BRIEF REVIEW OF ADAM COPYCART + 2.0 PRODUCT COMPARED TO 128-IN-1 FLASH CART

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My brief review of the Colecovision 128-in-1 Flash multi-cart product compared to the ADAM COPYCART + 2.0 product. This review is mainly for ADAM owners only. Many other people have written more professional in depth reviews in the COLECOVISION world regarding this amazing flash cartridge.

 

 

As a long time Colecovision ADAM owner one of the most favorite programs on the ADAM computer is classic Colecovision game cartridges. There are over 200 cartridges that were made for the Colecovision and currently some people are still producing new games on Colecovision cartridges.

 

Over the years I have collected many Colecovision games. One thing that gets to be a hassle is turning off the Colecovision or ADAM computer and removing a cartridge and then inserting another cartridge. This process is time consuming and causes wear and tear on the cartridge slot and the cartridge. In the late 1980's I purchased what was considered by many as the best cartridge backup utility for the ADAM computer called COPYCART + 2.0.

 

I ordered COPYCART + 2.0 for $17.95 back in the late 1980's on a 3 ½" Disk. This program was self booting with a nice professional menu screen. The program allowed ADAM owners to make a backup copy of any cartridge up to 32K in length which covers 100% of all cartridges in production. The backup copy of the cartridge image could be copied onto an ADAM Digital Data Pack or any type of ADAM floppy drive. I loved this program so much I made backup copies of all my Colecovision game cartridges onto several 1.44MB 3 ½ Disks. Over 50 Colecovision game cartridges can be stored onto one 1.44MB 3 ½" Disk. COPYCART + 2.0 works with 100% of all Colecovision cartridges up to 32K which is 100% of all original Colecovision carts. Of course there was a select few game cartridges that needed to be modified after being copied in order for them to be run correctly from memory. Once that is completed 100% of all game cartridges up to 32K will work fine with CopyCart + 2.0. In fact I have every game cartridge backed up and running on CopyCart + 2.0.

 

Even though 100% of every game cartridge works with CopyCart + 2.0, there are ADAM utility cartridges that do not work with CopyCart +2.0 since the ADAM Utility cartridges run from another area of memory that the CopyCart + 2.0 is not compatible with. For example Project Name by Line cartridge if that cartridge is backed up using CopyCart + 2.0 it will not run and other utility cartridges for the ADAM computer will not run either using Copycart + 2.0 since the program does not take advantage of the 64K memory expander. There were some CP/M programs for the ADAM computer that allowed one to take advantage of the 64K memory expander when copying ADAM in house utility cartridges but the programs are not as user friendly as COPYCART + 2.0.

 

COPYCART + 2.0 in the 20^th Century use to be the best cartridge backup utility until the Colecovision 128-in-1 Flash Multicart appeared on the market in the 21st Century.

 

 

Here are just some advantages of the 128-in-1 Flash multi cart compared to the ADAM COPYCART + 2.0 product

1. The Flash Colecovision cartridge allows one to easily backup a total of 127 32K Colecovision cartridges onto one instant loading cartridge. The COPYCART + 2.0 ADAM program will only backup a total of 45 32K Colecovision cartridges onto one 3 ½" 1.44MB floppy disk.

 

2. The Flash Colecovision cartridge perfectly simulates a real genuine COLECO cartridge with no modification every needed. 100% of all game cartridges work and 100% of all utility cartridges work including Project Name by Line, Walter's Software ADAM Desktop, and Walter's Software Smart writer Elite program. COPYCART + 2.0 only works with 100% of all Colecovision game cartridges and a few of those game cartridges need to be modified after a backup copy is made in order to run. None of the Utility programs work with COPYCART + 2.0.

 

3. COPYCART + 2.0 takes a few seconds and sometimes 5-10 seconds to load a 32K cartridge image from Disk where as the Colecovision flash cartridge takes less then a second to load a 32K cartridge which can be considered instant loading since it is so fast.

 

 

Yes there is a difference in price. COPY CART + 2.0 costs $17.95 and blank floppy disks cost only pennies. The 128-in-1 Flash multicart cost $129.99 for one cartridge and $249.99 for two cartridges. Every cartridge image every made can fit on 2 multicarts. Clearly on a technical level for highend gamers the 128-in 1 Flash multicart is the ideal top of the line product to own. I own two of these flash cartridges and was able to make a backup copy of my entire personal cartridge collection. This product is an amazing. There are several websites that have all the Colecovision cartridges every made available for download. Then all one needs to do is connect the 128-in1 multi-cart to the USB port and do a simple copy and paste and up to 127 32K ROM images are loaded onto the flash cartridge. There are rare games like ATARI PACMAN and DIG DUG and many public domain games that can be found online. ** Important: Before downloading any ROM images one should only make backup copies of cartridge images that one owns in their own collection or true public domain cartridge game programs that people have written over the years **.

 

This 128-in-1 flash multi-cart is truly amazing product. Once the games are loaded onto the flash cartridge all one needs to do is insert the cartridge into the Colecovision or ADAM computer. Pushing the cartridge reset button will bring up a menu of 127 COLECO cartridges plus a utility testing program listed in position 128. With the COLECO hand controller one just selects a cartridge from the menu and the game instantly loads. The game image one selected will always be there even if the cartridge reset button on the console is pressed. For example let's say you selected Smurf in the main menu then once Smurf is loaded each time you push the cartridge reset button on the console the Smurf title screen appears exactly the same as a Smurf cartridge would act like. If you want to return to the main menu with the list of 127 cartridge images all one needs to do is push the reset button on top of the Colecovision 128-in1 Flash cartridge. Once and a while one needs to push the cartridge reset button on the console after pushing the reset button on top of the Colecovision 128-in-1 multicart in order to return to the multicart main menu. Another neat thing is once a cartridge image is loaded into the 128-in-1 multicart if one owns COPYCART + 2.0 and they wish to make a backup copy of a game, then since the flash multicart acts like a real cartridge it works with COPYCART + 2.0. One minor note I should mention is that COPYCART + 2.0 when copying original COLECO cartridges automatically detects if the cartridge is 8K, 16K. 24K, or 32K in length. When using the 128-in-1 multicart all ROM images between 8K-32K are loaded as if they were all 32K. So COPYCART + 2.0 when copying a ROM image thinks that all ROM images from the flash cartridge are 32K in length. This can use up much needed disk space when copying a cartridge since a 4K ROM images would use up 32K space on the disk since the 4K ROM images is loaded into a 32K memory bank in the 128-in-1 multicart. This problem can be fixed manually by using File Manager utility on the ADAM and changing the directory to the correct cartridge space. The good thing is COPYCART + 2.0 works with the 128-in 1 multicart but it thinks every ROM image is 32K. This is a minor issue and most people will never want to use COPYCART + 2.0 every again once they experience the amazing 128-in 1 multicart product.

 

 

This brief review comparing the COPYCART + 2.0 program versus the 128-in-1 Flash multi cart product was written for ADAM owners. There are much more professional in depth reviews on the 128-in-1 multicart Colecovision cartridge which can be found online.

 

 

Here is a more in-depth detailed review of the multi-cart product

 

 

http://retroblast.com/reviews/colecocart-08312006-01.html

 

 

Here is a website to purchase the high quality 128-in 1 Flash multi cart product

 

 

http://www.atarimax.com/usbcoleco/documentation/