The XH1541 and XH1571 hybrid cables

Description

The XH1541 hybrid cable and the XH1571 hybrid cable are companion cables for the X1541 cable, to get the most possible out of SPP ports, by creating an additional semi-parallel connection between a Commodore 1541, 1570 or 1571 drive and the PC parallel port. They're compatible with all parallel ports and come in two flavors: the XH1541 hybrid cable for 1541 drives and the XH1571 hybrid cable for 1570 and 1571 drives.

Hardware requirements

You need the following hardware to make use of this cable:

  • A PC with an SPP parallel port
  • A Commodore 1541, 1570 or 1571 drive or compatible clone
  • An X1541 cable between the drive and the PC

Software support

The following PC softwares support this cable:

Important notes

  • Don't let the name "XH1571" fool you. This cable flavor also works with the Commodore 1570 drive, not only the Commodore 1571 drive. The other "XH1541" flavor is for Commodore 1541 drives only.
  • These cables need modifications in your Commodore drive. If you're not good at hardware hacking, don't try doing it yourself but ask for an expert's help instead.
  • This cable is a companion, it doesn't work in itself. It can, actually, be used with any parallel port, the need for an SPP port is a restriction of the X1541 cable, this cable can be used with.
  • Because of the conflicting pin layout, this cable can't be used along with the XE1541 extended cable.
  • This cable gives you parallel transfer only in the PC-to-drive direction; in the drive-to-PC direction, only 4 bits can be transferred at a time. If you have a PS/2, EPP or ECP port then, for a fully parallel connection, you might want to build the XP1541 parallel cable instead.

Construction

You have several methods to build this cable. You may share the parallel port between this cable and the X1541 cable, by building a Y-shaped cable and soldering the extra connections of this cable onto the parallel port plug you already have. In this case, of course, you don't need a second parallel port plug.

Method 1. Your drive has no parallel capabilities yet and you want to connect the cable directly onto the periphery chip in the drive. If possible, you shouldn't use this method because, this way, you won't be able to make use of it with a Commodore machine. You can find the details on how to build this cable at the construction page for 1541 drives and the construction page for 1570 and 1571 drives.

Method 2. Your drive has no parallel capabilities yet and you want to create a parallel port on your drive and then connect the cable to it. This is the preferred method because you can also make use of it with a Commodore machine. You can find the details on how to build this cable at the construction page.

If you have successfully finished the parallel port on your drive then you can also build the Commodore parallel cable, to use the parallel capabilities with a Commodore machine.

Method 3. Your drive already has a Commodore parallel cable and you want to make use of it. In this case, you'll have to build an adaptor, through which you can connect the cable to the PC parallel port.You can find the details on how to build this adaptor at the construction page.

Usage

If you built a cable and you created or already have a parallel port on your Commodore drive then you can connect one end of the cable into it; otherwise the cable is, probably, just hanging out of the drive. If you built an adaptor then connect the user port plug onto it, being very careful to exactly do it upside down, that is, the top side of the user port plug should be levelled with that side of the adaptor without circuitry. In any case, connect the parallel plug of your cable or adaptor into the parallel port of your PC.

Make sure to put your equipment far away from monitors, TV sets and other devices with strong emission, otherwise cables may pick up interference and you may experience data loss or corruption.

Copyright

The XH1541 and XH1571 hybrid cables are © by Bigfoot, 1997. If you produce and sell cables or adaptors that are compatible with this cable then you must give credits to the copyright owner. If your adaptors are built onto printed circuit boards then you must also make the complete layout available in a format and resolution that is suitable for high quality reproduction.

Source: The Joe Forster-STA homepage

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