PETdisk - new SD card drive for Commodore PETs

RobertBe · Post by **RobertBe** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 9:44 pm

Wow, a micro-SD card drive for Commodore PET computers! PETdisk is now on the market in kit form for $25 (not including shipping). PETdisk is made of two components, the primary board attaching to the IEEE-488 port on the PET and the secondary board attaching to the cassette port of the PET.

To read up on the PETdisk description, see videos on PETdisk, brush up on the user instructions, and peruse the assembly instructions, go to

http://www.bitfixer.com/bf/PETdisk

To read a brief discussion about the PETdisk, go to

http://www.commodore.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2997

Received mine today,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug

rhurst · Post by **rhurst** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:26 am

Cool!

jsundh · Post by **jsundh** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:28 am

Fine! Thanks for information! I have just ordered one!

Diddl · Post by **Diddl** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 3:14 am

Seems to be similar to PET-SD.

But PET-SD is based on µIEC (SD2IEC) firmware and supports all image formats like D64, D71, D80, D82

RobertBe · Post by **RobertBe** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 10:18 pm

Diddl wrote:Seems to be similar to PET-SD.

Similar? The PETdisk and PET-SD have different designs.

But PET-SD is based on µIEC (SD2IEC) firmware...

The same can be said of the proposed CBM4041 and uIEEE.

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug

Mikam73 · Post by **Mikam73** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 1:43 am

Could I buy ready product somewere? I cant build this myself. Does it support directorys.. I think dir list will be very long if not..

bitfixer · Post by **bitfixer** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:28 am

Hi,

I am the developer of the PETdisk, thanks for the mention Robert!
I started this as just a way for me to load programs onto my own machines, then developed it a bit more as a simple solution for loading and saving programs.
I wrote the firmware recently, and the feature list is small at the moment, just listing a directory and loading and saving programs. But I hope to provide firmware updates soon. I've also put up full schematics and source code on the bitfixer.com site if anyone wants to build their own version from scratch.

At the moment there is no directory support, it can just see .prg files in the root directory. But this is one of several new features on the list to support in the future.
I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has, and hope that the PETdisk can be of use to the Commodore community. Thanks..
- Mike
http://bitfixer.com

Mikam73 · Post by **Mikam73** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 3:08 am

Hi Mike
Could I please buy ready product from you, course I cant build that myself.
Best regards
Mika

bitfixer · Post by **bitfixer** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:56 pm

Mika, I sent you a PM with order instructions. Thanks!

RobertBe · Post by **RobertBe** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 7:05 pm

Mike, how goes testing PETdisk with a VIC-20 and IEEE cartridge?

Sincerely,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug

sjgray · Post by **sjgray** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 8:02 am

RobertBe wrote:Mike, how goes testing PETdisk with a VIC-20 and IEEE cartridge?

Sincerely,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug

I tested PETdisk with Vic-20 and VIC1112 interface. It works, but you have to take into account memory requirement. I tried with unexpanded VIC and a MicroSD card with 300 files and LOAD"$",8 caused the machine to crash. I have additional memory carts but didn't test with them since I don't have the instructions for my slot expander's dip switches...

Steve

RobertBe · Post by **RobertBe** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 5:44 am

Interesting information, Steve. Thanks for the update.

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug

e5frog · Post by **e5frog** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 12:37 pm

Inventive solution with the microSD-card adapter, you usually get one when you buy a microSD-card - so no need to get a connector for that. I wonder if a 90 degree pin strip and a socket is cheaper than a holder though.

bitfixer · Post by **bitfixer** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 1:13 pm

Hi,

Quick update on the PETdisk -
it now supports firmware upgrades direct from the SD card, so no need for a chip programmer. Also supporting wildcards in filenames and the DLOAD command in basic 4.0.
More upgrades to come including directories, sequential files, and more..