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Silicon Times Report Issue 0019
_______________________________________
ST-REPORT 19 January 27, 1988
_______________________________________
Editor: Ron Kovacs
Part of The ST Xpress Magazine Monthly Disk
Syndicate Publishing Staff
--------------------------
Ron Kovacs
Calamity Jane
Mr. Goodprobe
Eric Plent
No room this week for me!!! Seeya Next week!
_______________________________________
CONTENTS
_______________________________________
January Atari News/Rumors..................................Larry Richards
520STFM One Meg Upgrade....................................Stephen Brown
Trackball Part 1...........................................George Robbins
Trackball Part 2...............................................Greg Zepka
Supra Hard Disk Fix--From Zmag Archives '87-........................Supra
Analog Confrence...................................................Delphi
Toll Free Computer Oriented Numbers............................Ron Kovacs
Probing Your ST -=Computer News Update=-....................Mr. Goodprobe
_______________________________________
JANUARY ATARI NEWS AND RUMORS
_______________________________________
Compiled by Larry Richards
for B.A.S.I.C. and the Dateline BBS
Copyright (c)1988 Brooklyn Atari Society and Dateline BBS
All rights reserved
This article may be freely reprinted in user group newsletters and
uploaded to non-commercial BBS's, provided the above copyright notice is
included, and credit is given to the author, the Brooklyn Atari Society
(B.A.S.I.C.), and the Dateline BBS (718-648-0947). Permission is also
granted to GEnie, CompuServe, and Z-Magazine/ST Report to distribute this
article, providing that the above conditions are met.
ATARI HARDWARE NEWS
The Atari Laser Printer, the SLM804, finally made its debut early in
December. Retailing from $1595.00 to $1995.00, it includes a Diablo 630
emulator (for use with non-graphics word processors [such as Word
Perfect, Word Writer ST, etc.] and non-Mega ST's), a DMA interface box
(the item that reportedly had been holding up its release), and no RAM.
The printer requires a Mega (or an ST that has been upgraded to at least
2 megs of RAM) in order to produce full graphics. Atari dealers will be
selling a "complete desktop publishing workstation", including the laser
printer and a Mega, for about $4000. This compares favorably with the
$6000+ pricetag of the Apple LaserWriter alone, but the ST is still
lacking in the professional desktop publishing software available for the
Macintosh, and the Atari Laser Printer cannot be used with any computer
other than the ST/Mega. Professional software for the ST, such as
Publishing Partner Professional, Calamus from ISD Inc., and Deskset from
G.O. Graphics, has been announced, but is not yet available. Early
reports from dealers are that sales of the printer have been very sparse,
but that the Mega owners who have purchased them are delighted with the
units. With the right software, the Mega/SLM804 combination COULD take
the desktop publishing market by storm, but for now the jury is still
out.
On the 8-bit front, the long-awaited XF551 disk drive, the double-sided,
TRUE double density replacement for the now-scarce 1050, has finally been
released. Unfortunately, ADOS, the new version of DOS that would allow
users to take full advantage of the XF551's increased storage capability
and speed, is still not ready and the drives are being sold with DOS 2.5
in the package, and a hastily re-done DOS 2.5/1050 manual (with the
references to "1050" simply changed to "XF551") included. Atari says that
as soon as ADOS is completed it will be included in the XF551 package. In
the meantime, SpartaDOS (a new version, 3.5, has been released which will
allow use of the high-speed option on the XF551 and the Indus drive - the
older version 3.2 will also work with the XF551, but will not allow use
of the high-speed mode), TopDOS, and MYDOS will all allow use of the full
360K storage capacity of the new drive. Why would Atari release it before
their own DOS was ready? My guess is that the lawsuit by Nintendo
(claiming that there were no disk drives available for the XE Game
System) forced Atari's hand on this.
The XF551 is done in the now-familiar XE gray, and is very sleek and
small (much smaller than the 1050). Internally, it seems to consist of a
standard IBM-style half-height 360K drive mechanism, an interface, and a
disk controller board (similar to the old Percom drives). This would seem
to make it an easy target for hackers, and articles are already starting
to appear showing how to replace the mechanism with an 80-track (720K)
mechanism, a 3.5" mechanism, or how to attach a complete ST drive (such
as the SF354) to the XF551 as drive 2 (or 3 or 4). Most of these
modifications will require patches to the XF551 ROM, so they should not
be attempted by beginners, but they ARE possible.
NON-ATARI HARDWARE
The Translator ONE for the Magic Sac, put out by Data Pacific Inc., which
enables Magic Sac users to read, write and format true Macintosh format
disks, was released in early December, and aside from some early problems
caused by some non-spec chips (which were quickly corrected by Data
Pacific), it works as advertised, and works very well. Packaged with
version 5.x of the Magic Sac software (the latest is 5.9), a very
well-written manual, and all the necessary cables, it consists of a small
gray metal box about 2/3 the size of an SF354/SF314 drive. Using a
standard ST floppy drive cable, it plugs into the ST's floppy drive port,
and any external drives plug into it (the internal drive on the 1040ST is
automatically affected when the Translator is plugged into the external
drive port). It also uses 2 standard MIDI cables (included) to plug into
both MIDI ports (it will have to be disconnected from the MIDI ports when
a MIDI instrument is used, but it can be left connected to the floppy
port). Reading and (especially) writing Mac format disks is slow, but
this will only have to be done at the beginning of a session (to copy the
data to a Magic format disk) and possibly at the end (to copy new data
back to a Mac format disk for use on a "real" Mac). The Translator
automatically senses if the disk in the drive is a Mac or Magic format
disk and sets itself accordingly. Price is $279.95. The Translator ONE is
also available as part of the Magic Sac Professional, which consists of
the Translator, a Magic Sac+, and the Epstart Epson printer drivers (to
allow use of Epson-compatible printers with most Mac software).
STILL MISSING
The following products were announced at Fall Comdex in November. Here is
their present status:
At the time this is being written (late January), the Atari PC has still
not made its appearance on the market. The original PC (now dubbed the
PC-1) has now been joined in vaporware limbo by several new PC models
which were announced at Comdex in November, including a 386-based clone
with VGA graphics. All the new models include internal expansion slots.
Word has it that the PC-1 is already on sale in Europe, though, so it may
see the light of day here after all, but its $700 price tag does not make
for a very attractive package.
Also announced at Comdex (Atari did not attend Winter CES this year) was
a $600 CD-ROM drive, which will also be able to play standard audio CDs.
The announced shipping date was "late January or early February", but
Atari spokespersons have lately been mentioning March (maybe it will be
out by summer).
Atari also announced the ABAQ, a super graphics workstation based on the
INMOS T-800 32-bit transputer chip. The system would require a Mega as a
"front end". It is being developed by Perihelion in England, but would be
manufactured by Atari (reportedly both Apple and Commodore were offered
it but turned it down before Atari took it). The operating system is
called Helios, and is a full multitasking, multiuser system. An MS-DOS
emulator is also being developed for it that, because of the blinding
speed of the T-800 chips, would be able to run MS-DOS software at greater
speeds than an AT. Graphics modes range from 1280x960-16 colors to
512x480 with 16 million colors. Price was announced as "in the $5000
range", which would take it out of the home market, but completely blow
away anything else in the "professional workstation" market. Atari has
had MANY inquiries from businesses in that market since announcing ABAQ,
and although it had been expected that the system would not be ready for
quite a while (the most common guess was at least a year), Atari now says
that prototypes will be going out to developers "very soon". Chalk that
up to the fact that the system is not being developed by Atari, just
marketed by Atari.
The final product announced by Atari at Comdex was the "Moses PromiseLAN"
(no fooling!), a local area networking system that would allow ST's and
PC's to be networked using IBM NETBIOS, or networked to Apple computers
using AppleTalk. Atari had initially said that this system would be
available in "early 1988", but now says that it will not be available
until after the other Comdex products have appeared (including ABAQ).
CHRISTMAS 1987 SALES
Atari's video game sales for the 1987 Christmas season were very, very
good, according to the company. They sold out of both the 7800 and the
new XE Game System. Sales of the XE Game System in particular were very
encouraging to Atari, as they reportedly sold more XE Game Systems this
year than the total number of XE COMPUTERS (130XE and 65XE) sold in the
past few years combined. The strong sales have caused more than a few
software producers to re-evaluate their plans for Atari 8-bit software,
especially with the new 256K bank-switched cartridges available to
protect their programs from piracy. Look for many new titles to appear in
the months ahead, especially with Atari committed to continuing (and
expanding) their video game TV ads this winter and spring.
On the computer front, Atari claims that they also sold out of ST's and
Megas because their single factory in Taiwan could not keep up with the
demand for all the various Atari products, and production of ST's and
Megas had to be limited because of that. Also, most of the ST/Mega
production goes to Europe, where the demand is very high. This is why
Atari claims they cancelled to TV ad campaign for the ST's/Megas. Since
they sold out of the small supplies of these computers that were
available in the U.S. it made no sense to them to spend a lot of money on
advertising. They have announced that they will be opening two new
factories in the U.S. during 1988 which will be solely committed to
producing ST's and Megas (and associated products) for sale in the USA.
Once these factories are open and "on-line", they promise to begin an
"aggressive" advertising campaign (where have we heard that tune
before?). We'll see.
NEWS TIDBITS (AND RUMORS)
According to Neil Harris on GEnie, Atari will be making the new ST ROMs
available without the Blitter chip for those who either don't want to
wait for the Blitter, or don't want it. Distribution of upgrade kits
including the Blitter are being delayed until it becomes available in the
64-pin DIP form that would be necessary for the upgrade. He did not give
a date for availability of the ROMs or a price. He also said that Atari
is working on a complete rewrite of GEMDOS (not GDOS), correcting many
bugs and speeding up many functions while adding some new features. This
new version of TOS would be available to developers soon in the form of a
disk file, and would be available on ROM later this year.
Again according to Neil Harris, Microsoft Write for the ST is now
shipping.
Atari says that the light gun included with the XE Game System will be
made available to 8-bit computer users as soon as a new, improved version
of Bug Hunt, the light gun game included with the XEGS, is finished. The
gun will be packaged with Bug Hunt and sold for "$30-$50".
ANALOG Computing has been purchased by LFP Inc. (Larry Flynt
Publications) and will resume publication beginning with the March 1988
issue. ST-Log was also included in the sale and will resume with the
March issue also. The same people will be in charge of the editorial
content of the magazines, and the only visible changes will be an
increase in production values (better paper and printing) and MUCH better
distribution (an old problem with ANALOG). All current subscriptions will
be honored.
Rumor has it that OSS Inc. will be merged with (taken over by) ICD Inc.
OSS, a long-time producer of Atari 8-bit systems software and languages
(including DOS XL, MAC/65, Basic XL/XE, and Action!) and Personal Pascal
for the ST, had run into some hard times of late (mostly due to their
ill-advised release of Personal Prolog for the Macintosh, their premature
announcement of Personal Pascal 2.0, and the general weakness of the
8-bit market). The fact that they rejected GFA Basic for the ST (the
authors refused to change it to OSS' specifications), which later went on
the become the most popular commercial Basic for the ST, did not help
them either. ICD, producers of SpartaDOS and many, many hardware products
for the 8-bit computers, should be a good home for the fine OSS products.
Supra Corp. has released the SupraModem 2400, a 2400 baud,
Hayes-compatible modem, for a list price of $179.95. It is selling in the
stores for about $150. It can be connected directly to the ST serial
port, but requires a P:R: Connection, 850, or other interface to be used
with Atari 8-bit computers.
Atari has announced that the following games have just been released in
cartridge form for the XE Game System (and all XL/XE computers):
BattleZone,
Rescue on Fractalus,
BallBlazer,
Blue Max,
Lode Runner,
David's Midnight Magic,
Hardball,
Fight Night,
Barnyard Blaster,
Archon,
One on One Basketball, and Star Raiders II.
_______________________________________
ATARI 520ST FM 1 MEG UPGRADE
_______________________________________
by Stephen Brown
Having recently upgraded a 520ST FM to 1 Megabyte memory successfully, I
wanted to let others know how I did it. There are several warnings that I
want to give you first though:
1) This upgrade will void your warranty.
2) This is NOT a beginner's project! Even though the following should
take you step by step through the process, I have to assume that you
know the basics of working on a printed circuit board. There is no way
to warn you about every situation that might arise in the upgrade
process.
For example, do you know how to control the solder flow? What do I do if
I break something? What if after I get it all back together it doesn't
work???? You have to be aware that YOU are trading off the chance of
damaging your Computer for the monetary savings of upgrading yourself and
learning the joy of Hardware Hacking. For myself, I think the experience
is well worth the risks.
The items that you will need are:
1) 16 256K 150ns Dynamic Rams (cost around $3.50 a piece)
2) 16 16pin Soldertail DIP Sockets (cost around $2.00 total)
3) 16 .1uf Ceramic Disc Capacitors (others can be used, but this is what
I used. around $2.00)
4) A coil of core resin solder (Radio Shack No. 64-001. $.89)
5) A 25 watt soldering iron (Radio Shack No. 64-2070. $4.95)
6) Phillips screwdriver and a small regular screwdriver.
7) Small pliers
8) Wide masking tape
9) Paper bag
10) A prying implement. I used a carving fork but a thin pry bar should
work as well.
OK..OK..stop laughing!!! Your sitting there saying "He wants me to take a
crowbar to my ST!! "; One interesting problem I came up against trying to
take the Motherboard out of the case bottom; was that it was "glued" onto
the posts that support the disk drive. More about this later.
11) A No.61 drill (This size matches the DIP Socket legs nicely.)
12) A Flexible Shaft Drill. (Undoubtedly, the hardest item to come by. A
jeweler, woodworker or many other craftspersons might let you borrow
one. You do have a friend in one of these fields don't you? A RENT-
ALL place might have one also. I don't recommend any other type of
drill; the flexible shaft allows precise drilling.)
13) 6 to 10 ft piece of wire to ground yourself.
14) Small scissors or wire cutters. (To trim excess capacitor leads.)
Are you ready to start? OK Step by step now.
1 - Ground yourself with the wire. If you remove the center screw in the
electric wall socket plate and wind one end of the wire around the
screw and then screw it back into the wall. Now wrap the other end of
the wire around your bare wrist.
2 - Turn your computer over and take out all the screws. There aren't any
screws under the label.
3 - Carefully flip the computer over and remove the cover.
4 - Lift up the keyboard and fold it over to the right and lay it down.
Using the pliers, gently pull off the connector.
5 - You will see 2 metallic shields; 1 covering the power supply and the
other at the back of the drive area. Remove screws to detach the
shields. There is also a small RF shield to remove in the area where
the UNDO key would be. You'll notice that these are metal screws
(closer threads) and most of the rest will be regular screws. Don't
mix em up when you put everything back together or you might strip
the holes.
6 - Look at the Disk drive connectors... The larger connector just pries
off to the left with the small screwdriver. The smaller connector is
a locking one; you have to pry up the top flap so the locking tab
will slide out when you pry the connector off; again it slides off to
the left. Lift up the Drive and set aside in a safe place.
7 - Now you have to take out the Power Supply board. There are 2 screws
holding it in place and you have another locking tab type of
connector. After all of these have been removed, you'll notice that
the Power Supply board has 2 tabs that slide it into place on the
Motherboard; just work the board free keeping these tabs in mind. Put
the PS Board in a safe place.
8 - Twist the little metal holding tabs that hold the metallic RF shield
down and remove all the rest of the screws that hold the metallic RF
shield in place. These screws also hold the Motherboard to the bottom
of the case.
9 - As you have probably noticed, the RF shield does not want to come off
easily. It is hanging up on the back side of the computer....In order
to get the RF Shield off it's CROWBAR TIME!
10- This will hereafter be known as THE INFAMOUS STEP No. 10. If you look
at the posts that the Drive was resting on, you'll probably notice
they look like they are supposed to stay attached to the Motherboard.
But if you carefully look under the Motherboard in that area (A
flashlight helps here), you'll see the posts are attached to the
bottom of the case too! ATARI applied a solvent or glue where the
case post meets the Motherboard post. This bond has to be broken
somehow.....
In my case, I took a long carving fork (You know the one that hangs
on the wall next to the spatulas and soup ladles?) and reached under
and popped the posts free. The large spoon that hangs next to the
potato masher might work even better!
Seriously though, if anyone out there knows of a better way to
accomplish this let us know.
11- Now that the Motherboard is free from the case, you should be able to
work it free from the back slots in the case.
12- Take off the RF shield. Set it aside. The bottom of the Motherboard
has another RF shield on it with an insulating liner between it and
the Motherboard. Gently pry up the front of the Motherboard with the
screwdriver and you can then work it free from the bottom RF shield.
Set the bottom RF shield and insulating liner aside.
13- Now enjoy the beauty of your well designed Motherboard.
14- You should be able to identify the area where the new socketed rams
will go right above the existing rams. The capacitors go between the
rams. (If you can't find this area, you have either don't have a
520ST FM or have no business attempting this upgrade!) The existing
512K is that row of chips closest to the front of the computer.
15- The next step is to "mask off" the area where you'll be drilling the
holes so that no drilling scraps will short out anything later. In
other words, cut up the paper bag so that you can tape it to the
board around the drilling area. Use as big a pieces as possible so
that there will be no seams for drillings to slip into.
16- Now comes the drilling of 288 holes (16 for each Ram and 2 for each
capacitor.) The drilling is pretty much straightforward; just drill
thru the center of each solder hole and don't tilt the drill. Take
your time. Occasionally clean the scrap off the drill and work area.
After all the holes are drilled, flip the board over and thoroughly
clean up the scrap and burrs around the holes.
17- Insert a DIP socket from the top of the board, flip over and solder
all the legs. You'll find that if you place the soldering iron tip to
the side of the leg and apply the solder to the iron and leg
simultaneously, it flows perfectly. After all the DIP sockets are in
place, pull the legs of the capacitors though their holes and snugly
seat the capacitors next to the rams. They do look high but the RF
shield does fit over them. Solder the capacitors in place and snip
off the excess wire.
18- Check all the solder joints!!!! Make sure every leg has been soldered
and hasn't shorted out against another one.
19- Get your new Rams and notice that there is a notch on the top of each
one at one end. This notch should face the back of the computer when
you insert each Ram into it's DIP socket.
20- Now you have to put the computer back together. After you have the
computer back together, power it up and test it out.
If you don't have a Ram testing program, power up a Ram sensitive program
like a word-processor or after loading ST Basic type ?fre(0); if you get
712592, congratulations!!
If you power up and you get garbage or nothing or upon checking your
memory you only have 512K, you'll have to open the computer up again and
check all your solder joints and everything else. There is a possibility
that you had purchased a bad Ram or 2 but not likely. If all else fails,
you can reach me on GEnie at the EMAIL address of S.BROWN7. Even though I
warned you you were taking a chance on upgrading yourself, I might be
able to help.
_______________________________________
Atari Track-Ball Modification
_______________________________________
by George Robbins
Per request, I am reposting the original article on converting WICO and
perhaps Atari 2600 trackballs to mouse-compatible devices. While I have
not tried the conversion, what the original author describes seems to be
quite reasonable.
One other approach that might be easier would be to obtain a spare mouse,
extract the little logic board and attach it to the various LEDs, photo-
sensors and switches...
The original article in comp.sys.amiga describes how to convert WICO and
Atari 2600 track balls to work with the Amiga. Converting for the Atari
ST is essentially the same, except for some disagreement between Atari
and CBM on which quadrature signals go to which "joystick" lines.
Pin Amiga Atari
=== ===== =====
1 Vertical X-B
2 Horizontal X-A
3 Vertical-Quatrature Y-A
4 Horizontal-Quadrature Y-B
5 Pot X N.C.
6 Left Button Left Button
7 +5V +5V
8 Ground Ground
9 Pot Y-Right Button Right Button
As you can see, the pin-outs are compatible enough that no harm will
result if the two are interchanged, however since the quadrature outputs
don't match up you will get pointless twitching instead of useful motion.
Simply switch the wires going to pins 1 thru 4 until you get it right.
A minor problem is that the WICO trackballs are discontinued, so unless
you already know where to find one, you may have problems.
Ok, here it is, sorry I took so long to post it. I have tried to make
this understandable, if you don't know what an LM 339 or a DB9 is, maybe
you shouldn't try this.
Wico track ball modification.
Converting the Wico track ball into an Amiga mouse compatible track ball
is a fairly simple procedure. But if you are uncomfortable with a
soldering iron, get some competent help.
You could damage your Amiga if you make a mistake when assembling this
project! You could also void your Amiga warranty! You will definitly void
your trackball warranty!
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
Ok, now that that's out of the way here are the gory details. The stock
trackball contains a small pc board, this will be removed and replaced
with one containing an LM 339 quad comparator.
The comparator simply converts the output of the opto-coupler to a TTL
level pulse. Both the X and Y axis use two emitter-detector pairs. The
output of each of these detectors is fed through one of the comparators.
The output of the comparator is then fed to the Amiga's mouse port. Since
the output of the trackball will be identical to the mouse's output, the
modified trackball will work with ALL software that uses the mouse.
Here we go!
Remove the 6 (six) screws from the bottom of the trackball case and open
it (right-side-up please). In the lower-right corner there is a small pc
board with two connectors. Remove the board & connectors. You can toss
the board, and the cable that has the joystick connector. (The cable only
has 7 wires and we need 8. You can scrounge the 11 pin male header off of
the board.)
Cut a piece of perf board the same size as the original board. Just make
sure it fits in the same place as the original. The plastic grooves will
hold it perfectly.
Two cautions here: make sure the top can be screwed down without hanging
up on the new board, and make sure all your components will clear the
standoff near the board!
Using the (crude) schematics below, wire up the circuit. You will need to
drill a hole in the case to mount a second switch (for the right button).
Make sure the second switch will clear all existing hardware! Wire the
second switch between ground and pin 9 on the DB 9 connector.
It is a good idea to place a medium sized capacitor (10-20 uf) across +5
and ground where power enters the perf board.
Parts List:
Wico Trackball No.72-4545
Wico Corporation Consumer Division
6400 W. Gross Point Road
Niles, Illinois 60648 800-323-4014
Joystick Extension Cord Radio Shack No.276-1978
LM 339 Quad Comparator Radio Shack No.276-1712
14 pin DIP Socket Radio Shack No.276-1999
Soft-Touch Switch Radio Shack No.275-1566
Perf Board
11 pin Male Header (can be removed from Wico)
10 - 20 microfarad capacitor (12V or higher)
Resistors (1/4 or 1/8 Watt, 5% tolerance)
280 Ohm (4 each)
3.3K Ohm (4 each)
6.8K Ohm (4 each)
100K Ohm (4 each)
Wico TrackBall Internal Connector
(Color code assumes Wico is consistent in their wiring.)
1 Pushbutton White
2 +5 (Y-axis) Red
3 +5 (X-axis) Red
4 Ground (Pushbutton) White
5 Ground (X-axis) Black
6 Ground (Y-axis) Black
7 N/C ---
8 Y-axis output Violet
9 Y-axis output Blue
10 X-axis output Green
11 X-axis output Yellow
Pinouts for LM 339
------------------------
14 13 12 11 10 9 8
)
. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
------------------------
1 Output 2
2 Output 1
3 +5 Volts
4 Input 1-
5 Input 1+
6 Input 2-
7 Input 2+
8 Input 3-
9 Input 3+
10 Input 4-
11 Input 4+
12 Ground
13 Output 4
14 Output 3
Amiga Mouse Connector (DB 9 Female)
-------------
\ 5 4 3 2 1 /
\ 9 8 7 6 /
---------
1 V pulse
2 H pulse
3 VQ pulse
4 HQ pulse
5 N/C
6 Button 1 (Left)
7 + 5 Volts
8 Ground
9 Button 2 (Right)
----------------------------------------------
Connections from Wico Connections from LM 339
11 pin socket to LM 339 to DB9 (Mouse port connector)
Wico -> LM 339 LM 339 --> DB9
---- ------ ------ ---
1 (to pin 6 on DB9) 2 1
2 3 \__+5 Volts 13 2
3 3 / 1 3
4 12 \ 14 4
5 12 >--Ground N/C 5
6 12 / (pin 1 on Wico) 6
7 N/C +5 Volts 7
8 4 Ground 8
9 6 9
10 10
11 8
---------------------------------------
O +5 Volts O +5 Volts
\ \
3.3K Ohm / / 6.8 K Ohm
\ 100K Ohm \
+-----/\/\/\/-------+
/
/ +---+------+ (Pins 5,7,9,11)
/1/4
Output to /__________/ LM
Amiga \ \ 339 \
(Pins 1,2,13,14) \ / 280 Ohm
\ ---+ \
\
Input from ball >-------+ -----
(Pins 4,6,8,10) ---
-
\
3.3K Ohm /
\
-----
---
-
There it is! The above information was obtained from the Amiga Hardware
Reference Manual, and from tearing apart my mouse & trackball and trace-
ing out the schematics myself. (Mostly from tearing my hardware apart!)
Any errors in the above information are mine (but for a few hours work
they can be yours too! ^) ), not Evans & Sutherland's. They are kind
enough to pay me to play with their computers, they have no control over
my ramblings here on usenet.
The above infomation is the correct version. In my first posting + 5
volts and button 2 were switched on the DB9 pinouts.
There have been a lot of inquiries about doing the same modification on
the Atari 2600 trackball. I hadn't seen the Atari untill two days ago,
but I can now tell you that the same procedure will work for it. In fact
it is a little easier on the Atari trackball because the LM339 is already
present.
Just remove all the components from the board except the 339, the supply
voltage filter (inductor + electrolytic cap near the 6 pin header), and
resistors R9 - R18. Actually you'll have to remove those too because they
are the wrong values, and the 339 socket blocks several traces that need
to be cut. (As I remember 430K and 10K should be swapped for 100K and
3.3K respectively.)
The biggest problem is that Atari wired the 339 as a non-inverting
comparator, and Amiga uses an inverting comparator. So you'll have to CUT
AND JUMPER (those that flinched may leave the room) to get the inverted
configuration (see above data for the correct circuit).
I don't plan to do a detailed plan for the Atari trackball, if the above
information doesn't mean much, don't try it yourself.
This general plan should work for all trackballs that use a pair of opto-
couplers on each axis. The old TG trackball for the Apple II (and
probably other computers) will NOT work since it uses a pair of pots.
I hope this helps all you hardware hackers that can't live without a real
trackball. Have fun, and don't blow up your Amiga!
_______________________________________
Atari Trak-Ball Modification For The ST
_______________________________________
by Greg Zepka
(CX22) ,this is the trak-ball with two buttons.
This is a straight forward converstion for an ST style "Mouse-Ball". It
is intended to be the easiest conversion (8 solder joints), and the least
expensive. All that is needed is a db9 connector cord with all the wires
in it. A Radio Shack Joystick extender can be used for this by clipping
off the Male end, and stripping the wires. Trak-Balls are currently on
sale at various top stores such as Kay Bee's.
All directions refer to Top as where the cord and buttons are. The Trak-
Ball is disassembled by removing 4 screws on the base, and prying it
apart.
Remove the ball, wheels, and bearings.
Remove all IC's except A1 (the LM399 or CA399E).
Unplug the cord from the circuit board.
Unplug the cord from the circuit board.
Clip the four wires that were on the left leaving both black wires, and
the orange wire.
Clip the orange, black and red (cord to button wire) leaving over two
inches so you can solder, the new cord on them.
Leave the Black wire connected to the buttons.
On the left button clip the wire going to the right button. (the mouse
has two seperate buttons.
Remove the circut board to make soldering easier. (note the screws)
You will be making solder joint to four resistors (yellow, orange,
yellow, and gold) on the top and topside of the circuit board.
\ 5 4 3 2 1/
\ 9 8 7 6/ A picture of a DB9 connector note this is a mirror image
of the one in the atari manual as this is the plug, not
the connector. You will need to know which wire is which with. An ohm
meter or continuity checker (light and battery).
Pin 1 Up/XB to top of resistor R11 (Note if you want the wire
2 Down/Xa " " R14 and the buttons at the
3 Left /Ya " " R13 bottom reverse 1-2,3-4,
4 Right/Yb " " R12 6-9 connections)
5 Not Connected
6 Left Button Connect to red wire going to left button.
7 +5 volts Connect to orange wire going to flat connector.
8 Ground Connect to Black wire going to flat connector,
note it also jumps to both buttons.
9 Right Button Connect to Red wire going to right button.
Wrap all wire to wire connections to prevent shorts. Connect the flat
connector. Make a knot on the new cord to fit inside for a strain relief.
Reassemble making sure of no mechanical binds (they are easy to make on
the opto wheels, with one of the new wires). This mod has been tested
on a 520st and a 1040 st with various pieces of software (I liked the
performance). The mouse arrow should move back and fort smoothly when
you move the ball. If it jiggles you have the x-y wires mixed up. (check
the buttons). If it will not move in one direction it may be a
mechanical bind with a wire and the op wheel. I have used this on my 520
and friends 1040's but make no guarentee of proper operation. You may
find it helpful to add additional buttons such as a push on, push off
(they are available in small sizes) or other push buttons of a higher
quality. If you have any question or comments let me know.
Gregory Zepka (Compuserve No.76556,114)
_______________________________________
SUPRA HARD DISK FIX
_______________________________________
Reprinted from the ZMAG'87 Archives
Originally captured from CompuServe
No.: 20446 S12/SUPRA Corp.
29-Apr-87 00:52:05
Sb: Supra Autoboot v2.61
Fm: Supra Corp 76004,565
To: All
We have found the problem that SOME people have been having with all
devices being selected while running the Supra Autobooter V2.61. The
autoboot software is supporting the SCSI standard of 7 LUN's (Logical
Unit Numbers), but the Adaptec AC-4000,the Xebec S1410, and maybe the
Seagate ST-225N are NOT properly supporting the SCSI standard.
WHO DOES THIS AFFECT:
This DOES NOT AFFECT 95% of Supra's customers, this MAY affect early
Supra customers who purchased 5.25 inch 10M and 20M drives. This DOES NOT
AFFECT those people who have built their own systems using our dma->scsi
interface and the Adaptec AC-4070 contoller.
This DOES AFFECT those people who have built their own systems using the
Adaptec AC-4000, Xebec S1410 using our dma->scsi interface, and owners of
the Atari SH-204 as it uses the AC-4000.
HOW TO RECTIFY THE PROBLEM:
Either send in your original Supra Utilities disk, or 19.95 to:
Supra Corp.
ATN Supra Format
1133 Commercial Way
Albany, OR 97321
_______________________________________
ANALOG CONFRENCE
_______________________________________
Edited by Ron Kovacs for ST-Report
TEXT OF CONFERENCE ON DELPHI REGARDING
ANALOG BUYOUT
JANUARY 17, 1988
Andy> I'd, first, like to welcome all of you attending this conference.
My name is Andy Eddy and I'll be moderating the CO.
I'd like to welcome our guest for today... Lee Pappas is publisher of
Analog/ST-Log magazines. He is here today to explain the current
situation and answer your questions. Lee, would you like to start by
giving the lowdown on what is going on and what has taken place in the
past few weeks?
Lee> First, ANALOG has signed contracts with a publishing company in LA.
That company is LFP, Inc....Larry Flynt Publishing. We expect to have
the next issues of both mags out in 3 weeks. Let me give a few words
about the changes...First...Larry Flynt has little to do with daily
operations of the company...as a whole. He will have nothing to do with
the editorial contents of either magazine. Changes you will see include
new (glossy) paper, a heavier stock inside as well as a heavier cover.
More color pages thoughout, INCREASED distibution, Much improved service,
and a steady frequency. What you won't see is ads for Hustler and the
like.
LFP, Inc. also publishes a Mens fashion mag, a running mag, a new
automobile mag, a motorcycle pub and a Heavy Metal mag. With many more
non-pornography titles on the way.
Andy> Thanks, Lee. So the fears..that this will be anything like Hustler
will not materialize. This will remain the same Analog as before..but
with some changes in the "production" end..not the editorial.
Lee> OK. There WILL be changes..Because I won't have to deal with such
things (as much, anyway) as distribution...subscription problems, and
production, I can spend more time on editorial...that goes for Clayton as
well.
Andy> So you don't see anything but beneficial changes for the mags?
Lee> Actually, let me say this...the only way someone will know we are
owned by another company is a small blurb on the staff page. As far as
changes go, I expect an even more steady stream of quality editorial
since it will be the main direction of our time working on the mags.
Maurice M.> Okay. I want to get this subject out of the way now
especially in light of recent messages in the forum. Certain people have
hinted that there will be changes in the magazine because of whom the
ownership is. The point, I think has been refuted. However, DF Scott has
in recent messages hinted that several of us writers were in a "dillema"
over the ownership change and might no longer write for ANALOG. I would
like to put to rest any fears readers might have about mass-defection of
writers by asking you, Lee, if you are aware of any other regulars
"leaving" because of this ownership change.
Lee> No, not at this time. Let me respond to your comments. While I
don't whole heartedly agree with Larry Flynts views. I am looking at
what that company can do for our magazines. They don't know ANYTHING
about what we publish, they (LFP, Inc) are leaving us alone in what we
do. To them profit is what they want, editorial content is 100% up to
what we do. They'll make the magazine look better, distribute it better,
and put out a quality looking product, it's still up to me, Clayton,
Maurice, Charles Johnson, Andy Eddy, MAtRat and the rest to put out a
good magazine in product. To answer Maurice's question, other than Scott,
no one has more than batted an eyelash over the buyout in terms of who it
is. After the intial shock wheres off on the buyer's name, they settled
in and want to get back to work.
Andy> Lee, could you tell everyone when the contracts were signed so
everyone knows how recent these developments took place?
Lee> Yes...last Monday is when Michael Des Chenes and I signed. We are
waiting to get them back from LA now then it will be official.
Chadwick> sorry if I missed an answer (arrived late), but is the
editorial line up changing at all? Are we writers still going to have
our columns? Can we expect a different editorial focus?
Lee> Hia, Ian. Haven't spoken to you in a while! The new buyers don't
know the Atari field AT ALL. Columns (I take it you refer to Ian's
Quest!) will remain. It is up to me, and ultimatly the readers, which
columns remain. However, your's is one of the favorites and WILL remain.
It isn't like these guys in LA will read a column by Ian (or anyone) and
say "I disagree with what this guy saids about Magic Sac...get rid of
'em!" After all they don't know Magic Sac from a nice set of whatever.
dan> Will there be both magizines as before, analog(8bit) and st-log?
Clay> Okay... I just wanted to add before the subject got changed, that
the "electronic mag" is not directly associated with ANALOG --it's
something Matt does on his own. The only reason I mention this is that
he obviously is not using the magazine's resources but his own. He does a
good job, but the text is not editted by our staff.
dan> thanks, when is the first publication? again
Andy> Within 3 weeks, Dan.
WHITEWIZARD> you said that the analog depends on the 8-bit...Does this
mean that you might stop publishing in the future if the 8-bit fails
(ANALOG, not ST-Log)?
Lee> ANALOG depends on the 8-bit market ...Lets say that advertising
right now isn't overwhelming and ANALOG would most likly take a new
heading (orientation) in the event 8-bits REALLY dwindle. I could see a
change happening probably this year some time...
WHITEWIZARD> Would you combine ANALOG and ST-Log agian?
Lee> Again, it is mostly up to the ANALOG staff, not LFP, Inc. Yes, I
could see us doing one mag--but here is the problem. The ANALOG name is
the best known, if we put in ST-Log then the mag becomes a general Atari
mag again. If we kill ANALOG and continue ST-Log...well ANALOG has the
more known name and that would be a mistake. Chances are ST-Log might
have some 8-bit coverage...but that is all up in the air right now. When
we are in place after a couple months we'll look at the whole picture.
MADMODIFIER> With many software publishers spreading out to the
Amiga..... Is there any chance that Analog might do the same?
Lee> I have plans to do another computer oriented mag but can't say much
(exactally nothing) about it.
MADMODIFIER> You mean we might see AMIGA LOG <grin>?
Lee> No Comment.
But I hope to have a new project out in late Spring.
STeve M.> What direction will ST Log be taking in terms of content?
General readership, programming, or what?
Clay> I can't see much that will change in ST-Log. Is there something
you WANT to see changed?
STeve M.> No, just was hoping there were not going to be any drastic
changes now. Thanks.
Lee> I feel we have a good balance of information, sophistication and
programs. I think Clayton, myself and our new west coast person will
have more time to look at each issue well in advance and look at it's
contents to see what blend of information it has...thus boosting the
magazines quality...(not that it needs boosting <grin>) in addition,
hopefully we'll add more pages too.
Clay> The combination we've had in the past has worked out well, I think.
I don't see any reason to change it. (More pages would be nice.)
_______________________________________
COMPUTER RELATED TOLL-FREE NUMBERS
_______________________________________
These numbers should be verified before they are relied upon.
Abacus Associates ....................... 1-800-547-5995
Access Unlimited ........................ 1-800-527-3475
Advanced Logic Systems .................. 1-800-538-8177
Aerocomp, Inc. ........................... 1-800-824-7888
Allenbach Industries ..................... 1-800-854-1515
Alpha Products ........................... 1-800-221-0916
Ammicro .................................. 1-800-251-5110
Applied Microsystems ..................... 1-800-468-4474
Archive .................................. 1-800-343-0314
Atlantic Computer Accessories ............ 1-800-327-6933
BASF .................................... 1-800-343-4600
Beagle Bros. ............................ 1-800-854-2003
Beck Mfg. ............................... 1-800-BECK-MFG
Bottom Line .............................. 1-800-343-0726
B T Enterprises .......................... 1-800-645-1165
Calsoft .................................. 1-800-423-5290
C D C .................................... 1-800-692-5235
Compaq Computer Corp. .................... 1-800-231-9966
CompuAdd Corp. .......................... 1-800-531-5475
Compukit ................................. 1-800-231-6671
CompuServe (outside Ohio) ............... 1-800-848-8199
CompuSoft ................................ 1-800-854-6505
Computer Applications Unlimited ......... 1-800-354-5400
Computer Discount of America ............. 1-800-526-5313
Computer Distribution Assoc. ............. 1-800-523-2909
Computer Exchange ........................ 1-800-547-1289
Computer-Line of Denver .................. 1-800-525-7877
Computer Mail Order East ................. 1-800-233-8950
Computer Mail Order West ................. 1-800-648-3311
Computer Outlet .......................... 1-800-634-6766
Computer Plus ............................ 1-800-343-8124
Computer Power Solutions ................ 1-800-237-6010
Computer Shack ........................... 1-800-392-8881
Computronics ............................. 1-800-431-2818
Cosmopolitan Electronics ................. 1-800-393-3785
Creative Computer Center ................ 1-800-327-9294
Data-assette ............................. 1-800-523-2909
Data Dynamics Technology Books .......... 1-800-423-6665
Data Services, Inc. ..................... 1-800-835-1129
Delphi (General Videotex) ................ 1-800-544-4005
Digital Equipment Corp. ................. 1-800-DIGITAL
Dilithium Press ......................... 1-800-547-1842
Discount Software ........................ 1-800-421-4003
Diskette Connection ..................... 1-800-654-4058
Diskette Junction ....................... 1-800-321-5134
Duck Co. ................................ 1-800-392-8881
Dynacomp, Inc. .......................... 1-800-828-6772
Early Games ............................. 1-800-328-1223
Electronic Protection Devices ............ 1-800-343-1813
Electronic Specialists, Inc. ............ 1-800-225-4876
Epson America ............................ 1-800-421-5426
Fort Worth Computers ..................... 1-800-433-SAVE
Hayden Software .......................... 1-800-343-1218
Ironsides Computer ....................... 1-800-528-9537
Jade Computer Products ................... 1-800-421-5500
Langley-St. Clair Inst. Syst. ........... 1-800-221-7070
Leading Edge Products .................... 1-800-343-6833
Level IV Products ........................ 1-800-521-3305
Lobo Systems ............................ 1-800-235-1245
Lyco Computer Marketing & Consultants .... 1-800-233-8760
MagiComp ................................ 1-800-528-9900
Marymac Industries ....................... 1-800-231-3680
Med Systems Software .................... 1-800-334-5470
Memotech Corp. .......................... 1-800-662-0949
Microcomputer Business Systems .......... 1-800-638-1857
Microcomputer Games ..................... 1-800-638-9292
Micro Data Supplies ..................... 1-800-321-3552
Micro-Design ............................. 1-800-531-5002
Micro-Ed ................................ 1-800-MICRO-ED
Micro Images Industries ................. 1-800-223-1182
Micro Management Systems ................. 1-800-841-0860
Micromint Inc. .......................... 1-800-645-3479
Micro Merchant ........................... 1-800-652-8391
Micro-Systems Software ................... 1-800-327-8724
Microtek, Inc. .......................... 1-800-854-1081
Montezuma Micro ......................... 1-800-527-0347
National Computer Products ............... 1-800-854-6654
Nebs Computer Forms ...................... 1-800-225-9550
Nonagon Software ......................... 1-800-942-2058
Okidata .................................. 1-800-OKIDATA
Omega International ...................... 1-800-343-0873
Pacific Exchanges ....................... 1-800-235-4137
Pan American Electronics ................ 1-800-531-7466
Penguin Products ........................ 1-800-732-0641
TriSoft .................................. 1-800-531-5170
Universal Software ....................... 1-800-343-8019
Valpar International ..................... 1-800-528-7070
Vespa Computer Outlet .................... 1-800-633-2252
VR Data .................................. 1-800-345-8102
Zebra Computer Products .................. 1-800-492-0182
_______________________________________
PROBING YOUR ST
_______________________________________
by Mr. Goodprobe
The Latest and Greatest in Computer Tidbits...
Well howdy there my friends, I trust your holidays were as half as
pleasant as mine! Our family spent the holidays out in Denver where we
were promptly snowed in! But fortunately we were there to be with family
and friends, and a super time was had by all.
For the next few weeks I want to go to a free-form type article and share
with you some computer-related news that directly affects us all in one
way or another. So pull up a nice warm cup of coffee, and enjoy...
AST Corp. (a major board manufacturer who is pulling back on production
on Apple II products by the way, I guess it means that 8 bit machines of
all types are getting hit hard eh?), has announced they are producing 2
new scanners for the MacIntosh, both which handle 300 dots per inch
nicely. I imagine some ingenious-type person will soon compliment the
programming wonders of David small of Magic Sac fame by producing the
necessary interfacing needed to allow some of these type MacIntosh
add-ons to work with the ST running under the Magic Sac influence. Its
only a matter of time... Then again it might not be quite that easy as
Hewlett-Packard had to send their interface for the Mac to allow it to
run their Scanjet scanner, back on an indefinite hold to clear up some
mysterious problems it was having. They wouldn't say what those problems
were, but it was serious enough to stall indefinitely production of the
unit.
Along that line, would anyone care to comment on the feasibility of
Hypercard applications running on the ST with Magic Sac? I imagine that
if you have a memory upgrade of at least 1.5 meg, using a memory upgrade
such as the module available from New World Software for $139, you could
take advantage of the power of the 1 meg and up memory limitations of
Hypercard and its myriad of applications. Yea? Nay?
November 1st Genie reduced the rate it charges for 2,400 baud service
from $15 an hour down to $12.50 an hour during non-prime time hours.
Also, 44 new cities received local access to this fine service, and one
sad note is that January 1st the sign up charge was due to go up from the
special price of $18 to $29.95, but 2 free hours of connect time will be
added to the package.
Aegis has announced plans to produce a line of 3-d modeling and animation
modules for the Mac II. The Magic Sac is looking more and more a
necessity eh?
One product recently produced for the Amiga I would REALLY like to see
for the ST is called Liquid Light. This little number allows you to
attach a Polaroid camera to the amiga and then make instant slides and
photographs made of art drawn via any of the numerous Amiga paint
programs. It is said that the resulting pictures has colors that would
take your breath away. If you care to bombard this firm with letters
(hint hint) that they might see the financial need to produce such a
wonder for the ST, the address is:
Liquid Light
2301 205th ST.
Torrence, CA. 90501
213-618-0274
Computer users in the know are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the
first computer designed by Steve Jobs, who left Apple Computer in 1985.
He formed a company called NEXT, and here is what I think you will see
from this fine gentleman.
Low end will have:
4 Meg ram
68030 Microprocessor
17" B&W monitor
1,280 by 960 resolution
256 shades of grey
5,000 price tag
Common to both will be:
MIDI port
Stereo Sound
Unix OS
Mouse port
Serial and Parallel ports
SCSI port with DMA
NFS Ethernet Adapter
9600 baud modem
1.44 MB 3 1/2 drive
Postscript video
Floating-point co-processor
The high end machine has:
68030 processor
8 meg ram
16" color display
1,280 by 960 resolution
16 bit planes
Price: $9,000
The graphics engine has been designed already we hear, and boy is it ever
fast!
Apple is set to introduce in January its line of "next generation"
Laserprinters, the most notable feature I saw in them was a built-in
68020 micro, and will use the Canon engine.
IBM has just discovered a way to allow a hard disk to hold 50 times more
data than previously thought possible, only problem is that head to read
these drives does not at this time exist!
A serious blow, I feel, as been dealt to owners of US robotics modems of
the 9600 variety. As we know, there exists no clear protocol for this
baud rate. And now Compuserve and Western Union have announced they will
be using the Hayes 9600 baud modems. This gives the Hayes modem the edge
on becoming THE protocol for 9600 baud usage.
Commodore is also releasing 3 new versions of IBM clones in the first
part of "88. There will be one each based on the 8088, 80286, and the
80386...so Atari and Commodore still go head to head where ever computers
gather eh? The 80386 machine actually was pretty good looking, it even
had a built-in 40 hard drive. They also showed their Bridge-board for the
Amiga 2000, an XT and an AT version, pretty snazzy, but way overpriced,
still is a much better deal to just get a clone...(an Atari clone no
less!)
Until next time...Keep those Atari's hummin'!
Mr. Goodprobe
(on lend from)
Midtown TV
_______________________________________
ST-Report Issue 19 Janaury 27, 1988
(c)1988 Syndicate Publishing Company
_______________________________________
