News

Toolkit images available[updated]

I’ve added a downloads page where the latest toolkit images can be found. These include bug fixes and feature updates.

 

As mentioned in the ZX manual, there is an ‘unlocked’ version of the ZX toolkit that bypasses the check for the supported ROMS. This allows the vDriveZX to be used with patched ROMS but with no guarantee that everything will work as expected (see the user manual for more information).

For the QL, as well as the standard toolkit, the cut-down version of the QL toolkit is available to enable configuring of the vMapQL without the vDriveQL attached. Only the VMAP, VSWAP and VSTD commands are available.

Each QL release includes an MDV image, an IMG floppy image, and a HFE image suitable for use in the HxC Floppy Emulator.

ZX Toolkit Issues

A couple of issues have been highlighted to me with the ZX toolkit.

The first one is that the .SDINIT command expects an uppercase Y to proceeed. Any other key will exit the command and the SD card wil not be initialised. The latest toolkit image has a fix for this.

The second is that some 2GB SD cards take a long time to format, resulting in a ‘vDrive not responding’ error. The card will invariably be formatted but will have no configuration file. The work around for this problem is to execute .SDINIT, wait for the command to exit with the ‘vDrive not responding’ error, and manually make a configuration file with the .MKCFG command.

Both issues will be fixed in next the version of the firmware which will be avilable for download.

 

Ready to ship!

Everyone’s orders from the recent auction(s) have been packaged up and are ready to ship tomorrow.

As this is the first release of the vDrive, I’d be very interested in feedback about the device. Suggestions for improvements and additional features will be be more than welcome.

It will take about 3 weeks to restock so in the meantime, to help me get an idea of demand (I prebuild and test all units), please let me know if you were intending to purchase either a vDrive ZX or QL (or vMap) by contacting me by email.

vDrive QL auction

The last 5 x vdrive QL units I have in stock have just been listed for auction . With every vDrive QL purchase there is an option to bundle a vMap at a reduced introductory price of £12.

There will now be a 2-3 week wait while I restock. I’ll post when new vDrive ZXs and vDrive QLs become available.