I originally created the project as a hobby but mostly because I couldn't afford a U2+ either. I made it for tinkerers like myself that already had raspberry pis around. With an existing raspberry pi and some basic soldering skills you can make an adapter for about $5. I gifted the project to the community not knowing that so many ebayers were going to pick it up and start selling adapters for $35-$100. It is just my hobby and who knows with all the donations that people have generously given me, maybe one day I could actually afford an actual U2+ ;). My next project is a SuperCPU clone along with with drive drive emulation. This time I will connect it to the cartridge port so it will be able to emulate cartridges and be more like U2+, Backbit, Kungfu, EasyFlash etc.

Hi All - at the 5:00 minute mark I'm saying plug the cable into the Cassette Port - of course I meant to say Serial Port! Thanks to Jens Droessler for pointing that out - I must have been tired/drunk/careless (delete as appropriate) when I recorded that :) Sorry all!

When your Flashcard got more power than your Computer where put in ;)

I just cleaned off my originial C64 this weekend and have been absolutely fascinated by all of the new items that have been built for it over the years. Thank you so much for posting this review, I may end up buying this as well. Also subscribing, thanks!

This now seems the best alternative. I have ordered an Ultimate II+ 50 days ago, but now I received a mail saying it will not be available for the time being. So, this is the best right now.

I love my Ultimate II+. But most of it's features aren't needed by everyone. Like the ability to play Amiga MOD files, etc. But here's the best argument, if you have an NTSC Commodore 64, you need the REU functionality to play Sam's Journey. It's one of the best games ever made for the C64.

I tried to save money with a sd2iec, but that wasn't good enough. Then built a PI1541 with color LCD.. the UI was clunky, and not being able to use a pi Zero (at that time) raised the overall price significantly. Finally, I took the plunge and bought an Ultimate-II+ and never looked back! It is worth every penny, and the fact it can emulate every fastloader, kernel, memory expansion and even freezer cart make it truly the ultimate solution. I'd suggest the ultimate-ii+ and a dead test cart.

I guess it only needs the cartridge port for power and to load the Epyx ROM, which has no knowledge of the drive being a Pi1541. The Pi1541 part would work fine by just providing the power to the correct pins and hooking up the IEC connector to the serial port. So.... It should be quite doable to make a version of the Kung-Fu Flash cartridge, that would also have all of the Pi1541-bits of this one. With this combination, you could load EF3, use any speed loader cartridges such as the Epyx here, Action Replay, FC3, etc and also load cartridge games. I think that would be pretty close to the best a man can get like Gillette.

I checked eBay right after watching your video. Went back today and all the regular price items are gone! I blame your video! In all seriousness great video!

Just found this channel today, and subbed. Love the video and the other content. :)

Thank you for a great video and thank you Stephen White for creating this! I think this might be exactly what I need to get back to using a C64 regularly again (It's about time!) I have a C64C and a 1530 but no disk drive, nor any disks, for that matter. I'm on the lookout for an Oceanic OC-118N/Excelerator +/KY-1000 since that's what I had back in the days but a Pi1541 or an U2 would get me into business quickly while I keep looking and also help keep my son's interest in the C64 up (I have a C64 Mini which he loves to use but it really is far too limited). The plan is that once I'm fully set with both a disk emulator and a physical drive and floppies I can download whatever I want and, in some cases, copy from the emulator to physical floppies to get the full experience when I wish. Sorry for my long rant but this video really got me excited! 🤣

Really great video. I took a look at the links and it really does seem as simple as you make it sound. I have a pi3 knocking about I could use but using the pi zero for the sake of a fiver looks far better. Keep up the great work.

good vid ordered mine few days ago hopefully be here tomoz i can use yur info setup nice vid :)

Lovely review, thanks!

At 8:02 there is an error: baud are bit/s non byte/s so 1364 baud are 170,5 byte/s slower than a c64 disc

I hadn't seen one using a Zero before, looks good! I have subscribed

Excellent device!! I use the Back Bit cartridge as it doesn't need a cable for the serial port and easy-to-use

Adding one of these to my shopping list!

Tapper bring back such fun times. I do have a question. What software or how are you putting the C64 screen image in PIP?

Another great video, thanks. I think I might even try make this, based off Stephen’s comments below. One request, could you squeeze your C64 screen back to 4:3. It is all kinds of ungentlemanly behaviour not to.

That figures why there should be a specified All C64 games selection on one custom Raspberry PI cartridge. This is something makes the C64 very useful.

Is it possible to replace the epix rom for another rom like the final cartridge or kcs power cartridge? Looks like the pi1541 and the epix fast load are 2 parts not working together any further.

Does anyone know where to buy a kit, with parts, the website listed doesn't

Can you run the SD2IEC menu thing on the PI1541 FB64?

is it possible to have wifi module so I can access folder on my lan?

I have an Ultimate II+ cartridge, but still want one of these; I think the Pi1541 is a very innovative piece of kit.

Changing C-64 kernal ROM to JiffyDOS (or JaffyDOS) makes it faster than Epyx Fastloader. For the Pi1541 just need to replace the kernal.bin file to the JiffyDOS file for the 1541-II.

Great video will have to get one these cartridges

Well done. Thank you sir!

Is there a gerber file for the board and a list components some where for the board in this video? People are asking stupid prices on ebay. (like $90 dollars for a prebiult unit)

2:05 start HERE >> *Pi1541 & EPYX Fastload Cartridge*

I use this with my c128. I just have to power it externally uninstalled from the c128 to use it in c128 mode. If you have the cartridge installed, it boots straight into c64 mode. I have a jiffyDos rom image loaded on it as well so even if the epyx fastloader isn't installed, it still loads fast in c128 mode. great little product.

Ah teh kid in the shop, but the shop was Tandy, and the words on the quotes were along the lines of "Tandy`s is sh.... not very good"

I have the Kung Fu Flash cart and i have to say it is way faster than anything else i used before. It is basicly a cart emulator with extra, disk image handling abilities. The only con I can say about it that is yet unable to handle multiple disk games, that asks you to flip the disk or insert another one while playing. But the developer keeps up improving the thing so anything can happen.

One baud is not equal to a byte. Taking the same example shown with the ZX Spectrum, a 1541 would be roughly 1.8 times faster than a cassette load on a ZX.

Really nice video! I was wondering what the point of this device was, now I know.

Subbed as soon as I watched the first 2 minutes.

I see these advertised working on vic-20. Is that one powered through cassette port?

Great video! I wish I had of seen this pi zero version before I got mine, as a Pi 3B seems overkill for the job, but such a brilliant device!

Fast loaders brought the 1541 up to 4KB/s ie. 38400 baud and like the games you demonstrated there were a lot that would bypass the slow rom routines. There were also fast loaders you load off disk before loading a game.

Where did you source the Pi1541Zero please?

It's not possible to use cartridges like Super Snapshot if you've got one of these connected is it?

Brilliant. Excellent presentation, thank you. My only question would be: can you save games in progress and return to them later. I'm a big fan of C64 RPGs and war games, the catalogue is amazing and they all need save files. Thanks again.

Due to the semi-conductor shortage, a Pi Zero is very expensive and nowhere to be found. Let's hope it returns to the £5-£10 price range when it becomes available again. I'm guessing the one used in this project is the Pi Zero v1.3 with 1Ghz CPU and 512MB RAM? Does it need any kind of overclocking or is this just related to other Pi models?

Great channel! Got a sub from me :) Keep an eye on Randy Rossi's VIC-II drop-in replacement as well - super excited about that.

Is it safe to power up pizero,pi1541 and screen directly by c64?

I am having issues finding the exact Pi1541 in the video on ebay. Could you provide a link?

Well. I don't know about a few years ago. But certainly not today. Sure it is cheap. But it also has it limits. A far better combo will be a Kung Fu Flash and a standalone Pi1541. Then you'll have just about the best of all worlds. The KFF might read floppy images that don't rely on fastloaders but it does FAST as fast as if on "real" cartridges. Then of course it also supports a multitude of cartridges including Epyx Fastload (though my favorite is BKS - way faster then Epyx). So just about no matter you want to load except things you don't have cartridge files for, external stereo sid or other exotic stuff then you can load it without out periferals lessen wear on ports.

Looks mint would be nice to see it in use more....they would sell very good also ;))

The Ultimate 2+ is simply amazing, the one and only piece of hardware you wil ever need to enjoy your C64 forever!!!

What's this? Another Retro Shack? :) Nice video. Subscribed. We should do some sort of across the pond collaboration since our channel names are so similar.

Sure it's a nice solution and you made a very cool video about. However when it come to the comparison with the Ultimate cartridge, here are a few things : The Ultimate has been here since many years now, many, many years. When i consider all the alternatives i have bought (which were cheaper) and with which i was not really satisified, I came to the conclusion the i could have bought an Ultimate. And i did it. What i mean is that, the Ultimate obviously costs a lot, but when you buy it, you won't buy anything else. So to me the comparison is only fair for newcomers ;)

So it takes power from the C64 itself via the cartridge port?

What about people with no 3D printer? Does anyone supply cases for this? I haven’t yet found a source.

I have one. Great device!

I have a few of these from different manufacturers, they are indeed the bees knees.

I would test this with more sided demoscene demos, it would show if its really full compatible with 1541

I love my PI1541/FastLoader as well. 😋

Ah, remember when a Pi Zero was a fiver? 2022's been brutal.

I wonder if that can daisy chain with a 1541 or 1581, so that I can copy my floppy disks back into the SDCard

Thanks for this! As a MSSIAH cartridge user, it doesn't look like I will be able to take advantage of any cartridge-based solutions, as the MSSIAH has a MIDI input port right on the top of the cartridge. I plan to get a pi1541, but I'm waiting to source a nice looking case and a pi1541 hat that will fit inside the case, as well as the pi 3b+ itself. While I wait, can anyone suggest any dirt-cheap file-saving solutions that are compatible with MSSIAH? I was looking into Tapecart SD, as it makes use of the tape port (mine is currently not in use), but I can't find any info about whether or not it's compatible with the MSSIAH software. Thanks and take care!

this would be perfect if it would allow different CRT to be used instead of the epyx fast load, like the AR6 to name one.

very nice

Can it play CRT. Use 10 years the Turbo Chameleon 64 V1 and the 1541 Ultimate II. The 1541 Ultimate II you can use a 1541-II diskdrive as device 9. And copy the D64 files on a floppy. There are more you can do such as dual SID, Turbo CPU and REU on it.

Nah, gotta have all the carts as a true collector. lol

But did you jam in a TSR-1 2450?

I bet if this guy gets a decent microphone his channel will absolutely take off

"We'll plug the cable into the cassette port..." No, that's the serial drive/printer, etc. port.

I checked the other comments but I don't think anyone asked this yet, can you please tell me how you hook up a c64 to a modern Monitor?

I`d just buy the Ulitmate II plus , i have one and would never look back,...they are that good SERIOUSLY!"

a RaspPi seems pretty overkill but i guess that's just because of the Emulation overhead? though i still i feel like an STM32 could also run an emulated 1541 drive... what exactly does "cycle accurate" mean for a disk drive? AFAIK the C64 only expects the data to come in in a specific format with specific timing, so as long as those match, and all the commands the C64 can send are handled as a real drive, shouldn't it work fine no matter what is on the other side of the cable?

Any chance to buy this complete and ready to go?

Can an average C64 power supply handle the energy needed to power a pi-1541 without problems?

How weird that a disk-related loader would be slower than a tape-related one, even if they are just electronics at this point -- partially because of how the tape signals from this era were audio-based.

Who the heck puts a space in the load command. I heard of being rebellious but this is taking it too far :P Joking aside awesome video I am really going to have to try this cart.

I remember loading old C64 games on floppy. I would turn on the computer, insert disk and type command. I'd go away, make a cup of tea, return and it would be done. My friend, who had a Datacassette, well, we'd go outside and play for one hour, come back and see if the load was successful. Most of the time it was, but sometimes we'd have to put off playing until another day, as we did not have another hour left before I had to go home!

Really good hardware.

One cartridge to run them all.....

I was hoping Manosoft Princess v4 would grow into a Queen project before they canceled further development. A device 100% compatible with 1541 like U2+ and connected to the IEC port instead of taking up the cartridge port. Then I can use my 64HDD there instead.

thanks for info. now I don't know where to buy this.. I will search.

Hi. I suscribe your channel . A big Like

but why the need of a rasberry pi ? and whats on the sd card

Would be a nice thing to have. Sadly a year later none of the components are cheap anymore.

A virtual cassette deck? OK. Even with a "fastloader" slow as hell.

0:58 Cathode Ray Tube cartridge files???

Just learnt today the 1541 is 4.5 TIMES SLOWER THAN A SPECTRUM CASSETTE. Should have use this to gloat at C64 owners back then...LOL.

I really need food , air, a home . I’m not sure if anyone ‘really needs’ any c64 cartridge

I really wonder why you want to combine the Pi1541 with an EPYX Fastload cartridge. It's not that fast and it doesn't even put the most common commands you need to load and run games on the F-Keys, just like any other Cartridge does. I understand that the EPYX cartridge is very useful in combination with the SD2IEC because it is able to accelerate loading from that device, but since the Pi1541 is compatible with any fastloader, it doesn't make too much sense to me. Especially if you already have a Kung-Fu Flash which can emulate quite a few other Fastloaders. I use a 'full' Pi1541. The one with a Pi3 and I use the Kung-Fu Flash to emulate an Action Replay Mk6. It loads about 3 times faster than the Epyx one and I also didn't have many compatibility issues with games. Not even with multi load ones that come with their own fastloader. I think it's less than 5% out of about 400 games I've tested that did not work properly when loaded with the AR and I doubt that the Epyx cartridge is more compatible. One downside of all the cartridge based fastloaders is that they rarely accelerate loading in multiload games other than loading the first file. Everything that is loaded afterwards is usually not accelerated. That's the huge advantage of hardware based speedloaders. I had SpeedDOS back in the days and it was great with games like Maniac Mansion and Pirates which loaded a lot during gameplay. I haven't tested Jiffy DOS yet, but that should in theory do the same. Just try playing Maniac Mansion with SpeedDOS and after that play it with the Epyx cartridge... you will REALLY feel a difference.

Yeah the 1541 was slow but we were all blown away at the speed compared to tapes. 400 bytes/second? Ye gods!

Wish the PI in it could do more than just the floppy drive, since it should be fast enough to emulate the whole thing.

I skipped through this video, and still could not figure out what it was about... and I'm an ex C64 programmer from back in the day.... :-/ I had to look it up. Apparently, it's nothing more than a fast loader cart? "Kung Fu Flash can emulate different cartridge types, load PRG files and use D64 disk images. Just place your desired CRT, PRG or D64 files on a FAT formatted microSD card and use the built-in launcher to execute them."

One question: Emulated drive sounds? E.g.: Different sounds per drive (1541, 1541-II, 1571, 1581, etc.)? kzfaq.info/get/bejne/d9qCibeKsqecZ58.htmlsi=QKb0p6rm8wVpFfYt

Hi there I had a question for someone either the person that has this KZfaq channel or the original maker of this cartridge I am legally blind and I don’t see very well I was wondering if somebody could make this cartridge put this cartridge together for me and I would pay you for it also was wondering where do you get the ultimate 2+ cartridge thanks for any help and information oh also one more thing will either one of these cartridges work in a SX 64 thanks again

"goto 10"? The shorter command would be "run"

I LOVE C64 👍🥂🎩

You should try backbit.

That C64 screen looks too wide to my eyes? Not sure.

I liked messing about with the action replay cartridges in the day. Using shoot em up construction kits to make sprites and saving them to put my own sprites into different games. Yes good old days and we never had mobile phones ahhhh bliss, bloody annoying things but thats life now

I do like humanity.... We come out with Datasette, which is slow, and then people follow it up with "it's too slow".. What do you expect from a cassette..?? With improved speed, you do have fast loaders, but that only solves once it's been loaded into memory, the reading from tape itself, you can not increase. in all cases, unless you also want unreliability too The problem is, We want it all. And thats not always possible.

if it's got a pie why can't u use HDMI output