ATR Disk Images

[Ganky Ghost]

Until I get around to making an s-video cable for my 800XL and get one of those SIO2PC interfaces, I'm playing around with an Atari emulator in Linux. I'm using the Atari800 emulator because that's the one that's included in the Debian repositories. I may give Atari++ a spin later, too. I'll see what happens.

 

Anyway, I need an online source of ATR images that I can download. I just spent the last hour searching Google and most of the sites I was able to find are no longer available. I was able to find one site hosted by AtariMax that had quite a bit of images, mostly games, and I downloaded what I wanted. I'm looking for other stuff though. A SpartaDOS ATR image would be nice. I'm also looking for an AtariWriter Plus image and a TextPro image. Anyone know where I can find this stuff?

 

Oh, before I forget, is there a terminal emulator for the Atari 8-bit machines that will allow you to connect to telnet BBSes? I'll be running it under emulation, if it exists, and I'm hoping that Atari800 emulator allows me to have network access.

[Urchlay]

Anyway, I need an online source of ATR images that I can download. I just spent the last hour searching Google and most of the sites I was able to find are no longer available. I was able to find one site hosted by AtariMax that had quite a bit of images, mostly games, and I downloaded what I wanted. I'm looking for other stuff though. A SpartaDOS ATR image would be nice. I'm also looking for an AtariWriter Plus image and a TextPro image. Anyone know where I can find this stuff?

 

Try the Holmes archive. Not the best-organized thing in the world... but plenty of stuff there.

 

There seems to be a live mirror of it here: http://ftp.pigwa.net/stuff/collections/holmes%20cd/

 

Also someone posted bittorrents of the Holmes CDs in this forum a while back, if you'd rather snarf the whole thing in one go...

 

Oh, before I forget, is there a terminal emulator for the Atari 8-bit machines that will allow you to connect to telnet BBSes? I'll be running it under emulation, if it exists, and I'm hoping that Atari800 emulator allows me to have network access.

 

The emulator has "R: network" support, which does what you want... but I've no idea whether the Debian binaries would be compiled with that option enabled (it's off by default). If they've got it enabled, you should be able to use any standard terminal software for the A8.

[Ganky Ghost]

Try the Holmes archive. Not the best-organized thing in the world... but plenty of stuff there.

 

There seems to be a live mirror of it here: http://ftp.pigwa.net/stuff/collections/holmes%20cd/

 

Also someone posted bittorrents of the Holmes CDs in this forum a while back, if you'd rather snarf the whole thing in one go...

 

Thanks, I'm mirroring that site as I type this with the helpful wget utility. I'll keep a local mirror on my server.

 

Sure brings back memories to boot into TurboBasic, Home Filing Manager (I have a brand new unopened package sitting on my shelf. I loved this program as a kid. I stored almost everything in it.), AtariWriter Plus, et al. I really miss playing with that old Atari.

 

The emulator has "R: network" support, which does what you want... but I've no idea whether the Debian binaries would be compiled with that option enabled (it's off by default). If they've got it enabled, you should be able to use any standard terminal software for the A8.

 

Which terminal program do you recommend for connecting to Atari telnet BBSes? I didn't see anything in BobTerm about connecting over telnet. Also, where in Atari800 do you configure the r: network device? How can I tell if the network option is compiled in?

[Urchlay]

Thanks, I'm mirroring that site as I type this with the helpful wget utility. I'll keep a local mirror on my server.

 

If you're going to do that, be nice: have wget sleep for a minute or two between files (e.g. with an option like -w120). It might take a couple days to mirror it all, but the site's owner will hate you less for it.

 

Which terminal program do you recommend for connecting to Atari telnet BBSes? I didn't see anything in BobTerm about connecting over telnet. Also, where in Atari800 do you configure the r: network device? How can I tell if the network option is compiled in?

 

I don't really have a recommendation, I've never actually tried it (until just now anyway). I do like Ice-T for logging in to a Linux box via serial console, but Linux doesn't support ATASCII (telnet BBSes do seem to, so you might want to use Bobterm or 850 Express).

 

Nothing in bobterm's documentation will say anything about telnet. The way the R: net stuff works is, you load up a normal terminal program, and it "thinks" it's using a normal serial port. Instead of using ATDT to dial, you use "ATDI <bbs_hostname> <port>". See the rdevice_faq.txt and r_device.txt files that came with atari800... probably it lives in /usr/share/doc/atari800 on a Debian box.

 

To see whether your atari800 binary has R: support, press F1 to get into its menu, then choose "Emulator Configuration". If you see an option on that screen for "R: device (Atari800 via net)", then you've got the support compiled in. Turn it on, save the config, then load up Bobterm (or whatever), *without* loading any serial port driver first. Go into terminal mode, and type ATDL <Return>, then ATDI bfbbs.no-ip.com 23 <Return>. This should connect you to the Boot Factory BBS (or anyway it worked for me, just now). It seems picky about the spaces (don't leave off the space between ATDI and the hostname anyway).

 

If you don't see the R: device option on your config screen, you'll either have to compile your own atari800 binary, or sweet-talk the Debian package maintainer into making an updated package (and he may not do it, claiming it's a security risk...)

[+bf2k+]

Until I get around to making an s-video cable for my 800XL and get one of those SIO2PC interfaces, I'm playing around with an Atari emulator in Linux. I'm using the Atari800 emulator because that's the one that's included in the Debian repositories. I may give Atari++ a spin later, too. I'll see what happens.

 

Anyway, I need an online source of ATR images that I can download. I just spent the last hour searching Google and most of the sites I was able to find are no longer available. I was able to find one site hosted by AtariMax that had quite a bit of images, mostly games, and I downloaded what I wanted. I'm looking for other stuff though. A SpartaDOS ATR image would be nice. I'm also looking for an AtariWriter Plus image and a TextPro image. Anyone know where I can find this stuff?

 

Oh, before I forget, is there a terminal emulator for the Atari 8-bit machines that will allow you to connect to telnet BBSes? I'll be running it under emulation, if it exists, and I'm hoping that Atari800 emulator allows me to have network access.

 

 

I have some SpartaDOS ATR's here: http://bf.amfband.com

 

Steven Tucker's ATS runs under Windows and allows you to connect to ATASCII BBS's like mine. You can get ATS at the link above.

[+Guitarman]

Just so you know, the Holmes Archive mirror at http://ftp.pigwa.net/stuff/collections/holmes%20cd/ is not complete. It is missing a lot of files. It would be better to have someone make you a set of CD's or see if the torrents are still active.

[accousticguitar]

Homesoft is a good site: http://www.mushca.com/f/atari/index.php?idx=7

 

And of course, there is Atarimania: http://www.atarimania.com/main_database.ph...amp;TYPE_CODE=G

Edited December 11, 2008 by accousticguitar

[_The Doctor__]

Yes your absolutely right, can someone help him out with a proper pile?

 

Just so you know, the Holmes Archive mirror at http://ftp.pigwa.net/stuff/collections/holmes%20cd/ is not complete. It is missing a lot of files. It would be better to have someone make you a set of CD's or see if the torrents are still active.

[Ganky Ghost]

Just so you know, the Holmes Archive mirror at http://ftp.pigwa.net/stuff/collections/holmes%20cd/ is not complete. It is missing a lot of files. It would be better to have someone make you a set of CD's or see if the torrents are still active.

 

Thanks. I just did a search for the torrents and found them here: http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...rrent&st=50 I'm downloading the torrents right now and will continue to seed them once I receive them, likely indefinitely.

 

Nothing in bobterm's documentation will say anything about telnet. The way the R: net stuff works is, you load up a normal terminal program, and it "thinks" it's using a normal serial port. Instead of using ATDT to dial, you use "ATDI <bbs_hostname> <port>". See the rdevice_faq.txt and r_device.txt files that came with atari800... probably it lives in /usr/share/doc/atari800 on a Debian box.

 

Thanks. I'll take a look at the atari800 documentation. I had just been winging it, thinking I'd only need to brush up on the Atari side of things. It's been years since I've actually done anything on an Atari -- emulated or otherwise.

 

To see whether your atari800 binary has R: support, press F1 to get into its menu, then choose "Emulator Configuration". If you see an option on that screen for "R: device (Atari800 via net)", then you've got the support compiled in. Turn it on, save the config, then load up Bobterm (or whatever), *without* loading any serial port driver first. Go into terminal mode, and type ATDL <Return>, then ATDI bfbbs.no-ip.com 23 <Return>. This should connect you to the Boot Factory BBS (or anyway it worked for me, just now). It seems picky about the spaces (don't leave off the space between ATDI and the hostname anyway).

 

That should work for me as well. I'll give it a whirl and see what happens.

 

I have some SpartaDOS ATR's here: http://bf.amfband.com

 

Steven Tucker's ATS runs under Windows and allows you to connect to ATASCII BBS's like mine. You can get ATS at the link above.

 

Thanks. I'll take a look at what you have available and see if it's newer or different than what I was able to find at the Holmes site.

 

I don't run Windows so I can't use software for Windows, like ATS. Yes, I know that I could probably run it in Wine, but I'm really reluctant to run software for Windows. I'm a "free as in beer" kind of guy.

 

Homesoft is a good site: http://www.mushca.com/f/atari/index.php?idx=7

 

And of course, there is Atarimania: http://www.atarimania.com/main_database.ph...amp;TYPE_CODE=G

 

Thanks. I've downloaded some demos from Atarimania. Nice site.

 

Yes your absolutely right, can someone help him out with a proper pile?

 

Taken care of, Doc. I'm receiving the torrents as I type this.