Closed Microdrive Cartridges (Speccy / QL)
- Thread starter TheCorfiot
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Allen1
New member
Hi there TC,
you probably have tried this already but just in case, if you do a search on Fleabay using "Microdrive", there are some sinclair ones to be found amongst the other bits an bobs that appear (just 2 pages of stuff). One auction ends in just over 12 hours but there are others that ma be worth waiting for.
One of my mates had the spectrum drives years ago and they were a lot better than loading off a cassette
you probably have tried this already but just in case, if you do a search on Fleabay using "Microdrive", there are some sinclair ones to be found amongst the other bits an bobs that appear (just 2 pages of stuff). One auction ends in just over 12 hours but there are others that ma be worth waiting for.
One of my mates had the spectrum drives years ago and they were a lot better than loading off a cassette
I have some spare carts - you can have them for FREE (can manage 8 - but cant swear they will all work lol). Just pm me your address m8. Pay me when you see the price of the stamps... (Can't send till Saturday)
cheers
cheers
@z3
A most kind offer indeed my friend, I shall PM you my details, many thanks
I have succesfully revived 2 cartridges today by transplanting chopped up pads from an old C90 cassette and applying a spot of superglue.
It's quite a procedure as you have to ensure you have removed all of the old pad & the awfull tar like residue it leaves behind, it's the sticky debris that jams the tape up in the cart once it gets loose..
Just use a light brush & a small scalpel to scrape it all away, the tape is easy looped up out of the way using a soft brush handle.
So far so good & my QL likes the carts giving me 223 Sectors which is not far off the max.
Thanks again z3 & I'm still on the look out for more so if anyone has any they want to get rid of or recycle then please send them on.
Regards
TC
A most kind offer indeed my friend, I shall PM you my details, many thanks
I have succesfully revived 2 cartridges today by transplanting chopped up pads from an old C90 cassette and applying a spot of superglue.
It's quite a procedure as you have to ensure you have removed all of the old pad & the awfull tar like residue it leaves behind, it's the sticky debris that jams the tape up in the cart once it gets loose..
Just use a light brush & a small scalpel to scrape it all away, the tape is easy looped up out of the way using a soft brush handle.
So far so good & my QL likes the carts giving me 223 Sectors which is not far off the max.
Thanks again z3 & I'm still on the look out for more so if anyone has any they want to get rid of or recycle then please send them on.
Regards
TC
@z3 Many thanks my friend, they arrived today & all 8 work fine
Please let me know what I owe you for the postage mate & I'll get that off to you, in the meantime, I've left you some feedback.
Much appreciated
TC
@thread, still open for anymore that maybe surplus to requirements, thx.
Please let me know what I owe you for the postage mate & I'll get that off to you, in the meantime, I've left you some feedback.
Much appreciated
TC
@thread, still open for anymore that maybe surplus to requirements, thx.
Hello my friend, would you like to PM me with what you would like for these carts with P&P to the UK
Thx
TC
Allen1
New member
Just out of interest, you do know that you can use a program on the PC to convert Tap and other files to WAV and MP3 so that you can load them onto a speccy via the ear/mic socket as you would with a tape. Using this method, you can store all of your games etc on an SD card or USB mp3 player etc and load them into the speccy via an MP3 player or even some mobile phones like the HTC Himalaya etc.
I was amazed when Alexh over at EAB mentioned this and the OTLA program which is free on the internet and it works brilliantly. I use the mobile phone as mentioned above, some players etc don't have enough output for loading so you would have to try a few models to get one that works OK. Definitely worth a go, I was going to go for a Divide until I heard about this option
I was amazed when Alexh over at EAB mentioned this and the OTLA program which is free on the internet and it works brilliantly. I use the mobile phone as mentioned above, some players etc don't have enough output for loading so you would have to try a few models to get one that works OK. Definitely worth a go, I was going to go for a Divide until I heard about this option
Zetr0
Ya' Like it Retr0?
@Allen1
I have used this method for some time, however there is a thrill and a buzz from using the original hardware.
With my 128k toastie + interface 1 and Microdrive I was grinning like a mad man just formatting the cassette cartridges for over 30 minutes!
with the combination of a multiface you can copy the memory contents of spectrum after loading from external input and the back it up to microdrive =D
Should get about 3 - 4 games per cassette cartridge =)
I have used this method for some time, however there is a thrill and a buzz from using the original hardware.
With my 128k toastie + interface 1 and Microdrive I was grinning like a mad man just formatting the cassette cartridges for over 30 minutes!
with the combination of a multiface you can copy the memory contents of spectrum after loading from external input and the back it up to microdrive =D
Should get about 3 - 4 games per cassette cartridge =)
Allen1
New member
Mind you the +D interface and disk drive are great too
I still like the plus 3 and used to enjoy using the Lerm software for decoding various tape protection systems and finding the program code. Doing that allowed you to save the code from its memory location as normal code, then transfer it to tape ready to copy to the plus 3 floppy disk, those were the days and the amount of security used on tape loaders was often extreme but with the right software it was fun to dis-assemble and find the routines and addresses and length of the code etc.
Blimey, it must be about 16 to 20 years since I did stuff like that but it was so rewarding when it worked
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