Lastic
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Posts posted by Lastic
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Good afternoon,
Whilst during my youth I was obliged due to school to use a PC , I was very jealous of the Atari ST and it's form factor.
So after starting with PowerPC's 5 years ago , and a 130XE 2 years ago, I found a "marked as broken/dead" Atari 1040 ST with no bidding on eBay.de.
Placed the starting bid of 3,5 EUR , received a shipping quote of 21 EUR, as such for 25 EUR an Atari , which was a 1040STfm, arrived at my doorstep.
I unpacked it, placed it on my desk, plugged in the powercord, thinking oh well, switched on the power, and the power LED worked and I could tell the diskdrive was trying to read a disk and it's LED working.
Wow, did I just buy a declared dead but working STfm for 3,5 EUR shipping not included ?
Since I have no monitor cable , I switched it off, ran to get a RCA cable, connected it to my Funai A1506 using the Television out, and switched it on, but no power LED, no diskdrive, did it die ?
So I'm convinced that the machine worked but something is off with the powersupply.
How can I test this ? Is it worthwhile to just replace the powersupply to be done with it ?
I tried to measure the 12V with the powersupply plugged in but got nothing , using the blue wire and either of the black GND connectors.
Fuse still looks good to me or should I double-check it ?
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8 minutes ago, Dropcheck said:
The DB9 serial port on the SIO2IO proto board is wired for industry standard (non-850) connections. It was my hope that a direct connection could be made without the use of a 850/clone and non-industry standard cabling.
Thank you for the testing. ? The DB9 serial port is not a real serial port, but rather mimics the internal SIO connections inside the SX212. Unfortunately that means it probably will have limited speed, around 1200 to a max of 2400baud.
Thank you for creating such a wonderful prototype !
I haven't tried higher speeds with my WiFiModem232 connected to the SIO2IO's serial port, it was at 1200 BAUD , will try a higher speed and let you know the results.
The SX212 is only able of 1200 Baud so that's OK, just wanted to know wether a modem worked via the serial port.
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39 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:
the standard R: handler in the 850/PR:connection/MIO/BlackBox/and the RBINS all work just fine with the same software and the sx-212. The SX-212 worked perfectly with my ST and wintel box as well. The modem never had an issue for me other than it was too slow
I always went for the fastest modem on the BBS... so the SX and XM were always strictly for calling until the next faster modem went on the BBS and the other computers got it's left overs.
What exactly are you needing? Just use any serial port on those devices and the standard Atari/ICD serial modem cable...or make your own as I have always done. 9 pin to 25 pin... the cable specifics are posted on the forum more times than I care to count and are in the pdf manuals of all the devices as well...
When I used the SIO2IO prototype which mimics an 850 , I connected the SX212 via the SIO2IO's serial port to the modem using a standard (non-Atari) serial cable. (DB9 to DB25)
So Atari SIO -> SIO2IO -> SIO2IO serial port -> SX212 serial port
In Bobterm using the RVERTER handler , the modem didn't respond.
When I used SX-Express, the modem responded to AT commands, using the same cable.
My WiModem232 does work using Atari SIO -> SIO2IO -> SIO2IO serial port -> standard (non-Atari) serial cable. (DB9 to DB25) using RVERTER handler in Bobterm.
So should I have used the Atari serial cable that I use on my 850 to connect to the serial port of the SX212 ?
The goal is to use the SIO2IO prototype , not an 850, to check wether a modem which only has a serial port can connect to the Atari . ( I know the SX212 has both SIO and serial but I don't have any other modem )
This way any non-Atari modem could be used via serial port , connected to SIO2IO which connects it via SIO to the Atari.
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23 minutes ago, flashjazzcat said:
Before you do anything else, please buy one of these and use it on that floppy cut-out:
That picture of the cutout was the work in progress, this is the final result.
I did mess up as you can tell .
I used these
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14 hours ago, Mq. said:
Some proposals for the track display.
Consider placing the buttons on the side of enclosure above the FDD, so the top of enclosure will be less modified (less cuting and drilling).
Floppy side indication LEDs, you can place near the power LED inside enclosure without any drilling etc. First of them on the left side of power LED, and second on the right side. I mean such effect so both of them will be visible together with power LED through the existing transparent window of the power LED. When a floppy will working, then power LED will move to the left or to the right of that window, and will be lighter then. I think it could be very intresting and nice looking effect.
A lot of ideas myself but a very good proposal also.
I thought about moving everything to the side except the drive activity leds but the height of the Display PCB sits in the way.
Or I could relocate/rotate the Drive Display so the PCB is on the side ?
(very ugly Paint Mockup, my apologies)
I could move the buttons above the floppydrive, I could use the ST eject button as buttons , there is a 3D print stencil for them https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3141512
The idea of ivop using bi-color LED's is also interesting , my current idea would be to mount the drive activity LEDs ST style (buttons above floppy) using a bi-color LED
With the Track Display , buttons above the floppy drive (side) , the only modification to the top case would be the little cutout with a plastic insert on the inside and a bi-color LED underneath.
I would place it
- above the Reset button ?
- next to the Reset button (tiny triangle on the inside topcase)
- on the same height as the Power LED but on the right hand side
- above the Power LED but that means a length of wires
- next to the Power LED like you proposed but also lengthy wires
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15 hours ago, ivop said:
How about replacing the power led with a dual color led? Wire it up as red and have it change color when there's MIDI activity
Just a thought...
That is a really good idea ,actually also for the diskdrive activity LED's.
Only complication that comes to mind, is that the power LED rests inside the 130XE's keyboard, will open up the keyboard to have a look where I could run wires.
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5 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:
There is, I've used the sx-212 with Express, bobterm, ansiterm, ice-t and others via the sio port....
But then you loaded the RVERTER handler ?
I'm looking to use the SX-212 with Ice-T via it's serial port not SIO.
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At Fujiama me and @manterola were trying out various things with an ESP-07.
We used our AVG Cart to load either Bobterm,Ice-T or PlatoTerm since the SIO bus is occupied.
I still have to upgrade my firmware to get a more extensive AT command set but just connecting it with RX,TX,VCC,GND works.
We tested this with Manterola's ESP-07 at Fujiama which was running the ZiModem firmware here https://github.com/RolandJuno/esp8266_modem
At Fujiama he also showed me the SIO2IO prototype made by @Dropcheck which he lend me at the end of Fujiama to take with me to Belgium
so I could experiment further with it.
The SIO2IO for my uses is a perfect Atari 850 Replacement when used in combination with an AVGcart for example.
It has a header for an ESP board.
But also a serial (standard pin layout) and parallel port (not tested yet have to find a printer)
I tested the serial port with both a WiModem232 and an SX212.
Bobterm doesn't like ANSI
, telnetting to FrontierBBS.net (Amiga board which I use since they have colorful ANSI welcome screens)
But ICE-T does the job
I can even use the arrow keys to move through the Matrix Login screen
And yesterday I went to my parents house since they still own a landline to test the SX212 modem.
I thought about connecting to this Belgium BBS still offering dialup but the number was no longer in use
http://www.ibbbs.be/new/nl/index.htm
So I called directly to the US (sorry Mom) to the first dialup BBS that actually had a modem responding
https://www.telnetbbsguide.com/bbs/rof/
And although it disconnected me (maybe the Commodore detected my Atari
) , I first had the handshake noises.
Since I didn't want to run up my parents phone bill , I decided to call it a day.
The SX212 can be used with an SIO cable and an R-Verter handler but to use it via serial port , I had to resort to SX-Express.
Might have to look if there is an SX212 handler which I could use in Bobterm or ICE-T.
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11 hours ago, Mr Robot said:
Revised schematic, updated layout, case WIP
That looks awesome.
At Fujima me and Manterola were also playing around with connecting an ESP07 directly on the SIO bus.
It works quite good actually and I proposed to use (but don't have a 3D printer) the SDrive2 plug as used by @alsp .
I checked with him and the 3D stencil is available to the public https://github.com/fintros/SDrive-ARM/tree/master/box
Using this plug your PCB would be standing up and the activity LED of the ESP would be visible.
The SDrive2 plug stencil off course also needs to be adapted to accommodate a higher/wider PCB.
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A General question @mytek
The LED on the newer SIO2MIDI pcb , it lights up when playing a MIDI file, does it blink or just shines bright ?
Is it MIDI aware , meaning does it react to for ex. switching of MIDI channels ?
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A few updates whilst I've been playing around with a lot of stuff.
Badge courtesy of Drakon arrived, one set is going on the Post towards @manterola
Finally got around to solder the connections for the TrackDisplay PCB by Mq.
This was a quick and dirty job just to be able to test it, I will probably need longer cables but haven't decided where I will place it yet.
I decided to solder onto the FFC cable on the area that is visible after inserting the cable into it's connector.
FFC cable is cheap to replace , Zaxon's PCB isn't that easy replaced if I messed up the connector.
And here it is in action, formatting a disk
Of course it has more functionalities than just track display , once the buttons PCB is attached, I can hotswap drive numbers without having to set jumpers.
I'm still thinking about 3D designing miniature Previous and Next buttons like the Help,Start,Select,Option,Reset buttons.
One possible idea was to mount the display above the label, move the buttons above their bigger brothers and the read/write LEDs to the righthand side.
I would need to change the headers on the TrackDisplay PCB so they don't stick out but point to the side, maybe use the same connector Sofia DVI does.
On the LED topic, since there is a hole in the 130XE keyboard, I can run the SIO2MIDI LED through it and maybe use the insert from another broken case to create an activity LED above the power LED.
Thoughts/Opinions/Criticism, all welcome ...
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I now have an U1MB installed in my 130XE and want to use the SIDE loader with the AVG cart.
These were the changes on update 016
- SIDE mode on power-on if right button is pressed
- SIDE mode on power-on if card contains file _AVGCART/SIDE (Ctrl-Shift-S and Ctrl-S creates/removes file on card)
- Shift-S is now working for cards with no FAT filesystem
- Right button in SIDE mode emulates SIDE button
I have 017 on my AVG cart.
I can turn on SIDE mode using Ctrl-Shift-S once in the AVG Cart menu and then load the SDLOADER3.CAR and have a working SIDE loader.However booting with right button pressed, just gives me a grey screen and I won't get the AVG menu on reboot until I delete the _AVGCART/SIDE file on my SD card.
Am I doing something wrong or have I misunderstood which need to be taken in which order ?
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4 hours ago, flashjazzcat said:
Here's a video demonstration which may help get across what I'm trying to explain:
I for one would like the additional possibility to redirect seperately for floppies since that's what I've been doing these past days
As _The_Doctor_ said, it broadens the possibilities of the U1MB but of course one has to take into account that it might complicate future updates.
I leave at your mercy Jon
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Just a minor update, thanks to the info that @Mq. has provided, I'm still playing around with multi-disk games written to partitions on D1:
Awaiting feedback from Drakon on my 1030XEfm badge , but in the meantime an Exacto knife has aided in succesfull surgery.
Still need to figure out the necessary connections for the TrackDisplay and decide where I will place it.
I also was thinking of having swap buttons 3D printed similar to the Help,Start,Select,Option,Reset keys but smaller in size of course.
What do you guys & girls think ?
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On 8/27/2019 at 2:02 PM, matosimi said:
Hi all,
I have written a long blogpost about working on Castle Defender game, you can read it here if you are interested:
http://matosimi.websupport.sk/atari/2019/08/the-story-of-castle-defender/
Please keep in mind I did not go very deep in the topic however it is not very shallow either. Hope you enjoy reading it.
Just wanted to express my thanks for that write-up, I really enjoyed reading how you tackled this conversion, awesome work !
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Coming soon, more experiments with HyperXF 4 partitions on 1 physical floppy (well 3,5 inch stiffie
) and QMEG.
I upgraded my internal floppy PCB from Zaxon with a WesternDigital 1772 and removed the jumper to enable the HyperXF ROM .
( PCB has stock and HyperXF ROM but HyperXF is disabled by jumper because of the WD1770 not being able to work with it)
I'm still learning a lot on U1MB, Spartados X , HyperXF, QMEG.
Todo : install TrackDisplay and swap buttons
Waiting on : 1030XEfm badge
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So after a long period of hard work by @flashjazzcat the Wednesday before Fujiama Jon shipped my 130XE off via ParcelForce, I paid for GlobalExpress shipping so it would reach me at Friday whilst I was working from home.
And as such the machine would accompanied me to Germany on Sunday.
Helas , long story short, the machine didn't leave the depot,got returned to Jon luckily, Jon had to ship it again and yesterdayevening after a 5 day no-movement in tracking status I picked it up at a local Fedex station after work.
I still have a lot to explore especially the Ultimate 1MB and all it's bells and whistles but WOW, I can't stress enough what a fine job Jon did.
SpartaDos , 130XE and the Serda X3M Buran MIDI module.
Here it is reunited with it's own topcase and desk
Sophia DVI, lefthandside Composite for sound, Righthandside the second MIDI port , cable running to the X3M
The cutout I made to lower the diskdrive and allow to lay flat (before the shield to go due to amount of wiring and mods taking place)
A lot of wires , a lot of upgrades on 1 picture
Sophia DVI with under it , SIO2MIDI where the RF modulator used to be, Jon cut out part of the PCB so the SIO2MIDI sinks into the PCB.
Hidden under the keyboard Ultimate 1MB.
Laying on the ECI standoff, Zaxon's PCB with currently WD1770 controller, as such the HYPERXF-ROM (which is disabled by a jumper ) won't work until a WD1772 is installed.
Powercable running to the Floppy PCB
SIO connections running to Floppy PCB
Ultimate 1MB which Jon found a place here due to the Sophia DVI sitting in the way
The MIDI led (blue) which Jon kindly provided with extra length of wire so I can still decide where I will mount it
A close up at the Power connector Jon installed so I could detach it
And Jon inspiring use of the VIA's , the long part runs towards the SIO2MIDI .
The short part runs again to a detachable connector which connects to the Floppy PCB.
Ultimate in clear DVI output
Floppy loaded with MIDI files
Loading MIDIPLAY.XEX
Playback in progress, hence the blue SIO2MIDI led
Altough I could have run this on a stock 130XE using Syscheck's extra RAM function, I never did run Numen until now, WOW
What beholds the future of this machine ...
Reattaching this part and maybe make a 3D printed cover for the diskdrive bezel ,
still have to finetune it.
After I bought a broken ST case from Drygol which I didn't use in the end, I did
buy a 1040STfm badge from him with the idea to splice both together to get
a 1030XEfm
but in the meanwhile I've also ordered a badge from Drakon at Atari.org.pl
Also arrived in the meanwhile , disk swap button PCB and track/drive-ID display by Mq at Atari.org.pl
Due to arrive this week from France , a WD1772 to fully use HYPER-XF on this 3,5" drive.
Apart from a lot more fun , maybe more expansion ports , WiFi , who knows ...
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7 hours ago, rensoup said:
I've attached 2 versions:
_c00 is org at $c00... I don't know if that high enough.
_800 is org at $800 which we already know doesn't work BUT it's exomized so in theory it should work ( tip mentioned by Wrathchild)
Could you test both ?
subh2_c00.obx 17.21 kB · 8 downloads subh2_800exo.obx 9.24 kB · 5 downloads
Tested both on PAL 130XE on AVG Cart and SIO2SD, worked perfectly except for one strange artifact I didn't notice in the previous version. a green sub ?
Thanks for giving us the chance to follow your project on REAL hardware also.
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16 hours ago, rensoup said:
of course it does, it's org at $800 which is too low... could you try Wrathchild's trick and simply compress it with exomizer and try again ?Wait I didn't read that properly... you said all other versions worked fine ? or just the one I made for skr which was org at $1000 ?
For me on a PAL 130XE with either AVG Cart or SIO2SD only the version you made for skr worked, this latest version (https://atariage.com/forums/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=660532) doesn't.
It does work on Altirra.
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11 minutes ago, skr said:
Hi rensoup,
I was not able to compile and run it yet, there was too much distraction at the Fujiama meeting. Will take another look into it later today.
@rensoup I ran your compiled obx from this post
on a stock PAL 130XE at Fujiama and it worked.
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What a wonderfull week it has been, as the sole Belgium guy at the event, I did feel right at home.
A big thank you to everybody involved and all the wonderfull people I've met.
@manterola it was a huge pleasure to meet you and seeing you hack around with all this new promising hardware has been an inspiration.
Hasta la proxima !
Security check in Leipzig went smoother than I expected, did have to take the Funai out of hand luggage again and although this time the security recognized my Atari ("I had one of those when I was younger"
) both the Funai and Atari were tested for explosives and allowed on the flight.
So now I'm stuck in the Airport 1 hour before check-in , luckily Thinkpad and iPhone HotSpot will make my time here pass more quickly
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The drive hasn't has been modified, originally the PCB came with a diskdrive with a black bezel, the bezel which is very fragile on these laptop floppydrives broke after I handled incorrectly.
I bought myself the same stock laptop NEC type floppydrive in "yellowed" white and used that one with the PCB so again no modifications were made to the floppydrive, if I understand the questions correctly.
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Zaxon replied me with the following :
Drive is intact, drive number is set by jumpers on my XF551 board. http://www.eightbitclone.com/xfwew.html
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2 hours ago, Dropcheck said:
Hi Lastic,
Did Zaxon indicate how DF0 was set on the FD3238H drive? Can you ask him? For some reason I can't register in the forum.
Good evening,
I communicated with Zaxon via the website where he sold his PCB sellmyretro.com .
https://www.sellmyretro.com/offer/details/37217
I will ask him for the info you requested.
I always went for the fastest modem on the BBS... so the SX and XM were always strictly for calling until the next faster modem went on the BBS and the other computers got it's left overs.
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For Sale: Exxos Atari ST PSU 230V UK/Europe
in Buy, Sell, and Trade
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So do I understand correctly that the PSU is no longer for sale ?