ArduiTape/CASDuino/TZXDuino - The cassette player replacements

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.

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.

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...

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.

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...