ROM Clashes
After using my DivMMC Future with my ZX Spectrum 128 for a while I realized that this marvellous peripheral is better suited for a classic ZX Spectrum+/48K. There are technical reasons why you can’t really operate your Toastrack (or the later ZX Spectrum 128 variants from Amstrad) in the full 128 mode with an expansion out of the DivMMC/DivIDE family. The necessary DivIDE/DivMMC-ROM routines conflict with the additional paged 128 ROM(s). Only the so-called USR 0 mode is usable: This is a configuration where the ZX Spectrum behaves like a classic 48K but with additional (pageable) 64K of RAM.
One to Onehundredtwentyeight
So I did the obvious: I added the DivMMC Future to one of my ZX Spectrum+ (Linda) and equipped my ZX Spectrum 128 with more appropiate expansions. Now my ZX Spectrum 128 has a nice ZX Interfaces setup including the fantastic vDriveZX.
Adding, loading and saving software – especially original software from tape or Microdrive cartridge – at my 48K Spectrums worked like a breeze with my Multiface One by using the famous Red Button. This does not work with the ZX Spectrum 128 (at least in 128 mode). But lucky me I was able to get hold of a special Multiface 128 which was developed to do all the magic with the 128K variants of the ZX Spectrum.
It works of course more or less identically to a Multiface One but is able to save the whole 128KB of RAM onto various media – here of course it’s plugged in to save to (virtual) Microdrive cartridges.
Plug-in‘ around
After setting up my „new“ ZX Spectrum 128 environment I had to change all of my ZX Spectrum add-ons round all my Speccys. Of course I did some new photos for my System Gallery to reflect the new hardware configurations.
Related Links
Multiface 128
Multiface One
DivMMC Future
vDriveZX
System Gallery