C64c Original/JiffyDOS dual booting

 General, Guides  Comments Off on C64c Original/JiffyDOS dual booting
Oct 292011
 

Sometime back I modified my C64c with a switch to change between the original kernel and the JiffyDOS kernel. I did this because JiffyDOS is incredible for loading games from the SD2IEC but it doesn’t support loading from tape at all.
I needed to make another one up. Turns out I forgot how to! so here it is mainly for my own sanity.

  • Get a 27C256 eprom
  • Get a copy of the original C64c kernel. This should be 16KB in size, if its 8KB then that’s from the older breadbin C64.
  • Get a copy of the original C64 basic ROM. This is number 901226-01. This should be 8KB in size.
  • Get your copy of JiffyDOS for the C64. This should be 8KB in size.

Place all these files in a directory and open a command prompt (assuming your using Windows).

I renamed my files to something a bit more meaningful, “kernel.bin” “basic.bin” and “jiffy.bin”.
Type the following command:
“copy /b kernel.bin+basic.bin+jiffy.bin new.bin”

This creates a new binary file called “new.bin” and it should be 32KB in size.

  • Burn “new.bin” to a blank 27C256 eprom
  • Lift up leg 27 of the eprom so it doesn’t make contact with the socket pin.
  • Solder the common leg of a switch to pin 27
  • Solder one side of the switch to a 4.7k resistor connected to +5v
  • Solder the other side of the switch to GND

This should now give you a fully working switchable C64c.

Note: This only works for the newer C64c version. A 27C256 eprom isn’t pin compatible with a breadbin version without more modifications.
Also, JiffyDOS is still being sold and is not downloadable from my site nor will I provide it to anyone asking.

 Posted by at 4:27 pm

New C64 game Prince of Persia

 General  Comments Off on New C64 game Prince of Persia
Oct 162011
 

Today sees the release of a new C64 game. A fantastic conversion of Prince of Persia.
The game looks and plays just like the original versions across various other platforms.

This game requires an EasyFlash (or compatible) device to run. Naturally it also runs on VICE and most likely other C64 emulators, it also works on a C128.
Swoop on over to CSDb to download it

 Posted by at 10:13 am

Homemade C64/C128 power supply

 General  Comments Off on Homemade C64/C128 power supply
Oct 072011
 

I recently won a Commodore 128 on eBay. It had no power supply and was therefore “untested”. In eBay terms this means its broken.
I know I shouldn’t have tried but in my haste I attempted to use my C64 supply. This resulted in one dead C64 power supply.
As the original C64 supply is pretty poor and a C128 supply is impossible to find for a decent price I thought I would build my own.
For a total cost of around £35 I bought a 5v power supply and a 9VAC transformer. Both of these are massively overspecced compared to the original and they will both fit into the case of my old “lightweight” Amiga power supply case.
I used the old Amiga lead as the connector for the C128 and reused the C64 lead from my newly burnt out supply to give me 2 separate outputs and it is capable of running both at the same time with room to spare.


 Posted by at 6:56 pm

New Astro City cab

 General  Comments Off on New Astro City cab
Sep 082011
 

Received a New Astro City cab yesterday. Its in pretty decent condition, the monitor looks really nice and the price was right.

After checking and adjusting the voltages at the edge connector I fired up Puzzle Bobble 2 on the Taito F3 platform and had a few games.
There are a few problems to start with. Both the start buttons didn’t work. This ended up being some dodgy micro switches but was quickly sorted with a dose of WD40.

After a few games I decided to check out the inner workings of this thing. What a shock I had.
Looks like the good people of Hong Kong arent too fussy about safe wiring practices.


After making the loom safe for use I decided to check out the rest of the wiring.
First of all, this cab was originally designed for 110v supply but a step down transformer is fitted to convert 220v to 110v. I checked the voltage coming out the noise filter, 143v! Turns out the step down transformer was for a 200v input to get 100v output.

I removed this and fitted a proper 240v one. The output is now 108v, much better.
I also replaced the power supply wiring as this was 22AWG for something more substantial.

I decided to check the incoming wiring on the back panel, more dodgyness.


These are actually the supply wires.
I also found a set of redundant RGB-S wires in the loom, these have been removed too.

 Posted by at 6:32 pm

CPS2 PAL Information

 General  Comments Off on CPS2 PAL Information
Aug 142011
 

Found this over at the Neo Geo forums here courtesy of Mitsurugi-w

GAME —————————– PAL REV.

SSF2X ——————————B
MSH———————————-F
MVC———————————-G
SFZ2———————————F or D (mostly D)
DD: TOD—————————–B
XMEN: COTA————————F
SSF———————————–1ST REV. (NO LETTER, JUST BGS-B3)
VH————————————-F
SFZ————————————E
MVS———————————–G
SFZ2A———————————D (assume F may work also)
SPF————————————B
DIMAHOO—————————–G
SGemF———————————G
M!PNG———————————F
BATLCIRC—————————–D
VS————————————–G
DKSTKRS——————————-D
CSC————————————-F
XVS————————————–F
GIGWNG——————————–G
SFZ3————————————-G
AVP—————————————B
1944————————————-G
MRZMTRX——————————–G
RM2:PF———————————-E
DD:SOM———————————F
SF2:HA———————————-G
VS2————————————–G
PROGEAR——————————-G
19XX————————————-E

 Older Entries  Newer Entries