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Xebec

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Posts posted by Xebec

  2. Posted

    Hi folks!

     

    I've installed Antonia on a NTSC 1200XL (2 CPU socket risers), and am having a lot of software just not work when trying to run from AVGCart*.  I've removed the onboard ROMs to ensure no conflict.  

     

    I'd like to try to run the latest ANT.EXE to configure / set various RAM types / etc..  but on Drac030's site they're in .ARC format:  http://drac030.krap.pl/en-acc-pliki.php

     

    7-Zip, WinZip don't want to open, and PeaZip which I downloaded asks for a password which doesn't work either.  Is there any chance someone could post .EXE versions of these so I can run the latest?  Also, is it possible to change ROMs from just the AVGCart, or do I need to create some kind of .ATR with ROMs on it and load that from the AVGCart?

     

    Also, on a 1200XL running Antonia with default, how do I force disable BASIC?  

     

    *Software not working:

    Bosconian NTSC load most of the way, and at the logo screen just hangs.  

    SpartaDOS X cartridge loads in some configs (64, 128KB), but halts when I select 576KB or 1MB of RAM.  It also doesn't seem to see any more RAM with 320KB.

    AutoDuel .ATR files just hang on load

    Phantasie .ATR gives an error "remove cartridge" (even though I held option during boot)

    Alternate Reality .ATRs don't load or hang

    Some other ATRs do seem to work OK

     

    For each of these I've tried Linear ON/OFF, and also various RAM types.  Is it possible these are compatibility problems with the 65C816?

     

    Thanks!

    • Like 1

  4. Posted

    On 12/27/2019 at 2:41 PM, Frankie said:

    I have a 1200xl with an Antonio upgrade in it. I plugged it in, remove both OS chips because they are not needed since the OS is in the Antonio and it worked.

     

    Frank

    Thanks Frank - can you tell me how you got the Antonia in there?  It looks like it will block the MMU chip so I'm not sure how i'd connect Antonia to the MMU?  Did you use a riser or two on the CPU socket?

  6. Posted

    Colleton + FJC - Thank you for the awesome responses!  This helps a ton.  I'm lucky enough to have an extra tube monitor or two (w/Chroma and Luma support), but I think I might also order a Sophia for future use..  I do also have an AVGCart which I guess could give me limited .ATR support with the Antonia at least.

     

    I appreciate the links for the PBI upgrade for the 1200XL, but that's definitely beyond my ambition :).  I might someday set up an Atari 8bit BBS again, though I'd probably use an 800XL rather than a 1200XL or 800 just because I have more spares of 800XLs :).   

     

    I think for 2020 my two main 8bit machines will end up being:  800 + Incognito + SIDE2 for NTSC software and general usage (Wifi232)..   1200XL + Antonia + AVGCart + PAL ANTIC for playing PAL specific demos and games..  

     

    Thanks again! 

     

    1 hour ago, flashjazzcat said:

    It will not. You need U1MB for that.

    AFAIK, although since the stock 1200XL MMU is different to the 800XL MMU, I'm unsure if this presents any issues for Antonia. The 1200XL also lacks the EXTSEL signal; I have no idea if Antonia requires it.

    ClearPic (see above) is excellent, and if you want to use the existing video jack rather than hacking a DVI connector into the back of the case, UAV is a solid choice (s-video quality will be top-notch).

    Big problems with a stock 1200XL when it comes to games and demos are the fact it's NTSC, and the fact the OS has a few compatibility issues. Antonia or U1MB will take care of the latter (since you'll be able to run an XL/XE OS easily), and - as mentioned - U1MB will provide the optimal HDD experience when coupled with SIDE2, and is one of the only workable HDD options on a machine with no PBI expansion port.

    Plugging a PAL ANTIC into a 1200XL will achieve the same overall result as putting a PAL ANTIC into an NTSC 800XL. You'll get 'NTSC 50' video.

     

    It's possible to completely convert the 1200XL into a machine 100 per cent equivalent to the PAL 800XL (aside from the lack of a PBI port, which you can add if you're feeling exceptionally ambitious), and if you opt for U1MB, you'll need to convert the machine to a single-OS ROM, XL/XE MMU configuration before you start anyway.

     

    http://www.retrobits.net/atari/pbi.shtml

     

    You essentially need to perform the first half of the above mod (leaving off the PBI connector and the internal BASIC ROM) before installing U1MB. It's possible to fully convert the machine to PAL by replacing the master crystal, GTIA and ANTIC, and building the PAL colourburst circuit (which requires a secondary crystal). DropCheck used to sell PAL GTIA adapters but sadly they're no longer available. The adapters sat under the GTIA chip and provided all the PAL circuitry (and the crystal) to properly drive a PAL GTIA. You just had to move one jumper on the motherboard (aside from the jumpers already changed to accommodate the single-chip OS ROM). It would be nice to see another source of these adapters, since I don't observe them suddenly becoming surplus to requirements.

     

  7. Posted

    Hi folks - I have a ~ March 2018 Antonia upgrade I never installed, and was getting ready to install on an 800XL when I realized I have a 1200XL here as well.  I think all of the following are true, could someone please verify?

     

    - Antonia will plug-into the 1200XL and will provide .ATR support when used with a SIDE2

    - An Antonia 'bought for an 800XL' is plugged in the same way as an 800XL (just locate the CPU and the proper CPLD)

    - The 1200XL video output has a bunch of issues, but wiring in a UAV with chroma/luma support will give good output

    - For playing games/demos -- there's no real drawback to a 1200XL in this configuration, over an 800XL?

    - Using an ANTIC PAL on a 1200XL has the same effect as 800XL?  (correct timing, colors may be slightly off) 

  8. Posted

    3 hours ago, tmp said:

    this xex works for me, what was the version you upgraded from and what's your current firmware version?

    I upgraded to 17 from the original AVGCart post (download link = http://avgcart.tmp.sk/files/atari/avgcart-0017.zip), and believe it was version 12 before.

     

    I tested this on a second Atari 800 (bone stock, no mods at all) and same result.  Of course I don't know if it worked before on that version.  Mule.Atr also doesn't work (though I'm not sure which ATRs work / don't work on AVGCart).    

     

    Thanks! 

     

  10. Posted

    Hi folks!

     

    I'm prepping a bone stock 48K Atari 800+AVGCart for a retro LAN party next weekend, and I just noticed the versions of MULE that I have limit me to 1 or 2 planeteers only.   I've tried .XEX versions found via forum searches here, and what I already had from a while ago.  I also tried the multijoy figuring it wouldn't be compatible, and it wasn't.

     

    It's not that the 3rd and 4th ports don't work - I can actually use those joysticks for players 1 or 2, but there's literally no option for 4 humans.  

     

    Are there any other XEXs available?  I have an .ATR version that won't work on the latest AVGCart firmware, and a .bin file that also doesn't load.  

     

    P.S.  After updating my AVGCart to the latest firmware, my existing mule.XEX won't even load now..   ugh :)   (tried copying a fresh version down, no change).  

  12. Posted

    Hey folks - received my Incognito board a week or two ago, and finally getting ready to install..  (Been looking forward to this for years! Thanks community!)

     

    I noticed this on the black strip part of the board - it looks like a little bubbling where a few traces are..   Is this anything to worry about?  am I good to go ahead and begin the soldering/connection to the 800 mainboard?

     

    Also bonus question - I see a lot of chatter about the 'overdriven Luma', but the Luma/Chroma output looks great on my Amdek monitor;  should I bother replacing R189 with the ~200-220 Ohm?

     

    Thanks all!

     

    IMG_20191109_185206065.jpg

  13. Posted

    Continuing the thread -  as an electronics n00b -

     

    Does the VME bus on the Mega STE already have access to what it needs to access the ports/registers/"etc stuff" it needs if someone built a the enhanced ports into a VME card?

     

    Would desoldering the dipswitches and patching TOS just for the HD floppy (dip switch 7) be enough?  (i.e. just force HD floppy on or off with the right ROM) -- the other thread seems to indicate that's the only actual use of the dip switches relative to TOS.   (No hardware changes).  

  14. Posted

    9 minutes ago, Stephen said:

    It's the PoKey in the computers that does the sound.  Pretty sure it can be made to perfectly emulate TIA sounds.  The VBXE can certainly best the graphics, but as far as running a direct emulation layer, I doubt that would be possible.

    True though I was also thinking the CTIA/GTIA chips are an evolution of TIA, and they do have a sound channel output -- sort of a 5th channel,  attached to the speaker on the Atari 400/800 and muxed to the output on the newer machines.  That *might* be directly compatible with TIA sound .. 

     

    re: Graphics, VBXE is a FPGA so I was thinking if you reprogrammed the FPGA to simulate MARIA instead of ANTIC ..  though the architecture probably won't work, but I wanted to explore.  

     

    Thanks..

  15. Posted

    Would it be technically possible for the VBXE board (combined with U1MB) with the right ROM / NVRAM bits to emulate the MARIA chip allowing the Atari 8bit to emulate/run 7800 games?

     

    I understand a ton of work; just curious if it's even feasible without changing the boards hardware..    I assume GTIA isn't sufficiently backward compatible with TIA for sound?

  16. Posted

    For those who either have an Atari Falcon or are knowledgeable, what is using one today like compared to an ST or Mega STE?

     

    I'm asking in the context of a casual classic computer user.   For example, going from a regular ST to a Mega STE:

     

    - The 16 mhz upgrade is nice to make some 3D games run better, and TOS/GEM is even snappier

    - The blitter chip makes TOS snappier, and enables better scrolling on some games

    - TOS 2.04 has more features than 1.x

    - You gain some the ability to run some STE-only games, and better sound/performance for some STE-enhanced games

    - access to the STE specific demoscene

    - You get a slightly better serial port, or at least a serial port stable at higher speeds thanks to 16 MHz (= fun for modem emulation, or copying files to/from the MegaSTE)

    - Better compile times if you're writing software for the ST, or faster interpretative langauges

    - 1.44 MB floppy support

     

    Getting a Falcon I imagine:

     

    - Less compatible on ST applications (noticeable)

    - More RAM better for bigger RAM drives, etc

    - Ability to run more modern OSes

    - Access to additional software that requires a Falcon (can you run TT specific stuff?) (not that the library is huge)

    - Growing Falcon demo scene

    - Even faster on 3D software (i.e. Frontier:Elite 2)

    - Higher resolutions in color make the desktop much more usable

    - Desktop runs faster

     

    I'd like to play around with a Falcon some day to learn the machine a little more... 

     

  18. Posted · Edited by Xebec

    +1 for VCF East 2019 - this was an amazing day! I enjoyed the classes on Friday, but came back Sunday and really loved both the Joe Decuir keynote (lots of great details on the technical genesis of the Atari 8bit computer line), and also the amazing amounts of Ataris on display. Joe gave a shout out to Jamie Lendino which was great (awesome book), and also talked about wanting to create a book the technical genesis of the Atari 400/800 (sandwiched by existing VCS/Amiga books).

     

    Joe seems like a true and humble gentlemen - great guy!

     

    Summary: Terrible weather, 2 hour drive for wife and I, but WELL WORTH IT - we had a great time!!

     

    "John and Jen"

    • Like 7

  19. Posted

    Just came back from VCF East (2019), and Joe Decuir referenced this processor in his keynote.. he said they (Atari) bid out the work to create a 16-bit version of the 6502 but they decided it created too much risk for the release schedule. This was sent out for bid in 1977 (!) not later -- so at least at some point during the design phase of the A8 they were thinking 16-bit.

     

    I plan to email him and ask a bit about this, he referred to it as the 6509 though he admitted he had less than 3 hours of sleep from the flight over to NJ the night (morning) before.

    • Like 5

  20. Posted · Edited by Xebec

    Great topic!

     

    I used my 8-bit from ~ 81/82 (5 year old kid) as a main computer, even for a year or so after we go our 520ST In 1986. (USA). After that, I'd go back occasionally to the 8bit, and even transferred a bunch of games to the ST to try ST Xformer for emulation (too slow sadly, later I understand why :) ). I went PC In late 89-1990 - same story with the ST, and about 1 year later, I spent 99% of my time on the PC. I kept a 520ST and 800XL unpacked and ready to play; and over the next 4 years, the 8bit got all of my spare time (not the ST). For the ST the non-usage came because my Supra drive died* - and going back to floppy just didn't do it for me / I had played out the ST games pretty well at that point. Unfortunately i also leant a 1040ST With 2-3 boxes of floppies to someone and have never been able to find their contact info. :(.

     

    In August 1994, US Marshals came to seize my (pirate) PC BBS (DeadBeat BBS); but the 8-bit and ST stayed out and ready for usage. I didn't actually get back 'online' until 1996 - (just stayed away from computers for 18-24 months after that experience); but I was playing Alternate Reality and some other games on the 8bit occasionally. I actually played the 8bit occasionally (both through emulation, and occasionally real hardware) through about the years 99-01, packing it up (and the ST) around 2001. They stayed in boxes at the parents during my apartment years and even after I bought my house, finally come out of the boxes maybe 7 years ago or so. I still have my original Atari 800 and 800XL though i'm not sure which is which since I have a few of each :-P.

     

    As for the ST not getting love -- Little Green Desktop (LGD) or atari.st kept me 'in the ST scene' once emulation got decent on PC in the late 90s / early 2000s. That website holds a ton of nostalgia for me because it allowed me to run the ST the way I really remember it ("with a hard drive"), and I eventually fell in love with that platform again. Big kudos to whoever created and maintained that site - it was awesome checking out releases after I left the ST scene in ~ 1990.

     

    *I wish I still had that harddrive mechanism for the ST (threw it out) - I'd actually pay someone to recover the data now.. wrote a lot of scripts with my father, etc for BBS Express ST!, then later ran FoReM for better HDD usage / file transfer protocols. (FoReM was ugly though vs BBS Express imo :) ). I threw away almost all of my ST floppies but still have a selection of 8bit floppies..

     

    I wish I had discovered the Amiga back in the day; I only saw Rogue on an Amiga 1000 and assumed the platform was nothing special. I did pick up an A500 and A1200 in 2012 or so before prices started skyrocketing -- but they're keepers now.

    • Like 1

  21. Posted

    Great reply six!

     

    #1 makes a lot of sense.. makes the computer 'easier to use' for anyone. And the 400/800 was pretty friendly..

     

    #3 - great list; was reviewing. The HP-IB Is interesting though it doesn't carry power for peripherals like SIO/USB, The other two (1986 and "early 1990s") standards do carry power though.. good finds and thank you.

     

    Thanks!

     


    Probably because it was to be "idiot-proof". It's much easier and intuitive to use and looks a lot less technical than the "standard" connectors of the era. Centronics plugs used those technical-looking metal clamps and the larger DB-15, etc. plugs needed screws to stay in and the pins were much easier to bend. The large SIO plugs could probably be handled by 5-year-old and had enough friction to stay put without clamps or screws.

    Only an educated guess here, but there should be people who can answer this.

    By the time the Amiga came out there was a much larger and specialized market for peripherals, the Centronics parallel port was the de facto standard for printers and DB-9 RS-232 for modems. There was much less need for a computer manufacturer to provide all peripherals and it was probably less likely for customers to buy everything from one manufacturer, especially with a high-end machine like the Amiga (even most Atari printers were just so-so and not top of the line). Amiga didn't have the clout to push a SIO-plus bus into the market, it was quite some time later that USB achieved that.

     

    All following was found on Wikipedia.

     

    HP-IB (IEE 488) predated SIO and was used on the Commodore PET and was available as an option on the VIC-20 and C64 (both of which used the IEE 488 protocol over a serial connection).

     

    Maybe the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) might qualify, although it was for keyboard / mice only AFAIK, and HP had HP-IL, which worked on all kinds of peripherals with very small connectors. On HP-IL all connections formed a loop, i.e. all devices were daisy-chained and the cabling needed to be run back to the host device form the last device on the chain.

     

    Wikipedia also lists Access.bus which I've never heard of, though I (like most people who lived through the pre-HDMI-age) seem to have used it nevertheless as it was (and still is) used on VGA connections to communicate the display specs to the computer.

    • Like 1

  22. Posted

    Just a few questions --

     

    1. Why was the SIO plug 'so large', and not something more compact like the 9-pin joystick connector? I know SIO needs 13-pins instead of 9, but just curious if there is an electrical reason why it's substantially larger.

     

    2. Was there ever any consideration for making a version of this for Amiga Lorraine - as SIO (daisy chainable, smart devices, with 5V/12V power for low power devices) is awesome. I'm guessing either SIO was patented, or "Lorraine is a gaming system" (though so was the original design of the Atari chipset).

     

    3. Are there any other computers with a SIO / USB type functionality, prior to actual USB on PCs from the mid/late 1990s?

     

    Thanks :)

    John

  23. Posted

    LOL, i just l literally logged into AtariAge to post "Did Atari ever do any serious work to extend the Atari 8-bit chipset?", after having not been on here for months..

     

    Besides this paper explaining the design.. and the Amy chip being made and 'bolted on', was there anything else like this to extend the A8 chipset capabilities, intended for mass production in the future? I assume everything just stopped when Miner and friends left?

  24. Posted

    2600 --> 800 --> 520ST.

     

    I remember when my dad first switched the BBS to the ST (BBS Express 850 Pro --> BBS Express ST!); I really didn't (originally) like the ST BBS so I spent the time switching everything back to the 8bit confusing callers of the board. A week later my Dad reset it to the ST :). Later I "got" the ST, wrote a few BBS Doors with my Dad and went on from there eventually to PC. I had a great time with the ST when it matured, but when it launched vs. the relatively mature 8-bit -- my heart stayed with the 800 for a very long time.

     

    Sadly the only time I ever saw an Amiga 'back in the day' was an Amiga 1000 playing the game Rogue, and also with the original terrible colors of Workbench 1.0.

    Rogue didn't show off any Amiga capability, and the GUI -- being a young kid and not knowing much, seemed less polished than the ST's was on a monochrome monitor..

     

    Of course now I have an A500 and an A1200 with some upgrades.. next to a Mega STE :).

    • Like 2
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