lord_mike Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Hi again... Sorry to keep posting so much, but I'm in the market for an SIO2PC cable, and I noticed there are several manufacturers. I've kind of narrowed it down to the Atarimax http://www.atarimax.com/sio2pc/documentation/ or Atari8warez http://www.atari8warez.com/support.html versions. The Atarimax seems to be the original and "gold standard", but it's quite expensive. I'd probably get the serial port one if I went that direction, since it's much cheaper. Would that work with a standard serial to usb adapter if necessary? I'm also reading that there's no Linux support and you have to pay for the APE software? Is that true? The Atari8warez one is much cheaper, especially for USB, but I'm not sure if the software is as good as Atarimax's APE. I presume that the interface software for these things are propretary, and I can't use Atarimax's APE with Atari8warez's product... or is the interface universal and it doesn't matter what software I use on what hardware? Any comments, opinions, or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 The software is generally not strictly tied to the hardware. I have one from Atari8Warez. It is well-made and works well with every SIO peripheral emulator I've tried it with: the shareware version of APE, AspeQt, the new fork of AspeQt called RespeQt, SIO2OSX and SIO Server (the latter two are OS X only). The most feature rich software is undoubtedly APE/ProSystem but at $50, I'll stick with RespeQt and SIO2OSX (which was only $25 for Mac users). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Z Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 (edited) Hi again... Sorry to keep posting so much, but I'm in the market for an SIO2PC cable, and I noticed there are several manufacturers. I've kind of narrowed it down to the Atarimax http://www.atarimax.com/sio2pc/documentation/ or Atari8warez http://www.atari8warez.com/support.html versions. The Atarimax seems to be the original and "gold standard", but it's quite expensive. I'd probably get the serial port one if I went that direction, since it's much cheaper. Would that work with a standard serial to usb adapter if necessary? I'm also reading that there's no Linux support and you have to pay for the APE software? Is that true? The Atari8warez one is much cheaper, especially for USB, but I'm not sure if the software is as good as Atarimax's APE. I presume that the interface software for these things are propretary, and I can't use Atarimax's APE with Atari8warez's product... or is the interface universal and it doesn't matter what software I use on what hardware? Any comments, opinions, or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! The Atarimax USB version is locked down, AFAIK, to APE. However, I don't own one so I can neither confirm nor deny that it works with RespeQt, or other SIO2PC software options. Lotharek makes an SIO2PC-USB and Sloopy (user here) does also. Sloopy is in the US, and Lotharek is in Europe. Also, there are a few different SIO2PC softwares. First, there is APE which you have already discovered. This is paid software. It currently has at least on feature which no other SIO2PC software has, R: emulation. This will allow your PC to emulate a modem for your Atari computer and let you 'dial out' over telnet. Secondly, there is AspeQt, which is also paid software. It is *technically* open source, but is no longer available without charge, except for older versions. AspeQt is cross platform and will run on windows, linux, and mac. If you decide to buy AspeQt, for some reason, I politely ask you to promptly ask for the source. According to the GPL, atari8warez has no choice but to comply, or face potential legal action. After you obtain said source, release it. The GPL protects your right to do this. Lastly, there is RespeQt, a fork of the newest version of AspeQt I could find. This software, like AspeQt, is open source. Unlike AspeQt, it is free of charge, and always will be. This is software that I am currently maintaining. DrVenkman (user here) is helping with OSX support currently. The current focus is to improve OSX compatibility, fix any bugs or problems which are found, and lastly add new features. The current feature I am working on is R: support. RespeQt, like AspeQt, is also cross platform. It runs on windows, linux, and mac. There are other options as well, but these are the three I have dealt with. Edited August 5, 2015 by Joey Z 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 One slight correction to Joey's post, which is otherwise spot-on: IF you have a Mac, SIO2OSX also does R: device emulation and even emulates the 850 interface, though how accurately I have no way to test. It's not free though ($25), and it hasn't been actively updated in several years. Despite this, it does still run under the latest version of OS X (the upcoming 10.11 'El Capitan'). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morelenmir Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Hi again... Sorry to keep posting so much, but I'm in the market for an SIO2PC cable, and I noticed there are several manufacturers. I've kind of narrowed it down to the Atarimax http://www.atarimax.com/sio2pc/documentation/ or Atari8warez http://www.atari8warez.com/support.html versions. The Atarimax seems to be the original and "gold standard", but it's quite expensive. I'd probably get the serial port one if I went that direction, since it's much cheaper. Would that work with a standard serial to usb adapter if necessary? I'm also reading that there's no Linux support and you have to pay for the APE software? Is that true? The Atari8warez one is much cheaper, especially for USB, but I'm not sure if the software is as good as Atarimax's APE. I presume that the interface software for these things are propretary, and I can't use Atarimax's APE with Atari8warez's product... or is the interface universal and it doesn't matter what software I use on what hardware? Any comments, opinions, or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! You could always make your own! It need be no more involved than literally three wires soldered to the appropriate pads of an FT232RL breakout board. I bought one in England for £10.00, which is undoubtedly a third more expensive than America. Works perfectly. Definitely use RespeQT. It is being actively developed, is of extremely high quality and comes for a damn good price! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookt Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 The Atarimax USB version is locked down, AFAIK, to APE. However, I don't own one so I can neither confirm nor deny that it works with RespeQt, or other SIO2PC software options. Is that true? I always thought it was 'locked' to Windows in the sense that it requires a driver which AFAIK only exists for Windows machines. It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has one as to whether it works with other software on Windows as well as APE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Z Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Is that true? I always thought it was 'locked' to Windows in the sense that it requires a driver which AFAIK only exists for Windows machines. It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has one as to whether it works with other software on Windows as well as APE. Could be. Anyway, until someone proves it works, then I'll assume it doesn't. Probably better that way, so I don't give someone false hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 (edited) the older versions of software from and or at atarimax are MS-DOS and DR-DOS friendly so you don't have to just use APE windows version if you don't wish to... of course that's the rs232 version.... I remember discussion about virtual com-usb serial port working as well in fact I used it... over the years seen it all work to some degree or another. But now Registered last version of APE addressed virtual com ports as well.... Download APE & ProSystem 1.18 for DOS Legacy Disk Image Conversion Software for Windows & MS-DOS)( Converts ATR & legacy XFD, DCM and SCP images to/from any supported format ) Download Imagic 1.06 for MS-DOS Download Imagic 1.06 for Windows Registered Users: Version 3.0.11 is Available - e-Mail for Upgrade Version 3.0.11 Includes 64-bit RS232, USB and VCP Support! http://www.atarimax.com/sio2pc/documentation/ Edited August 27, 2015 by _The Doctor__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.