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XEP80-II a new beginning


mytek

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Just now, Mathy said:

Hello guys

 

Streamliner can also be found on my BlackBox page.

 

If you use Streamliner, make sure you have an extra copy of the file you want to streamline.  In some cases, streamlining a file might cause problems.  As I found out with BBXFER.COM.

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

 

was yours' patched as well mathy?

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2 hours ago, _The Doctor__ said:

correct, the fix from the magazine and the proggy's author (coder)

"The fix" merely allowed the program to properly show an error when it ran out of RAM from loading too big of a file instead of just locking up, so the patch wouldn't have made any difference to whatever it did to break bbxfer...

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On 8/31/2021 at 9:39 PM, _The Doctor__ said:

I wanted to make sure the copy of streamliner at his site was patched.

Looks like the answer according to Mathy's readme file is YES

 

Quote

Howdy folks

 

After Streamliner appeared in the Juli/August issue of 1987 (number 56) ANALOG Computing, James Hague, the author, sent in a patch.  This patch, a bug fix, was published in the April 1988 (number 59) issue.  I patched the OBJ file using the patch and I patched the M65 file using M65 using the instructions in issue number 59.  I normally do not use the M65 cartridge, but I editted the file like I would have done if it was (Turbo)BASIC.  I hope that was the right way.

 

CU          Mathy van Nisselroy

Looks like his resulting OBJ is 11 bytes shorter too, as I think there's some extra bytes in the one I uploaded. His download includes the M65 source, so I may play with that.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/31/2021 at 12:04 PM, mytek said:

Now getting back to my work on tailoring a specific XEP80-II AtariWriter 80 disk.

 

I believe that the suggestion of appending my toggle program and the main Atari program together, and then replacing that on the original AW80 disk will likely make things completely functional without any other alterations. So that leads me back to this posting about 3 pages back about a StreamLiner utility that can aid in creating this.

Does anyone have more info on this program, and/or a download link?

 

hi,

  there is also strip.com written by Stephen Carden available from realdos.net. I also have written a version for the pc, for linux, windows, dos, os2, etc. let me know if interested.

 

Ken

 

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2 hours ago, kenames99 said:

there is also strip.com written by Stephen Carden available from realdos.net. I also have written a version for the pc, for linux, windows, dos, os2, etc. let me know if interested.

Thanks for the offer Ken, but I got what I needed done by appending the files in MSDOS which worked quite well, and then ran StreamLiner in an emulator to strip out the two extra unneeded bytes that resulted by the merge. The new combined file worked perfect, thus allowing me to stick to an unmodified DOS 2.5 which plays better with AtariWriter 80's disk directory function, and likely also the format command from the menu (haven't tested that last part yet).

 

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4 hours ago, kenames99 said:

any updates on the new xep80-II yet? is version 1.1 a go?

It's pretty darn close, I'm simply waiting for a 2nd batch of sample boards to arrive from JLCPCB to confirm that all is well. Gerbers, updated schematics, and the BOM are all set to go live from my website. All I need to do is press the publish button to see that happen (I'm still anticipating 2-3 weeks before I do that). At the same time, I'll be doing a public release of the 576NUC+ manufacturing files as promised... after all Fall has finally arrived :)

 

There's also a new SIO2MIDI-S2 board that'll be getting its public debut as well, and the manufacturing data for that will also be part of this Fall's public release. So lot's going on.

 

BTW, this new MIDI board is a Full High Fidelity version, sporting independent analog and digital ground planes, and directly feeds the S2 stereo output into a 3.5mm audio jack, so no additional audio processing is performed. When connected to a nice amplified sound system it rocks! Also has enough output drive to feed passive headphones.

 

SIO2MIDI-S2_top_1024.thumb.JPG.2eb18404f0a5fd67bb04027258283bf4.JPG

 

As per usual, some or all of these projects either already are, or will be carried by TBA for sale to those that don't want to go the DIY route.

 

Edited by mytek
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On 9/14/2021 at 10:01 PM, kenames99 said:

hi,

  there is also strip.com written by Stephen Carden available from realdos.net. I also have written a version for the pc, for linux, windows, dos, os2, etc. let me know if interested.

 

Ken

 

 

Interested in the MS-DOS and Win (XP) version.

 

Afaik, Streamliner (and Probj) only merge data segments that are contiguous, can yours also merge segments that are not contiguous (e.g. $2000-2EFF, $3000-3EFF into $2000-3EFF) by adding zeros to unused memory adresses ?

 

 

 

 

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The new V1.1 boards arrived today.

 

1188226352_XEP80-IIV1_1PCB.thumb.jpg.d5aca6a18251eec23aa9236abd94d057.jpg

 

JLCPCB now has purple soldermask.

 

Just to give this a bit of scale, compared to the original board this one is pretty close to 1/3 the size, and exactly matches the footprint of the 576NUC+ (4.5"x4.5"). I can almost picture this in a custom case someday with 3 boards stacked inside (TOP FujiNet/Cart - MIDDLE 576NUC+ - BOTTOM XEP80-II). But for the time being thanks to @Mr Robot I will be modifying a standard NUC case of his design to house this in. Of course I need to get back to that project in order for it to be real - all in good time.

 

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First V1.1 board assembled.

 

XEP80-II_PCB_assembled.thumb.JPG.3b00a2a16c829c5391346c857baac289.JPG

 

Works great!

 

You may notice that I have left out switch SW1 which is now marked as optional. Reason being is that I'm just not happy with the PAL version even with the new display timing parameters, and see some issues with Ultra Speed mode. Also the conversion of the standard Atari PAL video to HDMI is quite frankly nowhere near as good as the NTSC. So bottom line is I don't plan to promote this as a PAL board, although everything is there if someone chooses to do so on their own. A dual OS ROM is still possible, hence the reason to leave the switch as an option (without the switch, it defaults to the lower 4K bank of the ROM, same as a stock XEP80).

 

Now on the NTSC side of things: with the new 80 column 250 high screen line count it looks great, giving true descenders (does require full scan mode setting on HDTV or monitor). And the rendering of the stock Atari video looks great as well. Not absolutely Retrotink perfect, but close enough.

 

EDIT: In this particular assembly you'll see a mixture of HC and HCT chips. The BOM and the schematic spec all of them as HC, but either will work.

 

Edited by mytek
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Mathy don't feel sad. This will still work in PAL mode same as a stock Atari XEP80, which was really released as an NTSC board in the first place. However just like the original, this one too will work with externally loaded parameters and a driver compatible with PAL. I'm just not going to guarantee that on the product side, which is really no different to Atari's policy on its XEP80. Remember leaving out the AV-to-HDMI converter still provides a composite output same as the XEP80 (actually a little bit closer to the proper CVBS standard in the case of the XEP80-II).

 

EDIT: you can also leave out the MAX4619 analog switch IC if the HDMI converter is not present. This will save another $4.

 

Edited by mytek
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On 9/22/2021 at 6:24 AM, mytek said:

It's pretty darn close, I'm simply waiting for a 2nd batch of sample boards to arrive from JLCPCB to confirm that all is well. Gerbers, updated schematics, and the BOM are all set to go live from my website. All I need to do is press the publish button to see that happen (I'm still anticipating 2-3 weeks before I do that). At the same time, I'll be doing a public release of the 576NUC+ manufacturing files as promised... after all Fall has finally arrived :)

 

There's also a new SIO2MIDI-S2 board that'll be getting its public debut as well, and the manufacturing data for that will also be part of this Fall's public release. So lot's going on.

 

BTW, this new MIDI board is a Full High Fidelity version, sporting independent analog and digital ground planes, and directly feeds the S2 stereo output into a 3.5mm audio jack, so no additional audio processing is performed. When connected to a nice amplified sound system it rocks! Also has enough output drive to feed passive headphones.

 

SIO2MIDI-S2_top_1024.thumb.JPG.2eb18404f0a5fd67bb04027258283bf4.JPG

 

As per usual, some or all of these projects either already are, or will be carried by TBA for sale to those that don't want to go the DIY route.

 

Can the S2 overhang the nut and bolt of the SIO connector? The upcoming C2 (SMD version of Crystalblaster C1) will be slightly larger. About the size of an S1.

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2 hours ago, ivop said:

Can the S2 overhang the nut and bolt of the SIO connector? The upcoming C2 (SMD version of Crystalblaster C1) will be slightly larger. About the size of an S1.

Yes it can, although off the top of my head I can't give you the actual clearance, and I don't have one here with me to look at. A bit later this week I'll take some measurements and post them in the MIDI topic you originally started.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
21 hours ago, mytek said:

Thanks :)

 

I'll be getting back to making a case for it based on the STL files that @Mr Robot released for the 576NUC+ project, hence the reason this board has exactly the same footprint.

 

Super awesome!

 

When do you think it will be available from The Brewing Academy for ordering? Will you offer the STL so I can print my own case? 

 

Thanks!

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