Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Syndicate ZMagazine Issue 070
//////////////////////////////////////
ZMAGAZINE 70 ////////////////////////
//////////////////////////////////////
September 11, 1987 (c)1987 Ron Kovacs
======================================
Published/Edited by: Ron Kovacs
Assistants:Ken Kirchner, Sue Perry,
Rich Decowski of ST-Xpress Magazine
ZMAGAZINE INFORMATION NETWORK
(201) 968-8148 300/1200 BAUD
______________________________________
Xx ZMAG INDEX 70
______________________________________
<*> Garbage on the Line
....By Calamity Jane....
<*> 65XE Upgrade Part 2
....By Mr. Goodprobe....
(c)1987 Scott Peterson
<*> Keith Ledbetter Highlights
....By Chuck Leazott....
<*> Zmag Update
....By Ron Kovacs....
<*> Carina BBS II Preview Part 2
______________________________________
Xx Garbage-On-The-Line
..From ST-Report..
______________________________________
by Calamity Jane
Diary of a Mad SysOp
I don't know what qualifies one as a
SysOp?? I wonder if all SysOp's are
unhinged, obsessed, or just a wild,
deranged, raging, lunatic? Why does
one spend a whole heck of a lot of
ones personal time and money on this
leisure-time activity?? Not only time
and money, but the speculation,
reflection, brainstorming, anxiety,
conviction, and determination!!
Something... maybe it's in the air, or
at least on the phone lines !!
As The Prairie Chip goes for an online
time of three years, it has been thru
a lot of changes and growth.
Fast.Amis, Tod.Amis, OASIS and now
FoReM. Onward & upward, so they say.
Some of the callers have been with me
since the beginning, others come and
go. Every SysOp appreciates, you, the
caller. Some of you I appreciate more
than others. The use of handles vs.
real life names is usually up to the
SysOp. I like handles, lets have some
fun!! The Chip gets the usual handles
(several Joe Cool's in various stages
of spelling) but some of them.... I
have to ask, as to what the heck IT
is, where the heck did you come up
with IT, and whether or not IT is
dangerous. Some very clever handles,
and I always wonder how alike you are
with your handle? After all, IT is an
extension of your personality. Virgin
Killer??? hmmm...
Nothing exasperates me more than when
the ever present YELL is activated and
before I can physically move to the
computer the caller has logged off.
Hmmmm, I get tired of -let's get the
SysOp to jump- game. I recognize
these callers and make a mental note.
SysOp's do not sit at command
headquarters waiting to answer your
chat. Some SysOp's (sIs-op's <long I>
in England) do not chat. I chat. I
have found it another way to get to
know people and I like it. I am more
than happy to help. Be it looking up
that forgotten password, helping the
new caller with logging on (without
adding 5 names to the hard disk),
making your way around the system or
comparing the MPH of the wind or the
depth of the latest snow. Yes, my BBS
is a friend, and very much a
companion. I care about several of
you very much, you are good company!!
When all goes well, running a BBS is
fun, challenging, satisfying,
captivating, amusing and exciting.
When all goes bad, a SysOp's job is
boring, frustrating, tiresome, tedious
and annoying. <FoReM has improved on
this situation tremendously> One can
go from a star to a bum in one
afternoon. Nothing much (besides
equipment failure) is worse than a
hard disk crash or heaven forbid, the
message bases crashing. Remember, the
first rule is there are no rules, but
a good one could be: Make A Back-Up!!
What I am getting at here, is if you
encounter a problem using a system, be
patient. And be kind !! Leave a
message to the SysOp with as much
information as possible. What the
error was, what you were attempting to
do, anything helps really. I know a
certain things mean certain things!! I
do the dumb and stupid, I just try not
to let you catch me at it !!
One of my biggest peeves, is, those
who are done on the system and just
drop carrier. ARGGHH !! This
irritates me more than a dumb message
that makes no sense!! Please log-off
properly. A system remembers you!!
What does it say about you as a
caller, when your stats show 47
downloads to 0 up loads??? You could
be treading on shaky phone lines
here!! Remember, there is more to
most BBS's than the [F] and [Y]
commands!! Don't be a computer wimp.
This can be thankless job. But I
guess I don't do it for that reason.
I'll tell you who has the truly
thankless job. The Co-SysOp's of the
world. I try to show my appreciation
as much as I can, but it just never
seems enough. So, to the Co-SysOp's
of the BBS world, this is a thank-you
from everyone who doesn't realize what
it is YOU do!!
Tele-computing is a facinating way to
communicate and in theory, quite
simple.
The ability to get two machines to
interact, whether they are across the
room =or across the world. I am
always interested in whose been on the
BBS, always glad to see someone who
has been away, and always glad to meet
someone new. On top of the desk a
picture of my Great-Grandfather, taken
in 1913, sitting at one of the first
telephone switchboards in the Rocky
Mountain area. He operated this
switchboard out of his home just West
of Denver, and probably felt the same
way as I do operating my electronic
gadgets. I feel a deep kin-ship with
him and try to offer the same
satisfying service the look on his
face projects. Till then...be
chattin' at ya' !! -=-CJ-=-
Permission Granted to Reprint...with
proper credit
______________________________________
Xx 65XE-130XE 320K Upgrade
______________________________________
(c)1987 Scott Peterson
PART 2
1. Place carpet sample or small
blanket on a clean, uncluttered
workspace that is well lighted.
2. Situate all tools and parts on one
side of your workspace.
3. Place 65XE face down on carpet.
Remove all screws holding cabinet
together. Turn unit over. Remove top
of cabinet and lay it in a safe place.
4. Gently pull upward with fingertips
on mylar extending from keyboard and
remove it from its connector. Place
this keyboard assembly with the top of
the cabinet. Place screws in a small
container so they wont be misplaced.
5. Take needle-nosed pliers and turn
all twist tabs on metal shield so it
may be easily removed. Remove all
screws from outer edges of PC Board
and then place screws in your
container, and the top and bottom
shields along with the bottom of the
cabinet should be placed with the rest
of the 65xe cabinet.
6. Place all ICs in front of you and
proceed with the following:
a. Bend up pin number 15 on all 8 of
the 41256 rams. Then snip off the thin
part of the leg so all you have left
of pin 15 is the -stub- or fat
portion. Do this on all 8 rams.
b. Bend up all pins with the exception
of 8 and 16 on the 74LS158. Leave the
legs on 8 and 16 long, and snip the
thin part off all other pins on this
chip.
c. Bend up all pins with the exception
of 8 and 16 on the CO25953. Leave the
legs on 8 and 16 long, and snip the
thin part off all other pins on this
chip.
d. Take both 33 ohm resistors and snip
the leads so their is 1/4 of an inch
of lead left on either end of each of
these resistors.
e. Place these chips to one side, and
position the 65XE motherboard in front
of you. Locate IC numbers U9 through
U16. You will find them running along
the left side of the motherboard. Take
a piece of tape or a small black magic
marker and place a small mark next to
the IC that is labeled U12. You see
the wisdom of doing so later on in
this documentation.
7. Proceed to piggy-back ICs Z3 thru
Z10 inclusive on top of ICs U8 thru
U15 inclusive. Please take your time
and be sure that each chip is facing
the same direction as the integrated
circuit below it. Do a good job
soldering so not only will this
upgrade work well but also will be
pleasing to the eyes when you show it
off to your admiring friends!
8. Cut 7 small pieces of #30 gauge
wire, and use these to connect all 8
of the pin 15s of the piggy-backed
rams.
9. Gently turn the 65Xe motherboard
over exposing the underside to your
trusty soldering iron. Cut 7 more
small pieces of #30 gauge wire and
then proceed to jumper all the pin 1s
of the rams. Cut another piece of #30
gauge wire approximately one foot long
and solder it to pin one also and then
run it through a convenient hole in
the motherboard. Turn the motherboard
back up with parts side once again
smiling up at you.
10. Grasp the 74LS158 and proceed to
piggy-back it on top of an IC on the
motherboard labeled U24 which you will
find at the front right of your
computer. Make sure it is facing the
same direction as the chip you are
placing it on top of and proceed to
solder pin 1 of the 74LS158 to pin one
of U24. Next solder pin 16 of the
74LS158 to pin 16 of U24.
11. Grasp the CO25953 IC and proceed
to piggy-back this gem on top of U2.
U2 can be found approximately in the
dead center of your 65XE motherboard.
Again, please make sure both chips are
facing the same direction. Remember, a
slow, sure job is often time the
fastest job overall! Proceed the
solder pin 1 of the CO25953 to pin 1
of U2. Next, solder pin 16 of CO25953
to pin 16 of U2.
12. Grasp one of those 33 ohm
resistors you have previously trimmed
and solder one end to pin 15 of Z3. Z3
you ask? Why that is the chip which
has been piggy-backed on top of U12.
U12---you know that one! Thats the
chip we so wisely marked before we
started! Mother would be so proud of
her smart little boy!
13. Cut a short piece of wire and
attach it to the free end of the
resistor you just connected to Z3 pin
15. Run the other end of this wire to
the CO25953 pin 10.
14. Grasp the other 33 ohm resistor
and solder it to the 74LS158 pin 4
(this is one of the ones you have
previously piggy-backed.) Now take the
long piece of wire you had previously
connected to all of the pin 1s of the
rams and solder this to the free of
your resistor.
15. Now take the metal bottom and
place the motherboard back into this
protective housing.
16. At the front of your computer on
the lefthand side you will find R108.
Desolder the end of this resistor
closest to the front end of the
computer. Solder a short wire to the
new free end of this resistor, put
heat shrink on the connection, and
connect the wire to pin 11 of the
CO25953.
17. Our next chore is to locate U6
which can be found near the center of
the front end of the motherboard.
Please be careful as the traces on
this pc board are very delicate and
will not be able to tolerate much
abuse. Gently desolder pins 23 and 24
of U6. The best way to do this is take
your solder wick, place it against the
leg to be desoldered,and heat it until
you see the solder beginning to flow
into the wick. Turn the motherboard
over and make sure all the solder is
off of the pin on this side also.
Repeat this step with pin 24 also.
Then take a small, flat-bladed
jeweler's screwdriver and use it to
push the pins back and forth a bit.
This will free up the pins and allow
you to remove them easily and not tear
the living daylights out of the board!
Turn the motherboard back with the
parts side up, and use that same
jeweler's screwdriver to pry pins 23
and 24 of U6 out of the board. Leave
them extended in a horizontal
direction, snip the thin part of the
leg off, thus leaving the fat parts of
these 2 legs for you to connect to
later.
17A.The following instructions require
small pieces of wire which are
connected between IC's.
18. Connect one side of a wire to the
land where pin 23 of U6 used to be.
Fasten the other end to CO25953 pin 1.
19. Connect one side of wire to the
land where pin 24 of U6 used to be.
Fasten the other end to CO25953 pin 2.
20. Connect one side of wire to
74LS158 pin 1, and the other to U17
pin 30.
21. Connect one side of wire to
74LS158 pin 2, and the other side to
U23 pin 15.
22. Connect one side of wire to Pin 3
of 74LS158, and the other goes to U23
pin 16.
23. Connect one side of wire to
74LS158 pin 15, and the other to pin 8
of the same chip. (74LS158)
24. Connect one side of wire to
CO25953 pin 6, and the other to U6 pin
35.
25. Connect one side of wire to
CO25953 pin 7, and the other to pin 8
of the same chip. (CO25953)
26. Connect one side to wire to
CO25953 pin 9, and the other to U17
pin 26.
27. Connect one end of this wire to
CO25953 pin 12, and the other side to
U6 pin 23.
28. Connect one side of wire to
CO25953 pin 13, and the other to U6
pin 24.
29. Connect one end to CO25953 pin 14,
and the other end goes to the same
chip pin 16.(CO25953)
30. Connect one end to CO25953 pin 15,
and the other end to U6 pin 5.
31. Connect one end to CO25953 pin 3,
and the other end goes to U23 pin 12.
32. Connect one end to CO25953 pin 4,
and the other end goes to U23 pin 13.
33. Cut one final piece of wire, strip
both ends, connect one side to CO25953
pin 5, and the other end goes to U23
pin 14.
34. Check all your wiring!!
35. Get your SpartaDos 3.2 that has
the RD.COM file on it, say a prayer
and load 'er up! If she boots you
probably are ok! If not don't panic,
simply go back through section step by
step, you will find it is probably
some little error or oversight.
36. While you have your computer open
it would be a good idea to solder the
joystick jacks, the monitor, I/O and
power supply ports also. It may save
you a bit of aggravation later on!
37. Reassemble your upgraded computer
by placing the top metal cover back
over the motherboard. Turn all twist
tabs and then insert the appropriate
screws. Gently plug the keyboard back
in, position it in its slots in the
cabinets, and then place the cabinet
top on. Turn over and insert all
screws. While you have it out, why not
use a bit of Fantastic spray cleaner
on it to make it sharp! Good deal!
-Mr. Goodprobe-
______________________________________
Xx KEITH LEDBETTER INTERVIEW
...By Chuck Leazott...
______________________________________
The following are excerpts from an
interview with Keith Ledbetter.
Interview conducted by Chuck Leazott
of the Hard Disk Users Group.
Chuck: Let me start out by asking one
of the most frequently asked questions
I get here. Will you allow other
SysOps and programmers the opportunity
to write their own files as utilities,
games and other things for this
version?
Keith: Absolutely. This new version
is dramatically different than all the
others. I'll supply a list of equates
for those wishing to write utilities
for the BBS. There will be some
example programs, and source code for
many of the 'external' commands will
be on the distribution disk.
Chuck: Which language did you use to
write the new version?
Keith: Well, this version is 100%
Machine Language (ML). I'm writing in
on my ST (using a 6502 cross-
assembler), and then porting it over
to the 8-bit.
Chuck: Then which language do the
programmers use to add these other
options?
Keith: MAC/65 or any other assembler.
The routines and equate files will be
supplied in MAC/65 format, so if you
want to use another assembler there
will have to be some typing-in done.
Chuck: What are some of the new
things we can expect...Changes in
format, etc.?
Keith: Well, first of all, the biggie
is that this version REQUIRES
SpartaDOS 3.2x. Also, you are really
going to need a ramdisk or a hard disk
to run this version. Most of the
commands are external [separate
files], and using a floppy will be
slow, to say the least. It can be
done, but I don't think SysOp's would
be satisfied with it. You might be
able to get by with a US Doubled 1050,
but you're still talking about
accessing the disk drive for every
command.
You get to basically use the commands
supplied, and if you don't like those,
you can write your own. It should be
a simple task for those SysOps who
write in assembler (or, who knows
someone who does).
Chuck: Whew! Let's jump ahead for a
second, and let me ask when this gem
will be up for sale?
Keith: I'd say it's about 80%
complete. I'm hoping to get into Beta
test by the end of this month
[August], and it might be possible by
October, but it's really hard to say.
I'll let Network: Atari and the Mouse
BBS do the Beta testing.
Chuck: How about the Menu's? Will
they be set up the same? Can I use my
old menu's from the old system?
Keith: No, because they are set-up a
little differently. However, I may
write a quick converter program to
change all those over. Maybe even one
for the userlog.
Chuck: Are the -letter-commands-
still going to be the same?
Keith: Sure, if the SysOp wants them
to be. The SysOp has the ability to
add commands, change letters to
existing commands, or totally remove
commands as he/she wishes. It's
possible that there may be 'word'
command support, too, but it's a
little too early in the game to say
for sure. I prefer them, but my
surveys of BBS users show that they
OVERWHELMINGLY prefer the one-key
commands.
Chuck: Where can the folks purchase
the program?
Keith: This will be through Orion
Micro Systems as always. The main
support/sales board will remain there.
Keith: Well, the most important thing
to get across is that this is really a
large system BBS program, and it
really does act that way.
There's 5 different logon sequences
that the SysOp can use. There are a
LOT of external commands available for
the SysOp. See, this version is
different, in that it was written more
for the SysOps editability, and still
allows more things for the users.
It's simply a better all-around
program than the earlier versions (of
course, when you write in assembler
you can do a lot more things, too).
The nice part about it is the fact
that it's what the SysOp wants (I
hope!).
[Ed. for the complete interview. Call
the Zmag BBS (201)-968-8148
______________________________________
Xx ZMAG UPDATE
______________________________________
Starting October 1, 1987 Zmag will
be accepting advertisers and also
classified ads. This week I will
talk about the classified rates.
All ads are to be prepaid before they
are published. All ads accepted will
be published in the next available
issue of Zmag.
Rates are as follows. These are for
classified ads only.
5 lines at 39 characters: $5.00/week
The following is a Sample ad.
+------------------------------------+
|Call the Zmagazine Information Net. |
|(201) 968-8148. 300/1200 Baud 24 Hr|
|Zmagazine Headquarters and home of |
|ST-Report. Call Today!!|
+------------------------------------+
We reserve the right to reject any
material. Any material not printed for
rejection reasons will be returned
with fee.
You may upload your ad to the BBS or
send it thru the postal service with
your check, money order to:
Zmagazine Classified
Post Office Box 74
Middlesex, NJ 08846-0074
______________________________________
Xx CARINA BBS PREVIEW PART 2
______________________________________
The following is the concluding part
of the Carina BBS II preview we
started a few weeks ago. In this text
are some of the prompts and a few
notes on some of the features.
Account # > 1
Name > JERRY HORANOFF
Phone Number> 111-111-1111
Last Call > 07/12/87 - 00:09:43
Baud Rate > 1200
Time Limit > 50 Time Left > 049
# of Calls > 19 Uploads > 0
Msgs Posted > 0 Downloads > 0
Caller # > 1 Calls Today > 1
Ul:Dl Ratio > 1:10 Screen Size > 24
Clear Code > 125 Protocol >
Continuous > [ ] Clear Screen> [ ]
Page Pause > [ ] 80 Columns > [ ]
Header > [ ] > [*]
> [ ] Pad Ctrl-Z > [*]
Section > Electronic Mail
Minutes > 049
Command : Settings
[A] Password > ______
[B] Screen Size > 24
[C] Clear Code > 125
[D] Protocol >
[E] Continuous > [ ]
[F] Clear Screen> [ ]
[G] Page Pause > [ ]
[H] 80 Columns > [ ]
[I] Header > [ ]
[J] > [*]
[K] > [ ]
[L] Pad Ctrl-Z > [*]
Enter Choice or
Press [RETURN] :
[1] X-Modem
[2] X-Modem CRC
[3] Y-Modem
[4] C-Modem
New Protocol : 4-
Option 4, C-Modem (Carina modem)
is a protocol Jerry has devised.
Terminal programs may come out
with this protocol, or may be
-patched.- You'll see it
represented on the settings menu.
I believe that continuous is
similar to continuous scroll for
msgs. The BBS displays a msg,
waits a few seconds, then
displays the next msg; unless
interrupted by a keystroke which
will bring up the command prompt.
|Carina II|BBS-305-747-9196|Voice-9195|
| | Section Title | Key-Word|
|*|Electronic Mail -|PRIVATE |
|*|The Atari Zone -|ATARI |
|*|The IBM Forum -|IBM |
|*|The Amiga Connection -|AMIGA |
| | | |
| Topic | Msg |
|HI |1 |
|MESSAGE NUMBER 4 |4 |
|TITLE GOES HERE |5 |
|FORWARDED 1 |6 |
|FORWARDED 2 |7 |
|JUST A THOUGHT |8 |
|TEST |9 |
| | |
[A] - Zmag Magazine
[B] - Antic On-Line
[C] - Genie On-Line
[D] - Miscellaneous
Enter Choice or RETURN:
[A] - Club News
[B] - Carina News
Enter Choice or RETURN:
Command [?]=Menu:
Press RETURN for Next Message
[Q]uit [A]gain [+]Skip Forward
[E]dit [R]eply [-]Skip Back
[S]end [T]race [#]Go Message #
[K]ill [?]Menu [C]ontinuous
[M]ark [U]nMrk [=]Clear Mrkers
[N]ext Section [*]Search Topic
[!]Revive [F]orward [P]rint
Message 3 The Atari Zone -
Left at 7/1/87 - 12:39:32am
Sent to 1,JERRY HORANOFF
Sent by SysOp:1,JERRY HORANOFF
Subject HI
Replies 0 Received
Rply to 1
Read/Scan Help
--------------------------------
Individual Messages: 2 2- 2-16
--------------------------------
Messages Posted Since
Your Last Call: NEW
--------------------------------
Messages Posted After
a Certain Date:
: 5/21/87
or even: 5/21/87-6:30:00
--------------------------------
Messages that you have
previously marked: MARKED
--------------------------------
For the complete demo of Carina II,
call the Zmag BBS!!
______________________________________
ZMAGAZINE ISSUE #70
SEPTEMBER 11, 1987
(C)1987 RON KOVACS/SYNDICATE SERVICES
______________________________________
