Subject: REVIEW: Super Card Ami II
From: [email-masked] (Rob Morton)
Date: 21 Apr 1993 15:31:50 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	Super Card Ami II

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	Super Card Ami II is a hardware/software disk copier that claims to
be able to copy any normal-density disk.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:		Jim Drew
	Address:	Utilities Unlimited, Incorporated
			1641 McCulloch Blvd. Suite #25124
			Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403

	Telephone:	(602) 680-9004
	FAX:		(602) 680-9006

	E-mail:		[email-masked]

LIST PRICE

	When I bought it it cost $99.  I believe it is now selling for $45.

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		You do need 2 disk drives.  There are two different models:
		one for Amigas with 2 internal drives, and one for Amigas
		with 1 internal and 1 external drive.

	SOFTWARE
		None.

COPY PROTECTION

	None.  The program can be installed on a hard drive by copying
one file.

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	A2000, 1 Meg Chip RAM, 2 Meg Fast RAM, AmigaDOS 1.3, 2 internal
drives, 1 external drive, 100 Megs of hard drive space.

REVIEW

	Originally I had the version for the external drive, but later I
switched to the internal version.  The only real difference is that the
external unit is much easier to install.  The external unit just plugs into
the external disk drive port, and you are ready to go.  The internal
requires that you take the cover off of the computer, remove the disk drive
cord, and plug the unit into the disk drive.  You must also remove the
entire disk drive chassis so that you can connect a clip to a chip on the
motherboard.

	I had no problems with any of these steps.  There is a large amount
of disassembling of the computer, and the power supply chassis has to be
removed.  I am not a technical wizard, but I am also not afraid to take
things apart.

	[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  If you are not comfortable installing hardware
	in your Amiga, then you should have the work done by an authorized
	Amiga service center.  Opening your Amiga yourself may void your
	warranty, and a careless installation may even damage the machine.
	- Dan]

	The software loads very quickly from the disk, but I still put it on
my hard drive.  It remains there now, and it has never caused an unexpected
problem with my system, that wasn't expected.  (See the comments below.)
	
	I got Super Card Ami II to make backup copies of some of those games
that are cool to play for a while, but have so much copy protection that a
backup disk is impossible to make.  Psygnosis games spring to mind, because
I lost Menace for a while which was my favorite game.  Anyway, I was able to
copy the software that I had never been able to copy before.  I had to do
some trial and error for copying some games.  I even had to call Utilities
Unlimited to get help with one game.  I later was able to get it copied.
The coping is rather slow, but it does work.  Also, once I got the second
generation of the software, I never had a problem with it.

PROGRAMS SUCCESSFULLY COPIED

	I usually used the best copier for the task.  Raw Copy would copy and
remove protections, so it got used for manual-based games the most.  Nib got
used for most of the first round of copying, and then any long tracks I did
individually with Super Card Ami II.  If that didn't work, then I just used
Super Card Ami.  (See my reviews of the other 2 copiers mentioned.)

	Awesome
	Batman
	Blood Money
	Death Sword
	Dragon's Lair 2 (I think Time Warp)
	Dragons Lair
	Emerald Mine
	Eye of Horus
	Fire Power
	4th and Inches
	Gauntlet 2
	Grand Prix Circuit
	Heimdall
	Leander
	Lemmings
	Menace
	Populous
	PowerMonger
	Rampage
	Shadow of the Beast I-III
	Speedball
	Super Off Road
	Sword of Sodan
	TV Sports Football
	The 64 Emulator

...and probably 20-30 others, but I can't remember the names of them all.
(I have done much copying for friends so they can have backups of their
software.)

DOCUMENTATION

	Well the documentation that came with the external unit was on the
disk, and was more complete then most users would ever need.  It describes
the various copy-protection schemes, how the hardware works, and how to use
it.  The internal unit also came with some photocopies stapled together that
explained proper installation.  This was well documented, and I believe
almost anyone could do this project if they don't panic.

LIKES AND DISLIKES

	Likes:

		It works.  With this type of product, if it works it's
		great, and if not then it is useless.

	Dislikes:

		It uses a custom (non-standard) user interface.  There is
		nothing about the GUI that makes it even remotely
		interesting to look at, but it is functional.

		It doesn't allow multitasking; so during the slow copying
		process, you are stuck with looking at an ugly screen.

		It doesn't always copy programs onto low density disks.  It
		likes high density disks much better.

		The external unit stuck out about 2" and it made it hard to
		push the computer back far enough.

		When you exit the program it will not let you access the
		disk drives anymore.  You can access a hard drive though.

	Suggestions for the program:  please use the Commodore standards for
the GUI, and make the program multitask.

VENDOR SUPPORT

	I did have to call Jim Drew a couple of times to get things to work
at first.  After I got the internal version and the newer software, I never
had to call again.  I think there may have been a few small problems with
the original software not being as responsive.  The second version seems to
need only one try to get software copied.  The conversation with Jim was
rather strange:  I remember getting off the phone and feeling helped but
almost insulted by his attitude.  Everything worked after the calls, so I
guess it all went well.

	The only other time I have tried to talk to Mr. Drew was when I
decided to write this review.  I asked if there was a more up-to-date piece
of software.  I never did get a response, so I can't tell you if any of my
suggestions have been implemented.  I understand he is probably a little
busy with EMPLANT [another U.U. product], but still he should support
previous customers.

WARRANTY

	Unknown.

CONCLUSIONS

	This product does what it claims to do, and does it quite well.  I
would recommend it for the people that still buy copy-protected software.
If I had to give it a rating I would say 4 out of 5.  It needs a user
interface to be a 5.

---

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