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Unboxing KIT Pocket 1541 Plus Limited Edition 2011

 Pocket 1541 Plus + PocketCard 64

Autopsy:

The interface 1541 Pocket Plus is a evolution of the Pocket 1541 released a few years ago. The 1541 Pocket Plus emulates the Commodore 1541 floppy drive with an SD (Secure Digital). The firmware like many Floppy Drive Emulation Interfaces for the C64 is based on the Open Source project SD2IEC and its operation is very simple and transparent, the interface is powered directly from the C64.

What can I do with it? It’s easy to say, with a normal SD (Secure Digital) you can store your favorites games and programs and you can load from the C64 everything directly from your memory card (SD), no more disk drives or datassette.

The differences from previous version, there are many, i’m going to list only the most important.

  • 5VDC Powered from the Cartridge port of the Commodore 64.
  • New CPU ATMega 1284PU (128k) clocked at 8MHz.
  • External 48-pin Expansion slot.
  • Internal expansion slot for future implementations.
  • PocketCard with Bank Switching and 4Mbit flash memory (interchangeable)
  • PocketCard PC 64 software can allows you to create Flash files for the 29F040.
  • External Kernal with addon PocketCard PC 64 (requires PocketPLA 64).
  • PocketPLA 64.

My first impression: I must say that has made a very good impression, the KIT Pocket 1541 Plus consists of several components built in an absolutely accurate and professional. The use of the addon PocketCard 64 at first time may be a bit complex for a beginner, but following the manual (you can find on the seller’s site) the configuration becomes easy and fun.

The Kernal cartridge mode is a very nice features, it overrides the PROM 901227. This feature requires the installation of the PocketPLA 64 and is only compatible with the Commodore 64 first edition (brown) with a PLA 906114.

In the sad case that the PocketPLA 64 can not be installed on your Commodore 64, the PocketCard 64 can be used to speed up the file loading with a TurboDisk Cartridge. The PocketCard 64 supports all types of cartridges (Ultimax or Standard) including games or utility. You can use the software PocketCard-64 to generate the file for the 29F040 flash with your compilations of Programs/Games or Kernal.

I suggest to buying this kit to all Retro Fans of the Commodore including people who want to ‘hack’ and not just play ;-D

source: rgmelsat.com

Categories: Hardware, News & Rumors, Today
  1. jack58
    September 19th, 2011 at 19:33 | #1

    Io e l’amico Kiand abbiamo speso molto tempo nella realizzazione di questo kit .
    Abbiamo ricevuto dei plausi e siamo in contatto con chi lo possiede per decidere sui prossimi upgrade da fare.
    Peccato i voti negativi da chi lo ha visto solo in fotografia ma non funzionare.

  2. September 19th, 2011 at 23:52 | #2

    @jack58

    Ciao Jack,

    Io lo provata e direi che le mie impressioni scritte sia in Inglese che Italiano sono positive, molta gente mi ha chiesto dove acquistarla e io ho fatto presente che c’e’ il Link, purtroppo la pigrizia nella lettura regna sovrana ;-D

    Trovo questa interfaccia interessante, forse la programmazione della flash e i dip switches non sono proprio per neofiti pero’ basta sforzarsi un po’ , insomma alla fine non posso che parlare bene avete fatto un gran lavoro.

    Ora attendo il plugin con LCD a colori per le cover ;-DDDDD

  3. Luigi
    January 12th, 2017 at 20:13 | #3

    Ciao, vorrei sapere il prezzo di questa interfaccia?!

    Grazie

  4. June 1st, 2017 at 14:32 | #4

    Vorremmo gentilmente sapere all’ incirca il costo di tutto il progetto da montare o gia montato …grazie

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