I'm new at the forum and new to all the terminology. Talk to me as you would a child. no hardware geekery.

I have trouble when loading games from the datasette. I have no flash-carts and no floppy driver.

Basically, games don't seem to load properly. When they do start though, they all seem to have major errors or glitches. Kind of like when NES consoles have connector problems.

I've been trying to adjust the tape reader (or head, I don't know the correct word for it in English) but it doesn't really make anything better.

My amateur conclusion is that the trouble is one of these:

1. Tapes are too old and can´t run any more.

2. The reader still isn't adjusted properly (though I've put several hours into it)

3. There is a problem with the connector between the datasette and the motherboard.

(oh, yeah. I have a second datasette unit that I have tried but without any positive result. though this unit was found in an electronics disposal container and have never been tested)[/b]
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Try this low tech solution first.. Clean the heads with isopropyl and Q-Tips and also clean the transport cylinder by pressing play. If that doesn't work, the adjustment screw might need adjusting located in the hole above the Commodore label.
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Hi Jazz. Adjusting the head is quite simple. I'm not sure from your post if you've been doing the adjustment gryo mentioned or not, but just incase you haven't, it's quite easy.

You'll see a small screw hole on the top of your datasette between the tape drawer and the buttons.

Place a tape into the drive, rewound to the beginning and do the usual run/stop thing to get a game loading.

When the border is flashing on the screen and your 64 is trying to load a game, turn the screw very slowly to the left until the border stops flashing. Mark the point you stopped turning the screw with a pen.

Now start turning it slowly to the right. The border will start to flash again while you turn it. When it stops again make another small mark with your pen.

The point right in the middle between these two points is ideally where you want to align your heads, so turn your screwdriver slowly to the left until you're right between the two points.

Hope that made sense lol!

I've gone through pretty much the same as you recently, so I'm happy to share my experience. And as a fellow Scandinavian I can confirm that tapes were indeed the c64 standard in the North. No one I knew had disk.

Well, on to it...

1.) I would recommend buying a couple of tapes from eBay or something, where the seller can confirm they have been tested and are working.
That way you can test if it is your tapes or the hardware that is giving you trouble.
If you got all your current tapes in the same deal they may indeed all be too old and mistreated.
The times I have acquired a box of tapes it was pretty much all or none that worked.

2.) As for the car adaptor. I've tried that. It does indeed work!

* Child Instructions :
a.) Download .tap files from some website - These are the game files. You don't want .d64 files as those are disk images. Won't work for this method. This also means you can't get certain games!!! Some are disk only while some tape are multiload - This is a problem if you want to save on a real tape.

b.) Convert the .tap file into a .wav file using the program Audiotap.

c.) The program is pretty self-explanatory and easy to use, but you have some options for how to create the output (Inverted waveform, volume, frequency...). Unfortunately there is no guide here as these settings depend on your output device (phone, ipod, etc...). You will have to try some different settings.

d.) My advice is to make some different ones at once and naming the files after which settings you used. You will be kicking yourself once you get it to work and can't remember the settings!

e.) Plug the cartape in the datasette - The wire is hard to get to fit!

f.) Plug the wire into the output device.

g) Do the run/stop thing - Press play on tape - Instantly press play on device and play wav-file.

h.) If you are lucky enough to actually make it find the game - INSTANTLY press the C= button, as your phone won't pause like the datasette normally would!

i.) If it doesn't work, try playing with the volume on your phone. I had most success around medium volume. Try using some other setting on the wav.

j.) Get it to fully load? Write... Down... EVERYTHING!: The settings you used in Audiotap, the precise volume on your phone, which phone/device you used. Everything...

k.) Optional: If you have a freeze cartridge you can freeze and save on a real tape. (please inquire if interested in this) Once it's loaded and saved on real tape it's easier to get to work again IMO.

l.) Play games have fun


But...
The device you play the wav files from plays a huge role. I've tried a couple of different ones. My friends smartphone worked pretty good. My gen 3 iPod didn't work. I could find the games, but couldn't load them fully. It's a hit or miss I guess.
I suspect that your settings in audiotap is highly dependant on what you use. Again it's trial and error...

Okay, this post turned a lot longer than intended...

Freeze cartridges refer to any of a number of cartridges that fit in the c64's extension port on the back. What the specific cartridge exactly can and how it works differs.

Some of the names I have encountered the most are The Final Cartridge III, Action Replay and Freeze Frame MK III B (Many other exists)

They are little boxes, usually with a reset and a freeze button.

The basic idea is that you load a game like normal. Once the game is up and running you "freeze" the game by pushing the button. A menu will appear that will allow you to perform different action. We are interested in save to tape. Some cartridges (all?) will also offer to save as fastload or turboload. This will drastically reduce the loading time, but...

I THINK: Making fast load tapes will require you to load the game through the cartridge menu? Anyone please correct me?

So you load a game
Freeze it
Select save to tape as normal/fast load
Put an real tape in the datasette
Press the record button on the datasette
Press "ok" or whatever on the screen
Watch the screen go crazy for a while
Done... Rewind and load game

I only have some experience with Final Cartridge III, though I'll say I've only played around with it a little. Here are my findings.
Again: Anyone please correct or specify anything incorrect.

* The custom tape I made is by far the most reliable tape in my collection!
I think its a combination of being recently recorded, and also being recorded on the same unit that will later play it?

* The FCIII saves all games with the default name -FC! That means you'll have to write down which games are where on the tape. You'd do that anyway I imagine.

* While it supposedly is able to save from tape to disk and back this have not worked out well for me. Copying disk games have not been a huge success for me either.
I have saved a few games from tape to disk successfully but it seems kinda random whether they work.

* Tape to tape seems the most reliable!

* Copy of a copy of a copy... This doesn't seem to work too well either. Original tapes saved as either normal or fast. Works every time.

* If you play the game a little before saving it, any new highscores will actually be saved. Also on tape, the game will be saved from the exact spot you pressed freeze. That means you might cut off the first 5 seconds of the title theme when the game loads. The data is still there, so if you start the game and returns to the title you'll hear the full song.

* Fast load will make the game load faster, but if will also skip any loading tunes or graphic!!! If you are purely into this for the nostalgia I recommend normal load.

* And finally. Due to the nature of the technique, tapes that have multiload (Loads every level separately while you play) won't work.

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Phew! Another long post! But glad to be able to help a little where I can.
Don't be afraid to ask if you have questions

Well done for starting up on the 64 again!
Trust me it is well worth the while even after all this time. The scene of amazing - so much going on, new games, new hardware etc..
Check out RGCD and Pystronik.com for new releases.
Like yourself, I started getting into it again a few years back and have since been working on a game in BASIC. Not a walk in the park but amazing when learning to understand the language.
PS-why not buy a 1541 floppy drive? You can even buy SD readers these days that store everything instead of loading from cassette. Just download games to SD and play on real 64!
Anyways - I could talk and praise the 64 all day and night. But well done again and enjoy reliving the golden age!

I have little to no experience with the tape drive (I recently purchased my first Commodore tape drive a week or two ago. I did see them in action at Radio Shack and was less than impressed) but as you state that cartridges also do not function properly. (I do assume you have swabbed the connectors with a q-tip and isopropyl alcohol) That would indicate to me there is a problem inside the 64. If it is possible I would parse these forums (Lemon is full of kind, helpful folks) for tips on making sure your 64 is in top condition.


Luck, and welcome back to the love that never ends...Commodore.


Lite
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OK, so it's time for an update.

I have been able to perfectly load Exile from my main datasette using a cassette adapter.
Also an original cassette has been successfully loaded so it would seem like most of my tapes have become rubbish.

Now when I try to load Agent X II (using the same setting as Exile) it wont run.
After the game has loaded the computer goes blank "Ready - <flashing marker>"
Another error message that appears on random is "?device not present error"

Anyway. Some progress, some setbacks.
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Just like disks, tapes degrade over time, especially if they are not stored just so. In the late 70's through to around 1984/5, the binder used on tapes absorbs water from the air which makes the iron prone to oxidising and even loosing iron partials when used. Damp, sudden increases in air moisture, even long term exposure to ambient magnetism fields can cause damage.

One trick that is rumoured to work is to gently heat the tape removing some moisture - I've never tried it, but to be honest I'm not convinced, it may be worth a try though.
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