Commodore 64 SD2IEC + The Final Cartridge III = The FinalSD Cartridge

The FinalSD cartridge is a combination of a Final Cartridge III built using a single Xilinx CPLD and an EPROM + an SD2IEC. This was a fun project - it took me a while to finish it :)
(PLEASE EXPAND THE DESCRIPTION! AND READ MORE BELOW!)

For now this project still stays in beta phase. There is one minor issue I very recently discovered - I'm unable to leave the freezer menu after going into it by pressing a button. Nothing deal-breaking but for now I don't know if it is a hardware related problem or if it can be fixed by tuning the code that drives the CPLD. Or if it can be fixed at all :)

(8 IX 2017) The Freezer menu issue is resolved now - it turned out to be a problem with missing pull up resistor on the freezer triggering circuit. Added to fix list for v0.3 PCB design.

Why I didnt make it the Final III + version? It would require using bigger CPLD (64 pins instead of 44) just to use two more needed IO's - that would be a total waste of resources :) and having the extra stuff on the EPROM seemed a bit pointless to me - since You can load everything needed off the SD Card.

Will I make more of these cartridges or sell them? Hard to say for now - first I have to fully test out current design and fix all the issues that I'm aware of at the moment. Also another big issue is that I had to order the parts from few different places (exactly 6 different electronics stores, crazy!) becouse I was unable to find all the parts I needed in one place. The total postage costs while doing like so was a killer... and the total price of a single unit raises up dramatically :( also preparing all the holes and openings in a cartridge shell is a very tedious job - if I will ever decide to make more of these - I'm almost 100% sure I will not be able to make em shelled. Besides all that - almost every true C64 fan already have an 1541 Ultimate :) or if not - at least an SD2IEC with some kind of fast-loading cartridge - so... nothing exeptional or new here in my solution :) For currently used parts - it is simply impossible to offer this cartridge at a good price... :(

Where I can buy FinalSD? Shut up and take my money! Sorry - for now You can't - If above explanation does not speak to You - I can't really do much more about it

Will I share the schematics/gerber files or the Xilinx project running the CPLD? I'm considering it since it is no rocket sience to build a device like this, but for now I wanna polish it as much as I can - maybe in a later date.

How long does it took me to finish this project and what was the total cost of it? Too long :) and too much :D but I learned a bit while doing it and also aquired some usefull tools that I may use in the future projects - like drill bits, programmers, SMD soldering equipement etc. For the price of all additional stuff I had to aquire to make this project happen (tools, bits, programmers, soldering eq, etc.) I could probably buy another 1541 Ultimate Cartridge from Gideon that is 1000x more awesome than this project - not to speak about the costs of parts, postage, PCB's... so... why then? The answer is simple - thats the hobby!!! Not a business!!! :)

There was a DIP switch to select device number (8/9/10/11) on v0.1 why it is missing on v0.2? Short answer - there is no point to have one. There is a place for a jumper (can put a pin header or solder a wire) on v0.2 to set SD2IEC as device 9. Since SD2IEC by typing in a short command in BASIC can be set to whatever device number You like (and can be saved in ATMega's memory) there is no point in having a DIP switch like this.

What are the LED's for? From left to right: 1st red LED is SD2IEC error/write indicator, 2nd green LED is SD2IEC activity LED, 3rd LED is just a power indicator (just like one on the FC3 cartridge)

Is this cartridge safe to use? Does it fulfill quality standards? Does it have the ISO666h93j89d3082blablabla norm? So far I'm alive, and my C64 wasn't damaged by using this cartridge - I'm not a trained electronics engineer - just a hobbyst - there may be some flaws in current design that I'm not aware of. Could it be designed better? Probably yes - I'm not the electronics guru :)

How does it work with only 4 connections on IEC cable when in original DIN6-DIN6 cable there are 6 wires? SD2IEC does not need the SRQ and RESET connections - it only requires DATA CLOCK ATN and GROUND

OMG OMG So there is a ground loop via Serial port, since SD2IEC already have its ground connected via C64's expansion port? Yes, there is - this may be an issue / bad design choice - maybe I should replace the 4pole jack with a 3pole jack in v0.3 if there ever be one. In practice - I had no problems so far - I think I will have to desolder the ground connection in the IEC cable and see how things works then.

Music playing in background by:

CZ Tunes - Platoon Title Remix
DJ Skitz - R1D1 (Funky Gibbon Mix)
Zuckerfrei - Mask III - Venom Strikes Back (20Hz Mix)