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AMSTRAD KITS,CABLES AND ADAPTERS!

Started by ikonsgr, 13:49, 08 December 11

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ikonsgr

Hello everyone,

I just want to inform you that i i make and sell through ebay these very useful items for Amstrad:

INCLUDES:
-RIBBON CABLE AND Y POWER CABLE ADAPTER FOR 3.5" FLOPPY DRIVE OR HxC FLOPPY EMU

-POWER SUPPLY FOR AMSTRAD 6128/664 + 3.5" FLOPPY DRIVE AND RIBBON CABLE

-COMPLETE KIT INCLUDING A 3.5" DISK DRIVE + RIBBON CABLE + Y POWER CABLE ADAPTER

-RGB VIDEO/AUDIO SCART CABLE 1Meter  (can be also done in any length you want to)

-TWO JOYSTICK / GAME PORT  Y  ADAPTER SPLITTER

-AMSTRAD 464/664/6128 PAUSE SWITCH AND RESET BUTTON ADAPTER

-AMSTRAD CPC PLUS ADAPTER FOR AMSTRAD CPC MONITOR OR SCART CABLE

-9 PIN JOYSTICK TO 15 PIN GAME PORT ADAPTER
- POWER SUPPLY FOR JOYSTICK PORT , for supporting autofire function and enable usage of the following adapters:

- DB15 gameport PC Joystick adapter

-Amiga/Atari ST mouse adapter for Amstrad, C64, Atari 8Bit

- Wireless Bluetooth Joystick Adapter

*notes:

- I also make some usefull stuff for amiga too. Check this out.
- All ribbon cables can also be made for CPC plus and schneider Amstrad with centronics connector, instead of the classic edge connector. Cost is 2 pounds extra
- All power supplies that i use are "universal" ones, meaning they accept as input ANY voltage from 110 to 240 AC 50/60hz, so in practice, you can use them all over the world!Only extra thing you might need is a very cheap and easy to find AC plug converter


steve

I would not buy a power supply from another country as I do not know if it would give the right voltages, I think UK uses 240v, Europe uses 220v.

Bryce

Technically correct, but electrical equipment that connect to the mains are designed and built to accept anything between 220VAC and 240VAC and frequencies between 50Hz and 60Hz, so they will work correctly anywhere in Europe. The only real issue is the shape of the plug, which does tend to vary from country to country. PSUs from the U.S. and Japan are a completely different matter, as they are made for 110VAC.

Bryce.

TFM

Quote from: Bryce on 15:58, 08 December 11
Technically correct, but electrical equipment that connect to the mains are designed and built to accept anything between 220VAC and 240VAC and frequencies between 50Hz and 60Hz, so they will work correctly anywhere in Europe. The only real issue is the shape of the plug, which does tend to vary from country to country. PSUs from the U.S. and Japan are a completely different matter, as they are made for 110VAC.

Bryce.

And therefore the cables out of the door are called "Squirrel Highways". With only 110 Volt you need a lot of Ampere (what a waste anyway).

TFM of FutureSoft
Also visit the CPC and Plus users favorite OS: FutureOS - The Revolution on CPC6128 and 6128Plus

ralferoo

Quote from: Bryce on 15:58, 08 December 11
Quote from: steve on 15:44, 08 December 11
I would not buy a power supply from another country as I do not know if it would give the right voltages, I think UK uses 240v, Europe uses 220v.
Technically correct, but electrical equipment that connect to the mains are designed and built to accept anything between 220VAC and 240VAC and frequencies between 50Hz and 60Hz, so they will work correctly anywhere in Europe.
As I understand it, mains voltage in UK is specified as 240v +- 10%, and Europe is 220v +- 10%, so it's expected that equipment for either would work at the nominal voltage for both. I also believe that in practice, most people actually design for 230v because technically either would be within tolerance then. In practice, the actual voltage only affects large AC motors and maybe the brightness of old style lightbulbs and usually it's not going to matter about the exact voltage because you'll be regulating it down to something small at some point.

The frequency is a bit more of a thorny issue, as there's a lot of stuff that doesn't care what the frequency is, typically anything that ends up as DC anyway, but motors etc are obviously significantly affected by frequency.

I remember watching an interesting program about power generation once and actually what they struggle with is maintaining a constant frequency (I think they rely on it being between 49.5 and 50.5 Hz) as it needs to be uniform across the entire grid and when there's a power surge the tendency is to reduce the frequency as the turbines driven by steam (as per the majority of types of power stations) struggle to maintain a constant speed as the load increases.

ikonsgr

I see that there is some confusing about power supplies,so let me straight some things out:
All power supplies that i use are "universal" ones, meaning they accept as input ANY voltage from 110 to 240 AC 50/60hz, so in practice, you can use them all over the world!
The ac plug outlet is an issue, but for that purpose there are adapters who convert one plug to another. You can find them almost everywhere and usually they are VERY cheap (i recently bought one which was also a  "universal" adapter, meaning convert any plug (US, UK etc) to european plug with only 0.5euro!)
Anyway, i already sold many of these kits all over Europe(and one to USA :) ),most of them to UK, and no one has a problem with the power supplies!
The ONLY thing you might need is a very cheap and easy to find ac plug converter.

MacDeath

Other things that would be nice...

CPC/PLUS and PLUS/CPC monitor converter...

Basically a DIN6+jack to DIN8 converter and a DIN8 to DIN6 (no really need sound as the PLUS have a jack plug too...)


Other usefull stuff :

Power supply "extension cable" and DIN6 (ou DIN8) "extension  cable"... so we can connect the amstrad farer from the monitor...


Also if you could find some components for PLUS cartridges such as "man in the middle" cartridge connectors (what are they ?)... this would be very helpfull...




ikonsgr

Quote from: MacDeath on 02:39, 09 December 11
Other things that would be nice...

CPC/PLUS and PLUS/CPC monitor converter...

Basically a DIN6+jack to DIN8 converter and a DIN8 to DIN6 (no really need sound as the PLUS have a jack plug too...)
Good idea. Of course this kind of converters requires to already have a scart cable for 6128 or 6128 plus. The only problem is that i don't have a cpc plus to test it! Of course it's very easy to do this kind of converter and if you pay a little attention on the wiring and soldering then it will work ok for sure!  :)

Quote from: MacDeath on 02:39, 09 December 11
Other usefull stuff :
Power supply "extension cable" and DIN6 (ou DIN8) "extension  cable"... so we can connect the amstrad farer from the monitor...
As for the power supply extension, i think that is much easier to use an AC power extension cord instead.
For the video/audio scart cable it can be done, but for lengths of more than 3-4 meters i think you will start to get "visible" deterioration of picture quality (some ghosting,moire etc) due to crosstalk on the cable and other interferences. Of course for larger lengths you can use a high quality individually screened cable (meaning every internal signal cable has its own shield) to minimize these effects, but the possibility of having problems will be greater than with smaller lengths.
Anyway, i can make scart cables at any length if you want! ;)

Quote from: MacDeath on 02:39, 09 December 11
Also if you could find some components for PLUS cartridges such as "man in the middle" cartridge connectors (what are they ?)... this would be very helpfull...
Unfortunately you find me completely unaware on the subject...
In any event,i think that the reason you can't find easy support,gadgets,kits etc for amstrad "PLUS" models, is ,in the end, a matter of "timing". Older amstrad models came out in the mid 80's where 8bit home computers where "kings of the home market" and especially the disk drive models(664/6128) was a revolution on the home market at that time. So old amstrad models and especially 6128 sold in MILLIONS  all over the world for at least 6-7 years. Unfortunately the "plus" models, came out  'too little, too late". By early 90's, when "plus" models debuted, the era of the 8bit home micros was ended...16bit home computers like amiga 500 and atari 520st, became so cheap and so MUCH MORE powerful resulting a total domination of the market. An so,  amstrad "plus" models sold MUCH,MUCH less and commercially "died" before they even strart....

Bryce

I think MacDeath is referring to a 6-DIN to 8-DIN monitor adapter, so that you can use a classic 6128 on a Plus Monitor, or a CPC Plus on an old GT/CTM monitor (with additional Audio Out), so no SCART required.

The cartridge connector he is referring to for the "Man In The Middle" is the black connector which can be seen in this picture: http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/File:MITM2.jpg    It's a 36way (2x18) 2.54mm Pitch, 1.5mm PCB edge connector with long PCB solder pins. I've tried (unsuccessfully) to source these for quite a while.

Bryce.

ikonsgr

I've just updated the list of items with some changes and additions.

satchman2000

Hello!


I've just bought one of your kits.. should be with me some time this week :)


I look forward to getting it ;)


cheers


Dave

ced64k

I bought a RIBBON CABLE AND POWER SUPPLY FOR 3.5" FLOPPY DRIVE OR HxC FLOPPY EMU last week, cheap and works great  :D

satchman2000

Wahey! My kit arrived yesterday- super fast delivery! Well impressed :)

ikonsgr


Gryzor


ikonsgr


Gryzor

No, literally you forgot me; never sent me an invoice after those ebay messages! :D


ikonsgr


Gryzor


ikonsgr

I add a couple of extra things for amstrad
- AN EXTRA LONG (4Meters) JOYSTICK EXTENSION CABLE
-A PAUSE SWITCH AND RESET BUTTON ADAPTER
I really enjoyed the last one fellows. It's very annoying (and maybe a little silly....) to have to switch off/on your amstrad every time you want to load something else, because most games disable CTRL+SHIFT+ESC function!
But the most important, how many times i couldn't answer the phone or even go to toilet because there was no way to pause the f!@#$ing game!  :)
I really regret i didn't have these 2 buttons back at those days...  ::)

Gryzor


MacDeath

We pay in pound or can we pay in €uros ?


I was refering to PLUS/CPC monitors adapters...


I guess all you need is a pair of Din8 and DIn6 male to female cables, cut them then exchange the pairings.


Would also need a small jack for the sound on the PLUS monitor.


To get the PLUS on a CPC old monitor on the other hand would just need to disconnect the sound, as the Audio jack plug could be used (CPC old monitors don't have sound output).


Or it could be something like your joystick doublers... no cable just a pair of plug sticked together (and eventual jack for the audio I guess...


How much would it cost ?

Gryzor

It's ebay.CO.UK so prices are in pounds, I guess, but on paypal you pay in whatever currency you deal with...

beaker

Any plans to make the pause/reset unit with some sort of pass through so we can attach other things to the CPC like multiface II/LowerROM/Megaflash/Symbiface II etc?

I've been after a joystick extender for a while so will probably pick one up in the New Year... I guess the next thing would be a 4m poll with a mirror on top to push the keys then I'd never need to get out of bed...  :laugh:

ikonsgr

It's like gryzor's said, on ebay prices can be only in pounds, but you can pay with any currency you have in your paypal account (they make automatically the exchange).
Now about what mac death propose, these are sure very nice ideas for adaptors BUT, as i wrote in the past the main "problem" is that i don't have a cpc plus to test any of these adapters! As easy as it could be to make any of these ,there is always the possibility of something go wrong (for example a "cold" soldering somewhere, or even make a wrong connection by mistake) and although (judging from my personal experience) these kind of things rarely happen, it DOES happen and that's why i need to test anything i make! I would really hate it, if i send something and get a "not working" answer!  ;) :)
On the other hand, i wonder, how many amstrad (either cpc or plus) monitors are still function in the world? We are talking for crt monitors 20-30years old! And of those  still function, the picture you'll get would be rather horrible (btw, coloured CTM  monitors had crappy picture from the start anyway  :) ).

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