At 11:07 AM -0700 10/6/07, David Griffith wrote: Funny you should mention that, I was wondering if it would be worth while to do something like this yesterday, but didn't have the time to post anything about it (too busy hacking one of my real 1541's). Are you thinking of simply a group buy on the PCB's, or on the parts as well?

The developer of the 1541-III derivative, the 1541-III-DTV is putting together another batch of fully assembled and tested units "with normal C64 compatibility". They will be available in a few weeks for $50 EUR + postage. You'll find more information at the developer's website: <http://www.pyrofersprojects.com/blog/?page_id=38>

I dont participate as much as I would like, but I may be of help on this one. I'm a professional PCB guy, and can show you all how to get this fabricated. There are a number of shops in our trade magazines that offer some pretty low cost (double and 4 layer) PCBs What do we have to start with, some gerber files? Or really going out on a limb, the entire design file in PADS, or Orcad?

Just the PCBs. The rest of the parts seem easily available in one-offs. In particular, I presume the LCDs can be cannibalized from 33xx series phones.

On 10/6/07, David Griffith <dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu> wrote: Yes... the LCD called for (PDC 8544) does appear in the Nokia 3310, specifically, and most likely in other models as well. I'd be interested in one or two blank boards, myself, if there's a group-buy on 1541-III-DTVs (I have a couple of DTVs and a few Hummers), but since I also have a stable of desktop C= hardware, I'd also be very much interested in a 1541-III w/LCD. I'd definitely buy a blank board for one of those. I have a well-stocked parts bin, so I'd be more interested in a CPU/regulator/PCB kit than a 100% bag-o-parts on either project. Coincidentally enough, just yesterday, I was asking a list member about any IEEE-488 FLASH drives, since the 1541-III is IEC. I don't know that anyone has ever done one, and given the abundance of C= IEC-based machines over C= IEEE-488-based machines, perhaps what is called for is a new project, a C=-friendly IEEE<->IEC "serializer/deserializer" (since the byte-level protocol is the same). In any case, I _am_ interested in IEC FLASH drives. I build several kits a year, so if there are bare boards to be had, I will be interested in one or two of anything that comes out of these discussions. I would have bought a 1541-III-DTV earlier this year if I'd noticed that there were preliminary kits available. -ethan

Same here. I have a DTV that could use a drive, but the stand-alone is pretty intriguing as well. There's going to be a run on Nokia phones on eBay...get yours now :-)