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...

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.

TZX Block type ID15, bane of my existence when it comes to TZXDuino I found, with the help of users, that enabling ID15 screwed up many other TZX files that used to work under 1.13 on the MSX and Spectrum. To fix this I've added yet another option to the Menu. It's not how I would like to have done it but it works. If you're not trying to load a musical loader or a Direct Record (usually a Firebird game) on an Amstrad CPC then switch ID15 off. There are very few TZX files for the Spectrum that use ID15 and so far there are no TSX files for the MSX that use ID15. Also please make sure you turn the Gremlin Loader off as well as that can also stop files loading properly. Turn these options on separately if a file fails to load. IF after that it still fails then please let me know the file, where it's from, and what computer you are trying it on. TZXDuino 1.14.2 can be downloaded from here.

Update for TZXDuino. Lots of little things changed for this update but the biggest is ID15/Direct Recording has been added. The code has been adapted and fixed from the MAXDuino firmware. On the Amstrad CPC this means that Music Loaders do work as do many other games that use the ID15/Direct Recording Block type however the following Musical Loaders are temperemental but this is due to hardware rather than firmware. Harvey Headbanger Helichopper Rasputin Runestone Spiky Harold Thrust I've also removed DigitalWrite in favour of a quicker process as suggested by Ken Forster and this means that some MSX games work better at higher TSX baudrates. Elite and Aliens will now load at 2400 baudrate. There were two Gremlin Graphics games for the Amstrad CPC that had copy protection that required a reversal of high and low signals. Samurai Trilogy and Footballer Of The Year II. I have added an option to the menu to fix this issue. You can download the new firmware from he...

It's been a while since ~I've added anything new to the blog I have been still working on the project. TZXDuino 1.13 I've updated the TZXDuino firmware to include HQ.UEF support which was programmed by Rafael Molina Chesserot of the MAXDuino Team. Most unzipped UEFs will now work with the TZXDuino on both Electron and BBC. The only exceptions I've found so far are Uridium and Starquake on the BBC. Because the TZXDuino is now working on so many other models of computer and not just the Sinclairs I've added a Pause at Start option to the Menu. With this on, when you select a file and press play the file will be automatically paused unless you have typed in your load command on your computer and pressed enter and the motor control is plugged in. It's exactly the same way a cassette player with motor control would work. You can download the firmware from here. New Software Speaking of UEFs Ricky El-Qasem has made a UEF extraction tool that makes it so much more ...

The more I build and try to improve on the various firmwares I've realised that it's not entirely friendly for new users to edit their firmware for their version of device. In an aim to correct that I have added userconfig.h to the various firmwares. This is just a little settings file that users can change without fear of harming the main programme. It allows you to set which screen you are using and in future which startup logo for some screens and maybe other settings. How to use. At the moment the userconfig.h looks like this ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /*                                                             */ /*    ...

For the last few months I've been talking about how to add the PCD8544 (also known as the Nokia) screen to the devices. Unfortunately this has not been as easy as I'd first hoped largely due to differences in the screens. Some work well with the standard 5v of the Arduino Nano, others need the voltage in to be 3.3v. Some need resistors others don't. Finally however I can start to write things up properly though. The software has been written and is fully functioning for a while and whilst there are no improvements in what the ArduiTape/CASDuino/TZXDuino can do, it does use less memory than the other screens and looks a little nicer, in my opinion. CASDuino Turns Two. I have been reminded by my Facebook posts that today I completed my first CASDuino specific PP9 build two years ago today. I used the PP9N Evatron case as I was inspired by one of the TAPuino builds and it's a nice case to work with. Certain small things have changed since then, button caps, reset s...

Thanks to the help of Rafael Molina Chasserot some new features have been added to the TZXDuino and CASDuino firmwares which has freed up some memory as well, which may lead to more features being added in the future. A percentage counter and a timer counter have been added to all screens so that you know how much is left of a file to play and how long it has taken to load. The OLED1306 and PCD8544 use completely new routines for the firmwares saving a lot of memory. Folder navigation is now different. Rather than using the Menu button on TZXDuino or the Stop button on CASDuino to return to the ROOT directory, if you press the stop button when no file is playing you will go up one folder only making it easier to navigate. TZXDuino The TZXDuino has had a menu added so that MSX users can set the Baud rate of TSX files so that they can load faster than normal. A few more emulator only IDs have been fixed so that they are skipped by TZXDuino. CASDuino CASduino has had a Baud Rate of 3...

Whilst it may seem there han't been much going on in recent months we have been working behind the scenes on improving and adding more options to the various firmwares and trying to improve the hardware. The main difference with these firmwares is that OLED 1306 screens are now fully working on all of them and that the PCD8544 has added as a screen option. I will go into the hardware changes needed for that at a later date. ArduiTape 1.5 What's New Added support for the PCD7544. Download from here. CASDuino 1.15 What's New Improved support for CoCo and Dragon Added support for OLED1306 and PCD8544. Download from here. TZXDuino 1.8 What's New Added ID2A Added support for PCD8544 Download from here. TZXDuino 1.8.1 What's New TSX support for MSX TSX files added by Natalia Pujol. Not officially supported and any bugs should be reported to her. Download from here.

You can go to my Etsy shop and buy my builds of TZXDuino, CASDuino, and ArduiTape with the standard 1602 LCD and coming soon you will also be able to buy the new version with the PCD8544 LCD screen.

After mentioning that I had gotten a CPC and attached a DIN to it so that I could connect it to the TZXDuino I have had a few requests on how to do it so I thought I'd try a guide. You will need to purchase 180 degree 5 pin female din that is chassis mountable. This is the type that I purchased except mine also had a mounting plate too. The standard 6128 cassette connector is wired like this. Each pin is numbered on the back so that you know which one you are connecting it too so don't worry if the pins are in different positions as it depends on whether you are looking from the connection side or the soldering side. I would use different coloured wiring for each type of connection. I used the following Ground - Black Data Input - White Data Output - Pink Remote Control - Brown At this point I added 4 male pins to the end of my wiring so that I could build a connector so that I could easily disconnect the DIN should I need to work on the cassette drive. N...