ArduiTape/CASDuino/TZXDuino - The cassette player replacements

  TZXDuino 1.16 In TZXDuino 1.15.3 I added a bug that lowered the volume of some Spectrum TZX files and all ZX80/81 TZX, O, and P files so they didn't work for many people. I fixed this for 1.16. You can download TZXDuino 1.16 from here.   TZXDuino 1.17 The MAXDuino team added ORIC TAP playback functionality to their firmware which I have adapted to TZXDuino. I don't have an Oric Atmos to test it on so I have been recording the playback and loading on Oricutron and everything I have tried has worked. Obviously things may be different on a real machine. Team MAXDuino have also added a speed up function for Oric TAP files which I will add to TZXDuino 1.18 but so far I have been unable to get it to work correctly. You can download TZXDuino 1.17 from here.   And finally there is the updated instruction manual which now tells you how to access Turbo mode for the Electron, ZX80, and ZX81. It also says for Oric but that has not been implemented yet. You can download the pdf of v...

 When Andrew Beer and I came up with this idea the intention was for people to build their own and many people have but once in a while someone comes up with something so amazing it really needs to be shared. JamHamster came up with the idea of fitting a TZXDuino in a cassette. Originally it was powered by USB and had a 3.5mm Ear socket but it looked amazing. Then he added a battery so that it was self powered. Then he added a head from a CD to cassette adapter. Then he added a switch under that head so that when you press play on the Cassette Recorder it plays the file you've selected. And the TZXCassette was born Because he is a great guy he's also uploaded the instructions on how to build one to Github and you can download the instructions and build your own. Now at the moment there is no REM control it may not work as well with a CPC 464 as it does with with a Spectrum +2 but it is a stunning piece of electrical engineering and a work of art in my opinion.

New firmware . TZXDuino 1.15.3 Adapted the MAXDuino ID19 code and TurboMode for ZX80/81. To access Turbo Mode for ZX80/81 and Electron please switch Turbo Mode On in the menu Also added UEF Chunk 117 which allows for differing baudrates in BBC UEFs. Added a Spectrum Font for OLED 1306 users converted by Brendan Alford. Option added to userconfig.h Added File scrolling by holding up or down buttons. By Brendan Alford. Download from here. CASDuino 1.24 Added a Spectrum Font for OLED 1306 users converted by Brendan Alford. Option added to userconfig.h Added File scrolling by holding up or down buttons. By Brendan Alford. Download from here.

Over the past few months I have been helping people via Facebook, either my personal page or through the official Arduitape page, to update their firmware using the Arduino IDE and it became painfully apparent that I needed top update the instructions so that they are relevant to the latests IDE and firmware. Thanks to Covid-19 I have time on my hands and have up[dated the PDF so if you would like to read it and give me feedback I would be most appreciative. The instructions are for Windows and the PDF can be downloaded from here.

Firmware Updates Primarily I have updated the firmwares to include RGB I2C 16x2 LCD screen but there have also been some improvements made to TZXDuino and CASDuino. Arduitape 1.8 can be downloaded from here. CASDuino 1.22.1can be downloaded from here. Changes . Added RGB I2C 16x2 LCD Speed improvements Improved compatibility with TOSEC Dragon CAS files TZXDuino 1.15.1 can be downloaded from here. Changes Added RGB I2C 16x2 LCD Improved UEF support Dragon CAS file information. This is a bit of boring technical information in regards to Dragon CAS files from TOSEC and why they didn't work before. Unlike MSX CAS files Dragon and CoCo CAS files start with a byte hex value of 55. To be recognised as a CAS file by emulators it only needs to have one byte with hex value of 55 at the beginning. To be recognised as a Dragon/CoCo CAS file by CASDuino it requires a minimum of 8 bytes with a hex value of 55 bytes. To be recognised by a real computer it requires aroun...

I hated the method of using the menu to switch ID15 on and off so I've managed to fix it to an automated system to keep things as simple as possible for the user. You can download the latest version from here.