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Ikon Ultra Drive

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2022 2:28 pm
by Pernod70
Does anyone actually have the Ultra Drive that's in the archive at http://archive.worldofdragon.org/index. ... ltra_Drive

I'm interested in knowing the model number of the actual tape unit used in them.

Similar units were available for a few different machines, including BBC and Nascom, but these were known as Hobbit drives. The Hobbit was advertised as 100K capacity, whereas the Ultra Drive was 200K, so presumably different tape units used.

The Ultra Drive was also advertised as coming soon for BBC, Electron, C64, etc. but have so far only found evidence that it existed for the BBC.

Re: Ikon Ultra Drive

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2022 9:48 pm
by robcfg
I need to take a look, as I think I had more pictures of it.

Sadly, the owner did sell it long ago. Maybe someone from the forum got it?

Re: Ikon Ultra Drive

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2022 12:50 pm
by robcfg
I'm afraid I cannot find the pictures of the drive mechanism :(

Re: Ikon Ultra Drive

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2022 1:03 pm
by Pernod70
robcfg wrote: Wed Oct 05, 2022 12:50 pm I'm afraid I cannot find the pictures of the drive mechanism :(
Hopefully it's current owner will eventually see this. Presume this is the only unit that's ever been seen?

I'm currently emulating the Hobbit drive for the Beeb, and MDCR for the Atom, both use the same tape unit which is already emulated for the Philips P2000T. If I get these two working then I'll see if the Ultra Drive ROM works with the same tape unit.

The Ultra Drive advert vs. the Hobbit advert clearly indicates the Ultra is faster and has double the capacity, so suspect it's a different tape unit.

Re: Ikon Ultra Drive

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2022 9:59 am
by robcfg
Yes, it’s the only unit I’ve seen so far.

I tried to use some tapes but wasn’t able to “format” them, so probably the unit needed some service.

Re: Ikon Ultra Drive

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2022 4:50 pm
by admin
Just catching up...I have one in storage, been there for quite a few years, so if it's not mega urgent I should be able to get it out and take some internal photos

Re: Ikon Ultra Drive

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2022 7:03 pm
by Pernod70
admin wrote: Thu Oct 06, 2022 4:50 pm Just catching up...I have one in storage, been there for quite a few years, so if it's not mega urgent I should be able to get it out and take some internal photos
Excellent, whenever you can it's mainly the tape unit that needs identifying.

Re: Ikon Ultra Drive

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2022 12:54 pm
by admin
Here are some photos of the insides - only 2 labels that I can see so hopefully they can help you identify the drive model. I have some tapes for this and they are all 30min tapes if that helps.

Re: Ikon Ultra Drive

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2022 1:09 pm
by Pernod70
admin wrote: Fri Oct 07, 2022 12:54 pm Here are some photos of the insides - only 2 labels that I can see so hopefully they can help you identify the drive model.
I'm surprised there's no obvious model number anywhere. Your photos look remarkably similar to one that I got from a Hobbit owner, especially the one with serial number and large cog. So maybe they are the same tape unit, difficult to say.

There's a technical manual for the MDCR at http://www.nascomhomepage.com/pdf/mdcr.pdf. On the last page is a layout of the circuit board, would you say this matches yours?

Re: Ikon Ultra Drive

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 2:18 pm
by admin
Yes - connectors and ICs are all in the same place...so I suspect its the same drive......