Product Overview
Archive your Commodore floppies (and CMD HD partitions) to your contemporary PC, without the hassles of external parallel ports, IRQ settings, special adapters, bulky cables, or the alphabet soup of disk drive cable adapters. ZoomFloppy replaces all X*-1541 cables with a simple USB-based hardware device guaranteed to work with today's machines using today's multitasking operating systems. Simply plug into any free USB port, connect your CBM drive via a serial cable, and transfer data to or from your software collection.
Product Features
- Attach any CBM serial device to your PC, including printers
- Works with Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux
- Open Source solution, no vendor lock-in
- Active development community
- Minimal footprint, no external power supply needed
- Parallel access hardware support
NOTE: ZoomFloppy requires an IEC cable (sold separately), an IEEE cable if using the IEEE version and targeting IEEE drives (sold separately), and a USB to mini-USB cable (available at many computer stores).
More information is available at: http://www.go4retro.com/products/zoomfloppy/.
Stocking Note: The non-IEEE and the IEEE version differ only in the presence or absence of the IEEE connector. That said, they are stocked as two separate items and we are sometimes out of one or the other. If the IEEE version is out of stock, we can often solder connectors to the non-IEEE version, but the reverse is not true. Thus, if the non-IEEE version is showing as out of stock, please consider the IEEE version or check back, as we try to keep both in stock at all times
Reviews
154 Reviews Hide Reviews Show Reviews
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4 ZoomFloppy vs uIEC/SD
Posted by Jim Groom on 22nd Jul 2016
I discovered an old C128 in my mother-in-laws basement, and it was in perfect working order. So I was searching around the web looking for tools to get the seemingly endless applications, games, and files for the C64 to work with my new toy. Turns out the ZoomFloppy is one way at this. When I discovered it on RETRO Innovations I had a vague sense it would connect with my laptop and transfer files to my C128 computer, it does this by copying .d64 disk images to a writable floppy, or vice versa (i.e., copying floppies to your laptop). I was torn between this tool and the uIEC/SD, but given I was not entirely clear about the differences I decided to bite the bullet and get both. Turns out the ZoomFloopy is a translator between your C128/C64 and your modern-day computer, whereas uIEC/SD is an actual drive that can have 32GB+ storage in the form of an SD card. You copy program files to the SD card and simply run them through the uIEC/SD drive. Many more familiar with the intricacies of the Commodore retro computing world probably understood this immediately, but being both new to the culture, as well as a bit slow, it took me some time and experimentation to figure this out. In the end, I use the uIEC/SD card more than the ZoomFloopy because the SD card transfer of files and programs makes the process seamless. That said, the ZoomFloopy is cheaper and if you are only looking to archive old floppies or create d64 images on new floppies then this is the tool for you. If you want to download random Commodore programs and files run them through your computer I would probably recommend the uIEC/SD, even if it's a bit more expensive. I wrote the comparison between the ZoomFloppy and the uIEC/SD up in even greater detail here: http://bavatuesdays.com/zoomfloppy-vs-the-uiecsd-drive/ In the end, RETRO Innovations has been top notch, they delivered the drives to me internationally quite quickly and in perfect working order. I couldn't be happier with both my purchases.
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5 Load "*",8,1
Posted by Bill on 18th Jul 2016
I really enjoy the product and was able to import all my Commodore 64 games! Thanks.
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5 Saved he Day!!!
Posted by Roy Ayres on 18th Jul 2016
I bought this because I needed to reconstitute some d64/d81 images to actual media. Worked like a charm. This is the second item I have bought from RR...I have their 64NIC+ that worked perfectly. If there was ANYTHING I would add to the ZoomFloppy would be a case. I would have paid the extra to have it protected...that's not a dig, it's just a suggestion.
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5 Amazing product! Worth every penny.
Posted by Andy on 17th Jul 2016
This product when combined with OpenCBM/CBMXfer software, makes archiving and recreating 5 1/4" disks from .d64 or .nib files an absolute breeze. Transfers are super fast over the serial bus with the 1571 drive. A must-have for any C64 enthusiast. A+++ product.
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5 very good
Posted by marco cappellari on 27th Apr 2016
very good
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5 Excellent Rig!
Posted by Al C. on 18th Apr 2016
As usual Mr. Brain's c64 gadget works flawlessly, with superb quality of workmanship. Looks fantastic in the cool case I got on ebay from Canada!
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5 How could this be any easier
Posted by Roger on 7th Apr 2016
Some years ago I went through a painful process of hacking a serial cable to get my Windows box to talk to my 1541 drive. For whatever reason the access was intermittent. I didn't know that the ZoomFloppy was created until I decided I'd take another hack at getting my C64 disks archived. But instead of hacking I purchased the ZoomFloppy, installed the driver on Windows 10 ("hardest part" but there are directions on the web for that), installed OpenCBM and the product just worked. No troubleshooting or fiddling. All my disks have been archived and I've been having fun doing some c64 development again in Vice.
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4 Loistava levyjen arkistointiin
Posted by Aarne on 3rd Apr 2016
Toimii loistavasti lerppujen siirtoon, kun esin on asennetuksi saanut. Windows10 asennus vaatii allekirjoitusta mut lopulta netistä löytyi ohje. Winukan asetuksista; palautusta varmuuskopio. Käynnistysasetykset tulee kun kone käynnistyy uudelleen sieltä lisäasetus älä vaadi enää allekirjoitusta ohjelmiin. Nyt asennusohjelma toimii ja kortti myös.
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5 Stellar product with Flawless Performance
Posted by Scott on 15th Feb 2016
I purchased the ZoomFloppy to preserve disks from my mother-in-laws' Commodore C-128 and 1570 disk drive. The connection of the cables between the 1570, the ZoomFloppy, and my WinXP box, and installation of the appropriate OpenCBM version were all that was necessary for the task. I'm about 25% done with the backups and the only two errors I experienced so far seem to be with physically damaged (bent/creased) disks. ZoomFloppy is rocking the house! Outstanding work for preservation of historical work on the Commodore platform, the ZoomFloppy price is a steal! Thank you!