SUPER AMI CARD HARDWARE CONSTRUCTION

                               By Simon aka KHUL


There are many hardware copiers around.  The ONLY original ones I think that
are around are Cyclone and Super-Card Ami II.  The others ie. Blit-a-Copy, Mac
II are just blatant rip offs of Super Card.  Having used both Cyclone and Super
Card, it has to be said that Super Card is THE best and can copy 95% of
original software.  So we`re going to make a Super Card compatible copying
dongle.


What you need:
A good soldering iron, lead wire, a male and female 23 pin port, a 23 pin port
plastic casing, and lots of thin wire.  These can be obtained from Tandy or
Maplins.


1. TO BEGIN
Make sure you know which port is which or you`ll end up with a total mess.  The
port with holes is the female port, the other with spikes is the male port.


2. PERPARATION
Cut the thin wire into roughly 30 segments, each about 6 cm long.  Why 30?
Because I can guarantee you`ll mess some up!  Now, you should have plugged in
your soldering iron to let it heat up.  It`s best to open a window while you`re
at it as well unless you wanna be intoxicated!


3. FIRST CONNECTION
Now shave off the plastic from the ends of the wire, just leaving the copper
bare.  Holding the male port, you should see little copper holes which jut out
on the opposite side of the spikes.  This is where your wire should be, so
insert one end into hole no.1 (The numbers are on the other side.)

Grab your soldering iron and place it onto your lead coil.  A little lead will
melt onto the tip of your soldering iron and it should be clearly visible - BUT
don`t put too much or you`ll clog up your whole device!
Now, gently apply the solder OVER the connection between wire and hole.  Do
this quickly or you could melt your wire.  Now let it cool for about 5 seconds.
Great, if you`ve got this far you`re doing well.  Now repeat the procedure BUT
this time connect the other end of the wire to the female hole (NOT the main
ones - the ones that are copper and look like small tubes!).  Don`t forget to
apply adequate solder.

If you`ve done that successfully you`ve managed to connect:

        MALE 1  to  FEMALE 1


4. THE REST
Okay, so now you know how to connect the wires here are the complete list
of connections to make...

       MALE   FEMALE
        1       1
        2       17
        3       3
        4       4
        5       5
        6       6
        7       7
        8       8
        10      10
        11      11
        12      12
        13      13
        14      14
        15      15
        18      18
        19      19
        20      16
        21      21
        23      23

And NO, I haven`t missed any out!  Some holes don`t need any connections.


5. FINISHING UP
Now, put the plastic case on and you`re done.  If it doesn`t fit, then either
you didn`t cut the wires right,  or you bought the wrong case!
If it`s the first, you can gently squeeze or twist the wires in the middle.
Don`t worry - it WILL fit!

Now making sure your computer aint on, plug in your dongle into the diskdrive
port.  Now connect your extra drive (you don`t have one?  Oh, well, looks like
you`ve been wasting your time!) to the back of the dongle.

Next, turn on your Amiga.  If your disk drive hasn`t decided to blow up you've
probably done everything right.  Load up your copy software, grab a copy of an
original say, Jaguar XJ, Captain Planet, or Sensi Soccer and a blank disk, and
see if it works - (It does!).


6. WHICH SOFTWARE?
Ones to get are Super Card Ami-II v2 - v4 softare, Blit-a-copy software, or Mac
II software.  If you really can`t find any, then 17 Bit disk 1418 ie. Insanity
Tools has Super Card v2.2 software on it.  It works, but the software is crap!
New versions have MUCH better interfaces, parameters, and deprotection schemes.
If you are really desperate, sell your device for a tenner to some mug and go
and buy the Original (£34.95).

A final note, there`s no point in getting Syncro Express III coz it`s a load of
old rubbish!

end.