DataCentre
Dual USB, IDE and RamDisk Interface for the BBC Micro Model B, B+ and Master 128
Easily the simplest to use, most flexible and feature rich solid state storage system you can get for the BBC Micro
This is a Buy-It-Now sale for a New Internal DataCentre Upgrade kit, suitable for the BBC Model B, B+ and Master 128 Computers.
Back in stock by popular demand, DataCentre is our established 5 in 1 upgrade for the BBC Computer range from RetroClinic. When introduced, it was a new leap forward for the BBC, bringing the connectivity of USB to the BBC Micro for use not just as a storage medium, but as a new way to connect modern hardware to your vintage machine. 7 years on and it is still going strong - no other solid state storage system comes close to the ease of use and flexibility of DataCentre. And now with the release of the Issue 3 board, it just got more powerful still - keep reading!
Overview of the system
On a basic level, DataCentre provides 5 functions on one board:
DataCentre is both simple to use for the first time user, and highly programmable by those with the knowledge. It cuts out the extra step common to all other storage systems for the BBC, that of the "transfer software" on the PC. With the DataCentre system, you no longer need any software on the PC whatsoever.
You simply use any USB storage drive, of any capacity, be that a solid state Flash Drive, or a conventional Hard Drive in a USB Enclosure, and as long as it is formatted with the FAT or FAT32 filing system, it will be recognised. You then simply drag across the files on your PC that you want to use on your BBC micro, be they SSD or DSD disk images, or single BASIC or data files.
Once on the USB drive, this is inserted into the DataCentre Host port, and the BBC can now see all those files. With a single command, disk images can be imported either to one of the 4 available RAM Drives, or directly onto a Floppy Disk if you have a floppy drive and interface. You can then go on to play the game, use the software, modify that disk image whilst on floppy or in the RAM drive, or even use your own floppy discs, and once done, export them back to the USB drive in a matter of seconds in one of two standard universal formats, known as SSD or DSD. These images can then be immediately used on the PC by plugging the Drive back into the PC USB port, either to upload to your website, or use in an emulator, or to archive on CD etc.
Here is a quick example of loading an image and creating a disk, demonstrated at the Acorn World show.
You don't even need to use a disk image, you can save Basic programs and data direct to the USB drive, and those files can be instantly read by your PC, or put any file you like onto the USB drive, and the Beeb can see it, again without having to mess with Image manipulation tools on the PC. Text files on your PC can now be used by your Beeb word processor, and vice versa, in one simple step.
You can also use WiFi cards with the DataCentre. These can be setup on your network, and you simply drop your SSD, DSDs or files onto the FTP server of the card, and the beeb can see them straight away! Same as with regular USB sticks, save your work or export your disks to the WiFi card, and they're instantly available on your network. It doesn't get any easier than that! Take a look here for a quick demo, and here to see how it's done!
DataCentre doesn't restrict you like other MMC based systems. There's no limit to the size of device you can use, and no limitation on the number of images you can store on a drive. It uses folders as seamlessly on the beeb as you do on the PC with simple navigation commands. The system can take small 1GB sticks, up to large 64GB+ USB Flash drives, or a 6TB+ Hard drive in a USB enclosure. No hunting to find old obsolete and expensive cards and a reader to go with them, USB sticks are the accepted standard medium for PCs, and small capacity ones are cheap too - a 2GB stick can cost as little as £2.00, and is more than enough size to carry the entire library of software ever written for the beeb! The only restriction is that the device must be USB 2.0, DataCentre current firmware doesn't work with USB 3.0 devices.
USB Slave Port
DataCentre contains a second, USB slave port. This allows you to connect direct to your PC, for easy serial communications. The DataCentre board appears to the PC as a USB Serial port, and on the Beeb, the port can be accessed either through the built in monitor, or by using your own custom software. Details for this are given in the manual, and drivers for earlier versions of Windows are included on the CD. Windows 7 onwards recognises the DataCentre board automatically.
The IDE Interface
The DataCentre board also has it's own onboard IDE controller, which is the full 16 bits wide. This is designed primarily for use with the Acorn Advanced Disk Filing system, found as standard on a Master 128, and optional on the B and B+. Whilst ADFS still only uses the system in 8 bit, having the full width IDE system in your machine makes it future-proof, when new filing systems that are being worked on are made available, for Archimedes drives, as well as CD and DVD Rom Drives. You can use PC IDE or SATA drives with the system already, using a USB - IDE/SATA Adapter. As long as the drive is in FAT, FAT16 or FAT32 format, it will be recognised. To use the IDE Interface with ADFS, you will need a patched ROM. This can be supplied, or if on a Master, is part of out MultiOS system.
Currently it's recommended to use a Compact Flash card with a standard CF adapter, or an SD card with a Sintechi adapter. Either of these can be supplied on request.
You can add the board to virtually any specification of Machine, and it connects via the 1MHz bus port. You will also need one free ROM socket. The Ram Filing system that comes with the board does not use up main memory, so PAGE is kept as it was before, &E00 on a Master and on a standard B, no Sideways RAM is needed. You don't even need to have a disk system, with the 4 x 200K RAM Drives available, you instantly have access to virtually every piece of disc software ever written for the Beeb on the net.
The NVRAM Drive
DataCentre comes with a 64K NVRAM chip, which is used under RamFS (the main DataCentre filing system) for a 64K non-volatile disk drive. It's useful for storing temporary copies of your work and programs, before you need to save them to an image. It retains it's data during power off, and doesn't use a battery, so won't forget it's contents. It can be used as a boot drive, so can start the system up to do more complex things if needed, and can be write protected. This is all documented in the manual.
More on the USB System
The USB Port doesn't just do Storage - it's a fully functional USB 2.0 specification host, and as such, you can use virtually any USB device in it you like, including Keyboards, Mice, Joysticks, Hubs etc. DataCentre opens up the Beeb to a whole new world of connectivity. As with any USB device, drivers are needed, and a sample USB Mouse program is included to get you started in programming your own device drivers for your application. Full specifications on the hardware used for the USB controller, and how to program it, are all included in the kit.
With the introduction of the Issue 3 board, all Internal kits are now shipped with the later VNC2 16 bit USB chip. This chip has open source firmware, meaning on the CD you get PC software that allows you to write your own firmware for the chip, in C. Source code for the firmware supplied is also included, so you can tweak the firmware yourself and write custom drivers and make it more personalised. The only extra item needed to do this is a Debug Module to load the firmware on. These can be purchased from major suppliers, or we can supply one for you.
The DataCentre system as a whole is not a "closed" environment. The printed manual and additional datasheets on the CD give you all the technical details you need to program the USB system yourself, as well details on using the full 1MB of RAM for your own application. If you've got a USB gadget on your PC and you fancy running it on the Beeb, well now you can! The commands to communicate with ANY USB device are built into the system, all you have to do is write the software to do what you want it to do!
What comes with it?
The full kit contains the following items, as shown in the photos:
The photo showing the board installed in a Model B is a typical installation done by ourselves, and includes extra optional parts, such as a 4 way LED Header, USB backplate cable, CF Adapter and card not included in this kit. These can all be supplied at additional cost if required. Obviously, the Model B shown is not included in this sale.
To sum up....
** FREE UK POSTAGE **