Maximum Sectors in an ATX image?

[AtariGeezer]

I've added an ATX Track View option in my ATR Tools app and so far Electrician shows the most Sectors in a Track.

Looking on the web, I've read the Super Archiver disk has 42 Sectors in a Track, but havent found an ATX of that...

 

Does anyone have that image, another with lots of Sectors and also the Wizard and the Princess ATX image???

 

[+playermissile]

Is there a good source of documentation for the ATX format? I've been interested in the ATX format but didn't find much info about it. I have a few random ATX images but not the ones you're looking for. Is there an ATX-only archive of images, or are they just spread around the usual places?

[Rybags]

In theory doesn't the disk controller allow for most sector ID #s to exist though the firmware would never attempt to ask anything beyond the 26th.

 

When there are tracks with multiple of the same ID though, doesn't that mean that you have to start either missing or truncating other sectors... my impression was the finite data limit on a track was maybe an extra sector or two at most - possibly with the aid of shortened gaps.

[AtariGeezer]

Is there a good source of documentation for the ATX format? I've been interested in the ATX format but didn't find much info about it. I have a few random ATX images but not the ones you're looking for. Is there an ATX-only archive of images, or are they just spread around the usual places?

The only docs out there of the ATX format is here: http://whizzosoftware.com/sio2arduino/vapi.html

VAPI files are here: http://www.atarimania.com/atari-vapi.html

Farb has quite a bit too in his Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative http://atariage.com/forums/topic/234684-atari-8-bit-software-preservation-initiative/

[DjayBee]

As far as I remember Rybag's answer on multiple sectors is correct.

 

But

I know of at least one exception: Synfile+

It has one track with 21 valid sectors.

 

This is the reason why it can only be copied on a modified Happy 810. The modification uses a potentiometer to reduce the rotational speed of the drive's motor. When it is present and you copy this disk, It is automatically triggered by version 5.2 or 5.3 of the happy software.

Even the VAPI dumping tool from Atarimania crashed when I tried to image the disk.

[phaeron]

There are several protected disks that use overlapping sectors, such as Blue Max. This works because the FDC only validates clock bits when looking for address and data marks, but doesn't do so when reading address and data fields, so it is possible to start another sector in the middle of the last one. The highest density I have seen so far is 36 sectors per track in SD.

[AtariGeezer]

The reason I asked about the Max Sector Count on an ATX is currently for visual display at the moment, later on I plan to implement Serial Port Communications in ATR Tools to alllow Reading/Writing directly to Floppy Drives using an APE device. And possibly ATX to ATR conversion too, or even attempting writing an ATX image using an "Archiver Chip" equiped 810 / 1050. I made a few utilities in the mid 80's that could format, read and write tracks on my 810, so I'll use that as a base to start with...

[AtariGeezer]

The highest density I have seen so far is 36 sectors per track in SD.

Cool, okay thanks. The most I've seen so far is 34 sectors in Electrician and Racing Destruction Set...

[ijor]

I've added an ATX Track View option in my ATR Tools app and so far Electrician shows the most Sectors in a Track.

Looking on the web, I've read the Super Archiver disk has 42 Sectors in a Track, but havent found an ATX of that...

 

I don't remember from the top off my head the maximum, but yes, it is around 40. Of course, these are short overlapped sectors. IIRC, the maximum number of full sectors I've seen on a track is 20.

 

You might find copies, not originals, with 21 full sectors. But those were made at very low speed copying original disks with 21 overlapped sectors. It just was easier (and cheaper) a mod that slows down the drive, than the hardware needed to fully recreate a track with overlapped sectors.

[AtariGeezer]

Got it, thanks. I vaguely remember copying some disks with my Archiver 810 back in the mid 80's where I had to slow down the drive to copy some tracks...