1001 lines
29 KiB
Plaintext
1001 lines
29 KiB
Plaintext
______________________________________
|
|
ZMAGAZINE 77 October 30, 1987
|
|
Atari News & Information (c)1987 Rovac
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Editor/Publisher; Ron Kovacs
|
|
Assistants; Ken Kirchner & Susan Perry
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx INDEX 77
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
<*> Correction Notice from Issue #75
|
|
<*> Atari News Update....Neil Harris
|
|
<*> Zmag Technique.......Mr. Goodprobe
|
|
<*> ARCX Help............From GEnie
|
|
<*> DC AtariFest Report
|
|
<*> 1050 Disk Drive Fix
|
|
<*> SpartaDos Modification
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx CORRECTION NOTICE
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Errata for 850 Modification Article,
|
|
from Zmag 75...
|
|
|
|
Several errors in my original article
|
|
have shown up and I think it best I
|
|
correct these ASAP...
|
|
|
|
First of all, the XE series DOES use
|
|
the trigger input from joystick port
|
|
four. It is now used as part of the
|
|
cartridge interlock circuitry,
|
|
however. The text should have
|
|
mentioned that the XE series doesn't
|
|
use the trigger input from joystick
|
|
port THREE, not four.
|
|
|
|
Change all occurences of -53265- (and
|
|
-D011-) to -53266- (and -D012-). The
|
|
article is NOT accurate using location
|
|
53265.
|
|
|
|
Note that these changes DO NOT mean
|
|
modifying the hardware, if you've
|
|
already started in on these mods. You
|
|
only need to modify the software that
|
|
you might write for these
|
|
modifications, relative to the changes
|
|
I have just mentioned.
|
|
|
|
Sorry for the inconvenience...
|
|
|
|
Mike Davis
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Paid Advertisement
|
|
|
|
Your Source for Sales and Service!
|
|
Flat rate repairs on all Atari 8 bit!
|
|
Quick turn-around on ST repairs!
|
|
We also do flat rate repair on 8 bit
|
|
Commodore equipment, and also can fix
|
|
your Amiga or Apple computers!
|
|
We also offer service contracts on all
|
|
computers, call for rates today!
|
|
Be sure to take advantage of our flat
|
|
rate repair on VCR's, Video Cameras,
|
|
and Camcorders---->$99(covers all
|
|
parts and labor except heads and
|
|
Nuvicon)
|
|
Midtown TV------>27 Midway Plaza
|
|
Tallmadge, Ohio 44278 (216)633-0997
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx ATARI UPDATE
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
The following is a letter sent as a
|
|
reply. Written by Neil Harris and used
|
|
here as an Atari Update News Report.
|
|
|
|
September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
CompUtah
|
|
c/o A.C.E. of Salt Lake City
|
|
P.O. Box 26664
|
|
Salt Lake City, UT 84126-0664
|
|
|
|
Dear Editor:
|
|
|
|
In the editorial of your September
|
|
issue, you take exception with my
|
|
statement concerning the Atari XE Game
|
|
System. Since the statement was a
|
|
brief one, I'd like this opportunity
|
|
to give you a clearer idea of Atari's
|
|
position on this system and why it
|
|
should be a good thing for 8-bit
|
|
computer owners.
|
|
|
|
At the time of the formation of the
|
|
new Atari Corporation in the summer of
|
|
1984, the 8-bit line was not faring
|
|
too well in the mass merchants. It
|
|
seems that the computers were
|
|
neglected during the last year or so
|
|
of Atari Inc. The largest companies
|
|
selling the computers, such as Sears
|
|
and K-Mart, had taken the position
|
|
that the 8-bit Atari computers were
|
|
dead, and they proceeded to close out
|
|
their inventories of computers,
|
|
peripherals, and software at below-
|
|
cost prices.
|
|
|
|
Compounding the situation was the set
|
|
of records that were inherited by the
|
|
new company. According to our books,
|
|
many of the big accounts owed us
|
|
millions of dollars for products
|
|
shipped. According to their records,
|
|
though, Atari owed them millions for
|
|
product returned. When two companies
|
|
have many millions of dollars in
|
|
discrepancies on the books, it is very
|
|
difficult to do business together. In
|
|
fact, the K-Mart account was finally
|
|
settled this past summer, fully three
|
|
years after the new company was
|
|
formed.
|
|
|
|
So we have the situation where the
|
|
product lines were closed out at a
|
|
loss, and the stores have the attitude
|
|
that these products are old and dead.
|
|
In some cases, the buyers at the
|
|
stores were fired due to the losses
|
|
they took at the end of the home
|
|
computer era. These were not just due
|
|
to Atari -- none of the mass merchants
|
|
sell -home computers- any more; K-Mart
|
|
does not (although a few isolated
|
|
stores buy some Commodores from
|
|
distributors), J.C. Penneys does not,
|
|
Montgomery Wards does not, and Sears
|
|
sells only business computers.
|
|
|
|
At the current time, Atari U.S. has a
|
|
substantial supply of 8-bit computers
|
|
in stock. Very substantial. We have
|
|
every motivation to sell 8-bit
|
|
computers. At times we've been
|
|
accused of trying to kill the line.
|
|
Why would we want to? Because many of
|
|
us came from Commodore, where we
|
|
competed fiercely with Atari? Most of
|
|
us had substantial respect for the
|
|
Atari computers as competitors (as
|
|
opposed to, say, Texas Instruments and
|
|
Radio Shack). Personally, I have a
|
|
fair amount of experience in Atari
|
|
home computers dating back to before I
|
|
joined Commodore -- check out
|
|
Compute's First Book of Atari for one
|
|
of the articles I wrote for them long
|
|
ago.
|
|
|
|
Despite our interest in selling
|
|
8-bits, they don't sell. During the
|
|
past three years we've tried
|
|
advertising, without success. We've
|
|
released more new 8-bit products than
|
|
anyone -- DOS 2.5, the XEP80, the
|
|
SX212, AtariWriter Plus, Atari
|
|
Planetarium, Silent Butler, Music
|
|
Painter, Star Raiders II, etc. Not to
|
|
mention the 65XE and 130XE computers.
|
|
We are frustrated.
|
|
|
|
Stores don't want to carry the
|
|
products. We even offered to let them
|
|
have the machines without paying for
|
|
them until they sell! If you know
|
|
anything about Jack Tramiel, this
|
|
isn't something he likes to do. But
|
|
stores value their shelf space, and
|
|
buyers value their jobs, and we had
|
|
little success.
|
|
|
|
On the other hand, there's the video
|
|
game business. We fully expected
|
|
video games to be a dead issue upon
|
|
joining Atari. After all, everyone
|
|
knew the video game business was dead.
|
|
At Commodore, we thought we'd killed
|
|
it! But, we were surprised when the
|
|
existing inventory of about a million
|
|
2600 systems sold during the first
|
|
year of the new Atari Corporation,
|
|
without any advertising and with
|
|
little effort. As a kind of
|
|
experiment, we built another million
|
|
machines and sold them during the next
|
|
year. -Aha,- we said to ourselves.
|
|
-Doesn't look like a dead business to
|
|
us!-
|
|
|
|
So we went forward with the 7800
|
|
system, for which parts were already
|
|
available, and lo! and behold, we sold
|
|
|
|
all we could make of them last year
|
|
also.
|
|
|
|
Now Nintendo and Sega have jumped in
|
|
with high-end, $150 game systems.
|
|
Nintendo in particular is doing very
|
|
well indeed. They don't sell as many
|
|
of these as we sell, but they sell for
|
|
more money. So Atari took a hard look
|
|
at the marketplace and determined that
|
|
we should do a $150 system as well.
|
|
|
|
Examining the products, it seems that
|
|
Nintendo has decent graphics, a light
|
|
gun, not much of a joystick... and a
|
|
robot. What does the robot do? Well,
|
|
it photographs very well in their
|
|
commercials, but really it doesn't do
|
|
anything to help in playing games.
|
|
|
|
For the same $150, we can provide the
|
|
consumer with a game system, light
|
|
gun, three pieces of software -- and a
|
|
computer-style keyboard. While not as
|
|
dramatic looking, I'm sure all
|
|
computer users know that some games
|
|
just can't be played with a joystick
|
|
alone. Flight Simulator II, which
|
|
comes with our XE Game System, needs
|
|
the keyboard. So do adventure games
|
|
and most other strategy games.
|
|
|
|
We can't get stores to carry the 8-bit
|
|
computers. They won't even sell the
|
|
software to their existing customers
|
|
-- for a while software companies had
|
|
to put the 8-bit programs on the back
|
|
of the C64 disk to get shelf space at
|
|
all! But when we showed the XE Game
|
|
System to the buyers, they were
|
|
totally enthusiastic.
|
|
|
|
This is truly marketing in action.
|
|
|
|
We have something like 50 cartridges
|
|
in inventory from the old days, and
|
|
are feverishly working on converting
|
|
disk games to cartridge. With some
|
|
clever programming, we can now get
|
|
256K of ROM on a cartridge, instead of
|
|
the 16K in the old games. That's how
|
|
we got Flight Simulator II *plus* a
|
|
scenery disk onto a single cartridge.
|
|
There is nothing different about the
|
|
XE Game System to make this work --
|
|
existing 8-bit computer owners can use
|
|
the very same cartridges.
|
|
|
|
So what does this mean to you? In the
|
|
beginning, all it will mean is that
|
|
more games will be coming in 8-bit
|
|
Atari format. But, what we hope is
|
|
that this will be the springboard to
|
|
revitalizing the 8-bit Atari computer
|
|
line. Once the XE Game Systems start
|
|
selling (and they have just begin
|
|
arriving in stores this past week), we
|
|
have a potential market of hundreds of
|
|
thousands of consumers. At this time
|
|
Commodore is selling around 300,000
|
|
C64's annually. With a market this
|
|
size, the motivation for software
|
|
developers to bring out new titles in
|
|
our format is enormous.
|
|
|
|
Remember, the XE Game System is
|
|
totally compatible with your 8-bit
|
|
computers. Once the customer takes
|
|
the XE Game System home, they discover
|
|
in the manual that the system includes
|
|
the Atari BASIC language and that
|
|
there is an SIO port for computer
|
|
peripherals. We expect that people
|
|
who may have been frightened of
|
|
computers, or leery of spending the
|
|
money on a computer with a drive
|
|
($400+) initially, may very well
|
|
upgrade to a fuller system. And we
|
|
hope that they will then demand the
|
|
kind of software that we need to see
|
|
developed -- serious applications
|
|
software.
|
|
|
|
While this is happening, we continue
|
|
to sell the 8-bit computers. Contrary
|
|
to some published reports, we cannot
|
|
simply remove the motherboard from the
|
|
65XE's and put them in the Game
|
|
Systems. It's a different board. So,
|
|
we still have the large inventory of
|
|
computers. And we expect that smart
|
|
Atari dealers will use the advertising
|
|
campaign for XE Game Systems and sell
|
|
the computers as a compatible
|
|
alternative. -Why,- they might ask a
|
|
customer, -should you spend $150 when
|
|
you can buy the system ala carte, with
|
|
a computer for $99 in a more compact
|
|
case and then buy whatever software
|
|
you want?-
|
|
|
|
Lets all hope this works. Atari has
|
|
tried just about everything in our
|
|
power to keep the 8-bit computer line
|
|
going. This is probably our best
|
|
shot.
|
|
|
|
One last fact -- for our customers in
|
|
areas where there are Federated
|
|
stores, Jack Tramiel has said that
|
|
these stores will carry a full line of
|
|
Atari 8-bit computers. So
|
|
availability should be a whole lot
|
|
better in California, Texas, Arizona,
|
|
and Kansas.
|
|
|
|
Thanks for giving me the time to
|
|
explain in much more detail than I can
|
|
online. We've been through some tough
|
|
times together. Please try to keep
|
|
the faith and bear with us just a
|
|
little longer while we get the 8-bit
|
|
situation straightened out.
|
|
|
|
Best regards,
|
|
|
|
Neil Harris
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx ZMAG TECHNIQUE
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Those Were The Good Old Days
|
|
|
|
by Mr. Goodprobe
|
|
|
|
Ah, remember when you could go down
|
|
the boardwalk and smell the nuts
|
|
roasting in the little shops, bikini's
|
|
were the most eye-catching thing
|
|
around beside mini-skirts, and
|
|
skateboards had metal wheels? Some of
|
|
the things from then I dearly miss,
|
|
and others not at all! Those killer
|
|
metal wheels on skateboards quickly
|
|
disposed of several pairs of jeans in
|
|
my teenage years, and accounted for
|
|
numerous shredded elbows, knees and
|
|
jackets!
|
|
|
|
The Atari 800 had one of the finest
|
|
keyboards available on the home
|
|
computer market, and the entire unit
|
|
was designed with longevity in mind.
|
|
One nice touch the 800 possesed which
|
|
was eliminated with the advent of the
|
|
XL series was the internal speaker. I
|
|
can remember a game I used to enjoy on
|
|
the 800 whose name escapes me at the
|
|
moment. The general idea was to spray
|
|
the garden with bug spray to rid your
|
|
plot of pesky bugs that would flutter
|
|
about and devour your veggies. As the
|
|
bugs appeared on the screen, from the
|
|
internal speaker would arise such a
|
|
clatter that you would really have to
|
|
stop as it sounded for all the world
|
|
that they were ACTUALLY inside your
|
|
beloved computer...it was an uneasy
|
|
feeling to be sure! Now, just because
|
|
you upgraded to an XL/XE doesn't mean
|
|
you have to do without this feature
|
|
any longer! This will be one of the
|
|
simpler projects you will undertake,
|
|
but its rewards for the installer will
|
|
far exceed the effort expended. This
|
|
article will cover the version I
|
|
whipped together for the 800xl, and
|
|
next issue we will share the version
|
|
for the 130xe with you.
|
|
|
|
Parts you will need:
|
|
|
|
1. Diode: Part # ECG 177
|
|
2. Transistor: Part # ECG 123AP
|
|
3. Capacitor: .001 @ 50v
|
|
4. Resistors: 1k 1/2 watt
|
|
100 ohm 1/2 watt
|
|
5. Speaker: 8 ohm 1/2 or 1 watt
|
|
variety (The smaller the physical
|
|
size the better)
|
|
6. Small hook-up wire
|
|
|
|
Construction:
|
|
|
|
Dissemble your 800XL, remove keyboard,
|
|
metal shield, and screws and place
|
|
these items safely aside. You will not
|
|
need to remove the PC board from the
|
|
bottom of the case.
|
|
|
|
1. Attach wire to bottom side of
|
|
C23. This capacitor can be easily
|
|
located by first looking directly
|
|
between the RF modulator and the
|
|
cartridge slot on the right. find the
|
|
middle ground between these 2 points,
|
|
then mentally draw a line 3 inches
|
|
long back toward yourself from this
|
|
point and you see C23. Just above and
|
|
to the right of this part is a small
|
|
electrolytic standing on end. Found
|
|
it? Good!
|
|
|
|
2. At the other end of the wire
|
|
attach your 1k 1/2 watt
|
|
resistor.
|
|
|
|
3. The neatest way to build this
|
|
project is to build a large portion of
|
|
the needed circuitry right onto the
|
|
speaker itself.
|
|
|
|
Using the lead placement chart solder
|
|
the collector of your ECG 123AP
|
|
transistor to one of the lugs on the
|
|
speaker.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
\ * * * /
|
|
\ E B C /
|
|
\ /
|
|
\------------------/
|
|
|
|
(Bottom view with pins facing toward
|
|
you)
|
|
|
|
4. Grasp your ECG 177 diode, and
|
|
connect the end which DOES NOT have
|
|
the band on it to the same lug on the
|
|
speaker as you connected the collector
|
|
of the transistor to.
|
|
|
|
5. Connect the front (banded) end
|
|
of the diode to the other lug of the
|
|
speaker.
|
|
|
|
6. Connect the 100 ohm resistor to
|
|
lug of the speaker with the banded end
|
|
of the diode.
|
|
|
|
7. Connect the .001 capacitor to
|
|
the base of the transistor.
|
|
|
|
8. Connect the free end of the 1k
|
|
resistor to the base of the
|
|
transistor.
|
|
|
|
9. Locate the small 8 pin IC.
|
|
notice the small dot on the bottom
|
|
left corner. This is pin 1. Count over
|
|
to pin 4, this is the point we will
|
|
use for ground. Connect a wire here.
|
|
|
|
10. Connect the other end of this
|
|
wire to the following parts:
|
|
|
|
A: The free end of the .001 capacitor
|
|
B: The emitter lead of the transistor
|
|
|
|
11. Locate C14. This capacitor is
|
|
located directly to the left of the
|
|
modulator. The top of this cap is our
|
|
5v source. Solder a lead to this
|
|
point.
|
|
|
|
12. Connect the free end of this
|
|
lead to the free end of your 100 ohm
|
|
resistor.
|
|
|
|
All that remains to be done is locate
|
|
a spot to mount the speaker inside of
|
|
the cabinet of your XL. The smaller
|
|
the physical size of the speaker you
|
|
have chosen, the easier your task for
|
|
finding the needed space will be.
|
|
|
|
Also, it might be wise to use
|
|
electrical tape to insulate all
|
|
exposed wire leads of your add-on to
|
|
avoid any future problems.
|
|
|
|
Keep those Atari's hummin'!
|
|
Mr. Goodprobe
|
|
(on lend from)
|
|
Midtown TV
|
|
Atari 8/16 Sales/Repair
|
|
(216) 633-0997
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx ARCX HELP
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
(C) 1987 by Atari Corporation, GEnie,
|
|
and the Atari ST Roundtable. May be
|
|
reprinted only with this notice
|
|
intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie
|
|
are *official* information services of
|
|
Atari Corporation.
|
|
|
|
To sign up for GEnie service, call
|
|
(with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon
|
|
connection type HHH (no RETURN after
|
|
that). Wait for the U#= prompt.
|
|
Type XJM11877,GEnie and hit RETURN.
|
|
The system will prompt you for your
|
|
information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
HELP for using ARCX v1.2 <file #1908>
|
|
|
|
This is a short -How to...- on the use
|
|
of ARCX version 1.2 as found in the
|
|
GEnie 8 bit Atari RoundTable. This
|
|
file is broken into two parts:
|
|
|
|
1> loading ARCX
|
|
2> running ARCX.
|
|
|
|
Since there are few differences in
|
|
ARCX v1.1 and ARCX v1.2, we will refer
|
|
only to ARCX. It is strongly
|
|
recommended that you download ARCX
|
|
v1.2 as it is about 30% faster than
|
|
v1.1 and will therefore save you some
|
|
time off line when recovering files.
|
|
|
|
ARCX is the program that you will need
|
|
to be able to recover and use all of
|
|
the files in the Atari RoundTable that
|
|
are stored in the ARC format. See the
|
|
file ARC.HLP for more info on the
|
|
creation of an ARC'd file.
|
|
|
|
LOADING ARCX
|
|
************
|
|
To load ARCX, place a disk with your
|
|
DOS file(s) on it in D1: and turn on
|
|
the computer. BE SURE TO HAVE ALL
|
|
CARTRIDGES REMOVED AND ON XL/XE
|
|
MACHINES, HOLD DOWN THE -OPTION- KEY
|
|
TO TURN OFF BASIC. ARCX is known to
|
|
work with Atari DOS 2.0 & 2.5,
|
|
SpartaDOS <all versions>, and MYDOS
|
|
4.0 and up. ARCX ** WILL NOT **
|
|
work with SMARTDOS.
|
|
|
|
Once to the DOS menu, you may set up
|
|
your RAMdisk, copy files to the
|
|
RAMdisk, etc.. It is recommended that
|
|
you have a freshly formatted disk
|
|
ready to receive the recovered files,
|
|
so you might also want to format a
|
|
disk now.
|
|
|
|
Now place the disk with the file
|
|
ARCX.COM on it in the drive and do a
|
|
binary load of the file. From Atari
|
|
DOS, this is option 'L' and the file
|
|
name to load is ARCX.COM.
|
|
|
|
From SpartaDOS, just type ARCX
|
|
<RETURN>. ARCX will load into the
|
|
computer and be ready to run.
|
|
|
|
Note that ARCX will work with all
|
|
Atari 8 bit computers with at least
|
|
48K of RAM and one disk drive.
|
|
|
|
RUNNING ARCX
|
|
************
|
|
The first line of the ARCX menu will
|
|
prompt you for a file name. If the
|
|
file to be unARC'd has the extender of
|
|
.ARC <as it should>, you need only
|
|
type in the file name and not the
|
|
extender. <ie to recover TEST.ARC,
|
|
you need only type TEST> If the file
|
|
to be recovered is in any drive other
|
|
than D1:, you will need to give the
|
|
device as part of the file name. <ie
|
|
from a RAMdisk as D8, you would type
|
|
D8:TEST> You may also see a directory
|
|
of a disk by pressing the '+' key.
|
|
|
|
NOTE:
|
|
|
|
ARCX does not allow the use of wild
|
|
cards, so you must enter the complete
|
|
file name.
|
|
|
|
Once you enter the file name to be
|
|
recovered and hit <RETURN>, ARCX will
|
|
ask for a destination drive. This is
|
|
just a number from 1 to 8. There must
|
|
be an active drive that is ready to
|
|
receive the recovered file(s). If you
|
|
want to send the recovered file(s) to
|
|
D2:, put your formated disk in D2:,
|
|
and press '2'.
|
|
|
|
The last option that you will see is
|
|
if you want the screen turned off or
|
|
not while ARCX is working. Pressing
|
|
the 'N' key leaves the screen on and
|
|
pressing 'Y' turns it off.
|
|
|
|
Unless you are just curious, it is
|
|
recommended that you turn the screen
|
|
off <answer 'Y'> because ARCX is about
|
|
25-30% faster with the screen off than
|
|
with it on. Once you press the 'Y' or
|
|
'N' key, ARCX will proceed to read the
|
|
source file and write to the
|
|
destination drive.
|
|
|
|
POSSIBLE PROBLEMS
|
|
*****************
|
|
At the very start of the ARCX process,
|
|
you may get several different I/O
|
|
errors. I have found that most of
|
|
these are because of the failure to
|
|
give a valid file name. If this
|
|
happens, make sure that you have given
|
|
the COMPLETE file name with NO
|
|
wildcards. As a matter of habit, I
|
|
also enter the .ARC extender as part
|
|
of the file name. Also make sure that
|
|
the destination disk is freshly
|
|
formated and is not write protected.
|
|
|
|
If ARCX fails to do anything when you
|
|
load it, MAKE SURE THAT BASIC IS OFF/
|
|
REMOVED. ARCX will lock up if BASIC
|
|
is on.
|
|
|
|
While ARCX is working, you may
|
|
sometimes hear a high pitched beep. If
|
|
the screen is on, you will also see
|
|
the note -filename.ext Fails CRC
|
|
Check-. This means that ARCX has
|
|
encountered a file in the ARC'd file
|
|
that for some reason does not match
|
|
the original source file. This DOES
|
|
NOT mean that the file is bad! This
|
|
often happens on text files and is due
|
|
to the block padding that most Xmodem
|
|
file transfer systems do. If you get
|
|
a CRC error, try to run the recovered
|
|
programs. Odds are, they will
|
|
probably run with no problems. If you
|
|
do find that they will not run, use
|
|
ARCX to recover the *.ARC file again
|
|
and see if the error occurs again. If
|
|
you have more problems, please leave
|
|
E-Mail to one of the Atari RT SysOps
|
|
with the file name/number, and a full
|
|
description of the problem.
|
|
|
|
You may get a disk full error if you
|
|
are using only one drive. ARCX
|
|
supports the use of a RAMdisk and it
|
|
is recommended that you use the
|
|
RAMdisk if you can. If you have only
|
|
one drive and no RAMdisk, you will be
|
|
limited as to the size of the file
|
|
that you can recover since both the
|
|
source *.ARC file and the recovered
|
|
file(s) must all fit on the same disk.
|
|
As a rough guess, the *.ARC file
|
|
should take up no more than 30% of the
|
|
total disk space.
|
|
|
|
Many people have left me mail saying
|
|
that ARCX has -Locked up- when in
|
|
reality, it was doing just what it
|
|
should be. This apparent lock up is
|
|
because ARCX is fairly slow and does
|
|
little disk access, so not much seems
|
|
to be going on. As a rule of thumb,
|
|
allow ARCX 1 minute for every 5K of
|
|
*.ARC file size. <5K=40 SD sectors=20
|
|
DD sectors> This way, you won't be
|
|
expecting ARCX to just zip right
|
|
through.
|
|
|
|
Hopefully, this will answer many of
|
|
your questions about how to use ARCX
|
|
to recover the files here in the Atari
|
|
8 bit RT. If you should have a
|
|
specific question, please feel free to
|
|
drop E-Mail to one of the SysOps, and
|
|
we'll be glad to help in any way we
|
|
can.
|
|
|
|
...Marty...MARTY.A
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx DC ATARIFEST REPORT
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
by John Ruley
|
|
|
|
Show Report: DC Atarifest, 24-25
|
|
October 1987
|
|
|
|
I just got back from this show, which
|
|
was held in one of the largest high
|
|
schools I've ever seen. Lot's of
|
|
activity!
|
|
|
|
ATARI was showing its laser printer...
|
|
and - the PC! Yes, it really DOES
|
|
exist (and looks quite nice,
|
|
actually).
|
|
|
|
ANTIC had no booth, but their
|
|
Cybermate and Spectrum 512 products
|
|
were there, and moving nicely. The
|
|
pictures, particularly some of the
|
|
Voyager probe shots of Jupiter and its
|
|
moons, are really something to see!
|
|
|
|
Lots of Megas were at the show - we
|
|
counted at least 6, but I think the
|
|
only ones with Blitters were ours and
|
|
Atari's. Dunno if they are shipping
|
|
to regular customers yet, but it's
|
|
obvious that they've got the
|
|
production problems fixed.
|
|
|
|
SEYMOR-RADIX's IMG Scan, which looks
|
|
and acts like Thunderscan on the Mac,
|
|
but costs $99 and works with ANY
|
|
printer; was in evidence and running
|
|
VERY nicely - we picked up a copy
|
|
which I've been playing with for the
|
|
last few days.
|
|
|
|
ZAPHODYNE's (blush) revised (version
|
|
2.1 - 1.9.9 owners can get a FREE
|
|
upgrade) version of the new VTX commo
|
|
package for the ST was doing quite
|
|
nicely, with full Ymodem and Kermit
|
|
support (including server), and a
|
|
silly script demo called the -Poor
|
|
Man's BBS- set up to allow spectators
|
|
to control the ST from a dumb
|
|
terminal. We also announced our
|
|
VTX-132 package, which adds 132
|
|
column and double width/height text to
|
|
the VT-100 emulator (available in 2
|
|
weeks).
|
|
|
|
DATA PACIFIC was showing a new,
|
|
improved 'SAC which takes full
|
|
advantage of the Mega's extra memory -
|
|
VERY nice! AND... they finally got
|
|
the conversion unit done so that you
|
|
can use original Mac format disks. If
|
|
I was Apple, I'd be worried!
|
|
|
|
New Publications (at least I've never
|
|
seen 'em before): RESET and ST-World.
|
|
Both looked layed out pretty well,
|
|
professionally printed jobs with some
|
|
pretty nice articles.
|
|
|
|
Spent an hour with Dave Ahl of Atari
|
|
Explorer - they seem to be on track
|
|
and going places - the latest issue
|
|
looks awfully nice. Dave told me that
|
|
they hope to go monthly next year.
|
|
|
|
Overall, a darn nice show, and BUSY -
|
|
the place was mobbed when it opened
|
|
both days, and stayed that way until
|
|
it closed. Next time, to heck with
|
|
appearance - I'll wear tennis shoes.
|
|
My feet STILL hurt!
|
|
|
|
John Ruley (jruley)
|
|
Zaphodyne Inc.
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx 1050 DISK DRIVE FIX
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
This text file will (hopefully) tell
|
|
to how to fix your 1050 drive ONLY if
|
|
the following conditions are true.
|
|
|
|
#1 The drive reads disc files okay.
|
|
|
|
#2 The speed of the drive is correct.
|
|
Their are Utilities in DL3 that you
|
|
may use to check the speed. Just
|
|
BRO/KEY SPEED.
|
|
|
|
#3 The drive refuses to format when
|
|
given the command and either formats
|
|
the first two tracks or none at all
|
|
and then just spins. Sometimes it will
|
|
return an error #139.
|
|
|
|
#4 It refuses to write and when given
|
|
the command,just gives an error# 139.
|
|
|
|
These are the problems that I had with
|
|
my US doubler 1050. If you have the
|
|
same EXACT problem, this fix MAY work
|
|
for you also. CAUTION! If you are not
|
|
hsay what it may do to yours. Still
|
|
game? Okay,here we go.
|
|
|
|
You will need a pair of needle nosed
|
|
pliers, a phillips screwdriver, and a
|
|
switch (I used a cheap Radio Shack
|
|
pushbutton, less than $3.00). Also,
|
|
about 10 inches of wire. I used a
|
|
piece of small gauge speaker wire. And
|
|
a low wattage soldering iron (25 watts
|
|
will do).
|
|
|
|
First, unplug your drive and turn your
|
|
drive over and unscrew the four
|
|
recessed screws that hold the top
|
|
down. You should'nt have to remove the
|
|
front two that hold on the face
|
|
plate. Now turn the drive right side
|
|
up. Lifting from the rear, remove the
|
|
top. Be VERY careful not to disturb
|
|
anything! On the left rear of the
|
|
printed circuit there are four brown
|
|
plugs that are marked (on the board)
|
|
from front to rear as J11, J12, J1,
|
|
J10 and J14. The one we want is J11,
|
|
the closest one to the drive motor.
|
|
Take a magic marker and mark the front
|
|
of the plug, this will make it easy to
|
|
know which side is the front. The two
|
|
wires we want are the north pair of
|
|
the four (when you're in front of the
|
|
drive). In other words, of the four
|
|
wires in plug J11, we want the first
|
|
two, closest to the drive motor. Once
|
|
it's marked, CAREFULLY remove the plug
|
|
with a pair of needle nosed pliers.
|
|
|
|
Carefully remove the some of the
|
|
insulation from our two target wires.
|
|
Take a small piece of wire and connect
|
|
the two wires together. Tape them to
|
|
prevent a them from shorting out
|
|
against antthing. This is only
|
|
temporary, as first we will test the
|
|
fix to see if it works.
|
|
|
|
Replace J11 (using the magic marker
|
|
mark as thefront) and without
|
|
replaceing the top, plug up your drive
|
|
as usual. Load your dos. Using a blank
|
|
disc, attempt to format. IF when the
|
|
first two wires of J11 are connected
|
|
together, the drive formats and writes
|
|
then we are on the way! If the drive
|
|
still refuses to format or write, then
|
|
undo the jumper that you made on J11,
|
|
tape the two bare spots on the two
|
|
wires and replace J11.
|
|
|
|
Replace the cover and send the drive
|
|
out to be fixed. If the drive now
|
|
formats and writes, then on we go!
|
|
|
|
Unplug the drive and go back to J11.
|
|
If everything is working now, we have
|
|
to wire up a switch because connecting
|
|
the two wires of J11 together over
|
|
rides the write protect of the drive.
|
|
You can now write to ANY disc, whether
|
|
it has a notch, write protect tab, or
|
|
no notch at all. So, we have to put in
|
|
a switch so that we can go from the
|
|
old NO format, no write condition to
|
|
ALL format, all write condition.
|
|
|
|
Remember those extra write protect
|
|
tabs that you had? Put them on ALL
|
|
your discs! Just in case the sensor
|
|
starts working again and formats or
|
|
writes when you least expect it. All
|
|
you people that use both sides of a
|
|
disc (a bad practice I'M told), will
|
|
now be able to format or write to side
|
|
two without making a notch. On to the
|
|
finish...
|
|
|
|
Remove J11 again and remove the jumper
|
|
wire that connected the first two
|
|
wires. What we want to do is solder a
|
|
length of wire to each of the two
|
|
wires (the bared portions). Once
|
|
you've done this, tape each wire well
|
|
and replace J11 on the board. (use
|
|
your mark for front!). Each wire
|
|
should now be separate with a length
|
|
of wire coming from it.
|
|
|
|
Now solder a wire to each of the two
|
|
terminals of your switch. (first
|
|
decide where you're going to mount
|
|
it, I mounted my pushbutton on the
|
|
lower sloping portion of the face
|
|
plate). Without replacing the cover,
|
|
plug your drive in and test it once
|
|
again for format and write. If it
|
|
does'nt write or format the first time
|
|
then push the switch to the other
|
|
position. It should now work. If it
|
|
worked the first time, it should work
|
|
now. If not, go over your work. Maybe
|
|
you did'nt make one of the connections
|
|
properly.
|
|
|
|
If using a pushbutton switch, in
|
|
should allow the drive to function as
|
|
it should and out should restore it to
|
|
it's former no write condition.
|
|
|
|
Now mount your switch, (keep the wires
|
|
away from the drive mech.) and replace
|
|
your cover. As to WHY this works or
|
|
what happened to break your drive in
|
|
the first place, well sorry I don't
|
|
know. I do know that it worked for me
|
|
and I'm hopeful that this $3.00 fix
|
|
works for you.
|
|
|
|
Wpiii
|
|
(Willie Pelzer 3rd ppn# 73247,206)
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Xx SPARTADOS HELP
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
How many times have you wished you
|
|
could call a binary file AUTORUN.SYS
|
|
and have SpartaDOS load it automaticly
|
|
for you but the program will not run
|
|
with the key board buffer installed.
|
|
Until now the only way was to use a
|
|
startup.bat file to do a key off then
|
|
load the program.
|
|
|
|
Well I got tired of it and discovered
|
|
that you can search the X32D.DOS file
|
|
for three bytes and change them and
|
|
the default on boot up will be the key
|
|
board buffer off. Just get out the
|
|
SpartaDOS Tool Kit and load the Diskrx
|
|
sector editor. Search for these three
|
|
bytes. 20 DB FF. Change them to EA EA
|
|
EA. Thats all there is to it. I also
|
|
changed the ver. number to X32k.DOS so
|
|
I would know that it was the one with
|
|
the default K.B. off. I think this
|
|
makes a great dos even better.
|
|
|
|
If you don't have Diskrx then format a
|
|
disk with AINIT. Copy X32D.DOS to it.
|
|
|
|
Load up what ever sector editor you
|
|
have and go to sector 106. Now change
|
|
the bytes 20 DB FF to EA EA EA.
|
|
|
|
Gerald Cox
|
|
______________________________________
|
|
Zmagazine Issue #77 October 30, 1987
|
|
Please contribute!!
|
|
!!!!!!Happy Halloween!!!!!!!
|
|
|
|
Please Vote November 3, 1987
|
|
______________________________________
|