Foreword

Before we get into the list of devices I am happy to offer to the public, I’d like to underline a few very important points:

• Each of my devices is not a commercial product but rather a craft work that I carry out for the benefit of those who are not comfortable with soldering, dremelling, programming for embedded systems and PC applications, etc. I am nowhere near mass-production capacity and I am not interested in that either.
• I cannot provide estimates about the waiting times as I craft my devices during my spare time, which varies a lot according to other commitments: this is not my full- or part-time job 🙂
• If people show a strong preference for fully assembled devices over DIY kits I reserve the right to bump up the price of such devices in an attempt to balance offer and demand and to avoid being pestered by buyers.
• If anything is shown as sold out, it probably means I won’t be providing any more of it, unless there’s a strong demand that justifies further efforts: components sometimes become obsolete and need replacement – which requires extra work to set-up, configure, and work with; inflation makes components more expensive – which might require evaluating alternatives, etc.
• If the kits below are shown as not available it means that some of the parts have been ordered but not yet received.
• If the devices below are shown as not available it simply means new builds are not yet ready for sale, hence the price quoted is to be considered an estimate that I can change at my discretion, e.g. if the price of some part changes when ordering more of them.
• However, if you order a device when it is listed as available then the price that I advertise is the one you will be paying. This is the preferred route as it might be quite a while between people pre-ordering devices that are not available and myself finishing a build for them.
• My kits and devices come without any explicit or implied guarantee of being fit for any purpose. I describe here what I designed and/or built them for and you can be confident that they do what I say they do, however you are encouraged to assess every bit of information provided in order to understand whether they are suitable for your own needs. If in doubt just ask 🙂

That all said, if you are interested in one of my DIY kits or devices (and, even better, these are also listed as available) just get in touch with me through the contact form here.

Payments

Payments are exclusively in GBP through PayPal.

Payments through crypto currencies are welcome, albeit we will have to work out the details of the transfer as and when due.

It only makes sense to ask for the details of a payment once the device or kit you are ordering is available to ship and you’ve chosen whether the shipment should occur via standard airmail or courier. In the latter case you should also have got a rough idea of the shipping costs (see the Shipping section below).

Shipping

For the shipment of my less expensive devices outside of the UK you are requested to choose between:

• “International Standard” shipping with Royal Mail (not tracked, no signature, and no insurance cover),
• “Tracked and Signed” shipping with Royal Mail (tracked, requires signature upon receipt, and includes insurance cover).

For the shipment of my more expensive devices outside of the UK you might want to get a custom quote with a courier instead of standard airmail as the latter gets overly expensive for my most expensive devices (cost is based on the declared content value and therefore cover for loss/damage).
In the past I used a broker service but I am not recommending any specific courier. You can get an estimate with them by choosing a volume of 15 cm by 15 cm by 10 cm and 0.3 kg. Don’t forget to double check that the service you get a quote for:

• offers an adequate cover in case of loss or damage, and
• delivers to residential addresses, should you require that.

Supporting firmware and software

When you receive one of my devices or kits you should expect that the micro-controllers are pre-programmed and that all the details of the PC-side software will be provided to you via email upon confirming your order. You should also expect to be able to find the latest stable releases of the software in my software page.

DC2N

DC2N comes in different forms and with different features, which also means a wide price range. The sections below outline the feature set for each line that is (or has recently been) for sale.

DC2N4-Low Cost

DC2N4-LC is a backup-only solution that creates PET, Commodore 64, VIC20, Commodore 16/+4, Spectrum, BBC, MSX, and Spectravideo tape backups on PCs running Windows or Linux (OS X might follow if I manage to access a suitable build environment).

DC2N4-LC: connected and operational

DC2N4-LC connects to a PC via a USB serial connection and the tape backup process is handled via either a console or a GUI application.

A regulated +5V DC power supply, capable of providing at least 200 mA, is required in order to power the cassette player and its motor. The power supply has to terminate with a 2.1 mm (inner)/5.5 mm (outer) DC plug. The inner part has to be +5V, the outer one GND.

DC2N4-LC GTK+ GUI client: filename interceptor

Who is DC2N4-LC suitable for? Well, it’s suitable for users across the whole spectrum. I’ve taken away most of what I could so that this is a minimal backup system that comes at a decent price, despite being assembled by hand. On one end of the spectrum, those who only have a few tapes to backup and are on a budget, would ideally go for a DC2N4-LC. On the other end of the spectrum, collectors with a vast amount of tapes to backup, would definitely go for a DC2N4-LC as it streamlines the process greatly, allowing users to name, organize, and test files at the instant they are produced: In this way there is no need to come back on a tape at a later time, thus saving a huge amount of time in presence of a vast collection.

If you don’t mind putting together a suitable case for DC2N4-LC, here’s what might interest you:

For a DC2N4-LC provided in its black enclosure here’s what you’d be paying instead:

• a micro-USB connector, or
• a Type-C USB connector (stronger and therefore more durable).

Bear in mind that the main PCB was designed to accommodate the board with a micro-USB connector, which is shorter than the one with a Type-C USB connector. Hence, case designs, where available, are not interchangeable.

Miscellaneous devices

Tiny C2N Monitor

Those who have been following my blog know that this is a little device that sits between a C2N and either a C64 or DC2N (depending on the DC2N build you got you might have to cut the sides of the blue tape connector) and ‘spoofs’ the signal coming from a tape being played back, displaying it on a TFT display (included within the kit).
As part of the spoofing process this device is also capable of intercepting “CBM ROM” and “TutboTape 250” file names upon detecting the relevant signal. Any intercepted file name is shown on the display as well.

Tiny C2N Monitor: spoofing a tape port signal

Note on assembling the device, if you buy a DIY kit: users are required to confirm the orientation of the two tantalum (polarized) capacitors before powering up the device. There’s a dark mark on one end of these capacitors that MUST face the integrated circuits (U1 and U2) in both cases. Mounting this component the wrong way around will result in a device that might work for a while but the capacitor closer to the blue tape port connector will eventually blow up and possibly short the 5V supply rail of the C64 to GND.

The assembly process I use is illustrated in this blog post.

First option:

The following option is also available:

IECHost

IECHost is an IEC bus master that can control Commodore drives such as the 1541 and 1541-II, and possibly other Commodore devices interfaced via the IEC bus such as printers and plotters.

Current features include (durations were measured using the IECHost GUI client for Windows and might be different for other OSes):

• 35/40 track fast DOS disk imaging (23 seconds, for 35-track disks) and restoration (36 seconds, ditto) for 1541 drives and compatible,
• file exporting and importing for any IEC drive,
• disk validation and formatting for any IEC drive,
• 35/40 track fast DOS disk formatting (19 seconds, ditto) for 1541 drives and compatible.

Support for nibbling disks with a 1571 drive, leveraging the SRQ line, is available through an alternative set of software utilities.

IECHost: “white knight” model

First option:

The following option is also available:

• a micro-USB connector, or
• a Type-C USB connector (stronger and therefore more durable).

Bear in mind that the main PCB was designed to accommodate the board with a micro-USB connector, which is shorter than the one with a Type-C USB connector. Hence, case designs, where available, are not interchangeable.