf "What is it?",
a line he would say often about most
techy things. "Where is the computer?".

 OK that is enough of the things that
I hear about the Commodore 64/128
system from people that know nothing
about it or how it functions. Save for
one thing that I hear a lot, 'cause
other people say it and so do I, "How
do I use it?". Yuppers same pretty
much as the opening line. That in a
small way is what this set of writings
is all about.

 First lets clear a few things up.
There were around 30 million of these
buggers sold. According to some
people. I don't have all of them, at
least not yet <BG>. This was the most
popular PC of the 80s and into the
early 90s. Why is the next question
that I am usually asked. Well despite
my over talkative nature. That reason
can't really be pinned down in a few
words. Perhaps this set of
informational things will help,
perhaps you will find the magic as you
play with the PC. Other computer
companies in that time frame said they
were the best or the #1. Well they did
just like a Mr. Hitler did in the
1930s. They lied about things. But for
the truth on this part. I suggest you
check out "On the Edge" by Mr. Brian
Bagnall. Found through amazon and
other online sources. Web search for
the commodore book and you may find it
that way as well <VBG>

 But back to clearing things up about
this set of writings. Since I digress
with the amount of stuff about this
great PC. I am not an expert on the
subject. I am a fanatical user that
thinks this is the world's greatest PC.
I am not a hardware hacker <guy that
messes with the actual workings and
such>. Nor am I a sofware hacker or
cracker <guy that tears into & changes
programmes>/ In fact I am not yet even
a lamer level of a BASIC programmer. I
am a user, and that is the end to it.
So tech and gear heads are gonna get
sleepy reading this stuff.

 Next to clear up is the who that I am
writing this for, besides my own
egotistical needs. 'cause man with the
way I ramble about, you know that I am
not a writer. Well I am writing these
for those that I call 2nd generation
users. That being anyone that scored
up a Commodore PC, lets shorten that
to C=, after the big heyday of the C=.
Reason is the lack of easy to gain
assistance in any form. A subject that
I have harped on for years, that I
have read about in lists and
publications, and hear in my own users
group.

 Not to say that the information isn't
around. Just hard to get these days.
The books and magazines are not on the
racks at the stores anymore. You have
to find them in yard sales and the
like. Check online and let the word
get out that you are interested. Then
you get what ever is there at the
time. Oh yeah and now you may have to
pay collectors prices for them as
well.

 There is another source of information
on the C=. This is other people that
have or still in some way use the C=.
Here though is the big problem. The
"been there, done that, got the doll
and bumper sticker" attitude. You are
at the page one and they are on volume
27. Many of them don't want to help you
from your level. They want you to be
near their level. Which they gained
from long hours and many years. Add to
that part, the fact that they know the
stuff. Well it doesn't mean that they
can teach it to someone else.

 OK now there is one other problem in
learning about the C=. Not the history
revisionists from other companies, who
just seem to forget the existance of
the C=. No this problem may be in you.
By that I mean what you already know
about computers. That information may
need to be trashed. As the C= is a
completely different breed of computer.
You may find that the colour and
meaning of words are not the same as
you currently understand. Since the
older and to some the original meaning
of the words are used in the C= books.

 Right, now that I have pretty much
offended most of the readers. Lets get
to you the beginner. Who has gone
through the above explanations of this
series and some of reasons for it and
wonder why you read this far. <VBG>

 There are going to be a lot of self
anecdotal bits here to illustrate my
presentation. Which is simply, using
the C= for the rank, abject first
timer. I'll digress as is my habit,
when there are side points to mention.
For that I must give a reason. Like
there is over 25 years of C= computing
stuff out there, including post
manufactured items. Stuff that came
out after the company croaked. Give
you a hint there that this is a loved
PC.

 Now then to the meat. In some way you
have gotten a Commodore PC. Since more
of the 64s where made than the 128
units. Plus the 128 ones also had the
64 in them. <That will be explained
later> I am going with the 64 as the
main line theme.

 You have one! Got it as a 2nd hand
hand me down. Scored it in a yard sale,
rummage sale, jumble sale, thrift
store, out of the closet, attic and all
of that sort of thing. You have it
because it is of interest to you. Or
you are too ashamed to tell the giver
to smeg off. Maybe you got it to do an
electronics project. Rip out the music
chip for an electronic instrument. Or
you are into retro computers and want
to see what they were like 20 some odd
years ago. Yeah we did have electricity
before computers <VBG>.

 In any case. You have odds on that
you didn't get it in the same way as
original. So lets over that now, and
you compare to what you have. There is
a pretty coloured, friendly looking
box. Inside in Styrofoam holders is
your C=64. There is also a couple of
cords <not all the time>. A black or
tannish brick with two cords out of it
and a "C=" symbol on it someplace.
There is also a manual. That manual is
what we will talk about in depth a
little later on in this series.

 One by one, that brick thing, and
yeah it is called a power brick, is
the thing that makes the C= work. For
now, don't do anything with it. As all
things that plug in and out of the C=
should be done with the power OFF.
This has two ends. One for the wall
socket and the other for the hole near
the switch on the right hand side of
the 64. Early word of warning for you.
That power brick is under powered for
add-ons. You can literally fry an egg
on it, if you add many things to the
system. Yeah I did it as a joke. There
will be some heat. But if it is hotter
than you want to put your finger on it
for over a couple of seconds. Well
according to my old college electronics
teacher. Then it is over 140 degrees.
[Note of explanation, I'm in NTSC land
and know very little about PAL things.
All measurements are in standard US
style. Remember also that that power
supply is probably old enough to vote
and in many cases old enough to drink.

 I said that there are two cords, and
this is also not always the truth.
There would be one cord that will plug
into a socket on the rear of the
computer, and the other end through a
matching transformer. Oh that is a
little black thing that may have a
switch and is to be plugged into your
antenna input on the T.V. Right your
newer T.V. doesn't have an aerial
input. Rather it is cable ready. Not
to worry, electronics stores have the
adapter thing needed. Before you ask,
yeah man, this was made to connect to
your T.V. set. Much as in the same
ways as the old game consoles did, in
fact the same converter for the game
console works for the C=. That is
because more people had T.V sets than
monitors at that time. But the C= will
work on a composite monitor as well.
Reverse is true, the monitor works
great for a T.V. set. I know as that
is what I am using at the kibbutz.

 Hey if you are really lucky and have
the box. See if the serial number on
the box matches the one on the bottom
of the C=64. If it does, and you don't
want the system. Matching numbers
makes it more valuable on re-sale.

 So where are we? Oh yeah confused
with my ramblings. Well to be honest,
I don't know the what and how you
gained your C=. Nor what you have in
it. To that end, here is some of what
I have picked up in collections, and
it may fit what you have at hand. You
see, I started in the 2nd generation.
All of my Commodore created stuff is
also used. Well my first system was a
late Channukha present. To long of a
story to bring up here. Suffice to say
that I was computer phobic. I scored
up a 64, monitor, pair of joysticks,
pair of paddles <another form of
joystick>, and a printer. None of
which I knew how to use. Now then I
also gained a couple of disk boxes
<plastic things that hold 50 or 100
disks, depending on the size> of C=
disks. Theses came in two major types.
Factory disks, which are disks of
programmes, commercialy made. Got
pretty lables and at times you can
even get the box for them. The other
type is what we term "arkhive".
Apolite term for copies and pirateware,
of factory disks. OK according to what
I have read, be it true or not. One can
legally make a backup of the software.
If they sell the software, that is the
original factory. All back ups must go
along with the sale. Anyway there was a
lot of different viewpoints of the
copyright laws in those days. Along
with different laws in different
countries. Well I also got the manual.
That is how the gang hooked it up and
we started playing some of the games.
I thought at that time that I would
never have to spend a quarter on games
in the bars again. <VBG>

 Over the following years. I have
bought C= collections from just a few
items to a car with trailer load.
Monitors, printers, a few thousand
disks, cables, drives, tape machines
and several special things. Which can
be discussed later. So you can see
that there are many ways, and amounts
to collecting C= things. Therefore I
can't really say what you have in your
collection. Just have to deal with the
generic stuff.

Having rambled on about all of that
drenn. My general idea is that you have
a few disks and some hardware. Right
now I want to get you set up. Starting
not with the C=. But with the video
display unit. OK that is a fancy word
phrase for the T.V. or Monitor. Since
most systems that I have had the great
pleasure of grabbing, have a monitor. I
will start with that assumption. Those
that will be connecting to the TV, skip
ahead a bit.

 So then, keeping the techy talk down.
Lets plug that puppy into the monitor.
You need a cord/cable for that. Hope
that it came with the system. You can
order them online from auction places.
Even have one custom built for you.
But lets say you have one. There are
different styles. They all have
something in common. One end has a
round <called DIN> plug. This bugger
plugs into the back of the C=. OK I
know that there are two holes there
that look like the same thing. Facing
the back of the C=, it is the one to
your left. Don't worry, the pin
configuration will only allow it to
fit in the proper socket. Now the
other end. Take a breather and look at
that other end. You can have as little
as two and as many as five connectors.
Depending on the year your system was
released. Your socket on the C= may
have more or less pin holes. I know
that without others to compare, this
makes little sense. My point is that
later modles did a thing to the video
output. That for lack of a better
explanation is Split Video. Bit more
on that in a moment, in regards to the
cable.

 Looking at the end that will go into
the monitor. Those are called RCA
jacks. Sort of a crown looking thing
with a short shaft in the center. They
are probably different colours. Love to
tell you which colour goes where, but
not all manufacturers used the same
colour scheme. On a two plug one, you
just try to fit it at first to the
respective colours of the socket.
Yellow, most of the time is video.
Naturally dealing with old monitors,
that colour in the socket may be cloudy
or just plain not visable. OK plug it
in, turn on the monitor, but not the
C=. If there is a bad hum when you mess
with the volume control. Which is known
as a 60 cycle line hum. You have it
backwards. Reverse the plugs and the
hum should go away.

 Now then for those that have a
monitor cord that is more than two.
Well only three of them are needed. I
am hoping that your monitor has three
input sockets. There are many monitors
that will work with the C=. Not all of
them made by Commodore. If you have a
1701 or a 1702 monitor. You have in
many peoples opinion, the best one.
But past that point. Some monitors
have the inputs on the front. Some
have them on the back, and some, like
the 1702 have them on both the front
and the back. Side note here, I have a
1702 set up for my 64c model. Using a
three wire connector. That goes in the
back. I have my DreamCast connected to
the two front sockets. All I need to
do is flip the switch in the back, to
move from the C= to the DreamCast. But
that aside, the hard part is putting
the correct plugs in the correct
sockets. Try to match the colours of
the plug to the sockets. Give thanks
to the C= headed goddess if it works
right the first time <G>. For me on
the 4 and 5 plug ones. I have never
found the black one to do a thing for
me. But don't take that as etched in
stone.

 Now some of the problems that you can
encounter. Story time, the C= monitor
model 1802. Nice one, has a built in
antiglare screen. Also has the
connections for two and three wire
plug ins on the back. Not really
labled well for many people. I paid
$5 USD for one just for parts. Because
the guy that got it, couldn't make it
work. Bought his C=64 as well for the
same price. Reason it didn't work, was
that he didn't connect the cable right
on the back. Since the cable and the
switch that moves between the two and
three wire connection, well it has to
be on the right one for the input. He
had it set for two wire and then had a
three wire input, half set for two
wire and the rest for three wire. When
dealing with something like that, try
all the combinations that you can
think of, and if that fails. There may
be a manual for your monitor on line.
There are sites that preserve the text
of manuals for the C=.

 Right then, why are there 3 plugs on
some and others just have 2? Well C=
after some time, split the video output
signal to "Luma" and "Chroma". I was
told that this was the start of the
S-Video thing. Not that I know what
S-Video is in any form. But here is a
kicker. You see when they did that,
they had to change the video output
socket. Adding a couple more pins and
changing the pin layout in the socket.
The older video cable would fit the
newer configuration. But naturally the
newer one wouldn't fit the older one.
Funny thing is I have a collection of
video cables, that have 3 plugs. But
they are pinned out for the older
socket. Makes one wonder why.

 Now for people that don't have a
monitor. I could say go out and score
one up. But till you know if you like
the C=, why spend the money? The
monitors are fairly priced on line.
But the shipping can be over $100 USD
for one. Depending on how it is
shipped of course. That was the price
quoted to me from a users group that
was going to take it to one of those
places that pack and ship for you.
What you will see on the T.V. is not
as good as what you will get with a
monitor. Your picture may be a tad bit
fuzzy and it will certainly in
comparison not be as sharp or colours
as vibrant. Yeah I have used a T.V.
for a monitor. Connecting your C= to
the T.V. is easier than those guys
doing it to a monitor. The cable with
the two RCA ends is the first thing to
find. Second is that little box thing.
One end of the cable goes into the C=.
There is only one hole it will fit.
The other end plugs into that little
box. Well that is what it says in the
book. On the Other Hand <OTOH> I have
close to 100 of these buggers. You may
not have gotten an original one in
your collection. Some of these have
the cable built into the box. If you
have a T.V. that takes an aerial. You
just take the two small flat leads
with the "U" shaped connectors on
them. Screw that into the antenna
screws on your set. What you are doing
is converting the signal from the C=
to the 300 ohm <standard of
measurement> antenna signal input on
your T.V. Now then, there are newer
forms of TV units. That do not have an
antenna input. These "cable ready"
units have a connecter that looks a
bit like a screw. I mean the connector
is  threaded. Your C= to T.V. adaptor
doesn't fit. What you need is a 300
ohm to 75 ohm connector. Best I can
tell you is take the box to you
favourite electronics store, show them
and tell them that you need to convert
that to 300 ohms. They generally have
the device. Most of them will just
pressure fit onto your cable input. OK
now there are many variations of
these. I have some that are both 300
and 75 ohm in the box. Many of them
are not original. But ones from off
the shelf electronic store converter
systems. As they have a little switch
on them that says T.V. on one end,
computer or Game on the other. A few
have game on one end, T.V. on the
other and computer in the middle.
Using a 3 position switch. Whew that
was a lot. OK we are finished with the
Monitor and T.V. connection. Save for
one little thing. Take a look at the
back of the C=64. There is a switch
that has 3-4 on it. This is used to
select channel 3 or channel 4 for the
C= input to your T.V. I never had T.V.
connected at the same time as the
computer. Never used that switch.

 Thanks man, you have waded through a
lot of drenn to reach this part. And
we haven't gone on about what the C=
will do! I have a reason for that, and
that is, get the smegger hooked up
right before you tackle anything. To
that end, there are a few more
connections to make, or possibly make.
Then I will expound on things about
the C= that you may not know. Since in
the next installment, we are hitting
the user book for more information.

 There are three ways of having
something show up on the screen form
"canned" software. Cartridges or
"carts". Cassettes, a.k.a. DataSett
and there are several spellings for
that one. Disks, and here there are a
few different ones. Carts are the
easiest and what most of the early
users started with in the first place.
I mean after blowing $199 in 1980s
money. There isn't a lot left to buy
the other stuff right off the bat. Now
you may have a few carts in your
collection. I have never seen one that
wasn't already opened and used. So I
don't know what the packaging was
originally. They are a device that
plugs into the right rear, as you face
the keys, on the C=. Entire programme
is stored in that cart. To use it,
turn off the C=. Plug the cart in
snuggly. Turn on the C=. You should
have the start of the programme on the
screen. If you are lucky and I am
rarely that lucky. You will also have
a small instruction booklet for the
programme. If you don't see anything
at all. Time to clean the cart and the
port. Personally I use a cotton swab,
best are the ones sold in electronic
stores for cleaning tape machines. The
coton fibers on the swab don't catch
on things and make matters worse. I
also go to the local drug store and
buy Isopropyl Alcohol <nice to have
the bottle at hand for spelling> at
the stength of 91%, or greater. Make
certain it is plain. No scents or
additives like that. As that will coat
your connectors and cause problems.
Now just lightly wipe the wet swab
over the copper looking things in both
the cart and on the C=. Bet you find a
lot of crud. Now then after that is
completed. Wait at least 5 minutes.
Let it dry out before reconnecting. If
all is as it should be, you will see
the programme when you plug it in and
turn on the C=. If not, then there is
a problem in the C= or the cart.
Working on that isn't in the scope of
this part of the series.

 Next in line we come to the DataSet.
That is my preferred spelling. If you
have one of these in your collection.
Then it looks like a mono cassette
machine. The older ones by Commodore
where rectangular in shape. Later
models where square with rounded
corners. In either case, it is a
cassette machine for the C=. When I
worked for Radio Shack as a repairman
and tech. They were selling the TSR-80
units. These would only load from an
off the shelf cassette machine. There
wasn't at that time any other form of
software. In some countries the
DataSet is still heavily used. As the
price of it and tapes was much cheaper
than a disk drive.

 Here I can go on a bit for you. I
have a couple in my collection that
are still in the box. Besides the
tight packing. There is also a manual
for the use of the DataSet. Small and
most of the information is in other
books. Like the user guide that came
with the C=. Where the difference
between a cassette drive and a DataSet
end is the connector. This plugs into
the port on the C=. On the back of the
C=, this is next to the round socket
that isn't for the video output.
Really it only fits in one place. Ah,
but you ask, where does it plug in for
power? Well the same place. I remember
that it pulls about 5 volts to
operate. Could be wrong on that. But
remember what I said about the brick
power supply and it being under
powered when things are added? Well
this is about all it was designed to
handle. And there is debate on that
part. Right you want to see if there
is anything on that tape in that box
of stuff you have. Well repeating
myself here again. Don't plug it in
with the system turned on. Taking that
as read. You need to open the lid of
the DataSet and put in the tape. Type
in the word LOAD and then press the
return key. For those coming from the
non C= world. That RETURN key would be
the same as the enter key on other 
keyboards. Anyway the computer will
say PRESS PLAY ON TAPE. Do that and
then the C= will go blank as it hunts
for the prg. When that is finished.
You get the message FOUND (the name of
the programme). Press the C= logo key.
Ah that is bottom row far left. The C=
will now load the programme. A note at
this point. OK a few notes. If the prg
is a long one. Well go make something
to eat, watch a T.V. show. Grab a
smoke and a drink. Then see if the
thing has loaded. Tape loads are S L O
W. They are also on old tapes and
machines not that accurate. Mainly
because the cassette machine is dirty
and needs to be cleaned. I'll cover
that in another part. Now you can load
the first programme on the tape as
written above. You can tell it to load
a specific programme on the tape. This
means that you have more than one
programme on the tape. If it isn't the
first one then the DataSet will play
through looking for the prg name. At
the incredible rate of 1 7/8 inches
per second. Think about that if you
use 90 minute tapes for your saves.
Now you see why many users went to the
floppy disks. A thing to mention here
about the tapes. Regular ones will
work on the DataSet. Not going to bore
you more with the different tapes of
tapes. Only this one section. There
was/is a tape that was manufactured,
that didn't have the clear leader tape
at the start and end of the cassette.
Once this was said to be for cassette
letters, then for the blind in their
tapes. Then it was called a computer
cassette. Only difference was the
price.

 Right I've babbled on long enough or
this session. Mainly as this is done
originally on a Commodore and I have
reached the limit of lines for the
programme. Next part will be on Disks
and the manual and anything else that
feels right at the time.

======================================

Interview with Simon Ullyatt
Cronosoft
http://www.cronos.toucansurf.com/

Q. Please introduce yourself to our
reader!

A.  My names Simon, I'm 36 years old,
married with 2 children, 2 cats & 6
chickens, & have an addiction to 8-bit
machines. ;)

Q. Do you still use 8 bit machines?

A. Most definitely.  I regularly use my
trusty Spectrum 128K+, as well as
messing around with C64's, Oric's, VIC
20's, Dragon 32's, ZX81's etc.  My
machines of current interest are the
CGL/Sord M5 & the Mattel Aquarius.

Q. How did you first become involved
with computers?

A. Blimey... I've got to think about
that one...    I think it was around
1982, when my brother bought a ZX81.
He wasn't particularly interest in it,
but was too mean to let me use it
regularly, so I had to pay him some of
my pocket money to 'hire' it.  I
eventually bought it from him, but
always wanted something a bit more
powerful. A friend of mine's brother
had a Spectrum in the winter of 1983,
which we played on when the school was
shut down due to snow.  I then got a
Spectrum 48K as an 'early' Xmas present
in the summer of 84.  I don't remember
anything from that summer...other than
sitting in a darkened room playing
games like Lunar Jetman & Zzoom.

Q. Tell our reader about Cronosoft what
is it the company does & when the
company was founded?

A. Cronosoft, put simply, is a small
software house, that publishes games
for systems which are no longer
commercially viable in the mainstream.

Although we DO (usually) offer these
new games as emulator files, the
majority, & indeed the point of
Cronosoft is to make them available for
people to buy them as original
cassettes, with inlays, artwork etc.
We don't charge much for the games -
usually 2.99 each, & the buyer gets a
game which comes in a glossy package,
that they will want to play & keep.

Q. What machines are the games produced
for?

A. We currently produce games for the
Spectrum (48K &128K), C64,  C16/Plus 4,
VIC 20, & Amstrad CPC.  We also have
releases due for the BBC/Electron &
Dragon 32.

Q. Do you also have a full time job?

A. Yes I do - I sell old computers &
games via EBAY full time (I gave up my
regular job & started selling full time
in 2001), which I do from an office on
an industrial estate.

Q. Are the game developers paid?

A. Yes - for each 2.99 game that is
sold, a royalty payment of 1.00 goes to
the author of the game.  Games tend to
have an infinite shelf life, so funds
tend to trickle in over a very long
period.  We're still selling copies of
our first release, Egghead in Space,
which appeared in 2002.

Q. Can anyone submit a game to you what
is the usual procedure?

A. Yes - & we welcome it.  Just email
it to me at chaosmongers`yahoo.com &
we'll check it out.  We try to maintain
a high standard, so if it requires a
few tweaks, or isn't accepted, then
don't be disheartened.  We usually
produce artwork for it, though if the
author wants to provide their own, then
that's fine.

Q. What format are the games released
on & how much do they cost?

A. Games are mostly on cassette, at a
price of either 1.99 or 2.99 - the
corresponding emulator versions are
usually about half this price. If a
game has been released elsewhere as
freeware, then it's advisable to set
the price at 1.99 - people still do
like to own the original version.

We can offer Commodore software on
disk, though we don't have specific
packaging for this format yet.

Q. Some of the Jonathan Cauldwell games
are really good not that the others are
in any way bad but Jonathan's games
really capture the 8 bit era will he be
producing games for other platforms
rather than just the Spectrum?

A. As far as I know, JC won't be
working on other platforms, as he's a
Spectrum expert through & through. He's
toyed with the idea of working on the
CPC, with it sharing a lot of the
Spectrums characteristics, as well as
being a Z80 based micro.  Maybe he'll
surprise us... who knows?  Everything
JC does is highly secretive until it's
very nearly finished - then he'll
surprise us all with something
particularly special...

Q. What has been your favourite
Cronosoft release so far?

A. That's a hard one...  I could narrow
it down to 2 releases.  GAMEX is a
masterpiece of efficient programming,
as it has 16 classic games like Pacman,
Missile Command, Robotron etc. all
crammed into a single load 48K Spectrum
game, based around a share trading
theme. JC has superb skills when it
comes to doing the impossible, & his
attention to detail is spot on.

FARMER JACK IN HARVEST HAVOC is another
of my favourites, as Bob Smith has
taken a pure arcade game play style
(Mr. Do!) & adapted it to a format that
hasn't experienced that genre before -
his follow-up release to the game looks
especially promising (though I can't
give much away) in exactly the same
way.  Bob's games are also very highly
polished & are a joy to behold.

Q. Would you like to see fully licensed
& authorised 8-bit software back on the
shop shelves, say in the form of an
official emulator with games package?

Hmmm... I don't know.  I really don't
think it could be done any more. In the
old days, small independent computer
shops existed, alongside places like
Woolworths, WHSmith, & Boots, where you
could buy games.  Retro Computing isn't
big enough for anyone to make a worth-
while profit, so it's really not going
to interest the likes of GameStation or
GAME (except for the buying & selling
of Sega/Nintendo games). Huge cold
warehouses like PC World too are
exactly the wrong type of place too.
The internet & mail order though,
provides the ideal outlet, & keeps
costs low too.

Q. Have you turned down any games for
publication?

A. Yes, though not as many as you'd
think. There are some submissions that
have been particularly bad (which I
can't mention, though they had been
written in BASIC, & crashed regularly).

Q. What's been the biggest seller &
lowest selling title so far?

A. The biggest seller I believe is
Egghead in Space, though Platform Game
Designer is up there too.  It wouldn't
be fair on the authors to mention the
lowest sellers, but of course, more
obscure formats are not going to sell
as well as the more common Spectrum &
C64.

Q. How do you produce the tape inlays?

Mostly, our artwork is done by a great
artist called Graham Richards, who
never fails to amaze.  Examples of his
artwork are EGGHEAD ENTERTAINS, IZZY
WIZZY, GAMEX, STRANDED, TREASURE ISLE,
BLITZ 2000.  Sometimes the author
produces the art (FARMER JACK, or the
COSINE games on the Commodore), & some-
times I produce them (FUN PARK, ZXFM
2005).  They are all inkjet printed
onto photo paper. Nothing particularly
high-tech!

Q. How are the tapes & disks produced,
in house or via a duplication system?

A. Everything is done manually at the
moment. We buy our tapes in bulk from a
duplication plant, though do the
duplication ourselves.  It can be a bit
tedious & time consuming, but we're not
talking 1000's of copies.

Q. Is it a one-man business, or do you
have help?

A.I mentioned Graham, who does the
artwork.  Nich Campbell helps out
immensely with the CPC duplication, as
I can't handle that aspect myself.
Freelance journalist Shaun Bebbington
helps out big time with publication,
getting us in Micro Mart magazine, &
helps push the games by getting the
word around.

Q. Have you met any of the authors/
programmers you work with?

A. Some of them.  Jonathan Cauldwell
often comes down to the computer/retro
shows that appear around the country, &
I've also met Chris Snowden (C16
author) at RETRO NORTH last year.

I've also had the pleasure in talking
to some famous names too (though not
Cronosoft authors of course), whilst
being at the shows;  Matthew Smith, Jon
Hare, Richard Joseph, Archer MacLean.

Q. What games do you play to relax?

A. I love to play games by authors I
particular admire the style of. Apart
from the usual 'Ultimate' games, I
particular like Jeff Minter (Sheep in
Space, Llamatron), Don Priestly
(Minder, Trapdoor),  Dave Reidy (Skool
Daze, Wheelie), Sensible software
(Wizkid, Mega-lo-mania).  Being the
first person to play a new game is
pretty good too.

Q. Have you had to drop any title due
to copyright problems?

A. We were worried about Football
Manager 2005, though we stuck "ZX" in
front of it, & no-one complained!

Q. Has the press been favourable to you
I seem to remember something in retro
gamer about cronosoft?

A. RETRO GAMER have been great, &
feature most of our new releases. Some
of the reviews have caused controversy
(Farmer Jack in particular), though on
the whole it's been very good. MICRO
MART also feature our games too. There
is also a lot of support from online
publications & websites (like your-
selves) in lots of countries.  We've
had a lot of support in countries such
as Spain, Portugal & Eastern Europe
too.

======================================

X1541 - The Idiot's Guide
http://www.geocities.com/cdsixfour/
 x1541.htm

The finished product - the X1541

This page is here to help those of us
out there who have NO IDEA about
transferring games between a PC & a C64
It's called the idiot's guide because
even an idiot is supposed to be able to
do it! This includes myself as I was
once an idiot in regard to the X1541.

What's .zip, .lha, .d64, .lnx, .z64
and 1! all about?

For those of you who have nearly no
knowledge of file archiving, seeing
.zip at the end of a downloaded file
will not make much sense to you.
You'll see files all over the net with
a .zip extension, including my page.
To the uninitiated, a .zip file is
usually a compressed file (or files)
that are compacted into one file and
placed on the web or sent in emails so
that connection time is kept short and
so that the files take up little
space. Another well known compressor
is lha (a.k.a. lzh. This can be opened
with recent versions of lha). If
you're looking for help on using these
compressors, go to this site. It's
mostly a case of placing the
compressor in your DOS folder on your
C drive and following the instructions
contained within the file itself.

So, if you need a unzipper, PKUNZIP is
probably the most standard one to get
- and if you need it or any other
archival programs, this site gives you
the most complete treatment of
archival programs to download that I
know of. If you're using Windows, then
Winzip is really the only way to go. It
handles long filenames, whereas
PKUNZIP can't handle them and refuses
to extract them. Some zips on the C64
FTP sites contain long filenames
(unfortunately) that can't be extracted
under PKUNZIP. Why Microsoft initially
had the 8.3 filename convention in the
first place really baffles me.

.d64 file extensions are disk image
extensions. The files are images of a
Commodore 1541 disk, and contain all
the code that a 1541 disk side would.
These files are loaded by most C64
emulators and  are treated like a 1541
disk. This is usually the result after
transferring C64 1541 disk sides to the
PC.

.lnx files are LYNXed files, usually
done with a program called "Ultimate
Lynx" or "Ultimate Lynx 3" which is a
C64 program that packs several files
into a single file. The Star Commander
can open these and the files contained
in it can be copied into disk images.
However, the latest release of the
Star Commander has difficulty with
some lynx files created with Ultimate
Lynx 3. Star Commander tends to
operate well only with the standard
lynx format. In this case, the lynxed
file itself can be copied into a disk
image and unpacked with Ultimate Lynx
3 from a C64 or an emulator. The Star
Commander makes it a lot easier,
however, but occasionally it will
report that the lynx file is "corrupt"
when really it can't understand the
format. Should you need Ultimate Lynx
3, I have it for you to download. I've
recently put Ultimate Lynx 3 on the
disk image next to Ultimate Lynx 1, so
now you should be able to extract
files lynxed with Ultimate Lynx 3, too.

Another file type that can be found in
many C64 archives are Zip-coded disks
(not to be confused with .zip files!).
They appear as 1!example, 2!example,
3!example, and 4!example. These are
packed files that constitute all tracks
and sectors of a 1541 disk side. Some
wise-guys have even decided to give
them a .z64 extention, even though they
are recognised by their "1!" style
prefixes. These .z64 files should be
treated as Zip-coded disks (although I
personally disapprove that they should
be called .z64 files).

Zip-coded files appear as x! example,
a! example, b! example, etc. They are
simply packed files. Both Zip-coded
disks and files can be depacked with a
PC program called 64Copy, or on the 64
with Zip-Code utilities. They are
rare, but if you find them copy them
into a .d64 image and run them through
the Zip-code utilities. When depacking
Zip-coded disks, beware of the
"Zip-DOS read" option. With many
zip-coded disks, leaving this on YES
while depacking can corrupt the data
on the final product. If you need
zip-code utilities, I have them for
you to download.

The Best Way
Although there is more than one way,
the best way to transfer programs
cross-platform between a PC and C64 is
to use a 1541 disk drive connected to a
IBM compatible PC. You connect a cable
(called the X1541 cable) from the
serial port on the 1541 and connect it
to the LPT parallel printer port on
your PC. From there you use a transfer
program (I recommend the Star Commander
although there are several other
transfer utilities available on the
net. After that it's simple.

The reason why this is the best method
is because the 5.25" drives on IBM
machines are MFM format drives while
the 1541 is a GCR format drive. These
formats are incompatible. Not only
that, but 1541 drives are "smart"
because they contain the necessary on
board electronics and disk operating
firmware, whereas IBM drives don't
necessarily. Hooking a 1541 up to an
IBM is much simpler. Text files can be
transfered with a 1571 and a program
called the "Big Blue Reader" if you
want. The 1571 can read both MFM and
GCR. Transferring by this method is
very slow though, so forget it unless
you want to convert C64 word processor
files to an IBM wordprocessor.

So where do I get the X1541 cable?

Ahhh... The PC is easy to get. If you
don't have a 1541 disk drive (Or your
old drive is broken) you can order a
new one from CMD but beware the $
factor. The X1541 cable, however....
you'll have to build yourself. Also,
the author of the Star Commander has a
team that builds quality cables at
very reasonable prices.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
At this point it is probably worth
mentioning that if you have a Pentium
II motherboard (or better - I think),
that the X1541 cable WILL NOT WORK on
the Star Commander. The only cable
that will work is the XE1541 cable.
This requires extra components. All is
explained here.

But I don't know how to make one!
I personally had no idea about
soldering a cable together when I
first thought about building a X1541
cable. I did some reading on the topic
and after some practice I found myself
building a fully working cable!!! If
you don't know where to start when
soldering or you can't understand the
X1541 diagrams, I'll explain. I'm no
electrician, but I can point you in
the right direction. You don't need
talent to build a cable or even to
solder. An hour or so of practice is
all you need.

There is another way to create a crude
X1541 cable without having to solder.

So what will I need?

Go down to your local electronic parts/
hobby shop and buy the following:

A soldering iron - A cheap one will
do. Preferably one with a narrow tip.
It will be touching small surfaces.
Resin flux solder - Preferably with
the smallest diameter wire possible. I
use 0.7mm. Remember it must be RESIN
FLUX solder. Resin flux is used for
electronic soldering.

Wire - It doesn't matter what type of
wire, as long as they're not bare
wires and have some plastic shielding.
I used copper wire. Try to get
different coloured wires so that you
can tell them apart.

Wire stripper - To get the plastic
cover off the wire!

Steel wool - To polish surfaces before
soldering. Shrink tubing - To keep all
the wires together to make the cable.
I used a tubing 5.0mm in diameter. The
diameter of the shrink tubing will
usually depend on the diameter of the
wire you're using. You may have to use
your good judgment in deciding which
ones to get.

Male 6 pin din plug - This bit goes
into your 1541 serial port.

Male D25 solder plug - This bit goes
into your PC's LPT port. It's called a
D25 plug in electronic supplies
stores. Make sure it's the solder
variety. You'll notice it has
catchment sockets to collect solder on
the other side of the pins.

Male D25 casing - To cover the D25
plug! I prefer using a plastic casing
as opposed to a metal casing Sticky
tape / Blu tak - to hold things in
place while you solder.

A copy of the X1541 specifications -
If you choose to work without one I
hope you know what you're doing! You
must have a good memory! Joe Forster
has the specs on his X1541 page

Remember this:
A male plug has pins on it that stick
out. A female plug has holes that
these pins go in. So if you've got a
dirty mind, sexual innuendo such as
this will help you remember!! The
X1541 cable has two male plugs, so
they'll both have pins sticking out!
These are the ones you get!

It may be helpful for those who have
never soldered before to buy several
plugs before building the cable to
practice on first. This way, if you
mess up your plug you have a spare to
work on.

Step 1
First, we're going to create the cable
part. If you notice the specifications
of the X1541, you can't make the cable
more than a metre long. I recommend the
cable to be about 40-50cm long. Cut
your wires to about 20cm longer than
the length you wish to make the cable.
This is so you have some room for error
should you mess up and have to cut the
wire some more.

Next, we're going to get those wires
down the shrink tubing. This may
require some patience depending on how
large the diameter of the shrink
tubing is and the wires you have. If
you do have difficulty putting the
wires down the tubing, look at the
diagram and all your wires. Hopefully
you'll have different coloured wires.
Now decide which coloured wire will be
for each connection. I decided like
this:

 COLOUR  -  CBM    - IBM
=======================================
  RED    - Ground - Ground
  BLACK  - Reset  - Init
  BLUE   - Clock  - AutoFeed
  BROWN  - Atn    - Strobe
  GREEN  - Data   - Select In
  YELLOW - Autodetect connection
   (optional)

Now, notice where the wires are on the
CBM serial diagram you have? Well In
my case, the Black reset wire and
Green Data wire are above the other
three wires on the diagram. What I did
was to push the wires down the shrink
tube in this arrangement so that they
came out untangled and in this
arrangement by the time they came out
the other end. The longer your shrink
tube is, however, the harder this may
be. If the wires tangle inside the
shrink tube, they will have trouble
going down. Try not to let this happen
for your sanity's sake! It would be
great if the wires inside didn't
tangle because eventually when you
shrink the tubing it will look
professional, because there will be no
bumps in the cable because of tangled
wires. Eventually you will have five
wires running through the shrink tube.
Now we're ready to solder!!

Step 2
OK, now that we've done the easy bit,
it's time for the harder bits.

Pull the wires through the tube so
that they have even length on both
ends of the tube. Plug in your
soldering iron and allow it to heat
up. Soldering is not too difficult,
but there are a few things to
remember:

Don't burn yourself! It can get real
hot. Try to have a place to rest your
soldering iron when not using it. A
soldering iron stand is obviously the
best thing for this, but still you may
not want to get one, and you don't
have to either. I have been burnt
before by a soldering iron and it's
not funny!  Use steel wool to clean
surfaces that you solder before
soldering. This is so the solder has
no trouble rolling off the tip of the
soldering iron instead of bubbling up
on the tip.

Heat up the surface with the iron you
wish to solder before you solder (In
this case our soldering catchment
sockets at the back of both plugs).
Try not to overdo this because the
plastic around the pins (especially
the 6 pin din) has melted on me before
and the pin I was working on fell out!
(it was fixed again by heating up the
pin and pushing it back into place,
where it cooled back into position).
Heating the surface is necessary
because if the surface isn't warm
enough for long enough you'll do a bad
solder which can be easily pulled
apart.

Soldering itself is straightforward.
There are many techniques, but I
simply placed the wire in the pocket
for soldering, lay the solder wire on
top of that, and then applied the
soldering iron until the solder
melted, filling the socket and welding
into the surface. I pushed more solder
into the connection as needed. Try not
to add too much solder though. More
solder doesn't necessarily mean a
stronger connection. Firstly, let's do
the D25 plug. You can do the 6 pin din
first if you want, but the D25 plug is
harder in my opinion, especially if
you mess up. So if you do mess the D25
up after you do the 6 pin, too bad. I
suggest you practice soldering first
before you work on the cable proper.
Use some spare wire and some extra
plugs.

The sticky tape and blu tak comes in
handy when you try to keep the wire in
position and the plug in place while
you hold the solder in the socket, the
wire under the solder, and the
soldering iron. Unless you're an
octopus, you'll soon realize that
soldering isn't quite that easy and
that the plug won't stay still. The
wire keeps moving out of the plug's
soldering socket etc. BE PATIENT! Once
everything is in place, make the
solder.

Once it's been soldered and the solder
has dried and become hard, check to
make sure that the connection has been
soldered properly. This can be done by
pulling the wire fairly hard (but NOT
TOO HARD!), to see if the soldering
has worked well (If it hasn't the
solder will break off the socket, or
the wire will snap - effectively
forcing you to do a better job next
time!). Remember: allow the solder to
dry before testing the connection!
Also, check to make sure that the
solder hasn't connected any other
sockets next to the one you are
working on. Check to make sure that
the wires will not cross either. This
is very important.

The Ground connection on the D25 plug
is not difficult to do as the diagram
may suggest. Simply strip the wire you
intend to use for the ground
connection so that the exposed wire
can cover across all the ground
sockets on the back of the D25. After
this, it is simply a matter of
soldering the wire to all the sockets.
Easy. 

Should you want to, you can add the
Autodetect connection into the D25
plug on pins 2 and 15 (Yes, the 2 and
15 pins on the D25 are wired
together!). This is not necessary when
using the Star Commander, but if you
decide to use the X1541 cable with the
original X1541 transfer program, then
I suggest you make it. Heck, why not
do it, as you have your soldering iron
out at the moment. I made it on my
plug anyway. It makes it a true X1541
cable. 

Make sure you solder the right wire in
the right socket! Check your X1541
specifications. The D25 plug you have
may even have the correct numbers for
each individual pin on it. Remember
that the X1541 specifications show the
female plugs of the LPT port in the PC
and the serial port in the 1541. To
help you remember which pin is which,
place the plug with the solder sockets
facing up next to the diagram. Now it
should be easy to see which pins are
which. Some plugs you may buy may be
even so helpful as to have the numbers
of the pins next to them.

If you mess up, you can always
"unsolder" a connection by applying
the soldering iron to the connection,
and then pulling the wire out.

Same goes if you accidentally add more
solder than you should to a socket,
and it spills onto another socket
connecting them. This, however, leaves
the socket in a bit of a mess. Don't
let this worry you though. Keep
trying! In most cases, your mess-ups
are salvageable. If you mess up on the
D25 plug, saving your work can be
harder. Only just recently I soldered
two connections together accidentally.
When I tried to unsolder, the solder
got stuck all over the plastic part of
the plug. Getting the solder off then
was impossible, as I melted the
plastic part with my soldering iron
trying to get the solder off! It ended
up as a complete mess.

With any luck, you'll have managed to
solder all the connections correctly
on the D25 plug! Well Done! Now you
can get the D25 back cover and cover
the D25 plug with it. There's no
instructions that come with assembling
the back-cover, and there are lots of
different back cover models around for
the D25 plug. You may just have to
examine the back cover you have and
experiment a bit. The type that I have
also has a place inside the back cover
where a metallic gripper can be
screwed in place around the cable.
This can be implemented to reduce
pressure on the soldered connections
should the cable be pulled hard.

Step 3
Right! Now that you're feeling a bit
more confident about soldering, it
should be much easier to solder the 6
pin din to your cable. Firstly, you'll
notice that the 6 pin din plug you
have should have a plastic or rubber
casing around it. Pull this casing
off, and push it onto the X1541 cable
that we're building. Make sure you put
this on the right way so that when
you're finished soldering, it can be
pulled back over the plug! DON'T
FORGET to do this step or you may find
that you'll have to unsolder your
connections on the 6 pin din plug in
order to put the cover back on the
plug! (I admit to having done this!).
Be careful with the other parts of the
din plug as not to lose them. You'll
notice that there is the main plug
which carries the pins, and two metal
coverings that hook over the main
plug. One of the metal coverings has a
long claw-like hook. You'll notice
that the sockets for the din plug are
hollow so that you can place the wires
down the sockets before soldering.
Unfortunately, this doesn't make your
life too easy!

Now, shorten the wires coming from the
other end of the X1541 cable you're
building. Not too short, but so that
the metal backing with the long
claw-like cradle on it can wrap itself
around the shrink tubing on the cable.
Soldering the wires to the din pins is
not that easy. Try to get the solder
both in the sockets and outside the
sockets so that they cover the wire
and socket completely.

When you thrusted the wires down the
shrink tubing in the arrangement
according to the X1541 plans,
arranging the wires now SHOULD be
easier. It still may not be, but
persevere! Firstly, I suggest doing
the Reset plug because if you soldered
all the outer sockets first, you would
have a lot of trouble doing the inner
Reset socket. Once this is done,
complete soldering all the other
sockets with their correct wire. Yet
again, be careful which socket they
are going into.

The din plug I bought even had small
numbers of the corresponding pins on
the main plug. As with the D25 plug,
check all the wires to make sure they
are soldered correctly and do not
cross over. Also make sure they they
are in close (But not touching) and
away from the metal covering when you
place that back over the main plug
once you have finished soldering. Blu
Tack or something sticky comes in
handy in keeping the main din plug
still while you solder. It tends to
roll around a bit on the table.

Once this has all been done, replace
the metal coverings on the main plug
and try to wrap the metal claw-like
hook on the metal covering around the
cable. Once you are sure everything is
correct, slide the din plug plastic
cover down the cable and back over the
din plug. 

The shrink tubing around the cable can
be shrunk (as its name suggests) to
fit snugly around the wires in the
cable. Do this on a heat source, NOT a
naked flame. You want to shrink the
cable, not burn it. You can use a hot
light globe, electric heater, or a jug
or bowl of hot water. There are
specialist heat-shrink tools to do
this professionally, but since they
are so expensive you're better off not
using them for just one cable! Using a
bowl of hot water is probably the
easiest and best method, as it gives
an even finish to the cable. Just make
sure that the shrink tubing has no
punctures, and you don't accidently
drop the ends of the cable into the
hot water! The reasons for this are
quite obvious I think, as you will be
plugging this cable into your PC!
Boiling water may bubble as you place
the cable in, but don't worry as this
is because you are deplacing air
pockets in the water that are
escaping, as steam!

And that's it! You've made a X1541
cable! Well done! 

So that's it? But I'm still stuck!
Still having trouble making the cable?
The parts you bought don't match the
description that I gave? Can't solder
the connections? In this case, send me
an email and tell me what your problem
is, I may be able to help you out.If
you have no time to build one or can't
be bothered building one, you may like
to email Joe Forster at the Star
Commander homepage, and he'll give you
some details for ordering a cable. I
used to have time to build these
things not so long ago, but due to how
busy I am with life in general, not to
mention the CD, and the fact that I'm
having trouble locating the diodes
where I live now (not in a city!) I've
had to give it up! 

Remember to check all the connections
you made on your X1541 cable. If you
are sure that they are correct, yet
the cable doesn't work on a transfer
program, then you'll have to contact
the author(s) of that program to find
out what the problem is.

Who knows? you may have enjoyed
building the cable and would like to
put your soldering iron to other uses!
It could become a new hobby! 

Disclaimer
My instructions for building a X1541
cable is simply advice from me to you,
whether you accept it or not is your
choice. I have built several X1541
cables before using this method. I
will not be held responsible if you
damage your PC by building a bad
cable, or doing something stupid like
permanently soldering electronic parts
to your PC printer port (which is not
what I'm endorsing) because you
misunderstood me. If that happens,
it's YOUR fault!

I doubt very much that disaster will
befall you though. One of my cables
had a loose reset cable once and all
that did was cause Star Commander to
experience trouble transferring things
as the reset wire bounced around
connecting other wires. Still, you
won't have any trouble at all if you
loosely follow my advice and take care
in your work! 

GOOD LUCK!

Star Commander homepage
http://sta.c64.org/sc.html

Article reprinted from
http://www.geocities.com/cdsixfour/
 index.htm

with the writers permission

Commodore Free would like to thank Rio
Baan for the article reprint

======================================


Commodore Night 2007
Max from MCC

Before telling you how we spent a nice
evening last November, let me tell you
a little bit more about my little C=
history... 

The origins 

My parents bought me a C64+1541 drive
in 1984, after a year of ZX81
exploration. What a difference it was!
A couple of friends also had this
terrific machine, Christophe DW in my
neighborhood, and Hugues DJ , the son
of one of my father's colleague. The
exchanges of ideas, softwares and
tricks were intense! As were the
deprived sleep nights we passed, trying
to break some machine code, just for
the fun.

Commodore Night roots
Many years and a few PC later, I
discovered in 2004-2005 several
well-known emulators (CCS64, VICE)
running on PC and also on my brand new
iMac G5 (Power 64). I was astonished to
see that all the games we loved and
played for hours were available on new
machines, with high quality graphics
and sound. I then gathered a couple of
old friend, and the Commodore Night
2006 was born. It was thus an event
centered on emulation more than playing
with original machines, even though I
brought my old C64 and an SX64 that a
colleague offered to me for that
occasion. The SID chip of the SX was
dead, and the C64'SID surrendered after
the event.

Getting some oldies
For the 2007 edition, I thought it
would be nice to play on REAL machines.
The event had to be brilliant, as we
celebrated the C64 25th anniversary!
But my C64 and the SX were not enough.
I then traveled on eBay to get other
stuffs, and gathered a few 64's
(classic and C64C versions), a DTV64, a
C128 and an Amiga 500, plus an old Mac
SE30 (for my friend Torx who is a real
Mac-o-phile). And I don't talk about
all the joysticks, 1541 drives and
monitors sold with the machines.I also
got some original games.

The party
On November 24th, my old friend Hugues
DJ (Bug from MCC) came to set all this
mess up with me.

With our  nice t-shirts, we felt like
if we were 18 again... My lovely wife
cooked delicious lasagnas. A dozen of
old friends came to join us in the
evening to make all theses beasts live
again. What a pleasure. With some
Belgian beers,  nice videos and some
notes of Visa Rster.... If you look
well on  YouTube, you may find some of
our dedicated production. All the
attendees could compete in Summer
Games, Zorro or Pitstop 2. We didn't
loose our reflexes of the eighties,
with a Quickshot II or an old Atari
stick. Who said microcomputers did not
conditionate people?

Maybe another edition in 2008?

More informations on:

http://homepage.mac.com/
 endocrine.solutions/mcc64/
  index.html

Greetings to all C64 lovers,

Max from MCC
1984-1989 Commodore C64 user & fan
Retrocomputing adept 2004-?

http://c64mcc.blogspot.com/

======================================

CMD and Maurice Randel where did it all
go wrong?


It seems that users are venting out
there frustrations about Maurice in
various Commodore related chat rooms, I
have read everything from users trying
to take him to court or reporting him
the the authorities all the way up to
arranging a mob to go round and beat
the guy up complete with baseball bats. 

For myself and I would imagine anyone
who has purchased equipment from
Maurice its a very frustrating
situation to be in. I ordered a SCPU
over 3 years ago and am still waiting;
I had little in the way of an email to
apologise and my asking for a refund or
even asking Maurice to explain in the
magazine has come to nothing I can't
see the point of phoning long distance
as others have tried and just had
verbal abuse from Maurice.

I personally feel Maurice is now over
his head with too many orders and will
never find the time to complete any of
these ever!, software or hardware I
think he is so behind he has just given
up. I remember reading that  Mauruce
lost his father recently to cancer and
I am truly sorry if this is true, but
why not just be upfront and apologise
and explain what has happened instead
of letting people think the worse.
Personally I tried going down the
Paypal route to claim but it would
appear that to much time has passed so
its now looking like I have lost my
money sending screaming emails to
paypal didnt exactly help me.

Getting upset and sending threats isn't
going to help me and while I am not
happy to loose money what can I do?
Keep complaining and sending nasty
emails and moaning in chat rooms? I
think we need to move on, if someone
can claim back the money somehow maybe
if we all hire a solicitor (more cost)
and have a mass court case we may get
something back. Otherwise I think we
need to look at the future and remove
CMD from Maurice, who may continue to
support Geos and Wheels with updates or
just turn his back on many loyal
customers.

I think the rights to produce the CMD
hardware should be removed from Maurice
as soon as possible and given to
someone who can better utilise them,
while I realise there is little
monetary gain in CMD products and the
development of new products is more a
labour of love then a full time job, I
think many users would be interested in
the rights to produce devices.

I would really like to see the
following for the continuation of CMD
products:

 The current devices
  * CMD Hard disk
  * CMD Supercpu
  * CMD Floppy drive
  * CMD Ramlink

Of course we need software to go with
these products and Maurice owns the
rights to Geos and wheels, yes GEOS is
free but you can only use the free
version with PD public domain software
not the commercial software we all want
to utilise, I dont mind paying for
software, I am not saying it should all
be free.The CMD hardware should
continue as is to ensure full
compatibility with existing products
Wheels/GEOS etc. this would be the
quickest option for the products and
may even see hardware back on line from
companies like Protovisions and I would
like to see a new line of products to
be created from scratch like a combined
Accelerator and hard disk using Solid
state medium, like the IDE 64 but a
Commercial sealed unit with slots for
adding Solid media and interfaces for
external disks maybe using USB/ fire
wire, and a slot inside to add an
accelerator add-on, various options are
available but I think the designs need
pooling together to form one device,
although floppy disks have now been
dropped from the PC world many people
still use them for 8 and 16 bit
systems, maybe this could all be
combined into one device.

Costs are always difficult to work out
how much would some one pay for a
device, If the CMD original products
could be mass produced rather than
produced by hand using plastic casing
or moulded metal cases then costs could
be reduced, although the SCPU and
RAMLINK use very hard to find memory
modules and this should be addressed,
of course fully compatible with
existing hardware.

Maybe if enough people wanted such
devices we could generate a market in
the hope someone would take up the CMD
redesign.  As I have said no one is
going to get rich selling products to
Commodore users, well except maybe
Maurice who owes money to people and
hasn't paid back or produced the goods.
Its a shame that all this has happened,
as Maurice asked for donations to buy
the rights to produce CMD products in
the first place.

Maurice has been offered help on many
occasions but would rather work alone
to produce devices, with SCPU
accelerators selling for mega money on
eBay does this show demand for
products? Maybe I could print a list of
CMD products and the number of people
wanting them in the Magazine? Also the
amount you think the products should
cost, to give the designers an idea
whether it would be worth spending time
to do the projects.

Well thats what I think, and while I am
still a little upset about my loss I
know others who have lost a lot more
poor Alan from Commodore scene took
money for the import service and sent
it to Maurice after years of promises
the goods never arrived and Alan is now
having to refund from his own pocket.
Maurice if you are reading this please
feel guilty, you have caused a lot of
stress to people. I don't want to be
badmouthing as I have said, there must
be a reason and from what people say
Maurice is a good guy, lets hope
something can be resolved but quickly,
whoever Maurice licences CMD products
and IP from please take it back

Comments welcome
Commodore Free

======================================

Pophet 64 Discontinued

I looked at the Prophet 64 website
www.prophet64.com & was shocked to see
that the product is discontinued!
Then after my initial disbelief I read
about the MSSIAH MIDI SID software
Integrated Applications & hardware.
This is everything the Prophet was &
then some, because it features an
integrated midi interface. If you are
like me & can't solder two wires
together never mind small electrical
components then you will have been
looking for something just like this.

Although an interface was designed for
the Prophet, it wasnt sold as a
commercial device instead you had to
manufacture the device yourself. Now us
none solderers can live in joy with the
MSSIAH as its from what I read
basically a Prophet 64 interface with
combined MIDI ports.

I have included the FAQ from the web-
site, as this is the only information I
can find about the device at present,
of course when the device is released &
I have purchased one I will give you a
full write up.

Mssiah QQA
(Quick Questions & Answers)

-What is the Mssiah?

The Mssiah is a hardware cartridge for
the C64. Plug it in & you'll have five
different applications that turn your
C64 into a MIDI synthesizer. Check out
the Prophet64 - Mssiah's predecessor,
for more details.

Mssiah is short for MIDI SID Software
Integrated Applications & Hardware
pointing out that the MIDI interface is
built into the cartridge.

-What differs the Mssiah & the
Prophet64 Cartridge?

The programs are practically the same
with some upgrades & improvements. The
biggest difference is the ability to
run full MIDI mode in every application

-What differs running the Mssiah in
full MIDI & hooking up a Prophet64 to
the infamous "Firestarter MIDI
Interface"?

The "Keyboard" interface on the
Prophet64 receives simple note data &
slide/accent triggers. Mssiah receives
full MIDI data like notes, velocity,
control changes, pitch bends etc. on up
to six tracks simultaneously. Several
modes of operation are provided.

-Is the Mssiah compatible with the
Prophet64?

Yes, Mssiah loads Prophet64 files.

-Is SDR still supported?

Yes.

-Is SID2SID still supported?

Yes.

-Is Sync24 still supported?

External synchronization uses MIDI
clock, just plug in your midi cable &
swing away your fav. sequencer
software/machine.Every app except the
Sequencer still has DIN sync option in
case you want to hook it up directly to
your old gear.

-Are potentiometers still supported?
Yes.

-Is the Mssiah compatible with my Datel
MIDI interface?

No, & there's no need for that. Mssiah
has its own MIDI interface built into
the cartridge.

-Can I use Mssiah's MIDI interface with
other music applications?

No

-Is the Mssiah compatible with the
Firestarter MIDI Interface?

Yes, for synchronization & SDR only
since we've taken away the "keyboard"
mode.

-Is there a MIDI out?

No

-Do you have any screen shots/pictures
of the new Mssiah?

Not at this point, they will be posted later.

-Is there a "tracker" with the new
 Mssiah?

No

-How do you pronounce Mss muss mussyay?

Just like "Messiah". We dropped the 'e'
because it didn't really fit the
acronym..

-Cartridge? Well, that was err "Hoss",
"Ben", "Little Joe" & "Adam", right?

No. You're referring to the 60s show
"Bonanza" & those were the Cartwrights.

Cartridge is the computer industry term
used for a plastic case with various
electronics inside. The unit plugs into
a host system instantly loading
whatever is on the cartridge.

======================================

HardSID 4U  "a HardSID... for you!"
http://www.hardsid.com

The HardSID 4U is the most powerful SID
synthesizer since the legendary C64!
USB connection (compatible with both
2.0 & 1.1)

Isochronous USB endpoint for low-
latency audio VSTi interface with
8000Hz update rate on all SID registers
(free) Wave-in VSTi pin for routing
8000Hz signals to any registers
(example: playing other VSTi's sound on
the volume register) Full automation of
all VSTi parameters Superior sound
quality (..it is a HardSID!)

Support for up to 4 SID chips
(6581/8580/6582 in any combination)
Updateable firmware over USB
Microsoft Vista compatible (drivers for
Win2000/XP/Vista)

And if you're a C64 fan Cycle-accurate
playback of your favorite SID tunes
Digitized sound + high-speed playback
with low CPU utilization Seamless
playback of .sid tunes while you work
on your PC by providing a huge playback
buffer for non-VSTi applications

The HardSID 4U Studio Edition
Full physical separation of SIDs from
the USB driven circuits 100%
elimination of EMI (Electromagnetic
interference) noise that may come from
your PC via USB

Many PC parts (sometimes the USB
controller itself) generate (EMI) which
travels through the USB cable into your
USB Audio device (HardSID 4U in this
case). Even if you use a cable with
built-in EMI suppression some of the
noise may work its way through to your
audio device.

So, if any part in your PC isn't
properly EMI shielded, the noise may be
audible when low level audio is played.
EMI noise cannot be perfectly removed
by any suppression method except by
expensive physical separation of
circuits connected to the PC from the
audio circuits. Suppressed EMI noise is
still perfectly acceptable for hobby
usage, but if you're planning to record
your work/art in studio quality, you
should consider going for the HardSID
4U Studio Edition, since it physically
separates your audio circuits from the
ones connected to your PC.

Connectors: 4 mono dry outputs for best
sound quality (2x stereo jacks) Mixed
output for the easiest usage (1x stereo
jack - mono signal)

4 mono inputs for filtering external
sources with SID filters (2x stereo
jacks)

USB connector for connecting to a desk-
top PC or a Notebook DC-in connector
for connecting the power supply
(1A`12VDC)

Forget the emulation... you need the
REAL ONE!

Save a lot of money by pre-ordering!
Are you a HardSID owner? We appreciate
your loyality! See the details below!

Pricing

HardSID 4U without SID
Original price: 299 EUR
Pre-order price: 249 EUR (save 50 EUR)
Pre-order price for returning
customers: 199 EUR (save 100 EUR)

* Send us the serial number of your
HardSID (PCI or ISA/single-SID or
Quattro) card!


HardSID 4U Studio Edition without SID
The HardSID 4U Studio Edition
Full physical separation of the SIDs
from the USB driven circuits
100% eliminatioof EMI that may come
from your PC via USB

Connectors: Same as HardSid 4U

Original price: 399 EUR
Pre-order price: 349 EUR (save 50 EUR)
Pre-order price for returning
 customers: 299 EUR (save 100 EUR)
* Send us the serial number of your
HardSID (PCI or ISA/single-SID or
Quattro) card!

Power Supply
220V/50Hz -> 1A`12VDC: 15 EUR
USB Cable 10 EUR

Shipping
via standard air-mail: 15 EUR
note: We're accepting pre-orders &
offering these heavily reduced prices
only for orders without SIDs.

Payment
The payment method for the pre-orders
is bank/wire transfer.
Once you've sent us your ordering email
we'll reply with the payment details
(we reply personally, you won't get
annoying automated emails) & then you
can transfer the price using a bank
account.

Ordering
Send us an email to sales`hardsid.com
with 1 of the following subject lines:

Pre-Ordering HardSID 4U without SID
Pre-Ordering HardSID 4U Studio Edition
 without SID

Select the accessories you need & write
 those into your ordering email:

USB Cable
Power Supply (220V/50Hz -> 1A`12VDC)
If a 220V/50Hz power supply is not
useable where you live, you'll have to
buy a power supply yourself. It has to
be able to provide 1A at 12VDC.
Polarity: the inner-pin ispositive:
 + --o)-- -

If you're a returning customer, don't
forget to tell us your card's serial #.

We'll reply with the payment details
very soon!

Shipping
Once you've sent us the price, it'll
arrive here in about a week. We'll send
you an email telling you about the
arrival of you money. At this point
you'll be registered into our shipping
queue.

Please note: We're sending the packages
in the order of payment. So, the sooner
you transfer, the sooner you get your
HardSID.

Status: The first HardSID 4U stock is
under manufacturing currently. We'll be
able to ship the first package in the
queue around the middle of April 2008.
We'll send you an email when we've
actually sent your package.

VSTI Interface
The VSTi interface for your HardSID 4U
8000Hz update rate on all SID
registers. This is not a dumb MIDI
control interface!
Wave-in VSTi pin for routing 8000Hz
signals to any SID registers. Example:
playing another VSTi's sound on the
volume register (drum sampler, guitar
synth, anything...)! No other SID synth
can do this!
Full automation of all VSTi parameters
 in your VST host
Advanced modulation for each oscillator
 (3x for each SID):
8x8 Modulation Matrix with selectable
 sources, targets & amount (-100% to
  100%)
8 Modulation Source Combiners for
 advanced modulation
4 LFOs
4 Envelopes
Table editor for value sequencing at up
 to 8000Hz speed
Selectable filter curve for driving the
 famous analog SID filters
 (logarithmic/linear for the 8580/6581)
Up to four VSTi instances can run
 simultaneously (one for each SID)

======================================

Interview with Tli Sndo - HardSID 4U
www.hardsid.com

Q. Please introduce yourself to our
readers

A. We're two Middle Eastern - European
guys with ordinary daytime jobs. We
love the SID/C64 & we're spending some
of our spare time to create SID devices

Q. Can you give our reader a little
history about yourselves?

A. We always loved SID music, since our
childhood. Things then changed: PCs &
monitors displaced C64s & big TV sets.
There were only emulators & emulators..
We seriously missed the SID sound, but
had no plenty of space to assemble an
original config day to day, then put it
back into the cabinet. So, we wanted to
create an ISA card that work inside the
PC & uses a real SID. We spent lots of
time achieving this. ..then the ISA bus
was displaced by the PCI bus & we had
to move on. Now that Notebook sales are
reported to be higher than desktop PC
sales  over the world, we had to
release an external device.

Q. for the benefit of the uninitiated
"What is a HARDSID"?

A. HardSID 4U is a USB device for PCs
that hosts real SID chips. It has 2
main purposes:

1. Using it as a serious VSTi
  synthesizer to produce music in
  professional studios.

2. Playing the original SID tunes & C64
  games  with the original sound.

All with the original 25yrs old SIDs
with their analog filters. There are
two meanings of '4U' is: 1. Sounds like
'for you!' 2. Two chars representing: 4
SIDs on USB

Q. Can you describe the history of the
project, where did it all start?

Well, this is a duplicate question, I
think ;)

Q. So are the original Hardsid cards
available?

A. We have some ISA/PCI cards to keep
for the future, but we don't build
ISA/PCI cards now.

Q. The original cards were PCI & ISA
these were for IBM PC systems only?

A. Yes. Once we created Mac OS X
drivers too for listening to old SID
music & playing C64 games, but very few
people were interested in the end. So,
we stuck at the PC since then.

Q. SO why release the HardsidU?

A. The HardSID 4U can be connected to
notebooks too which are the most
popular computers today. ..the HardSID
4U has a seriously improved hardware.
It  has two CPUs & main memory, so it
can act as a VST synth or a  cycle-
accurate classic SID music player. This
all wasn't possible at such good
quality With former SID hardware.

Q. The whole thing is an external sound
module with Real SID chips inside?

A. Exactly.

Q. How many SID chips & what kind can
be incorporated in the device?

A. 4 SIDs. Any version (6581,8580,6582)
in any combination.

Q. You include a VST front end can you
explain this part of the package?

A. It's like any other VSTi synth,
except it drives semi-analog hardware
instead of calculating wave data for
the VST host. It can be driven by any
ASIO driver inside a VST host
application. It renders SID register
data for the hardware at 8000Hz data
rate (on any register). So it can even
render samples to the volume register
or things like that. It can run in up
to 4 instances. Each instance drives
one SID.

Q. So why not just create a VST
instrument modelled on the SID chip
whats the difference?

A. Why would you want to drive a real
car when you have a simulator? It's not
the same..

Q. Will the module be populated with
SID chips?

A. Yes, after April 2008. Until then we
offer very special prices by pre-
ordering without SID chips.

Q. Some readers are going to ask "with
the shortage of SID chips why didnt you
just produce some more"?

A. Because we're just two guys like
anyone else ..& people say that the
original method of producing those
original SIDs in the old time does not
exist now ...& re-designed, differently
manufactured SIDs will be not the same
either. Only if some company would dig
the old manufacturing methods out from
somewhere, that would be the real
solution.

Q. Do you think there ever will come a
time when someone looks at the SID &
realises its potential redesigns the
chip & produces a modern day version in
a buy off the shelf keyboard?

A. I don't think so. Mainly because of
the very low number of available SIDs
..like I said, re-manufactured super
-SIDs will just be another emulation..

Q. You do all these projects in your
spare time?

A. Yes. We both have ordinary daytime
jobs, like anyone else you know. ..&
the most important thing: families.
Yesterday morning, when I checked our
website's MP3s (I've uploaded that
night) in our living-room on decent
size JBL speakers, my 2 year old son
just said: "It's too loud!" So, I'll
have to train him seriously to start
enjoying SID music ;)

Q. Did many Commercial musicians us the
Hard SIDs?

A. I've got the impression that a lot
more successful musicians are using
HardSIDs than we can know of.. Most of
them will never confess officially.

Q. Can you plug your website & give our
readers a price for your new product?

Please check www.hardsid.com
Also, check the pricing at:
http://www.hardsid.com/order.php

Q. Did you have many problems with the
design?

A. Of course. This kind of development
isn't described anywhere. You have to
go the whole way yourself. ..which is
looooong..

Q. Why create a USB interfaced box what
was wrong with PCI cards?

A. Like I said, notebook connectivity,
improved hardware. Serious VSTi &
cycle-accurate playback capabilities.
This all was missing before.

Q. Does the package software & hardware
run on any other computer systems?
Linux, Apple Mac, Amiga & if not do you
have plans to include these?

A. It is compatible with Windows OSs.
Were not planning to move to other OSs
currently. Maybe we will (Linux
maybe?), but not in the near future.

Q. I posed the question in one issue of
Commodore FREE Will sid chart, do you
think a tune produced entirely on a C64
with minimal external processing could
ever make the charts?

A. If I had to answer to this question
some years before, I would say it is
insane....now I'm not sure that I won't
happen.

Q. How many people are involved with
the project?

A. Only 2: My childhood friend makes
the hardware, I'm doing everything else
(firmware, drivers, VST plugin,
website, etc...). Of course we work
seriously in touch, since he has to
design everything depending on my needs
& I have to code things depending on
his actual solutions.

Regards,
Tli Sndor, Hard Software

======================================

Interview with PRESS PLAY ON TAPE
ROC=K On !

PPOT (left to right): Jesper Holm
Olsen, Sren Trautner Madsen, Theo
Engell-Nielsen, Martin Koch, Andr
Tischer Poulsen, & Uffe Friis
Lichtenberg.. Photo: Ditte Valente

Q - Please introduce yourselves to our
reader

A. Hi, we are PRESS PLAY ON TAPE - the
C64 revival band. We mainly play tunes
from the games for the old home
computer C64.

Q- The Band plays C64 "SID" tunes on
real instruments

A. Yes, we do. We have always heard the
tunes as music played on regular
instruments & not as techno music. We
really think some of these  tunes come
alive when real drums & bass are added.
Mostly we play rock versions of the
tunes.

Q- What instruments are used & who
plays them

A. 2 keyboard players: Theo Engell-
Nielsen & Andr Tischer Poulsen.
2 guitar players: Jesper Holm Olsen &
Martin Koch. Drummer: Sren Trautner
Madsen, & Bass player: Uffe Friis
Lichtenberg.

Q - Does the band play any other music?

A. Yes, we do play a couple of game
tunes from the Amiga, & a few from
other game consoles, like the Sony
Playstation. On top of that we do, from
time to time, play a tune for a special
occasion. When we formed the band we
were very careful about only being a
100% pure C64-band, but nowadays we
tend to just play whatever we feel
would be fun to do.

Q - Where have you performed

A. We have performed quite a number of
concerts in Copenhagen, Denmark, where
we live. We have also played 4 concerts
in England, 2 in Norway & once in
Germany.

Q - Some people may say why bother what
is the point?

A. It's a trip down memory lane going
to our concerts so if you're not
sentimental about tunes from computer
games, it's not for you. For those who
like that, we have received a lot of
positive feedback, & for a few we have
changed their lives---just a little
bit, we hope. For us it's about having
fun, no more. We have a lot of fun
whenever we meet to practice, & even
more so when we're live on stage. If
others find it enjoyable, then it's
great!

Q - Do you have groupies & a website
with merchandise?

A. We have a group of regulars to our
concerts, which we think is nice.
Wouldn't call them groupies but we have
some fun memories & odd situations
that again & again bring a smile on our
faces.

We have had some merchandise---mostly
t-shirts---on our homepage but most of
it is sold out at the moment. Maybe it
is time to do something about that.

Q - Are there girls watch you perform
or is the audience predominantly guys?

A. Oh, yes. In the beginning girls were
not that frequent but as the time has
gone by we see more girls among the
audience. That said, the audience is
Mostly guys. More than once we have
heard the story about a guy in the
audience bringing his girlfriend & have
her complaining about "what a Geeky
band -- I don't bother seeing this",
but afterwards she comes over & start
talking about how she all of a sudden
remembers that her little brother used
to play on the C64 & she actually knew
half the tunes :)

Q - Where are you from & where will you
be playing in 2008

A. We all met at the University of
Copenhagen at the Dept of Computer
Science. Some of us played in another
band that broke up & then we formed
PRESS PLAY ON TAPE. We were all members
of the demo group hybris/NEMESIS as
well. At first it was meant as a joke
but then somebody heard & we actually
got asked to play before we knew any
tunes for real---suddenly it was
serious business :)

We will be playing at The Rock in
Copenhagen, April 19th. No more gigs
are planned right now.

Q - Are you available for hire?
Weddings/funerals etc?

A. We are. We don't play weddings
(other than band member's or funerals
or regular parties as we are not a
party band. We play at themed events.

Q - I have seen you live on 2 occasions
both Back in time events, I was very
surprised about the quality & profes-
sionalism of the band how much time
does the band spend practising

A. Thanks. Happy to hear that. We spend
one evening each week on a regular
basis. When we have important gigs or
are preparing an album we might meet
more frequently. That being said we are
by no means pro musicians, but the
niche we have found here makes it
possible for us to keep in touch as
friends, have a lot of fun while doing
it, & getting to play at the weirdest
places where an "ordinary" cover-band
would never play. We are still amazed
sometimes at the events we actually do
get to play. Like in 2005 where we were
asked to do a support gig for a big
Danish group called Mew whose main
audience was teenage girls born AFTER
the C64 went out of style. Only one
thing to do: Overplay it & just dress
up as ber geeks (bicycle helmets, short
pants, white socks, etc) & just act out
in front of the 3000 people crowd.
Surprisingly they actually enjoyed it!

Q - There was also a DVD of one of the
events would you comment about this &
seeing yourself on TV?

A. The DVD came about when we played in
London in 2004 at a Back in Time event.
Chris Abbott, the manager of the event,
had it recorded on 5 video Cameras & on
a digital sound mixer. We got those,
edited the concert ourselves & sent it
back to Chris on a hard disk. So to
tell the truth, we had watched our-
selves quite a lot before getting the
actual DVDs :)

Q - Have you appeared on local or
international TV

A. We have had our share of minutes of
fame, yes. We have appeared on national
TV & on a German channel as well. CNN
mentioned us a few months back on their
web site, too.

Q - Have you appeared in other DVDs

A. Not that we know of, no. There is a
german guy & his friends spending a lot
of their free time doing a documentary
on the C64 who interviewed us for that
project, so we should appear on that :)
see http://www.entsorger-film.de/

Q - How seriously do you take your-
selves?

A. We are very serious. We never joke
about anything. Ever. And if you
believe  that...! No, we are not at all
serious about ourselves. We're serious
about having fun! We try to be very
serious about being on stage, though.

Q - How has fame changed you?

A. Almost not at all. In the beginning
we were very nervous when playing live
but that have changed quite a lot.
Also, in the beginning, we were
impressed by all "the little things".
That has faded away. We certainly feel
much more at ease before a gig than we
used to.

Q - How do you obtain the music, is it
all reproduced by ear or do you use
something like SID2MIDI

A. We use all the tricks that are in
the book (and some that aren't).
Nothing is sacred.

Q - "Press Play On Tape" OK what
prompted the band to use this as a
name?

A. It is somewhat short. It is catchy.
It spells retro. Those who have ever
spent time playing on a C64 knows
exactly what it means. It tells a
story.

Q - How can our listener hear this
music, do you sell commercially
available CDs

A. You can download some of our tunes,
you can buy our CD's, you can watch
videos on You Tube?. Go to our homepage
& there are many ways.

Q - What introduced you to Commodore?

A. Many things. For all of us it was an
interest in computers when we were
(very) young. Not all of us had a C64
but those who did got it because it was
one of the two big home computers of
the time: C64 & ZX Spectrum. Chance...
Or fate, perhaps? We really got into
the music back then too. Sometimes we
would go out & buy a game just because
a particular compose made the music.
Some of us recorded the music on
cassette tapes & listened to it on our
Walkman!

Q - Honestly how many of the band own
C64s
A. 4 of us.

Q - Do you still use C= machines & if
so what do you use them for?

A. They are still working, as are our
Amigas. On rare occasions we turn them
on & play a game or two. But not more
than that.

Q - Do you use real C= machines on
stage?

A. No. We dare not. We use a Windows
based PC for playing some of our sample
sounds. Even that we consider being
risky. We've converted a broken C64 to
a USB PC keyboard that we've used on
some occasions.

Q - Have you any comments about the
Prophet cartridge have you seen or used
on of these devices?

A. Unfortunately not. We haven't had
the chance yet.

Q - Time to plug the website & your
merchandise, can you tell our reader
what is available from the site?

A. Go to
http://www.PRESSPLAYONTAPE.com

and get a lot of info about the band,
our concerts, our CD's, listen to
music, see videos, or even download
them. Subscribe to our mailing list &
get news about upcoming events, new
releases etc. It is not a high-volume
mailing list so don't be afraid :)

Q - Have you any final comments you
would like to tell our reader?

A. Hope to see you at one of our
concerts! If you plan to go to
Copenhagen, Denmark & see us, be sure
to book tickets as we have only
experienced playing for a full house.
ROC=K ON!

THE END
========