Can't get TRS-80 CoCo Model 1 to load cassette files.

[Blarg_King]

So I just got my TRS-80 CoCo Model 1 in the mail today. I believe its a 16K version since it doesn't have the black trim around the keyboard.
I made my own audio cable from a 5 pin DIN plug and a mono audio cable. After determining the correct wires using a continuity tester, I wired it all together.
Now here comes the fun part.
I downloaded about 20 .cas files from the TRS-80 CoCo software repository site, and also downloaded PlayCAS. Every single file I load into PlayCAS gives me a "no header/corrupted file" error. I somehow don't believe all 20 files managed to get corrupted somehow. So I downloaded CAS2WAV and used that to convert some files to WAV. It gave me a success report each time. So I connected my DIY audio cable from the audio out port on my laptop to the CASS port on my TRS. I turned audio on on the TRS and typed in CLOAD and began playing the .wav file. The cable appears to work as I can hear the sound coming out of the TV the TRS is plugged into, but no matter what file I play and no matter what the volume, the TRS just sits there with the little "S" in the top left corner.

I have no idea what to do, I'll be kind of disappointed if I can't load programs this way since cartridges and cassettes are so hard to come by.
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Eudimorphodon]

A few weeks ago I posted about having the same issues with a homemade cable on a CoCo3. I haven't had much time to play with it since, but I likewise didn't have any luck. Downloaded files aside, on my cable I implemented both the save and load plugs, yet haven't even had any luck with typing in a short program, CSAVE-ing it, and trying to CLOAD it back. (The recorded .WAV file from a CSAVE sure looks and sounds like a valid save... I suppose I could try setting up an emulator and reading it into that.)

I've been keeping an eye out for a real physical tape recorder so I can try the cable with that but so far it's been pretty frustrating.

 

[Blarg_King]

Yeah I saw your post. Incidentally you were using a Mac too weren't you? I'm using a MacBook and I'm just running all the windows software off a virtual machine. Perhaps I should try playing the files off my ipod or borrow my brother's PC laptop and see if those work. Might be something to do with a Mac's audio processing and/or sound card.

 

[Blarg_King]

I think I have figured out the problem. I don't have a solution (yet) but this narrows things down a bit. The programs I have been downloading are for a CoCo. PlayCAS doesn't support files for the CoCo! Thats why it can't recognize them! And CAS2WAV appears to have been made by the same person, so it doesn't support the CoCo either! The files its been giving me are what they would sound like for other TRS-80 models.

The only program I can find thats meant to turn CoCo .cas files into audio is called cocotape. To run it you drag a .cas file onto the program's icon and it opens up a CMD window. It shows "CoCo file opened successfully" then says "streaming audio" but at that point it crashes without making a sound.

I'll continue to try and find a way to fix this and post any progress on this thread.

 

[Blarg_King]

Okay got COCOTAPE to work. Unfortunately I don't think its easily replicated because I had to instruct it how to work on my particular system. I made some .wav files and played them to my TRS and sure enough it recognized them. However all the programs I have appear to be for the COCO 3 because it gives me a ?SN error for all of them. I wish I knew how much memory mine had. I tried PRINT MEM and it gave me 14631. I don't know if thats in bits, bytes, or if its an ID code. Mines a model 26-3004A.

 

[wmat]

If print mem gave you 14631 you have a 16K coco.

 

[Eudimorphodon]

Well, it's good that you had some luck with your cable once you got the software issues worked out. I'm pretty sure my problems are hardware, either with the cable or the CoCo. *sigh*

Wild guess, but I imagine some of the issues you're having might be that you're trying to load software that expects Extended basic? When you power the machine on does it say "COLOR BASIC" or "EXTENDED COLOR BASIC" in the power-on messages? That would explain the ?SN errors.