Info-Atari8 Digest   Sunday, November 30, 1986   Volume 86 : Issue 9

This weeks Editor: Bill Westfield

Today's Topics:

                          terminal programs
               Termcap and BASIC prog for PR connectio
                            Chroma Output

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Date: Friday, 28 Nov 1986 07:09:30-PST
From: curzon%kaoa01.@decwrl.DEC.COM
To: info-ata@score.stanford.edu
Subject: terminal programs
Subj:   to marshall abrams/term packs

Marshall:

     Yes, I got my terminal emulator working pretty well; it emulates VT52
though, not VT100.  It includes a potpourri from Usenet: Michael Jenkins
80 column device (from VT52.ACT that he posted; Palevich's program, and
Bruce Langdon's XMODEM.ACT.)

     David Young came out with his VT100 emulator with KERMIT (and
XMODEM), which was everything I wanted for using my VAX from home.  It
has redefinable keys, genuine macros, very nice.  So I redefined my
objectives: what I have now is a fairly good package for talking to
local FIDO type BBS (ASCII) systems.  I added phone list, and round
robin dial/redial capabilities.  I have dropped the KERMIT, and added
XMODEM.

     I would recommend David Youngs Omniview/Omnincom package for your
use.  However, the characters are still graphics 8.  On an ordinary
B&W, you may still have to squint to distinguish S and 5, etc.  The
only way to get around that on an 8 bit (as far as I know) is to use a
package like Chameleon, where the text is in graphics 0, and you have
to scroll right/left to see the full 80 columns.  Unless of course you
spring for the price of a monitor!  If you are interested in my
program, I would be glad to send you the sources (in the Action
language).

                                Dick Curzon
                                Digital Equipment of Canada
                                PO Box 13000
                                Kanata Ontario      K2K 2A6
                                Canada.

(DEC E-NET)     KAOA01::CURZON
(UUCP)          {decvax, ucbvax, allegra}!decwrl!kaoa01.dec.com!curzon
(ARPA)          curzon%kaoa01.@decwrl.ARPA

------------------------------

Date: 30 Nov 86 04:08:54 GMT
From: zen!cory.Berkeley.EDU!fl@cad.Berkeley.EDU  (Sean Ludlow Flynn)
Subject: Termcap and BASIC prog for PR connectio
To: info-ata@score.stanford.edu

A friend was going to mail a termcap and a program to run it to some
PR connection owner out there (KAREN was the mailer).  Now she has
lost her account and the address of whom to mail it to.  So let's try
this again.  Whoever you are that wants to use vi, send me the address
and I will send you the files.

         In mail, use Subject: atari

------------------------------

Date: 28 Nov 86 22:42:29 GMT
From: tektronix!tekgen!tekigm!tekigm2!@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU  (Bill Dippert)
Subject: Chroma Output
To: info-ata@score.stanford.edu

On the 1200XL, there is no connection made to pin 5 -- which should be the
composite chroma pin.  A similar situation exists on the 800XL which the
Chicagoland Atari Users Group has provided a solution.  Does anyone know if a
similar solutions exists for the 1200XL?  Presumably, somewhere on the main
board is a place where a 75/200 ohm resistor could be attached and run over to
pin 5.  I have wondered about the lack of anything going to pin 5 on my
1200XL's for sometime, but it was not until this week that I tried them out on
a monitor that will accept either composite or separated video.  The 1200XL
works fine on composite video, but when connecting it for separated video, you
get a black and white screen only, no color (chroma)!  I hesitate to merely
connect pin 4 to pin 5 as I believe that this would merely give one composite
video again.  I am using a C.Itoh CM1000 monitor for my testing, altho a
Commodore 1702 would probably show the same results.  Am using  a 5 pin DIN
connector with four RCA outlets plugs on it for connecting between the monitor
and the monitor jacks on the computers.  

Note to John Sangster:  the 200 ohm resistor works fine on the C.Itoh monitor,
apparently there is some difference between it and the way the Commodore 1702
is wired for separated video.  May try later to reduce the 200 ohm to 75 ohm,
but am not sure about the remainder of your suggestions.  

Has anyone access to schematics, etc. that they could look up and see if there
is a point analogous to the R67/R68 point on the 800XL -- on the 1200XL.  If
there is then the same solution could be installed.  Has anyone else out there
tried to use separated video on a color monitor with a 1200XL and if so, what
happened?  Did you in fact get b & w or color?  If color, how did you or where
did you get the chroma signal?

Thanks in advance,
--Bill Dippert--
tektronix!tekigm2!wrd

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End of Info-Atari8 Digest
**************************
-------

Thanks for all the info, Blaine ... here's some more info (and a plea)!

I called the 800 number above last week, and got a "disconnect/not in
service" intercept.  Trying 800 information did get me the new/current
800 number for Wico though (sorry, I don't have it with me).

Anyway, after talking to a couple of very pleasant receptionists, I
ended up talking to a fellow named Eugene.  He gave me the bad news ...
alas, Wico has discontinued making the Trackball mentioned above (nor do
they have any other model of Trackball).  He did say that this product
was originally for Commodore's and Atari's, which is why I'm cross-
posting this to those news.groups.

He suggested that I look on the shelves of various people who had at
one time distributed the product ... he mentioned "Best", "Federated
Somethingorother", and "Toys'R'Us".

I've tried several "Best" and "Toys'R'Us" stores here in the Bay Area,
but without success, so (here comes the plea), does anybody out there
in net.land have one of these Trackballs that they'd be willing to part
with.  Or, does anybody know who might have one of these still in stock?
If so, please email me, or followup to comp.sys.amiga.

Thanks for any help!
/kim

--
UUCP:  {sun,decwrl,hplabs,pyramid,ihnp4,seismo,oliveb}!amdahl!kim
DDD:   408-746-8462
USPS:  Amdahl Corp.  M/S 249,  1250 E. Arques Av,  Sunnyvale, CA 94086
CIS:   76535,25

[  Any thoughts or opinions which may or may not have been expressed  ]
[  herein are my own.  They are not necessarily those of my employer. ]

I think you would be much happier with MYDOS instead of a patched DOS 2.
The patches that I have used are not automatic density switching.
        That means if you have double density loaded you can't use single.
Mydos 4.2 also supports a ramdisk if you machine has the memory.
It is 100% compatible with all of your Dos 2 disks.

I have downloaded from Compuserve a mod to the XL/XE OS roms that make them
use the warpspeed of your doubler.  BUT to get the true warpspeed benifits,
you must use the special format provided with Sparta dos.  BUT Sparta DOS
isn't very compatable with your DOS 2 disks.  My solution to this is to use
the Duplicating Technoliges Inc. board.  This gives you full track buffering,
double density or single density operation.  And if you have the warp mod
on your OS roms you get almost the full warp speed from standard format disks.
during read operations and normal speed during write operations.

The only problem I have found with this setup is that some protected
software won't load with the DTI board due to the full track buffering.
I keep my trusty 810 around for that.

Wish you luck

Ted Burger

        I have used Dos 2.0 (unmodified) with double density drives thru
an ATR8000 in the double density mode.  Most of the double density drives
and their mods will automatically switch to the correct density upon
boot-up.  Atari Dos 2.0 gets notified of the appropriate density and then
has no problem.  Mydos, though, will additionally handle the situation
where you want to switch disks of different density where Atari Dos 2.0
fails.  Bill Wilkinson of OSS (and an author of Atari Dos 2.0) published a
book called Inside Atari Dos containing the Dos SOURCE code and
explanations of how it can handle double density drives.  So, just put a
double density disk in and boot-up!

In article <4@rayssd.RAY.COM> c@rayssd.RAY.COM (Charles R Coday) writes:

I don't think you are quite right about this.  There is no code in Dos 2.0
to treat the first three sectors of the disk specially (i.e. 128 instead of
256 bytes), so any function which writes these (format, write Dos files, etc.)
will fail.  Perhaps the ATR 8000 compensates for this, and allows you to write
these sectors either way, but I am sure a regular disk drive will not do this.

It does seem like a crying shame, since someone certainly went to a lot of
trouble to put 95% or more of the code for double density support into Dos 2.0.

What I failed to include was the information that the first three sectors
must be 128 bytes ONLY regardless of their density AND the drive MUST
switch densities by itself (yes--the ATR8000 does the 'switching').  This
concept was first implemented by PERCOM who used to make drives for many of
the home micros, including ATARI.  When Rana came on the scene they
implemented the same idea ( I also had one of those at one time).  The real
proof, of course, is to insert a double density disk and see what happens.
The various DOSes like MYDOS, SMARTDOS, etc have the capability to create a
double-density disk with a DOS on it.  DOS 2.0, tho, won't do that.

So how can you get a double-density disk with DOS 2.0?

I did it in the past with a PD program circulated by PERCOM, but they went
out of the ATARI drive business.  BUT, if someone really wants a
double-density DOS 2.0, I will try to find the program and post it (if I
can figure out how to do that!).

In article <4@rayssd.RAY.COM>, Charles Coday writes :

Yes, please, please, please do so.

Ray Wilmott
wilm@topaz.rutgers.edu

Whenever I want to create a double density version of dos on my Percom,
I set one drive to double density, boot up on the other single density drive,
go to DOS and use the write DOS option.  As soon as you write DOS to the
double density drive you can boot with it.  It is my understanding that
DOS 2.0 was created with Atari's never released double density drive in mind
and it is therefore compatable with double density.  (I am, however, not in
front of my Atari, so I can't boot to check the exact DOS version number).

Kevin J. Meis
ihnp4!drutx!drupa!kmeis

Hmmm... in that case why not get a Happy upgrade.  It will make a 1050
double density and can be completely disabled if need be.
It supports full track buffering, warp speed, single/double/1050 density
You do not need special OS ROM's
I've had one for a while and I'm very 'HAPPY' with it.

The DTI board can also be disabled.  But you have to load a short program
to do it. (I think the HAPPY is the same way)  I have decided to keep my
setup completely 'turnkey' so my kids can use it to.  Therefore no special
software to configure anything.

Correct me if I'm wrong, But you still need the warp speed handlers in the
machine for Happy.  My suggestion for the OS mod allows any DOS to be used,
not just Sparta Dos, to get warp speed.

So even for the Happy system you either have the warp speed handlers in the
DOS or in the OS roms.  Since I like MYDOS, I chose the OS rom mod route.

Ted