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ChipMusic.org / Forums / Other Vintage Computers & Consoles / .tap to .wav for zx spectrum + ipod tape thingy (HALP ME YERZ?)
So i ordered one of those mad ipod -> tape thingys and i was wondering if there was anything special you have to do to the .wav to get it to load on the speccy. i have a +2 model i want to use.
I know yerzmyey tried this method with the mp3 player/ipod so it does work.. but any tips?
Thanks in advance speccy peoplez!
^O^
oh.. and any trackers or nice spectrum things or pc utilities anyone has to recommend?
What iPod to tape thing? o_O
The Spectrum has a MONO 1/8th JACK input. You can connect the output of your iPod straight in there with a mini jack cable and load the files.
You have to do nothing to the wav but play it after you issue the LOAD command (not necessary on the +2).
However I have had a big deal of trouble getting anything to run on mine with this method. It loads all the data and then it STAYS THERE. I am using WinTZX, maybe the software is shit but it's the only one that lets me play the files in realtime without converting to WAV.
I tried it in a Spectrum +3, Spectrum 48K and a TS2068 without much success. Some times it loads though. Anybody thinks it's the software? I used to use TAPER but it doesn't run on XP 
Last edited by akira^8GB (Jul 2, 2010 12:17 am)
the +2 has no line in according to MISTER BEEP and yerzmyey 
Well, I'm not a speccy people, but I do know that putting the WAV into t a tape adapter really ought to just work. Only one thing to consider, you need to be very careful with the volume adjustment. These cassette tape things are very finicky in nearly all cases on old computers, and if you have the volume set too high or two low the A/D won't pick it up and translate it into data properly. Also, keep those heads clean! Dirty heads corrupt data. And yeah, the first time it'll be trial and error, I promise you that. And if you ever change the volume controls later one. Then you'll have to zero it all in again, which is a pain.
the +2 has no line in according to MISTER BEEP and yerzmyey
This picture shows otherwise:
Far right, says "SON" (sound)
The +2 has the same mobo as the +3 unless you have an early model it seems.
At least in ine (+3) this is for sound input. But it could be output?
I would trust Yerz's input with my life. So I guess I am wrong and that's an output. Weird. Output from what? In mine it's for tape.
In any case even with the cassette adapter i GUESS it should work. As I said I had problems with aforementioned program. I suppose I am having volume issues.
Last edited by akira^8GB (Jul 2, 2010 2:45 am)
an-cat-max wrote:the +2 has no line in according to MISTER BEEP and yerzmyey
This picture shows otherwise:
Far right, says "SON" (sound)
The +2 has the same mobo as the +3 unless you have an early model it seems.
At least in ine (+3) this is for sound input. But it could be output?
I would trust Yerz's input with my life. So I guess I am wrong and that's an output. Weird. Output from what? In mine it's for tape.In any case even with the cassette adapter i GUESS it should work. As I said I had problems with aforementioned program. I suppose I am having volume issues.
haha, well that was my original thought when first got it, and the fact the tape deck has a record function - if there's no way to use that then it's very strange! but as you said i trusted yerzmyey's input that it had no input 
thanks very much for your input akira! i'll give it a shot with that input.. just to be sure! 
It can;t hurt. Mine is input for sure. But I need to find out how to properly set the volume of my computer to load anything.
Loading from tape is fucking boring anyway.
Well, there is a very good reason why tape drives out. They're extremely annoying. As for how to properly set the volume, that's usually just by trial and error. But I like to start with the volume 1/3 from the lowest setting and ramp it up slowly each time until it starts to work. If you wanted to be precise about it I suppose you'd hook it up to an oscilloscope and look for noise.
I mean, I can't know it's right until the whole thing has loaded. That's what annoys me.
no hard words about tapes, please. they're a much more reliable medium than 3,5" floppies, to say the least. i have the 1982 demo tape that came with the original speccy (16/48k), it works perfectly fine, which can't be said for most of my 90s amiga floppies.
as for the rest, here's a couple of tricks:
first, if you use real tape, use ferro-tape. magnetic tapes don't work very well and tend to data loss (on c64,magnetic tape can actually destroy your tape drive. fortunately the speccy is more robust). same goes for cheap tapes without proper metal shielding.
i wouldn't be surprised if those ipod adapters don't work too great since they resample the audio and probably tape-head isn't shielded properly either. though i've heard several people say it works. in any case it should be easier to copy your wav to a real tape (at about max volume you can achieve without clipping) and then load from that.
ed: one more thing, the speccy is quite vulnerable to interference, so make sure you put your setup in a place far away from other electronic equipment, and don't try to listen to loud music while trying to load something.
Last edited by irrlichtproject (Jul 2, 2010 5:28 pm)
http://8bc.org/forums/viewtopic.php?id=15563&p=1
in this thread there's quite a bit of help with the loading using the mp3 tape thing which is very useful!
thanks for all the help, i'll be able to get this working i reckon 
anyone got any recommendations on trackers now?
make sure you put your setup in a place far away from other electronic equipment
Kind of difficult having in mind you have to connect it to a TV for display.
no hard words about tapes, please. they're a much more reliable medium than 3,5" floppies, to say the least. i have the 1982 demo tape that came with the original speccy (16/48k), it works perfectly fine, which can't be said for most of my 90s amiga floppies.
That's probably because your floppies were cheap crap and were also probably stored improperly. Floppies have a lower tolerance for dirt and dampness, wheras tapes generally don't have as much of an issue with this. This is because floppies have an internal dust jacket inside of the plastic sleeve which helps them to be more reliable until the day when it gets wet and starts to get gunk on it. Stored properly, this can't happen. Barring of course delamination of the actual disk substrate, which happens to cheap disks.
I prefer 3M brand floppies (and only use 3M brand floppies) because they have the best jacket design and the best substrate. I have never had one fail which had been stored properly, and many of them are much older than I am, having been written as far back as 1984.
Also, my gripe against tapes- constant fiddling for noise levels, tensile changes which spoil your calibration from tape to tape, low data densities, and excessive load times.
Last edited by arfink (Jul 2, 2010 7:04 pm)
That's probably because your floppies were cheap crap and were also probably stored improperly. Floppies have a lower tolerance for dirt and dampness, wheras tapes generally don't have as much of an issue with this.
Got to agree with this and every other point arfink makes. I still have plenty of my 5.25" floppies in full working order and they are like 21 years old.