DavidMil Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Can I get some recommendations about which chip may be better? And maybe why. I know that everyone won't have the same requirements so I'd like to hear in general what people think. Thanks, David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilheim Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 IMHO, I prefer the Happy board rather than the US Doubler. Due to its larger memory, the Happy can read complete tracks, so the loading could be faster with the proper DOS. The US Doubler can only read at faster speeds only with special formatted disks. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Download the users manual/docs for the 1050 Happy and read what it will do from Atarimax.com. It is a PDF link, so you will have to Google "Happy Drive Documentation." Then read what (little) a Doubler will do. It is an easy decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Get a happy combo board at AtariMax... your all set. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 US Doubler's merit is you can build one yourself from about $4 of parts from eBay... if all you need is Double Density and Ultraspeed support. Happy & Speedy add track buffering, copy protection copying etc. Speaking of which, you should also consider Speedy nowadays (ie tf_hh's mini-speedy) instead of Happy now that it has a NTSC compatible ROM. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 is that speedy or super speedy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 is that speedy or super speedy?Speedy was first.. The Super Speedy was made for ABBUC to duplicate disks fast, as it could buffer an entire DD disk in it's own RAM. Can read or write an entire disk in like 15 seconds. Only like 7 were ever made. More people can experience it today with Mega-speedy, which can emulate both. Mini-speedy is a mini replica version of the original speedy (by tf_hh). Functionaly identical to the original speedy, except maybe the buzzer on the original. New firmware 1.7 is now compatible with NTSC machines so north american users can experience for the first time as of around 2016 I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 (edited) MEGA - Speedy, it's everything! W00t! that's kind of where I was hoping it would lead/end but... 1. Mega SPeedy 2. Happy 1050 3. U.S. Doubler as add-ons for 1050 1. Ram Charger 2. SRam as add-on to the iNDUS what's your list for 810? Edited November 11, 2018 by _The Doctor__ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 MEGA - Speedy, it's everything! W00t! that's kind of where I was hoping it would lead/end but... 1. Mega SPeedy 2. Happy 1050 3. U.S. Doubler Problem with the Mega Speedy is it's not available from anymore unless you can convince a kind soul to give up an extra from the original production run.. Mini speedy, happy 1050, USDoubler, bitwriter, all have replica versions currently available... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 For price comparison:mini-speedy is 20 EURO (about $22 USD) + shippingdetails here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/277204-some-new-not-really-hardware-made-by-tfhh/Happy 1050 from AtariMax is $40 USD + free shipping 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 shipping always is the stickler... what's the going rate to get one here now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Around $10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMil Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 For price comparison: mini-speedy is 20 EURO (about $22 USD) + shipping details here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/277204-some-new-not-really-hardware-made-by-tfhh/ Happy 1050 from AtariMax is $40 USD + free shipping So about $8.00 total difference and 7 to 10 days longer to get it? David 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Love my MegaSpeedy. Maybe it’s time for a new run ? 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Yeah.. and of course the shipping price gets lower per unit if you order more than one. Mini-Speedy has other neat tricks beyond what the Happy does, like always read and write-back caching of the boot sectors, DOS 2 directory/VTOC sectors, and DOS 2.5 ED extra VTOC/directory sectors, reducing extra back-and-forth of the head when copying lots of small files.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMil Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 So It seems that the consensus is so far : 1. Mega Speedy (which can't currently be had) 2. Mini Speedy 3. Happy 4. US Doubler I'll be honest and admit that I do have a Doubler from Atarimax. It's a very installation, which I also like. Are the Speedy installations as easy as the Doubler? David 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 You sure that's not the Happy !050 board from Atarimax? Pull two chips install the board... pretty much done... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMil Posted November 12, 2018 Author Share Posted November 12, 2018 As usual, fingers and mind are on different tracks. You're right Doc it is a 1050 Happy. Sorry everyone! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 I'll be honest and admit that I do have a Doubler from Atarimax. It's a very installation, which I also like. Are the Speedy installations as easy as the Doubler? You can buy supposedly 'authentic' US Doubler from B&C or BEST, although I was disappointed to receive an EPROM from B&C earlier this year... Haven't mentioned Turbo 1050 yet in the thread, but that is another interesting beast, of which replica's are available from TF_HH... Adds Double-Density and faster than ultraspeed with no additional RAM - only a comparatively large 32KB ROM. Summary of install methods for each: Any variant of Happy 1050, authentic or replica, and Mini-Speedy use the same install method: Remove U10 (ROM), Remove U9 (6507 CPU), plug happy board into U9. US Doubler: Remove U10 (ROM), Insert USDoubler ROM into U10, may have to move jumpers to JP2 and JP4 (for EPROM configuration), remove U8 (6810 RAM), Install ICD black epoxy module into U8, or homebrew dual-stacked 6810. Turbo 1050 - Remove U10 (ROM), and insert Turbo 1050 board into U10. There's a jumper on the PCB to configure the board for either ROM jumper config. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+slx Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Mini Speedy looks more useful than Turbo 1950 as the latter requires special formatting for high speed as it does not have a track buffer. It‘s obviously a clever piece of kit but with today‘s RAM prices it‘s former price advantage is mooted. MegaSpeedy requires an external mod for the control panel (so don‘t feel too bad about it being not available). I have one each but only use SIO2SD currently, so no practical use experience here. Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 You can buy supposedly 'authentic' US Doubler from B&C or BEST, although I was disappointed to receive an EPROM from B&C earlier this year... Haven't mentioned Turbo 1050 yet in the thread, but that is another interesting beast, of which replica's are available from TF_HH... Adds Double-Density and faster than ultraspeed with no additional RAM - only a comparatively large 32KB ROM. Summary of install methods for each: Any variant of Happy 1050, authentic or replica, and Mini-Speedy use the same install method: Remove U10 (ROM), Remove U9 (6507 CPU), plug happy board into U9. US Doubler: Remove U10 (ROM), Insert USDoubler ROM into U10, may have to move jumpers to JP2 and JP4 (for EPROM configuration), remove U8 (6810 RAM), Install ICD black epoxy module into U8, or homebrew dual-stacked 6810. Turbo 1050 - Remove U10 (ROM), and insert Turbo 1050 board into U10. There's a jumper on the PCB to configure the board for either ROM jumper config. As long as the RAM module is epoxy encased with the ICD logo I would consider it original, since the US Doubler has both ROM and EPROM versions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Good point. The epoxy module is probably original. Maybe stock of those outlasted the ROMs and manuals, because the B&C EPROM label looks more homebrewish than the 80's EPROM label, and the manual is a photocopy: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/275166-one-last-eprom/?p=4092462 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 So about $8.00 total difference and 7 to 10 days longer to get it You may be waiting much more than 7-10 days going on reported AtariMax response times, so Jurgen is probably actually faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E474 Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 For upgrades that can actually be purchased, the only other upgrade is the BitWriter 1050 Replica from tfhh, so the choices are: - US Doubler - Happy 1050 - Turbo 1050 - Mini Speedy - BitWriter 1050 Replica I have no idea what else can be made using info available on the net. The flip side of how long shipping takes is how long it will sit on the shelf before you have time to install it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 Hello guys And the BitWriter 1050 replica includes the Super Archiver II. Sincerely Mathy 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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