Exatron Stringy Floppy and CAI/O Interface
Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:31 pm
It's been fun to pull out my old ZX81 and see that it still works, but I've decided I don't have the time to devote to doing anything with it.
I have a couple of pieces of hardware that might be of interest to those still working with Sinclairs. I have an Exatron "stringy floppy" drive and the CAI/O controller for it. I would be willing to ship them, free of charge, to anyone that is interested in them. Preferably someone in the continental US to keep shipping costs down. I would like to find the right person who really wants to use them, not just flip them on eBay.
The Exatron drive was a good alternative to cassette tapes 35 years ago. As for data storage today, it is probably mostly a curiosity. The tapes are quite old and are known to break. The one that contains my childhood programming is shot, though I was able to load some games from another tape. If you are looking for storage, I would look at something more modern like the ZXPand.
The CAI/O controller may be of more interest to current hobbyists. In addition to controlling the Exatron drive, it has serial and parallel ports built into it. I never used them myself, but it might be a good way to get your Sinclair to talk to the outside world.
If you think this hardware may be of interest to you, please send me a private message on this board.
I have a couple of pieces of hardware that might be of interest to those still working with Sinclairs. I have an Exatron "stringy floppy" drive and the CAI/O controller for it. I would be willing to ship them, free of charge, to anyone that is interested in them. Preferably someone in the continental US to keep shipping costs down. I would like to find the right person who really wants to use them, not just flip them on eBay.
The Exatron drive was a good alternative to cassette tapes 35 years ago. As for data storage today, it is probably mostly a curiosity. The tapes are quite old and are known to break. The one that contains my childhood programming is shot, though I was able to load some games from another tape. If you are looking for storage, I would look at something more modern like the ZXPand.
The CAI/O controller may be of more interest to current hobbyists. In addition to controlling the Exatron drive, it has serial and parallel ports built into it. I never used them myself, but it might be a good way to get your Sinclair to talk to the outside world.
If you think this hardware may be of interest to you, please send me a private message on this board.
