[Aquarius] WAV file volume for CLOAD

[Aquaman]

Thanks! It seems that the previous owner has typed in and converted some basic computer games most likely from the books "(more) Basic computer games" by David H. Ahl.

[desiv]

On 5/25/2014 at 5:46 PM, jaybird3rd said:

Okay, I finally found the time to dig out my cassette cable and try it with my bench PC, and after some experimentation, I was able to use it to play back WAV files into my Aquarius.

Thanx for the info on the volume levels!
I finally picked up a 16k pack for my Aquarius and wanted to test it out.
Had converter D-Fenders from CAQ to WAV and was trying it without luck.  So did some searching and found this post.
Was able to load it up and test it and my RAM pack.  Worked great.

Then I thought, I'd like to get that game onto the Aquarius tape drive I have.

I figure I could grab some cables and hook it up and try to get the volume right again, but decided to do it a bit differently.

First, I loaded the "loader" program from my laptop to the Aquarius.

Then I saved that to the tape.

NEWd and reloaded from tape to make sure that worked.  It did.

Then I REMd out the lines that started the game and typed run.

I loaded the data portion into memory from my laptop.  When that was done (about 3 minutes) I got my prompt back.

Then I typed: csave*A  and I saved the data back to the Aquarius tape deck.

 

I was thinking that saving to the tape from the Aquarius would give me the best shot at having the best volume levels.

 

It finished saving.  So I rewound the tape and reset the Aquarius, cloaded the loader program.  Worked.  Ran it and it started loading the data.

I was sure it wasn't working (3 minutes is a LONG time when you are waiting and watching), but then it finished loading and the game came up!!!

 

So now I can place a few games on the tape and use it like it would have been used back in the day!

 

I was bummed that my counter on the tape deck stopped working.

It wasn't working when I got it.  The belt for the counter had degraded and was a mushy black mess.  So I spent a lot of time cleaning it up and replaced it.

I swear it was working after that.  But when I tried today, it stops at 2.  ;-(

 

So I'll have to re-open it and check it out.  Maybe it wasn't quite the right size belt or needs some lubrication or something.

But that shouldn't be too bad...

 

Of course, now I have to decide which games to place on the tape... 

Edited November 11, 2021 by desiv

[desiv]

19 hours ago, desiv said:

So I'll have to re-open it and check it out.  Maybe it wasn't quite the right size belt or needs some lubrication or something.

But that shouldn't be too bad...

Of course, I should have seen this one coming...
I opened it up...  Checked the belt...  Didn't see anything catching...  Moved it forward and backward by hand a bit...

Seemed to count fine past 2 when going by hand...

Put a tape back in...  Pressed play... And it worked...

Put it together, and it is still working.  So, yay?  ?

I am guessing I still should probably add some type of lubricant that is good for plastic on plastic lubrication...

(Would that be a silicon or graphite or something like that?)

 

Anyway, off to put some more games on tape...

[Arnaud186]

I never succeeded downloading any wav files on my aquarius, via tape cable (home made) and my phone. Most of the time, it starts loading the loader program but when you list it, it's full of garbage and doesn't run of course.

[noel mckeever]

Have aquarius and a tape recorder any suggestions on trying to save programs to tape

[rietveld]

3 hours ago, noel mckeever said:

Have aquarius and a tape recorder any suggestions on trying to save programs to tape

Shorter length tapes work better. Stay away from the c90.  

[noel mckeever]

Thanks