29-May-2015    The last three units of lot 5 are fitted with 128 KByte RAM drive chips, at no cost, as the next PCB revision is designed for a different footprint. 28-May-2015     The tape player function was extended to handle custom speed blocks: #11 - #14, so that practically all normal .TZX files can be loaded via the EAR port.     The update is included in the ZXS_setup installer. 12-May-2015    A video clip, showing the 'Interface 1bis' acting as a tape player, was uploaded to YouTube 09-May-2015     The 'Interface 1bis' has been enhanced with a rather unusual function, that of a tape player. Tape files, stored on the interface's on-board SD card, either in native format or TZX encapsulation, can be converted to a standard ZX Spectrum audio signal, appropriate for driving the 'EAR' input of the host machine, through a special audio cable. Details can be found in the relevant specification sheet.    This feature is meant mainly to demonstrate the advantages of a peripheral having its own processing capabilities, but offers also the benefit of allowing the quick restoration of the operating system, in case it was totally erased, like after exchanging the battery, by issuing the command: OUT 159,243 which instructs the interface's microcontroller to read the LD5 utility from the SD card and 'play' it to the audio port.    All updates are included in the ZXS_setup installer. |
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