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commodore 64 tape recorder

marioplayr

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Joined
Nov 1, 2009
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27
Location
grand blanc, MI (USA)
i was wondering..... for the commodore 64, can you use a regular old tape recorder? i know there is no jack but can you make/buy a cable that will let you use one or can you mod the c64 to take the right kind of jack????? its just something that im curious about. thanks!!!!!
 
I don't think so. On the 64, the datasette had a proprietary connector that serves as both a data transmitter and a power source for the cassette player. Thankfully thought, datasettes aren't that uncommon and you can probably get a decent eBay deal if you desire one. However, since it appears you are in the US, you likely shouldn't need one provided you have a 1541. Cassette games were far more common in Europe and elsewhere overseas where PAL format dominated, so even if you did have a datasette, finding an NTSC-compatible program to run off of it may be the bigger challenge. That been anyone else's experience?
 
i was wondering..... for the commodore 64, can you use a regular old tape recorder? i know there is no jack but can you make/buy a cable that will let you use one or can you mod the c64 to take the right kind of jack????? its just something that im curious about. thanks!!!!!
It needs a little more than just an adapter cable, but not much; one IC and a few simple parts to convert the audio signal to TTL levels, and you could also use the same adapter to load and save .WAV or .MP3 program files using a PC with a sound card.

Still, might be easier to just find a datasette or disk drive...
 
Actually at least here in Europe, there were a bunch of 3rd party cassette adapters which did exactly what is discussed here, convert the audio from a regular tape recorder to the digital signal a C2N outputs. There were even schematics how to build your own adapter, in a time when a brand new C2N cost 1/7 of what the whole computer cost -- and a 1541 cost 7/8 as much as the computer.

But today.. yes, try to pick up a C2N (1530, 1531) or a clone instead of fiddling with a regular tape player. Those may be more common in Europe than they are in the USA. If you are asking because you need a good way to transfer and load software, there are tons of recent methods far more practical and not much more expensive.
 
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