When we first did C64 reviews, the very first device that we showed off was Shareware Plus's 'uCassette'. It enabled users of the C64, to play tapes via your mobile or audio equipment directly into the C64 as MP3 or Wav files. Well that same company has sent us a new cartridge called the ' 1541 Diagnostic Cartridge ', which if you've got a 1541 disk drive, would be a highly regarded item to add to your ever growing list of accessories.
Designed by Jani and manufactured by Shareware Plus, this neat little cartridge packed with tools is the next best thing if you've got a disk drive and fed up with having to find issues with it. Now I know you can use a disk with diagnostic tools or software, but that isn't too helpful if either the disk is faulty or the drive cant read disks at all. The same issue can happen with tapes too, especially if your belt is snapped, how can it read the tape?
So rather than just list each feature as the above screenshot, we will write a description based upon what is provided in the instruction leaflet.
Alignment Check :
Reads and reports the current track the actual track read and the difference between them
Show Bam :
Displays the disks complete block allocation map on screen
Disk Command :
Quickly send the disk drive a dos command and see the status
Directory :
Reads and displays the disks directory on screen
Error Scan :
Reads tracks 1 to 35 and reports any bad sectors
Fast Format :
Enter a disk name and ID, formats a disk in 10 seconds
Head Exerciser :
Complete control over the disk drives read/write head
Send IO :
Sends the IO command to the disk drive and displays the status
Reverse Knock :
Performs a reverse head knock test on the disk drive
Speed Check :
Shows the disk drives normal speed current speed and the difference
Performance Test :
Automatically performs a mechanical and dos test the disk drive.
Validate Disk :
Runs the validate command on the disk.
Sector View :
Simple and easy to use disk track & sector display.
A most impressive bit of kit and what's more the price is great too. It was priced when we received the item at £20 which includes post and packaging worldwide delivery. So what are you waiting for, if you've got a C64 or 1541 disk drive, you owe it to yourself to see what else is available from Shareware Plus HERE or HERE
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