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6BQ5

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Everything posted by 6BQ5

  1. Brad @ Best Electronics has some. Try emailing him with "Atari" in the subject line.
  2. I would say "yes" if there will be a team effort to move all or most relevant past threads into the new subforum. Otherwise some information will be scattered and split between two places. That could make it hard to find past posts and notes. Right now this main forum may be big but at least it's only one place to search and look in.
  3. Odd ... I’ve had nothing but pleasant email exchanges with Brad. He’s even helped me out with a tech support question or two. I send him a list of what I want kind of like @mytek showed but not as elaborate. Brad responds with a total that includes shipping. I send him payment through PayPal and reply to his invoice email with the PayPal transaction number. A day or two later he tells me the package has shipped. Then a few days s after that I receive the package. The box is 100% covered in Atari branded packaging tape. Not a single seam is visible. The box is also stuffed right with packing peanuts. I’m serious when I say this box could survive nuclear fallout. Yeah, Brad seems like a quirky guy with an outdated website. Whatever. Compared to my exwife Brad is a pleasure to deal with. He’s never lied to me, tricked me, or betrayed my trust in his promise to deliver.
  4. Awesome! I think these will be greatly appreciated by the community! ?
  5. I just installed the UAV Rev D upgrade in my 1200XL. If you can do that then do it and you'll want to use S-Video. Super clean!
  6. Hmmm .... 130 XE? Seeing that it already has S-Video output capabilities I am probably going to do that one last. We'll see. Right now my tentative order of installation is : 1) 1200XL because it has the worst video output quality - Done! 2) 800XL because it is the most widely owned 8-bit machine 3) 600XL because it needs some work to get a DIN connector properly installed in it 4) 400 because it will probably be the hardest to upgrade considering it needs an "Ultimate Atari Audio" upgrade 5) 800, if it even needs it since the output is so clean already 6) 130XE because nothing is socketed
  7. I recently installed the UAV Rev D into my 1200XL. It's not terribly hard to do if you're handy with a soldering iron, are willing to slog through the 39 screens of messages in this thread for tips, and can read a schematic. ? I drafted up a step-by-step installation guide. It is attached to this message. I have one more kit that I will be installing in a 800XL and I will be documenting that process as well. Now I'm kind of on fire to order a few more kits to install in my 600XL and 400. I welcome comments and feedback on my document. Detailed Instructions on Installing the Ultimate Atari Video Upgrade Kit (2019-07-10).pdf
  8. Oh, you have a SIMM add-on card! I haven't seem too many of those. Very cool! I'd try to stuff as much RAM as possible into that ST machine. ? Instead of recapping an old supply you may want to consider simply replacing it. A new supply would be smaller and run cooler. Here's what I did to one of my STe machines. If you can 3D print a bracket for your GoTek and were going to recap your old supply then swapping in a new one will be a piece of cake!
  9. Adding a reply changes the color of the thread title making it bold and more noticeable than a thread that has been marked as read. I consider @_The Doctor__ replying as a way to refocus attention to a worthy topic.
  10. Thanks! Do Speedo and NVDI share the same font file format? I read somewhere that NVDI only comes with two fonts. Now I can't find the page. It would be nice to have more than two fonts.
  11. You can also purchase 2-chip sets of TOS 1.04 (or is it 1.4?). Then there is no need to solder anything. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rainbow-TOS-1-4-Atari-ST-STF-STFM-Mega-ST-New-2-Chip/140953378159?epid=1431578375&hash=item20d179dd6f:g:FfAAAOSwhJ5c41o~ The picture shows 6 chips but the description says 2. I think the pic is just generic. Regarding the BLiTTER -- yes, make it a rainy day project. Regarding SCART cable -- not all SCART cables are created equal. One cable I bought from Cool Novelties in the UK did not perform well while another I bought on eBay from a German seller is excellent.
  12. The topic may have been covered before ... but, let's do it again. I just installed Atari Works and I was told by the installation process that I am missing GDOS. That means I don't have a lot, if any, fun fonts to play with. It turns out there are a few versions of GDOS available. There's the original GDOS, the improved SpeedoDOS, NVDI, and others. I understand the format and representation of the fonts changed along the way for faster processing. Is there a format that has more fonts available for it? Which one has proven the test of time that I should install? Thanks!
  13. Congrats on saving the hardware! Start with the STF that has TOS 1.02. Assuming both machine use the same number of ROM chips (2 or 6), swap in TOS 1.04 from the other machine. It's easier to swap ROM than to add memory. Regarding the BLiTTER, not every ST motherboard had a space reserved for it. You'll only know if the spot is present by opening the machine and taking a look. Even if the spot is present then where would you find a BLiTTER? Maybe Best Electronics has one. If it's not there then don't worry. I never had one in my STFM back in the day and I had a pretty good time with that machine. Check your DMA chip under the floppy drive. Make sure it is not a "bad" chip before you shell out for an UltraSatan. I don't know if the "bad" DMA chip problem only applied to STE machines though. A GoTek won't help or hurt you necessarily. I'm still using 3.5" disks and have no problems loading anything. I usually xfer file from my Win10 machine to my STE with my NetUSBee. Just don't hack up the case and destroy the disk drive. I'll happily buy the drive(s) off of you if you don't want it. Let me know. Which hard drives did you save? Megafile drives? Supra drives? Probably the single most important component to check is the power supply. Depending on how it aged, the supply may not put stable and steady +5V and +12V power lines. That can cause all sorts of havoc. For example, some users thought their memory IC's were bad but it was really the power supply generating noise or something. Others have had runaway Voltages. Your machine suddenly runs warmer than usually and crashes more often. Turns out your +5V climbs +6V or more. Look into a converter to connect the machine to a modern display. Usually that is done with a ST Video -> SCART cable. Hmmm ... there's probably more I can babble on about but let's leave it there for now.
  14. I don't have a GoTek or any other floppy emulator so I can't try the *.ST image file with that. I did try opening my 3 MB floppy image with JayMSA. The program did not recognize the format. Then I created a new image with 85 tracks and 18 sectors per track. This is the HD option in Hatari. The image was 1.5 MB (as expected). JayMSA had no problems opening it and extracting the file.
  15. So, it would kind of look like a step above an EGA display. That's no too bad depending on what you were trying to do. Certainly better than 4 colors.
  16. Just downloaded the latest version. Wow, that program looks intense! The included manual seems written well enough with plenty of detail. I have some experimentation to do.
  17. Steering back to the positive ... What is the largest practical *.ST floppy image size possible? Using Hatari I created a 3MB floppy image file. Could a GoTek or other floppy emulator read and write to a file this big? Or, are there size limitations? A 3MB floppy is really big to me. Consider I am still using real floppy disks while my drives are still alive. I haven't tried this but am curious about it : could a program like JayMSA running on real hardware read a 3MB *.ST floppy image and extract files?
  18. Yep, kinda sounds like it. Boot up without your keyboard attached and see what happens. Open an ASCII editor if you can and see if the key is a printable character or a function. You may may have a stuck contact.
  19. I like to collect for the joy of the hunt, for the learning that comes from the research, and for the feeling of being complete. The last one is odd. It's nice to have one of everything and know that you aren't missing out on something. I have to ask myself what joy would being complete bring me? What does that last missing object represent to me? Does it represent a milestone or a certain point of growth in my life? If it doesn't then why do I have it? Is it out of respect for the history? Am I trying to save a machine from the dump? I grew up with an 800 and learned my first programming languages on it. Using the machine left an indelible mark on my life. It holds a special place in my heart for that reason. My STE machines represent my adolescence when I vaulted into what was high power computing to me. Ok, ok ... so I didn't have a STE back then. I had a STFM. ? But, I remember wanting a STE so bad back then! ? Getting one (or three) finally let me scratch that itch and I'm reliving not only what I had but what I could have had. I have each machine configured with a specific TOS for different levels of compatibility. On the other hand, I totally missed the 2600-5200-7800 wave. Totally. It never interested me because of my 800. When I see a 2600 now I don't get any tingle or tickle. I can walk right by it. Same thing for 8-bit accessories like the 410, 850, etc. Ditto for a TT and the Falcon. I don't feel like I missed out on anything back then and I have no serious itch to explore it now. For something like that I can get my fix from an emulator on my Win10 machines. Just goes to show everyone is different. In the end, we should spend more time using the gear than collecting it. If you're spending more time on eBay than loading ATR or ST files or playing games then something isn't right.
  20. I have a *.ST file of Photochrome I downloaded from Pigwa. Here's the file name I have : Photochrome v2.01 (1992)(Pixel Twins)(SW).st Is that the latest and greatest? I am definitely interested in a figuring out a recipe or formula for displaying "hi-color" images on the STe. What would the steps be? Assuming I have a 16.7M color JPG, the first two steps would be easy, I think. 1) Scale image to 320x200 2) Reduce colors from 24-bit space (16.7M) to 12-bit space (4096) I have a conversion tool on my Win10 machine called XnConvert. What other useful tools are available?
  21. Icky brown stuff could indeed be from the solder used. 90% IPA with Q-tips is your best best. Go slow and go gentle. Be ready to use lots of Q-tips. Don't worry if you don't get all of it off. It doesn't necessarily affect the computer - only your peace of mind knowing it's clean. ;) A spilled drink or something would have leaked onto the plastic and every nook an cranny in the case.
  22. My older Samsung 55” HDTV has a VGA input. It is not compatible with the lower horizontal sync frequency. I was was looking at new 4K TVs recently just for fun. Very few, if any, have VGA connections on them now. HDMI has taken over the world.
  23. Do you have a DVI-I connector on your display? If so then you’re totally in luck! https://pinoutguide.com/VideoCables/dvi_to_vga_adapter_pinout.shtml Holy guacamole, that sounds complicated! What kind of display do you have? If you are using S-Video from your (modified?) 800XL and if you have a HDMI input on your monitor then just use the Framemeister you already have. It’s picture quality is only one slight step down from a display with native S-Video input capability. What I’m saying is you could just pick one of the two and run with it until you bump into a game that requires the other TOS. Are there TOS 1.06 and TOS 1.62 specific games out there? I’ve seen some demos that puke on TOS 1.06 but those are far and few in between.
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