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So I just hit "order" on a new revision of the GCart FUSION PCB. That always feels like a small ceremony. A mix of confidence and quiet dread. But this one is a clean update, no redesign drama, just a couple of practical changes that needed doing.
What Is GCart FUSION?
For those not following along: the GCart family is a series of cartridges for the Commodore VIC-20. Yes, that VIC-20. The one from 1981 that most people forgot about. I didn't.
FUSION is the third main cartridge and arguably the most interesting. Think of it as what happens when you take GCart Jr III and GCart MX, put them in a blender, and somehow get something that costs less than the MX while doing almost as much. It's the fusion of those two designs — hence the name.
Here's what's on board:
- 8 MByte of RAM, bankable in virtually any configuration you'd want.
- 16 MByte of NOR FLASH for storing cartridge images, single-load programs, or whatever else you throw at it.
- A real-time clock, because even a VIC-20 deserves to know what year it is.
- Micro SD card slot for bulk storage.
- A General MIDI synthesizer, because why not give a 1981 home computer a proper sound upgrade.
All of this on a cartridge that plugs into the expansion port. At a price point that doesn't require you to sell your other VIC-20 to afford it.
So What Changed?
Three things, both minor but both necessary.
The USB connector moved to the back. Previously it sat in a position that made it awkward — or outright impossible — to access while the cartridge was plugged into the VIC-20. That's a problem when you want to manage the 16 MByte onboard NOR FLASH without pulling the cartridge out every time. Now it's on the rear edge, reachable while the FUSION is seated in the expansion port. A small change on the board, a big improvement in practice.
Why was it done the "wrong" way in the first place. Good question. At the tijme I wanted to make sure nobody powered it, and accessed it, while also plugged into the VIC 20. That has however, been fixed. There might be issues where the memory access collide, but hey ... dont LOAD"YOUR FAVORIE GAME",8,1 at the same time as you update the same game. You are in controll!
New micro SD card connector. The old one went end-of-life. This is the reality of hardware design — components you chose a year ago quietly disappear from the supply chain, and you get to play the fun game of finding a replacement that fits the same footprint. Or doesn't, and you get to reroute. In this case, it went smoothly enough.
I updated the contour. It now fits my own new mechanics as well as most of the already available cartridge enclosures.
What's Next?
Now I wait for boards. Then I assemble, test, and — assuming nothing catches fire — start thinking about the next batch. More updates as things arrive.