News about Amstrad CPC, PCW, Notepad NC100 NC150 NC200, PDA600 and also Amstrad PC







Ninth release of CHIPNSFX by CNGSoft, a multi-platform tracker and player for Z80 systems

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Ninth release of CHIPNSFX tracker+player suite by CNGSoft :

  • 20170731: ninth public release. New special case for arpeggios: the nibble F stands for -12 and changes the loop behavior. Sound playback is now wavelength-based rather than frequency-based, and thus closer to the hardware. Minor bugfixes in the keyboard map handling. Added CHUBBYGR.CHP, CHUBBYGS.CHP, MEGAPHNX.CHP and MEGAPHNY.CHP.
  • 20170724: eighth public release. Fixed a serious bug in the noise generator: playback and WAVE output randomly skipped pure noise notes. New ATEAM.CHP, BURNINR1.CHP, BURNINR4.CHP, SOLOMON2.CHP, UNDERWTR.CHP, WESTBNK1.CHP, WESTBNK2.CHP and WINGSOD4.CHP: 32 sample songs
  • 20170719: seventh public public release. New extended tremolos (60-9F) lead to important changes in the amplitude effect byte: old 60-6F become 5F, old 80 becomes 9E, old 81-8F become 61-6F, old 90-9F become A0; 70-7F stay as they were. Minor optimisations in the player. New command line options -b1, -b2 and -b3. New CATABALL.CHP, FREDDY_H.CHP, HYDROFOL.CHP and SCOR3020.CHP
  • 20170708: revised sixth public release, with just one change: pressing backspace in order list panel updates pattern panel
  • 20170707: sixth public release. New command line options -y and -Y (generate YM3 file, either full song or song loop), commands Control-W (apply transposition to current pattern), Control-D (detect duplicates and optionally erase them), Control-E (check for duplicates and optionally create them). Minor changes in CHIPNSFX.I80 extended mode vibratos, in the file dialog and the INCLUDE file compression. New DEFLEKTR.CHP, GRANGEHL.CHP, PHANTIS1.CHP, PHANTIS2.CHP, SCOR3020.CHP, THINGBBK.CHP and TIMETRAX.CHP
  • 20170616: fifth public release. Fixed a file dialog bug reported by Garvalf (who also wrote CHIPNSFX's first new song from scratch), as well as minor internal consistency bugs. Pattern panel allows using Control-D. New ATOMINO3.CHP and DESPERA2.CHP


Drawings about Amstrad CPC games (Knight Lore, Batman, Manic Miner)

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This tweet is very nice for all the answers wich countains drawings about Amstrad CPC games as Knight Lore, Batman and Manic Miner.




Poly Play shipping cost for less now (Amstrad CPC software)

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Poly.play est un distributeur de jeux retro, où vous pouvez trouver notamment des jeux et du matériel pour Amstrad et Commodore, mais pas seulement, pour consoles également.

Il y a désormais une option de port sans suivi et sans assurance moins chère. Vous pouvez donc commander des jeux Amstrad comme ceux de Reidrac ou le jeu Doomsday Lost Echoes (aventure graphique).



Ruthless: The Story of Amstrad and Alan Sugar in the 80's and 90's by Kim Justice

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A 30 minutes video on Youtube by Kim Justice about Amstrad and Lord Alan Michael Sugar in english.




An Amstrad CPC 464 without its drive tape by 6502man

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Following the last story about the Amstrad CPC 464 without its defective tape drive by Olivier Bruneau, here are the photos of the original CPC which inspired him by 6502man on System.CFG. What follows is a cut and paste of the System.CFG message, with the permission of 6502man.

I propose a unique model of AMSTRAD CPC. Yes, it is an unique model, never seen before.

For a long time, I had the idea to have an Amstrad CPC 464 without its infamous internal tape drive, whose design isnt nice (my own opinion). But at the same time, I asked myself a question : what would have been the first Amstrad CPC if it had been sold without the internal drive ? So from the question to action !

So after all these questions, and a lot of ideas dancing in my head, here is prototype without its tape drive, I present to yourself the Amstrad CPC 464 slim !

Amstrad CPC 464 vu de haut

Amstrad CPC 464 vu du dessous

Amstrad CPC 464 vu de coté droit

Amstrad CPC 464 vu de coté gauche

Amstrad CPC 464 vu de derrière

Amstrad CPC 464 coté pavé numérique 1 sur 2

Amstrad CPC 464 coté pavé numérique 2 sur 2

And it works.

Amstrad CPC 464 slim avec son écran

How did I come to this result ? First, here is the original computer :

Amstrad CPC 464 avant l'opération

We start cutting the tape drive, without forgetting to keep the right side of the CPC box to close it later and to keep the ON/OFF and volume settings.

découpe de l'Amstrad CPC 464, 1 sur

découpe de l'Amstrad CPC 464, 2 sur 2

After sanding (big grain) then and using Water-based paper, we paste the cutted parts with fiberglass and filling with mastic, we also keep the cutted parts just in case we break a part of the CPC box.

Amstrad CPC 464 découpé, dessus et dessous

Amstrad CPC 464 découpé vu de dessus, coté pavé numérique

Amstrad CPC 464 découpé vu de dessous coté pavé numérique

We sand again with Water-based paper to smooth the mastic, then we apply a layer of white primer.

façade avant de l'Amstrad CPC 464   après ponçage

façade dessous de l'Amstrad CPC 464 après ponçage

façades dessus et dessous de l'Amstrad CPC 464 après ponçage

We put black paint, we replace the motherboard, the keyboard and we get a nice Amstrad CPC 464 without a tape drive.

Amstrad CPC 464 slim presque fini sans l'électronique

For the electronic part, the ON/OFF button is connected on a card screwed to the tape drive, and without it you can't start the CPC.

électronique du lecteur cassette de l'Amstrad CPC 464, 1 sur 2

électronique du lecteur cassette de l'Amstrad CPC 464, 2 sur 2

I unwound the wires of the switch on the board, and then wound it to two 3,5 inch molex connectors to connect it instead of the original switch for switching on the computer with the original button (thanks to Irios for the correct wiring). The two molex connectors with only 3 wires are on the motherboard at the point marked with red on the photos below.

carte mère de l'Amstrad CPC 464, 1 sur 2

carte mère de l'Amstrad CPC 464, 2 sur 2

I also took advantage to put a ON/OFF LED also connecter on the smal card, connecteed to the electrical ground of the alimentation (hope translation is fine ???) and on the ON of the ON/OFF button, like this the LED keeps its function. But for the volume button, I keeped it with another use, like this no hole in the CPC box.

Here it goes, now some double face scotch for the metal plate, and the project is finished and functionnal.

BEFORE

l'Amstrad CPC 464 avant l'opération avec son lecteur de cassette

AFTER (it's nice)

l'Amstrad CPC 464 après l'opération sans son lecteur de cassette

I reassure you, I did not sacrifice an Amstrad CPC 464 to do this tinkering, but in fact I recovered an empty shell of CPC 464. The rest had to go to the dumpster, and so I was able to realize my idea, otherwise I would have waited for a broken Amstrad CPC 464.



An Amstrad CPC 464 without its defective drive tape

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Olivier Bruneau has an Amstrad CPC 464 with a defective drive tape which he tried to repair, but without success. This tape drive could even make the 464 bug ! While he was doing research on internet, he found a forum where someone had the same problem and the radical solution he used. So he did the same thing : amputation of the defective tape drive. Well see below, happily even without the tape drive it's still possible to use the 464 with an incoming DDI3 USB Floppy Emulator by Zaxon.

Thanks to Olivier for letting me put his photo on the web site.

Amstrad CPC 464 without a tape drive by Olivier Bruneau



Project Goat, the next Amstrad CPC game by Defecto Digital Studios

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Not much informations for the moment, but Project Goat should be the next game by Defecto Digital Studios, you can only see a gif on Twitter.



Roland Radio, an Amstrad CPC radio internet, soon with more tunes

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Roland Radio is an internet radio, and its program should interest you : only Amstrad CPC music.

There will be more Amstrad CPC tunes soon on Roland Radio, so listen up !