Kung Fu Flash C64 Instant Loading Cartridge

[@panopolis8051]

Thanks Jan, I have one of these cartridges but was unaware of some of the features you mentioned. I think it would be extremely helpful to beginners if you could make a video that goes more into detail about how to actually use the c64 and what a lot of those accessories do. For example, what are freeze cartridges, how to use fast loaders, whats the difference between T64 and TAP, whats the difference between D64, G64, NIB etc, and how to use disk drive/ 1541 emulators. Maybe an introductory course on Basic, that sort of thing.

[@erichubbard7754]

Those are great video ideas I'd definitely watch them!

[@congestiontv]

That would be a series of videos to show what the KFF is capable of. Cartridges are primarily extensions and or replacements of existing ROM/RAM sections of a C64. The freeze button halts running code and diverts the running cpu to an own code on the module itself. This makes a freezer cartridge to an observer of the full memory situation of a computer, also giving the user nice stuff like saving the whole state to a disk file and restoring it much later. Freezer menus give you more, like an own independent monitor to alter RAM contents. So it's obvious you can apply cheats and trainers also. A fast loader is replacing Commodore's ROM routines by optimised ones. The most effective ones like JiffyDOS also replace routines within a disk drive like the 1541, 1571 and 1581. Those cartridges often also give you shortcut commands like "DOS" to read errors back. For file formats you best check what your .crt supports and stick to it. Cartridge emulated .CRT are actually not all the same. The file format has an ID to distinguish very different formats. The KFF is for example capable to emulate a "Final Cartridge III" but not the very first one without a number: "Final Cartridge". This is because of its incompatible hookup into RAM/ROM regions and to the CPU itself. The Kung Fu is no 1541 emulator. When you select a .d64 disk image it only reads the selected files and directly injects it into the address correct RAM of your Commi. The same happens with a .PRG. So chainloading further files from a same disk image is not what a KFF can do. If you have a real drive also connected the KFF cannot use the same device number like "8", it actually masks it from being seen. So set the KFF to "9" and inject a first file as a programme to start and access files from the real disk from within the running application.

[@panopolis8051]

@@congestiontv thanks that was helpfull!

[@giulianomarco]

Everybody was Kung Fu fighting Those carts load fast as lightning (Apologies to Carl Douglas) 😋👍

[@HAGSLAB]

Nice Jan! I have a Kung Fu Flash cartridge and I love it. Such an easy way to load stuff quickly.

[@Hounddoggy33]

Hi Jan, I smiled and said "Cool!" when I saw that you were doing your first boot of the cart in your transparent c64c shell. Very nice!

[@KrautRockt]

die kungfuflash ist n treuer begleiter für den c64. funzt fast immer und ich nutze das modul auch zur diagnose...ein super teil für das geld....ich hatte mir 2 für 30 euro gekauft vor 2 jahren..! danke für dn clip und alles gute dir, macht immer spaß dir zu zusehen! ...lg, ein schönen sommer dir und weitersooo...grüße in den norden aus chemnitz... . 🙂

[@alerey4363]

I always preferred cartridge buttons to be located on top of cart; that way you push towards the C64 board and not downward (when the buttons are on the front of cart) thus risking cracking the board, components or the metal plates.

[@SomeMorganSomewhere]

Yeah, you could do that by replacing the buttons with right-angle buttons with long stems.

[@TheUtuber999]

That shouldn't really be a risk if you "pinch" the cartridge - ie. placing your forefinger underneath the shell (behind the button) and use your thumb to push the desired button. The forces should be neutral with respect to the computer.

[@alerey4363]

@@TheUtuber999 but that's a hassle, having to worry about applying several forces from different sides to avoid damaging the connector

[@TheUtuber999]

@@alerey4363 That's a hassle? Seriously? 🤷

[@alerey4363]

@@TheUtuber999 let's see, if I spend 4 hours gaming on the C64 and by average I play each game for 15 min, then I'd have to perform that awkward fingers pressure maneuver 16 times then yes, I consider that a hassle and more important, 16 times per afternoon I risk my computer by not having a properly designed cart

[@CommodoreVic20]

Just got my KFF today and this was the first video after searching. Decent video so subscribing!

[@rdh2059]

You do make this look pretty easy Jan. Please keep up the great work!

[@meh3247]

I was wondering where you'd disappeared to old fella! Glad to see you're back and I hope all is puppies and roses in JanLand.

[@twocvbloke]

Been looking about for cartridges recently, trying to find the first one we had (a 64C, of course) when I was young, turns out that was the C64 Games System cartridge, which I presume was originally meant to be with the 64GS, but this was bundled with the "Playful Intelligence" set, which I think is what we had originally, of course, I find said cart for sale and holy heck do people want a lot for it.......... :S

[@samuraidriver4x4]

Also been hunting for a 64c for the same reason, had one when I was young. Breadbins are everywhere but the 64c is harder to find.

[@davidgeltz7604]

When drilling holes like that always start with a much smaller drill bit for a pilot hole

[@andrewgillham1907]

The KFF cartridge is awesome. I highly recommend it. Especially from TFW8b. They sell extremely well made cartridges. The fit and finish is impressive. That being said the 1541 Ultimate II+L is capable of a ton more (including kernal replacement & REU) due to having a large FPGA and is what you want if you need cycle accurate floppy drive emulation. It is also about 3X the price. Oh and not as readily available either. You have to decide if you prefer the simple low cost instant loading KFF that doesn’t have great disk drive support or the more complex, more expensive does it all approach. Or both. 😂 KFF is my favorite cartridge emulating cartridge. The ability to drop CRT files ( including Easy Flash format) onto a FAT32 micro SD on your PC and nearly instantly load on the KFF is super convenient.

[@BillAnt]

I agree, the KFF is for budget conscious users, but if you can afford about $200usd then the Ultimate-II+L (latest Lattice version) offers so much more. The latest Ultimate carts can also emulate pretty much all carts like Easy Flash, Fincal Cart, and SuperSnapshot ,etc. However, the loading menu on the KFF is a little easier to use.

[@psteier]

Nice. So I'm in right now. Just ordered one...

[@doctorsocrates4413]

excellent tutorial jan and thank you..I just purchased this and seems to work ok..some games don't work but the majority do....happy new year jan and stay well.

[@one_b]

Just got a Kung Fu Flash for my SX-64 I am repairing and restoring. (A birthday gift from my best friend.) Had to make a new shorter cartridge cable to make it work properly...things you learn once you start digging into these things. Gonna be a lot of fun for me and the kids once my new membrane for the keyboard gets here and I can use Fkeys again!

[@TheUtuber999]

I've only been using this cartridge for a couple days and really like it. The loads and saves are lightning-quick! I thought there might not be a way to prevent it from automatically loading the last selected program on a D64 file, but found that if you press Shift+Return while highlighting the D64 file from the list, there is an option to mount the drive. This allows read and write access to the D64 image which remains persistent between resets, but doesn't automatically load a program. Win win! Edit: I wanted to try sending files between a PC and the C64 over a USB cable, so as to avoid the need to shuffle the MicroSD card from computer to computer. I was able to use the included ef3usb utility to send a file from the PC to the C64 and have it execute immediately upon completion of transfer by using the 'send' parameter. Now I'm just struggling to figure out how to send a file the other direction - from the C64 to my PC. Has anyone had any success with this? For clarification, the source file would be one of the prg files contained within a D64 image file on the MicroSD card. Thanks in advance for any tips!

[@timcross3461]

Great video! I have built a few of these but couldn't find any info on using it with C128 cart images. Jan, have you tried this yet?

[@januszkszczotek8587]

Nice. I like the T-Shirt!

[@RodHull_TFW8b]

Considering you used a Pillar Drill, you cut those holes really well! Oh BTW, my KFF's have had USB since v1.3.. in reality, everything since the second batch. :D

[@giuseppelavecchia775]

Video fantastico,ottima cartuccia!

[@nickolasgaspar9660]

Since I was a rookie user of the platform I ended up buying a "the C64" (maxi) because I didn't know any cheap and fast way to load files (plus all those C64 repairs scared me lol). It would be nice if you could produce some episodes on how all those features of this media solution work so new users like me can use the extensive capabilities of the card on their original hardware.

[@Androx74]

Nice video , I was thinking that that card had reu support too. But maybe i'm wrong

[@andrewgillham1907]

KFF doesn’t support acting as an REU. Someone was asking about whether it could do it and be a small REU but the issue is around not having enough program space and that the existing features and the REU support code wouldn’t fit at the same time. Since it would be a small REU anyway it doesn’t seem too practical. For that look at the RAD or SideKick64. Though with the cost of a Raspberry Pi these days on top of that you could just go 1541 Ultimate 2+L.

[@angrydove4067]

Thanks Jan, I just bought one, despite having other such devices, can't have too many?

[@ran2wild370]

wow! No more floppies and old cartridges... sort of :-))

[@JanBeta]

Definitely a great option for replacing pretty much all the original cartridges. Not so much for floppies (although a lot do just work fine). :D

[@stephenwhite506]

I love mine, currently playing the EasyFlash version of UltimaV.

[@joopidema]

Great video, great shirt 😄

[@HifiCentret]

TheFutureWas8Bit now have complete Kung Fu Flash cartridged with case and everything. Clearly the best version out there. Do you have issue with the multiload cartridges og OneLoad64 collection? Mine (two, one from another source) fails when pressing menu button after such is loaded. You can get it on track by either moving SD card to computer and delete the dat file or removing it, pressing meny button, then asks for sd card and then put it in (while power is still on). Then it loads menu. Have asked quite a lot of places if anybody else have these issues - but none bother answering. No matter which machines. Stock longboard, stock shortboard or SixtyClone withgout any original ICs - all the same.

[@JanBeta]

Just read up on that problem briefly and it seems the creator of the compilation uses a loader routine that overwrites some jump vector tables in memory. I guess the issue is that the Kung Fu Flash can't cope with that, maybe a future firmware update fixes the issue (not sure if you caught that, but there was a new KFF firmware update just a couple of days ago, I haven't even installed it myself yet). Not much else I can suggest at this point, I have not tried the compilation myself. It seems it's just partially incompatible with how the Kung Fu Flash handles things. There's some slight incompatibilities with some stuff still that are slowly being worked on. As for TFW8b, Rod actually sent me one of his professionally made KFF carts and it is very high quality and looks much better than my DIY version. Functionality is the same, obviously. :D

[@HifiCentret]

@@JanBeta Nice, thanks for investigating! Yeah wonders if it's a fault of the KFF or OneLoad Collection. Meaning since unload SD card can do the trick. Must read something in the dat file that just should be ignored when pressing menu button. Could be one should contact both authors with the issue. Must admit I've been very confused and only bought the second KFF as I thought it was a fault with mine since literally no one would answer a simple question. A huge thanks from me!

[@keithfulkerson]

Maybe you could make a sticker with holes cut in it for the buttons, so it would look cleaner. I mean, it looks good to me, but if it continues to bug you, that could be an option.

[@MrDrifterNL]

A tip for drilling small holes in to plastic: use a wood drill bit. A wood drill bit has less bite and creates a neater hole in plastic whereas other drill bits have more bite and rip and tear the plastic.

[@SomeMorganSomewhere]

Or a step drill, less aggressive cutting edges and if you're careful you get a nice chamfer too.

[@MrDrifterNL]

@@SomeMorganSomewhere Another great tip. Thanks!

[@madmartigan1498]

I would love to hear ringing that nice retro telephone, e.g. "Hey Jan, how are you, here's Adrian, I have a problem with a C64 which won't boot" or something like that. Or maybe: "Hey, mum! Er, can I call you later?" ;-)

[@Keeping_IT_Simple]

Hi If kung fu is based on the Easyflash , what are the differences? Does it supersede the easyflash or are there things that easyflash does that kung fu can't?

[@Keeping_IT_Simple]

@@Throckmorton.Scribblemonger much appreciated!

[@uberDirk]

Hey Jan, könntest du mir eine Frage dazu beantworten? Kann man das Menü auch mit einem Joystick bedienen? Ich bin im Vorstand des RetroGames e.V. und wir haben einen C64 in der Ausstellung, bei dem wir bisher pro Spiel ein einzelnes Cartridge verwenden. Das Menü hier sieht mir nach einer einfach bedienbaren Möglichkeit aus auch andere Spiele zu laden direkt nach dem Einschalten. Da wir jedoch nur die Joysticks zur Verfügung stellen und man nicht direkt an den C64 an sich kommt, wäre Kung Fu Flash ideal, wenn man es mit dem Joystick bedienen könnte. Danke schon einmal. :)

[@JanBeta]

Ja, das KungFuFlash lässt sich per Joystick bedienen (außer einige speziellere Funktionen). Sehr praktisch für ausgedehnte Spielsessions. ;)

[@uberDirk]

@@JanBeta super, vielen Dank. Dann bestelle ich gleich mal eines. :)

[@richardblack5710]

What is the largest MicroSD card that the Kung Fu Flash supports?

[@claudioquintanilla1471]

lo he probado con memorias de 64GB pero haciendo una partición más pequeña de 16GB y formateando la con FAT32.

[@MohammedARahim-wi3to]

Hi Jan .... Can you Save BASIC Programs to an SD Card using the C64 Kung Fu Flash Cartridge ? Kindly Respond .... Mohammed A. Rahim Computer Programmer

[@rawberg_se]

Worth noting is that demos that are on d64 images does not work very good. It's because they often use fastloaders and other trickery that KFF doesn't support. There are of course demoes that does work, many single d64 image demos works. But if you plan to use it for watching demos, I would recommend something else, like the pi1541 for example.

[@terryraymond7984]

Would GEOS work with the cartridge and still be able to access older disk drives or CMD drives?

[@andrewgillham1907]

I don’t believe the GEOS loader would work for booting from a .d64 on the KFF. And you would need a cartridge expander for KFF and REU to launch the GEOS rboot from the KFF. If you could get some part of GEOS into a single load prg then maybe it would be useful. Just as an exercise I used my Super Snapshot v5 to snapshot a booted C64 OS single load prg. KFF loaded it quick. Of course it was stateful so changing anything would make it not work. So useless other than as an experiment. That being said, with the feature of KFF where it loads whatever you did last, it was about 4.2 seconds from flipping the power switch to having a usable C64 OS desktop.

[@congestiontv]

Since the Kunf Fu is not a floppy emulator it cannot load the sequence of files necessary for the disk versions of GEOS. However, the dedicated cartridge version can be moved onto the ɥSD card as a .CRT and works fine like so.

[@rosariodagosto6484]

Good flash device Jan

[@mixschnack]

Gibt es die 3D-Druck-Daten, sodass man sich das Gehäuse mit einem 3D-Drucker drucken kann?

[@JanBeta]

Leider nein, diese Gehäuse sind kommerzielle Produkte, die von TFW8B hergestellt werden. Es gibt aber Alternativen, z.B. wie auf der Kung Fu Flash GitHub-Seite verlinkt. www.thingiverse.com/thing:4153414

[@mixschnack]

@@JanBeta Das verstehe ich nicht: Erst sagst du, es gibt keine 3D Druckdaten und dann postest du mir einen Link mit eben solchen. Noch eine andere Frage: Wie hast du es geschafft, dass KZbin deinen Post mit dem Link nicht gelöscht hat?

[@JanBeta]

@@mixschnack Naja, die 3D-Daten sind halt nicht für GENAU das Gehäuse, das ich benutzt habe, deshalb die etwas wirre Ausdrucksweise. Links werden bei mir nicht gelöscht, weil‘s mein eigenes Video ist. Da greifen die KZbin-Kommentarfilter dann einfach nicht, soviel ich weiß.

[@costa_marco]

The gods of the focus were not on your side... 😂

[@rosariodagosto6484]

Do you work Jan .? 😊😊

[@Toby_Q]

11:47 - Everything was a success, except for autofocus! and 12:18 - I don't know... I can't clearly see it!

[@pon2oon]

Is this pal only?

[@JanBeta]

It was for a while but the new firmware supposedly works fine for NTSC, too.

[@stevebor1]

King Fu vs backbit / backbit pro??

[@zvonimirstrucelj6190]

BackBit Pro is better than KFF, but more expensive. BackBit is not produced anymore, and it doesn't read all CRT Easyflash releases. Compatibility with PRGs/D64s/D71s/D81s are practically the same on all of them. BackBit Pro and KFF do read all Easyflash CRT files - KFF need to flash them (up to 10 seconds), BackBit Pro reading them instantly. There are more advantages of BackBit Pro (like integrated program for making backups of D64 and D81 files to 1541/1581 and vice versa) and other stuff. If Jan finally test BackBit Pro cartridge provided by Evie long time ago, you would know more.

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

DOOD!

[@BurkenProductions]

Man get the focus correct when showing things its giving ppl a head ache

[@JanBeta]

Sorry! Camera is acting up sometimes.