Wolfgang from RETRO is the New Black has taken on a unique challenge: building a CD-ROM drive for the Commodore 64 inside a 1541 disk drive case. The project involves 3D printing, custom PCBs, and a bit of hands-on electronics work. A while back, Wolfgang showcased the first CD-ROM edition featuring ten classic C64 games from Rainbow Arts. This setup included a small hardware adapter that allowed a standard CD player to connect via the tape port, enabling fast loading of the games.
This time, the goal is to create a standalone CD-ROM drive that looks like a 1541 but functions as a dedicated CD player for the C64. To achieve this, Wolfgang sourced a classic IDE CD-ROM drive, a broken 1541 case for the enclosure and power supply, and a DIY kit from AliExpress designed to turn an IDE CD drive into a fully functional audio player with play, stop, and skip controls.
The first step was assembling the controller module. It consists of three PCBs: a remote control, an Atmel microcontroller, and a display. Since there were no instructions included, Wolfgang had to figure things out from reference photos. Once assembled, the controller board was wired to the CD drive, allowing control over playback functions.
With the electronics sorted, the next challenge was designing and 3D-printing a front panel to integrate the buttons and display neatly into the 1541 case. After several test prints to refine the measurements, the final version was printed in black, although Wolfgang would have preferred a closer color match to the original 1541 brown.
Just when it seemed everything was coming together, an unexpected problem arose. The supposedly dead 1541 drive turned out to be fully functional. Rather than sacrifice a working unit, Wolfgang swapped cases and used a different 1541 shell for the project. Once the CD drive and controller were mounted inside, the final wiring step involved repurposing a datasette cable to connect the audio signal to the C64.
Testing revealed that cable length affected performance, so adjustments were made to shorten the connections for reliable operation. After some fine-tuning, the setup was fully operational, allowing CD-based game loading directly on a C64.
While not a practical upgrade, the project proved to be an interesting experiment, demonstrating that a CD-ROM can function as a viable game-loading device for the C64. It may not be necessary, but it certainly adds a unique touch to any retro computing setup.
