DivIDE and new Kempston Joystick interfaces!
I've got some DivIDE and new Kempston Joystick interfaces ready:

DivIDE including 1GB card:
- WoS price: 39,99 GBP (eBay price: 41,99 GBP)
- Postage: 7,99 GBP
(edit) Updated manual: http://www.benophetinternet.nl/hobby/vanmezelf/DivIDE%20Manual.pdf
New small Kempston Joystick interface (see info underneath):
- WoS price: 13,99 GBP (eBay price: 15,99 GBP)
- Postage: 2,99 GBP
DivIDE + 1GB + Kempston Joystick combi set:
- more discount! 51,99 GBP
- Postage: 7,99 GBP
These postage rates are within EU only; ask me for worldwide rates.
The new Kempston Joystick interface:
- Single chip
- Passthrough connector
- Full databus coverage and data separation
- Best adress decoding
- Reset button
- Read more here!
Ordering is open!
PM me or place an order by using: paypal@benophetinternet.nl.




DivIDE including 1GB card:
- WoS price: 39,99 GBP (eBay price: 41,99 GBP)
- Postage: 7,99 GBP
(edit) Updated manual: http://www.benophetinternet.nl/hobby/vanmezelf/DivIDE%20Manual.pdf
New small Kempston Joystick interface (see info underneath):
- WoS price: 13,99 GBP (eBay price: 15,99 GBP)
- Postage: 2,99 GBP
DivIDE + 1GB + Kempston Joystick combi set:
- more discount! 51,99 GBP
- Postage: 7,99 GBP
These postage rates are within EU only; ask me for worldwide rates.
The new Kempston Joystick interface:
- Single chip
- Passthrough connector
- Full databus coverage and data separation
- Best adress decoding
- Reset button
- Read more here!
Ordering is open!
PM me or place an order by using: paypal@benophetinternet.nl.
Post edited by bverstee on
Comments
Now, I have a silly question...but that's what you get for not really following things too closely, so I may be confusing the question with something that relates to another product. ;)
Can you SAVE to the card from the Spectrum, or can you only LOAD from it?
My games for the Spectrum: Dingo, The Speccies, The Speccies 2, Vallation, SQIJ.
Twitter: Sokurah
That's a fine question.
My updated manual awnsers it all: http://www.benophetinternet.nl/hobby/vanmezelf/DivIDE%20Manual.pdf
I decided to keep on using FATware as default, because that support long filenames. It's a readonly firmware however.
The manual describes how to install Esxdos which supports writing to CF card.
More info on firmwares on my website: http://www.benophetinternet.nl/hobby/ (click on DivIDE page).
It's a bit outdated though, as it does not describe the recent release of the new Esxdos version.
Ben
Okay, thanks. In other words - 'No', it won't let me save onto the card from the Spectrum...with the firmware it's shipped with.
So to be able to save onto the card from the Spectrum I need to install Esxdos instead of FATware, right?
But..."it's a readonly firmware...but you can still flash it"? Eh?
...which is it? (or do our definition of 'readonly' differ?)...or is the firmware the OS two separate things?
My games for the Spectrum: Dingo, The Speccies, The Speccies 2, Vallation, SQIJ.
Twitter: Sokurah
Haha, didn't think of that 'readonly firmware' could be read that way.
So yes, the firmware is always upgradeable.
If you want I can flash the DivIDE to Esxdos before sending it to you.
Ben
Thanks.
Fatware manages the CF card as if it was a read only device. The interface (the DivIDE) itself can read and write to the CF. It's just that the firmware (Fatware) doesn't include any support for writting to the CF card.
If you use DivIDE along with a +3E enabled computer (yes, I mean E, not A), you can use the CF as a big disk, reading and writting to it. Other choices are ESXDOS as well (could be *the* choice if it could support LFN names).
It doesn't fully decode the adress bus actually. Only A7, A6 and A5, enough for e.g. DivIDE compatibility.
This is enough for compatibility with most addons and games.
I think there is such an interest because joystick interface are getting rarer.
If I want to get one from eBay, it's more expensive than this new one, because I have to pay for a small parcel. This new one fits in an envelope.
Someone featured it on his weblog:
http://flashback-computing.com/
- WoS price: 36 GBP / 45 EUR / 57 USD
- Postage: 8 GBP / 10 EUR / 12.50 USD within Europe
- Postage: 14 GBP / 17.50 EUR / 22 USD worldwide
RWAP will be selling 25 more DivIDE interfaces on SellMyRetro.com soon.
Kempston Joystick interfaces are also still available plenty!
- WoS price: 14 GBP / 17.50 EUR / 22 USD (eBay price: 16 GBP)
- Postage: 2 GBP / 2.5 EUR / 3 USD within Europe
- Postage: 3 GBP / 4 EUR / 5 USD worldwide
I've just recieved one of these 57c divide with CF card adapter. I followed the instructions but they don't mention anything about the fact you need to modify the thing yourself to get power to the CF card reader. Is this what I need to do? There is also a 4 pin plug on the card that can also be used but I have nothing this can plug into, or should the other end be soldered to something on the divide?
The one pictured here looks slightly different to the 57c, what have people done in this thread to make theirs work?
The divide is not for duffers like me it seems!
It's unfortunate you have to find out that yourself, I had lot's of problems with it too in the past.
Yes it is, but this is why I include the CF card, so end-users won't have the trouble at home.
The last batch of 1GB CF cards I received also needed the extra power.
So my last batch of 25 DivIDE interfaces (available next week on SellMyRetro.com) all have CF adapters with the mod: pin 20 -> pin 38.
It's also described here:
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/forums/showthread.php?t=35592&highlight=power+pin (that mod won't work on my DivIDE's where I removed pin 20 from the socket for the use of IDE cables)
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/forums/showthread.php?t=35622&highlight=power+pin (same: this mod is on the DivIDE itself)
And I was looking for a topic which I thought I replied in with the CF mod, but can't find it...
Cool :-), a couple more things:
Just to be clear then, I need to tell my electrician to solder a wire between pins 20 and 38 on the CF card reader (not the divide as in the links you post)? I didn't see any numbers, is there a circuit diagram I can refer him to?
Also, the CF card provided is read only it seems, I'm not so familiar with them. Is that the intention or can it be changed to write? (no worries if that is the case, I'm sure I can get hold of another easily)
Yes, the DivIDE's IDE connector pinout:
All CF cards are writable.
Are you using FATware? FATware can only ready from CF.
Use ESXDOS, it supports writing to the CF card.
Excellent, thanks, I'm going to buy the electrician at work some bottles of beer and hopefully he'll do this for me :-)
Ah, I thought the FATWARE was related to the DivIDE only not my PC, apologies, will try again.
Not my mouse, but I did sneak into Mcleod Ideafix's house and rub the 'SOFT' off his mouse :razz:
You were right the first time :-) bverstee's answer was on the basis that you were unable to write to the CF card from the Spectrum - if you can't write to it from the PC, then that's a different issue.
I'm a bit lost now, though. If you haven't written anything to the card yet, then what's your basis for believing that your CF adapter needs the power line fix? (Or were you actually asking that in a more general sense of "I read that some people have had to do this fix - should I do it before going any further"?)
At this point it would be handy if you stated your problems in the form "I'm doing action X, and it does Y when I would expect it to do Z". Right now it seems that your posts are skipping that bit and jumping straight into the "speculating about possible solutions" bit :-)
Cheers gasman, yes I'm trying to write to the CF card from a PC.
Bverstee delivered the CF card with some stuff already on it, I wanted to add to it but was unable to. I was wondering if the specific CF card was made read only by bverstee. So it looks like I will need to do the fix.
Yep I normally end up doing things in a fairly illogical way, I should never have become a scientist :-D
I think I've cleared up the above but just for clarity:
Problem1-Inserted divide and CF card (with software already on it) into +2 Speccy, 128k english rom detected, lights on divide but not on card reader. Repeated on 48k rubber key, same.
-On pressing NMI button the menu comes up showing the folder name containing the games, I can move the highlight bar up and down but it is not opened when pressing enter (nothing happens).
-Problem2-Finding a PC with a CF card adapter, ended up putting in someone's scanner printer at work but not able to write to it, it may be due to something odd with the scanner printer or that the CF card delivered is read only (bverstee said not if I understood correctly). More work by me needed here, getting hold of a CF interface or finding someone with an older PC, and possibly a new CF card.
Just a thought - but you do realise that if they are .tap files, you still need to use LOAD "" on the Spectrum to load them - only the snapshot images (.sna and .z80) will automatically load.
www.rwapsoftware.co.uk
www.sellmyretro.com
I've not been able to get that far (but yep I expected to do LOAD""), I can see the folder the games are stored in but cannot go into it. With the Divide in I am unable to exit the fatware & get into Sinclair Basic anyway.
Having said that I've just tried again and it's doing even less now! It's not recognising the FATWARE, crashing all the time and now the NMI button isn't doing anything. I guess I should still try the power mod? There are no lights on the card reader.
Gahhhh!
Speccy users may at least be relieved to know that it is not just the DivIDE that has these problems - I had a phone call from someone using industrial machinery a few weeks ago - they had a compact flash reader added onto the machinery as an extra module (costing around ?1500 !) - but were struggling to find compatible compact flash cards until I pointed them in the right direction!!
www.rwapsoftware.co.uk
www.sellmyretro.com
Not in this case I think.
It really seems that his DivIDE (I think he got it from me) has a defect, probably one of the GAL's gone corrupt.
This happens from time to time, but fortunately only at 'first contact' ;) Not later on when the interface has been in use for months.
He told me he would try to add power to the CF card (pin 38 -> pin 20) and try it again.
Hmmm, let's post a picture of that mod:
Be aware that other CF adapter models has the notch on this (component) side: the mod must be added on the other side than the notch side!
But again, I really suspect the GAL chips.
One way to make sure is to remove the CF adapter and boot up the system. If it still resets, it's one of the GAL chips.
I've sent replacement GAL-sets in the past more often.
Excellent job, Ben!