Atari sets off fireworks! (pictures! source code!)

[Savetz]

The July/August 1987 issue of ST-Log magazine has an article by Matthew Stern called "Atari Sets Off Fireworks!" It features an interview with Robert Veline of Astro Pryrotechnics, a California-based fireworks company. In 2017 I read the article and contacted Robert. I interviewed him for ANTIC: The Atari 8-Bit Podcast. (The interview will be published in a few days, on July 4.)

After the interview, Robert sent me pictures of his Atari 800XL-based fireworks rig; and the floppy disks with the custom software, which I digitized. I put everything into archive.org (here) and right here too.

First, enjoy Robert's pictures of the fireworks rig.

Next, dig into the ZIP file containing ATR files of the disks Robert sent me, including the source code for the fireworks system! I really haven't had a chance to look at what's on these disks. From the interview (which you'll hear July 4), I know there's the actual fireworks shooty stuff, plus a fireworks simulation that he described as slow. Also a book thing he co-wrote called Old Mother Hubbard's GCHIP Cook Book. Please dig in, geeks, and report what you find.

xoxo,

—Kevin

Veline disks.zip

[ndary]

4th of July is just around the corner.. any plans to do a real fireworks with this system?

[+Stephen]

Wow - that's an amazing find!

[kiwilove]

Just need some Youtube videos showing this working in practice... Maybe a comparison without using one, as a reference?

 

Harvey

[mytek]

 

I love this kind of stuff!

 

Another good example of A8's getting used for real world control. I wish I had pics of my cryochiller testing and monitoring hardware from the mid 80's, as well as the software that was being run from 800XL's on 4 test systems that got built around this.

 

- Michael

[Savetz]

Here's the interview: http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-291-robert-veline-astro-pyrotechnics

[Bill Lange]

From Veline03a-RoseWindows.atr, snostorm.bas

 

 

 

 

[Bill Lange]

From Veline03a-RoseWindows.atr, crystals

 

 

 

 

[Bill Lange]

From Veline04-Old Mother Hubbard's GCHIP Cook Book.atr: this seems to be a menu driven collection of ATARI BASIC graphic demos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mclaneinc]

Seems you need to have BASIC and for some reason have to press any key apart from the Function Keys when the drive stops, it then loads the menu...

 

odd?

 

Tried all the BASIC's, same....

[ndary]

If you listened to the interview you hears that after the Atari FireBox was recovered the cartridge that came with it was missing...

here is the Cartridge ROM image, constructed from the Data on the Disk Kevin attached

 

 

 

FBOXCART.ROM