Makebin v1.0 for 32-bit DOS

By: Bob Colbert


DESCRIPTION

Makebin converts a Supercharger .wav file into a .bin file.

WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO DO THAT?

Well, there are two reasons really.  First and foremost, if you have
original Supercharger cassette tapes, you probably have been weary about
using them because of the possibility of destroying them. You may have
even gone to the trouble of copying the tapes and putting the originals in
a safe place.  Unfortunately, the copies are not as reliable as the
original tapes are.  Wouldn't it be nice if you could make a copy of the
tape that was as good or BETTER than the original?  Sound impossible?
Makebin, in conjunction with Makewav, allows you to do just that!  Not only
can you create DIGITALLY REMASTERED copies of your original tapes (see
the section called DIGITALLY REMASTERING A SUPERCHARGER TAPE), but you can
also make a .bin file for use with an Atari 2600 emulator (e.g. PCAE)!

WHAT'S THE CATCH?  HOW MUCH DOES THIS WONDERFUL PROGRAM COST?

There is no catch and the program is absolutely free!  Just follow the
detailed instructions and you will have .bins and remastered tapes in
no time.

CREATING A .WAV FILE FROM A TAPE

The first thing you must do is make a .wav file of your Supercharger tape.
I suggest using the "standard load" side of your Supercharger tape to do
this process, though either side will work.  You need to get your tape
player settings adjusted correctly, and the best way to do this is to first
hook the tape player up to the Supercharger and get the game to load.  When
you have the settings adjusted so that the game will load into the
Supercharger reliably you are set.  If you don't have a Supercharger handy
and still want to make a .bin file, try putting the bass and treble, or tone
settings in the middle setting (flat), put the volume settings to about 50%
of maximum volume (use the headphone jack or line out from your tape player,
not an amplified output!).  Once you have your settings adjusted, you need
to plug your tape player into your soundcard on your computer.  Now you
need to use the sound recorder or a similar program to create a .wav file
of the tape.  I suggest using a 16-bit mono format, but most common formats
should work.  Try to record as much of the beginning tone as possible, this
helps the program convert the file, but at the same time try to have as
little quiet space at the beginning of the .wav file as possible!  Once
you have the .wav file the rest is easy!

CONVERTING THE .WAV FILE TO A .BIN FILE

Once you have the .wav file created, the rest is SIMPLE!  All you need to
do is put Makebin somewhere in your path, or in the same directory as the
.wav file.  Next you will run Makebin to create the .bin file.  The format
for Makebin is:

        makebin WAVEFILE [BINFILE]

Where WAVEFILE is the name of the .wav file (e.g. COMMIE.WAV) and BINFILE is
the name of the .bin file (e.g. COMMIE.BIN).  If you leave the name of the
.bin file off, it defaults to test.bin.

If makebin runs into any problems converting the file, it will let you know.
The first thing you will see when converting a .wav file is a description of
the .wav file.  Next you will see the program display the page of the game
it is converting.  While the page numbers usually go in numerical order and
increase by one, the Supercharger format is versatile enough that they won't
always do that, so don't be concerned if the number does weird things!  If
the conversion is successful, you should not see any errors and a message
will be displayed telling you everything went well.  If there are errors,
you will have to make a new .wav file since version 1.0 has no paramaters
for tweaking the conversion.  Don't worry though, makebin has some very good
algorithms that allow it to convert even some poor quality .wav files.

REMASTERING A SUPERCHARGER TAPE

To remaster a supercharger tape, you must first follow the instructions to
create a .bin file above.  Next, you need to download Makewav from my
website at http://www.novia.net/~rcolbert.  Follow the Makewav instructions
for making a .wav file from a .bin file.  You should probably use the flag
to create a 16-bit .wav file.  Next, simply plug your soundcard's line out
into your tape player's line in and record while playing the .wav file on
your computer.  Of course you should use a different tape than your
original, and use a high quality tape.  This tape should have as good or
better quality than your orignal tape!

DISCLAIMER

Retroware and Bob Colbert make no warranty as to the functionality and/or
quality of this software.  The user assumes all responsability for using
this product and can not hold Retroware or Bob Colbert liable for any
damage physical or mental caused by use, misuse, or lack of use of this
software!  Use of this software indicates agreement to these terms.

                                Bob Colbert
                                rcolbert@novia.net
