Hello all - there are many options I have seen out there and I was to take the dive into using a SD2IEC card drive with my Commodore systems.

I am looking for suggestions of a device that is reasonably simple to use with multidisk images and would work on a C128/64 unit - Vic20 and Plus4

Appreciate the assist all - thank you!

On Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 7:39:42 PM UTC-5, Fred Beans wrote:
> Hello all - there are many options I have seen out there and I was to take the dive into using a SD2IEC card drive with my Commodore systems.
>
> I am looking for suggestions of a device that is reasonably simple to use with multidisk images and would work on a C128/64 unit - Vic20 and Plus4
>
> Appreciate the assist all - thank you!
There's lots of tutorials and such on sd2iec based devices. Are you asking about a drive emulator in general (not all are sd2iec-based), or which sd2iec-based device is best?

All sd2iec based devices work exactly the same. THe ones with an LCD might be easier to use since there's a screen to navigate. All of them work with all Commodore machines that would work with a 1541 drive (VIC,64,128,128D,+4,16, 116,SX)

I doubt I can offer an unbiased recommendation, as I sell an sd2iec-based unit called the uIEC/SD, which I believe is the smallest of the devices (it works fine as is, but is designed for internal mounting). Some have screens, cases, look like little 1541s, etc.

About the only recommendation I can provide is to buy one from a reputable seller, as they do have issue every so often, and I've regrettably heard from owners whose seller disappeared and now their device has issues. Sadly, while they are all sd2iec-based, the hardware is different for various units and one seller cannot often diagnose issues in the HW on other units.

Jim Brain
www.go4retro.com

On 02 Oct 2022, Fred Beans said the following...
FB> Hello all - there are many options I have seen out there and I was to
FB> take the dive into using a SD2IEC card drive with my Commodore systems.
FB>

My suggestion is Jim Brains uIEC/SD I own 1 and have used it for a few years
now. I pop a SD card in and copy my files to it, it accepts JiffyDOS commands
and have used it to enter and mount .d64, .d71, and .d81 images with no issues
at all.. In fact when I was copying my Lt Kernal HD over to my Emulated system,
I backed up to .d81 images on a uIEC/SD card, then copied them to my PC via a
SD Card reader and mounted them and copied the files off the images. You can
have 12 partitions on it and pretty much if you want treat it like a hard
drive. You might want to read up on it at go4retro.com Jim Brain is a good guy
and is keeping the Commodore alive with what he sells...

.... A .GIF is worth a thousand .TXT.

On Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 8:39:42 PM UTC-4, Fred Beans wrote:

> I am looking for suggestions of a device that is reasonably simple to use with multidisk images and would work on a C128/64 unit - Vic20 and Plus4

Most SD2IEC's being sold use a cassette port adapter so that power can be drawn from that C64/128/VIC-20 cassette port edge connector. However, the Plus/4 uses a 7-pin mini DIN cassette port connector, and so for the Plus/4, you'd have to buy/build an adapter with a male, mini-DIN plug and a female cassette port edge socket, or you'd have to find SD2IEC's that don't draw power from the cassette port. Such SD2IEC's, which draw their power from the Commodore user port, are marketed by The Future Was 8 Bit. Below are the links to their SD2IEC's with the user port option or with the user port adapter already there.

https://www.thefuturewas8bit.com/shop/commodore/sd2iec-be.html
https://www.thefuturewas8bit.com/shop/commodore/sd2iec-gr.html
https://www.thefuturewas8bit.com/shop/commodore/sd2iec-sm.html

With these SD2IEC's, you can use them with all of your Commodores that you list.

Writing from Haywards Heath, England,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group - http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm
Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network - http://www.portcommodore.com/sccan
Commodore Los Angeles Super Show - http://www.portcommodore.com/class

On 10/7/2022 2:37 AM, Robert Bernardo wrote:

> Most SD2IEC's being sold use a cassette port adapter so that power can be drawn from that C64/128/VIC-20 cassette port edge connector. However, the Plus/4 uses a 7-pin mini DIN cassette port connector, and so for the Plus/4, you'd have to buy/build an adapter with a male, mini-DIN plug and a female cassette port edge socket, or you'd have to find SD2IEC's that don't draw power from the cassette port. Such SD2IEC's, which draw their power from the Commodore user port, are marketed by The Future Was 8 Bit. Below are the links to their SD2IEC's with the user port option or with the user port adapter already there.

As does uIEC/SD (it uses a Mini-USB connector for alternate power)

https://store.go4retro.com/commodore/uiec-sd/

Jim

--
Jim Brain, brain@jbrain.com
RETRO Innovations: Contemporary Gear for Classic Systems
www.go4retro.com