Frank Eggen's Switchless 8x Multi-Floppy Speeder 32KB RAM extension (DolphinDos 3) for the C128DCR and the internal 1571 floppy drive has been released on Github. Documentation, schematics, Gerber files, Kernal ROMs and logic files are available there. So everyone can rebuild this project.

This project is a further development of the very fast and popular DolphinDos3 for the C128 and the 1571 floppy disk drive. It uses the best of the retro world and the technology of the present and has never been available before. Switchless 8x Multi-Floppy-Speeder not only runs with DolphinDos 3 but can also run up to 8x DOS Kernals and C128/C64 Kernals and can be conveniently activated via DOS commands. This means that JiffyDOS 128, for example, can also be run alongside the original CBM-Dos and DolphinDos 3. This ensures maximum compatibility. The 32KB RAM extension is organized in 4x 8KB banks and, together with the Peripheral Interface Adapter (PIA, type 6821 or 6521), enables ultra-fast parallel data transfer and control of the 4x 8K RAM banks (32KB).

The Switchless 8x Multi-Floppy Speeder with 32 KB RAM extension for the Commodore C128DCR is one of the universally applicable accelerators for the internal 1571 floppy disk drive of the C128DCR.

In addition, the "Switchless 8x Multi-Floppy Speeder" is fully RAMBoard-compatible, which enables the use of corresponding nibble copy programs that support RAMBoard.

FraEgg / commodore-c128dcr-1571-switchless-floppydrive-8x-multi-floppy-speeder

Version 1.16.5 of ugBASIC and UGBASIC-IDE has just been released.

Version 1.16.5 of ugBASIC and UGBASIC-IDE has just been released. In addition to containing strong optimizations and corrections for all targets, there is a preliminary support for automatic animations and synced movements.

https://ugbasic.iwashere.eu/

Migration is largely complete.

All going well this Staurday I'll attempt to move the site to the commodore-128.org domain.

Fingers crossed

Quote from: BigDumbDinosaur on November 26, 2024, 01:16 AMWhich OS version are you running?

Windows Server 2022

Upgrade completed.

I also took the opportunity to update Apache, PHP and the underlying server OS.

There will be an outage between midnight and 6am (Australian Eastern Summer Time) on Wednesday 27th of November while the NBN connection is being upgraded.

Quote from: RobertB on November 21, 2024, 06:50 PMHeh, I knew about the idun, but I don't prefer that it needs a pi zero for a person to use it.

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group - http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm
Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network - http://www.portcommodore.com/sccan

Pi Zero is deprecated and getting harder to find, we can hope that the author updates eventually.

From the homepage at https://github.com/idun-project/idun-cartridge

This is the home of the idun-cartridge for the C128. Here you will find the latest software, along with source code, sample applications, and other content.

What does it do? Hopefully a demo is worth a thousand words. 

Hardware
The idun-cartridge uses a Propeller 1 micro-controller to provide a fast hardware interface between the C128 and a Raspberry Pi ("RPi") that runs a customized Linux OS. The cartridge is designed to work and fit best with the Raspberry Pi Zero 2. However, any recent Raspberry Pi can be made to work.

The first set of photos show the idun-cartridge with RPi Zero 2 fitted. As you can see, a standard-sized C64/128 cartridge case can be hacked to cover the board, but leave the RPi, ports, and button accessible.

Partial Support for original Pi Zero
The original Pi Zero is nearing end-of-life, being phased out by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in favor of the more powerful Pi Zero 2. Because of this, some ARM Linux disributions are discontinuing support, making it difficult for the idun-cartridge to continue supporting the Pi Zero. However, the current state of affairs is that the Pi Zero is widely available and very inexpensive, and this could remain the case for the next year-or-so.

In light of the above, the Pi Zero is partially supported. You can download a compatible image file that includes v1.2 of the software. All features are present on this image except for the idunSID remote SID player software (it requires a newer glibc library) and the Z80 programming support.

There will be scheduled down time on the 25th of November from 8am - 12 noon (Australian Eastern Summer Time) to replace a mechanical hard drive in the server with an SSD.

Worked today

Getting a timeout on that site Robert.

Oh nice - and yes, it's odd that a chess game never existed - it's usually one of the first programs on any machine or OS.

As part of the migration I'll also be setting up an email server associated with the website.

If anyone wants an @commodore-128.org email address let me know

Later on this month the forums will move directly to https://www.commodore-128.org and away from the this temporary site.

Once I have the exact date I'll give a few days notice - the changeover should be seamless; all of my testing has been good so far with only a couple of small issues that had to be worked out.

The swap should take an hour or two at most.

Quote from: skor on November 01, 2024, 01:24 AMMissed it again, sorry. I changed my notifications so I get alerted this time. Do you have a more recent invite?

Sure  https://discord.gg/zSG5puVD

View Spectrum images on the VDC - released 19/10/2024

These are not cheap - but interesting all the same - especially the side-by-side dual 1581 that harks back to the announced but never released 1572 dual 1571 drive.

(attached image is Jan Neuvian's picture of the 1572)n Neuviansan Neuvians Jan Neuvians


https://bitbinders.com/collections/bitbinders-1581-replica-disk-drives

Quote from: skor on October 16, 2024, 08:10 PMHello Blacklord, do you have a more recent invite? This invititation is not working for me. Thank you.

Yup - it expires every 7 days - here's a fresh one - https://discord.gg/ZWfZQ2sF

Ward Christensen has died. He was the co-creator and SysOp of the first BBS to ever go online, and the creator of the XMODEM file transfer protocol.

Alpha King was kind enough to write up this tribute:

"Today, we say goodbye to a true pioneer and legend in our community, Ward Christensen. As the co-creator of the first public Bulletin Board System (BBS), Ward laid the foundation for what would become a thriving network of communication and collaboration long before the modern internet.
Through CBBS, Ward and Randy Suess gave us a space to connect, share knowledge, and build communities that transcended physical boundaries. For those of us who lived in the BBS scene, it was more than a platform—it was a culture. Whether we were sharing files, chatting in message boards, or exploring the corners of digital freedom, Ward's contributions made it possible.
Ward's vision and ingenuity shaped a movement that influenced so much of what we do today, and his spirit of innovation will continue to inspire future generations of builders and dreamers.
Rest in peace, Ward. Your legacy will live on in the code, the communities, and the memories we all share."

Yes - there is such a thing - https://www.spritemate.com/

Here's what the developer provides as the list of new features in Vision BASIC v1.1: https://visionbasic.net/vision-basic-1-1-has-arrived/

What's new:

Support for GeoRAM as an alternative to REU, for the expanded RAM required to run Vision BASIC.

Support for battery-backed GeoRAM variants (e.g. NeoRAM) to store a copy of C64 RAM, enabling instant access to Vision BASIC and loaded programs at all times.

New commands in the add-on pack for accessing GeoRAM memory in your own programs.

Custom NeoRAM cartridge available for purchase as part of a Vision BASIC package.

Improved default Vision BASIC editor colors.

Compile speed doubled when compiling on a C64.

Compile speed quadrupled when compiling on a C128 in C64 mode.

New commands: GSAVE, CATCH, ALLMOBS, DEF, POLL, LABEL.

Existing commands improved: LISTER, BLANK, NORMAL, VIDLOC, PANX, PANY, PADDLE, VERSION, RND, RANDOM, BYTES.

New format for user-defined commands to improve assembly language programming.

Asterisk (*) now allowed for declaration of assembly program starting address.

System clock no longer resets during program compilation.

Filename length now restricted to 12 characters during program compilation to disk, allowing proper appending of file extension.

SHIFT - RUN/STOP key combination no longer causes potential data loss.

Overflow of variable information in designated RAM space is now detected.

RUN/STOP - RESTORE delay implemented to avoid accidental exit out of Vision BASIC editor.

Improved startup experience for PAL users unable to use the on-disk fast loader program.

Variable names can now be of unlimited length, provided everything fits on a single program line.

Vision BASIC manual now includes a command index.

BUTTON command now supports the programming of 2-button and 3-button game controllers - e.g. joysticks, gamepads.

Videos from the developer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY1t9qOR6Lw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onQlDP5YBIA

New (reproduction) CMD HD-4000 units are now available to pre-order at https://corei64.com/shop/index.php?route=extension/d_blog_module/post&post_id=41

They aren't cheap!

A recently  recovered (in 2023) game from 1987

Find it here - https://landover.ddns.net/cbm/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=782

Newly rediscovered 128 game -  Spukschloss (German)Spukschloss

Find it here - https://landover.ddns.net/cbm/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=781