repetto74 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Hi, The question may be stupid but I would like to confirm that any ultimate cartridge connected to the cartridge port can only read but not write. I would like to have a decent storage solution but also the possibility to save any program I may type in on my 600xl. I have seen the SD2Iec reader/writer to be connected to the parallel port which may be what I am looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electrotrains Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Correct - the Ultimate Cart can only read and not write. It was designed as a cartridge emulator, with the added benefit of loading XEX files (atari executables). But it is NOT a disk drive emulator. If you want to read and write files to "disk", then the SIO2SD is probably the best modern device for you. SIO2PC is a cheaper solution, but requires your atari to be tethered to a PC or MAC. Other options are the MyIDE II cartridge (which I think would allow you to save typed in programs), or my own most recent creation the UnoCart, which is a bit like the Ultimate Cart, but also supports ATRs (virtual disk files) with reading and writing - the main use case I had for designing this was to be able to save BASIC programs to disk. Hope this helps, Robin 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
repetto74 Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 Hi Robin Yes that is very clear ? Thank you. Have to look at the specs of these solutions and pick the good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KlasO Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 I have found the SIDE2 cartridge a good storage solution. I use it together with the SIO2SD, and occasionally, also the SIO2PC/USB. Check out lotharek.pl., no affiliation :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
repetto74 Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 MyIdeII solution looks pretty interesting considering it has the writing capabilities to ATR disk images. :-) better anyway then scrolling files through an LCD screen. Any link also to the UNO Cart to compare ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electrotrains Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 I have found the SIDE2 cartridge a good storage solution. I use it together with the SIO2SD, and occasionally, also the SIO2PC/USB. Check out lotharek.pl., no affiliation :-) Actually, if you only have an unexpanded (i.e. 16k) 600XL, I'm not sure if you'll have enough memory to load a DOS. If you've upgraded it to 64k you should be fine with any of these solutions except probably not SIDE2, which as far as I know needs either a 128k machine, or the U1MB expansion to be used for this kind of thing. UnoCart is my own project, and not readily available yet - link is https://github.com/robinhedwards/UnoCart If you've got a 64k machine, probably best to check out SIO2SD first - its the most compatible replacement for a disk drive you can get. If you've only got a 16k machine, maybe others can advise whether you'll need to upgrade memory first to use a DOS. Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
repetto74 Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 (edited) Hi Robin Yes sorry I did not precise. The 600xl has the 64k internal mod. If this is enough to properly load the IDEII cartridge this is the best solution and If not no other choice then to go for an SO2IDE reader. The SIDE2 definitely needs a 1mb upgrade to perform ATX functionalities but MyIDEII from AtariMax looks good with a 64k Xl machine. Is this complicated to set up ? UnoCart looks very nice too and hope to see this things running soon ? Edited February 21, 2017 by repetto74 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Philsan Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 :-) better anyway then scrolling files through an LCD screen. SIO2SD has an advanced on-screen loader. LCD screen is useful for other features. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
repetto74 Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 Hi Philsan Ok sounds good then I did not know about this extra feature :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Philsan Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Added a comparison table in Topic for newbies. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
repetto74 Posted February 22, 2017 Author Share Posted February 22, 2017 Hi Philsan Many thanks! I will most probably go for an SIO2SD reader then ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Nut Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Added a comparison table in Topic for newbies. Interesting. You mention "Some of them are released on multiple ATR images; you need a device that allows ATR images swap." Which ones are capable of doing that? I would like to run "The Dark Crystal". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Philsan Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Interesting. You mention "Some of them are released on multiple ATR images; you need a device that allows ATR images swap." Which ones are capable of doing that? I would like to run "The Dark Crystal". SIO2SD, SIO2PC (and SIDE cart with U1MB internal board installed). Perhaps other devices but I cannot confirm. Not many games need more than 4 disks: Gunsliger, Wizard's Crown. Other games need disk saving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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