Smart Media card interface for ZX Spectrum

Upsides of Smart Media cards:  Easy, small, low power consumption – fit even in standard Spectrum 48K.
Fast, no moving parts, no need for additional power supply. 8 bit data path - corresponds to 8 bit Z80.

Downsides:  Relative expensive (not in Y2005), especially higher capacities.   Not possible to rewrite each page (sector) separated .
Must erase whole block of 16 sectors. Works at 3.3 V power.

This is first version of Smart Media card interface for Spectrum. It looks that although card voltage is 3.3 Volt, it works very well in 5 Volt ZX enviroment.

I made elementary read/write/erase routines for testing purpose. Read speed is about 150 KB per second, what is even better than by IDE interface.

Main problem is, that it’s not possible to rewrite separate sectors (pages), but must first erase whole block of 16 pages. This is unlike as by disks, and also unlike as by FLASH EPROM’s of 29xxxx series.

This project is discontinued in meantime. If someone has interest in usage, and especially in writing OS, let me know. 

Main Spectrum hardware DIY page