Larry

This would be like swapping ATR images and such with the APE Remote Control commands? In other words, one can use the APE Remote Control commands to mount and dismount images, create new ATR images, change PC Mirror directories, read the PC directory contents, etc. These are SIO commands that APE interprets to perform specific functions. (Of course, not open source and pretty sure these are only in the registered version.)

Yes, I thought about splitting it into a couple of segments. But if I can pretty easily deal with it as one file, I'll likely do that. I'm parsing a big text file for specific key words so that I can make a comma-delimited data file that can go into a database or spreadsheet.

Thanks, I'll try it with the 70+ KB text file I'm working with.

Are there any WP for the Atari that will load and edit files 70-80 KB? All I've used is AW Plus set up for the XE and will do around 50 KB (or so). Thanks, Larry

FWIW. A lot of folks like RespeQt. I've used it and think it is good, but it still is missing some of the features of APE, the most significant of which is the virtual MX-80 printer for printing Atascii. Plus reading and writing to PC directories. (Pretty sure RespeQt is still read-only.) But alas, you have to pay some $$ to get the features in APE from the registered software. I've had APE since the 90's, and never, ever regretted the expenditure. P.S. I've bought several items from Lotharek -- great products. The only issue is the shipping cost -- $18 per order, IIRC. -Larry

Thanks, got it! -Larry

"Besides use in current versions of Altirra, there are a few options to use these files on real hardware - if one has something like an SCP device and a proper 5-1/4" disk drive, the ATX files can be written back to magnetic media and run like an original. I understand as well that use of AtariMax APE software with the VAPI.DLL file plugin will allow use of most/all of these ATX files on real disks, but of course APE requires use of a Windows machine or something like WINE or CrossOver. Such a solution is probably beyond using APE on low-budget hardware like a Raspberry Pi. Apparently there is also some new-ish hardware in work coming out of Europe called the SDrive-MAX that has firmware that allows use of these file from an SD card device plugged into the SIO port." Is that true -- that you can WRITE out an ATX to a real disk from APE using the VAPI dll? I was thinking that you could load and use the ATX, but there was no method to actually write it out? Last I remember there was no way to write it out using Atari hardware. The only way that I recall is the writing the magnetic flux image to a disk with a PC drive. That was always the Holy Grail -- to use a Happy or Super Archiver to write out the ATX. But maybe I've missed something here (or misunderstood what you wrote)? -Larry

You've likely saved some money! 😊 -Larry

It's been a long, long time, but I think that the only success that I had with Syncalc was with a Happy PDB file. I do remember that I had nearly no success with the original CSS Bitwriter. Never tried the replica with anything. -Larry

Just downloaded it -- no issues. Win7 + Chrome. Maybe your Anti-virus? They are getting pickier and pickier about what they will allow. -Larry

Here are a bunch of Action! tutorials, and source files I've accumulated over the years. May be duplicates, but there are a lot of examples and programs that others have written. Antic & Analog mags also had a few progs that were written in Action! that included the source code. There has been a lot over the years. There are probably duplicates in the archive -- you'll have to look through them. Question: Did anyone ever do anything with the Effectus prog that was linked? -Larry Action Reference Files.zip

Here's an example of using string arrays in Basic XE. Hopefully this makes sense and I haven't botched the example. String Arrays in Basic XE A string array must have two dimensions: the number of strings present (first dimension) and the length of the individual strings (the second dimension). In Basic XE, a string array is denoted by the two dimensions. DIM DISKARAY$ (100,17) In this case 100 files, with individual lengths of 17 characters. In order to access a particular string in the array, a SEMICOLON is used DISKARAY$(23;) would denote the 23rd string in the array. (Note: begins with 1 and not 0) For instance, we could have an array of disk titles in a disk catalog. Each entry would be a separate disk and would become an individual file on our catalog data disk. The individual files would contain the file names (directory data) on that disk. UTILS001.DAT 001 UTILS002.DAT 003 UTILS003.DAT 003 (and so on for as much room as you have on the data disk) Let's say that you wanted an alphabetical listing of all your utility files so that you can more easily find find a particular file that is somewhere on your collection of utility disks. In order to do that you would read the contents of each file entry on the data disk into a string array that would hold that much data. Let's further assume that each .DAT file holds anywhere from 1 to 64 individual files and have the normal Dos 2.0s type format of approximately 15 to 17 characters. (Or slightly less, if the file lengths are not included.) When these file names are read into the string array for sorting, the disk identification number must also be included, so you can find the disk having the title that you select. For our example, let's say that you have 898 individual files with 18 characters per record. This would fit into a string array such as DIM TITLARAY$(1000,18). So that would be 18,000 bytes -- no problem as far as a regular 64K machine. If using an XE (or greater), then the EXTEND command can be used to put the program into extended memory and much of the original (base) 64K can be used for arrays. Then with Basic XE, you can SORTUP (or alternatively SORTDOWN) the array to provide alaphebetical order. Then print out the listing in the format you choose. Note that this method works great with ATR's and avoids a lot of physical disk swapping. And of course there are several ways to do this, but string arrays provide a pretty straight-forward and convenient method. -Larry

Haven't forgotten about this. But having a little trouble locating the particular programs I was referring to. I should be able to find them -- else I'll make up some new ones. Basic XL/XE also had the Left$, Right$, Mid$. One neat little feature that I recall is the Basic XL/XE used a ";" (semicolon) after the string name to denote it was a string array. -Larry Edit: Found the disk I was looking for -- now I have to make sense of what I was doing to explain the examples. It was a disk cataloging system that I wrote in Basic XE in the late 80's and early 90's.

Terrific! I'll dig out some Basic XL/XE programs that I've done and post a couple of partial examples. -Larry

Hi dmsc- You've sure done a lot with this, and surely looks good. If you ever want to add another useful feature, please consider $tring Arrays. Only Basic XL and XE have those (+ the pretty much unused Atari Microsoft Basic). If you are doing something that requires lists, they are extremely handy. And doing substring gyrations are a poor substitute. Anyway, on my wish list. -Larry

I see what happens... In my case, I've been loading FB.COM from D4:. D1: is a hard drive, and FB isn't there, yet. But FB is expecting the HELP.TXT file to be there on D1: (not on D4:), hence the ERROR 170. Mystery solved! And FB seems quite happy with MyDos 4.5x! -Larry

Hi dmsc- I've found several Dos versions with MEMLO of less than $2000. Thanks. But if I try to do a binary load of FB.COM or FBI.COM with another Dos version, then they launch OK, but immediately gives an ERROR 170. What file is missing if the program is not launched by BEWE Dos? Perhaps the HELP.TXT file is typically needed but will not load if using another Dos? Not saying it crashes or anything, but it's interesting to start with an error message. Or perhaps there is a built-in hook to the STARTUP.BAT file? -Larry

Is anyone successfully using FastBasic with an Atari Dos (2.0, MyDos, etc.)? Or is it "hooked" to BEWE Dos? BEWE Dos looks a lot like Sparta at a casual glance. Thanks, Larry

I have many 800xl and 130xe, and probably the most I've ever paid for a used xl is around $50. Half off, eh? Such a deal! Larry

Hi- Just curious... In these days of "HUGE storage," what do you find particularly useful about file compressors (for the Atari)? -Larry

Current pictures of the board? Does it come ready to plug in a keyboard/display and power supply -- and then ready to use? Will the s-video be equivalent to stock? Other than the hw changes, are most of your other changes to be accomplished in the firmware? Sorry for all the questions, but I'd like to know what I would be signing up to buy. Larry Edit: The S-video question is about signal compatibility, since I use a capture device for my display.

@DrVenkman: No, but I'll try them. I have an Ultimate and Uno, so we'll see how they do. Gives me something to do today before football... -Larry

For you folks that do have BXE working on alternative multi-carts, can you get the extensions to work correctly? (I've seen some patches that will boot the BASICXE.OSS file, but crash when you use some of the extended commands/functions.) That was always the stumbling block that I found using the files for the Atarimax 1-Mb and 8-Mb carts. It was also the same issue for the BXL extensions. A modified set of BXE extensions from Mr-Atari does work properly with the MyIDE-II. -Larry

A little followup... The seller of the card was convinced that there was nothing wrong with the capture card and had me try several things. Using a DVD player, the card captured and displayed perfectly. Connected the Atari composite and... nothing. For grins, I took the Luminance and it displayed perfectly. Took Chroma -- nothing. So evidently it is the Chroma that causes the issue. Wish that guy with this card that said it worked great would read this and write a post. Maybe this is one of those deals where there are different versions of the card from different makers as with the USB serial chips. Anyway, I ended up back with my ATI All In Wonder with Win XP. sigh... -Larry

I'm going to try several of these capture programs under Win7, and update this post as I evaluate them. This will probably take some time... First, I'm using a genuine EZCAP TV with Debut free version (from NCH software). The genuine EXCAP cost about $25 from Amazon, when I purchased it a few years ago. At that time, most of the knockoffs would not work with Win7. Pros: Very easy install and use under Win7. Very good picture quality. No lag at all. Picture size can be scaled. Cons: Interface is OK, but clunky if all you want is the display for the Atari. Picture quality is definitely very good, but not as clean as the All in Wonder. It may well be that if I used the pay version, there might be improvements in filters, etc. to clean up the display. One other goody is that the included filters has a SEPIA filter that gives a look very similar to the old monochrome amber displays. Note: Debut also looks pretty good with the S-video TV picture from satellite. In general all the displays (Atari or TV) look over-driven with Debut, and there does not seem to be much that can be done about that, at least with everything I've tried. DScaler (1) used with WinTV PVR150 hardware and drivers. Pros: Clean interface. No lag. Picture size can be scaled. Lots of options. Cons: Cranky to set up. Inputs must be selected multiple times to get DScaler to recognize the video stream. Even if you get it setup and working, Video settings (brightness, etc.) have no effect. Picture is very dark. Not really very useful for the Atari. Note: with S-video input from satellite TV, did much better! Much better picture than the WinTV software that I had originally installed. Ugly. DScaler (2) used with EZCAP TV. Pros and cons: virtually identical to those as presented with the PVR150 hardware. Fuzzy, dark picture. Cannot adjust the brightness, etc. Debut and DScaler used with Hauppauge 885 (PCI) capture/tuner. The results are identical to the PVR150. Debut looks quite good, DScaler looks dark and ugly. All for awhile... -Larry