|
|
|
In the second of his two part special, Wally Dug shows you how to build a CD-Rom drive for next-to-nothing |
|
| As promised, folks, here is the
second part of my Upgrade Guide - a Build-It! feature on CDTV. Last month, I left you with a poser - What is the difference between Commodore's CDTV and Wally Dug's CDTV? The answer - about £400! A word of warning, though. Some of the following modifications are dangerous, so do not stand in a bucket of water whilst attempting them. And, if you are one of those softies who are scared of invalidating your warranty, remove your warranty sticker carefully so that nobody knows that you've been into your machine.
CDTVBut first, a brief insight into CDTV. CDTV is the world's first commercial multi-media interactive compact disc technology system that works. (The LaserVision system from Philips was the first, but that didn't actually work. Well, it did, technically, but not with the consumers.) Admittedly, CDTV had a shaky start - jealous staff at Philips/Sony and Matsushita (the other two rivals in CD-Rom systems) spread rumours that the delays at Commodore were technical delays. This was simply not the case. CDTV was to be released about a year earlier than it was as CTV - Commodore's Television. However, Channel Television, the ITV station serving the Channel Islands, complained to the Supreme Court of Human Rights that Commodore were stealing their name as they, too, used the initials CTV. Commodore lost the case and, as a result, had to change the name from CTV to CDTV - Commodore's Television. The "production" delay was caused by Commodore having to alter every single appearance of CTV to CDTV. But enough boring frivolities. Now its time for...
Wally Dug's Build-It! Guide to CDTV If you have recently bought a (hi-fi) CD player, say in the last two years, you should be happy. If you have recently bought a (hi-fi) CD player which just happens to have been manufactured by Philips, Sony, Toshiba or Panasonic, you should be laughing. As mentioned earlier, there were two other CD-Rom systems being developed - the Philips/Sony system and Matsushita system (Toshiba and Panasonic are the brand names of Matsushita). Now, we all know that CDTV is just a computer inside a conventional CD player. Well, believe it or not, all that these latest players from Philips & Co. require is a computer. And the manufacturers have even included something called an RS-232 inside their players. If you are reading this article, chances are you have an Amiga. If you have an Amiga, you also have an RS-232. All you need to do is make a simple cable (see Figure 1) to join the two together and - hey presto! - you have an Amiga-based CD-Rom, or to call it another name, a CDTV!
Nae LuckIf your CD player is not made by Philips & Co., do not despair. It may still be made into a CDTV system, although it is much harder. First of all, remove the casing from the CD player and look inside the machine at the circuit board. With any luck, you should have some empty sockets labelled "CD-Rom Output". Just beside this, there should be a square-ish silicon chip. Then, open up your Amiga and look for the Gary Custom Control Chip. If the CD chip looks the same size and shape as Gary, get set to get beasted in. If your CD does not have one of these chips, it is simply a matter of selling your Amiga, nipping out to your nearest Virgin Megastore and buying a CDTV. Meanwhile, back to the CD.
Chip SwopVery carefully, prise the CD chip out of it's sockets using a set of jeweller's screwdrivers so that you don't damage it. Once out, throw it in the bin. Next, prise Gary from your Amiga. You will find that he comes out smoothly and quickly, so be careful! However, do not fit him into the CD player as yet. One small item of hardware that you need is the Gary lead which memory expansion boards of more than 512Kb have. If you have one of these leads, fine, but if not, I'm afraid that you will need to buy one, although they are not too expensive (scour the ads of the gutter, er, popular computing press). Once you have the lead, connect to Gary (see Figure 2). Then, simply press Gary, carefully but firmly, into the vacant CD chip slot. Next, attach the other end of the Gary lead to Pin 25 of Fat Agnus, Pin 23 of Fatter Agnus or Pin 37 of Super Agnus (you see, we cater for all people here at JAM!). And that is that. You now have a CD player with the Gary control chip linked to the Amiga via the Fat(ter/Super) Agnus chip.
CDTVCDAt this point, we welcome back all the swots that had the new CD players. All you need now for your CDTV system is a CD. Like CDTV, your CDTV system can play both music CDs and CDTVCDs. Again, your local Virgin Megastore should be able to help as they sell both music CDs and CDTVCDs (and, yes, I am on a commission). Buy the cheapest one that they have (unless they have WD's Quiz Challenge at £79.99 - it is so good) and rush home. Switch on the Amiga first, then the CD player. Insert your CDTVCD, press play, and there you have it. One fully-fledged, fully-working, CDTV system.
Buy two RS-232 interfaces from Tandy, one male and one female. They cost £2.49 each for the socket variety (the best) or £1.99 each for the screw variety. (With the socket type, you simply press the button, insert the wire, let go of the button and you have the connection.) Next, buy 2 metres of bell wire and cut it into ten strips, each 20cm long (i.e. long enough to go from the Amiga to the CD player - it is quite safe to have the CD player under the Amiga) and connect as follows (Amiga connections first):
REMEMBER: Making you own connections can be extremely dangerous. If in any doubt as to the safety aspects, do not let your wee brother make this - do it yourself.
With the Gary part name like this, affix the lead underneath so that the cable comes from Gary's bottom. Make sure that you have the "T" uppermost, though.
Well, that's all for the now. Next month, we continue on the theme of CDTV when I'll be bringing you "Wally Dug's Guide to Word Processors", so if I don't see you through the week, I'll see you through the window (Workbench users only). |
 |
| Now, do you want to go back to the Article Index or go to the next article? |
|
|
