EasyFlash 3 Now In Production

EasyFlash3 PCB
EasyFlash3 PCB

It’s taken longer than anticipated, but EasyFlash 3 production is finally underway.  The first 200 boards are in production, with delivery scheduled for late March.  The storefront is open for pre-orders, with pricing set at:

  • EF3 without enclosure: $59.99
  • EF3 with enclosure: $64.99

I delayed production slightly to lengthen the prototype PCB so that switches could be placed at the rear of the cartridge, and the delay allowed the design to incorporate last minute design enhancements.  However, I will admit I treaded lightly on this production, as it’s a reasonably complex unit and RETRO Innovations is not the principal designer.

I realize late March is still significantly far in the future.  If you want a unit now, please check out Retro Donald’s storefront, which has uncased units in stock.

 

Spring-Time Retro-Computing Convention

Though the Cincinatti Commodore Computer Club (C4) EXPO will not be held in 2012, Payton Byrd is planning the Spring-Time Retro-Computing Convention in Clarksville, TN the weekend of May 25-27, 2012.  The event will be held at the Riverview Inn and will run 48 continuously for 48 hours.  As evidenced by the name, it appears like all classic machines will be represented/welcome.

As with NOTACON, we’d love to hear from readers who would enjoy a meet and greet.  Tennessee is quite a journey from the store, but it’s doable.

NOTACON

Far from being boring, the classic computing events calendar is already filling up!  NOTACON will be held in Cleveland, OH on April 12-15, 2012.  If you’re not aware, this event is short for “Not a Conference”, and its goals are to showcase technologies, philosophies, and creativity not often given a focus at other conferences.  The conference also sports its own demoparty: PixelJam.

RETRO Innovations is considering attendance, and we’d love to hear from others who would enjoy meeting us while there.  They don’t offer sales tables, like at other conferences and conventions, but we could show off development, PCB design, or something else of interest.  If we do come, we’ll unofficially bring some stock for those who want to pick up the latest offerings.

Early registration closes on Feb 17th (extended one week from the original February 10th).  If you’re considering attendance, it’s $25.00 cheaper to register now!

 

sd2iec 0.10.2 Now Available

Ingo Korb has recently released version 0.10.2 of sd2iec, which is the firmware that powers devices like the uIEC.  A list of enhancements is noted below.  Because the uIEC can auto-update itself, users need only download the ZIP archive, unpack the contents onto a partition 1 of their SD card, IDE HDD, or CF card, and reboot.

Changes in sd2iec 0.10.2:

  • Correct end of generated raw directory information
  • compiling with all fastloaders disabled should now work
  • ULoad M3 auto-exits when ATN becomes active
  • Improve code size (to free enough space for…)
  • Support new fastloader: ELoad Version 1 (the one used by EasyProg)