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aftyde

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Posts posted by aftyde

  1. Posted · Edited by aftyde

    I can scan a P-Code label - it's coming off anyway... I think it makes sense to look at these and perhaps create new labels that reflect mods as well. I have a bunch of disk controllers - two are TI's (Guion mod and the other with switchable 80 track), and a CorComp (no label at all). My other labels look like they have been wet at some point in the past... :/

     

    I think re-creating these is the way to go - my card labels are pretty good but they are 30+ years old now...

     

    pcode cropped

    • Like 5

  2. Posted

    Nope - but it does make me wonder if the PEB might be the culprit? In DM2 with a TI controller - super simple setup I get a Disk Error 31 every time. I don't normally use a Speech Unit - but I plugged on in just on the off chance there was some contact issue between the firehose and the computer.

     

    Changed the drive select - same behavior as DS1.

     

    No cart expander...

     

    Also tried using a head cleaner floppy with some alcohol.

     

    Looking for a goat, alter and some black candles now... :)

     

    Cheers, Arthur...

  3. Posted · Edited by aftyde

    Hi All,

     

    Have a standard TI drive configured as DSK3. It'll format but fails verification. Since I can't format Lotharek images either (with any of 3 different controllers - but it works fine if I init the images on the PC) I have been living with the weirdness. However, now I need to actually format a diskette and it simply won't work with any controller using any disk manager.

     

    Sounds like the drive...

     

    So how do I fix the damn thing?!? :) Or is this one of those circumstances where I buy one on eBay, swap it, and cross my fingers?!?

     

    By the way - it seems to have no problem reading or writing to disks it's made in the past...

     

     

    Cheers, Arthur...

  6. Posted

    Hi All,

     

    Just scored a Corcomp DS/DD controller on eBay for a too high price. However, having some minor issues.

     

    Because the Corcomp throws up it's own boot screen - it intercepts the Ex Bas 2.7 suite menu. When I select the cart on the Corcomp menu the system hangs. (though I must assume it works for someone as the Corcomp diagnostics are on the cart)

     

    I can't get to boot manager (download a disk image) because ftp at WHT seems to be having permissions problems and I can't go any deeper than 1 subdir - so if anyone could pitch me a disk image of the latest Corcomp utilities that would be awesome.

     

    So basic questions - anyone using it, do you have the utils, are you using a Lothrek (and if so, can you send diskette image specs for the 40 and 80 track disks that I can try out. Trying to get a working 2880 sector disk happening. (I do have it working on my Myarc in the other PEB - but not so far on the Corcomp) Is there some way of bypassing or turning off the boot screen? I looked in the manuals but didn't see anything obvious.

     

    The controller seems to be working - both Lothrek drives are responding and my 40 track images seem to be working. Is there something specific I need to do on the controller (cracking the case) to make it work?

     

    Apologies for so many questions - it seems that every new disk controller is an adventure!

     

    Cheers, Arthur...

  9. Posted

    Is there a 28 pin ROM that this device could be crammed into? https://www.ultimateapple2.com/catalogzen154/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_15&products_id=70

     

    "The No-Slot Clock is a 'chip like' device that is installed in the IIe, IIc, IIc+ or Laser 128 under a ROM and keeps the time and date. It can also be used in the Apple II+, Franklin ACE 1000 or other Apple II clone with expansion slots (as long as there is a peripheral card with a 28 pin ROM on board), and some IBM PC's.

    Please note that unlike other No-Slot Clocks, THIS version WILL FIT in a IIc or IIc+ with a Memory Expansion Card installed! It also allows for battery replacement with new, standard 1025 button cells, and even has connections for the ability to use other backup battery supplies.

    The No-Slot Clock is ProDOS compatible (patch ProDOS or load driver on boot). The patch/driver work by alerting ProDOS there is a ThunderClock-like device installed. Some applications like AppleWorks will utilize the clock without any modifications. When the patch/driver is loaded Copy II+ will automatically recognize that a clock is installed and bypass the "Please Enter Date" screens.

    Note: Please see the Forums for related support, discussions, documents, and software."

  11. Posted

    It's funny - I do have the TI Writer strip and noticed that everything matched yet I couldn't figure out how to turn line numbers off. Turns out that F5 (next window) seems to accomplish that by pushing the numbers off the left side of the screen. Good enough!

     

     

     

     

     

    Yes, actually TI-Writer and BA-Writer are functionally exact when it comes to the needs of the keyboard strip. The only exception to this rule is the 80 column version of BA-Writer's 'FCTN 5' or 'NEXT WINDOW' key is no longer necessary.

     

    Yeah, this thread is not as neat and tidy as the thread for cartridge images, being that there is no index, but the strip for TI-Writer is in message #1 << CLICK HERE >>.

     

    There IS a strip specifically for the 80 Column version of BA-Writer, but it's designed for use with a PC keyboard hooked up to one of Tursi's PS/2 keyboard adapters. That strip can be located << HERE >>.

     

    If you would like a little bit more information on the PS/2 adapter, one of my blog entries << HERE >> will give you a little bit more information and direct you straight to the inventors pages on this awesome little device.

     

    ** EDIT **

    Added a blog entry with direct links to a lot of the keyboard strips << HERE >>

  12. Posted

    Yep - I have a programmer, a bunch of adapters, and just received a 512K flash ROM/GROM. Seems to also have a small AT49F040 loose in the static bag. Not sure what the next step should be. I have been reading the forums - and a version of Basic that supported 80 col would be very high my my list of desired projects! :)

     

    Seems to be the same board in my Extended Basic 2.7 Suite cart minus the big chip!

  15. Posted

    I'd help test. I like the idea of offloading processing to the F18A. Other options might involve allowing the importing of keys generated on other machines. Too bad there is no USB - as crypto routines in some secure USB keys might be accessible.

     

     

     

    That was me at the Faire.

     

    So, about a year or two ago, I wrote some assembler subroutines for the TI that can do AES-256 and SHA-256.

     

    My starting goal was to develop a program that could create encrypted files on the TI that could be read by PGP (or GPG) on a PC or Mac.

     

    I never got around to writing the RSA part of the code needed by PGP/GPG. The RSA part needs some big-integer mathematic subroutines. I need routines that do the following:

    * Compute a random key (harder than it sounds if you want it to be "secure", eventually, I'll probably make a non-secure first version for testing)

    * Then check if it is a pseudo-prime (can use the Fermet Little Theorem Primality Test).

    * Need to be able to add, subtract, and multiply between arbitrarily long integers

    * Need mod, modPow, and remainder algorithm for arbitrarily long integers

     

    Those algorithms probably aren't too complicated to code in TMS-9990 assembly, but I never got around to them due to time constraints.

     

    The other part you need, and the part I got "stuck" on, was you need to a way to protect your private key with a passphrase so that if someone grabs your disks (or Compact Flash card in your NanoPEB) they can't just grab your private key file and then use it to decrypt everything. The way you typically handle that is that you hash your passphrase using SHA-256 several thousand times, say 65,536 times or more. That way, if someone steals your disks, your encrypted private key will take a very, very long time to crack (until quantum computers that can do Shor's algorithm come around). The problem is, running SHA-256 once on a passphrase isn't too bad on a TI, but doing it a couple of thousand times is basically a non-starter. It was just too slow. Now, I never got around to trying to optimize my assembly code--there was a lot of stuff I could still try (putting registers in 16-bit scratch RAM, or even offloading the algorithm to the F18A), but again, time constraints, and I never got back to it.

     

    At the Faire, people told me about the cross assemblers that are available now for the PC and Mac that let you write your assembler and compile on much faster computers. Maybe I'll give that a shot and try to get back into it. (I developed the original AES-256 and SHA-256 subroutines on an actual TI with NanoPEB running Editor/Assembler--it was very, very time consuming--taking ten minutes just to debug a couple of lines of code, and then re-assemble, and then run.)

     

    Also, if there are actually people interested in this, or want to help test, then that also gives me some incentive to want to do something more with it. I thought I was the only one interested in doing encryption on old hardware.

  17. Posted

    Hi Everyone,

     

    Thought you'd get a kick out of this. Very simple actually.

    1. Download and install a copy of OpenOffice/LibreOffice on your PC and open whatever excel file you need to port.
    2. Then "Save As" in the SYLK format. This stands for Symbolic Link File Format.
    3. Open up ti99dir and copy that file to a disk image. You want to do this as Int/Fix, 128, and Binary File (no conversion).
    4. Make a diskette or an .HFE image (if you are using a Lotharek).
    5. Fire up MS Multiplan on the TI-99 and press T (for transfer), and O (for options). Set the file type as SYLK. You can also specify the location of your data drive in the form "DSKx." (but not as part of the filename, it has to be set under options in the field just below the file type selector)
    6. Press T, then L (for load) and enter the filename. Prepare to wait. After about a minute you'll see it processing SYLK lines as the data is fed into Multiplan.
    7. Done - go to T (Transfer), then O (Options) -set file type as Normal and then T, F, Save to save your Multiplan file.
    8. Go nuts - slowly... :)

    Obviously, your spreadsheets need to be dirt simple - I didn't test this with formulas but it should be able to handle basic A1 to R1C1 formula conversions.

     

    Cheers, Arthur...

     

    • Like 7

  21. Posted · Edited by aftyde

    I have formatted disks on the Myarc controller - no problem. Yes, I have two modd'd TI controllers. One with the Guion mod, the other with th 80 track mod. Both will not format the Lotharek, or even a SSSD floppy in a physical TI floppy drive. (DSK1 and DSK2 are both Lotharek emulators, DSK3 is a genuine external TI SSSD Shugart drive.)

     

    When I had back to Manila in Dec - I am going to bring some of the .HFE files to see if I can format them with the Myarc.

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