MacRorie's RT8 Replacement Cartridge Interest Thread

[Bikerbob]

OK, so I have a working battery in my RT8.. but it does not seem to keep time??? battery is putting out over 3v.. just.. I will buy a proper battery soon.. but my other question is with the original RT8 .. its not Y2k.. so what good it to use now? keep it because its collectable.. but if you cant get the right date??

 

James

[+MacRorie]

OK, so I have a working battery in my RT8.. but it does not seem to keep time??? battery is putting out over 3v.. just.. I will buy a proper battery soon.. but my other question is with the original RT8 .. its not Y2k.. so what good it to use now? keep it because its collectable.. but if you cant get the right date??

 

James

 

 

Well, there would seem to be a circuit that is incomplete if it is not keeping time. Are you sure it is being recognized by spartados? The Y2K problem is *not* with the RT8, it is with the version of SpartaDos you are using.

[1050]

Sometimes the RT-8 puts up a good fight when the battery has been changed, it seems to need several boot ups and time settings in combination before all of it's configuration registers fall into place and start working right again. I sure thought I had a stinker too, but it shaped up after enough fiddling and worked perfect from then on. It's only the old TDline program that had the Y2K bug in it, the RT-8 itself doesn't have the issue. So you can get the right date, and day of the week after all. The bug caused it to say friday instead of saturday, the date by number was correct.

 

I was looking for a fix to that TDline program but only found a lot of dead links for it. IIRC I finally had to give up. The fix is in the newest SDX release of course, but this doesn't cover disk based Sparta.

[Bikerbob]

So, whats happening really, is its LOOSING time. I set it last night.. I will put it in later today, and I will have lost an hour.. maybe 2.. So maybe its a voltage thing from the battery. Otherwise it works.

 

I am using Spartados 4.19 in cartridge. I got them both together at a user group sale about 15 years ago.. our "local" atari user group was finally calling it quits and I picked up a bunch of stuff then. If I had an active community like this then.. I would have been playing with my gear all this time

 

James

[1050]

Or older SDX versions is what I should have added before.

 

I believe the fix was put in just a couple of versions ago so SDX 4.46 tdline.com should get it done for you? IIRC the rom size has grown so you may not be able to just pop out the eprom and go new from 4.19 to 4.47. If I could find the 'fix' it might be applied to an image of your rom, but no luck on the fix itself.

 

Expect odd things like a lost hour until it's internal registers get back in the game. I just kept using it and setting it and one day several weeks later it didn't need that done anymore. Took a good while longer to even realize that it really was never broken in the first place. It will loose minutes over a week, but I'm thinking that is due to the way the oscillator circuit is made - the trimmer can only slow down the clock, not speed it up. So it's a basic design fault inside the chip and not really fixable without tossing in more expensive parts to keep the clock in line. So the next RT-8 WON'T do this when you put in a battery, it just goes right to work with a minimum of hassle - and why so much fighting from one and not the other I can only guess that it's some erroneous data stuck in an internal register we can't even access. It could just as easily be the case where NOT setting it three boots in a row gets the register lined up to work right when finally time is set again, from then on it stays good enough for government work.

 

Yes sir, clubs were very nice when they existed, this one is pretty nice too...

[Mathy]

Hello MacRorie

 

How is the project coming along?

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

[+MacRorie]

Hello MacRorie

 

How is the project coming along?

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

I have all the materials for at least 50-100 carts EXCEPT the PCBs. They have been shipped. I am told 3-4 weeks ETA. As soon as I have those in hand (and they check out as I used a new fab), then they will be available. Hopefully in the next month.

 

Right now, my main concern is getting the BBS back online. Frustrating AF! Cannot tell you how many permutations of a HDD/RS232/800XL I have tried in the last weeks. I have *one* last attempt at the Black Box again and then I will have to find some kind of MIO replacement.

 

The IDE 2.0+ works GREAT, but the RS232 options do NOT (850/PRC). So am back to drawing board

[Mathy]

Hello MacRorie

 

Thanks for the update!

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

[1050]

Hello MacRorie,

I've located some 300ns eproms and ordered them, will send off another if they actually are that speed and otherwise program well. Need them for myself is reason one I'm doing it and then I get to use your system as a guinea pig, I think you still have eprom troubles, I just can't prove it yet. And this will be a boat ride from china, so it will be while.

[+MacRorie]

Folks,

 

Almost 7 *years* to the DAY #1 that it was originally requested and NINE months after I decided to try doing it, I am happy to announce that a replacement R-Time8 cartridge is available for purchase! I have learned A LOT. I learned how to make PCB schematics, how to use a 3D printer (and break it . . .), and I have learned how to find obsolete chips at decent prices. I have become too familiar with digi-key and jameco and mouser and . . .

Here's the deal: these are 100% compatible with the original R-Time8 cartridge. Everything is the same. So, it has the same limitations and the same benefits. HOWEVER, it also is VERY VERY easy to repair.

 

I have started a marketplace thread: #1 to take care of the ordering.

 

Thanks!

[Roydea6]

Thanks mail man delivered today..

[dancroteau41@gmail.com]

help my rt8 came apart in shipping and i can't tell what way to plug it in ,if somone could tell me so i don;t burn it out does the battery face me when in plug it in or face away  please help!!??

[_The Doctor__]

which rt8 did you buy?

 

[+MacRorie]

2 hours ago, dancroteau41@gmail.com said:

help my rt8 came apart in shipping and i can't tell what way to plug it in ,if somone could tell me so i don;t burn it out does the battery face me when in plug it in or face away  please help!!??

If this is mine, first, I apologize that the cart came apart. Guess it’s time to add glue and not just press fit. Second, the battery is the “back” and should face away from you. 

[dancroteau41@gmail.com]

6 hours ago, _The Doctor__ said:

which rt8 did you buy?

 

THE BREWING ACCADEMY  MACRORIE'S TR8  REPLACEMENT CARTRIDGE  BLACK  READS REAL TIME CLOCK FOR ATARI 800/XL/XE 100% COMPATABLE WITH R-TIME8 SDX

[+MacRorie]

1 hour ago, dancroteau41@gmail.com said:

THE BREWING ACCADEMY  MACRORIE'S TR8  REPLACEMENT CARTRIDGE  BLACK  READS REAL TIME CLOCK FOR ATARI 800/XL/XE 100% COMPATABLE WITH R-TIME8 SDX

 

Dan,

 

I think I answered one of your questions, above. The others I sent via the work email. 
 

Just a reminder to one and all (it’s in my auto-responder as well): I am away from the shop for the next week. I will try and respond as I see messages come into my personal email (such as AtariAge threads I have on “watch”), but I don’t see work emails unless I log in remotely and I try not to do that on vacation.