ScuzzBlog: Diaries June 2017
Entry 14th June 2017: Post: 03
Jack Dilemma
Paul
I'm still not sure if this will work with the connector I bought. The
male 3.5 is as follows... the very outer end is the output or MIC. Then
there is a spacer . The next or middle portion is the input or EAR then
another spacer and finally the remaining part is the GND or common. The
cable on page 311 of the Spectrum manual then splits to a mono EAR and
MIC socket. The point is that one is for listening and one is for
transmitting. Modern splitters are for hi fi systems that in truth are
dealing with two receiving mono signals. I won't know if it works until
it arrives.
I have tried with a single but for me it didn't work. But then I have
tried all morning to get Uridium working on a joystick with a Spectrum
48K and a Spectrum+ with a variety of interfaces and joysticks and just
cannot get the things working. And trust me at over 4 minute loading
times it aint much fun doing repeat tests. The Kempston say is getting
hot as is the Interface 1 but no joystick activity. Driving me bonkers.
The point being with retro what do you actually know is working. The
computer, the cable, the interface, the software. Any combination of
issues could be causing an issue.
On the 3" disk thang I have a working 3.5" floppy now with the one
Amstrad but it wont read PCW9512 disks. And those disks are again
different to the 6128 and +3. So even if I got something to read one I
would need to transfer to another and so on. Its not the PC so much that
is the issue its getting say the one single sided PCW to read the double
sided PCW. I just want some way of being able to access data if one was
to fall over. The 6128 being able to read the 9512 would be the best
option. Just don't know why Amstrad didn't create some kind of universal
disk system so I could put the 9512 into the 6128 or DD1.
Like I say I have a ribbon to an external 3.5 on the 8256 as shown here.
http://www.scuzzscink.com/amiga/car_0807/car_2708_185.jpg
But the 8256 deals with disk data differently and I cannot format a disk
that can be read on the 9512 from the 8256 and I am not up for splitting
the 9512 and digging down and connecting a ribbon as I am bound to blow
the bloody thing up. Knowing my luck. Took me seven years to fix the
thing. Its the data on the 9512 disks that is valuable and I don't like
having just one machine that can read them. Highly vulnerable.
I haven't tried with CP/M on the 8256 and the floppy drive yet. I will
have to see how it deals with the floppy disks in that drive. That will
be interesting to see. But like I say I can't see a way of reading 9512
disks outside of the 9512 without setting up a floppy drive. Don't get
me thinking about it cus I'll try and fail and then I'll have no way of
reading my old data on the 9512. So important to me to keep that machine
alive now.
I will have another look at this but I have tried a few times and the
only thing that I found was a service for transferring data.
scuzz
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