Commodore Datasette
Tape Data Recovery - Commodore Datasette
The Commodore 1530 (C2N) Datasette was a dedicated computer tape recorder introduced by Commodore International. The tape recorder was used as an inexpensive storage medium for Commodore’s 8-bit home/personal computers such as PET, VIC-20, and C64.
The Datasette consists of analog to digital converters and audio filters to convert the digital information into analog sound and vice versa. Commodore used an edge connector (Commodore 1530) or mini-DIN connector (Commodore 1531) to connect the Datasette to the computer.
Datasette was accepted well by the budget-aware home computer market. They were popular in most parts of Europe, even when floppy disks were generally available. In U.S., however, they could not beat the floppy drives, which cost 5 times as much as a Datasette.
There were four main models of 1530/C2N Datasette. Two of them were made as PET peripherals and styled after the PET 2001 built-in tape drive. The other two were styled and marketed for the VIC-20 and C64. All four 1530/C2N Datasettes were compatible with PET, VIC-20, C64/128 as well as the C128.
Commodore 1530 (C2N) Datasette had very slow data transfer rate (approximately 50 bytes per second). The 1541 model was significantly faster and more reliable. After a few years of the launch of Datasette, special turbo tape software was introduced, providing much faster tape operation. Datasettes could typically store about 100 KB per 30 minute side. With turbo tape and other fast loaders, it is increased to roughly 1000 KB.
