Wyluli Wolf Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 So now that I have a Commodore I'm thinking about getting one of the uIEC/SD devices by Jim Brain. I've been hunting over the internet and I'm not seeing a lot of documentation for this device. It looks like you would need to mount it inside the Commodore 64 or put it in some kind of case? I don't really like the idea of modifying the commodore case itself. It seems a shame to make permanent changes to an original that can't be undone. I see the deluxe daughter card comes with a connector that looks like you could plug it directly into the cassette slot. Is that the case? It would be nice to have the circuit board in some kind of case to protect it. It would be great if you could mount it in a cartridge like the multi cart for the 5200... Maybe something like this would be the way to go: http://jbrain.com/vicug/gallery/uIEC/bg4 and then mount the PCB inside of something? Could I just get an IEC cable and cut it in half to use? Would the IEC pigtail cable work instead? If I went this route I guess I would not need the daughter card? Just the cable and edge connector? Not sure how I would power the unit though. Would there be any other reason to get the daughter board? So for those of you that have this device, please share your setups and idea's! I was also considering JiffyDos. Looks like this also involves taking apart the case and possibly soldering. Do you recommend getting JiffyDos along with the uIEC device? I did run across the Wiki which has some useful information: http://www.c64-wiki.com/index.php/uIEC Sorry to bombard with questions! Just trying to work this out in my head before I start buying stuff. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyluli Wolf Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 So now that I have a Commodore I'm thinking about getting one of the uIEC/SD devices by Jim Brain. I've been hunting over the internet and I'm not seeing a lot of documentation for this device. It looks like you would need to mount it inside the Commodore 64 or put it in some kind of case? I don't really like the idea of modifying the commodore case itself. It seems a shame to make permanent changes to an original that can't be undone. I see the deluxe daughter card comes with a connector that looks like you could plug it directly into the cassette slot. Is that the case? It would be nice to have the circuit board in some kind of case to protect it. It would be great if you could mount it in a cartridge like the multi cart for the 5200... Maybe something like this would be the way to go: http://jbrain.com/vicug/gallery/uIEC/bg4 and then mount the PCB inside of something? Could I just get an IEC cable and cut it in half to use? Would the IEC pigtail cable work instead? If I went this route I guess I would not need the daughter card? Just the cable and edge connector? Not sure how I would power the unit though. Would there be any other reason to get the daughter board? So for those of you that have this device, please share your setups and idea's! I was also considering JiffyDos. Looks like this also involves taking apart the case and possibly soldering. Do you recommend getting JiffyDos along with the uIEC device? I did run across the Wiki which has some useful information: http://www.c64-wiki.com/index.php/uIEC Sorry to bombard with questions! Just trying to work this out in my head before I start buying stuff. Thanks! After looking it over more I'm thinking this is what I would need: PCB Edge connector uIEC edge connector uIEC disk drive cable uIEC SD PCB without the daughter card I'm thinking that should get me up and running with power. I'd then have to figure out where to get the firmware that needs loaded on the micro SD card? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesD Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 There are several devices based on the general software/hardware design that come with a case.These are just a few that are on ebay. There's another one that looks really nice and plugs onto the back of the computer but I didn't find it.I have the last one with the LCD display.http://www.ebay.com/itm/Grey-SD2IEC-Commodore-1541-Floppy-Disk-Drive-Emulation-Vic20-C128-C64-SD-Card-/330917398095?pt=UK_VintageComputing_RL&hash=item4d0c36c64fhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/C64-SD-card-SD2IEC-SDrive-1564-card-interface-Commodore-1541-emulator-/111292688225?pt=US_Vintage_Computing_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19e98fa761http://www.ebay.com/itm/C64-SD-card-SD2IEC-SDrive-1564-LCD-SD-card-interface-Commodore-1541-emulator-/121292450993?pt=US_Vintage_Computing_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c3d97ecb1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 FWIW, I've had an early uIEC/SD loose for about half a decade now. I find it quite durable. The cable wires came loose, and when I resoldered them back I used bits of patch wires to get sturdy solder joints. Unless you are deliberately rough with your items, the device would work just fine without a case, but of course it looks prettier and you can actually be a little rough when moving it around if it is cased. For installing JiffyDOS, you need to replace chips inside. Whether you need to do some soldering depends on your C64, if it was one of the deluxe batches with sockets, or if they were cutting costs that day and soldered the ROM chips directly to the board. I'm not kidding, the availability of sockets or not sockets sometimes seems to depend on which individual manufactured it, rather than motherboard revision or anything else that makes more sense. The cassette port is only used to power the device. You could obtain 5V from other ports too, like the userport or an external source. Some draw power from joystick ports, but I'm not sure if it is desirable. Actually the configuration you first found a picture of is the same as I've got, but it seems to have been retired. What you would get today is an uIEC/SD main board and possibly a 1x13 edge connector to solder onto. Then you need half an IEC cable like you suggested and some edge connector for the C64 side. If you splurge $10 extra, you get the daughter card with cassette connector, mini USB power and two IEC connectors, which I understand works in that way you plug in a regular, unmodified IEC cable between the uIEC/SD and the C64 and then have a through port for e.g. a floppy drive. Of course you can get any other sd2iec based device, like the ones JamesD posts about above. Functionally they'd the same, perhaps though the user base of uIEC/SD devices is higher as it is a known "brand" compared to a lot of one-off products based on generally available designs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 There's another one that looks really nice and plugs onto the back of the computer but I didn't find it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Commodore-64-64C-128-1541-Disk-Drive-Emulation-SD2IEC-SD-Card-Reader-/261395546945? Really beautiful version and my favorite SD2IEC device. Jiffy in the C64 is kind of a must have IMHO. These days you can actually load Jiffy from the Easyflash3 if you don't want to poke around inside your C64. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 In order to keep things original on my C64, I opted not to install Jiffy. My particular C64 has never been opened, so I'm trying to keep it that way for as long as possible I use the Epyx Fast Load cart, which supports DOS wedge commands and I can firsthand attest that it is fully compatible with SD2IEC...and it is really really fast It is an easy solution that does not involve opening the C64 to install Jiffy and installing a switch (if you opt for that). I may still do JiffyDOS down the road if I find I need to get in to my mint C64, but I am hoping that day does not come for a long time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 It is an easy solution that does not involve opening the C64 to install Jiffy and installing a switch (if you opt for that) Get an Easyflash3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Get an Easyflash3 That is indeed a cool device. I don;t need all of that tho The fastload cart was $11, supports wedge commands and high speed SD2IEC loading. It's really all I need personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyluli Wolf Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 That is indeed a cool device. I don;t need all of that tho The fastload cart was $11, supports wedge commands and high speed SD2IEC loading. It's really all I need personally. The fastload cart sounds like the way to go. Now I just need to find one and figure out how to use it. Does it matter what brand? I mostly see EPXY on eBay..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyluli Wolf Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Commodore-64-64C-128-1541-Disk-Drive-Emulation-SD2IEC-SD-Card-Reader-/261395546945? Really beautiful version and my favorite SD2IEC device. Jiffy in the C64 is kind of a must have IMHO. These days you can actually load Jiffy from the Easyflash3 if you don't want to poke around inside your C64. This one looks awesome, but $95 shipped is kinda steep! WHeew! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Epyx Fast Load is a specific product that is compatible with the sd2iec and uIEC/SD based units. Its routines are also known as Turbo Disk and Speeddisk, but I don't know if more manufacturers than Epyx put the routines inside a cartridge; i.e. there may be commercial programs using the same routines and won't get additionally speeded up by using the cartridge. Some other cartridges that are compatible are the Final Cartridge 3 and to some degree the Action Replay Mk 6, after installing a 1581 ROM image on the SD card to trick the cartridge it is dealing with a such floppy drive. I suppose the Epyx Fast Load might be easier to find and cheaper than the Final Cartridge 3, at least on the US market. I once made my own autobooting cartridge using the DreamLoad routines, which worked reasonably well but mainly a product for automated loading. You can read more about the sd2iec firmware and which speeders it supports here: http://www.c64-wiki.com/index.php/sd2iec_(firmware) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesD Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 This one looks awesome, but $95 shipped is kinda steep! WHeew! It's also not the best choice if you want to use it with machines other than the C64. I use mine for my Plus/4 and I wanted the pass through to occasionally attach my 1571. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brain Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 The uIEC/SD (without the daughtercard) is designed to go into the smallest Hammond Case. Bug me if you can't get a link, and I'll look it up. The idea is that you would put on a 1x13 edge connector, and solder up some IEC cables and switches and power. I have seen lots of folks put the uIEC/SD right above the cassette port on the C64/VIC/C128/C128D. That requires no drilling and cutting, but allows internal mounting. The UIEC/SD was originally designed for the 64DTV, which is why it is so small and I designed it in two halves (unit and daughtercard). Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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