ICL OPD

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Chr$
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Re: ICL OPD

Post by Chr$ »

RWAP wrote:I have an OPD disk interface here which is always useful - unfortunately, it does not recognise the disk drive at all, so it has a fault somewhere on the board.

Does anyone fancy having it to see if they can fix it?
My mdvs are already giving me a headache, I think if I had something else broken to attend to I'd probably loose it completely! Do you have any original OPD software available at all?

@RalfR - Yes, the package from Dave Walker is what I've been using with some success. At first the OPD formatted carts (on the QL) were not recognised by the OPD. So I formatted them on the OPD then used the QL and the software to duplicate the originals. It works. A couple of the originals are cram packed with files though and I think it was failing on the last file because the destination carts didn't have enough space on them. Occasionally it also hangs for no apparent reason and it's hard coded to run from mdv1_ so I had to put it onto another real cart to run it. So lots of swapping carts around. All very flaky - even simple things seems to take an hour to get right. I will persevere.

Those Dave Walker mdvs that you mention, are they original copies?

My xChange ROM works fine. The speech synthesis is fun but has a very limed vocab... so you can't make it say rude works :geek:


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Re: ICL OPD

Post by tofro »

Chr$ wrote:... The speech synthesis is fun but has a very limed vocab... so you can't make it say rude works :geek:
Now, that makes it entirely useless - Because what else you'd use it for :)


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Re: ICL OPD

Post by RWAP »

Chr$ wrote:Do you have any original OPD software available at all?
I have some of the original package but they are refelted and probably need the software putting back on them!


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Re: ICL OPD

Post by Chr$ »

RWAP wrote:
Chr$ wrote:Do you have any original OPD software available at all?
I have some of the original package but they are refelted and probably need the software putting back on them!
Is that the one with 'Welcome', 'Demonstration', 'Help' and 'BASIC'?

I'd probably be interested. I do have that pack but my 'Demonstration' doesn't have the original files on it.

And how is best to go about putting the original content back onto them (apart from if you're lucky enough to have original versions that work)? No win1_ or vDrive to rely on! The software by Dave Walker claims to be the only way to make duplicates of original OPD carts. Within my OPD menus there is a cart duplicate option but unfortunately I can't test it as mdv2_ refuses to cooperate (probably the ULA and of course it's not socketed - some where I hear).


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Re: ICL OPD

Post by RalfR »

Chr$ wrote:Those Dave Walker mdvs that you mention, are they original copies?
Yes, I have got them from Dave. all glued with selotape on a thick A4 paper ;).

Unfortunately, DW's website isn't there anymore.


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Chr$
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Re: ICL OPD

Post by Chr$ »

RalfR wrote:
Chr$ wrote:Those Dave Walker mdvs that you mention, are they original copies?
Yes, I have got them from Dave. all glued with selotape on a thick A4 paper ;).

Unfortunately, DW's website isn't there anymore.
Do they have proper labels? Let's see then. Show me yours and I'll show you mine...
TontoandScreenm.jpg


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Re: ICL OPD

Post by RalfR »

Great crisp monitor view!

I have to look, where I have the cartridges but I think, the labels are all handwritten.

Bad cartridge, I think ;)


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Re: ICL OPD

Post by Chr$ »

RalfR wrote: Bad cartridge, I think ;)
Yeah, 177 sectors won't cut it. The same cart was 215 sectors on the QL though. It's all totally inconsistent. I've cleaned the heads and the rubber wheel. Sometimes it formats around 200 sectors, sometimes it doesn't (and the right one doesn't do anything as mentioned).


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Chr$
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Re: ICL OPD

Post by Chr$ »

Chr$ wrote:
RalfR wrote: Bad cartridge, I think ;)
Yeah, 177 sectors won't cut it. The same cart was 215 sectors on the QL though. It's all totally inconsistent. I've cleaned the heads and the rubber wheel. Sometimes it formats around 200 sectors, sometimes it doesn't (and the right one doesn't do anything as mentioned).
Edit: Even on carts that have been formatted x6 on the QL to stretch them, they still benefit from being formatted multiple times on the OPD with each time yielding more sectors.


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Re: ICL OPD

Post by RalfR »

I do not quit right remember but someone told me, that MDV handling on the Spectrum/IF 1 was hardware and on the QL it is software or vice versa. Would be interesting to know, how it is handled by OPD


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