Commodore 1570
title: "Commodore 1570" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["commodore-64", "commodore-floppy-disk-drives"] topic_path: "general/commodore-64" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_1570" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox information appliance"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Commodore 1570 |
| image | Commodore 1570 01.JPG |
| caption | Commodore 1570 floppy drive |
| manufacturer | Commodore Business Machines, Inc. |
| type | Floppy drive |
| release_date | |
| price | |
| media | 5¼" floppy disk SS DD using GCR or MFM{{cite web |
| title | Commodore 1571 Disk Drive : Coming up to par |
| date | 2015-03-20 |
| website | zimmers.net |
| archive-url | https://web.archive.org/web/20160326051411/http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/d1571s.html |
| archive-date | 2016-03-26 |
| access-date | 2016-04-27}} |
| os | CBM DOS v3.0 |
| power | |
| cpu | MOS 6502 @ 1-2 MHz, WD1770 |
| memory | 2 kB RAM 32 kB ROM |
| storage | 170 kB (GCR) ; 200 kB (MFM) |
| connectivity | Commodore proprietary serial IEEE-488 5200 bytes/s |
| compatibility | Commodore 64, Commodore 128 |
| predecessor | Commodore 1541 |
| successor | Commodore 1571 |
| :: |
| name = Commodore 1570 | image = Commodore 1570 01.JPG | caption = Commodore 1570 floppy drive | manufacturer = Commodore Business Machines, Inc. | type = Floppy drive | release_date = | price = | discontinued = | media = 5¼" floppy disk SS DD using GCR or MFM{{cite web |url=https://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/d1571s.html |title=Commodore 1571 Disk Drive : Coming up to par |date=2015-03-20 |website=zimmers.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326051411/http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/d1571s.html |archive-date=2016-03-26 |access-date=2016-04-27}} | os = CBM DOS v3.0 | power = | cpu = MOS 6502 @ 1-2 MHz, WD1770 | memory = 2 kB RAM 32 kB ROM | storage = 170 kB (GCR) ; 200 kB (MFM) | connectivity = Commodore proprietary serial IEEE-488 5200 bytes/s | dimensions = | weight = | compatibility= Commodore 64, Commodore 128 | predecessor = Commodore 1541 | successor = Commodore 1571 | related =
The Commodore 1570 is a 5¼" floppy disk drive for the Commodore 128 home/personal computer. It is a single-sided, 170 kB version of the Commodore 1571, released as a stopgap measure when Commodore International was unable to provide sufficient quantities of 1571s due to a shortage of double-sided drive mechanisms (which were supplied by an outside manufacturer). Like the 1571, it can read and write both GCR and MFM disk formats. The 1570 utilizes a 1571 logic board in a cream-colored original-1541-like case with a drive mechanism similar to the 1541's except that it was equipped with track-zero detection. Like the 1571, its built-in DOS provides a data burst mode for transferring data to the C128 computer at a faster speed than a 1541 can. Its ROM also contains some DOS bug fixes that didn't appear in the 1571 until much later. The 1570 can read and write all single-sided CP/M-format disks that the 1571 can access.
Although the 1570 is compatible with the Commodore 64, the C64 isn't capable of taking advantage of the drive's higher-speed operation, and when used with the C64 it is little more than a pricier 1541. Also, many early buyers of the C128 chose to temporarily make do with a 1541 drive, perhaps owned as part of a previous C64 setup, until the 1571 became more widely available.
The drive uses the CPU MOS 6502, floppy controller WD1770 or WD1772, I/O controllers 2x MOS Technology 6522 and 1x MOS Technology 6526.
References
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