ST REPORT WEEKLY ONLINE MAGAZINE Monday, April 25, 1988 Vol I No 32 ======= SPC P.O. BOX 74 Middlesex, N.J. 08846-0074 Editor: Ron Kovacs Technical Editor Product Review Editor W. K. Whitton T. "Rex" Reade CONTENTS ======== * Editors Desk * Symmetry Review * Destroying The Hard Disk Myth..T Reade * Red October Review * Delphi Sign-up Offer * NeoDesk Press Release * Public Domain Shelf ...Alice Amore * Garbage On The Line * NEC Multisync II to Atari ST * Letter To The Editor * Contest Rules and Details * STR/ZMag BBS Listing ======================================================================== Serving you on: Genie - Delphi - Comp-u-serve ======================================================================== Support BBS Systems: (201)968-8148 (216)784-0574 (904)786-4176 ======================================================================== From The Editors Desk.... This weeks issue contains the contest rules. If you are a BBS sysop which carries ST-Report online, Please post the contest on your system. We have many great prizes with more still being procurred. Prize and judge information will be listed here next week. I have included a pre-release of the BBS Listing. There are still many systems who have not registered. Please take a look and if your system is on the list, you will then be able to find your registration number. If your system isn't included, please let us know. This Thursday at 9pm, CompuServe will be sponsering another Word Perfect conference. It will be in the Atari16 Conference area. Please pass the word and attend! While you are on CompuServe, Check out Data Library 14, this has been designated the ST-Report Data Library. In this DL you will find every issue of ST-Report, reprint and support files. If you are also a ZMag fan, check out the Atari8 area on both CompuServe and GEnie. We have expanded to all three major services, If you want to send us feedback, commentary, opposing points of view, or just looking for some assistance, you can find us there. Here are our addresses: CompuServe 71777,2140 GEnie ST-REPORT or R.KOVACS or REX.READE Delphi REXREADE or RONKOVACS or MRGOODPROBE The Source BDG793 Syndicate BBS (201) 968-8148 We wish to send congratulations to David and Sandy Small on the birth of their new child from the staff of ST-Report and ZMagazine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- DESTROYING THE HARD DISK MYTH ----------------------------- by TOM "REX" READE To begin, 99% of all hard disks are made to conform to IBM standards. With this thought in mind we shall proceed......... The most readily available and in my opinion, the most reliable hard disk is from Seagate......next in line is the Miniscribe. There are others but you must make sure they conform to the IBM standard. IBM STANDARD: ST-506/ST-412 --------------------------- Most commonly found hard drives do not have controllers built in. These are the most reliable and economical drives to use. WHAT IS THE CONTROLLER??? ========================= This goodie is the custodian of your hard disk! It directs all I/O functions to the hard disk and it points to and accesses each cylinder. It "controls" everything. FACTS FOR REFERENCE ------------------- ST 412 DRIVES WITH MFM ENCODING 5.0 MEGABITS/SEC. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- DATA ST 125 ST138 ST225 ST251 ST251-1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SIZE f'm'd 21 32 21 42 42 # HEADS 4 6 4 6 6 CYL's 615 615 615 820 820 STEP RATE uS 3-200 3-200 5-200 3-200 3-200 AC'S TIME mSEC 28 28 65 40 28 WRITE PRE'C N/A N/A 300/614 N/A N/A POWER watts 10 10 14.8 11 12 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ST4038 ST4051 ST4053 ST4096 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SIZE f'm'd 31 42 44 80 # HEADS 5 5 5 9 CYL'S 733 977 1024 1024 STEP RATE uS 10-70 10-70 3-70 3-70 AC'S TIME mSEC 40 40 28 28 WRITE PRE'C 300-732 N/A N/A N/A POWER watts 25.5 25.5 23 25.5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ST 412 INTERFACE DRIVES WITH RLL ENCODING 7.5 MEGABITS/SEC ------------------------------------------------------------------------- DATA ST138R ST157R ST238R ST251R ST277R ST4141R ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SIZE f'm't 32 49 31 43 65 122 # HEADS 4 6 4 4 6 9 CYL'S 615 615 615 820 820 1024 STEP RATE uS 3-200 3-200 5-200 3-200 3-200 3-70 AC'S TIME mSEC 28 28 65 40 40 28 WRITE PRE'C N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A POWER watts 10 10 14.8 11 11 25.5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCSI INTERFACE (EMBEDDED CONTROLLER) HARD DISKS ------------------------------------------------------------------------- DATA ST138N ST157N ST225N ST251N ST227N ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SIZE f'm't 32 48 21 43 64 SECTORS 63,139 95,015 41,170 84,254 126,790 ACCESS TIME 28 28 65 40 40 POWER watts 12 12 16.8 13 13 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Be Advised, as of 01/01/88, Seagate began using the new I'ntl light code, the front light on the drive is GREEN, ONLY if it is made after Jan.01 1988. If you go to purchase one and the light on the front is red, it's either old inventory, used or rebuilt. I do not advise the use of the "N" type H/D, they're limited in the flexibility of use by the embedded controller and are more expensive. Seagate may cost more, but they are the workhorses of the industry. The Seagate Hard Disk is extremely RELIABLE. Seagate units above 40mb have auto-park. All of the above are:FCC,TUV/UL/CSA [CERTIFIED] The list of other types of drives is large, some are, Disctron, Lapine, Microscience, Micro-memories, Miniscribe, Priam, Rodime, Shugart, Tandon and Tulin. The formatted size of these range anywhere from 5-???Mb. I purposely avoided Brand Names of packaged drives because in most cases they use Adaptek and seagate...I have found that Atari and Supra have gone to the small 3.5 hard disk. I will cover those next time. As far as Atari is concerned, they would have saved a fortune in R&D if they had used the standard assembly, as the method they used is so typical of Atari, "they walked all 'round the barn to walk in the front door", why did they have to change the 'prom, it made the SH204 a problem maker, why the dip switches?,,do they really think the Atari user cant handle Terminal resistor packs and jumpers??? Bad Move! Some of the companies have gone to Miniscribe, (the coffee grinder) to cut production costs, they will go back to SEAGATE as soon as they realize the RMA numbers are eating their lunch! Remember that all these drives (except for a few) come without a controller, you really want it without a controller..it's less expensive and works out much better for you in the long run.....you will see! The actual chain of connection for a hard drive is: 1-hard disk 2-controller 3-interface..and the DMA port. MFM- This is a format style most commonly found in use although recently, RLL has been becoming far more popular as it is a condensed compact format thus allowing more data to be stored on an equivalent size hard disk. The major difference is the media itself in the hard disk is PLATED to insure accuracy and longevity. Think of it like plain recording tape and CrO2 Chromium Dioxide tape. The recording media in the "R" drives (Seagate) is of a high quality and plated. In most cases, the Interface, ( Host Adapter ) determines what type of system the hard disk will comply with. It also (usually) has a clock/ calendar built in. In reality you can take a hard drive system made for an 8bit XL/XE and change the interface to one for an ST and it will now work on the ST (after a format). The two most widely used controllers, and I might add, ARE REALLY THE BEST, are made by Adaptek they are designed with the user in mind and provide for expansion for the future. ADAPTEK 4000 SERIES CONTROLLERS ------------------------------- ACB-4000A ACB-4070 --------- -------- Interface SCSI dr type ST506/412 ST506/412 [RLL-Certified] These hard disk systems are special in one way, they have embedded controllers. IOMEGA ------ ALPHA 10H BETA XXX interface SCSI dr type Cart 10mb Cart xxmb RODIME ------ RO650 RO652 interface SCSI dr type 10mb 20mb SEAGATE ------- ST225N interface SCSI dr type 20mb *** NOTE Iomega, Rodime, and the 1 Seagate, see listing above, listed are the embedded controller type. These are slowly fading from popularity. WESTERN DIGITAL --------------- WD1002-SHD interface SASI dr type ST506/412 XEBEC ----- 1410 1410A interface SASI dr type ST506/412 ST506/412 * These devices are SASI and are slowly fading into the sunset...... ADAPTEK CONTROLLERS =================== ACB4000A / ACB4070 are highly recomended and of excellent design. These controllers will handle most any application. HARD DISK INTERFACE =================== There are three types available for the ST: ICD, Supra, and Berkley ICD --- The "MIO"...Designed for use in the 8 bit field comes in two configurations ... 256k 1MB ---- --- Both units handle all your needs as they include all the fuctions of the Atari 850 interface. PLUS a printer spooler and buffer. THE ICD ST HOST ADAPTER INTERFACE ================================= The Host Adapter is designed for the 16 bit ST hard drive system or for most anything you care to couple to it...ie, tape backup and hard disk and laser printer etc.. The host adapter interface is also equipped with an outstanding clock made non-volatile thru the use of a lithium battery. Rated **** ICD has real winner here! SUPRA ----- Both of supra's interfaces are quite good, not as flexible as ICD's but good. BE ADVISED! SUPRA IS SLOWLY DROPPING THE 8 BIT HARD DISK SYSTEMS. This is the end of the first installment to placed here for you, there will be more in the near future. The configurations for the hard disk systems are variable, for example, if you wished to use the stand alone system with a different computer you would be able to do so simply by changing the interface. Expandable means you can add another drive at a later date in the existing cabinet without major circuitry changes. NOTE: This article and the "Hard Disk Series" are for the readers of ST REPORT MAGAZINE and may not be duplicated in any form without the written permission of the publisher and author. ************************************************************************* IMPORTANT NOTICE! ----------------- As a reader of ST Report Magazine, you are entitled to take advantage of a special DELPHI membership offer. For only $29.95 ($20 off the standard membership price!), you will receive a lifetime subscription to DELPHI, a copy of the 500-page "DELPHI: The Official Guide," and a credit equal to one free evening hour at standard connect rates. Signing up with DELPHI ---------------------- Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access DELPHI services via a local phone call. Join--- DELPHI -------------- 1. Dial 617-576-0862 with any terminal or PC and modem (at 2400 bps, dial 576-2981). 2. At the Username prompt, type JOINDELPHI. 3. At the Password prompt enter STREPORT. For more information, call DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-544-4005, or at 617-491-3393 from within Massachusetts or from outside the U.S. DELPHI is a service of General Videotex Corporation of Cambridge, Massachusetts. ************************************************************************* PUBLIC DOMAIN SHELF by Alice Amore ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pipeline BBS (216) 336-3774 Ohio Software Exchange (216) 336-4145 If you really are serious about creating a good public domain library, you probably have tapped all possible sources in your quest for files, including online services, bulletin boards, disk magazines, type-in programs, programming books, friends, relatives, user groups, and mail order companies. If you are a novice, you may not only have problems figuring out what you want, but you may also have problems figuring out what you HAVE. When faced with a cornucopia of new files, you may have no idea how to nudge them into doing something useful. Sad and frustrated, you might be tempted to toss everything into the trash icon. DON'T! It's a good guess that every file has a purpose. Read on. A good way to categorize files is to give groups of files the same file extensions. Quick recognition of these extensions can be an enormous help when there are lots of files to sort out and use. To my knowledge, there are only three file extensions that denote a runnable program. They are .TOS, .TTP, and .PRG. These files can be clicked on and run from the desktop. A .TTP file will give you a dialog box where you can enter more information but usually there are built-in default parameters and you can click on "OK" or hit return and the file will run without any additional information from you. (If in doubt, always read the .DOC or .TXT file first, if there is one.) Some file extensions in general use are: -- .DOC (documentation) -- .TXT (text) -- .LST (list) -- .INS (instructions) Read these files (preferably before running the accompanying program) to find out what the program does, how to use the program, and (very important) who wrote the program and whether it's public domain or shareware. -- READ.ME, README.1ST, README.TXT (etc.) -- Do as the man says. Click on the file and send it to your screen or your printer. Occasionally, a text file won't have any spaces between the words. These are wordprocessor files. Get yourself a copy of the excellent ST WRITER (public domain) and you'll be able to read these files. -- .PRN -- .CFG These are usually configurations for specific printers. If you find a .CFG file that works well with your printer, hold onto it. You probably can port it over to other programs. -- .INF This is usually your desktop information file. Some PD programs include an .INF file in them. If so, use them. Don't use one from another program or you might not like the results. -- .ASC An .ASC file is an ASCII file. It contains no control characters, and it can be used by any brand of computer which supports ASCII mode. If you upload a text file to your favorite bulletin board, first save it in ASCII mode so that the computing community at large can read it. -- .BAK (back up) Most .BAK files are created automatically by software to ensure that no data will be lost. If your disks get cluttered up with .BAK files, save the most recent ones, and delete the others. -- .BAS (BASIC) This program usually requires either ATARI BASIC or GFA BASIC (from MichTron). -- .PI1 -- .PI2 -- .PI3 -- .PC1 -- .PC2 -- .PC3 -- .NEO These are picture files for use with the D.E.G.A.S. or NEOchrome programs. There are public domain slideshows that will run them, but you are better off converting them into .TNY files (see below). -- .TNY A TINY picture file (see above). -- .SNG Data files for Music Studio (Activision). These data files were created by users, and are public domain. -- .ACC Denotes a desk accessory. Copy it to your root directory. -- .PIC Forget it. Unless you have a program to go with it, you won't be able to do much with it. -- .DAT This is a data file and belongs with other files (find them!). -- .FNT Usually a font for your printer. Once again, look around until you find the program this file belongs to. -- .RSC This belongs to other files, too. -- .SCR Usually a "screen" for a graphics program. -- .CEL Probably from Aegis Animator. You'll need the commercial version of the program or the viewer program. -- .SEQ -- .DLT Data files for ANIMATOR (Cyber). -- .SHP -- .SDR Data files for PrintMaster. -- .CZ Most often a MIDI patch for use with Casio products. -- .PIT If you don't have Magic Sac, this won't do you any good. -- .SPC A picture file for SPECTRUM. -- .ARC An "archive". A file with this extension must be deARCed before using. -- .PQG -- .TQS -- .TQP Files compressed with the SQUEEZE utilities. Some older files may be squeezed instead of ARCed. A squeezed program must have a "Q" as the middle letter in the file extension. I haven't, by any means, scratched the surface of file extensions, but I have covered the ones that you are most likely to run into. Have fun. _________________________________________________________________________ PROBING YOUR ST by W.K. Whitton _________________________________________________________________________ I am sure you have heard the old axiom referring to the fact that two of an item is usually better than one, as in "two heads are better than one" and the like. This is not necessarily so as we shall find out rather nicely in this article! Most ST owners will agree that our SC1224 RGB monitor has excellent graphics capability, especially when one is using it in conjunction with one of the fabulous paint packages available for the ST, or when one is partaking of the numerous quality games you can enjoy also. But, when the owner tries to do any amount of serious word processing, his eyes may be the victim of strain and uneasiness. The best cure for this (until now), was the SM124 monochrome monitor. This display is extremely easy on the eyes, they will thank you for it! (In fact we have been in touch with a number of Mac owners, and assisted them in rewiring it to use with their computer, the display was larger than the one they originally received, and MUCH less expensive!) This brings to the forefront another problem ...you now, if you indeed to be serious about your ST and business type applications, need to juggle 2 monitors, and in anybody's book, is not an easy task! If you want to use only ONE monitor, now there is an alternative! Read on: "NEC MultiSync II to Atari ST --- --------- -- -- ----- -- Copyright (c) 1988 David S. Weaver All rights reserved This file may be copied freely only with the inclusion of the above copyright notice for non-commercial use. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the author on CompuServe (76456,2604) or Delphi (DSWEAVER). The NEC MultiSync II is a great monitor to buy if you want a monitor that you can migrate to another system when the time comes that you need higher resolution color. The specs are as follows: NEC MultiSync II Atari low medium high ------- ------- ------- Horizontal Bandwidth: 15.5kHz - 35kHz 15.8kHz 31.5kHz 35.7kHz Vertical Bandwidth: 50Hz - 80Hz 60Hz 60Hz 71.2kHz Horizontal Resolution: 800 dots 320 640 640 Vertical Resolution: 560 lines 200 200 400 Signal level: TTL pos --- --- --- (analog) 0.7Vpp 75 ohm pos 1.0Vpp 75 ohm Sync Signal level: TTL pos/neg TTL 3.3K neg (analog) 0.3Vpp neg --- --- --- As one can see from the chart, all the Atari specs fall with the NEC's except for the 35.7kHz (instead of 35kHz) which doesn't seem to be a problem. Also the video signals are a bit high (1.0Vpp rather than 0.7Vpp), but it seems to be working just fine without the addition of any resistors. (If you want to add a resistor, you would need 107-75 ohms or 32 ohms in series for the RGB signals, if I did my math correctly) EDITORS NOTE: A value of 68 ohms, 1/4 or 1/2 watt will work fine in this application, and furthermore, are rather easy to procure! I initially had a problem with the NEC not syncing to high rez mode on the ST after powering off the monitor and then powering it back on again. The work around was to either unplug the video cable, or reboot the ST. I decided to add a switch to break the horizontal and vertical sync lines. During the process, I switched the cables I was using to feed the DB9 connector to some that were more flexible because I had a problem with the signal lines breaking at the connector. I also grounded the DB9 connector to the shield ground in the cable from the Mega ST. As a result of this rework, I found I no longer needed the extra switch to interrupt the sync signals. The following pin assignments are what work when connecting an NEC MultiSync II to a Mega ST2 for color operation, they should work for any of the ST series: MultiSync II Mega ST (female DB-9) (male 13 pin DIN) pin 1 red pin 7 red pin 2 green pin 6 green pin 3 blue pin 10 blue pin 5 mode control or v sync pin 12 vertical sync pin 4 h/v sync or h sync pin 2 composite sync pin 6 red ground pin 13 ground pin 7 green ground pin 13 ground pin 8 blue ground pin 13 ground pin 9 ground pin 13 ground The Mega ST can also use this combination for sync: pin 4 h/v sync or h sync pin 9 horizontal sync pin 5 mode control or v sync * not connected EDITORS NOTE: In order for this to work with the 520 and 1040ST, you must also connect these pins: MultiSync II 520/1040 ST pin 5 H sync pin 9 horizontal sync pin 6 V sync (mode control) pin 6 vertical sync For monochrome to work, use the following connections instead of those listed for the same pins above: pin 1 red pin 11 monochrome pin 2 green pin 11 monochrome pin 3 blue pin 11 monochrome * Connect to pin 13 (ground) if you want to increase the vertical size on the screen. Not really needed as the front panel "v size" switch has enough control, and the image size is big enough with the "v size" switch in the detent position. In addition, you will want to provide a separate RCA jack to provide an audio out connection, given that the Multisync has no audio capabilities: RCA jack ST connection -------- ------------- audio pin 1 audio out ground pin 13 ground I ended up buying a "multisync" cable from Practical Solutions. The Practical Solutions cable has the following color coding: Pin Color Function ---- -------------- ----------------------- 1 yellow coax audio out 2 black coax composite out (composite sync on Mega) 3 n/c 4 red monochrome mon (ground for monochrome) 5 n/c 6 green coax rgb - green 7 red coax rgb - red 8 blue coax shield +12V (may vary from ST to ST) 9 black horizontal sync 10 blue coax rgb-blue 11 white coax monochrome 12 white vertical sync The following was verified with an ohm meter: 13 yellow coax shield ground black coax shield ground green coax shield ground red coax shield ground white coax shield ground In addition the shield appeared to be grounded as well. I cut about a 6" length of cable off the cable from Practical Solutions and used it to wire in a few switches to switch both the monochrome/color signals and the h/v/composite signals. This cable is much more flexible than the cable I tried using in my first attempt. By separating the individual shielded cables from the bulk wrap, you can get some very flexible/small shielded coax. The switch box ended up something like the following: Atari ST pin 4 pole NEC Multisync-II pin (13 pin DIN male) double throw (DB-9 female) ----------------- toggle switch -------------------- +---------+ | | Blue Cx 10 - rgb/blue ------- | | /--------------- rgb/blue - 3 White Cx 11 - monochrome -----/ | | | Green Cx 6 - rgb/green ------ | | /---------------rgb/green - 2 White Cx 11 - monochrome -----/ | | | Red Cx 7 - rgb/red -------- | | /---------------- rgb/red - 1 White Cx 11 - monochrome -----/ | | | - n/c ------------ | | /---------------- ground - 9 Red 4 - mono monitor----/ | | | +---------+ 2 pole * double throw toggle switch +---------+ | | Black Cx 2 - comp sync ------ | | /-------- comp/horiz sync - 4 Black 9 - horiz sync -----/ | | | | | White Sh 13 - ground --------- | | /--------- mode/vert sync - 5 White 12 - vert sync ------/ | | | +---------+ * This switch is purely optional, it allows use of both types of video sync, and will ground the mode pin to increase the vertical size when composite sync is switched in. Red Sh 13 - ground ------------------------ red ground - 6 Green Sh 13 - ground ---------------------- green ground - 7 13 - ground ----------------------- blue ground - 8 13 - ground ---------------------------- ground - 9 Yellow C 1 - audio out --------------------- RCA signal line Yellow S 13 - ground ------------------------ RCA ground line shield -------------------------------------- shield Note: Do NOT connect pin 8 (Blue coaxial shield) to any other pins/ signals. This pin may have +12 volts on it. Make sure that you insulate the shield very well on this line so it won't make accidental contact with another signal. EDITORS NOTE: Please clip this lead as short as possible to avoid accidental contact with adjoining leads. When the cable is all built, use an ohm meter and make sure that you have no shorts. When you actually want to hook it up to test it, set the switches on the back of the MultiSync II to the following: Switch State manual switch on mode switch gray (shouldn't matter, digital only) color mode switch 64 (shouldn't matter, digital only) Set the switches on the front to the following: Switch State v pos adjust after powering on v size adjust after powering on h pos adjust after powering on h size on text off (shouldn't matter, digital only) text color white (shouldn't matter, digital only) Now turn on power and you are on your way. Note that for all of the cabling of video signals, I used shielded cables (highly recommended) and soldered all the coax shields together and to the ground pins (use a smaller braided cable to actually connect between the shields and ground pins). # Part# Description Price: Source: - ----- ----------- ------ ------- 1 76108 16-130 1 7/16"x4 13/32"x3 7/32" black box 8.99 A/E 1 69377 904 female RCA connector 0.59 A/E 1 276-1538 female DB9 connector, solder type 2.49 R/S 1 53055 205817-1 female screwlocks (for DB9) 1.49 A/E 1 22104 7401SYZQ 4 pole, double throw, toggle switch 10.99 A/E 1 22048 7301SYZQ 3 pole, double throw, toggle switch 8.09 A/E 1 76292 11-304 5/8" OD, 1/2" ID rubber grommet 0.99 A/E 1 Atari ST "multisync" cable 24.98 P/S ------- Total: $ 58.61 P/S A/E R/S Practical Solutions Active Electronics Radio Shack 1930 E. Grant Road 133 Flanders Road Tuscon, Arizona, 85719 Westborough, MA 01581 (602)884-9612 1-800-343-0874 (617) 366-8899 You will also need various drill bits, solder, and some tool to cut a hole for the DB9 connector into the plastic end of the aluminum/plastic box. The grommet is to protect the ST monitor cable entering the box. Disclaimer: o This hookup worked for my Mega ST, I make no guarantees it will work correctly on your ST. o I have no connection with NEC, Pratical Solutions, Activer Electronics or Radio Shack." After this mod is made, you will find that you will need to readjust the Vertical position, Vertical size and Horizontal size controls located on the front panel of the monitor. Set the "Manual" switch to the manual position. Set the "Text" switch to off, and the "Text Color" switch to white. If this project seems to be a bit much for you, you can buy an already assembled similar Multisync adapter. It adds the feature of having a composite input, so you can use your Atari 8 bit with a Multisync (strange sounding isn't it?), or the video out of your VCR, and that way watch your favorite movie while your computer is busy doing other things (now THATS multitasking at its best!). The monochrome display from your ST, with this box, will be one of two possibilities that you choose: Black Text on Green screen White Text on Green screen This box is available from Computer Success at 401-751-0038. It is normally priced at 189.99 but they say they are having a sale till 4/30, in which case it is selling for 99.99. Keep those Atari's hummin'! W. K. Whitton (Mr. Goodprobe) Midtown TV--(216)633-0997 Atari 8/16, Amiga Sales/Repair ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SYMMETRY - 3D CAD PROGRAM Ctsy GEnie ========================================================================= This is a small review of a true 3D CAD program to be released in a few weeks. The designer of the program Dave Fletcher of Northern Design Systems, located in Oshawa, Canada, sent me a beta version until I get the released version. I have no manual so I had to figure most of the program out by myself, although Dave did help me with some of the major operators. Some background on myself, I work for General Motors at Chevrolet Engineering in Warren, Michigan. I presently teach 3D Cad-Cam systems which operate on IBM mainframe systems. For several years I have programmed 3-Axis contour milling machines which cut prototype wood model and patterns. I am by trade a pattern maker but got involved in Cad systems as technology change the nature of my work. Besides owning Symmetry I also have Drafix and Athena II. I am not going to compare these programs because its like comparing apples and oranges. Drafix and Athena II are 2D Cad programs while Symmetry is both a 2D and 3D Cad system. Even though the Atari ST is a fast computer, running 3D really slows it down due to the many math computations it takes to do perspective views. I read recently that a company in Texas is about to introduce a 16 MHZ accelorator board which will help considerably. Also needed is a math coprocessor and a larger screen (19") with at least 1024 X 1024 resolution. I heard a screen of this size is being developed in Europe. These requirements are necessary if Atari is to be considered as a serious CAD workstation. On with the review. A quote from Symmetry's literature " For a CADD Package to be truly effective, it must be able to answer a designer's changing needs from conception of a design through to completion. From simple 2 dimensional sketching & drafting to complex 3 dimensional modeling, Symmetry proves itself to be a mature CADD package without a mature price." The program is quite impressive. It has a sophisticated user interface utilizing dialog boxes, drop down menus, macros, keyfiles, custom drop down icons, command nesting and a command line interpreter. You must have at least 1 meg of RAM and a Hi-Resolution monitor to use the program. PROGRAM FEATURES - Fully interactive 2 dimensional & True 3 dimensional capabilities. - Multiple 3D views can be opened and modified at any time. - A user can work in any combination of views with all views instantly updating at all times. - Unlimited number of drawings's attached to each 3 dimensional database. - Available unit types are: Inches, Feet , Yards, Miles, Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters and Kilometers. - Each drawing has it's own definable: Scale, Origin, Width, Height and Form.(each can be modified at any time) - Each view has it's own definable: Zoom factor, Scale factor, Scroll factor, 3 axis rotation, Origin and Viewing clip. - 256 Layers can be activated individually or in groups. - 9 zoom modes allow magnification's of up to 1000000 times. - Sophisticated command nesting allows the following to be accessed at any time: Database regeneration ===================== Zoom in or out Zoom a window Scroll or pan the page Center the page on a point Multiple 3 Dimensional dynamic rotations at any angular increment Rotate any 3 dimensional view to a predefined co-ordinate plane Zoom a 3 dimensional view in or out Scrolling any or all views Restoring a predefined image Echo view & drawing frames on/off Display the current co-ordinate plane Echo the gridsnap on/off Change the current layer Change currents units Change current color (for plotters) Change the current plane Refresh the screen Activate view clipping Echo 4 mode dynamic tracking on/off - Fonts and special symbols can be easily defined. - Each text entity has its own definable: Font, Width, Height, Slant, XY rotation and 3 dimensional plane. - Entity grouping can be saved to disk in either a local or global library. - Entity masking allows entities to be temporarily hidden increasing the design speed. - Automatic generation of ANY orthographic view including user defined auxiliary views. - Entities can be selectively hidden in any view allowing easy generation of true orthographically sound views. - Entity Insertion: Points Lines Circles Arcs Fillets Ellipses Elliptical Arcs Text Box Polygon Polyfigure Subfigure - Entity Transformation: can be used on single or groups of entities can be used with or without copy can have inheritance of parent characteristics allows translation between 2D or 3D positions Circular Arrays Mirror entities Linear Arrays Stretch entities Sweep entities along 3D vector Rescale Project entities Revolve entities Trim entities Divide entities ( by location or equal divisions) change an existing entity's - color - layer - location - arc radius - text hgt - text width - text slant - text rotation - text font 3 dimensional entity transformation of any view into 2 dimensional entities. Group single entities into a figure. Release figures back into their single components. - Location Selection full screen crosshairs absolute cartesian co-ordinates relative cartesian co-ordinates polar co-ordinates gridsnap entity snap to: end points origin of an entity bisection of entities intersection of 2 entities near an entity and location is attached to that entity at it's nearest point -Entity Selection digitize window window out view window last by entity color by entity layer chaining with direction - Information Commands: measures distances (2D & 3D) measures angles measures perimeters verify an entity's layer color location linear or arc length entity count continuously updating memory display list: drawing parameters images defined co-ordinate planes view parameters layering info figure directories database extents macro definitions - Plotter Output - Printer Output - Full Automatic Dimensioning package This is a quality CAD program for the Atari. I am very impressed with all of it's features. It serves all of my need. I design and build furniture at home. I have a plotter which is very useful for larger drawings. The interface is easy to learn and use. All of the functions work and make designing a pleasure. I would recommend this program to any one interested in a 2D & 3D CAD package. _________________________________________________________________________ THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER by Edward L. Waldorph _________________________________________________________________________ CAPTAIN'S LOG--Day 1: After several trial runs for our mission to defect to the United States with the greatest weapon of the Soviet Navy I have made several observations of the craft and the "Ultimate submarine simulation." After being torpedoed by mines and running aground innumerable times on the shakedown it is apparant that this craft cannot be controlled in tactical situations by mouse/icon interface. Torpedoed a Soviet trawler to prevent our position from being given away. Waste of time. The Soviet Navy can't find us and at 37 knots can't catch us. Determined that the Reykjanes Ridge (Gorshkovs Railroad) is impassable. Will curcumnavigate Iceland through the Denmark Straight. LOG--Day 2: No mines and no soviet ships. Several hours of 'actual time' on this game already and absolutely nothing has happened. Have received continual messages via ESM that: "They have a positive trace on Red October." or "Search for missing submarine widened." or "Intercepted Soviet messages, updating Atlantic projection now"; over and over and over...ad nauseum. The map shows that the two Soviet task forces near us have hardly moved and are making no effort to cut us off or intercept us. I know undersea duty was supoposed to be boring but this is ridiculous. The map projection shows that we are approaching on a collision course with a U.S. Taskforce. Things should happen soon. LOG--Day 3: Well we met the fleet. Although the only ship we could identify was a British aircraft carrier. We surfaced and sailed around and about among the fleet but, as has been the case so far in this simulation--nothing happend. Becoming bored and because a Soviet taskforce is on our tail we continue for the U.S. LOG--Day 4: We are now off the coast of Virginia, near Norfolk; although it is very hard to tell. The Projection map shows almost the complete North Atlantic region. The plot of the Red October is several hundred miles long and as there is no zoom feature we can only guess at our location. Wait...wait...wait. We are sailing around in circles. We keep getting messages that "They have a positive trace on Red October." and "The search for the missing submarine widened." But nothing is evident. The nuclear reactor isn't scheduled to go out for another 6 days. I don't think I can stand it! I'll go stir crazy. LOG--Day 5: Thank God! For some reason the reactor failed early. Unfortunately when we switched to deisel power we were submerged. I must have inadvertantly speeded up the game clock (it's impossible to tell) and suddenly before I could react to the warning the batteries died. Now this wouldn't be such a serious problem in a REAL submarine but in the October we're stuck. Without forward motion we can neither surface or submerge. (The sub has no control of ballast tanks or trim tanks no reverse and no snorkel). That's it! Were stuck. For some reason (?) we can change heading however. Now all we can do is sit here at periscope depth and spin. This is something the programmer should do. LOG--Day 7: I had saved the game shortly before the battery incident so I didn't loose much. Here it is day 7 and we're still sailing around off the coast and nothing has happened. (I had given up and put the game back on the shelf but when I was asked to write this review I bit the bullet and tried to finish it. I don't think I have the stamina). Played tag with three American destroyers. The same as the fleet--they paid no attention to us. Weird thing was I couldn't get them on the 'scope. Had them on radar all around us but they wouldnt show on the scope. That brings up another point. It takes almost two minutes to rotate the periscope 360 degrees! Well that's enough of the Captain's Log. I think you get the idea by now. This is without doubt the most boring simulation I have ever played. There is basically no 'play' in it. Technically the game suffers tremendously by the interface. There are no keyboard controls to augment the mouse/icon control. It appears that the game samples the mouse about once a second unless other activities are occurring, then it could be several seconds before the pointer is sampled. When the pointer is placed over an icon the icon will change color (takes about a second) and then you can click the button. Many times you must click more than once to get it to register. Holding the button down is supposed to continuously adjust certain controls. You may want to read a good novel while you wait for the change. Heading, speed and depth have icons that allow gross changes quickly and then the regular controls can be used to 'fine tune.' However if you are in a tactical situation or depth is critical you can be torpedoed or crash on the bottom before you can fine tune. In a combat situation this command and control system would fail miserably--but in this game there appears to be no combat. There are several technical irregularities in what is billed the ultimate submarine simulation. No control of ballast, no reverse, improper depth readings, no radar, no snorkle and a periscope that is apparantly 78 feet long! There is no scale on map, sonar or terrain screens. There is no way to make gross adjustments to the periscope. If you wish to target torpedoes by sonar the settings must be set manually which, with the mouse, is impossibly slow. One of my pet peeves in submarine simulations is improper depth readings. Depth sensors are located on the keel and read out depth to keel (from the surface) and depth from keel (to the bottom). Therefor when the sub is on the surface with the decks awash the depth guage would show about 35 feet or about 10 meters and somewhat less if fully surfaced (depending on the draft of the boat) but never 0! This game shows periscope depth at 24 meters. This figure would be correct if the sensor was on the keel but impossible if depth was zero when surfaced. 24 meters is almost 79 feet. Actual periscope depth is about 27 meters measured from the surface to the keel. this allows for the body of the sub (approx. 9m) and the height of the sail (approx. 6m) and the extended periscope (approx. 12m). All in all you probably will not learn much about commanding a modern nuclear submarine, you will learn nothing of modern submarine/ anti- submarine warfare and you will not have any fun. This game is rated UN--UNplayable, UNeducational and UNfun. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRESS RELEASE ============= Ok, quick! What's the one thing you would give more than anything to see on your ST? Allright, BESIDES MacPlaymate! What about the desktop of your dreams? Introducing.... N e o D e s k, the Desktop Alternative (copyright 1988, Gribnif Software) So, what's it do? Better ask, "what's it NOT do?" Here is an exhaustive, well, extensive, well, allright, SHORT list of some of the features: [o] All icons used are editible and an icon editor is included AT NO EXTRA COST! (Does it sound like I'm selling kitchen knives yet?) [o] All menu options have keyboard equivalents! [o] The normal GEM "rubberbox" that is used to encircle a number of icons has been rewritten so that the box can move in any direction, not just to the lower-right! [o] Up to seven windows can be open at once, not just four. [o] Each window can have a search template associated with it. If, for instance, you only wanted to see those files ending in .ACC, you would set this to "*.ACC". [o] You will never see a horizontal scroll bar. Why not? Simply because there are never any files off the right-hand edge! NeoDesk always draws exactly the number of files that will fit within the window and wraps to the next row only if there is not enough room for half of the next icon. [o] The information line in a window not only displays the number of files and their total size, it also displays the creation time, date and read/write flag of any file that is selected by iteself (by single-clicking) or the total size of any number of selected files. [o] When performing a diskcopy, three options are available: copy files only (same as dragging icon to a window), copy with format (any format reproduceable with normal GEMDOS calls), and, if the source and destination formats match, copy without format. The number of disk swaps is dependent upon free RAM and is displayed for each type of copy. It is even possible to use copy with format to make a direct image of a RAM-disk. [o] File copying is performed in a buffer as large as the currrent free memory. This means faster copying and fewer disk swaps on single- drive systems! Ok, like, how much would you pay, eh? But don't answer yet! We also include the following totally awesome, mega-fantastic features for no extra (don't believe it for a minute) cost! For all the geeks, er, "applications engineers", we add: [o] Show Information for disks includes the number of sides, sectors per track, tracks per sector, etc. [o] Numerous floppy-disk formats are available, rather than just one. [o] All files on a disk can be deleted without re-formatting by merely dragging the appropriate icon to the trashcan. [o] Up to ten environment strings can be defined. These are passed to any program executed from NeoDesk. At last! You can compile from the desktop! [o] The parameter tail for TTP programs has been expanded to a maximum of 128 characters. They are not mapped to uppercase, as Atari's desktop does. [o] Execution of TTP programs can be redirected so that input normally taken from the console is instead taken from a file or so that anything that normally goes to the output portion of the console is written to a file or the printer! [o] Install Application WORKS! ('nuf said?) [o] If one or more filename icons are highlighted when an application is opened, their names are automatically passed as parameters in the command tail, assuming they all fit, of course. [o] Yes, Virginia, it runs batch files! [o] Up to ten files of any type can be "dragged" to the desktop. Once there, they can be executed or displayed exactly as if they were in a window, so you don't have to keep going down 5 folders just to get to your favorite program. [o] When an application has terminated with any status other than zero, this number is displayed before returning to the desktop. [o] An option is available to pause after executing TOS and TTP programs. Too often programs that were written to be used in a shell do not do this and their output is erased before the user has a chance to see a bloody thing. [o] Pressing the and keys simultaneously will cause the system to perform a "warm-start". , on the other hand, performs a cold-start. [o] A printer queue program is also included. You can drag files right to the printer icon, go run any GEM program while they print, and even change their order in the list! Ok, NOW how much would you pay? I mean, for all this you would expect to have to pay the poor guy who wrote this "beelyuns and beelyuns" of dollars, right?? WRONG!! It's yours for just $29.95. That's right, folx. At that price it could be total trash and still be worth it, so whaddaya say? Did I mention it's not copy protected? Go ahead, kick the tires a few times, take 'er for a test drive... Gribnif Software P.O. Box 350 Hadley, MA 01035 (413) 584-7887 (Call for quantity pricing and club discounts. Dealers, ask for a free demo copy!) (MacPlaymate is a product of Griffin Software, which is in no way associated with Gribnif Software) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garbage-On-the-Line "When you Have Gone too Far" by Linda Woodworth ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computers are addicting. Something happens when you sit down behind one. Or is it in front? I could lose myself totally in my ST - totally. Between running my BBS, my writing, and personal BBSing, I found myself too involved. Way too involved. I wanted to do nothing else and I thought about very little else. It was all I thought and talked about. This was not good for me or my family. We are a computing family and find it a good hobby, but done to excess, anything is wrong. You have gone too far when other parts of your life begin to suffer. This has caused me major problems and by writing this, perhaps I can prevent obsession from setting in with someone else. I have read many articles about "the computer widow". I created a widower & orphan. My ST is a big part of me and I will never let them go, as it is in my blood. I just have to thin it down a bit. I must let it go for awhile to get things in perspective. Please don't get so involved you shut everything else out. I can't begin to tell you the pain I have caused. Shut it off occasionally, hug your family and take time to stop and smell the flowers. Happy Trails _________________________________________________________________________ LETTER TO THE EDITOR _________________________________________________________________________ The following letter received April 8, 1988. Edited for clarity and grammer. Panama, Republic of Panama, March 31, 1988 Dear Mr. Kovacs, Greetings from Central America! I am an avid reader of ZMagazine, (when I can), who was also a CompuServe subscriber. Foreign rates went up and that has kept me from using the service. (I cancelled ny subscription). ZMag is a great magazine. I would like to find a way to be able to read it. Perhaps a little background on Atari's here would help. The company that used to sell Atari equipment here decided to drop the line, leaving us out in the cold. Furthermore, computer dealers seeing this decided to drop all Atari related magazines. This happened over a year ago. Since then we have relied on the states to get equipment, software and other peripherals. A local Atari repairman still repairs Atari's equipment, so we can fix them easily. For most of us an 8 bit is all the computing we'll ever need, and that holds true. I was thinking, we have a small user's group, the PCACUG, and we are at a loss for news or Atari related information. I'd like to propose to you to establish a contact by mail, so that I could receive Zmagazine by mail. I beleive rates for a disk to Panama are not too high. A friend sent me three Atari disks in a fairly sized envelope and it cost him $2.22. I am not sure whether you actually mail your Zmag's to BBS's or just upload them to CompuServe. In a few words, I would like to subscribe to ZMag, and be added to your BBS list carrying ZMagazine. I run the two Atari BBS's in the country. BUGBBS named after the BBCS bugs, updated to AMIS then to Express and maybe to Express Pro if it is ever released. It runs 24 hours at 3-12 baud and the number is: 60-0530 I also run the club's BBS, which is called the PCACUG BBS which is the longest running BBS in the nation. (Nation here applies to our two million people). AS I said, we have a lack of information and there are no magazines locally. The clud is subscribed to Antic and Analog, but we only get one issue for our sixty members. Since each ZMag is weekly, it would cost too much (and too much effort) to send. Maybe if you cram 4 issues a month into an enhanced or double density disk we could get this off the ground. Your help would be invaluable. There are alot of hopeless Atarians down here. We have not seen the jump from 8 bit to 16 bit mainly because the cost for a 520ST is $1500.00 (no kidding) and that's a substantial chunk of money. Mostly, people jump from 8 bit to no bits at all. Beleive it or not, our national currency is the US Dollar, even though the US has frozen all panamanian accounts there, so there is a definate shortage of cash right now. I run an Oasis BBS. I have ofcourse trouble getting utilities for it. Could you tell me the whereabouts of it's original creators? I run the BBS with RamboXL, Spartados 3.2, RTIME8, US Doublers on one of the drives and hopeful for a 576K upgrade to me 130XE. Once more, Thanks again for your invaluable help, please pardon my shaky english grammer, since we are a spanish speaking country and I am not using my word processor. I will somehoe try to contact you on CompuServe via my friend. Thanks again! Bye from Panama: Carlos Hassan 6-401 El Dorado Panama, Republic of Panama [Ed] We will be sending Carlos all of the issues we can in the next few weeks. How about some assistance from some United States User Groups? Send this group a copy of your newsletters, your disk of the month and whatever else you can! We cant allow Atari users to be un-informed on the latest and greatest happenings with the greatest micro around! Lets show Panama our support of Atari, (Seriously folks!!!) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ST-Report Official Contest Rules ================================ No purchase necessary. Deadline for consideration in this contest is midnight August 31, 1988. Winners will be annouced in ST-Report on September 12, 1988. We guarantee to award all prizes. The prize list will be announced during the contest. All readers are eligible to enter except employees of Syndicate Publishing, CompuServe, GEnie, Delphi and their immediate families. This contest void where prohibited or restricted by law. We are not responsible for lost, mismarked, or delayed artwork. All submissions must be drawn with any Atari ST drawing program. All submissions must be drawn by the original artist. Copyrighted artwork will not be accepted. All submissions become the property of Syndicate Publishing. All submissions must be uploaded to specified BBS systems by the deadline date. All systems have time and date stamping capability. Any entry dated after 8/31/88 will be void from the contest. Artwork Requirements -------------------- All artwork considered for this contest must be drawn with any Atari ST drawing program. Any person submitting artwork must leave an address and telephone number, and drawing program used. Artwork must contain the following: ST-REPORT The winning entry will be used at a later date for a newsletter or magazine cover. All submissions become the property of Syndicate Publishing. Where to Send ------------- All artwork may be uploaded to the following systems. More will be added during the contest. Syndicate BBS (201) 968-8148 Bounty ST BBS (904) 786-4176 Entries by mail are also permitted. You may send to: ST-Report Logo Contest Post Office Box 74 Middlesex, New Jersey 08846-0074 (Please include your name, address and telephone number) Updates ------- This contest will update uploading areas every two weeks. Contest rules will not be changed, but judges may be added during the run of the contest. Current judge listing will be published next week. This contest commences May 2, 1988 and will end Midnight August 31, 1988. Prize listing will be updated as needed. The listing will be published next week in ST-Report #33. If you have any questions, Please leave email on the services at the following addresses: CompuServe: 71777,2140 GEnie : ST-REPORT : R.KOVACS DELPHI : RONKOVACS The Source: BDG793 Rules and Regulations Update 4/23/88 1). Use any full color program written exclusively for the ST to draw your own personal design of an ST-Report logo. 2). Artwork ported over from any other computer is void. 3). No X-rated artwork will be accepted. 4). Winners will be announced by mail, email, phone call or equivalent on or before September 12, 1988. 5). Judges decisions are final. _________________________________________________________________________ BBS Listing _________________________________________________________________________ This is the pre-release of the ZMag/ST-Report BBS list. This will be updated weekly and published every few months here. You will notice a rather large gap in the registration numbers. These system have not be validated, so will not be added until that time. This list is not complete. These systems support our publications. Please call and support these systems. If you are not on any of the pay services, call these boards and pass the word. We thank each and every BBS listed here many thanks. Without your weekly support we would not have made it this far. Reg No. Area Phone Number BBS Name State ========================================================================= H001- 201 968-8148 Syndicate BBS New Jersey H002- 216 784-0574 Stairway To Heaven Ohio H003- 312 690-3724 Lions Den Chicago X004- 609 451-7475 C.C.B.B.S. New Jersey X005- 219 223-8107 Manitou BBS Indiana X006- 718 648-0947 Dateline BBS New York X007- 718 604-3323 New York City BBS New York X008- 301 437-9813 Ratcom BBS Maryland X009- 916 962-2566 Shadow Haven BBS California X010- 918 835-5198 Tektron BBS Oklahoma X011- 201 Closed Timelink New Jersey X012- 201 298-0161 J.A.C.G. BBS New Jersey X013- 216 545-4817 Pirate Busters Ohio H014- 904 786-4176 Bounty Atari ST Florida Z015- 305 747-9196 Alternate Universe Florida Z016- 813 821-3188 ST Petersburg PO Florida Z017- 505 897-4306 Asylum BBS New Mexico X018- 808 423-3140 Wonderful World of Oz Hawaii X019- 219 674-9288 M.O.U.S.E. BBS Indiana Z020- 404 945-6021 Buford Byte Size Georgia X021- 813 726-3449 Harbor Lights BBS Florida X022- 912 244-1726 Talisman BBS Georgia X023- 617 674-8361 Westport! BBS Massachusettes X024- 817 444-3023 Rivendale BBS Texas X025- 415 825-2952 West Coast Syndicate California X026- 315 638-8569 The D.E.N. New York X027- 505 525-0388 Atari C.A.L.C. New Mexico Z028- 201 723-0824 Wild West BBS New Jersey X029- 216 758-0284 Command Headquarters Ohio Z030- 707 252-0631 Irata California Z031- 617 675-8503 S.W.A.T. Massachusettes X032- 703 560-6318 The Ark Virginia X033- 615 665-1217 Vanishing Point Tennessee X034- 301 967-2207 Orion Connection Maryland X035- 207 784-0631 M.A.C.H. BBS Maine Z036- 516 698-7456 WQNR BBS New York X037- 713 923-7392 W.A.S.T.E. BBS Texas X038- 504 244-0768 Milliways BBS Louisiana X039- 617 586-8840 Lost Byte Massachusettes Z040- 303 796-0539 The Vault Colorado Z041- 404 796-3805 Garden City Oasis Georgia Z042- 609 939-6247 Satelite BBS New Jersey Z043- 206 848-3371 The Reef Washington State S044- 816 761-2190 Elysium BBS Missouri Z045- 315 454-9612 Atari Hotel New York X046- 212 617-0153 The Bunker New York X047- 201 247-8252 E.B.B.B.S. New Jersey Z048- 402 466-5339 Griffon's Nest Nebraska X049- 011 494-12997 Kisa Monitron Sweden (46) X050- 011 0340-51117 First Star Sweden (46) Z051- 718 253-8602 Outsiders New York Z052- 805 773-5907 Hot Rodders California X053- 203 776-9723 New Haven BBS Conneticut X054- 502 964-2964 Bargain Basement Kentucky X055- 609 931-3014 Gateway New Jersey X056- 602 846-7357 Network 23 Arizona Z057- 313 547-0440 Cosmic Stompers Michigan Z058- 804 379-4156 Midnight Express Virginia X059- 314 647-3290 Gateway City BBS Missouri Z060- 312 457-2219 Bluemoon BBS Illinois X061- 617 625-5348 Mall Five Opus Massachusetts Z062- 312 430-4234 Runequest BBS Illinois X063- 205 772-8526 Bloom County BBS Alabama X064- 205 461-7893 H.A.U.G. BBS Alabama X065- 812 985-2083 West Terrace BBS Indiana Z066- 502 778-9846 WAEL Kentucky Z067- 502 964-2924 Atari Scene Kentucky Z068- 614 471-8559 ACEC BBS Ohio X069- 614 471-9209 Pandora BBS Ohio Z070- 918 251-5450 Help BBS Oklahoma Z071- 716 875-7376 Bates Motel New York Z072- 516 884-4140 Ol' Hackers BBS New York Z073- 203 443-5200 Phantasmal Alchemy Conneticut S074- 402 466-5339 S.T.U.N.N. BBS Nebraska S075- 201 929-9351 CoaSTline BBS New Jersey S076- 703 665-0087 Infonet BBS Virginia Z077- 201 388-1676 White House BBS New Jersey X078- 616 245-8259 Exte Michigan Z079- 404 968-4380 Dark Crypt Georgia Z080- 601 388-3490 C.A.U.U.G. BBS Mississippi Z081- 601 374-0709 Irata II Mississippi Z082- 612 522-2687 T.A.I.G. BBS Minnesota X083- 219 336-3774 Pipeline BBS Indiana X084- 313 736-3920 Facts BBS Michigan Z085- 808 261-2184 Muskrats Den Hawaii X086- 507 60-0530 BugBBS Panama X087- 219 875-8205 One Stone BBS Indiana Z088- 305 793-2975 Carina BBS Florida Z089- 305 734-6026 Atari Computer Club Florida Z090- 216 441-3816 Mega Vision BBS Ohio X091- 419 289-8392 Balloon Works Inc Ohio X092- 517 371-1106 C.H.A.O.S. BBS Michigan X093- 011 470-22183 Sorman Information Sweden (46) Z094- 206 631-8056 Knotts Nook BBS Washington State Z095- 312 889-1240 C.L.A.U.G. BBS Illinois Z096- 915 757-0788 House of Chance Texas Z097- 714 653-0447 Thunderbeast California Z098- 203 445-4094 Spiders Web BBS Conneticut Z099- 219 693-3485 Acorn BBS Indiana Z100- 606 271-1466 Missing Link BBS South Dakota Z101- 704 253-3614 Office BBS North Carolina X128- 805 239-8710 The LookOut BBS California Z129- 201 286-6189 AtlantiST New Jersey S130- 201 271-8765 Great Fire Breather New Jersey X131- 918 622-1121 Future City BBS Oklahoma X132- 805 872-0377 Home Bace California Z133- 201 752-9466 Piscataway Express New Jersey Z134- 718 373-4669 Blue BBS New York X135- 216 376-7618 Rubber City Atari Ohio X136- 317 243-2177 Dog House BBS Indiana X137- 907 338-5005 Public DOmain BBS Alaska X138- 309 797-5926 Checkmate BBS Illinois Z139- 707 437-6366 Elsinore Brewery California S140- 602 435-9645 Think Tank Arizona X141- 813 823-1471 MegaPlex BBS Florida X142- 314 696-3506 AXE***BBS Missouri X143- 201 343-1426 Launch Pad BBS New Jersey Z144- 416 648-8359 19th Hole BBS Ontario, Canada Z146- 213 631-7328 L.B.C.S. BBS California X147- 314 581-3801 Brickyard BBS Missouri X148- 215 289-5247 Star Fleet Command Pennsylvannia X149- 201 938-6906 Starbase I New Jersey Z150- 805 929-1624 My House California Z151- ??? 855-1317 Atarian Domain ??? X152- 816 637-6163 Schwarzer Drache Missouri Z153- 201 689-4550 Kilroy's Castle New Jersey Z154- 415 565-9742 Eagle BBS California _________________________________________________________________________ ST-REPORT Issue #32 April 25, 1988 (c)1988 SPC/Ron Kovacs All Rights Reserved Reprint permission granted except where noted in the article. Any reprint must include ST-Report and the author in the credits. Views presented here are not necessarily those of ST-Report or of the Staff. _________________________________________________________________________