ArduiTape/CASDuino/TZXDuino - The cassette player replacements

 I managed to get hold of a copy of Cannon Fighter by Moorwood Software on cassette which to the best of my knowledge has not been archived so I have converted it to both CAS and TSX files. You can download it from here.   A while ago ago I posted a link for the MSXtra compilation by Alligata but the TSX files were bad, but I've redone them and they should now all work. You can download them from here. You can download the CAS files from here.

 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...

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.