After a few seconds of loading you will see the OK message and you are ready to go. When you are ready to boot, enter BASIC and type RUN.

After reset, insert the plusd_system_full.dsk in drive 1. Select either the 16k, 48k, 128 or +2 model and under disk options add the +D interface. It isn’t normally included in the install, so this step is required. If you wish to use Plus D v2 on Fuse (or any other compatible emulator), place the plusd.rom in your roms folder (see the emulator documentation on the location). Pressing the top bottom will take a snapshot Fuse If you have a different combination, or you would prefer to use a different disk geometry to 80 track, double sided then you will need to run the system config program. When you have powered on select either the plusd_system_1_drive.dsk (one drive, no printer) or plusd_system_full.dsk (two drives, with printer). The quickest way to start is to copy across all the DSK files to your Gotek, and connect it up to the interface. The high capacity of the disks made the system popular in the homebrew scene and in territories outside of the UK where clones popped up and fed the demo scene, where it competed with the Beta disk interface.ĭatel released the designs into the public domain and nowadays clones are still available on sites such as RWAP Software and Byte Delight PlusDlite. This could then be duplicated and distributed and all the recipient would need is another +D interface. This backing up process was initiated by using the magic button on top, which allowed the exact state of the Spectrum to be dumped to disk, for reloading later (much like the Multiface). When MGT ran into financial problems, Datel licensed the design and carried on producing the equipment, but unfortunately the system was never embraced by commercial manufacturers and therefore remained mostly in use as a means for ‘backing-up’ and distributing software. It also offered a straightforward install solution using a MGT +D on Spectrum Computing. It also had a Centronics printer port, which its predecessor also had. The newer system was to prove much more popular and established a good following in the market, not least because it made use of the far more popular 3.5″ floppy disk. However, that device was overly complicated making it pricey and unreliable. The +D was a successor to Miles Gordon Technology’s DISCiPLE interface, itself a reaction to the lack of disk tech for the Speccy.

Given the failure of Microdrives, and the lack of an official disk interface (the +3 appeared in 1987 but it’s use of the quirky 3″ disks was not favourably looked upon), several manufacturers decided to take up the mantel themselves. The MGT +D interface was one of a few disk interface solutions that appeared for the Spectrum in the mid-to-late eighties. Share the post 'Using The Plus D Disk System With Fuse Or A Gotek'

Gotek floppy disk emulator