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From: rayz@csustan.UUCP (R. L. Zarling)
Newsgroups: net.micro.cbm
Subject: Re: Does anyone use 1541 Flash?
Message-ID: <195@csustan.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 24-Sep-86 18:24:20 EDT
Article-I.D.: csustan.195
Posted: Wed Sep 24 18:24:20 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 24-Sep-86 23:43:14 EDT
References: <269@mtuni.UUCP>
Reply-To: rayz@csustan.UUCP (R. L. Zarling)
Distribution: net
Organization: CSU, Stanislaus; Turlock, California
Lines: 23

In article <269@mtuni.UUCP> jjp@mtuni.UUCP (John Pittas) writes:
>Skyles Electric Works of Mountain View, CA manufactures an
>installable chip called "1541 Flash" which supposedly
>speeds up operation of the drive by about five times.
>When I heard this I said GREAT!, until I called them and
>they told me the price was $69.95 + $4.50 shipping.
>
>I am still interested in this product, but would like to
>hear some feedback from anyone who has used it or knows
>anything about it (or any other similar product) first

Flash does, indeed, speed up the 1541, but not by a factor of
five.  I would say more like a factor of three or four.  A  very
noticable and worthwhile improvement!  Unlike most other disk
speed-ups, Flash speeds up all disk accesses:  reads, writes, loads,
sequential files, relative files, formatting,...

Flash adds a number of "wedge" commands (badly needed, in place of
open 1,8,15...).  Only disadvantage is that some copy protected programs
will not run with Flash enabled.  Two switches are provided, so that
Flash may be completely disabled and the machine returns to its original
slow self.  With Flash thusly disabled, I have never had any problems
running any commercial software.