Meca Beta-Ex Tape drive

[falter]

I did a Google search but came up short.. has anyone ever seen the software for these? They appear to be kind of like the phidecks digital group used and apparently had an OS for various systems like the trs-80 and sorcerer. This one is for a Sorcerer.

 

[twolazy]

I know Digibarn has a working example of one of these Phidecks, perhaps they can give you the software or at least something to get it running...

The DigiBarn Computer Museum

 

[exidyboy]

Some Sorcerer software has recently come to light in France.
Have you found out any more about this drive or any documentation or schematics?
Would it be possible to get some photos of the internals showing the PCB layout to see if there are any ROMs or an internal microprocessor?

 

[falter]

Some Sorcerer software has recently come to light in France.
Have you found out any more about this drive or any documentation or schematics?
Would it be possible to get some photos of the internals showing the PCB layout to see if there are any ROMs or an internal microprocessor?

I can endeavor to open it up for pics in the next few days. I suspect it's mainly the same as the versions of it produced for other computers (think there was one for a TRS80). I haven't been able to locate any other info about it though.

Are you familiar with the stringy floppy for the Sorcerer? I didn't know one was available and saw it sell on ebay recently.

 

[exidyboy]

Thanks. I found some other posts on VCFED that appear to be about the same peripheral and photos of documentation/schematics but it doesn't appear that proper scans have ever been put up anywhere. Yes I am familiar with the Stringy Floppy for the Sorcerer. The Sorcerer version was developed here in Melbourne with a custom PCB inside the drive hosting a 2K ROM and the Sorcerer Power-on-Monitor was also customised. Readouts of these 3 ROMs will become available soon as well as more doco. I will make a new thread about the ASP Stringy Floppy when I get a chance.

 

[VERAULT]

Its so.... Soviet.


So it uses standard audio cassettes? Falter are we going to see an Exidy Sorcerer video on the horizon?

 

[falter]

Its so.... Soviet.


So it uses standard audio cassettes? Falter are we going to see an Exidy Sorcerer video on the horizon?

Probably will be a long time, to be honest. I've kind of dialed back Youtube production for the forseeable future.

 

[VERAULT]

Probably will be a long time, to be honest. I've kind of dialed back Youtube production for the forseeable future.

Stress of youtube production or personal/life reasons if you dont mind me asking?

Well everyone deserves a break but Im sad to hear that. Your videos are some of the only vintage computer related ones I actually get excited about when a new one comes up.

 

[falter]

Stress of youtube production or personal/life reasons if you dont mind me asking?

Well everyone deserves a break but Im sad to hear that. Your videos are some of the only vintage computer related ones I actually get excited about when a new one comes up.

Thank you. It's not really a break per se, just not trying to 'win the algorithm' by cranking out content on any kind of schedule. I had a big think about it after a couple of videos I put a lot of effort and time into didn't do very well. I decided from that point forward I'd just make videos as and when I could, and only on things I'm really passionate about. My videos take a long time to make, especially if there's animated sequences involved (1 minute of animated video = 20 hours of work). The last video I did, Youtube wouldn't even show it to 15% of my subscribers, and I put something like 80 hours into that, so I felt really bummed. I've noticed even really big channels, like with 5M plus subs are getting views of like 60 or 70k per video, which seems improbable. My pet theory is YT is throttling recommendations because it doesn't have enough ad revenue to cover the recent explosion of creators.

The money isn't really an issue for me - I didn't go into it to create a new job for myself - just to have fun and be creative while communicating with others in my hobby. And I enjoy the process of making videos immensely - it doesn't feel like work to me, so if it never makes more than beer money that's fine. But as a video creator you do want your videos to be seen - that's kind of the point. And if they're not being promoted even to your own subscribers, eventually you're like... maybe I suck? Maybe YT just isn't a thing anymore? And then you start thinking about other things you could be doing with that time. Which, after my father's recent passing, I am painfully aware is a very scarce commodity.

 

[VERAULT]

Well I dont right the bell notification. I just check my current subscriptions manually for whats new. I guess thats not how most people do it. But in doing so I see whats new several times a day. Yours included. I dont use phones or IOS nonsense to watch videos either. SO I guess im in the extreme minority.. Damn shame its all been put through an imbecile filter....

Doing it when you want to for reasons you want to should always be paramount.

Im not one to toot anyones horn.. Really.. Im more inclined to nit pit you to death... But again. Your vintage computer videos are among the best. Even the seasoned folks are just kind of annoying at this point. 8-bit guy throttled way back and .. honestly good for him..

Just keep doing the same. I think others would agree.