So my HxC arrived today, and I've installed it and it's great! So my Plus has now waved goodbye to magnetic media and my 6128 can inherit the 3.5" drive, great stuff!
Just one thing I want to know... How do I tell the HxC to switch sides if I want to use a double sided disc image? Orion Prime is working fine but I don't see any S1 change from S0 on the screen. So is it simply a case of creating an 80 track disc image and that will do the job? Disc formatting/side handling is not something I know a great deal about to be honest.
I did find quite a novel way of installing the HxC, mine is fitted underneath the keyboard on my plus machine with the screen routed out via an old ide cabe to a (temporary) enclosure on top of the machine. Doing this has the bizarre side effect of being able to select disc images by pressing firmly on the Amstrad logo. A happy accident! I've cut a pretty messy hole in the bottom of the case so I can get at the SD card. I guess I'll tidy it up a bit but its not a high priority as its hidden.
Pictures! Pictures!!!
And, yes, you do need separate disk images for each side :)
Doh! I was hoping I could use one image, but hey, having access to up to 32gb of stuff still kicks butt! Its not exactly hard to put another image in a slot is it.
Gryzor, I will post some pics soon, but I have to say, with this set up at the moment underneath the case is a bit ugly, but it works and from the outside you would never know the hxc is there!
EDIT: For anyone who wants to see the improvements I've made to this mod so far see page 2
Click here> Re: HxC arrived today! But how is side switching handled? (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?topic=2682.msg29889#msg29889)
OK here are some pics of my HxC Plus mod, it's a bit quick and dirty, but I will bust out the dremel soon and finish it off...
I apologise for the formatting, I'm not sure how to annotate the photos properly but hopefully it all makes nome kind of sense...
1)Here's what is looks like from the outside...
2)Here is underneath, I use a small piece of plastic with velcro to close it up for now when not needed ...
3)A closeup of the horrible mess of a access to SD slot lol!
4)Removing the SD card
5)Here is how I installed it all, HxC board held in with foam mounting tape, I love that stuff nearly as much as Gaffer Tape!
6)Closeup of the HxC, I had to remove some plastic from this part of the CPC case, it's fine without it as there is plenty enough support let either side. The HxC buttons don't bump against the back of the keyboard in this position fortunately, unless you make them, read on...
7) It might be a little tough to see but here the Fres Fighter IMG is loaded on the HxC screen
8 And in the the next picture Logistic is selected after a firm, but not aggressive press on the Amstrad logo, this was just an accidental by product of the install but it works fine for me.
If I want to I can access the buttons underneath, maybe a little difficult if you have larger hands and you have to press them sideways but it works and I'm happy with it.
Heheh... Yeah, it's a bit messy, but an interesting proposition! Choosing a better-looking box for the screen would go a long way, and I think we should find a better way to choose images...?
Step 1: Bite a hole in the bottom of your CPC :D
No, seriously, an interesting place to put the HxC, but it needs to be neatened up a bit, even if it is hidden underneath the CPC.
Bryce.
I find the combination of a 6128 plus and a HxC quite interesting (maybe someday I'll get both). I was wondering, can't you just put all the HxC stuff in a plastic box and connect the cable to the inside of the plus without having to break the case? Maybe after removing the disc drive?
Deepfb managed to get his HxC and his Symbiface II inside a CPC+ and the only case mod was to cut a window for the HxC display...
The Plus has tons of space inside. However Badstarrs Plus is a 464, so removing the disc-drive could prove to be a challenge (McKlain) :D But I can understand why Badstarr chose to put the HxC where he did: there's no free area at the back or the side, where the HxC PCB would fit AND the SD Card would protrude out the side (without removing the entire tapedeck).
Bryce.
Oh I see XD
Haha! Bryce! I did pretty much bite a hole into the case, I did start by cutting with a dremel but the hole was a little to small to access properly, so I basically munched away the plastic with some pliers, I will be improving the quality of the 'SD port' today.
Gryzor, I will be making a more uniform case for the screen soon, and I will most likely rout some micro switches to it from the HxC to make it all look better. At this stage I just wanted a woking solution so I could get down to playing with the new hardware! Watch this space!
Basically I want my plus to look as stock as possible, the only real indication that I've modded inside is an AUX socket connected to the tape deck so I can load with MP3 players via the tape deck and the screen sticking out of the expansion aperture.
McKlain, you could easily put the HxC in a box and wire it direct to the 6128+ PCB, if you have a steady hand you could solder to the board or add a connection to the 2nd disk drive port and use it as a B drive, or whatever takes your fancy.
Quote from: Badstarr on 14:11, 08 September 11
...the only real indication that I've modded inside is an AUX socket connected to the tape deck so I can load with MP3 players via the tape deck and the screen sticking out of the expansion aperture.....
Oooh. Where did you fix the wires for the aux? I added one to my "464+", connecting it to the main board (I can't remember which wires, but I think blue (4th from bottom) and ground), but this didn't work. TBH, I didn't try to fault find very well, and it has been on a back burner for a short while due to other commitments.
Those connections are correct, so it should have worked. Maybe you just need to experiment with the volume control on the MP3 player, the CPC is very fussy about the input level.
Bryce.
Quote from: Bryce on 14:54, 08 September 11
Those connections are correct, so it should have worked. Maybe you just need to experiment with the volume control on the MP3 player, the CPC is very fussy about the input level.
Well, next time I dig it out I'll double check exactly what I did. I must admit I didn't give it very much testing at all - and it's even possible I connected the socket the wrong way round :)
(read into that: alcohol and soldering sounds fun at the time, but results can be unpredictable at times)
Quote from: Jase on 15:08, 08 September 11
(read into that: alcohol and soldering sounds fun at the time, but results can be unpredictable at times)
Who are you telling! It took me years to master the art of "semi-concious soldering" :D
Bryce.
Well, I was a little lazy with my AUX connection, I just soldered directly to the play head, it works fine this way, you can also use one of those cassette adapters where you put a pretend tape in and it has a wire and jack plug that plugs to your MP3 player.
However, the bitrate etc of the MP3 "tapes" is important, if you use the usual settings 128-160 kbps some of the original signal is approximated by the codec, so you may loose some bits and the CPC will report read error. I use 44.1 kHz sample rate and at least 360kb bit rate and this works fine for me. I use audacity to normalise the digital audio to -7dB to give a reliable signal gain and use iTunes to encode to MP3 afterwards.
By the way, the dremelling continues....
Plastic editing trick: Find a straight piece of metal or harder plastic. Glue it temporarily on the inside of the housing where you want the edge of your opening to be. Then use a metal file to file down to the piece of metal. Remove the metal and repeat for each edge. That way you get a perfectly straight edge on the opening.
Bryce.
Thanks Bryce. Good tip! will give it a try, just going to pop out for some supplies for the screen case hopefully will be finished soon!
Quote from: Badstarr on 16:00, 08 September 11
Thanks Bryce. Good tip! will give it a try, just going to pop out for some supplies for the screen case hopefully will be finished soon!
For the final touches, it may be worth while trying to get the hole the same dimensions as an Amiga Trap Door cover... These can be got quite cheaply.
(just an idea!)
I will have a look at the Amiga door thing but I might be a bit restricted on the dimensions as I don't want to loose the remaining keyboard stand offs so for now I have neatened up the sd card port, It's not perfect but it's looking a bit more factory thanks to the editing tip from Bryce. I was going to make a slide in door but I have settled for a make shift snap in on for now. I just need to paint the new screen case really, but the shop where I buy spray paint was closed early today Doh! Will prolly finish tomorrow now! But I think it's looking better already!
New pictures when it's finished!
Bryce.
Well, here are some pics of what I have achieved so far, the SD card door is a lot more neat and tidy, not perfect, but better, it still has some bite marks but I didn't want to go too close to the HxC with a spinning dremel. I will align it better when I have a bit more free time. I am going to use an old PC drive blanking plate to fab a nice trap door soon. The main thing is that the screen has a much nicer housing now and it simply velcros into place for easy removal when it's stored away. I've made a temporary cover for the SD Card Door. Anyway this is my progress so far...
I've just noticed... you put your 6128 plus without the disk drive inside a 464 plus case, right?
Hi McKain,
I actually bought it like this! It's either a modded 464+ board with disc hardware added or a 6128+ in a 464+ case. The guy I bought it off seems to be selling some 464+ disc drive upgrade kits, (well minus a few components) on ebay. I think it's relatively straight forward job to if you don't mind performing some surgery on your cpc. It's great to have all round loading media options, Tape, Disc, HxC and MP3 through an aux socket!
I have noticed those "upgrade kits", they seem to be missing the important, hard to find parts.
Pointless really.
The supposed upgrade kits on ebay.co.uk are a useless overpriced collection of IC sockets and a few resistors. The RAM and disc controller ICs aren't included. I'm sure some victims still fall foul to this trick.
Bryce.
Well, the memory is easy to get hold of:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330449389204#ht_500wt_922 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330449389204#ht_500wt_922)
(Tried, tested and bang on!)
And the rest - well, a cheap +3 can be cannibalised for these.
And whilst the kits are a over priced, they are useful for people like me who are still at the stage of needing a helping hand. I asked about the memory upgrade kit, and received lots of detailed instructions, and I didn't have to buy anything from him! Fortunately I have a reasonable stash of components, but buying them all individually would ultimately cost a lot more than the kit.
I'm not defending him, just putting another point of view across.
Oh dear, the ebay guy doesn't seem to be winning any friends with these upgrade kits! I did think they seemed a little light on components for a "kit", plus the info to do this mod is all over the net or simply use the service manuals as a guide.
Fortunately I don't need the upgrade, but I did bid on a 464+ motherboard a couple of days ago, but lost because I was using my phone to bid, 3G Sony Ericsons suck! I wanted a spare just in case something goes wrong with my plus but lost out by £1 ! I would have been adding a disc interface, I did a search for the components but they were nowhere to be found, however, I found some components that were claimed to be compatible replacements, but I guess I will not know if they work until I find a board to experiment with.
I'm sure he has helped some people, but I just think his advertising method is somewhat misleading. It's like advertising a kit-car, where only the air for the tyres and a pair of drivers gloves are included. The difficult bits to get are ALL missing.
One of my "background projects" is to find alternatives for all the hard bits: ACID, µP765, CRTC, ASIC, memory (to some extent). These are all parts that are discontinued and when they break, the CPC is usually deemed useless. If I can create alternatives for these from modern parts, every CPC can be saved from the tip.
Bryce.
Back to the case mod: if I were you I'd take the CPC to a paint dealer and have him produce a spray of the same color with which to paint the screen casing...
Quote from: Bryce on 13:50, 10 September 11
I'm sure he has helped some people, but I just think his advertising method is somewhat misleading. It's like advertising a kit-car, where only the air for the tyres and a pair of drivers gloves are included. The difficult bits to get are ALL missing.
To be fair to the seller, he does state that certain parts are not included in the 'upgrade' kits.
However, I have to agree that the kits are bloody useless. They are dirt cheap, so it's only to be expected :laugh:
The only reason to buy a kit is to get all the parts necessary to complete the job, if you are able to buy the important parts yourself then you certainly do not need any help getting the common parts.
People may not read the description fully, believing from the title that a full kit is on offer.
Quote from: Gryzor on 18:05, 10 September 11
Back to the case mod: if I were you I'd take the CPC to a paint dealer and have him produce a spray of the same color with which to paint the screen casing...
Yes, back to the case mod. I had a tin of spray paint that matched up really well when I modded my Amiga A600. It was from the BMW range of paints available in Halfords (a uk based rip-off merchant), but can I hell remember the exact name of it.
So this is really a crap comment really isnt it :)
By the way badstarr, great mod - and great use of the spare space in the +... probably the best place to put the HxC imho. And yes, I am a bit jealous :) I just used that space for something else, and it's well and truly glued in now!
QuoteBy the way badstarr, great mod
Actually I don't like is at all. I think that the box with the HxC inside is not visually aesthetic and does not fit well with the CPC. Sorry to be that frank :P
lol, Just to be accurate the "box" with the HxC inside is the CPC!
Thanks Jase, I will be improving the aesthetics of the mod as and when I have time, but as a working solution its not as painful on the eye as the mark one version, and it works quite nicely. What have you installed in your plus by the way?
Yeah, you got the idea. HxC's screen is tiny ; your box around it is round and too large for that stuff.
Whoo Hoo! I'm so pleased! Genesis8 have covered my mod! I have been visiting that site for years, seeing all the great CPC achievements over the years and I've been lucky enough to have something featured on there. I feel honoured! yay! Now I feel like a proper CPC geek! So hopefully for my next trick... I'll make that Plus Cartridge Emulator I've been dreaming about! ;D
Congrats!
BTW - don't get me wrong, I did not intend to look agressive in my previous answers. As an real Amiga 600 modder, I can definitively understand why and how we can freak out sometimes about new hardware stuff ;)
@Norecess Thanks :) Don't worry I didn't take offence, everyone has their own opinion on things. And you are right the screen case is a little bulky, but it was the best I could find. It's just for now as I'm putting together a case that looks like it's part of the CPC at least in the same sort of style anyway. Also I have been working on a cover for the SD card door. I think when it's finished it will be more to everyones tastes. :-)