ACML Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 Someone recently uploaded an 80 column version of Atariwriter that required 128K of RAM. It is very cool. But didn't Newell sell a modified version of Atariwriter for 80 columns if you had the Omniview OS. They offered to send you the modified version for $10. Is there a copy of this in the wild? It should work on a 64K RAM machine with Omniview OS. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddtmw Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 http://atariage.com/forums/topic/275696-atari-80-column-softwarehardware/page-2 Farb posted it in this thread. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACML Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 Thank you. Apparently the David Young version requires a 130XE. I thought they offered a version for 64k machines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hueyjones70 Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 David Young's version only works with a 130XE or with a 800XL with a Newell 256K upgrade. The upgrade has to be slightly modified by adding a switch to select between banked and main memory. I worked on that problem for several months until I just happened to purchase a 800XL with the said memory mod. Way too much trouble for the reward. Now I just use my 130XE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 Hmm. AtariWriter 80 for OmniView requires the extra 128K because it uses RAM in one of the extended banks for the 80 column screen buffer. (About 8K) which is too much to consume out of the base 64K. It required the ANTIC bank switching capability introduced with the 130XE because it allowed the screen to continue displaying from extended RAM while the CPU was working in base RAM. Most 800XL/RAMBO type 256K upgrades do not support separate ANTIC access. Does the Newell 256K upgrade incorporate ANTIC banking? If so, said switch would more likely just repurpose PIA bit 5 to ANTIC access instead of RAM, reducing accessible extended RAM to 128K (192K total). Would be neat if it brought that feature down to XL's... Edit: The A8 FAQ knows all.. The original "Newell Industries 256KXL" did not have any ANTIC access to extended RAM. Indeed a later "256KXLE" revision of the upgrade added separate ANTIC access: - NOTE: After the RAMBO XL gained strong marketplace acceptance, the Newell 256KXL was replaced with the Newell 256KXLE, see below. - Newell 256KXLE, for 800XL/1200XL, c1991 - NOTE: Replaced the earlier Newell 256KXL - True ANTIC banking 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 The relevant software from Farb is located in post #37 of the atari-80-column-softwarehardware topic by hueyjones70 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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