eightbit Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 I own two "BackBit" cartridges which are excellent flash cart devices originally intended for the C64/C128 computer line. Not too long ago an adapter was created for this to allow it to be used in VIC-20 computers as well. Hence why I have two The firmware is updated sometimes multiple times a week, so every couple of days I check, download, upgrade. Lots of features continue to be added to the BackBit. It is such an awesome device. So, tonight I checked the firmware updates and saw v3.0.0 was released. Upon checking the release notes I saw something rather interesting: "Preliminary Atari 8-Bit support (adapter coming soon)" Wow. Evie is really doing great things with this cartridge. I figured I would give everyone a heads up on this. Fantastic news! https://www.backbit.io/ https://www.backbit.io/downloads/Firmware/BackBit-C64/Revisions.txt 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlazer Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 That’s great news! I own one too. Too bad she won’t make a stand alone version. Rather not mess with adaptors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 If you already have one for your C64 I guess it is good news, but we have plenty of options already for the Atari 8. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youxia Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 More options are always a good thing. I was interested in Backbit, but heard it has low D64 compatibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 I don't see how it could work unless it's got switchable Rom to cater for the Atari - and it'd very likely need to have the hardware IO remapped as well. But they seem to have adapted it to the Vic-20 which in itself is sufficiently different, so maybe that's what they've done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 5 hours ago, youxia said: More options are always a good thing. I was interested in Backbit, but heard it has low D64 compatibility. The compatibility is actually quite high. I have played literally hundreds of .d64 disk images without issue. The loading is extremely fast though, so if you are nostalgic for the original 1541 slow load times this product is not for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 We’ve already got SIDE3, Ultimate Cart, UNO Cart, AVG Cart, plus older ones like SIC and TheCart!. I don’t think the A8 scene has any kind of desperate need for anything this would bring to the table. *shrug* 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 Just now, DrVenkman said: We’ve already got SIDE3, Ultimate Cart, UNO Cart, AVG Cart, plus older ones like SIC and TheCart!. I don’t think the A8 scene has any kind of desperate need for anything this would bring to the table. *shrug* Well, the same is true for the C64 side (SD2IEC, Ultimate II, pi1541, etc) and I thought that too until I tried the BackBit cartridge. It was just more intuitive to use. It's now my daily driver on that computer. I also use it on a VIC-20 as I mentioned previously, and I like how Evie designed that interface to basically mimic the C64 interface. I suspect the A8 implementation will be in the same. And if so I will definitely want to use this on an A8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preppie Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 I have a couple of Atari's and a C64 and I'll probably get a vic20 at some point, so a single flash storage device for them all would save a lot of money. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 (edited) I've been watching this over time on Lemon, seems to be mixed opinion. The load speed is a small worry, on the Atari a deliberately sped up load speed could cause issues if it ever supported ATX. I'll stick with my AVG and 1541 Ultimate++, I'm sure its a good cart but like others I don't like more adaptors and its getting a tad busy on the cart side on both machines. Can'y knock the lady for trying a new avenue but how many carts can we all need. Edited November 30, 2020 by Mclaneinc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrarkus Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 11 hours ago, Mclaneinc said: I've been watching this over time on Lemon, seems to be mixed opinion. The load speed is a small worry, on the Atari a deliberately sped up load speed could cause issues if it ever supported ATX. I'll stick with my AVG and 1541 Ultimate++, I'm sure its a good cart but like others I don't like more adaptors and its getting a tad busy on the cart side on both machines. Can'y knock the lady for trying a new avenue but how many carts can we all need. I think you hit the nail on the head, the cart side is definitely getting a little overworked in both worlds. While this is not an issue for the Atari 8-bits, as we are getting a lot of awesome hardware with great software support, same can't be said for the Commodore side of things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted December 1, 2020 Author Share Posted December 1, 2020 (edited) I wonder how the cart will interface with the A8 however. I wonder if it will be an adapter that allows it to plug into the cart slot or an adapter that ends with an SIO plug. In any case, good deal for me. I already have the backbit so the adapter should be cheap. The Vic-20 adapter for example was $25. I think the idea is to get the Backbit to have broad compatibility. It already supports C64, C128, VIC-20, C16 (I believe). I am all for this becoming a swiss army knife of flash carts. Cool idea. Edited December 1, 2020 by eightbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 I certainly wouldn't want to discourage development for the A8 -- it just depends on how it turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Larry said: I certainly wouldn't want to discourage development for the A8 -- it just depends on how it turns out. Most definitely on both issues, I love dev on the machines but as its a niche market I urge makers of new stuff to check if there's a market for their stuff before spending, software is one thing but hardware needs upfront cash. The last thing I want to see is time, effort and money put in to an item that sells little. Of course I / we want to see new stuff but use caution, especially at this point in time, never has it been more right to know your market. Naturally we wish the lady and her cart a huge success. Edited December 1, 2020 by Mclaneinc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 It has a battery so real time clock or game saves I guess but it's $99 for the cart and if the VIC20 one is any indicator, another $30 for the adapter. I'm not sure how well another new device set at that price point will sell when the $50 AVG does everything. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 I can't remember -- is Evie (the BackBit creator) the person that was going to create the "new" C64/65, maybe 15 or so years ago? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivop Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 Does it have a link back to the IEC socket? It seems it doesn't have that, so I doubt an Atari version will have a SIO connector. An adapter for the Ultimate II+, now that would be cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 As an Ult 2 + owner, why is that Ivop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlazer Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 On 11/30/2020 at 6:08 AM, eightbit said: The compatibility is actually quite high. I have played literally hundreds of .d64 disk images without issue. The loading is extremely fast though, so if you are nostalgic for the original 1541 slow load times this product is not for you I have the BackBit for my Commodore 64 and could not get hardly any .D64 disk images to work. .PRG and .T64 work great though. And most older 16k Cart ROM files too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivop Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 On 12/1/2020 at 6:37 PM, Mclaneinc said: As an Ult 2 + owner, why is that Ivop? I have seen a demonstration in Maarssen once, and I found it a marvelous device. But ethernet might be a bit out of date now. I suppose mixing AVG cart with SIO cable and FujiNet brings you the same experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivop Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 10 minutes ago, tjlazer said: I have the BackBit for my Commodore 64 and could not get hardly any .D64 disk images to work. .PRG and .T64 work great though. And most older 16k Cart ROM files too. I suppose it doesn't do custom 1541 loaders as it doesn't have a loopback IEC cable? That might be the reason. Not really a C64 guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 3 minutes ago, ivop said: I have seen a demonstration in Maarssen once, and I found it a marvelous device. But ethernet might be a bit out of date now. I suppose mixing AVG cart with SIO cable and FujiNet brings you the same experience. Yes, must admit I don't use the ethernet on it but it is a lovely device, so many user options to do. Between that and the AVG / SIO I'm very happy, Fujinet isn't for me but its very clever. C64 and Atari owners are well served in the cart department which is appreciated hugely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadir Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 Bringing this one back from a bit of a several month pause... Has anyone heard anymore about this? I've been going around and around trying to get I/O devices for my A8 and my C128. Still don't have anything for the A8 as the ones that check all the boxes are either not currently in production or are overseas (which makes purchasing extremely difficult for me). However, C64/128 side the Backbit is available and easy to order. Would love to use it on both devices. Didn't see any A8 adapters out yet, but seems people here usually know before I can find anything on the web! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevymad Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 59 minutes ago, nadir said: Bringing this one back from a bit of a several month pause... Has anyone heard anymore about this? I've been going around and around trying to get I/O devices for my A8 and my C128. Still don't have anything for the A8 as the ones that check all the boxes are either not currently in production or are overseas (which makes purchasing extremely difficult for me). However, C64/128 side the Backbit is available and easy to order. Would love to use it on both devices. Didn't see any A8 adapters out yet, but seems people here usually know before I can find anything on the web! Have you tried TBA? Not sure what cart you want, but there's several options. https://thebrewingacademy.com/collections/atari-800-xl-xe-xel-xld 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadir Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 ...and all of a sudden FujiNet 1.5 is available, so I'm going that route on the A8 side... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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