USIfAC II:Convert a PC or USB stick to Amstrad HDD,access dsk's,and many more!

[andycadley]

But with my USIfAC II (fw 6f) + 512k memory expansion it was working with SymbOS 3.1.
See the photos:

Note, the fact that it loads and appears to run doesn't actually mean a lot. The problem with the Plus machines and RAM expansions will manifest as RAM corruption over time so something won't necessarily fail instantly nor necessarily crash in spectacular fashion.

[ikonsgr]

Don't know if others have this as well:
Usifac II works fine, when it's the only connected hardware expansion.
As soon as I connect something else, it isn't working properly anymore. I wasn't able to run SymbOS with the Usiface II and a memory expansion, so I could only test it with 128K so far.

Did you try to change USIfAC's rom number with out &fbd2,X? This method worked for some people who wanted to have other boards connected together with usifac.

What I also recognize is, that it produces a lot of noise on the bus, at least you "hear it working a lot" with the internal CPC speaker, more than it is usual with other hardware.
Maybe the only issue is, that it should suppress interferences a little bit more?

Did you ever hear the interference made by a wifi module trying to connect on a m4 board (it drove me crazy until i found out there is a command to turn off wifi module    )? It's like sending loud morse code signals through Amstrad speaker...   Parasitic noises and interferences from the lousy cpc speaker is VERY common issue, best way to avoid it, is to use a tv with scart cable and  audio lead, this should give MUCH better sound quality too 

[GUNHED]

Sure, the internal speaker is imho just some kind of 'emergency solution' for people who just got their computer and had no time to put in the 3,5 mm cable to connect the CPC to a proper stereo or boxes. 

In case of the 6128plus it's different again. 

[ikonsgr]

Seriously guys, can we please have two threads instead of this one here?
One for anything USIfAC. And one for technical problems only.
The information about this great project gets totally lost into the vast majority of technical-problems

EXACTLY! Thanks for pointing that out!
Frankly, i'm sorry for the few of you, that encounter weird technical issues with the board, i will provide a revised board in the near future that hopefully will resolve any issues with the few "grumpy" Amstrad cpc's, but if i may say, what really bothers me and makes me sad, is that some people, by repeating the SAME problems, over and over and over again, act as if they are obsessed with convincing everyone that USIfAC II is a crappy defective board, JUST BECAUSE IT DIDN'T WORK FOR THEM!

[Gryzor]

Ok, thread will be dealt with in the morning. Apologies it had reached the deplorable condition it's in, mainly because of @WacKEDmaN , I haven't been following it. 

[poulette73]

I'm sorry but I had to comment on this.
 
I don't deny that some may have problems with USIfAC II, but it's a minority and I'm deeply sorry for them.
 
None of the multiple helps and suggestions made it work. And we will never know if the problem came from the USifAC II interface, a hardware problem on the CPC, a PSU problem, ram chip, or other reasons. Let's not forget that Amstrad equipment we are working on is almost 40 years old...

And here is my advice to solve the technical problems all at once: Get a proper working CPC - and best: get a proper working CPC6128.
Just my friendly advice. 

Nothing to add!
 
I want to re-establish a truth: USIfAC II is used by several hundred people around the world, without any problem. The vast majority of these users do not even come to post on this topic... The interventions here on this topic do not reflect the success of the USIfAC II interface but only the complaints.
 
This interface is fabulous... and offers so many possibilities that no other allowed before. Several dozen RSX commands allow you to perform a very large number of operations such managing files and DSK images, direct transfers between CPC and PC in bluetooth/wifi/USB cable serial communication, creation of physical media from a DSK source (in both directions), native access to Amsdos files, FDC emulation, transformation of a 464 into a 6128, integrated Parados rom, and I forget so many more.
 
At the support level, I don't know anyone like @ikonsgr who has listened so much to the community. He answers all the questions on this thread, and dozens of PMs. USIfAC II interface has never stopped evolving over the years both in terms of hardware and component modification, but also a very large number of firmware deployed.
 
Today, it's hard to hear that USIfAC is cheap made, overprice (?), and lack of creator support.
 
It would be really wise to separate the topic in two. The main thread containing all the evolutions, suggestions, improvements, and constructive feedback. And a second containing the concerns and solutions reported. Today this topic is completely unreadable.

[Gryzor]

Yeah, the thing is it's a huge thread by now, wouldn't know where to start... Maybe it'd be best to lock the current thread and start a couple of new ones with a warning in the first post here? 

[Prodatron]

Maybe make one "feature" and one "issue, let's talk how to solve this" thread?

[Gryzor]

Sounds cool to me, if @ikonsgr agrees...

[eto]

Oh yes! please!

[Gryzor]

Ok, after discussing with @ikonsgr I'm going to delete all of @WacKEDmaN 's posts from this post, as well as OP's replies to them, gradually. If people wish their replies to no-longer available posts to be deleted, ping me with the link or report your posts.

I'm also going to move the Plus-related posts to a dedicated thread.

A new thread has been opened for technical help, link will be prominently placed in the OP.

A drastic solution, but it's gotten out of hand and there's not much else that can be done.

Also, @WacKEDmaN has been placed under moderation for now; all future posts will be closely monitored.

[GUNHED]

Sorry for all the time you waste for this, really! And thanks a lot for caring! 

[shacpc]

I applaud the moderator's decision. I think this user thought he was arguing with his phone company instead of valuing a developer like ikonsgr to whom many users are eternally grateful for creating USIfAC and being always ready to solve any doubt. My thanks to John for his effort on his device.

[Gryzor]

I thought the same, I cannot see how ikonsgr put up with him and tried to help again and again, and how entitled the guy felt. 

[kolleykibber]

Hi @ikonsgr
I've just seen the ULIFAC. I want one! Have I missed what the L stands for?  I'd like to try and have a go at getting honeyterm working. I couldn't with the Usifac as Honeyterm is ROM based and I wasn't prepared to go though the effort of getting a separate ROM board working!

Having just caught up on this thread after a year or so and seeing what you've had to deal with, I want to add my appreciation for what you do. I have some experience in software and hardware design, but I know I will never have the commitment and passion that you have. It appears you're experiencing the Dunning-Kruger effect and I hope those of us who truly appreciate what you do can communicate to you that you are a stand out in this field and encourage you to keep going!

[ikonsgr]

Hi @ikonsgr
I've just seen the ULIFAC. I want one! Have I missed what the L stands for?  I'd like to try and have a go at getting honeyterm working. I couldn't with the Usifac as Honeyterm is ROM based and I wasn't prepared to go though the effort of getting a separate ROM board working!

Indeed,i 've sold ~dozen of the 1st batch of ULiFAC boards and it seems to work ok. Now i'm waiting for a new batch of pcb boards (and 512k sram chips too), i believe i will be able to "restart production"in ~month or so. If you want, give me a note to ikonsgr745@hotmail.com to add you to the "Waiting list" for ULIfAC
Btw, acroym stands for: ULtimate, Interface, for Amstrad Cpc... quite humble title,right?   But i thought it's kind of deserve this title, as it it sums up the 4 "major needs" for Amstrad user (ok, maybe a bit more "advanced" user  ):
-Mass storage loading/writing
-765 FDC emualtion with Low level dsk image access,
-RAM expansion,
-Rom board,
ALL in one board! What else you might possibly need?

Having just caught up on this thread after a year or so and seeing what you've had to deal with, I want to add my appreciation for what you do. I have some experience in software and hardware design, but I know I will never have the commitment and passion that you have. It appears you're experiencing the Dunning-Kruger effect and I hope those of us who truly appreciate what you do can communicate to you that you are a stand out in this field and encourage you to keep going!

If you are referring to the last incident, i wouldn't say that it resembles the Dunning-Kruger effect,i think it's more a case of "excessive passion" for Amstrad CPC, which unfortunately if you can't control it, it can end up to obsession, and that can be rather annoying for all the other members of the community...   

[wolfgang]

Even the patched Version of CP/M Plus does not run (blank screen after |CPM command) but as I understand from ikonsgr and former messages in this forum this is normal on a standard CPC 464 (even with the memory expansion from ULIFAC). Anyway no problem for me

The patched version of CP/M found in WinAPE's site still uses #C3 RAM mode so it is impossible to work on 464 without a #C3 mode compatible RAM expansion.

d_kef

I have a question concerning the exchange of disk images (ULIFAC on CPC464) when running in CPC6128 mode:
there are two Disk units avalilable (|A and |B) but when I insert disk images in 2 (or more) slots the activatet image is always in both drives. When I select the next slot (with the button on the ULIFAC) the next image is in both A and B drive, no matter if I am on A or B (with commend |B). What am I doing wrong?
When in CPM22 I cannot change the disk image. If I do it with the button on the ULIFAC board the next image from the next slot is not selected. Concerning Drives A: and B: same behavior as above in AMSDOS.
And last question, what i the correct setting of the 464/6128 button on the ULIFAC board (for use with my CPC464)?

[ikonsgr]

I have a question concerning the exchange of disk images (ULIFAC on CPC464) when running in CPC6128 mode:
there are two Disk units avalilable (|A and |B) but when I insert disk images in 2 (or more) slots the activatet image is always in both drives. When I select the next slot (with the button on the ULIFAC) the next image is in both A and B drive, no matter if I am on A or B (with commend |B). What am I doing wrong?
When in CPM22 I cannot change the disk image. If I do it with the button on the ULIFAC board the next image from the next slot is not selected. Concerning Drives A: and B: same behavior as above in AMSDOS.
And last question, what i the correct setting of the 464/6128 button on the ULIFAC board (for use with my CPC464)?

When you use FDC emulation, there is only one dsk image available at any time (otherwise it would require to have dual FDC emulators to access 2 images- e.g. 2 disks- at the same time ...   ). What you can do, is to mount images on the 4 available slots using |MG, |MG2, |MG3, |MG4 commands (you can also use |SMG to check the list of all image slots and the currently selected) and then press the swap button to cyclic select them.
 

[wolfgang]

Ok, thanks I wasn't aware of that. But how to change disks in CPM22?
And how should the selector be set?

[wolfgang]

Hi again, please forget CPM it boots and runs, I am sure now I have troubles with the CPM disk images  (same problems when running in emulator).
Can you just give me a hint how the 464/6128 selector switch should be set for a CPC 464?
And John, congratulations for the ULIFAC unit, its a huge upgrade from the USIFAC II (which was already fantastic), direct jump to CPC 6128 mode with only one command, start file manager with one simple RSX command, lots of RAM and ROM, I really love it!

[ikonsgr]

@wolfgang, it doesn't matter if you are using cpm or amsdos or any other OS, the dsk image exchange is done "underneath" ,by simply pressing the dsk_swap button (it's exactly like changing the disk into the drive). If you are using CPC464 then switch should be to '464' position. This activates the "MREQ masking" procedure in order to avoid "ghost" writing of internal Ram whenever a write to external ram occurs (as we noted before, CPC464 doesn't "officially" support a ram expansion, that's why we need to do "tricks" to make it work). So if you have a CPC464 and the switch on '6128' position, external RAM will not function properly.

[wolfgang]

Hi, thank you very much for your help, I thought the disk change works as you describe it but it did not work in CPM. The reason is that the only working CPM disk I have is the CPM 2.2 boot disk (Cpmplgs4.dsk - thanks again for this image). For some reason it doesn't contain the format command and whenever I try to delete something on it or copy something to it it gets destroyed (I double checked in a CPC emulator on my PC, same thing),  thats how I got confused.
Anyway I will try with CPM 2.2 later for the moment there is plenty to explore in the 6128 mode.

[ikonsgr]

Hi, thank you very much for your help, I thought the disk change works as you describe it but it did not work in CPM. The reason is that the only working CPM disk I have is the CPM 2.2 boot disk (Cpmplgs4.dsk - thanks again for this image). For some reason it doesn't contain the format command and whenever I try to delete something on it or copy something to it it gets destroyed (I double checked in a CPC emulator on my PC, same thing),  thats how I got confused.
Anyway I will try with CPM 2.2 later for the moment there is plenty to explore in the 6128 mode.

If you want to use CPM for format reasons, you can just give |Format command. It supports data/system format with sectors in interleaved order (which means fast loading when disks are written), and it's done in less than 15seconds/disk ;-)

[wolfgang]

Hi John,
I am now trying to set up a direct connection, first with 2303 serial adapter (its a Prolific 2303TA) and also over WIFI using a ESP-8266-01 with ESP-01 adapter.
When I use serial connection no connection can be established, not in file transfer, disk transfer, Image transfer nor Terminal nor direct mode. I always get the message "PC not responding" when doing something on the CPC or CPC not repsonding when I try a file transfer from the PC with the Amstrad Utility. In the terminal nothing is sent to either of the two computers.
With WIFI: on the CPC I can set up the connection with the |WIFI command, but only if the is no USB stick on the ULIFAC. If there is an USB stick inserted the ULIFAC issues the message "USB module CH376,not found"on boot, if I type the |WIFI command i get the error message "NO WIFI module detected"
If I switch off the CPC, remove the USB stick and switch back on I get (of course) the message "No USB device found" (but I must wait some 20 seconds before switching back on, otherwise I still get both of the above messages), with |WIFI I get the Wifi setup screen, I first entered the SSID and password from my wireless network (this is saved in the ULIFAC) then the speed, then it asks for "Host ip:" - here I enter the IP number of my PC, in my case this is 10.0.0.51 (my network is 10.0.0.1 to 254) and keep the standard port 1000.
Then I start the AmstradUtilityII on the PC and click on Connection WiFi - nothing happens.
Just tried the other way around - first started the program on the PC then switched on the CPC - now I got
WiFi Module connected!
Ready
on the CPC
and on the PC "Connected" was lit
Now, direct mode works, I can look on the directory of the PC with CAT and Terminal also works.
But of course I cannot copy files nor disks without an USB stick inserted. I tried to insert one now with the CPC on, but the CAT and CD  commands always refer to the PC.
It seems that the WIFI and the CH376 module with USB stick inserted block each other, if I remove the USB stick or the ESP8266 module ULIFAC work correct.
I followed the manual of the USIFAC II (I will try to establish connection with my USIFAC II module as a next test) and what I described above is the result.
I use a CPC464 powered from a 5V/2A power supply only on the CPC, ULIFAC is set to internal power, is that ok? Do you have any hint for me?

[wolfgang]

Hi again,
I tried now all of the above in the (more less) same way with the USIFAC II and get the same behavior: No connection possible with serial device, with WiFi only when no USB stick is present.
Do I do something wrong or did I misunderstand something?