ComHub 64 USB Hub Review - Lyonsden Blog
ComHub 64 USB Hub Review
3 hours ago<br>Steven<br>Commodore 64, Reviews<br>Add comment
I spotted this whilst browsing eBay late one night (as you do) and thought it looked like an interesting product. With it only being thirty quid it was definitely within the parameters of what I consider an impulse ‘Buy it now’. So here we are a few days later with a nice package on my desk to open!
ComHub 64 Box
What is it?
At its core this is basically a USB extension cable but it has been lovingly dressed up as a scaled down replica of a Commodore 1541 Floppy Drive.
As much as I love the C64 Ultimate, the position of the USB ports at the rear of the machine is a pain, they should have been located on the side to facilitate easy access for inserting flash drives and this little device offers a really cool solution to the issue.
What do you get in the box?
Box contents
Inside the box I found a blank 8GB Flash Drive in what appeared to be a wooden case with the ComHub 64 logo wood-burned into the surface. Definitely two things that weren’t on my reviewing bingo card! It does look pretty neat though and provides plenty of storage for C64 files should you need it.
A wooden flash drive!
There was also a dinky little ’Starlight Edition’ C64 Ultimate fridge magnet. It’s been 3D printed but there’s plenty of detail on it, including a keyboard with four function keys and a tiny printed power LED.
Keep this away from your real floppy disks!
The least glamorous but no less important inclusion was a white 40cm long USB-A to USB-B cable. Shame the seller didn’t source a transparent cable to match the Starlight theme but it doesn’t detract too much and if I was being really fussy I could always just buy a new one and swap it.
USB Cable
Finally we get to the star of the show, the replica 1541 drive. I chose the Starlight edition to match my C64 Ultimate but he also sells beige and gold versions to match the Standard and Founders edition Ultimate C64’s.
A Closer Look
The drive has been 3D printed to a really high standard and includes details like the air vents on the top, the LED light (non functioning) at the side and a full colour rainbow badge emblazoned with ‘ComHub 1541’. (Commodore USB Hub obviously).
The ComHub 64 1541 Drive!
Not only does it look the part but it even works too with a working drive latch that reveals a USB socket behind it when you swing it down.
USB socket behind the drive latch
The USB socket is quite deeply recessed but there seems to be enough clearance around it with all the USB drives I tested with it.
Flash drive inserted
Worth Getting?
The ComHub 64 not only looks great and scratches the nostalgia itch, it also solves a real annoyance I had with my Ultimate, namely the USB ports being awkward to access.
Good match for my Starlight
In use it works really well and has little rubber feet on the base that do a decent job of preventing it from sliding around.
The green LED is printed – not real
There are a couple of ways I think it could be improved, one quick and easy and the other a little more involved. The easy one would be to ship the Starlight versions with transparent USB cables, they’re readily available and would complete the look nicely.
Plenty of clearance for bulky flash drives
The other thing would be to fit a real working LED in place of the dummy one. This could show USB drive access and would serve a real purpose when loading games, especially TAP files.
If you are similarly vexed by the USB ports being round the back and fancy a fun, nostalgic solution then you can’t really go wrong with this. Even users who are just running an emulator on their PC or Mac may well get a kick out of it. For a little over thirty quid I think it’s well worth the money.
Looks right at home
Here’s a link to the eBay seller page if you are interested: ComHub 64.
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1541 C64 Ultimate
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Steven
Gamer, gadget lover, retro Commodore computer fan and general all round geek.
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