PET Datasette for NVGM CBM 4032 PET

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Revision as of 00:06, 10 January 2024 by Mahjongg (talk | contribs)
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Project revising PET datasettes
PET datasette.JPG
For the commodore PET 4032 I donated to the NVGM (Nationale Video Game museum in Zoetermeer) I am attempting to find a way to play a game.
Status Initializing
Contact mahjongg
Last Update 2024-01-10

I needed a way to load games from a datasette (commodores take on cassette data storage) I tried a SD card reader for its IEEE interface, but it did not work. The NVGM had two datasettes, probably for Commodore C64's, but these also work for PET's, one of them was completely disassembled, bit I was told it would work fine if I cut screw it together again. the other one was flakely, but I managed to save and load a small BASIC program with it. With the other datasette I could only detect that the play key was pressed. Datasettes are the cassettedecks that commodore used for the PET 2001 the first computer that came on the market (in 1977) later that year the APPLE][ and the TRS-80 model 1 also came on the market. The commodore 1530 (CN2) cassettedeck of the PET 2001 was NOT a normal cassette player, it was especially designed to record and playback digital data. Later models had a different shape, but were (electrically) interchangeable with the original datasette.\ The first model used a 6-pole edge connector on the inside of the PET, and were addressed as device #1, later models of the PET that did not have a built in datasette had the datasette device #1 moved to the back, so a datasette connected to such a PET still was addressed as device #1 The internal connection became device#2..

I found four similar screws for the disassembled datasette. I cleaned both datasettes with windows cleaner, oiled the datasettes with penetrating oil, cleaned off old oil and checked the mechanisms, and the rubber belts. I did not find an electric problem (broken wire and such) in the disassembled datasette, and I cleaned both six pole connectors with Isopropyl alcohol.

I assembled the second datasette, and modified the cover, as it was damaged and was no longer possible to load a compact cassette in the drive then close the lid. It is now possible to remove the lid, insert the compact cassette and put the led over it.

I will test both datasettes with my own PET a 8032 (80 columns PET with BASIC 4).

So I bought a SD2PET SD Card storage for the Commodore PET / MiniPET from TheFuturewas8-Bit (TFW8b.com) but somehow it only works on my 8032 PET not on the CBM 4032 PET of the museum It is possible it doen't work on early PETs with BASIC 1 (basic on the CBM 4032 does not indicate a version, but the newer CBM 8032 indicates it has BASIC 4, that is why I am trying to get the 4032 to work with datasettes. I can create compact cassettes with games and such on my own CBM 8032, and take them to the museums PET. I.w using the better looking datasette with the NVGM PET, and use the re-assembled datasette with my own CBM 8032 with BASIC 4, that works with the SD2PET.

for now probably only BASIC games, I do not yet know how to write machine code games to tape.