Best MSX 1 Upgrade ?

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By Hit-Biter

Master (175)

Аватар пользователя Hit-Biter

19-07-2022, 00:51

Manuel wrote:

I only have experience with the Carnivore 2 and a bit with the MegaFlashROM SCC+ SD. But if you just want storage, these seem overkill.
SD Mapper with ram in memory mapper mode seems like a good fit, in case it's indeed initializing the mapper on MSX 1. Where can we read the specs of the device you bought?

Its all in this ebay listing.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332817640567

By gdx

Enlighted (6437)

Аватар пользователя gdx

19-07-2022, 02:41

Hit-Biter wrote:

Just bought this !

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332817640567

Hope its worth it :/

So you ask for advice and you do the opposite.

By AxelStone

Prophet (3199)

Аватар пользователя AxelStone

19-07-2022, 09:00

For MSX1 I wouldn't invest money apart from external cassette loading. My 2 cents for the option of loading games using your smartphone as cassette loader. It's cheap and you'll have access to tons of software.

By Manuel

Ascended (19678)

Аватар пользователя Manuel

19-07-2022, 09:28

Given the use case you provided (just storage) it seems to be a fine fit. You probably won't be able to use the megaram part, but if I understand you correctly you are not interested in running ROM games.

I do find it very expensive, for such a basic solution. Still, availability is also an important factor.

By Hit-Biter

Master (175)

Аватар пользователя Hit-Biter

19-07-2022, 12:43

Thanks Guys, I don't know what to say The decision to call items by there function is a poor choice if you ask me. Calling something an SD Mapper when MANY units can do SD Mapping is like asking for confusion. Similar confusion arose from other tech terms, You can see how i was confused. I also find this unit too expensive. I'm after the best bang for buck if i can find it. Initially its just a storage solution with Nextor but in time maybe id like to load ROMS from it. IDK. I don't want to buy something else in 6 months time etc. I don't have spare money to spend on MSX tech for the most part. FYI Ive secured a refund on the item i bought so there's that. Now i need to do some further research and educate my self on advances to MSX Hardware over past 40 years or so i guess. So right now I want a SD Card Storage Solution with Nextor DOS ? Additional functionality is welcomed but at this point i don't know what else is available or want. Ohh and can someone tell me what an SX-1 is ? As mentioned by Pentrou ?

By Parn

Paladin (854)

Аватар пользователя Parn

19-07-2022, 14:06

@Hit-Biter, unfortunately, since the MSX is a computer and not a console, there are many solutions for mass storage and software loading, and each and every one has its caveats. The SD Mapper has a confusing name, I agree, but that ship has already sailed. It originated in Brazil, but it's open source and can be built and sold everywhere. You purchased a Fractal-built one, which has good quality. I've seen a lot of people using those in MSX meetings, since they (and their variants) are easy to get and relatively cheap here in Brazil. They're not perfect but they will enable you to run a lot of stuff. And if your main concern is storage, they fit the bill perfectly: they enable you to use Nextor even in MSX1 machines and use SD cards, which nowadays are easier to get than CF cards.

EDIT: SX-1 is one of several FPGA-based MSX models based on the 2005 1chipMSX. They more or less share the same specs, and are pretty complete in terms of features. Since they are based on FPGA recreations of the original chips, they aren't as compatible as MSX machines made with the original chips, but compatibility is pretty good nonetheless, and since they are pretty fully featured, there isn't much stuff you can't run on them. As you can guess, they sometimes can be difficult to find or expensive. See here for more info:

1chipMSX

By ducasp

Paladin (712)

Аватар пользователя ducasp

19-07-2022, 14:41

Hit-Biter wrote:

Thanks Guys, I don't know what to say The decision to call items by there function is a poor choice if you ask me. Calling something an SD Mapper when MANY units can do SD Mapping is like asking for confusion. Similar confusion arose from other tech terms, You can see how i was confused. I also find this unit too expensive. I'm after the best bang for buck if i can find it. Initially its just a storage solution with Nextor but in time maybe id like to load ROMS from it. IDK. I don't want to buy something else in 6 months time etc. I don't have spare money to spend on MSX tech for the most part. FYI Ive secured a refund on the item i bought so there's that. Now i need to do some further research and educate my self on advances to MSX Hardware over past 40 years or so i guess. So right now I want a SD Card Storage Solution with Nextor DOS ? Additional functionality is welcomed but at this point i don't know what else is available or want. Ohh and can someone tell me what an SX-1 is ? As mentioned by Pentrou ?

Before figuring out best bang for your buck, figure out the list of best bang...

1 - GR8NET: does it still need a MSX? Has it all, Network, Mapper, Disk, Sound Interfaces... And Eugeny still works on it. There is nothing like that for MSX or any other retro-device that I am aware of.
2 - Carnivore: supports quite a lot sound extensions (except Msx Audio / OPL3 / OPL4), mapper, flash, disk, mapper... Also RSBC still supports it actively developing improvements
3 - Mega Flash ROM SCC+ 512KB: a quite good device, less sound devices supported than Carnivore
4 - (For me) a tie between SD MAPPER (1024 is better, 512KB is ok but you won't be able to use mega ram to map Konami mapper games seamlessly unless you have a separate sd card that boots DOS1) that has mapper and disk but no sound interfaces or flash/ Mega Flash ROM SCC+ (versions without mapper) doesn't have mapper but supports SCC and I think a second PSG (not sure) / Rookie Drive (just disk interface and nothing else, but Sourcer0r has done an amazing job implementing MSX USB support with it, but you would need a separate mapper to benefit from it): SD MAPPER allows Nextor, the others won't, but they have extra features (SCC for MFR and RD can do quite some stuff with USB devices, but without mapper you will be severely limited)

I've not mentioned other interfaces because those are not found to buy easily/normally, like Aquijacks...

Now, you need to figure out the BUCK part... For your region...

Thinking about the features you said you need, I would go with any option that has reasonable cost and allows you to use Nextor. If you think in the future you might want to do more than just programming and saving and reading files, oh well, my favorite cost benefit is Carnivore 2. If money is no issue, surely GR8NET is the best expansion made for any retro device, EVER... Can't tell how much amazed I'm with the work from Eugeny, constant work, always expanding and creating support for new devices like the recent MIDI and OPL4 support.

And about SD MAPPER and Carnivore 2, those are open hardware and as such you can find different suppliers with different quality... Try to get one from a reputable manufacturer if any of those are your choice.

Good luck finding the device you want, and, if you are too confused, just use an old mobile phone or digital sound recorder and save/write to tape, simple and effective, just make tests and adjustments before using it to save real work, as different devices will require different settings to work best. Wink

By Hit-Biter

Master (175)

Аватар пользователя Hit-Biter

19-07-2022, 14:45

AxelStone wrote:

For MSX1 I wouldn't invest money apart from external cassette loading. My 2 cents for the option of loading games using your smartphone as cassette loader. It's cheap and you'll have access to tons of software.

INstalled msx2cas on my s7 which has old headphone jack. Now looking for cas files ? to test it with ? Good archives out there ?

By CASDuino

Champion (358)

Аватар пользователя CASDuino

19-07-2022, 19:16

Hit-Biter wrote:

INstalled msx2cas on my s7 which has old headphone jack. Now looking for cas files ? to test it with ? Good archives out there ?

There are lots of good archives out there but you cannot link to them on here.

By Hit-Biter

Master (175)

Аватар пользователя Hit-Biter

19-07-2022, 20:03

Meh. (c) for crap.

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