We're all aware of SCSI emulators and how many of them, like BlueSCSI, can also emulate a CD-ROM drive. However, the big limitation there has always been lack of CD-DA support. The ZuluSCSI Blaster hit the scene touting this feature, and now so does the ArdSCSino Plus!
The Ard is not often in stock, but I signed up for notifications on Booth. Once in stock, I purchased using Tenso (https://www.tenso.com/). A proxy service like this that actually gives you your own Japanese mailing address is absolutely necessary, as the item will definitely be out of stock by the time Buyee or ZenMarket staff are able to make the purchase for you. If you have any interest in doing this yourself, I highly recommend you create an account on Booth, add your payment method, proxy address, etc. so that when it comes time to purchase, you're 100% ready and only have to click a few buttons to secure your order. Otherwise, devices like this sell out very quickly!
There are two versions. The "internal" version uses a standard IDC50 connector, and so I simply used an off-the-shelf IDC50 to CN50 cable to connect it to an FM Towns. The "external" version uses half-pitch CN50 (sometimes called micro or mini HD50, or even half-pitch Amphenol). Similarly, adapters or cables are needed depending on the computer you'd like to connect it to. Note that the Booth product pages themselves contain a few links to document the usage of the device.
- https://booth.pm/ja/items/6629998
- https://booth.pm/ja/items/6406291
There are two things I like about the ArdSCSino Plus over the Zulu...
- A 3.5mm audio jack is present on the board for CD-DA output (no custom cabling needed to route audio output to your speakers).
- It supports dual microSD cards.
Firstly, on the Ard you can actually have an HDD image and a CD-ROM image living on SD1, side by side, both presenting as different SCSI IDs. The host computer will recognize both!
So, what's with the second microSD slot (i.e., SD2)? Well, this lets you use a two-partition card where the first partition can serve as an MO device, and the second partition can serve as a CD-ROM device. Using the second partition of SD2 for a CD-ROM image has the added benefit of supporting hot-swapping. This means that you can eject SD2 and the computer will register it as an ejected tray. Put that microSD in your computer, change out the disc image, then re-insert into the ArdSCSino Plus for the computer to see that a new CD-ROM was inserted!
Based on the documentation, it also appears you can have multiple CD-ROM images on SD2 with sequential LUNs, then ejecting the CD-ROM in the OS itself will cause the Ard to cycle to the next disc image, wrapping around when it reaches the end of the list.
I personally don't have tons of use for this hot-swapping feature, so I've been keeping both an HDD and my current CD-ROM image together on SD1. However, it's awesome as hell that it's supported.
While my FM Towns II Fresh E's CD-ROM drive has been fully serviced and is very healthy, I love knowing I have this backup for use with CaptainYS' boot loader (https://ysflight.in.coocan.jp/FM/towns/bootloader/e.html).
To see a quick video of it in action, check out the post below.
➤ https://x.com/DerekPascarella/status/1977849051883204963
(for those without an X account, this link will let you see the full post and video: https://xcancel.com/DerekPascarella/status/1977849051883204963)Note that I also bought a new-in-box external Panasonic SCSI CD-ROM drive for testing with CaptainYS' boot loader, and as expected, it works wonderfully (just so long as the software itself is supported by the booth method, which not all software is).
Anyway, I just wanted to share some details and my experience with the amazing ArdSCSino Plus. Right now, it's the closest thing we have to an ODE on non-Tower and non-Marty units. That may change one day, though!
PS: This device has also been tested working with the X68000 and PC-98. I will be diving down the PC-98 rabbit hole in the coming weeks, and feel relieved to know that I don't have to worry about a physical CD-ROM getting it all setup!
Quote from: ateam on October 15, 2025, 02:00:59 AMNote that I also bought a new-in-box external Panasonic SCSI CD-ROM drive for testing with CaptainYS' boot loader, and as expected, it works wonderfully (just so long as the software itself is supported by the booth method, which not all software is).
This is the problem I ran into with ZuluSCSI and CaptainYS' boot loader. While it works great for OS boot discs, games is hit/miss, with miss being more often the case. Many games require modifications to work (see his github repo) Downloading an ISO from the Internet and hoping it will work is frustrating.
I gave up. Using CD-R's with the original drive gave me much better compatibility and overall success. We really need an ODE for the internal drive or some sort of PCB board that allows a ZuluSCSI/BlueSCSI to work as the internal drive correctly.
My system: FM Towns II Fresh T
Quote from: leonk on October 24, 2025, 06:48:37 AMThis is the problem I ran into with ZuluSCSI and CaptainYS' boot loader. While it works great for OS boot discs, games is hit/miss, with miss being more often the case. Many games require modifications to work (see his github repo) Downloading an ISO from the Internet and hoping it will work is frustrating.
Yes, this isn't really a solution, more like a fun curiosity. There are two people working on FM Towns ODEs right now, so we'll see how that plays out (and no, I'm not referring to Fixel, haha).
That said, devices like the ArdSCSino Plus are also great for machines like the PC-98! As long as you have the correct driver, it works just as a regular SCSI CD-ROM drive would.
Quote from: ateam on October 25, 2025, 12:37:52 AMThat said, devices like the ArdSCSino Plus are also great for machines like the PC-98! As long as you have the correct driver, it works just as a regular SCSI CD-ROM drive would.
I have a Pentium era PC98 (PC98-21 Xt13) and to be honest, I love it much more than FM Towns. I believe the CD-ROM drive on it is IDE (or standard PC SCSI?) All the games I play on it are from the IDE-CF card. I don't believe that CD-ROM is as must-have on PC98 as it is with FM Towns. :)
Quote from: leonk on October 25, 2025, 04:35:03 AMI have a Pentium era PC98 (PC98-21 Xt13) and to be honest, I love it much more than FM Towns. I believe the CD-ROM drive on it is IDE (or standard PC SCSI?) All the games I play on it are from the IDE-CF card. I don't believe that CD-ROM is as must-have on PC98 as it is with FM Towns. :)
Yeah, CD-ROM drive is
definitely not a must-have on the PC-98. However, as you know we all love to tinker with these old machines, so having CD-ROM capabilities is just another part of it!
Some PC-98 units use IDE for their internal CD-ROM drives, others like my Ap2 use what's called "file slot" and require an A-MATE SCSI card like the PC-9821A-E10 installed (not C-BUS).