The XP1541 adaptor

for Commodore 1541, 1570 and 1571 drives

You should follow these instructions if 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.

Important notes

Don't use a PCB-mountable parallel plug for this adaptor. If you use a solderable plug, one that is usually used for cables, then you can make your adaptor significantly smaller.
The circuitry will be on the top side of the adaptor. It is very important, however, that you'll have to connect the bottom side of the user port plug onto it, that is, upside down.
On circuit diagrams, plugs are displayed as viewed from the back side, the solder side. Chips are displayed as viewed from above; also, see the small semicircular cut for finding the correct orientation. When in doubt, see the corresponding description on the legend page.

Construction

You need the following parts to build this adaptor:

One printable circuit board of about 5.5 x 2 centimeters
One solderable 25-pin male plug (PC parallel plug)

Step 1. Create the direct connections on the board, between the user port edge and the parallel plug. You should have the following connections:


User port edge  Parallel plug 

     C, PB0        2, Data 0  

     D, PB1        3, Data 1  

     E, PB2        4, Data 2  

     F, PB3        5, Data 3  

     H, PB4        6, Data 4  

     J, PB5        7, Data 5  

     K, PB6        8, Data 6  

     L, PB7        9, Data 7  

     A, GND    18-25, GND

User port edge	Parallel plug
C, PB0	2, Data 0
D, PB1	3, Data 1
E, PB2	4, Data 2
F, PB3	5, Data 3
H, PB4	6, Data 4
J, PB5	7, Data 5
K, PB6	8, Data 6
L, PB7	9, Data 7
A, GND	18-25, GND

To make the board single-sided, you may omit the GND connection.

Step 2. Solder and then glue the board between the two pin rows of the parallel plug. The top side of the adaptor, the one with the circuitry, should be leveled with the longer side of the parallel plug, the one with 13 pins.

Circuit diagram

You can find the description of all parts used on the diagrams at the legend page.

Contact | Copyright and license | Blog page | Recent updates | Title page
(This page best viewed with any browser)