Denial

While I was looking around the internet I found an interesting new device called the 1541 Ultimate.

This device is made for the C64, but the reason I posted this in hardware and not in other systems is because I was wondering if anyone thinks this device could work for the VIC.

I was also wondering, how exactly does something like this work?
I've seen a few other devices like this for the VIC, and I've read a lot about them, but I was never completely sure how they work.

it is a cartridge that provides an interface to an SD card via the serial port so it looks like a normal floppy disk drive to the c64.

If you want this on the vic20 you need Final Expansion 3 or FE3.

http://www.for8bits.com/

This has been discussed here before. At least two of us own one: gklinger (I think) and myself.

Although it won't work as a cartridge on the VIC, it works very well as a stand-alone unit connected to the VIC's serial port. It provides two IEC devices, one perfectly emulated 1541 (normally device 8) and one device with direct access to the SD-card's file system (normally device 9). You use the command channel on device 9 to navigate the SD card and mount disk images. After mounting a disk image (d64 or g64) you can access it with device 8, which acts exactly like a 1541, supporting fastloaders and anything you might throw at it that would be handled by a 1541.

You can also navigate inside a directory and mount disk images with the three buttons on the 1541 Ultimate.

I can recommend it wholeheartedly even if you only have a VIC 20 and not a C64. You will need to supply 5V power, either from a PC's USB port or a charger with a mini-USB connector.

Ihavenousername wrote:While I was looking around the internet I found an interesting new device called the 1541 Ultimate.

Just so there's no confusion, the 1541 Ultimate isn't really new and is not being produced anymore. The release of the 1541 Ultimate II, however, is imminent.

The 1541U/UII is unique in that it is the only device that fully emulates a 1541. The uIEC, 1541-III, SD2IEC (including the FE3's embedded unti) etc. do NOT. Software that reprograms the drive will not work on such devices. The 1541U/UII also offers a number of additional features. And as Bacon stated, both the 1541 Ultimate (and 1541 Ultimate II for that matter) will work with the VIC-20 but only in what is called "stand-alone mode" as the VIC-20 and the 64 do share a common expansion port.