Undecided with all these super-mega-ultra-carts.

highinfidelity · Post by **highinfidelity** » Fri Aug 26, 2011 7:35 am

Good afternoon dear VIC fellows.

I have surfed this forum pretty much lately, and I've seen that some very interesting expansion carts have been made. Perhaps even too many and too complex for my taste...

My main goal is to be able to load on the real hardware all these games and programs that I see distributed here and elsewhere, and to save and distribuite mines, without too much fuss.

First of all, I am very surprised that a simple software which could convert a .prg file into sound has not yet been created, considered that it exists from at least fifteen years for a system like the Atari 2600 (the first I saw ran under DOS - enough said). Considered the knowledge of many people here, that's almost unbelievable. But let's skip this.

I think that for my needs the most interesting cart I've seen is the Final Expansion 3. Did I get correctly that it can easily do what I am asking for - that is transfer a .prg files directly from a personal computer to a SD card and then to the VIC and vice-versa?

There is also the Mega Cart which has a very attractive look and is also filled up with games and utilities. However, I seem to understand that it can't transfer files from and to a personal computer, am I correct?

Other choices with a well-finished look (sorry but I don't like seeing nude PCBs getting out of my VIC - I know it's a limit that I have, but easthetics are important in my hobbies) and perhaps simpler electronics / on board software?

Thank you very much for your insight!

Diddl · Post by **Diddl** » Fri Aug 26, 2011 8:24 am

Using Final Expansion 3 (FE3) you are able to execute any game or program available for VC-20.

FE3 is able to simulate any memory expansion, where normally many different cartridges are needed.

---

Same is with megacart.

---

Difference is, megacart has many built in games in internal 8MB memory.

FE3 can load any game, program or cartridge from a SD card.

16KVIC20 · Post by **16KVIC20** » Fri Aug 26, 2011 10:51 am

There is a program called WinTZX, available from World of Spectrum (and possibly other places too). I have successfully used it to convert .prg files and .64 files into real sound, recorded it using a 3.5 mm jack from the soundcard to a shoebox tapedeck. I have then been able to load the program successfully to a real VIC using the C2N. It is a little time consuming, but seems to work most of the time.

I will be using it again soon myself.

I have never had one of these new carts for my VIC, although I am on the list for a mega cart, seems to suit me best.

How did I arrive at this decision?

Well I had a DivIDE+ for my ZX Spectrum, which allowed instant loading from a CF card, making of snapshots etc, sounds great? The problem was I found the choice of software was so great I didn't know where to start and that I was spending more time on the PC looking for things to download, than I was on the Spectrum, which wasn't the idea really. In the end I sold it and bought a big box of tapes. I'm not saying the same problem would exist with a similar VIC 20 system (there isn't the same volume of software available for a start), but I just thought I'd explain how I decided based on using a *similar* device on a contemporary format.

rhurst · Post by **rhurst** » Fri Aug 26, 2011 4:56 pm

I got two uIEC/SD drives from Jim Brain -- one with the cassette port power adapter, the other with a joystick passthru. And I got two Mega-Carts (older and newer ROM revisions) now. So having both modern options hooked to a VIC 20 makes running the real thing worthwhile.

Mega-Cart's included software library, easy menu, NvRAM, and reset switch make it super-friendly to operate.

If Mega-Cart did not come out, I likely would have invested in FE3 and conned a friend to assemble it for me. One can simply gather all the games, carts, etc. out there for VIC 20, and put them on a single SD card to load them... my other super-carts for Atari 2600 (Harmony) and C64 (1541Ultimate II) allow for the same.

Vic20-Ian · Post by **Vic20-Ian** » Sat Aug 27, 2011 5:01 am

If you are going to want to load your own or downloaded programs then FE3 gives you the best solution as all the memory you could ever need and more is available and the SD card drive is built in with a neater solution than Megacart and SD2iec separately.

I have both solutions but prefer FE3 for the tinkering value rather than the fixed selection of games in Megacart.

You can try out FE3 in Vice if you want to see the functionality.

On the real thing you have programmable ROM storage for fast access to any program without the SD card. ie. make your own Megacart with games in the order you want and a mix of tape and cart games.

The only downside is that it takes a little time to write the menu scripts to load from your disks using disk loader. On the upside once scripted you can load hard to load cart images etc without any configuring memory etc.

Megacart does this for you for all the cartridge images.

In summary -

Quick and dirty gaming on the cartridge library and a few games get Megacart with additional function as a multi ram pack. You need to add an SD2iec for disk simulation and simple PC to Vic transfer.

For more flexibility and an all in one solution you need FE3. You can get a cartridge image pack nearly equivalent to Megacart.

orion70 · Post by **orion70** » Sat Aug 27, 2011 6:52 am

I have ready-to-go scripts and prgs and averything fits in a small SD card, so if you choose the FE3 I can give you my setup and here you go. But IMHO both carts are worth buying.

English Invader · Post by **English Invader** » Sat Aug 27, 2011 5:32 pm

It depends on what you're looking for:

If you're just interested in the gaming side of things, a Mega-Cart and a uIEC/SD is sufficient.

If you're into collecting, you'll probably want the Mega-Cart, the uIEC, the Final Expansion, the 1541U and any and all obscure tapes, cartridges, hardware and books you can find.

If you're technically-minded, the Final Expansion is the way to go.

highinfidelity · Post by **highinfidelity** » Mon Aug 29, 2011 12:55 am

Thanks everybody for your insight, very informative reading indeed! I think I am even more oriented towards the FE3 now.

One final question: I've seen pictures of it with a cable and a DIN connector (the disk drive connector I suppose) protruding out of a corner, and then pictures without such cable and connector. Does it actually have this cable/connector? If negative, how does it operate as a virtual disk drive? No need to phisically connect it to the port?

@ 16KVIC20: when I wrote, I had already read your posts concerning upload via audio with interest. However, it seemed to me that the process was a bit erratic and succesful in some cases only, so I looked for something else. Very interesting experiment, though!

@ Orion70: thank you very much, I appreciate your offer and will sure ask for your files (if I can put my hands on a FE3 first).

Vic20-Ian · Post by **Vic20-Ian** » Mon Aug 29, 2011 1:41 am

Yes FE3 has the din connector cable from the side of the cartridge into the serial port.

I have built 3 or 4 of these for people on the board. You need a good quality temperature controlled soldering iron and good soldering skills to build it.

I could build it for you if you need help - where are you located?

Best regards,
Ian