Commodore 64 Cartridge competition
For all you C= fans out there, this should be interesting stuff.
But Commodore Community Consortium members should jump on it as this is exactly the kind of thing that the CCC exists to promote. The collaborative development of new hardware and software, and the solving of technical issues with old hardware, including expansions and upgrades.
http://www.rgcd.co.uk/2016/04/rgcd-c64-cartridge-development.html
One question, how often or rare is it to have a bad C64 cartridge?
ReplyDeleteStreamlined Steamroller
ReplyDeleteIt's more common these days due to the age of most original C= 64 carts.
First thing to check is that other carts work on that same C= 64. The computer itself may be the problem, especially if your PLA is getting flaky. Or your cartridge port could be going bad or dirty. Or you could have some bad capacitors on the motherboard.
If other cartridges work, take the cartridge in question apart and see if there are any obvious issues (leaking capacitors, dislodged chips, broken solder joints, dirty contacts, etc.
Christopher Gaul Ah, ok. So what would be a better bet: diskette or cartridge? I'm looking for a copy of dig dug for my SX64 but I'm not sure what format to get
ReplyDeleteStreamlined Steamroller
ReplyDeleteWell, the best bet would be to add an aftermarket drive emulator and load the image from that.
I can't advise about a specific game or application that I haven't got myself, but if your game is available in a standard floppy image and doesn't require exact 1541 emulation, then your best bet is an SD2IEC based device. It's also the cheapest.
For the ultimate in modern Commodore 64 Storage, your best bet is the appropriately named "1541 Ultimate" which not only perfectly emulates the 1541, allowing the use of protected floppy images, but it also emulates cartridges and can load most any ROM image as well. It also offers other advanced features like SID player capability, Second SID emulation, Ethernet network transfers, etc. The only disadvantages of the 1541 Ultimate is it's price, and the time it can take to get one. That said, both are fair considering the quality of the device and the fact that it's made by a one man show.
There are of course other options, which I'm sure someone will mention, but these are probably the first two most people consider when wanting to take their Commodore 64 beyond the old floppies and carts stage.