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t.dc2n update
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2023-02-26
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DC2N project update
-------------------
http://www.luigidifraia.com/c64/
dc2n/index.html
01 Feb 2008
First mount Evening: I almost finished
the first mount after Farnell sent me
the sockets I needed. It came out
nicely I think. DC2N assembled by me I
will bring this one to the HCC Show as
well. This will give me the chance to
test it before sending it out to the
person who pre-ordered it.
03 Feb 2008
Handmade box Evening: enthusiast built
his own DC2N box.DC2N boxed by
enthusiast looks nice, doesn't it?
09 Feb 2008
New box Morning: I built the first
version of the DC2N box. I will bring
this one to the HCC Show.DC2N
connected to a C64DC2N boxed by me
That's a first go, I will hopefully
complete it soon.
16 Feb 2008
HCC Show Morning: I presented the DC2N
at the HCC Show today, where I met
quite some nice people. Many thanks to
the organizers!
20 Feb 2008
FAT again Evening: I compiled in and
tested the fragmented file support
routines of my FAT driver. A Turbotape
(GGS) and a Cyberload TAP image (LN2)
have been played to my C64 without
problems.
24 Feb 2008
Finishing the box Morning: I almost
finished the second version of the DC2N
box. Since I was not able to find the
switch I need for DC2N at the local
shop, I have to stop here for now. DC2N
in a box Peepo has made 693 dumps so
far! Excellent job progressing with
mount Evening: And here it is, a DC2N
almost fully mounted with the mode
selector: c2n emulation or dumping
.DC2N boxed by me
23 Mar 2008
Happy Easter! Morning: Based on the
custom DC2N mount SLC had done, I
mounted my development version:
Monitor-while-dumping DC2N I can now
switch the DC2N mode of operation and
adjust the datassette while dumping,
to perform a fine tuning for those
tapes that are hard to dump, without
having to unplug the datasette from
DC2N.That is, the signal is sent to my
C64 as well, where the "Recorder
Justage" program is kept running.
The way I do that actually is as per
below:
load "Head Tester" (aka "Recorder
Justage") from an SD Card to my C64
using DC2N in C2N emulation mode
switch DC2N into dumping mode put a
tape in the C2N connected to DC2N and
press PLAY align the head and rewind
the tape to make a clean dump of it!
Last update 20 Feb 2008
Completed 98%
Tested 99% (the three main features:
PLAY, RECORD, and Dump)
FAT-16 support
read: 100%
write: 90%
I developed a hard real-time
implementation of the FAT-16 file
system driver. Support for
fragmentation handling in write
operations will be added at a later
time.
PLAYback
legacy TAP v0 files
support for DC2N 16-bit TAP files will
be added
RECORD and Dump
DC2N 16-bit TAP files (counter rate is
2 MHz)
TAP version 0 files (100% MTap
compliant)
DC2N TAP format
16-bit DC2N format generated by
RECORD/dump operations respectively:
Offset Size Description
0x00 12 bytes ID string:
"DC2N-TAP-RAW"
0x0C 1 byte Format version: actually
only version 0 is defined
0x0D 2 bytes Reserved for future needs
0x0F 1 byte Counter resolution [bit]:
16 actually
0x10 4 bytes Counter rate (LSBF) [Hz]:
2000000 actually
0x14 any 16-bit (counter resolution)
data values (LSBF)
Each data value is the delay,
expressed in clock cycles (at Counter
rate), between two consecutive rising
(falling) edges of the Commodore
computer write line (C2N read line)
signal.0xFFFF is an overflow value,
meaning that the next data values
should be summed to this one to build
up the total delay, up to the first
non-0xFFFF value (included).
Anyway, we don't really require to
deal with that since the dc2nconv
software converts DC2N 16-bit files to
legacy TAP v1 files, which are already
supported by many emulators and tools.
DC2N TAP file resolution (2 MHz) is
actually 16 times higher than the
legacy TAP format (123.156 kHz).
Ordering:
The first batch of DC2Ns is being
already shipped to large collectors
who showed interest in having a DC2N
quite some time ago, for preservation
purposes. A second batch of devices is
being processed. Delays are likely to
occur before I will be able to work at
the new mounts for the electronic
components I need are out of stock at
the supplier I used before. Even if
people cannot yet order a DC2N until
the abovementioned issue is solved,
pre-ordering a DC2N for preservation
or entertainment purposes can be done
by writing me an email. DC2N will be
sold on a first-come-first-served
basis. If you think you should be on
the pre-order list and you aren't, or
if you are there and you don't want to
be anymore, again email me.
People who have pre-ordered so far
Firstname Lastname Country
---------------------------------------
Nigel Parker UK
COMMODORE FREE
====== I have left the other list out
if you are curious visit the website
for details ======
Hi Nigel,
Thank you for your email. Surprising
enough, tomorrow I will start working
at the DC2N to send you. Anyway, I
prefer not to give out time
estimations to the people who
pre-ordered. I would have contacted
you when the first build had been
completed and tested properly On
average, it takes three weekends to be
built. Sorry about that, but I have no
help with this and no professional
tools. I may actually be able to do it
sooner for this would be my third
build. I had built one that I meant to
sell out, but it's now part of my test
bed due to some constraints I met
recently (a huge collection of tapes
to image with one device while
developing using the other device).
Next Project
My next coming hardware project is
D1541 which I would also refer to as
"True 1541". Surprisingly enough
there's no 1541 replacement that
actually satisfies my requirements, so
that I am going to fill this gap by
myself. It's going to be all but a
quick project, even if I know I will
get there. My aim is to go beyond D64
and G64 formats to support all of the
copy protected disks in one go.