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Forums > C64 Coding > New life for your underloved datassette unit :D
2021-10-21 02:22
Zibri
Account closed

Registered: May 2020
Posts: 304
New life for your underloved datassette unit :D

The first phase of testing just ended.
(Still in the packaging and refining phase)

But I wish to share with you all my latest accomplishment.

You might want to check this out:
https://twitter.com/zibri/status/1450979434916417540
and this:
https://twitter.com/zibri/status/1450979005117644800

The fastest example (11 kilobit/sec) has the same (or better) error rlsilience as "turbo250" but it is 3 times faster.

The slowest one (8 kilobit/sec) has the same error resilience as the standard commodore slow "save", but it is 100 times faster and twice as fast as turbo250.

;)

Notes:

1) faster speeds are possible if the tape is written with a professional equipment or hi-fi with a stabilized speed and virtually no wobbling.

2) if the tape is emulated (tapuino or similar projects) the speed can go up to 34 kilobit/sec.

3) even with datassette, higher speeds are possible but the highly depend on the status of the tape, the datassette speed and azimuth.
 
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2021-11-07 11:20
tlr

Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 1790
Quoting Krill
If the read pilot signal frequency is off the "perfect" (written) frequency by a fixed ratio, does the same ratio apply to all used pulse widths?
And how do preceding pulse widths influence the current one?
Surely the band-pass filter would mess a bit with the signal.

I wonder whether a pilot "training sequence" should use different combinations of all used pulse widths to determine feasible thresholds.

You are going to have different factors here.
1: there are speed related parameters:
- average speed
- wow and flutter
Wow and flutter are more or less jitter of the speed, but within different frequency ranges, wow being relatively slow.

2: frequency related parameters:
- hi-frequency dampening due to the incorrect azimuth. Recording and writing on the same deck will somewhat mask this though.
- intersymbol interference due to the magnetic media itself, i.e pulses shift around slightly depending how close they are to each other.
EDIT: and effects from the filter in the datasette as well.

Speed related parameters could probably be measured by just inserting a tape with a 1 kHz test tone and crafting a program to extract that information.
The frequency related parameters are more tricky, but a relative measurement could be made by having a program write a test pattern, sampling the data back to ram for offline analysis.

Maybe soci has done some of this already to tweak his pre-compensation scheme?
2021-11-07 12:01
soci

Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 480
You make me release all the crap I have in my drawers ;)

The pulse length calibration pattern for setting thresholds was explored already:
Datassette 4PW Mastering Demo
2021-11-07 12:20
soci

Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 480
Any tape experiments on my side need to wait for at least another month at the moment ;(
2021-11-07 12:29
SLC

Registered: Jan 2002
Posts: 52
Quote: Any tape experiments on my side need to wait for at least another month at the moment ;(

Ohnoes! No you're going to upset him by posting your own projects in his thread! ;) Exactly how old is this anyway?
2021-11-07 12:50
soci

Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 480
Started around end of June 2018 then abandoned in August 2018, so more than 3 years.

Anyway I'll stay quiet as suggested. Sorry for spamming this thread.
2021-11-07 13:31
Zibri
Account closed

Registered: May 2020
Posts: 304
UPDATE:

the glitching was unrelated to the turbo.. but on a bad init of giana sisters game.

With his "troubled" datassette clone we successfully tested anonfirmed the results I had earlier..

He could write and read back at 8239.33 bit/sec !!!
Now he is testing speed "8" at 9152.42 bit/sec but i guess his limit will be lower... 8239 for his datassette should be the safe limit.
2021-11-07 13:33
Zibri
Account closed

Registered: May 2020
Posts: 304
Quote: Started around end of June 2018 then abandoned in August 2018, so more than 3 years.

Anyway I'll stay quiet as suggested. Sorry for spamming this thread.


That's not spam at all...
As I said.. I have never checked or seen any other tape code.
I didn't want to be influenced...
So I started from scratch.
As of now I have a working loader that gives the results I posted earlier (the big table)
2021-11-07 13:47
chatGPZ

Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11386
Quote:
Speed related parameters could probably be measured by just inserting a tape with a 1 kHz test tone and crafting a program to extract that information.

original Input64 had such thing on them, and a small type-in program in the Booklet that could be used with it to align the azimuth.
2021-11-07 13:48
Zibri
Account closed

Registered: May 2020
Posts: 304
Quote: UPDATE:

the glitching was unrelated to the turbo.. but on a bad init of giana sisters game.

With his "troubled" datassette clone we successfully tested anonfirmed the results I had earlier..

He could write and read back at 8239.33 bit/sec !!!
Now he is testing speed "8" at 9152.42 bit/sec but i guess his limit will be lower... 8239 for his datassette should be the safe limit.


Update:
also 9152 bit/sec worked!
also 10293.12 bit/sec worked!
his datassette is not bad at all even if it's a clone..
as usual is the software that makes the difference.
now he is going for the record :D
which will probably fail, because speed "9" is meant only for masters.
2021-11-07 13:49
SLC

Registered: Jan 2002
Posts: 52
For a fair comparison you should really post a benchmark that uses already compressed data too. The loader soci just uploaded loads the demo "SIDrip relive" at an average of 5400 bits/s at what looks like rather conservative settings.

It's also funny to observe that also this loader uses the scheme you claim was your idea, and that noone else had done before you ;)
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