• Introduction.
• drivePACK basic guide.
• CASIO ROM PACK technical information.
• License and downloads.

Here, you will find the licensing conditions along with instructions on how to download the various components of the drivePACK project ( downloading and using any of the files here provided implies accepting projects license ):
   - project license
   - schematics and PCB download.
   - firmware download.
   - drivePACK Editor software download.

Unless otherwise stated by the copyright holder, the software, hardware design, and any other content of the drivePACK project is distributed under by-nc-sa 4.0 license . You can build your own unit, or use any information here provided as you want while you follow the by-nc-sa 4.0 license conditions. If you are planning to use any part of the drivePACK design with a potentially commercial use, please contact me in advance.

Limitation of Liability: In no event and under no legal theory, whether in tort (including negligence), contract, or otherwise, unless required by applicable law (such as deliberate and grossly negligent acts) or agreed to in writing, shall the author be liable for any damages, including any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages of any character arising as a result of this License or out of the use or inability to use the software (including but not limited to damages for loss of goodwill, work stoppage, computer failure or malfunction, or any and all other commercial damages or losses), even if the author has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

The schematics and PCBs of the drivePACK project have been created with KiCad 6.0. Most of the components used on the boards are SMD, and assembling them is not recommended for people without experience in assembling this type of circuit or without a basic understanding of electronics.. All the components have been acquired in Mouser and Digikey. The only component difficult to find is the zebra connector ( I managed to get them in large quantities through a dealer of the company I work ) but they can be cannibalized from old ROM PACK cartridges.

The KiCad projects with the different schematics and PCBs (and GERBERs) are available at the GitHub repository github.com/synthkore/ drivepackhw.git. Pay attention to the tags in the logs with the revisions when downloading the KiCad files from the repository.

The latest revisions of the schematics can also be obtained as a PDF:
schematics_rev0_1

The firmware has been developed in C and assembly language on Microchip Studio 7.0 environment. The firmware can be modified and rebuilt with that tool. An Atmel-ICE, a JLink or any other SWD-JTAG programmer is necessary to program the flash memory, the fuses, and to debug the firmware on-chip. The source code can be found on the following repository: github.com/synthkore/drivepack.git.

The units purchased from me include a specific bootloader that makes it easier to update the software without the need for any hardware programmer. The bootloader code is located at the beginning of the memory, and the application is designed to copy itself and run from addresses that follow it. In contrast, the project available for download on GitHub is not configured this way. It is set up to be loaded and executed from the start of memory. This should not be a problem for those who choose to assemble their own version of the project, as they would need to have a programmer anyway.

These are the last versions of the drivePACK firmware compiled and prepared to be uploaded to the drivePACK ( the procedure to upload new firmware to the drivePACK with the bootloader is explained in the user guide ):
  - drive PACK firmware v 1.0: support for DRPv2 files with metadata information. Required to operate with drivePACK Editor software.
  - drive PACK firmware v 0.5: support for Long File Names. Detection of the end of ROM PACK content mark to avoid overdumping when dumping original ROM PACK cartridges.
  - drive PACK firmware v 0.4: fixed some compatibility problems wiht the PT-50 models. Improvements on the "Load & run" and "Receive & run" menu options to reduce the turn around time and to improve the user experience.
  - drive PACK firmware v 0.3: first released firmware version.

The drivePACK Editor is a windows PC software that allows you to create and edit ROM PACK themes and make the most of the drivePACK unit. This software has its own website where you can download it and find additional information on how to use it.

You can contact me here.