1541 Ultimate-II
| 1541 Ultimate-II | |
| |
| Type: | - |
| Producer: | Gideon’s Logic Architectures |
| Price: | N/A |
| Released: | 2012 |
| Discontinued: | - |
| Processor: | - |
| Memory: | - |
| OS: | - |
| Info: | Ultimate-II+ (since 2016), Ultimate-II+L (since 2022) |
The 1541 Ultimate-II (released in 2012) is a Commodore 64 plug-in hardware device from Gideon’s Logic B.V. that emulates two Commodore 1541, 1571 and 1581 disk drives and a host of C64 cartridges.
In 2016, the successor Ultimate-II+ (U2+) was released, which was replaced in 2022 by the Ultimate-II+L (U2+L).
The U2+(L) allows programs and games to load from standard USB memory sticks / external hard disks, but it also features 3 USB ports, Ethernet, integrated speaker, flash upgrading, and dual-SID.
Description[edit | edit source]
The Ultimate-II+(L) supplies lots of handy features:
Filesystem
- Commodore disk Image formats, including .D64, .G64, .D71, .D81 and .DNP formats
- Configurable ROM for the drive (one for each drive type: 1541, 1571 and 1581)
- Load .TAP files to C64
- Capture tape data from C64 to .TAP file
- Capture tape data from a datasette and store it as .TAP file
- Write .TAP files back to tape, using a Commodore tape deck
- FAT/FAT32 and exFAT support, with sub-directories and long filenames
- ISO9660 support with Joliet, for reading .ISO files and access external CD/DVD drives through USB
- Command Interface module with UltimateDOS
Audio
- Stereo audio output
- Dual SID implementation, optionally 8 voices each
- Up to 7 voices of sampled audio simultaneously
- Built-in SID player
Cartridge
The Ultimate-II+ supports cartridges in the .CRT file format, that can be installed by the user. Supported cartridge hardware include, but is not limited to:
- Final Cartridge III
- Action Replay
- Retro Replay
- Super Snapshot
- Epyx Fastloader
- Custom 8K/16K carts
- Custom Ocean / System3 carts
- EasyFlash
- ...
Hardware
- Battery-backed up Real Time Clock
- Serial port
Memory
- RAMBOard memory expansion (up to 40K)
The three top-mounted buttons supply additional features:
- Left: Freeze
- Middle: Disk access
- Right: Reset
The colored LED lights display status:
- Red: Drive status
- Yellow: Cartridge activity
- Green: Storage activity
Models[edit | edit source]
The Ultimate has passed through four development stages, each adding extra features: Ultimate (2008), Ultimate II (2010), Ultimate II+(2016), Ultimate-64 (2019), Ultimate-II+L (2022).
The Ultimate 64 (Elite) boards completely replace the C64 mainboard inside the case and supplies HDMI for direct connection to modern monitors.
