Larry

I've come to the conclusion that if you order from eBay -- China, you may or may not get one that works in the manner that we need. Probably the less you pay, the lower the likelihood. (What a revelation! ) I noticed that at Amazon, they have put in the descriptions in at least some of the "FTDI" items that they do or do not have a genuine FTDI chip in them. Here for instance is one that does: https://smile.amazon.com/Converter-Terminated-Galileo-BeagleBone-Minnowboard/dp/B06ZYPLFNB/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1508238708&sr=8-4&keywords=ftdi+usb+to+serial+cable Of course, more money, but you know what you are getting and that it has a high likelihood that it will work correctly. Here's a breakout board (tailored for Arduino) that specifically says it does not have a genuine chip: https://smile.amazon.com/HiLetgo-FT232RL-Converter-Adapter-Breakout/dp/B00IJXZQ7C/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1508239475&sr=1-3&keywords=ftdi+breakout+module Sparkfun also has cables in the $10 - $20 range that are "the real deal." So the moral of the story (to me at least) is -- if you get a cable and want it to work correctly, you have to make sure that it has a genuine FTDI chip. Will an eBay supplier get his next batch that does not have a real FTDI? If getting from eBay, best to ask if it is genuine and let that answer be the guide. I noticed that in the description of the one that Kyle linked, it says that it does. Being "once burned" however, I'd still specifically ask before I ordered. -Larry

Well, at least it was only a few dollars. Put my (real) FTDI board back into service, and it works with everything all the way down to divisor zero (or 1 to be safer). -Larry

Actually verified two ways. Meter -- continuity, and also it is the command wire that I had hooked up to DSR on my breakout board, which worked fine. Yes, they do vary, so a meter is about the only sure way. But Roy's post makes me wonder if the blue USB wire is CTS, since his works with DSR. (?) I'll have to try that and see what I get. -Larry Edit: Mine won't work set to DSR, and if I set the data rate at 57Kbs, it totally fails. At 38Kbs, it works but with many errors, and eventually drops back to 19Kbs. I guess I should also ask if anyone has successfully used the CTS line with AspeQt or RespeQt. -Larry

The "slow boat..." with my 6-wire cable arrived, and I assembled my Atari SIO to it. I used the standard connections, including the USB blue CTS wire to SIO Command pin 7 (purple on miy SIO cable).. Works fine with AspeQt (I still use that), but only works with no handshaking. If I set the handshaking to CTS, then it stops working. (?) But my real question is whether anyone has gotten one of these cables to work with APE? My APE (registered) software works fine with my FTDI breakout board (DSR) from Sparkfun, but it won't work with this one, period. I'm not too surprised, since APE is pretty particular about what it will work with. Anyway, just curious if anyone had luck with APE. -Larry

MyDos can read the entire Dos 2.5 ED disk, but cannot write beyond the first 720 sectors. That is true for 4.50 and newer, and may be true for older versions as well. If you read the directory of a Dos 2.5 ED disk, with MyDos, it will always show 000 FREE SECTORS. If you mix different dos types, Dos 2.5 ED seems to cause problems. -Larry

Yes, with MFM drives. Presumably the OP has a bridge board (Adaptec, etc.) since only a very few of the early SCSI drives could be used with the original MIO. Because he is using the original MIO rom, he needs to get it to 256-byte sectors. Of course, with the new rom, many more SCSI drives can be used, and no formatting is required. Back in 1985 or so, this MIO was the ultimate setup! -Larry

Thanks! I don't think that I tried Dscaler with the Hauppauge hardware, so I should try that. I have used Dscaler previously, and unfortunately didn't particularly like the control interface, but certainly worth another look. Has anyone tried this one with our Atari hardware? http://www.ebay.com/itm/311912376231?ul_noapp=true Looks interesting... -Larry

I've checked it out on my system, and it certainly works fine for displaying the memory model selected and the OS number selected. That is very helpful, to me and pretty quick to load and verify what is being used. BASIC checksums seem fine, but I'm curious about the checksums for the OS. Here's what I have flashed and also what the checksums are 0 -- XLOS 1 -- 9211 (which is MyBios Beta 16) 2 -- 9211 (which is the XLOS with reverse BASIC and Hias patch) 3 -- C608 (which is the Konrad's 65816 OS version 2.37 IIRC ) 4 -- 9211 (which is the XLOS with the Fast Math package) 5 -- 0868 (which is Omnimon XE) 6 -- 9211 (which is the latest WIP MyBios OS) 7 -- 9211 (which is the XLOS with reverse BASIC) It is probably absolutely correct, but seems odd that fairly different OS (MyBios) would come up with the exact same checksum as the XLOS. I don't understand that, so perhaps someone could explain it? -Larry

Thanks, Roy. Missed that one, so I'll check it out. -Larry

Perhaps I'm not alone in sometimes not being able to remember what OS that Antonia is currently using? And for that matter, which OS are currently programmed in it? I normally just use the 320K Rambo setting, so that is not as much of a problem, but if you changed fairly frequently, it would be a similar issue. I do have P-touch labels on top of my computer that shows the OS that are currently flashed. (Actually I have several P-touch labels plastered on my computers that remind me that this doesn't work with that, and no Ultra Speed with this or that, etc.) As the old saying goes "a short pencil is always better than a long memory." But anyway, is there any way known to peek into Antonia to tell what number of OS and I guess ram setting number is being used? Since this is just reading and no flashing, seems like it should be possible. A Q&D .com program to tell us which number OS and ram setting is being used? And maybe actually changing the number(s) being used? That would be pretty useful, I think. -Larry

Here it is again, but with a couple of twists... I'm looking for one of these, but with a couple of specific features needed. Must work under Win7. Display Window must be scalable -- not just full screen. And naturally, must work with Atari video. (Many won't, including the more modern Hauppauge WinTV models I've tried -- 6,7, and 8. I've used an ATI All In Wonder card for many years, but AFAIK, no Win7 drivers were ever released. There was a Vista beta, but it fails for me on Win7. Anyone know of something that might work for me? -Larry

Looks very interesting! One small suggestion -- if you end up building a new interface, consider a 14C89 instead of a regular 1489. I had much better luck with the C, especially if using multiple drives in the chain. Hope you complete this addition to ATR Tools. Larry

Just noticed and remembered that Ken was in Houston. Anyone heard from him as to how he made out with the storm? -Larry

Sorry to beat this dead horse once more... I bought the U.S. Parker Bros disk version at Toys"R"US in the 80's. I know it is a PB product and think it was advertised in the mags here at that time. According to above, this version can be finished? So there were 5 (common) versions? 1) Utopia disk version -- Europe? 2) Parker Bros. U.S. disk version 3) Prototype cartridge version 4) Released cartridge version 5) Cassette version? It appears that Montezuma is taking his revenge on me! -Larry

I absolutely agree with you -- it is quite flexible, especially since it makes a fine portable HD. And it's interesting that when I was first thinking about the storage aspects, I thought of the SIDE2, but didn't think about the MyIDE II. Probably because I mostly use mine with MyDos as a HD. -Larry -

Thanks, Stephen! That's excellent. -Larry

Is there a comparison matrix or list that shows the features of the many different storage cartridges that exist? There are quite a few, and it gets confusing as to which does what. AFAIK, the most flexible are the Ultimate Cart and the UNO Cart. (?) -Larry

Glad V-Cool started this thread! We've come a long way from the original Nick Kennedy DIY MAX-232 and Rick Cortes 14C89 designs of the 80's. Both the hardware and the software, including Hias' taking us all the way to divisor zero. I've even got to thank Bill Gates, since for me moving the software to Windows was an absolute quantum leap. It's interesting to look back at all the designs and software iterations we've had. I've got a bunch of the "latest" designs from all along the way, and was reluctant to build yet another one, but for $6, how can I refuse. I think you could make a whole chapter of our Atari 8-bit history on SIO2PC. -Larry

What TV/monitor inputs do you have available? S-video is ideal for the Atari 8-bits. Composite is usually not very good. RF is pretty ugly. Check out the sticky of the Newbie thread. -Larry

You might check into the spectrum zx emulator by drac030. Since this is an adventure game, the speed might be acceptable. With an accelerator, the emulator can run at nearly full speed, so using it with Altirra might work. Still there are hurdles in getting it to work, but porting it is likely not feasible.

Having trouble getting the English version to run. Does it work at all with NTSC? Are there specific machine requirements? Specific loader needed? (I did see the PAL, but most games usually work more or less with NTSC.) I get a loading screen that says "Please Wait Loading Data" that changes in luminance, but it just goes on and on, and nothing else happens. Tried with dead stock 130XE and a 320K (Antonia) 600XL. -Larry

I'll see if I can get this tested with Bob Woolley's XL14 accelerator. I'm quite sure that it has an expanded memory mode with XE-type memory. But I've never used that mode before, so I'll have to figure out how to do it. What to test? Is there some benchmark that would be useful to see what we can get? Ahl? I know nothing about Apples... -Larry

Really nice! -Larry

You're going to remove VGA? So it will only have S-video? (or?) -Larry

I'm thinking about a MIST, also, but mainly for the system flexibility it offers. I have tons of real Atari hardware, so I'll certainly keep a good portion of that for when I feeling especially nostalgic. Definitely going to "downsize" on real hardware, though. Looking at Lotharek's site, what is a MIST 1.3+ -- just means it includes a case? Last -- anyone interested in selling one? If so, send me a PM. -Larry