The Mr. Video Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 Hi, I resoldered the read head on my 1010 and now it works. I tried to load the game Blue Max but every time I would try to load it, the 1010 would stop playing the tape, and no error or anything would pop up on the screen. I've tried both an actual tape copy and a .wav and everytime it would stop. is there a reason why this happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 Are you booting without BASIC (holding both OPTION and START at power-up)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mr. Video Posted August 13, 2017 Author Share Posted August 13, 2017 Are you booting without BASIC (holding both OPTION and START at power-up)?Yup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 Hmmm... where did the wav come from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mr. Video Posted August 13, 2017 Author Share Posted August 13, 2017 Hmmm... where did the wav come from? I converted a .cas file to a .wav using A8cas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 If it's a known good .cas that works on all OS versions, then the computer itself is suspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mr. Video Posted August 13, 2017 Author Share Posted August 13, 2017 (edited) If it's a known good .cas that works on all OS versions, then the computer itself is suspect. I just tested the .cas on Altirra, and it only loads on 400/800 mode, this might mean the tape version is incompatible with the Atari XL. Yet I can't find the game on this compatibility list. http://www.atarimania.com/faq-atari-400-800-xl-xe-what-programs-run-only-on-the-400-and-800-models-and-why_68.html Edit: I looked up the manual and it says this: "Loading Blue Max Atari (Cassette) Turn on computer whilst holding down the START key (START & OPTION on XL models) A beep will be heard. Press PLAY on the cassette unit and then press RETURN. Program will load and run automatically" For me, this implies that it should work on the XL models. Edited August 13, 2017 by The Mr. Video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 Are you having issues loading any other cassettes? Most importantly can you load a real cassette? I am wondering if the issue is due to the conversion process. If you can load a real cassette, can you load any other .cas to .wav converted cassettes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mr. Video Posted August 13, 2017 Author Share Posted August 13, 2017 Are you having issues loading any other cassettes? Most importantly can you load a real cassette? I am wondering if the issue is due to the conversion process. If you can load a real cassette, can you load any other .cas to .wav converted cassettes? I can load real cassettes, and I tried to load a .cas to .wav conversion of Zaxxon and that worked fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 I don't recall ever having an issue with Blue Max on my 800XL but, then again, I've only ever used a disc or cartridge for the game rather than a cassette. My gut feeling is that there was some error in your conversion to cassette. I will attach my copy of the .cas file that I have so you might be able to try another conversion. Blue Max (1983)(Synapse).zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mr. Video Posted August 13, 2017 Author Share Posted August 13, 2017 I don't recall ever having an issue with Blue Max on my 800XL but, then again, I've only ever used a disc or cartridge for the game rather than a cassette. My gut feeling is that there was some error in your conversion to cassette. I will attach my copy of the .cas file that I have so you might be able to try another conversion. It would get to the loader, then the sounds that the Atari makes while loading from cassette would sound off, indicating that it's having trouble loading, then the tape would stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 Maybe the leader between loader/main is too short. You can pause for a few seconds when you hear the clear tone. Also note plenty of games turn off the IO noise so it's practically silent when loading the subsequent stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ijor Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 I just tested the .cas on Altirra, and it only loads on 400/800 mode, this might mean the tape version is incompatible with the Atari XL. Yet I can't find the game on this compatibility list. http://www.atarimania.com/faq-atari-400-800-xl-xe-what-programs-run-only-on-the-400-and-800-models-and-why_68.html Edit: I looked up the manual and it says this: "Loading Blue Max Atari (Cassette) Turn on computer whilst holding down the START key (START & OPTION on XL models) A beep will be heard. Press PLAY on the cassette unit and then press RETURN. Program will load and run automatically" For me, this implies that it should work on the XL models. I'm too lazy to check, but If it fails under Altirra on XL mode, then chances that it won't work on real hardware. The manual might be wrong or might belong to a different version ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mr. Video Posted August 13, 2017 Author Share Posted August 13, 2017 Maybe the leader between loader/main is too short. You can pause for a few seconds when you hear the clear tone. Also note plenty of games turn off the IO noise so it's practically silent when loading the subsequent stage. If you're talking about the .cas SS posted, then there's no clear tone between the loader and the main. If you are talking about the cassette, then I tried that and nothing changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mr. Video Posted August 13, 2017 Author Share Posted August 13, 2017 I don't recall ever having an issue with Blue Max on my 800XL but, then again, I've only ever used a disc or cartridge for the game rather than a cassette. My gut feeling is that there was some error in your conversion to cassette. I will attach my copy of the .cas file that I have so you might be able to try another conversion. I just tried to load that .cas on Altirra and it can't load it either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 I just tried to load that .cas on Altirra and it can't load it either. Sorry, that was my whole bag of tricks then. Wish that I could have been more help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phaeron Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 The version on AtariMania will indeed only boot in 400/800 mode, or more precisely, only the 400/800 OS. It checks the byte at $FFF8 and the interrupt vectors at $FFFA-FFFF. The loader recognizes OS-A, OS-B, and the 1200XL OS, but not the 800XL or XEGS OS. The one posted by SS will only work on the XL/XE OS, because it has a bunch of jumps directly into the OS. The gap after the title screen is also way too short, since the OS waits for 9 seconds prior to beginning the read. This can be worked around by pausing the tape player at the tone to prevent the tape from advancing until the 9 second delay has expired. However, it still doesn't work after the load completes because the loader jumps to WARMSV without clearing COLDST, so the OS does a cold start instead of a warm start. I'm not sure how this tape originally worked. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mr. Video Posted August 22, 2017 Author Share Posted August 22, 2017 Just bought me an Atari 1050 and a Translator disk. Perhaps that will make it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mr. Video Posted August 22, 2017 Author Share Posted August 22, 2017 Update: I decided to test everything out on Altirra and figured out how to get it to load on an XL. First, I load OS-A using the translator disk, trying OS-B will cause a "Remove Cartridge" error to pop up on the screen. Then, I hold down Option and Start, then press Select. Finally, I go through with the loading procedure, making sure I take out the Translator disk from the drive before pressing Return to avoid a "No dsk drive" error to pop up. Anyway thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred_M Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Sorry for posting this (too) late, I have not read this topic earlier The US cassette of Blue Max by Synapse is 400/800 only, The European cassette by Synsoft(US Gold) is XL/XE compatible. I have just checked it in my own collection, but you can also see this on Atarimania. Look at the differences in the manuals of Synapse and Synsoft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baktra Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 The general rule is - If you find a .CAS file, try it with an emulator with good tape emulation first (most recent versions of Altirra or atari800-a8cas will do) and with SIO patch disabled. You can always press F1 (or F12) to speed the emulator up. It will save you a lot of time. If it doesn't load in emulator, it is likely to fail with real hardware too. Another solution is described in this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 I think the real issue here is actually using a good image file, hacks / deprotected stuff can tend to in some minor cases 'do its own thing', same with custom loaders, if they are programmed to bang the hardware directly then there's every chance they will be OS specific. The best image is the one that's an exact copy of the retail unbugged original, I use unbugged because even the devs get it wrong in really rare cases.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred_M Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 (edited) Sorry Paul The issue here is that the US release does not run on a XL or XE. I have the US and the European cassettes myself and tested it And The Mr. Video wrote that he got the cassette working using the Translator disk Edited August 22, 2017 by Fred_M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Yep Fred, me getting carried away, I meant to say 'in general a proper image is handy' rather than it being the direct issue for Mr Video.. Senior moment 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred_M Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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