_____________________________________________________________________________ ST-REPORT #11 November 7, 1987 _____________________________________________________________________________ Published/Edited by: Ron Kovacs Assistants: Susan Perry, Ken Kirchner (c)1987 Syndicate Services/Rovac _____________________________________________________________________________ ZMAG BBS (201) 968-8148 300/1200 24hrs _____________________________________________________________________________ ST INDEX #11 _____________________________________________________________________________ <*> Software Assistance.........................................Mike Schuster <*> Atari Comdex Press Release <*> Antic Comdex Report <*> ST Software at Comdex <*> Hayes 1200 Modification.....................................Frank Walters <*> Brain Surgery for the ST.......................................Mike Brown <*> Using Atari CP/M Emulator <*> DeArcing with a SS Drive <*> DC AtariFest Report............................................John Ruley ============================================================================= =Software Assistance= ===================== Making Old Software Work with the New ROMS ------------------------------------------ 520/1040 ST owners who install the new (4/87) 'blit' roms in their machines, and buyers of Mega ST's may be rudely awakened to the fact that some older software will not run properly. (XL/XE owners please note that strange feeling of deja vu). Copy-protection routines of some games fall apart because of differences in the way TOS returns CRC errors on disk reads now. I shall not deal with those here. Rather I wish to share my experiences in troubleshooting a common, and more easily remedied problem: illegal use of system storage locations. During the early ST development period Atari released a list of system variables whose locations were to be 'cast in stone' - guaranteed not to move in any future version of TOS. These locations range from $400 to $512 and Atari's promise does indeed seem to have been kept. However, as before (this is where the XL parallel comes in) programmers insisted on using unsupported system storage locations (including the range from $840 to $A0FF) to do things more quickly or using more compact code. As warned, however, these have all been moved. In searching through memory and trying to make some sense out of all this mess, it appeared to me that there a block of system storage locations $46 bytes long, which been inserted somewhere between $840 and $93E. (hmmm.. can we say "blitter", boys and girls?) The result is that the original locations of many storage locations past this point have been shifted $46 bytes upwards. How does this help us? If we can get some idea of what a program is doing when it bombs under the new ROMS, we can look to see if this is occurring because of the use of a storage location that has been moved, and zap the program with a sector editor. Of course if one has the source code for a program they can simply edit it and recompile. Some examples: ============== The source code for Twister clearly indicates he use of the floppy control blocks to keep track of disk drive status. If you run Twister under the new ROMS, it returns an error as soon as the disk drive tries to step. Aha!! Solution: Search for $0A06 and change to $0A4C; search for $0A0A and change to $0A50. These occur ONCE EACH in both Twister and the Meg-A-Minute hard disk backup program. The same applies to those programs which change the drive B step rate for those using external 5.25" drives. See below for details. K-Switch, Nite, and older versions of GFA-Basic look at the system location kb_shift to read the control, alternate and shift keys (INSTEAD of using the legal BIOS 11 call). Since these programs all have features activated by combinations of these keys, they will not work as written under the new ROMs. Solution: search for $E1B and replace with $E61. Warnings! 1:Zapping of commercial programs may be a violation of copyright. You must be sure of whether you are within your legal rights to modify any program before attempting to do so. 2:Programs so zapped MAY NOT RUN UNDER THE OLD ROMS. It only makes sense that if you replace illegal locations with newer illegal locations, the program is now ever MORE illegal! PUTTING THIS ALL TO USE ======================= There follows a list of the system storage areas mentioned above. They also happen to be the ones most commonly abused. Following each is MY ESTIMATION of where they have been moved to. For those not on the list, within this region you can simply try adding $46 to the old value. Use this information with care,and ONLY ON A BACKUP COPY OF YOUR SOFTWARE. I cannot be responsible for ANYTHING which results from use of the information herein! Be sure that what you are zapping is really a memory location and not data, text, or opcodes which happen to match the byte pattern of the number you are searching for. Often a memory location will appear in long form when assembled (e.g. 00000XXX) and that can be a clue that it's not text or data. If it doesn't work, make another copy of the original, and look for another zap point. Good luck! OLD LOCATION NEW LOCATION DESCRIPTION ============ ============ =========== $A06 (word) $A4C (word) floppy #0 current track $A08 (word) $A4E (word) floppy #0 seek rate $A0A (word) $A50 (word) floppy #1 current track $A0C (word) $A52 (word) floppy #1 seek rate $E1B (byte) $E61 (byte) keyboard shift status ============================================================================= I am maintaining an ever-increasing list of these. I would appreciate any new data or applications for this type of information. FIRST PRIZE to the kind soul who can re-write STARTGEM to run under the new OS. I can be reached at: Michael Schuster CompuServe: [70346,1745] GEnie, Delphi, MCI Mail: MSCHUSTER Usenet: schuster@dasys1.UUCP The Night Shift BBS: (718) 816-7792 ============================================================================= =Atari Comdex Press Release= ============================ PRESS RELEASE: OVERVIEW OF COMDEX 1987 ATARI BOOTH First uploaded to GEnie 11/2/87 CONNECTIVITY, SOLUTIONS, AND TECHNOLOGY: ATARI ANNOUNCES NEW PRODUCTS AT COMDEX (Las Vegas, NV -- Comdex Fall 87)... In a series of major product introductions, Atari Corporation emerges as a maker of a complete line of high-performance, low-cost solutions for the business world. New technology is showcased by Abaq, an ultra-high-performance workstation with blazing speed and dazzling graphics. The Abaq, based on a sophisticated "transputer" chip, runs more than 10 times faster than a PC/AT technology and more than 5 times faster than the 68020 with math processor. The parallel processing capability of Abaq lets a single system multiply its processing power by adding extra transputer chips. Atari unveiled its new CD player capable of reading CD-ROM disks and of playing musical CD disks. The CD-ROM is supported by a Mega and ST-compatible DMA interface, and will retail in early 1988 for under $600. Atari's connectivity answer is a LAN which is compatible with the NETBIOS standard used by IBM and Novell. It communicates data at 1 megabits-per- second to PC's and over 250K bits-per-second over Appletalk. Atari is planning to manufacture "PromiseLAN" adapters for the Mega, ST, and PC computer lines. The Atari Mega computers are showcased with a variety of solid business solutions. Desktop publishing is represented by both the Atari SLM804 Laser Printer and by G.O. Graphics, who are porting their Deskset program (CompuGraphics compatible) which Atari will market. Word Perfect is displaying the recently shipped Word Perfect ST and Atari is displaying Microsoft Write. A group of vendors are appealing to VARs with vertical packages running under the IDRIS multi-user multi-tasking operating system. Several new high-end CAD packages are on display including Foresight's Drafix 1. Atari expanded its PC-compatible offerings by adding two new models, the PC2 (PC XT compatible) and PC4 (PC AT compatible), both with EGA graphics, high clock speeds, and low price tags. A variation of the PC3 will operate in VGA graphics mode as well. The PC2 and PC4 will be offered with 3.5" or 5.25" floppy disks and with hard disks. These new models join the PC1, which at $799 is a basic 512K PC XT compatible, suitable for use as a LAN workstation and for stand-alone personal computing. The PC2 includes XT-compatible slots, while the PC4's slots are PC AT compatible. "We offer complete systems for the office," said Atari president Sam Tramiel. "I can see Atari Mega computers with laser printers as desktop publishing stations exchanging data with a satellite group of PC1's as LAN stations. An entire office environment can be created. The PC, the Macintosh, and the Atari computers co-exist. Each can do the things they do best." ============================================================================= =Antic Comdex Reports= ====================== ANTIC PUBLISHING INC., COPYRIGHT 1987 REPRINTED BY PERMISSION ATARI MEANS BUSINESS - A REPORT FROM THE 1988 COMDEX By Anita Malnig, START Editor Las Vegas, November 2, 1987 -- Atari intends to give the likes of Sun Microsystems and Apollo Computers a run for the money with Abaq (the root word for abacus), the new transputer- based workstation that the company is showing here. By using RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture, the workstation will operate at 10 MIPS (million instructions per second). The latest graphics hardware and the IMS T-800 -- the Inmos Company's 32-bit microprocessor -- combine to form affordable, powerful personal workstations. A single transputer can deliver over ten times the power of an IBM PC AT. However, there's even greater strength in numbers. You can connect two, 10, 100 or even MORE transputers to create a relatively low-cost computer workstation with the power of a supercomputer. (Talk is that the price will be in the $5000 range.) When attached to a transputer, the ST or Mega acts as the input/output device for the system. Transputers can be linked via a built-in high-speed serial port to form a multiprocessor array or a local area network. Helios, the Unix-like operating system, was developed by the Perihelion Company in Great Britain, as was the transputer board itself. The Helios operating system encourages the use of many small programs which work together to create a final product. Shiraz Shivji, Atari's vice president of research and development, expects that the transputer will be used primarily in engineering and science applications. Included with Abaq will be a very high resolution monitor, capable of four graphics modes: 1280 X 960 in 16 colors or monochrome; 1024 X 768 in 256 colors; 640 X 480 in 256 colors with two screens; and 512 X 480 in 16 million colors plus overlay. No firm delivery date is set, but late 1988 seems to be the most talked-about time frame. From a first-hand view, the crisp, vibrant graphics (such as four separate pictures running simultaneously) were drawing crushing crowds. CD-ROM FOR ATARI The exciting CD-ROM player introduced at Comdex can read up to 540 megabytes of data or play music. It connects to Atari's ST and Mega computers through the DMA (direct memory access) channel, a communications port that transmits data at up to 10 million bits per second. At 540Mb, the player can store more data than 1,000 floppy disks or 200,000 printed pages. Demonstrated at the show is an English and French visual dictionary from Facts on File. It is categorized by topics such as transportation and food: click on the transportation theme and choose from an array of topics such as ferrys, container ships, airport terminals and so on -- all items illustrated. Speech output identifies each image in French and English. Grolier's Encyclopedia also runs on this CD-ROM, as do audio CDs. Atari has a task force at work now developing more products for this player, which will be available at computer specialty dealers and retail outlets in February, 1988, at a suggested retail price of $599. DO ATARI DESKTOP PUBLISHING G.O. Graphics, in conjunction with Atari, will bring to market a sophisticated desktop publishing program called Deskset. This works as a front end to the CompuGraphics typesetting equipment, offering the use of 1,800 fonts. This is not just a desktop publishing program for four-page newsletters and the like:it could design entire publications such as Antic and START. It will output to such laser printers as the striking Atari laser printer, also being demonstrated with Deskset. Deskset, which works only on a Mega, will work within the GEM environment and offers all the standard features of the most sophisticated desktop publishing programs -- features such as character compensation, kerning, columns, boxes, rules and the ability to merge text and graphics. Look for this product mid- to late 1988. AND. . . ATARI PCS The Atari PC1, introduced earlier this year, can be used as a local area network workstation or as a standalone personal computer. It runs at a top speed of 8 Mhz, with a software switch to set the clock speed to 4.77 when needed. The PC1 works with any CGA, MDA, EGA or multi-frequency monitor. Maximum color screen resolution is 640 X 350. The PC1 has a 64-color palette, with a maximum of 16 on the screen at a time. It is expected to retail at $800. New to the Atari PC family is the PC2, a dual-speed XT compatible with five slots and hard-disk support. The PC4 is an 80286 microprocessor-based IBM PC/AT compatible machine. It has clock speeds of either 8 or 12 Mhz, VGA- compatible video, four AT-style expansion slots, up to one megabyte of system RAM and is ready for an 80287 numeric coprocessor. Additionally, Atari is announcing "Moses PromiseLAN," a local area network that can connect up to 17 PCs using off-the-shelf telephone wire. They will also be developing Moses PromiseLAN adaptors for its Mega and ST computers. Thus, the Mega and Atari laser printer will be able to share data with PCs and Apple Macintoshes. ============================================================================= =ST Software at Comdex= ======================= ANTIC PUBLISHING INC., COPYRIGHT 1987 REPRINTED BY PERMISSION. ST SOFTWARE SHINES AT COMDEX: Multi-user, Multitasking on the Mega By Anita Malnig, START Editor Las Vegas, November 3 -- At the very crowded Atari press conference at the Desert Inn on Monday, November 1, Atari announced its entrance into the serious business market with an array of multi-user, multitasking products. The Atari booth itself was crowded with exciting products, interested spectators and busy software personnel. Here's a run-down of what we saw at the Atari booth. MULTI-USER, MULTITASKING Along with high-quality third-party developers, Atari will offer multiuser, multitasking and serious vertical applications on the Mega using a Unix-like operating system called Idris (developed by Whitesmiths Ltd.). The company, Computer Tools, was and still is instrumental in finding companies whose programs can be ported over from the Unix environment to Idris and porting those programs. Jefferson Software is now releasing a version of their Modula-2 Development System for the Mega to run under Idris, offering a powerful language to complement the multi-user, multitasking operating system. American Network's Cash Register Plus, the first of the multiuser, multitasking applications, is a point-of-sale program that lets you store and search up to 3,000 items. It supports a Star 8340 printer -- small to print out receipts -- and an actual cash drawer. It includes a customer and inventory database and backs up all information to disk. It can support four terminals with all cables attached to the Mega. This is expected to be on sale mid-January 1988 for about $700 for all the components. During your inventory search, you may want to do some word processing. There are several word processors to choose from in this Idris environment. From the Tigera Corporation comes Word Era, a feature-rich, high-performance word processing package on single- and multiuser systems. It has a Wang-compatible interface and document conversion capabilities. Word Era has the features of leading word processing software and more, including a window environment, voice recognition and voice annotation. It can also set up menus in French, German, Italian and Spanish, and supports a four-user system. Available during the first quarter of 1988, the multiuser price begins at $895. Another word processor is CrystalWriter Plus from Syntactics, providing a library of model documents for frequently used formats such as letters, memos and reports. An organization can define its own "style sheet" for documents. The program has "plain English" commands and can be useful for writers, editors, secretaries, managers and engineers. Also ported from the Unix world is Lex, a combined word processor and database, from Trajectory Software. Its indexed file structure lets you retrieve the 10,000th record as quickly as the first. You can design your own forms and screen layouts, create short and more extensive glossary items, and do list processing and mail merges. It also comes with a built-in calculator which you can use concurrently as you write or edit. Also available is Lexet, which lets you interface the word processor and database with laser printers. Atari Corp. is handling the networking capabilities through an agreement with Network Research Corp. With FUSION, Network Software will give the Atari Mega a complete set of TCP/IP protocols and allocations which have been tested for compliance with DDN/DARPA Internet Protocol specifications. MORE DESKTOP PUBLISHING From Timeworks comes the Timeworks Desktop Publisher ST. Retailing for $129.95 this GEM-based program will offer WYSIWYG display, over 1,200 possible type-style combinations, ability to import graphics, and laser printer compatibility. Desktop Publisher ST will be available in the first quarter of 1988. Soft Logik Corp. announced a new version of its desktop publishing program, Publishing Partner Professional. New features include automatic textflow around graphic images, automatic hyphenation and kerning, the ability to import documents from other word processors such as WordPerfect, First Word and Word Writer, more fonts and font manipulation. It will retail for $149.95. From ISD Marketing comes Calamus, a page-layout and typesetting application. It allows outline fonts and vector graphics that until now could only be processed by expensive Postscript laser printers. Calamus uses these features on both the printer and screen. The screen output can be enlarged up to laser printer resolution. The program offers a spelling checker and hyphenated dictionary, object-oriented graphics, chart forms, and font editors using Bezier curves for designing or changing fonts. Calamus for the Mega will be available in December 1987 for $349.95. MichTron offers GFA Publisher, a GEM-controlled program with full-featured text editor, automatic text flow and paging, expandable font library and an integrated driver for PostScript. From Migraph comes the supercharged Easy Draw. And Supercharger, a companion product to Easy Draw, makes it easy to load graphics from popular paint programs. While not a desktop publishing program, these two combined products let you create newsletters, reports, brochures, etc. You can work with ASCII files, have justified and non-justified text, use onscreen grids and rulers and output to the Atari laser printer. LET'S EMULATE Turn your ST into a Mac with The Magic Sac Professional from Data Pacific. The Professional consists of three products: The Magic Sac Plus, the Translator One and the Magic Epson Printer Driver. The Translator One allows the existing Atari disk drive to read and write Apple Macintosh disks and convert data between Mac, ST and IBM PC diskette formats. The Professional is shipping this month with a suggested retail price of $449.95. Typical Mac programs you can run are Macpaint, Macdraw, Excel and Pagemaker. PC-Ditto is a software-only utility which taps the power of your Atari ST to imitate an IBM PC XT. Programs you can run include Lotus 1-2-3, Enable, Sidekick, Framework and Symphony. WORD PROCESSING -- ALIVE AND WELL WordPerfect for the ST is out and is called by some the Cadillac of word processors. In addition to a built-in thesaurus and spell-checker, the program has math functions and can create indexes,and tables of contents. There are also macros, merge functions and onscreen columns. The product is shipping now for about $395 list. From Microsoft comes the long-awaited Write, marketed by Atari Corp. It handles complex business reports as well as memos and letters. It has all the standard text generation, editing and formatting features such as cut-and- paste, creating footnotes, automatic pagination, different font styles and sizes, and it works in conjunction with the Atari Laser printer. MORE CAD PROGRAMS Drafix, from Foresight Resources, is now on the market and drawing critical acclaim. It's identical to the 1.00 IBM PC version, supports pen plotters, and runs on color and monochrome Atari monitors. Coming soon from Migraph is M/CADD, a professional engineering graphics design system for the Atari Mega. M/CADD outputs directly to HPGL-compatible plotters and saves in GEM format for output on 9- and 24-pin dot-matrix printers. M/CADD files can be loaded into Migraph's Easy Draw, and you can add more text and either bit-mapped or object-oriented graphics. Suggested price is $499. M/CADD should ship the end of November. With MichTron's Master CAD, you can produce object in 2-D and 3-D using its exclusive concepts of Projection Planes. It uses pull-down menus, dialog boxes, mouse and very few keyboard commands. Expect to see this in early 1988. DESKTOP VIDEO From Antic Software in conjunction with Sony comes a desktop video package. Sony's low-cost 8mm video hardware and Antic's video sequencer software create professional-quality 3-D computer-graphics videotapes of up to two hours. The Antic software controls nine functions of the Sony VCR, then adds its own special visual effects such as fades and auto assemble/editing. The 8mm video sequencing software (including custom parallel cables) will be available in January 1988 from Antic Software. The Sony video equipment is available from Sony. MORE GRAPHIC FUN From Neriki Computer Graphics PTY Ltd. in Australia comes the ZImagemaster, software with a hardware box to attach to your ST. Hooking up the Polaroid Palette can output DEGAS pictures as Polaroid pictures, And you can hook up a 35mm camera to the Palette. The package yields overhead transparencies and printouts. It will retail for $400. Antic Software is also showing Spectrum 512, its 512-color paint program, which expands the ST's normally limited palette of 16 colors to 512. Spectrum 512 can load and enhance pictures from existing ST software as well as from Amiga picture files. Available now for $69.95. Animation comes from Antic Software as well with Cyber Paint, also $69.95. It emulates the functions of a $100,000 Quantel Paintbox -- but for computer graphics instead of live video. Cyber Paint is a member of the Cyber family of desktop video products. Its many features include smooth raster tweening along any 3-D path, professional optic effects with planar rotations through 3-D space, and moviola-style cut-and-paste. MORE BUSINESS BITS The Informer from Regent Software is a multi-table database with presentation graphics. Easy-to-use point and click functions let you create and manipulate up to four databases at once. You can import graphics from DEGAS and NEOchrome... From SBT comes the Database Accounting Library, menu-driven with options to confirm, change or cancel entries... Hi-Tech Advisors announces Super Sales Pro, a full-featured point-of-sale inventory control software system for the ST. It will accommodate medium- to larger-sized wholesale, retail or mail order businesses. The company will provide free technical support... From Progressive Peripherals comes Superbase Personal, a relational database, and the Logistik time/project management system... B.E.S.T Inc. offers B.E.S.T. Business Management, an integrated accounting system offering general ledger. Available now, suggested retail price is $395... ISD Marketing, which brings you the well-known VIP, now has the MasterPlan financial spreadsheet featuring the GEM environment with pull-down menus, icons, scroll bars and column grabbers. It offers graphics features as well. Also from ISD is an update to STAccounts, the integrated accounting package... From Royal Software comes additional low-cost business programs such as Help Calc, templates for their E-A Calc and VIP. Coming soon will be Inventory Master for $99.95. MIDI Hybrid Arts was showing ADAP and ADAP 2, the digital editing system. ADAP 2 works directly with a hard disk. Also just released is Easy Score, Hybrid Arts' new scoring program. NEW HARD DRIVE In mid-December ICD will ship its new 100 megabyte hard disk for $1,699. ======================================= =Hayes Modem Modification= ========================== by Frank Walters SysOp, T.A.C.O. Bell Panama City, FL Hayes 1200 Problem When attempting to set up an Oasis BBS system, a fellow sysop contacted me to see if we could figure out a problem it had with recognition of connect and disconnect. Here is what we found out. He has a 'new' model Hayes 1200, while I have the 'old' model of the same modem. The new model has 10 dips, while the old model has 8. That's how we tell them apart, especially if you only have one. After talking with the technical representative at Hayes, it turns out there was an undocumented change in how the 1200 baud model handles DSR (data set ready). Since most terminal/BBS software uses the DSR signal as part of the STATUS check, it is critical for proper operation that you understand what you are getting. The 'old' model, like most modems, sets DSR high at carrier detect. Actually, the Hayes has a jumper between pin #6 (DSR) and pin #8 (CRX) so that when it sets CRX high, it automatically sets DSR high. The STATUS call will send a value of 8 to address 747 (decimal) for CRX high and 128 for DSR for a total increase of 136 in address 747. Most software depends on this higher value to determine 'connect' after dialing, or (for BBS software) to determine that a caller has connected. The 'new' model (10 dip switches) of the Hayes 1200 changed the jumper to pins #6 (DSR) and #5 (CTS), the latter normally not even connected by cable to the 850 interface. However, when the modem sets Clear to Send high, it is BEFORE carrier detect, and since it is directly connected to DSR, it also sets DSR high before connect, resulting in a false connect signal to the software. How do you get the 'new' modem to act like the 'old' model? 1) Modify the modem. Nobody wants to mess with the modem warranty or screw that up. 2) Modify the software. Most people don't know how to do that at all, and you would have to change every program you use anyway. 3) Modify the cable. This appears to be the best solution. Here is how we did just that: Disconnect the wire at pin #6 on the RS-232C end. Disconnect the same wire (also pin #6) at the 9-pin D plug for the 850 or P:R: Connection. This will insure that the false DSR will not be sent from the modem. Then to simulate DSR at connect, solder a jumper wire at the 9-pin D plug (850 interface end) between pin #6 (DSR) and pin #2 (CRX). Now when Carrier Detect is set high, it also sets DSR high. This cable will work with the older models too. Here is a diagram of the new cable: 850 (9 pin/D-male) RS-232C (25 pin) __________________ ________________ #1 DTR >------------------> DTR #20 ++#2 CRX <------------------< CRX #8 + #3 SEND DATA >-------> REC DATA #3 + #4 REC DATA <-------< SEND DATA #2 + #5 SIGNAL GND ------ SIGNAL GND #7 ++#6 DSR <--/(disconnect)/--< DSR #6 #7 RTS (not used) CTS #5 #8 CTS <-------< HI SPEED INDIC #12 #9 (not used) ++NOTE: Jumper between pins 2-6 so that DSR is set high whenever CRX is set high by the modem. NOTE: #8 CTS to #12 HI SPEED INDICATOR is only for auto answer with some BBS software for baud recognition but otherwise not required. Avatex modems do not have #12. Some BBS software depends on the RING INDICATOR to force the program to send an ATA to the modem. In this case you can use #8 CTS to #22 RING INDICATOR instead of the 8-12 as shown. Call Hayes Microcomputer Products at 1-800-241-6492 for further information. [ED. Frank, Thanks for the article. I am sure it will interest a few of our readers. Also, thank you for writing it!] ============================================================================= =Brain Surgery for the ST= ========================== by Mike Brown This article attempts to let you in on some of the trials and pitfalls associated with "Do it yourself" memory upgrades for the 520ST. This is not a step-by-step "how to do it" article, nor is it a strict product review. Think of it as my opinion on what is viewed by some as an attractive alternative to a new computer. The memory upgrade kit that I am referring to is made by Diverse Data Products, I would give you the address, but I understand that the company has recently moved. The new phone number is 201-780-2019, if you feel like giving them a call. The reason that I became involved with this "surgery" (although I do not, as yet, own an ST) is because the owner became frustrated trying to install the upgrade herself, and asked for help. This was the second upgrade kit that was put in this computer from the same company. The first kit caused erratic memory failures, and may have damaged the original computer, although we have never been able to trace the true cause of the unexplained failure. Suffice it to say, that to the individual that is not technically inclined, these memory upgrades are NOT recommended. There is definitely some skill and creativity required to make them fly. Also, as the instructions note in BIG LETTERS, This upgrade does void your Atari warranty from the factory. Diverse does warranty the product for 90 days due to failures in workmanship. I hope you don't have a failure, as the company was not too responsive to our requests for replacement/credit/etc. What you get for your bux; For the going price of $149.99 (add $20 for the so-called "solderless" version) you get the one-piece memory "daughterboard", a small coil of rosin core solder, and a 4 page (photocopied) instruction manual. It is recommended that (to do a good job) you have the following materials available: Medium Phillips Head Screwdriver, Medium Flat Head Screwdriver, Needle Nose Pliers, Low wattage fine point soldering Iron, Duct tape, cardboard scraps, wire cutters, sheet metal shears or hobby tool and last but not least, a cheap IC puller from Radio Shack (or wherever). For the most part, the instructions cover the disassembly of the computer and the installation of the upgrade board in reasonable detail. I wish that some of the Photographs were a bit clearer, and that the drawings of the underside of the system (mother) board were a bit more detailed. I recommend that you READ and UNDERSTAND all of the instructions before beginning work! The big problems with this upgrade are as follows: 1> If you want to maintain the metal RF shield over the video shifter chip and related circuitry, you must cut away about a one square inch area in the upper left hand corner of the shield so that the wiring from the video shifter "piggyback" socket can make it back to the daughterboard. I would definitely urge you to cover any raw metal edges with duct tape before re-assembly. 2> I don't know why it is this way, but the legs on the previously mentioned "piggyback" socket are about twice the length that they can be. I cut about 1/8" off of them with my wire cutters, and got a much better all-around fit. 3> The IC clip that goes over U30 definitely requires that you remove the two capacitors on either side (C41 and C39) in order to get reliable contact. The instructions mention this, but it should be stressed that it is best to de-solder the Capacitors instead of just clipping the wires. Also, even under the best of circumstances, this clip sits rather loose. I bent the connectors "in" a bit and secured the whole assembly with small strips of duct tape to add reliability. 4> The photographs and instructions seem to assume that you have an ST without the RF modulator attachment. Anyone who attempts this mod to a recent model ST (this one was fairly new) will have to get creative with the wiring routing from the video shifter to the memory board itself. 5> Because of continued problems with the prongs on the bottom of the memory board either putting pressure on the "glue" chip, or shorting, I ended up clipping flush all of the protruding socket and component ends on the bottom lower part of the daughter board. As an added precaution, I taped thin cardboard (any sturdy insulating material would work OK) to the whole bottom side of the memory board with the good 'ol duct tape. 6> Even with all of these precautions, I still could not crank the external case screws down all the way tight without getting unreliable operation. To get around this, I bent the outside RF shield away from the area where the memory board sits, and "bubbled" the shield about where the ribbon cable connects over U30. I also found that the RF modulator moves the memory board out enough that you probably will want to trim the center plastic case attachment "rib" about an inch or so (down to the round part itself) for better clearance. I am not sure if it is necessary, but I felt better after running the trusty duct tape strip from the back edge of the lower half of the ST case and the back edge of the memory board. It seemed to hold things in place a bit better and the memory board "floated" a lot less during re-assembly. For the same reason I put small strips of tape to secure the 3 wires that get soldered to the bottom of the system board on the MMU socket pins. By the way, the instructions fuzzily describe a modification to the wiring that can be made to REV E or higher system boards (The one I was working with was REV H). I tried it and couldn't get it to work; Save yourself some frustration, ignore the section that describes this option. So how much more "usable" memory can you expect after getting things squared away? The instructions claim about 740,000 free bytes in ST basic, a memory check accessory I ran showed over 820,000 bytes free (TOS in ROM) and comparisons with VIP Professional, showed a mere 53,000 bytes free before upgrade, and a more usable 600,000+ bytes after upgrade. As to if this is a good thing for the average person to invest in, I would have to say "no". I think that it is a bit too "messy" for the average person to get running without possibly doing some damage. If you are an adventurer, you might want to consider it, but for the difference in price, the 1040ST looks like a better deal to me. ============================================================================= =Using Atari CP/M Emulator= =========================== (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. ============================================================================= SETTING UP AND USING THE ATARI CP/M EMULATOR Before you can use the Atari CP/M 2.2 Emulator system, you'll have to do a little preparation of the disks you'll be using, since CP/M uses a different disk format from the normal TOS formatted disks. First of all, FORMAT several SINGLE-SIDED disks (CP/M only recognizes SS disks!) Then UnARC the CPM.ARC file using the normal ARC.TTP program. This will create a disk filled with various files, most of which are CP/M files which will NOT run for now. Click on MAKE_CPM.TOS and follow the prompts when it says to insert one of your blank, formatted disks. When the program is finished, you will have a CP/M formatted disk with 2 important CP/M utilities on it. It is important to understand that there are 2 *different* environments at work here. When you want to use the CP/M Emulator, you will need at least 2 disks, one normal ST disk with the program CPMZ80.TOS on it (the actual CP/M Emulator which runs in your ST), and one or more CP/M formatted disks. When you want to run CP/M, you FIRST put the ST disk in, and click on CPMZ80.TOS. Then when prompted, remove the ST disk and put in a CP/M disk. From then on, you are effectively using a Z80 CPU machine, with 64K of memory. You CANNOT use the GEM Desktop for directories or formatting new disks once you are in CP/M. If you need to format another disk, you must type EXIT, and go back to the normal ST environment. When first setting up your CP/M Emulator system, there's some busywork you have to go through to transfer the CP/M utilities and programs that you UnARCed along with the main CPMZ80.TOS program. While you're still in GEM, open a directory window on the disk containing all the files that came out of the CPM.ARC file. WRITE DOWN the filenames of all that have a .COM extender. These are the ones you'll want to transfer to a CP/M disk, but once you're in CP/M, you CANNOT look at a TOS directory. Then click on CPMZ80.TOS to go into CP/M. When prompted, insert the disk you created with MAKE_CPM.TOS. You should see the CP/M prompt, A: (If you have 2 disk drives, this will go much faster. If you have only one disk drive, condolences to your patience and sanity.) Now type TOSCPM What that means is that you're going to transfer files from your ST formatted disk to a CP/M formatted disk. If you have 2 drives for example, put your CP/M disk in A: and your TOS disk with the CP/M files on it into B: then type (for instance), TOSCPM B:NULU.COM A:NULU.COM This will transfer the program to the CP/M disk (note that you don't have to type everything in Uppercase... that's just for clarity here). If you have only one drive, type TOSCPM A:NULU.COM A:NULU.COM Unfortunately, this utility does NOT allow you to use 'wildcards' to get it all over with easily. You have to type the full command and filename set for EACH file you want to transfer. If you EVER wanted an object lesson on how much easier GEM is to work with than a 'command line' setup, this is IT! Once you use TOSCPM to transfer all the .COM files to your CP/M disk, you're ready to use your new CP/M emulator. The only use you'll have now for the normal ST TOS disk will be to run the CPMZ80.TOS Emulator itself. The other utility that was created by the MAKE_CPM.TOS process way back in the beginning is INITDSK.COM which is used to convert a new formatted disk to a CP/M formatted disk. Whenever you need a new disk, format it normally from GEM (remember, Single Sided only!), then once you are in CP/M, type at the A: prompt INITDSK and follow the prompts to change disks. A few observations... There is an excellent CP/M terminal program available on the CP/M Roundtable here on GEnie, called MEXST.COM. If you decide to use this, be sure to also get the MEX.HLP file, and perhaps the MEXCMDS file which will help you get the most out of the program. This will allow you to download CP/M files and programs directly to your CP/M formatted disks. However, what might actually be easier for occasional use, is to download CP/M programs to a normal ST disk using your regular ST terminal program, then transfer them to the CP/M disk off-line using the TOSCPM.COM utility, as you did above with the CP/M utilities. You'll find many of the CP/M files in the GEnie CP/M Roundtable have been SQUeezed, or LiBRaried, or BOTH... to restore these programs, you'll have to download copies of LU310.COM and USQ120.COM from the CP/M Roundtable, and run them under CP/M. (I encountered a 'bug' when running LU310 to 'deLiBRary' some CP/M files, where when I tried to exit from the program, I got an 'Emulator Error' and was bounced back to the GEM Desktop. I finally managed to avoid this by OPENING a new LBR file with 0 sectors. LU doesn't like this, and errors out back to the A: prompt without crashing to GEM. If you don't understand what that means, don't worry about it, re-loading CP/M isn't all that bad) One other thing, files with a .ASM (or .AQM for the SQUeezed version) are the SOURCE CODE files for the Z80 assembler, in case you want to take a look at how the program works, or want to re-assemble it. Since the Atari CP/M Emulator doesn't COME with an assembler, you might want to avoid 'deLiBRarying' these .ASM files and cluttering up your Single Sided disks. DO be sure to read all the .DOC files though! Unfortunately, MANY, MANY of the programs in the GEnie CP/M Roundtable are written in Microsoft BASIC (usually called MBASIC in the CP/M RT). Microsoft BASIC is NOT Public Domain, and right now is NOT available for the ST (as far as I know, it's not available on a 3 1/2 inch CP/M disk)... SO... unless you already own a copy of Microsoft BASIC for a different computer, and can somehow transfer it to an ST CP/M disk, you CAN'T use ANY of these MBASIC programs that are available!! Don't waste you time downloading them in other words! There ARE a couple of BASICs available in the CP/M RT, but so far, I haven't had time to work with them and see if they are at all compatible with MBASIC. This should get you up and running with CP/M on your ST. For help in actually USING CP/M, be sure to drop into the GEnie CP/M Roundtable. They have an Atari Category especially for users of the Atari ST CP/M Emulator, and will be happy to answer all your questions! If you find any good CP/M programs on local 'RCPM' BBSs, please upload them to the CP/M RT, as they can be shared by ALL users of CP/M...! Questions about getting the CP/M Emulator running on your Atari ST can of course be answered on the GEnie ST Roundtable! ============================================================================= =How to DeArc Files= ==================== HOW TO 'DE-ARC' ARCHIVED FILES WITH ONLY ONE SINGLE-SIDED DISK DRIVE 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. ============================================================================= While using the ARC utility to join and squeeze related files into one easy to download file can be a great advantage, it also can create some VERY large files on your disk. Many of the ARChived files we have available on the Atari ST Roundtable were created by members who are using Double-Sided Disk Drives, and thus the final files may be large enough to cause problems for SS drive owners. The following method of 'UN-ARCing' files onto a Single Sided disk drive has been successfully tried with two of the large ARC file groups in our Library, namely, BUBBLES.ARC and XMASDEMO.ARC The greatest problem encountered so far is the inability to re-direct the OUTPUT of the process onto a different disk from the one the ARChived file resides on. Thus your disk must have enough room free for BOTH the ARChived version, AND the final, normal versions of the files. In many cases, this is not possible. The answer to the dilemma is that is is possible to re-direct the INPUT of the 'de-ARCing' process, that is, to take the input from somewhere else. Here is the step-by-step process for the two large ARChives that were tried, others should follow the same general procedure. Note that it MAY be possible that some ARChived groups just cannot be done at all, on a Single-Sided drive. We'll try to indicate on the descriptions, any that are uploaded to us which Single Sided drive owners should not try to download. First of all, turn off your computer. On a 512K 520ST, you'll need all the RAM you can get. Then boot up, using a disk with NO DESK ACCESSORIES on it! This is important, again to save memory, and because ARC does not seem to like sharing the computer with anything else...! Next, install a RAMDISK in memory. I use the one called FASTRAM.TTP...If you use that one, install it like this: Click on its Icon or Filename. A dialogue box will appear... type in: d250 (this indicates you want the RamDisk to be drive d:, and want it to be approximately 250K... this should handle most of the ARChived files we will have... if it is bigger than 250K, indicate a larger number in the dialogue box... much bigger though, and it probably won't fit on a SS disk when 'un-ARCed') The disk drive will spin and you should see a message that a Ram Disk of 250K has been installed. Then the screen should go back to the desktop. Click ONCE on the Disk Drive A icon (so it turns black), then go to the OPTIONS menu on the desktop, and click on INSTALL DISK DRIVE. A dialogue box will open... press the ESC key to erase the Disk Drive Identification Letter (it will say A right now), then type in D (do NOT press RETURN here!).. move down and click on the button marked INSTALL in the dialogue box. A NEW Disk Drive Icon will appear just to the right of the existing ones on the desktop. If you have any windows open, you may have to close them, or move them out of the way to see it. You can then drag the new Icon into line with the other Disk Drive icons. Your Ram Disk is now installed... Now, put the disk containing the ARChived file which you have downloaded from GEnie, into your disk drive, and copy the file into the Ram Disk. Next, take a BLANK, FORMATTED disk, and copy the program, ARCX.TTP onto the new disk. (ARCX.TTP is a special version of ARC.TTP, used only for 'De-ARCing' files... it is about half the size of the regular ARC, and can be obtained as part of the ARChive called ARC.ARC, in the Atari ST Roundtable Software Library. At this point, you should have the ARCed file you want to 'De-ARC' in a RamDisk called Disk Drive d:, and a new blank disk with only the program ARCX.TTP on it, in your floppy disk drive. Open the Disk Drive Directory window for Drive A, and click on ARCX.TTP. A dialogue box will appear. Type in: d:\XMASDEMO.ARC then press RETURN. (of course, substitute the filename of the ARCed file you are processing. For example, you would use: d:\BUBBLES.ARC for the Shiney Bubbles demo..) Your disk drive should start up, and the regular ARC messages should begin appearing on your screen as the 'De-ARChiving' process proceeds. When the process is complete, the program will return to the desktop. You can then DELETE the ARCX.TTP file from your disk, and you should have a running version of the ARCed file. The RamDisk will still be in memory, taking up space, so the new disk may not run, so the best way to remove the Ram Disk is to simply turn off the computer and re-boot it. NOTE: The Shiney Bubbles Demo is SOOOOooo big, that it takes a little more work to get 'De-ARCed' properly. The 'De-ARCing' process will halt with an error message: Write fail (disk full?) because there isn't enough room to finish the process with the ARCX.TTP utility still on the disk. However, the HUGE data file will be intact. To finish the process, DELETE the partial file SB.PRG, and ARCX.TTP from your disk. Then remove the disk, and copy the program ARC.TTP from a floppy disk onto the RamDisk, Drive d... Open the Directory Window for Drive D, and click on ARC.TTP... a dialogue window will open.. now type:xh BUBBLES.ARC SB.PRG Note the spaces between the filenames. This will 'De-ARC' only the SB.PRG file from the ARC file, INTO THE RAMDISK! Once the process is finished, replace the disk with the Bubbles Demo files in your disk drive, and copy the file SB.PRG onto the disk from the RamDisk. THAT should give you a running copy of the Shiney Bubbles Demo, on a Single Sided disk. It's a long process, but just think of all the money you've saved on downloading connect time charges... money you can put towards a Double Sided Drive! ============================================================================= =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 laid 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. _____________________________________________________________________________ ST-Report #11 November 7, 1987 Next issue November 21, 1987 (c)1987 Syndicate Services/Rovac _____________________________________________________________________________