Found an article within a PDF of the Status Newsletter on archive.org. It explained how to rewire a CX-22 Trackball for use as an ST-mouse for an A8-Diamond GOS based system or the ST. I have been using a mouse from Best Electronics (model CBM1) for quite some time and should have a backup. I made the modifications to my CX-22 as explained in the article and it worked the first time. Diamond has been configured to use STMOUSE2.DRV for the mouse driver and worked just as well with the modified
A funny thing happened on the way to Diamond enlightenment. It all started because I re-read the manual and examined each of the files on the Diamond GOS Utilities and Diamond Develop disks.
The Diamond GOS Utilities disk has the support files that work with the Desktop, Diamond Paint, and Diamond Write. You can read the manuals to find out how to configure your system. Configuring your system will improve Diamonds performance. I was able to identify most of the files. I'm not clear on t
ITEM 1
I made a reference, in my last blog entry, to a USR call to run a Diamond function from Atari BASIC. In assembly language you would set the data and pointers required by the Diamond function, place the function number in the accumulator, then jump to Diamond at $E800. In BASIC you set the data and pointer data as defined by B0-B7 and W0-W7, then call a machine language routine that BASIC loaded into page 6 memory. Because Diamond and BASIC both use the same Zero page addresses, when j
Well, I finished inventorying my collection of 265 periodicals and disk publications. Besides reviews and overviews there is very little in the way of information on how to program the Diamond environment. Most was penned by myself between 1991 and 1994. A series of nine articles under the title “Diamond Watch” was published in the WNYAUG Newsletter disks(1991-1993). Current Notes printed three articles between 1993 – 1994.
An internet search yielded very little information on program
I finally thought to ask myself what I would think of Diamond GOS, if I had found the cartridge in the bottom of a box at the local flea market. I would consider Diamond useless, if it was just the cartridge. Would I even know that the cursor keys will move the mouse pointer and the space bar the button?
Much of what makes Diamond useful is the utility disk containing the mouse and memory drivers. Also the program to help set it all up is a great asset. But even more then that the ma
A couple of months ago I found my ABC BASIC compiler disk and wondered if a BASIC program written for Diamond could be compiled. Then I said, “I'm going to try that as soon as I get disk drive 2 up and running.”
Disk drive 2 is up and running and I can say that an Atari BASIC program, demoing the Icon commands, compiled and ran on a 130XE with Diamond 3.0 . It took me longer to format an Atari DOS 2.0 disk then it did to compile the program.
A BASIC COMPILER (ABC)
It seems I may be procrastinating the start of my next Diamond program project. I have analyzed the situation and found that the postponement is not due to a lack of ideas as much as the fear of finding out how much I have forgotten about programing the Atari. Here is a sample of what else has been found to do.
Delay #1
I have decided to usurp the letter “d” to denote the presents of Diamond. Finding ways to delay the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome is of growing importance. So when I pus
I keep searching the web looking for any references to programs that were written for Diamond beyond Paint and Write. It might surprise some people that they exist. Finding them is unlikely in the places I've looked. REEVEsoft offered some on a public domain disk and most were on CompuServe.
The author of the following list is a personal friend. He remembers that some people were able to run the programs and others could not. Your Diamond version, DOS or computer model will determine a progr
I started life as a very young child.......... (is there really any other way to start a blog?)
I purchased my first 800 in 1982. I packed it up with the other 5 Atari computers and all things Atari for safe keeping in 1996. I would have never put it away except there seemed to be no shared enthusiasm for the Diamond GOS. For me, the lack of software was one of its strongest attractions. The Diamond GOS made the Atari almost a new computer. It took me 10 years to get to the point where I wan
Dcalc – The best Calculator app for Diamond GOS
This simple calculator written in BASIC for the Diamond GOS environment should be able to handle balancing your check book. If you are trying to get to the moon you may want to double check the math with your slide rule.
The program was written in Atari BASIC on a 130XE, Diamond GOS 3.0, 1050 disk drive with Atari DOS 2.5. I have a feeling that there will be some systems that may not be able to run this program. What I would
I think my son starts worrying about me when I get out the old Atari Computer. This time he’s trying to lure me away from the “Atari side” with a Windows 8 tablet computer. Making the jump from NT to Windows 8 and getting use to the new USB keyboard would make anyone miss the good old days. I do long for the day when a system restore was a matter of turning off the computer and reinserting the cartridge.
Just yesterday I had 41 updates. Remember the days when you had to get it done right
I didn't have a watt meter the first time I heard that the power cubes draw power even when the computer is turned off. After all how much could it be? The electric company will tell you that its not that much.
I got a “KILL A WATT” meter for Christmas a few years back. By the time I was done playing with it I could tell you how many extra watts were used to burn my toast in the morning. We were able to change some habits and reduce our electric usage. And I learned that not everyone appreci
I’m not sure why anyone would need to change the default mouse shape on the desktop but if you can do it in Windows maybe an attempt should be made for Diamond GOS. I choose this project because it has been 20 years since the last accessory was written. This was the first idea that came to mind and then I stopped thinking. Plus, I’ll be 80 if I wait 20 years for my next one. This documentation should help.
The Diamond Develop User Manual-Third Printing (DDUM3) contains most of the informati
As in, “Go fix your null modem cable so you can upload it.”
The Diamond calculator is in working order with very few crashes. I really thought that I would get a few more blog entries posted before it was done. The unseen logic ended up being easier to create then the graphics.
I got in the groove and I just couldn't stop. You know the programming groove, that zen state where you become one with the computer; where you become some cyborgion entity, where the program flows from yo
I have at least 75% of the code for dCalc (the Diamond GOS calculator .APP) written but it's all in my head. As I run the code in my memory I am not finding any routines that would cause me to scrape it and start over. I just have to fill in the rest. I'm going to write a series of subroutine that can be tested as the program progresses. This is what I have so far,
10 REM dGOS - ATARI BASIC PROGRAM LINK20 REM 50 REM 100 REM INIT DIAMOND GOS CART120 REM GOSUB 30000 INIT VARIBLES AND SCREEN140
This is the last accessory from the ones written pre-2000. I was hoping that by this time I would have remembered how they had been created. Looks like the learning curve will start from the beginning again. It should take me about 10 min. to go over vast amount of literature about programming Diamond accessories.
The zip file contains DIRPRINT.ACC and DIRPINT.M65
DIRPRN.zip
Diamond DIRECTORY ACCESSORY
Ever want to print a disk directory while your at the Diamond deskto
I was waiting for the Diamond GOS APP store to open before I posted this game. I finally figured it wasn't going to happen - soon. So here is the Tiles game that will give you something to play while we wait.
As you can see, I got out the old Zenith Data System monitor and removed the Windows NT computer from my desk. I like the color green. It may have been a better monitor for programing then the color TV but I get a better photo off the LED screen. I took a movie of a game. The speed
This is the last of the Diamond Programs I wrote in the wayback. I wasn’t going to mention this one because the method of loading an Atari BASIC program from the desktop does not work for all BASIC programs and I’m not sure why. But… because it works for the majority of programs and the goal of any GOS is to reduce the use of the keyboard as much as possible, here it is.
BASLO211 is based on the program in the article “Automate Your Atari”, Compute!, January 1983. The program writes
Summer is coming to a close and soon it will be too cold to ride the bicycle. I’m running out of old programs to post and look forward to writing new ones.
When I wrote this one back in 1990 I had a lot of hiRes pictures that were produced using Graphics Master and Map Ware (APX). Both these programs (and a lot more) save pictures in a 62 sector format. It is saved screen memory without compression.
The HiRez is also used for the Diamond Desktop. So knowing how to load ba
Do you ever wonder if this will be my last blog entry? Well, I still think that I can write a calculator program for diamond. Its just taking me a little longer then I thought. Seems like my attention span was a little longer before getting married, getting a house, having grandchildren and ….....
I have started coding the screen display but first things first. The link program was loaded, then the code was added to initialize the diamond cartridge. B0 was set to 0 for High Rez. Mode
There is a big banker box about ¾ full of floppy disks for the Atari8bit sitting next to my hobby bench. They are from several systems that were purchased just before putting my 8bit equipment into storage. I’m starting on a quest to see if their content is of any interest.
I was waiting to get an SIO2SD but the label glue is drying out and the labels don’t always fall into the sleeves with the disk. I guess that is part of what’s going to make this interesting.
Disk #001 was an unla
While waiting for the arrival of parts for the dTALK project I am going to upload and archive some of the programs from the past. Most of these programs saw the light of day but how much light is questionable.
sdump.zip
SDUMP.ZIP contains SDUMP11.ACC and SDUMP11.M65
SDUMP11.ACC – is an accessory program that will print the screen display to a printer capable of printing graphics. Its origin is from the “The 49 Second Screen Dump” in Compute!'s Second Book of A
I recently activated this accessory to see if I could get one of my 410 tape machines to work. I can hear the motors running but the tape no move. I hope you have better luck.
The Atari Program Recorder is a stereo recorder/player. The right channel is used for program storage and the left can hold audio information. This audio channel can hold music or speech and is sent to the TV or monitor speaker. Of course you can control this from the computer, which makes for some interesting opt
The front end or graphic interface is done to my satisfaction. I have a feeling that writing the code for the icon events will be a breeze. A list of programming utilities that need to written is growing daily.
As the icons were designed, I must have watched each of them placed on the screen about a thousand times. A very slow process. Once they were on the screen where they belong, turning off the Antic chip helped speed up the process. There was a 30% increase but it still takes about
Imagine you're doing some top secret work with a Diamond application program and someone walks into the room. What are you going to do, reach for the power switch and loose all your work?
Not if you have SCREENBL.ACC active. When you hear the foot steps coming, you can move the mouse up to the drop down menu and select SCREEN OFF. The screen will go blank and wait until an event(mouse button or keyboard click)is detected.
Even if you're not working on top secret stuff, the accessory c
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord