did lots of this back in the day when I swapped Games with my Friends and copied games from the Library. but I bought games as well mostly budget Games.
I didn’t know anyone else with another 800xl, except my dad , and the Barras was too scary for me to go to for copies. ( I was a timid child and I imagined buying pirated tapes was like a Colombian drug deal with AKs) 😂So my dad pirated his tapes for me - Still have that Sanyo tape deck.
So even piracy is better on the C= 64! (Adult me: He means worse. Worse. Remember kids, don't copy that car.) If we didn't have properly cracked and one-filed versions or multiload floppy versions we did high quality copying with a splitter board to which we connected two of our "digital" datasettes; since the signal in was digital then the copy was pretty much perfect (if not better than the original that might have tried to do things to mess with hifi duplication). In the end, I think less than 1% of my copies were from duplication - there were just proper cracks and TurboLoad 64 (before upping to a 1541) all around, giving you a C90 with sth like 60 games on.
Yeah, this was exactly how it was back in the day as well :) Trail and error to get those beloved cassettes working. Only thing missing to get peak nostalgia for us c64 users was two hours of Azimuth head alignment!
Ive been there man back in the day with my brother goodtimes Golden years and you know what smoke in Holland just great times with first c64 and than the great amiga 500 and then 1200 and then PC and now PlayStation 5 love it
The last original game i remember copying sometime in the 80's was Salamander for the C64. Oh the satisfaction seeing it load on my computer when i got home.
not sure on the speccy, on the C64 the game are recorded in mono as the C64 data cassette uses a mono head, test and original game on the tape deck and see if they are recorded on both left and right channels. Once I figured that out back in the day I was the go to guy at school for those backups cough cough
Yes mono as well. It's a mono head and input. And yes it's recorded on left and right channel. I guess forcing a mono recording (if the deck has the option) would result in a cleaner signal across both channels?
Sorry late reply buy you could always try panning full to right channel if you don't have mono option on the cassette deck to get a mono signal, that's how I did C64 games
Loved Flying Shark back in the day, one of the most solid shooters at the time. Before the government implemented a law punishing pirated games in Portugal I remember going to the games store and after I chose which game I wanted the shop employee would go in the back of the store and I could even hear the game being copied in double speed... The guy had to make money, he couldn´t waste any time 👀
I used to call them 'off site backups'. Ok, maybe not in the 80s but later in life when I may or may not have had some 'not completely legit' games. 🤣😉
@@dekat7656 yeah it's been a while lol. Ironically I didn't end up going for a ride so could have had more rum while making this vid.... Although it was only mid day.
@@aussie_retro_dude9253 no the record level is on full. Playback on the hifi is seperate If you mean while loading into the spectrum, you turn that down on the TV. Easy.
@@005AGIMAThere was a few software anti-copying systems back then for the ZX Spectrum, first one I came across was Speedlock which defeated tape to tape, but was cracked about a year later. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_loader
With tape dubbing wow & flutter can really corrupt programs, on a cassette. If you had a means of recording the audio to a digital recorder, I'm curious if the computer would recognize the program, without as many problems. Audio clipping, from overdriving the levels might also be an issue, depending on the requirements of the computer. Definitely a fun experiment with retro systems. :)
@@oliverw.douglas285 to us back in the day, this wasn't an experiment. This is literally how we copied games. But the sets were simpler than this hifi. No recording level. Just press play and record and off you go. And don't forget, we were copying brand new games, on a near new hifi. Clean heads, no bad belts, so yeah, the issues you see here are not things we had to deal with.
@@005AGIMA I herald back to the days of Commodore Pets & Tandy CoCo's, so I understand the trials & tribulations all too well. It was still interesting to see the old routine, just one more time. In those days, my mom was a school teacher, so I had access to fairly reliable tape recorders, but it still took a couple of rounds, with some games, before I got a good copy. Getting some of the games through our local library kept costs down, but I was a regular at Radio Shack for blank tapes. ;)
Good old tape to tape.... that source tape sounds fast and like the head alignment is off, very dull sounding. Also sounds like its clipping. Just don't make it worse with high speed dubbing!
I mean, there isn't a recording tone control...so unless the EQ is affecting recording rather than just output....but the EQ is on the amp side, not the TAPE deck controls..... I could try adjusting the EQ but I doubt it will make any difference. As you saw in the video, we did get a successful load.
☠️ ☠️ 🏴☠️🏴☠️🦜. I miss the old days, I was a great Pirate. Really took me back this mate, X-copy next year? It sounds off, I reckon a head clean is in order on your stack.
Thank you! I will now become very rich from selling copies during lunch break at work! cheers!
...you mean "doing digital preservation" ;) ;)
@@005AGIMA aaaah right. just a small typo!
3:30 Ah! Music to my ears. 😂
@@shahnawazshahin3781 that sound has actually been known to summon mermaids.
Now that was a blast from the past......apart from the rum 😂
@@DadLadsGaming to be fair, I even have nostalgia for rum 🤣. My first go to drink was Bacardi and coke 🤣
did lots of this back in the day when I swapped Games with my Friends and copied games from the Library. but I bought games as well mostly budget Games.
yeah most of my library were budget titles.
Brings back fond memories. I haven't heard Speccy loading sounds since the 80s. It was fun watching this. Thanks Chris.
Thanks mate. Glad it brought back memories :)
‘Cheeky little number’ he winced as the rum went down. 😂
@@herdarkshadow834 🤣
I didn’t know anyone else with another 800xl, except my dad , and the Barras was too scary for me to go to for copies. ( I was a timid child and I imagined buying pirated tapes was like a Colombian drug deal with AKs) 😂So my dad pirated his tapes for me - Still have that Sanyo tape deck.
@@T8staDiM3rda nice. Love the memories 👍❤️
So even piracy is better on the C= 64! (Adult me: He means worse. Worse. Remember kids, don't copy that car.) If we didn't have properly cracked and one-filed versions or multiload floppy versions we did high quality copying with a splitter board to which we connected two of our "digital" datasettes; since the signal in was digital then the copy was pretty much perfect (if not better than the original that might have tried to do things to mess with hifi duplication). In the end, I think less than 1% of my copies were from duplication - there were just proper cracks and TurboLoad 64 (before upping to a 1541) all around, giving you a C90 with sth like 60 games on.
@@NorthWay_no sounds complicated 🤣😎👍
Yeah, this was exactly how it was back in the day as well :) Trail and error to get those beloved cassettes working. Only thing missing to get peak nostalgia for us c64 users was two hours of Azimuth head alignment!
@@retroandgaming haha yeah I've heard legend of c64 head alignment.
The perfect ending would have been a blue flashing light outside the window. 👮♂️
Baqhahaha true.
Ive been there man back in the day with my brother goodtimes Golden years and you know what smoke in Holland just great times with first c64 and than the great amiga 500 and then 1200 and then PC and now PlayStation 5 love it
@@dekat7656 friggin awesome man. 😎
The last original game i remember copying sometime in the 80's was Salamander for the C64. Oh the satisfaction seeing it load on my computer when i got home.
@@RedFarmer2000 it was oddly satisfying hey
not sure on the speccy, on the C64 the game are recorded in mono as the C64 data cassette uses a mono head, test and original game on the tape deck and see if they are recorded on both left and right channels. Once I figured that out back in the day I was the go to guy at school for those backups cough cough
Yes mono as well. It's a mono head and input. And yes it's recorded on left and right channel. I guess forcing a mono recording (if the deck has the option) would result in a cleaner signal across both channels?
@@005AGIMA yeah the signal can get messed up when in stereo
Sorry late reply buy you could always try panning full to right channel if you don't have mono option on the cassette deck to get a mono signal, that's how I did C64 games
Baron SAHM-dee. That's the French word for Saturday. :)
@@joysticksnjukeboxes Ah cool 😎
Loved Flying Shark back in the day, one of the most solid shooters at the time. Before the government implemented a law punishing pirated games in Portugal I remember going to the games store and after I chose which game I wanted the shop employee would go in the back of the store and I could even hear the game being copied in double speed... The guy had to make money, he couldn´t waste any time 👀
@@Pixelhorizon haha that's crazy that you got pirated games direct from the store.
Good times. I did the same on the C64 growing up.
@@markdillon5494 awesome 😎
I used to call them 'off site backups'. Ok, maybe not in the 80s but later in life when I may or may not have had some 'not completely legit' games. 🤣😉
@@JenniferinIllinois 🤣🤣🤣. Off site from the owner 🤣
@@005AGIMA Exactly!!!!
Greetings from Holland
Mark
@@dekat7656 Hey thanks for watching 😎
The stack that takes the whack 😂
Sometimes my mouth says things without me agreeing to them.
@@005AGIMA 🤣
Finaly a drink in a video again , proost i like to have a Lager watching your vids ❤
@@dekat7656 yeah it's been a while lol. Ironically I didn't end up going for a ride so could have had more rum while making this vid.... Although it was only mid day.
I like your top mate 👍😎
@@stevegeorge6479 haha Cheers Steve. 😁😎
Thanks for the demo. Like you said, you may need to clean the heads on both decks.
@@aussie_retro_dude9253 yeah I think so
@@005AGIMA so you have the playback on Max volume? That would be quite a tough listen for a while.
@@aussie_retro_dude9253 no the record level is on full. Playback on the hifi is seperate If you mean while loading into the spectrum, you turn that down on the TV. Easy.
@@005AGIMA ah cool silly me !
Do I spy a CDTV in your stack system there Chris? 🔎
@@mrbagitos well spotted sir. It will be featured in a video soon enough 😉😎
Omg remember do that 😂
🤣🤣🤣 Yep we did it quite a bit hey.
"Let's be clear- this is piracy, it's not preservation" 😉
Did any cassettes have copy protection? Don't know how they could have...
@@kevinmccartney4906 they could have had code words from the manual or decoder wheels. Other than that no.
@@005AGIMAThere was a few software anti-copying systems back then for the ZX Spectrum, first one I came across was Speedlock which defeated tape to tape, but was cracked about a year later.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_loader
With tape dubbing wow & flutter can really corrupt programs, on a cassette. If you had a means of recording the audio to a digital recorder, I'm curious if the computer would recognize the program, without as many problems. Audio clipping, from overdriving the levels might also be an issue, depending on the requirements of the computer. Definitely a fun experiment with retro systems. :)
@@oliverw.douglas285 to us back in the day, this wasn't an experiment. This is literally how we copied games. But the sets were simpler than this hifi. No recording level. Just press play and record and off you go. And don't forget, we were copying brand new games, on a near new hifi. Clean heads, no bad belts, so yeah, the issues you see here are not things we had to deal with.
@@005AGIMA I herald back to the days of Commodore Pets & Tandy CoCo's, so I understand the trials & tribulations all too well. It was still interesting to see the old routine, just one more time.
In those days, my mom was a school teacher, so I had access to fairly reliable tape recorders, but it still took a couple of rounds, with some games, before I got a good copy. Getting some of the games through our local library kept costs down, but I was a regular at Radio Shack for blank tapes. ;)
Good old tape to tape.... that source tape sounds fast and like the head alignment is off, very dull sounding. Also sounds like its clipping. Just don't make it worse with high speed dubbing!
Possibly all of the above is true. I've not done anything to that stack other than wipe it off with a cloth 🤣
you have the recording tone set too high
I mean, there isn't a recording tone control...so unless the EQ is affecting recording rather than just output....but the EQ is on the amp side, not the TAPE deck controls..... I could try adjusting the EQ but I doubt it will make any difference. As you saw in the video, we did get a successful load.
☠️ ☠️ 🏴☠️🏴☠️🦜.
I miss the old days, I was a great Pirate.
Really took me back this mate, X-copy next year?
It sounds off, I reckon a head clean is in order on your stack.
@@davidretrogamesplayedbadly3533 yeah it needs a head job for sure. 🤣. As for xcopy, I did that about 2 years ago mate 🤣
Sorry 4 years ago... Wow time flies ..th-cam.com/video/nxGAZB2NmII/w-d-xo.htmlsi=a2kwfc-_8K30i5EW
@@005AGIMA I can't remember breakfast, never mind four years ago 🤣
@@davidretrogamesplayedbadly3533haha me neither