This is the special “Midnight” edition of the 1581 replica. The PCB designs are identical but instead of the somewhat transparent FR4 that you see with most other boards, this one has a black core and to compliment that, we used a clear solder mask. What you get is a stunning artistic masterpiece. Not only a functional 1581 board but also something that is unique and stands apart from other boards, especially for those of you who have opted to have clear resin cases made.
Here’s your chance to own a brand new Commodore 1581 Drive main board. The revision is 252326, Artwork 252327.
This replica has been meticulously designed to match the original as closely as possible even going so far as to implement the radius on the traces which makes this replica 100% compatible with the original 1581 case and drive assembly. To go one step further, a separate part library was designed in my CAD software so that the silk screen for each part matches that of the original board.
Note* Later revisions of the 1581 board created a permanent trace for J1 which should only be connected if using a WD1770. I made sure to include this jumper so that either a WD1770 or WD1772 can be used at U4.
Note* RP1 is a 15 pin resistor pack. You may have seen other replica boards that split this resistor pack into 2 which is fine but I wanted to stay true to the original design. With that said, if anyone is able to actually find this resistor pack, please let me know. What you’re looking for is a 15 pin SIL bussed 1k resistor pack. Otherwise, that’s what R15 – R28 are for.
Don’t miss your opportunity to own an official DIY Chris Commodore 1581 Replica board.
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3D Prints
1581 Case
These were found on some forum. I don’t remember who designed these and if anyone knows, I’d be happy to give credit. I did print these and the outcome looks very much like an original 1581 but it is slightly larger so not exactly a 1:1 replica.
1581 Isolation Shield
Not really a 3D print but for the sake of being complete, I thought I’d include this here. Would be easy enough to get some card stock and have a Cricut cut it out.
1581 Drive Mount Assembly
This piece is used to mount the floppy drive and attach it to the case. When using some generic PC drives such as the NEC FD1231T, it is necessary to raise this by a few MM which also means that the back part of the mount where all the holes are needs to be cut off since the case screw pillar is flush with this piece and raising it would prevent the case halves from coming together completely.
1581 Bottom Metal Bracket
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What More Do I Need?
Let’s say you order the 1581 replica board and you also pick all of the add-ons. This is enough to get started for most but there are still some things you need to complete the build. Its not much but since the parts I’m going to mention here are a little more difficult to source or too expensive for me to stock for resale, you’ll need to procure them yourself.
- Drive – Most 3 1/2 PC drives will work with some modification. I’ve been using the FD1231T NEC drive with success.
- Power supply (same as 1541-II)
- Serial Cable
- Case – 3D Print
There are some other parts you may need to have fabricated or 3D print such as the bottom metal bracket and the drive mount assembly. Both of these are available as STL’s in the 3D Prints tab.
Also, just in case you have a W27C512 EEPROM, here’s the file you can program to that for U2
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