Solomon_Man

All, Recently moved to a new home and have relocated all my Computers (TRS80/Atari/TI/Commodore/Apple/PCs etc) about 40 years worth into the new residency. Much of these machines were my own growing up but some of them are ones I have picked up at shows etc. Still unpacking....setting up.... Upon the move I realized that I have about 3 large Moving boxes of 5 1/4 floppies. Also a bunch of boxes of Commercial software in other moving boxes. There is a small amount of Cassettes but all of it is commercial. Anyways most of the 5 1/4 disks are from, I believe, the late 1970's into early 1990's. Majority of them are 1980's era (8 bit) and early IBM PCs (8088, 80286-Pentium). I have been holding on to these floppies for quite a while and honestly its time to just "preserve" them. Most of the "commercial" stuff I bet is easily available online ...as others have preserved them for emulation etc. The Cassettes...Not a big worry... I have located all of the software Images online...except for one for the TRS80 which honestly I have not even looked for yet. There is though... quite a bit remaining that would just be personal data. Papers written for school, old coding projects, family history, and maybe even some old shareware etc that I am sure is not available online. I am looking for options to preserve these disks into more modern media...Hopefully to be able to use/explore and possibly restore these backups for anything worth while and finally eliminating the boxes from cluttering up the new space. I have not explored DosBox or any of the earlier PC Emulators but I have explored emulators for many of the 8 and 16 bit Machines (Atari/Commodore/Apple etc). I also have available for the Atari and Commodore the Serial/Parallel to PC hookups (SIO2PC, X1541, etc). Also an assortment of PCs with drives ranging from the 180/360K days to the "more" recent 1.2/1.44Meg days..... so please let me know if that additional hardware will help option-wise in any way to preserve these disks. With that said I have come across Kryoflux and I have seen discussions/YouTube videos on that tool. Also I have seen people using drive image tools to backup/preserve their disks but they usually seem to be devoted to a single machine/floppy. I am asking is Kryoflux the best option for all the different type of 5 1/4 floppies I have and are there other options (software base) I can do with a more modern PC and a 1.2 Meg Drive? Looking for the Options.... Thanks Chris

All, I will have to give the above software a try...It was nice to log into a few boards...The wife and kids got a kick out of it as well... Back in the day I used a piece of software on the PC called Telex (sp?) I believe it was...I had a Atari 8 bit that had a 300 and then I believe later it was a 1200 baud modem...When I hit the PC market the baud rates went up to 9600,14.4, and finally 57.6 which is when internet/and college hit. Thanks again for the trip down memory lane, Chris

Opry99er, Thanks for the help! Typed it in and it appears that my telnet functionality/client was not installed during my Windows 10 installation.... Got that in place and I am good to go! Thanks again, Chris

All, Have both Emulators Mentioned above installed... I will dig thru these and get things going... I know somewhere I have a USB to Atari Game port adapter...with one of those Atari replica joysticks....I am looking forward to try that out. Again Thanks for the tips/help, Chris

All, Thanks for the responses... Been slowly reading the two books I mentioned previously but with 5 kids and a full time job it slows you down a bit.... I am glad to see the other languages available and its been a rewarding experience "catching up" with my old hardware, listening to the Antic Pod Cast, and of course learning from all you folks... So far nothing I have read in either book seems unfamiliar/new based on my academic past...not sure where this will lead me but I will continue moving forward and if I run into something I will give out a Shout. Thanks again, Chris

All, This is kind of embarrassing to ask as I should know this and honestly somewhere I have seen a FAQ on this.... Anyways from a Windows Machine (Say Windows 10) how does one connect to a BBS? I believe the process was somehow to do things thru telnet....but I do not see this available thru the command line....So I tried my old go to program Putty (tried SSH and Telnet) and that did not seem to work on a BBS I know is up.... What have others done to connect....Want to show my kids what things were like when I was their age... Thanks Chris

pirx, Thanks for the tip....I will look into Android Studio....That goes to show me why not to buy a 2 year old book on Mobile Development. I took a Android development 5 day course at a local community college about 3-4 years ago and we quite literally spent a full day installing Eclipse and configuring it. I know where I work they have been looking into Xamarin. Looking at the page I quickly found online about Android Studio I am going to take it for a test drive. I really appreciate the guidance everyone. Thanks, Chris

All, I thought I saw/heard somewhere where C and Pascal was somehow available (ported maybe but still having issues with floating point) for the Atari 8 bit? ( I am actually unsure asking here?) Yeah I am guessing this will be more tedious today than I am used to today but "scenery" change is always welcome...even if its just for learning....Been doing SQL and Web stuff and writing for basically interpreters (web browsers) not to mention "Managed Languages" (.Net of course and Java in College) it does become ho hum after a while. Still I really enjoy my job today as there are still complex problems to solve just different tools. Have not created a pointer or such in about 10 years... so getting back to the machine, albeit deeper, again should also be good. I assume that the Assembly routines, like today's code (Function/Sub ), are re-used in a modular/procedural fashion. Copied and pasting of routines into new source files are also still possible.... basically procedural ...correct? So its whats in your toolbox type of thing to basically solve a problem? Thanks Chris

All, Thanks for the advice. I saw on the sticky about the Eclipse IDE... I currently do not have it on my main home machine all this web and .Net Stuff has gotten me away from my C roots. Java was never an issue and is similar to C#. Spent my first 7-8 years developing C/C++ Windows DLLs some very large and some not so much. Java was mostly graduate school but I did take a class of Java in my undergrad degree but that was when it was just first getting foot hold...One of my professor's actually was somehow involved in the development of Java...I have never developed anything Enterprise or Professionally in Java...My Grad degree was in Parallel development and simulation....Did that in mostly in C++/MPI/openMP The last time I used Eclipse I used a Linux Distribution with it pre-installed...I also have another book I am reading right now about Android development and it suggests Eclipse as well.... so Eclipse sounds like something I need to start digging into.again... I would like to see some examples of the source....I am fairly sure I am going to be quite a ways from understanding it fully but it will give me the lay of the land....A repository would be Excellent for learning especially if documented well. I am aware that Assembly is very specific to the machinery...I do have somewhere an old 8088 Assembly book from Intel....I picked it up at a yard sale of course never read...Isn't the unique ness of the 8 bit machines (Commodore,Atari etc) basically the video and sound chips? I am curious.... do most program on their PCs/Macs and then just transfer over to the Hardware or do they use emulators for testing first? Thanks Chris

Zuse, I have actual machines covered...looking to write and test code on my PC (in the emulator or possible first test on emulator) and then move things over to the actual machines...this is all for learning purposes. Currently I have a 400, 800, 600 XL,800XL, and a 1200 XL still setting things up and testing as they have been in storage for about 10 years. Have many 1050 drives (6) and another 2 I believe are Indus drives (put away yet). Printers (3 or 4 (put away)including that small Atari plotter - I always used a PC Printer with the adapter my father always used the Atari printers) I even have 2 tape decks.... Was into Atari 8 bit as a kid (1980's)..Became a professional software developer (BS/MS) (20 years about now)....back in 2000 went to the CCAG and bought a whole table more of stuff as the seller bought a school out of ATARI supplies (mostly used) and he did not want to carry it home..Also about this time I bought a SIO2PC cable from someone in Poland/did a lot of ebaying and at that time explored many things I missed as a kid.....Then my wife and I had kids (moved a few times).,..and everything was put into boxes...Honestly I never really got to go through everything I got at that last trip to CCAG (2000)...except maybe the Carts. Worse thing about all this is back in the 80s I was just an end user so even loading disks etc will take me some time relearning/remembering tricks etc. Looking at things today there seems to be a bunch more items to consider for my Atari(s) (SIO2BT or the SIO2SD).... Thanks for the help. Chris

All, Looking whats available for the Atari 8 bit Emulators...Windows machine will be the main machine but I do have a few versions of Linux setup. I am looking to use the Emulator for possibly learning Assembly and to explore programming languages available (C/Pascal/Basic) for the Atari (Software Development) ...I will also of course play a few games... Thanks for the help, Chris .

All, Not sure how to start... Basically I am a Software Developer/Engineer with about 20 years of Professional experience (7 years working for Microsoft). Have a BS in Computer Science (1998) and a MS in Science (Computer Science - 2010). Languages I know proficiently are C/C++, Classic VB.NET, Pascal (been a while) and of course Java (mostly classroom setting) / and of course today.NET languages. Last few or so years been in the Web develop scene and even had a stint at Microsoft (1998 to 2004). One thing in my career and even in school I did not get a lot of experience with was Assembler. Heard things about it even seen "snippets" in code from friends/did a linker in college but that is close as I got.... but it Feels like something is missing or I need to learn this in my career/personal toolbox. The Atari 8 bit (800 and then later the 800XL) was basically my first computer. Spent many the hours programming it in Basic (Antic magazines and books) and of course playing the games....nothing professional programming wise more of an end user. So with this said I am setting out to learn Assembler on the Atari 8 bit (got more than a few)...I recently have began to read Mapping the Atari and Programming the 6502.....Would these be a decent way to start out or is there some better way....Suggestions? Thanks Chris

All, I currently live 40 miles south of Toledo and about 100 Miles north of Columbus. Fort Wayne is about 80 miles away. Detroit is about 95 but I work in the Toledo area. As a kid (Early to mid 1980s), with my Atari 800 and later my 800XL, I remember hearing and possibly attending a meeting with my late father of an Atari Group down in the Columbus,Ohio Area. (Dad was into Atari too I also remember more local Atari Video Computer World up in Toledo and later in the Findlay area. Anyways, after doing a search for ACEC I came up with a website that mentions the ACEC group and meetings they have but it had not been updated in about 6-7 months. I am curious what Groups are around my neck of the woods?..In 2000 (I believe it was 2000) I attended the CCAG up near Cleveland but after that I put away the Atari (wife, 5 kids, and two Computer Science Degrees later) and I am now looking for events and Groups I could get involved. (Damn sounds like a Personals Ad..LOL) Thanks for the help, Chris

Thanks for the response! Yeah that is what I am seeing for the Selector Boxes. Basically the typical 4,5 or 6 port AV and SVideo Combination type Connections to a single Coaxial 75 Ohm connection. If not the common 75 Ohm connector then to a HDMI connector. I did some quick looking through the forum....Hoping for a clean way to set up a large amount of systems....Hoping maybe for a magic Selector Box that can handle all type of input Connections to a Single HDMI output which can handle a dozen connections or more....maybe being auto select-able.... What I see is that many users have gone the route of separating things out by the type of connections (i.e. RCA AV type, RF type, SVideo, and HDMI).....Instead of looking for that all in one magic Selector box. For Example; 1) Some have used RF Combiners to connect the RF only devices to a single connection to the TV...seems like many have had luck with this approach ...Never really thought this approach would work...seems simple enough. 2) AV RCA type connections are centralized into a RCA AV Only Selector type box then directly into the TV or using a AV RCA to HDMI adapter. 3) S Video is commonly mixed with the RCA AV connection in a selector box but there are SVIdeo Only Selector boxes out there for the SVideo Connection possible machines. 4) HDMI I only see as a HDMI Selector box or as converter boxes from the other type connectors (RF,RCA AV,SVIDEO). Which then just go into the TV as a HDMI Connection. I am thinking that the separate approach based on the type of connections (RCA AV type, RF type, SVideo, and HDMI) may be a good option once I know the exact amount of machinery. Reason is it appears that its more simplified approach to connect to the TV and the cost seems to be lesser. Also trouble shooting may be easier. Can anyone confirm my findings or thoughts? Thanks Chris

All, Maybe to boil this all down... What are others using to setup a large number of machines? Is the only choice out there Selection boxes like the old standby Pelican Universal 5-Way System Selector W/ RF that used to be purchased at Game Spot and a like stores? Are there some selection boxes that are better than others with the Atari 8 bits? Thanks Chris

All, I have quite a few Atari 8 bit computers...ranging from Atari 400 to the 1200XL.....I grew up in the days of TI-99 4A, Commodore 64, Atari 8bit...which later developed into a IT career (20 years in to it now)....Anyways bought a new house recently and during the move a lot of the old computers from that era popped up...Basically all the above plus a couple TRS 80s and a rogue Apple IIGS I picked up at a Salvation Army for $20.....neighborhood of 12 very large boxes....not to mention a few systems that were just set up in the storage area...Used some of the machines about 11 years ago...SIO2PC setup for a few of the Ataris...The similar setup for the Commodore 64... Looking for a way to connect many of the above computers all up at once.... thinking of a large shelf system of sorts and somehow it all would feed into a central TV/Monitor... Or maybe by Group (Atari, Commodore,TI994A, etc.)and their Setups going into multiple TV/Monitors.. The area I have is about a 12 X 20 (Man Cave of sorts)... I have monitors for many of the systems above but I would think using a more modern TV would be a much better choice....What are my options for say a LED Flat Panel TV connecting to a Atari 800XL...Most of the systems are RF/Composite.... Are there switches out there that could handle a 1/2 dozen to a dozen RF connections? The last time things were setup I had something of a switch box that did like 4 from Radio Shack....Any Suggestions? The plan currently over the next few weeks is to purchase a large amount of Plastic Storage Bags and sort out the cabling/and Machinery... Basically to see the number of machines....Things I would need to make complete systems...you get the idea. At one time I bought out our local school during their annual rummage sales....Mostly Atari drives and equipment... So there are surely some parts machines etc.... Thanks for the help, Chris