IntrepidErie

SOLVED: You guys are awesome. I simply tried another SD and it worked fine. I did not even need that _boot.rom file, but thanks for attaching it in case others can use it, and the manual too. I used a Sandisk Ultra 8GB class 10, did not format it (just used it as it came), put an assortment of CAR and ROM files on it at root, fired up the 800xl with the Ultimate Cart, and the menu works just fine. So the cart either does not like PNY, or it does not like 16GB, or maybe PNY does not come formatted "quite right" - in any case, the Sandisk Ultra 8GB works great. Glad I did not have to fool around with blaster cables and flashing firmware from github and all that, I would have never been able to do that correctly :-) As an aside, the SIO2SD works great as well. I use that for ATR and XEX files, so it is like using a disk drive, and I will use the Ultimate Cart for CAR and ROM files, just like cartridges. The SIO2SD has tons of disk images and Basic programs, so I have them organized in folders. I am only going to put "best of" files on the cart, so I may just keep everything right at the root. Thanks again.

Yep, its FAT, its a basic PNY class 10 card.

Thought I should post a newbie "hello" reply, since I just now asked a question about Ultimate Cart on 1 of the threads and am hoping for some help. My 1st computer was Atari 400 with cassette drive, hooked up to the family living-room TV. I was in Junior High and wanted to become a programmer. TRS-80 was monochrome. Apple was white/green/purple with bad sound. Atari had great video and sound. C64 was not out yet. I programmed games in Basic with little helper Assembly routines from books/magazines. Loved De Re/Compute/Antic books the best. I tried the Atari Assembler/Editor cart when I wanted to get serious, but it was too much for me. My Atari days were over when I purchased a 1200XL, which was defective and broke compatibility. I also got burned by horrible 2600 carts like Pac-Man/ET, so Atari did not seem like they cared about customers any longer, so I switched to Apple 2c, which is what I used finishing up High School and then off to college. But programming was never fun on the 2c. I grew nostalgic listening to the Antic podcast, so I got an 800XL and am reliving the old fun of programming. Turbo Basic XL is the best and it even has a compiler, so that is what I use. I have upgrades such as memory and s-video, so it makes the system very nice. The SIO2SD is perfect, I do not even have a disk drive. I use the Altirra emulator on my Windows 10 laptop. I tied others like Atari800, but had issues. Altirra works flawlessly. I save Basic files on my laptop, then use a utility to "merge" them into an ATR Atari disk image to put on the SD card of SIO2SD to run on my 800XL. I can do basic hardware, like adding s-video and 2-ch audio, but the "real small" stuff is too difficult - like I tried that mod on a Flashback 2 where you add the cart port, but the components were just too small and close together for me to do the soldering, plus surface-mount stuff is the worst, so I could not finish that project. Anyway, Hello fellow retros, and enjoy your Atari 8-bits.

Got an Ultimate Cart from Brewing Academy off eBay. Got a 16 GB class 10 SD card for it and put an assortment of ROM and CAR files on it at root. When I fire up my Atari 800XL (upgrades: s-video, 2-ch audio, 256K rambo xl), the Ultimate Cart banner shows, but no files listed, just an empty menu. I know it recognizes the SD, cause I can fire it up without the card and it displays "no card inserted". Cannot get help from Brewing Acadeny, since they just point to the http://atari8.co.uk/the-ultimate-sd-multicart/site. I open up the cart and the PCB board inside is the green one with an atari logo on it, not the purple board marked "xl/xe multicart electrotrans '15" seen in pics at that site, so mine may be older. I think simply updating the menu/loader may take care of it. According to that site, I can just get an updated menu/loader file called _boot.rom that I put at root of SD card, and that may fix it. But I cannot seem to find that file. There are also files at https://github.com/robinhedwards/UltimateCart, but I do not see a _boot.rom file. This thread discusses getting a USB blaster and Quartus 15.1 programmer, instead of replacing _boot.rom. Any help appreciated, and if I can get it working, I will update this thread.