Commodore 16, SD2IEC emulator installation with microSD, tape adapter cable

SD2IEC: l’emulatore disk drive per Commodore 16

I bought an SD2IEC disk drive emulator, which I use for both the Commodore 16 and the other Commodors I own. With the emulator, I also purchased a microSD containing over 3GB of programs, video games and utilities.

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I described the operation of the emulator, of the FastLoad and I did other experiments with the Commodore 64 in this article.

Commodore 16, videogame pacman 3d

Connecting the emulator to the Commodore 16

The disk drive emulator for Commodore 16 I purchased on eBay connects to the computer via two connectors:

  • the IEC serial port;
  • the connector for the 1531 datassette, using an adapter

The Commodore 16 datassette port is different from that of the Commodore 64, so I had to use a specific cable to fit the two connectors.

The data passes only through the IEC serial port, while the datassette connector is used to power the 1541 SD2IEC disk drive emulator.

Commodore 16, SD2IEC connection, floppy emulator 1541, tape datassette cable adapter

In addition to the two connectors described above, the emulator is also equipped with a third connector, an IEC serial port to connect a 1541 floppy disk drive. This connector can be useful for copying old files already on the floppy disk to microSD or vice versa.

It is possible to set, by means of a dip switch, the address of the emulator, which in my case I have set to 9. In fact, I have a floppy disk drive 1541, whose address is set to 8. Having two different addresses, the two peripherals can be used at the same time.

Test the emulator

As I expected, the emulator immediately worked correctly. The SD2IEC emulator was provided with a microSD card, containing over 3GB of files, including games, applications and utilities for:

  • Commodore VIC-20;
  • Commodore 64;
  • Commodore 16, Plus/4;
  • Commodore 128.

To load the browser file, useful for navigating through the microSD folders, you need to type the following commands:

LOAD "FB",9
RUN
Commodore 16, emulatore floppy SD2IEC, load fb, run, file browser

After starting the file browser, you can then consult the list of files contained in the various folders of the microSD.

Commodore 16, SD2IECm emulator, folder list

It is also possible to use a PC to insert new .PRG, .D64 and .D81 files into the microSD, to then load them and use them with the Commodore 16.

Commodore 16, Leo plays pacman, video game

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