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ryanr256

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Posts posted by ryanr256

  1. Posted · Edited by ryanr256

    Bob,

     

    later software likewhat and from what era, exactly?

     

    are we talking carts..?

     

    thanks

    Software that was released after Omnimon came out. Once the software houses became aware of the capabilities, they started taking steps to minimize the impact.

     

    I don't have any specifics off the top of my head, maybe someone else will chime in.

     

    [edit]

    I think most of the Electronic Arts titles don't work with Omnimon.

    [/edit]

     

    -Bob

  2. Posted

    You are correct. The Newell 256K XL upgrade is just the Newell 256K XL upgrade. The Rambo XL 256K upgrade is a ICD/FTe product. Sorry. Actually, the Newell also belongs to FTe.

    I still have a Newell 256K board.

     

    There's also a European 256/320K famous upgrade that escapes me at the moment.

    My 800XL has the RamrodXL and Newell 256k mods in it. I've also done the SuperVideo 2.1 mod on it.

     

    It's the pride of my collection.

     

    I'd like to find a Rambo board (or two).

     

    But we digress. :-)

     

    To reiterate what has already been said, running the OSNXL (w/Omnimon) alone probably isn't a good idea. Most of the later software recognizes Omnimon and won't run with it active. So you need some way to switch to a "normal" Atari OS to run that software.

     

    -Bob

  4. Posted · Edited by ryanr256

    OSNXL will let you use the Omnimon monitor and gives you an 800 compatible OS with a few added features.

     

    OmniviewXL gives you an 80 column display that may or may not work with a specific program.

     

    Ramrod XL gives you a board that three OS chips can be plugged into (Original XL OS, OSNXL, OmniviewXL). The board has a switch which will allow to select which OS you want to run before you boot the machine. This board plugs into the OS chip socket on the motherboard.

     

    If you are just buying the chips, you will have to come up with your own switching system to switch between the various OSes unless you want to disassemble your XL before each boot.

     

    I have the RamrodXL in my 800XL. I don't use it much anymore though. I have it because I used OmnimonXL quite a bit back in the day. Actually, that's why I have the 800XL. Nostalgia.

     

    If you want the full benefit of OSNXL and OmniviewXL, then look for the RamrodXL. It will give you the most flexibility with little hassle. I don't think just having the chips will be of much benefit to you unless you want to install one in place of the XL OS and leave it there. But, that's my opinion.

     

    [edit]

    If your 800XL has soldered chips, you'll need to unsolder them and either solder a socket for the new OS chips or solder the new OS chips on the motherboard. Or, you can leave the original OS chip in place, but then you'll have to cut legs on the chip, add solder a switch to the cut legs and solder the new chip to the old.

    [/edit]

     

    -Bob

  8. Posted · Edited by ryanr256

    I used to help out DSI doing repairs on Indus drives, 800XL's and 130XE's and such. I had all the Spectraview stuff, but, it has been such a long time.

     

    If I get the chance, I will visit my old house and search for floppy disks and EPROMs. I highly doubt I will find anything, but it's worth a try.

     

    The Spec-1 and Spec-2 carts use 2 2764 EPROMs on an OSS cart bank switch board, same as BASIC-XL.

     

    Cart plastics are the same, made by Solakian Mold Co. Fresno, CA. and are the same as Steve uses for his Flash Carts.

     

    Here's the conversation about the cart I found in my collection:

     

    http://atariage.com/forums/topic/207010-compu-cable-systems-spectraview-ii/

     

     

    -Bob

  16. Posted

    You guys have the sex olyimpics and some 69er jerk off game for the c64?

     

    No c64 stuff with me, but I remember a jerk off game for the Atari. And, I remember there was a text adventure game, like Zork, that had an adult theme. I think it was called "Hotel Erotica" or something similar.

     

    I've not seen either in my collection of disks.

     

    -Bob

  17. Posted · Edited by ryanr256

    Its quite refreshing that someone didn't spot my obvious smut based reply :)

     

    Bob, you sir are a decent man :)

     

    Unlike myself and Bounty Bob ;)

     

    On a serious note, I always beg people who aquire collections to digitially record them as images just in case there some rarities just sitting in them, I'm sure most people would agree, especially Mr Atarimania :)

     

    Its something the Atari people often feel a bit uneasy about which sort of annoys me, once these items are gone that's it, if no one archives them then its been a waste. C64 people archive everything and it shows.

     

    Oh, I spotted it. I just didn't respond.

     

    Trust me, it took a while to type a reply that I thought couldn't be turned around.

     

    I knew I couldn't say things like:

     

    "I came across this disk......."

     

    "I got this when I was poking around......"

     

    "I was able to get it up........."

     

    etc.........

     

     

    :)

     

    Oh and for the images, when I get things organized I can make images of whatever disk I have.

     

    -Bob

  18. Posted

    according to other posts, it sounds like this was a bank switched cart, so it probably isn't that simple.

     

    That's probably true.

     

    I formatted a blank disk and put Atari DOS 2.5 on it. The cart had no issues saving and retrieving the page information from the disk. I created a couple of test pages and saved them.

     

    I do have to admit that my first attempt at saving/retrieving resulted in multiple "disk error" messages until I figured out I didn't have enough space on my scratch disk. Once I used a fresh disk everything functioned perfectly.

     

    -Bob

  19. Posted · Edited by ryanr256

    Too much info there ;)

     

    Well, most of my collection has been acquired by buying a lot of stuff even if I on;y wanted one or two things out of the lot. The other things were put in a box or on a shelf and forgotten. Now, I'm going through things and finding gems like this. :)

     

    I am not the original owner. Whoever had this also had a bunch of strip poker data disks. I found them when I was looking for a DOS disk specific to the SpectraView II cartridge I also discovered in one of the boxes.

     

    -Bob

  21. Posted · Edited by ryanr256

    It works!

     

    Here's what happened:

     

    I was using my trusty 800XL and was getting nowhere. I decided to try the newly acquired 1200XL just to see what would happen. Plug the cart in and boot. Same results as the 800XL. I noticed with the 800XL that if I hit reset after booting I would get a very, very brief screen that said "Disk operation in progress. Please wait......." That told me something was working.

     

    With that in mind, I pressed RESET on the 1200XL. Same brief message and back to black screen. I then just started pressing the keys across the top of the 1200XL. Nothing until I pressed the "BREAK" key.

     

    A menu! Hey! But, the L2 LED was lit indicating the keyboard is disabled and nothing worked. But, I had a menu! I shut down the 1200XL and booted the 800XL. Sure enough I can get the menu. And the keyboard works! I took pics of the screens. No pic for option 4 or 5 because I didn't have a disk drive attached.

     

    The cart boots into what is called "Run Mode" and looks for the configured files on the disk. If nothing is configured, it just sits there, doing, well, nothing. Pressing BREAK interrupts Run Mode and puts you into Command Mode. On the 800XL the BREAK key is part of the keyboard whereas on the 1200XL it's up with the START, OPTION, etc. keys. That's why I was able to accidently hit it on the 1200XL but nowhere near it on the 800XL.

     

    Here is the main Command Mode screen:

     

    DSCN0817.JPG

     

     

    This is the screen for Option 1 - Revise Date and Time:

     

    DSCN0818.JPG

     

    Option 2 - Edit a Page

     

    DSCN0819.JPG

     

    Option 3 - Edit the Scheduler

     

    DSCN0820.JPG

     

     

    I was unable to get pics of Option 4 and Option 5 because I did not have a drive attached.

     

     

    -Bob

  23. Posted

    Sound like it is for display in old "Ads" on the public TV such as show or expo. You don't have any 8 bits Atari computer to test ?

     

    Yes, it is a application/program that allows cable TV operators to have customized pages. I have a modified 800XL (Newell 256K, SuperVideo, Ramrod XL) and the cart doesn't work on it.

     

     

    Thanks for the link. I saw that post earlier and was wondering if anyone had discovered more about the cart since those posts.

     

    I played with it a little this evening. The 800XL locks up with a black screen when I boot with the cart. According to the info in the 2009 post the SpectraView II should work with an unmodified 800XL. I don't have a stock 800XL to test with.

     

    Could it be the 256K Newell upgrade is conflicting? Don't know. Could it not be compatible wuth the Omnimon enhancement I have in my XL? Don't know. I don't have an easy way to take my XL back to stock to test. I may see if I can pick up another 800XL somewhere.

     

    -Bob

  25. Posted

    I was organizing my carts and I came across this. All I have is the cart, no box, manual, etc.. I have no idea how/when/where I acquired it. I couldn't get it to work in my 800XL but I think it may have a flaky cartridge port. Or, maybe I just need to clean the contacts. I searched the forums and found the two posts which were informational, but does anyone have any more info or hints on want needs to be done to get it functional?

     

     

    DSCN0814.JPG

     

     

    -Bob

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