######################################################################### S Y N D I C A T E Z M A G A Z I N E ######################################################################### VOLUME 4 NUMBER 1 ISSUE #138 January 3, 1989 Syndicate Publishing Co. Publisher/Editor Post Office Box 74 Ron Kovacs Middlesex, N.J. 08846 Copyright (c)1989 SPC ######################################################################### Conveyance courtesy PayBax BBS, Wilmington, DE. (302) 731-5558 All Bauds ######################################################################### This week..... <*> Editors Desk <*> MYDOS Update Released <*> Diamond Review <*> ZNET Newswire <*> PR:C Modification <*> DATAQUE Update <*> ANTIC Software on CIS <*> XF551 Modification ############################## <*> Editors Desk ############################## by Ron Kovacs We are glad to be back after a 30 day vacation. Much has happened since our last regular edition. We have spun-off an ST and Amiga online weekly magazine, tallying the results from the 100+ responses to the Survey, and working on details for a fun contest which begins next week. IN THE NEWS Michigan Atari Magazine has changed thier name to Atari Interface Magazine. (AIM) (sounds like toothpaste) DATAQUE releases information in late December with details on the current delay. See article in this weeks edition. Sig Hartman promises better support from Atari in 1989. See the article in this weeks edition. Happy Computer will be in conference on CompuServe January 4. This should be of interest! Especially after the debate with David Small on GEnie. Read the latest edition of Atari Explorer Magazine for an in-depth interview with Ron Luks and commentary from Darlah Pine. Thanks go to Explorer for recognizing ZMAG in the directory column. ==== Regardless of what you might have heard, ZMAG will continue to support the 8 bit Atari. Our focus will once again pertain exclusive to 8 bit. For ST news and information, read STZMAG. ############################## <*> MYDOS UPDATE ############################## These are the contents of the latest MYDOS ARChive files in LIB 3. If you have only one disk drive or your drives only handle single density, you'll need this information to plan how to extract the original files from these large ARC files. MYDOSU.ARC: RS232 handlers and VTOC repair utility Filename Length S SF Size ============ ======= = ==== ======= ATR232.AUT 1862 C 18% 1537 ATR232HD.AUT 1862 C 18% 1537 ATARI850.AUT 186 - 0% 186 VTOCFIX.COM 3603 P 4% 3462 VTOCFIX.DOC 8385 C 50% 4205 AUTORUN.DOC 981 C 33% 659 ==== ======= ======= Total 6 16879 11586 MYDOSM.ARC: DISCOMmed MYDOS disk image and documentation Filename Length S SF Size ============ ======= = ==== ======= MYDOS.DCM 27257 C 10% 24786 READ.ME 889 C 32% 609 MAIN.DOC 54015 C 56% 24116 TECH.DOC 47307 C 55% 21501 ==== ======= ======= Total 4 129468 71012 MYDOSS.ARC: Source code and related utilities for MYDOS Filename Length S SF Size ============ ======= = ==== ======= MDOS.M65 224 C 12% 199 MDOS1.M65 11307 C 28% 8189 MDOS2.M65 16211 C 26% 12083 MDOS3.M65 18712 C 26% 13905 MDUP.M65 504 C 12% 447 MDUP1.M65 4855 C 21% 3840 MDUP2.M65 20989 C 20% 16883 MDUP3.M65 12543 C 21% 9929 BUILD.M65 8005 C 28% 5822 BUILD.OBJ 1054 C 13% 926 MDOS.OBJ 4398 C 3% 4290 MDUP.OBJ 7083 C 5% 6749 README.DOC 4207 C 50% 2109 ==== ======= ======= Total 13 110092 85371 ############################## <*> DIAMOND from REEVE ############################## by Kenneth J. Leap Diamond OS is the new offering from REEVE Software. Alan Reeve's previous big hit for the Atari 8-bit was The News Station, a page-design program similar to (and more useful than) Springboard Software's Newsroom. Diamond OS is a disk operating system designed to look and work like the Atari-ST GEM graphic interface. It does look like GEM. The drive icons look like little file cabinets that are animated so the little drawer pops open when you access a drive. There is a garbage can. There is a mouse cursor that can be controlled by joystick, an ST mouse, a touch-tablet, a trackball, and even the arrow keys on the keyboard. With your cursor you can click and double-click on drop-down menus, windows, icons, and dialog boxes. Diamond claims to be capable of handling fonts ranging from one to twenty -four points in size and with eight different type styles per font. Supposedly can load up to six desk accessories at boot-up and address up to sixteen megabytes of memory. The Diamond OS disk comes with no fonts. No desk accessories are included. If you do put a file with the .ACC extender on your disk, it does not appear under the Desk drop-down menu where the documentation says it might be found. Diamond accesses extra memory with special memory drivers, MEMORY.DRV. But you don't get one with it and the built-in default driver is only 14K. This means that the copy buffer is so small that it took three passes to copy a thirty-seven sector files from one drive to another. The manual does mention that if you buy the Diamond program disk, you can custom design your own memory drivers. Now you know what you don't get, here's what you do get. On the disk are the following files; DOS.SYS (DOS 2.0!!!), AUTORUN.SYS (Diamond DUP.SYS), DESKTOP.APP (the desktop program itself), DEMWRITE.APP, DEMPAINT.APP, KOALA.DRV, MOUSE.DRV, and TOUCHTAB.DRV. MOUSE.DRV is the joystick driver. To use another device, simply rename it to MOUSE.DRV. The built-in driver is for the ST-mouse. DEMWRITE.APP is a nonfucntional demo of Diamond Write, REEVE's new, 80-col word processor. Some of the options shown look interesting. In the Edit menu you find; Cut, Copy, Paste, Search, Replace and Spelling. Under Mode; Page Layout, Graphics, Spacing, Justification, and Ruler are listed. DEMPAINT.APP is a similar demo of Diamond Paint which reveals nothing at all about the program. However, a saved picture file is sixty-two sectors so we might assume that it works with the standard Micro-painter format. You are probably wondering why the heck DOS 2.0 is on the disk. Two quotes from the (very slender) manual. -Diamond DeskTop is basically a replacement for the DUP.SYS file on an Atari 2.0 disk.- -Please note that this disk version of Diamond uses Atari DOS 2.0 only due to memory conflicts with other DOS environments.- Well it also works with 2.5 but nothing else. I tried and it doesn't. This means the even though when you pull down the Disk menu and click on Format and the dialog box asks you if you want single or double density; single is all you get. With 2.5, it does format in enhanced density. This is a major flaw. It means that with Diamond you can forget about using your US Doubler, Indus or your brand new XF551 drive to its full potential. You can install up to seven drives in Diamond but there is no mention of hard-disk support and even if you have RAMDISK.COM on a 2.5 Diamond disk, you can't install a RAMdisk. What you probably need is a RAMdisk desk accessory. While we're talking about drives and flaws... I have two 1050's on my system (one with a US Doubler) so I installed Drive B on my Desktop. When I'd double click on a drive icon (or single click, drop down the File menu and click on Open), I'd get a directory window. If you double click on a binary file (or single click, go to menu and click on Open), it loads and runs. If you want to copy a file with one drive, you click on the file to hi-light it, drop down the File menu, click on Duplicate, then just follow the prompts for switching disks. You can also copy an entire disk by selecting Duplicate from the Disk menu. A dialog box asks for source and destination drives and if you want the destination formated. All of these functions work fine, though slowly because of the 14K memory driver (especially the single drive duplicate). You discover the flaw when you try to copy a file from one drive to another.The manual tells you to, -Drag file to another disk icon.- So you double-click on a drive icon and get a directory window. Then you click and drag your filename to the other drive icon. A dialog box asks you (if you have the confirm feature active) if you're sure. Tell it yes and your file will be copied. This all works fine if you are copying from Drive B to Drive A. If you attempt to copy a file from Drive A to Drive B, Diamond will simply write the file over-top of itself on Drive A. The only way Diamond will copy from A to B is by duplicating a whole disk. This is a major bug that might be expected in a Beta test version but can not be tolerated in a commercial release. While I'm on the bad stuff, here's a few more items. In the middle of disk IO, for no apparent reason, Diamond will pause for 20-30 seconds and then suddenly remember what it was doing and finish up. This is a totally random occurrence. You can quit from the desktop to BASIC (run cartridge) and if you quit from .APP programs, you return to the desktop. You cannot return from BASIC to the desktop with the DOS command. You might think this is because the Diamond utility package is named AUTORUN.SYS instead of DUP.SYS. Wrong! If you rename AUTORUN.SYS to DUP.SYS and then use the BASIC DOS command; it does try to load but you end up with garbage on the screen and a locked keyboard. The only sure way to return to the desktop from BASIC is to reboot the system. You can drag you icons all over the screen and the use the Save Desktop option from the Options menu. You can also drag the directory window around but its default location (center of the screen) cannot be changed. The only place you can put the icons where you can use them (not covered by the directory window when it pops up) is the left or right edge of the screen. You can expand the size of the window but the sliders are not functional. You have to repeatedly double click on the arrows to move your directory listing up or down. You can grab a file and drag it to the garbage can to delete it. You cannot grab a bunch of files and dump them in the can. You can also only copy, lock or rename one file at a time. There is no printer support at all from the desktop. I guess that would be another one of them desk .ACC things. One final complaint, no time-date stamping. I guess I can still put off buying ICD's R-Time cartridge.Let's sum this all up. Diamond OS does look nice. It is a graphic operating system for the Atari 8-bit computers (but so was the GOS demo that Total Control Systems released into the public domain two years and everything on it worked). It is not an efficient operating system. It is slow and many of its functions take a lot of clicking and mouse moving as opposed to the few keystrokes needed for more conventional DOS'es. It lacks what many consider vital features; such as double density support. I will not be found re-doing all my disks and putting Diamond OS on them. I have not yet tried to load a great deal of software from the desktop but I have suspicions that a lot will not be compatible. On the other hand. It is a start, a step in the right direction. The manual promises upgrades at a reasonable price for registered owners (got to send that warranty card in). There should be a FREE upgrade to everyone who has version with copy A to B bug. I am still interested in the other Diamond programs. Diamond Write is supposed to be an 80 column word processor with built in spell-checker. Diamond Paint is alleged to be capable of importing Degas and MacPaint picture files. And Diamond Publish may even be close to a real Desktop Publishing program. The price is certainly nice. Only $29.95 each. I purchased Diamond OS from Software Discounters of America (Go SDA on Compuserve) for only $19.00. If they decide to carry the whole line, you could save a total of $40 by buying from them. With improvements, quality programs that use its environment and public domain support (need those desk .ACC's) this Diamond in the rough might yet be cut and polished into a real GEMstone. Of course there's that STjr cartridge based system from Total Control Systems to keep in mind. It does support time date-stamping from what I've seen. Hmmmm? ############################## <*> ZNET Newswire ############################## by Ron Kovacs According to Electronic Buisness Magazine, the Top 10 software companies were: Lotus Development Oracle Systems Microsoft Apple Computer Compaq Computer Ashton-Tate Seagate Technology Western Digital Cray Research Inmac. Ashton-Tate filed a suit in December against Fox Software Inc for copyright infringment of dBASE II, III and III Plus. Claris Corp released AppleWorks GS in late November. This is a six application package which takes advantage of the IIGS's windows, graphics and color capabilities. ############################## <*> PR:C MODIFICATION ############################## by WK Whitton Just as ICD has continued to support the Atari 8 bit computer, so shall Zmag! And speaking of ICD, how would you like to be able to modify your PR: Connection? -For what possible reason? you ask. Well, it seems that there is a problem with using Atariwriter Plus and the PR: Connection (although of the several Atariwriter+/PR: Connection owners I interviewed, none experienced this problem). When you reload the spellchecker, the RS232 handler is also reloaded. Now the old 850 interface doesn't allow this, you load it one time (remember that horrid, whiny -Booooooooooop!), and therefore there is no hassle. But being of advanced design, the PR: Connection will allow reloading of the handler. So.........as you back in and out of the spellchecker, the RS232 handler keeps reloading, thus pushing the MEMLO up and up, and suddenly.. Kee-rash! Here's what you need to do to an OUT OF WARRANTY PR: Connection to alleviate this problem. CHECKLIST MODIFICATION _____ 1. Lay the PR: Connection face down on a soft surface. _____ 2. Remove the 4 Phillips head screws from the bottom of the unit and set these aside. Also, turn the unit over, and remove the top cover, placing it in a safe place. _____ 3. Note the Revision number marked on the upper right hand side of the PC board. If it is Rev. 4 or higher you are in luck, as this modification was thought of and the board was laid out to accommodate it easily! If it IS REV 4 or higher, please perform step 4. If it is LOWER than REV 4, please perform step 5. There is NO need to do both as they do the same thing, but on a different version of the PR:. _____ 4. Hold the PR: Connection with the 3 ports facing you. Look directly behind the port connector marked R2. You will observe two little -silver dots-, these are called -solder pads-. They will be marked -R1 off-. That's just what they do, they turn off the R1 port! Solder a 4- #22 wire to each of these solder pads. _____ 5. Remove the pc board from its housing and turn it over. In the center of the board you will notice an IC that looks like it is square (Its cool but square...heh heh). Notice one side of the chip has a dot plainly visible on it. This is pin 1. Count around the outside of the chip, moving toward the right, and locate pin 36. Solder a 6- piece of #22 wire here, and then place the board back into its case. Solder a 4- piece of #22 wire to ground. _____ 6. Obtain a small toggle switch, and mount it in a convienient location on the case of the PR: Connection. _____ 7. Solder the two wires to the switch. _____ 8. Replace the cover on the unit, and away you go! Here are some additional hardware notes: While at the PACE computer show, I beheld something interesting on an MIO on display there. Instead of the solid panel on the MIO that I become accustomed to seeing, there were two screen-like panels to allow free airflow. When I inquired of Tom about the availability of these panels, he said that MIO owners could obtain these by getting intouch with ICD. He only asks that you have a mental picture of the layout of the side of the MIO where the on-off switch is. Tom informed me that there were two different configurations, and thus 2 different possibilities of panels to obtain. And lastly, if you are the owner of an Atari 1050, and you have upgraded it with the -Doubler- from ICD, you know how wonderful the high speed and true double density can be! If for some reason the IC installed in U10 should ever go bad, you can obtain a replacement by sending the original, along with $7 to the good folk at ICD, and they will send you a replacement. Well, if you don't own products from these fine folk, I trust I have shown you that ICD provides virtually unmatched user support in the Atari 8 bit world! You can do no better than to purchase any of their fine products! ICD's address and phone are: ICD 1220 Rock Street Rockford, ILL 61101-437 Voice: 815-968-2228 BBS: 815-968-2229 ############################## <*> DATAQUE UPDATE ############################## From: Chuck Steinman/DataQue A status breakdown on the Turbo-816: 1) We are currently running behind schedule because of one of the main people originally working on the project, is no longer working for DataQue. 2) Beta units should be shipping, we have determined the people which we are going to be using, and information to those people will be mailed out Tuesday the 27th of December. 3) There are two items at this point that are a supply problem, and could affect the schedule if I cannot find stock, but at at this time it looks as if that should clear up before 1/89. 4) The Turbo-OS is in the debugging stages, and is the only thing from our end remaining to to do. 5) The price at this point, factory direct, is what was published in the last mailing.... that is $119.95 + $4.05 shipping. Also, the same user group discounts still apply, and all registered people will receive the 10% discount coupon. 6) We are still communicating with Atari on several license options going both directions. 7) It looks at this point that if an outside graphical OS is supported that it will be GOE, The makers of Diamond have not provided me with requested information, and the working product I need to evaluate it. Also Reevesoft implies I would have to finance any 16-bit version of Diamond. This is not acceptable. TCS on the other hand has been very cooperative, and also has the advantage of being more readily available. We are still looking at an in-house GOS, so that is yet a third possibility. 8) If you have requested info on the Turbo-816, you will receive notice as soon as we have product available. I realize many have been waiting since November for the T816, and I know it is difficult to wait for such a significant product, but I refuse to ship before I personally feel it is bug free. A wait of a few weeks, is insignificant compared to the many years that there was not even a hope of such a product. I had not planned on even making the public aware of the T816 until mid-November to begin with, for that reason, I felt releasing dates in mid-September was foolish, but the info leaked out and I had to make the best of it, I did not count on some of the problems, legalities, and misleading information I have been delt. ############################## <*> ANTIC Software on CIS ############################## Compiled by Ron Kovacs Ctsy CompuServe SIG*Atari The following files are available to those who can access CompuServe's Atari 8 Bit SIG. This list was compiled by scanning each of the Data Libraries. Not all of the libraries contained Antic files. If you are interested in signing up for CompuServe, Please send your name and address to: 71777,2140 for more information. 1988 Additions FILENAME.EXT/Type UPLOAD DATE BYTES LIBRARY ===================================================================== BIO.BAS/binary 04-May-88 11264 1 (Games) BLKBOX.BAS/binary 12-Dec-88 7424 1 BLKBOX.DOC 12-Dec-88 2432 1 BOUNCE.BAS/binary 04-May-88 2432 1 CREATE.ARC/binary 14-Jul-88 9984 1 CREATE.DOC 14-Jul-88 8064 1 DUNGIN.BAS/binary 06-May-88 18688 1 ENTRE.BAS/binary 14-Jul-88 32128 1 ENTRE.DOC 14-Jul-88 7680 1 GALEON.EXE/binary 22-Apr-88 4480 1 HELL.BAS/binary 27-Oct-88 11904 1 HELL.DOC 27-Oct-88 5632 1 HOTCOL.BAS/binary 22-Apr-88 4096 1 JOY8.BAS/binary 04-May-88 1280 1 KENO.BAS/binary 27-Oct-88 10240 1 KENO.EXE/binary 27-Oct-88 24704 1 KENOB.DOC 27-Oct-88 3584 1 KENOE.DOC 27-Oct-88 1536 1 MMB.BAS/binary 22-Apr-88 13952 1 PEGBRD.BAS/binary 04-May-88 2944 1 PRESQZ.BAS/binary 05-Apr-88 4480 1 RECALL.BAS/binary 08-Aug-88 8832 1 RECALL.DOC 08-Aug-88 2560 1 RESIST.BAS/binary 05-Apr-88 12032 1 ROLOUT.BAS/binary 04-May-88 4096 1 SSIJ6.BAS/binary 04-May-88 1024 1 SSIJ6.DRV/binary 04-May-88 128 1 SSIJ6.M65/binary 04-May-88 1536 1 SSIJ8.DRV/binary 04-May-88 128 1 SSIJ8.M65/binary 04-May-88 2688 1 TERNAT.BAS/binary 05-Aug-88 7424 1 TERNAT.DOC 05-Aug-88 3712 1 THROTL.ARC/binary 08-Aug-88 2816 2 (Telecom) THROTL.DOC 08-Aug-88 3456 2 PROOF.BAS/binary 06-Aug-88 512 3 (Utilities) XEGS.ARC/binary 12-Dec-88 11904 3 XEGS.DOC 12-Dec-88 14848 3 ANTTRE.BAS/binary 17-Dec-88 6528 4 (Graphics) SNOWFL.BAS/binary 21-Sep-88 3072 4 GILBRT.PIC/binary 16-Oct-88 30720 4 GILMIC.PIC/binary 16-Oct-88 7808 4 ANTIC1.PIC/binary 07-Mar-88 7808 4 ANTIC2.PIC/binary 07-Mar-88 7808 4 WEFAX.1/binary 02-Oct-88 30720 4 WEFAX.2/binary 02-Oct-88 30720 4 BGFOOT.BAS/binary 04-May-88 1408 4 BIGTEX.BAS/binary 06-May-88 9344 4 HANCAR.BAS/binary 04-May-88 1152 4 PAGE6.ARC/binary 05-Apr-88 5376 4 SPIN.ARC/binary 01-Nov-88 8320 4 SPIN.DOC 01-Nov-88 9728 4 SUNSET.BAS/binary 04-May-88 896 4 CASSJA.ARC/binary 25-Dec-88 3712 5 (Applications) ADA.BAS/binary 01-Nov-88 2432 5 ADA.DOC 01-Nov-88 2304 5 BALPRK.ARC/binary 08-Aug-88 10624 5 BALPRK.DOC 08-Aug-88 8576 5 BIBWRT.BAS/binary 22-Apr-88 11136 5 ENVLOP.BAS/binary 06-May-88 6912 5 ICON.BAS/binary 06-May-88 7552 5 MAILER.LST/binary 04-May-88 1152 5 PPLANR.BAS/binary 22-Apr-88 19200 5 PROMPT.BAS/binary 05-Apr-88 8832 5 PSC.ARC/binary 05-Apr-88 33280 5 SCIHLP.BAS/binary 06-May-88 12288 5 T1040.SC/binary 04-May-88 8704 5 TPSHLF.BAS/binary 04-May-88 16256 5 TRAVEL.ARC/binary 22-Apr-88 7296 5 WYSIWG.ARC/binary 22-Apr-88 12800 5 HOLYNT.BAS/binary 17-Dec-88 7168 6 (Music) SOMETH/binary 05-Nov-88 768 6 KEYUP.DOC 27-Oct-88 3072 6 KEYUP.EXE/binary 27-Oct-88 13696 6 USRLOG.BAS/binary 29-Jan-88 2048 9 (BBS Programs) ANTDEM.ARC/binary 04-Aug-88 18944 13 (Virtuoso) ANTDEM.ALF/binary 08-Aug-88 16000 13 BIGLET.BAS/binary 14-Jul-88 9344 14 (Programming) BIGLET.DOC 14-Jul-88 8064 14 MULSOR.ARC/binary 14-Aug-88 14336 14 MULSOR.DOC 14-Aug-88 20608 14 NUMPRI.ARC/binary 12-Dec-88 4736 14 SMOOTH.ARC/binary 14-Jul-88 10112 14 SMOOTH.DOC 14-Jul-88 8448 14 NUMPRI.DOC 12-Dec-88 3712 14 ############################## <*> XF551 Modification ############################## by Bob Woolley It has been almost a year since I first got my hands on an XF551. Busy little hands... Of course, the first thing I did was to tear the thing apart to see how it was put together. And, maybe do a little -put-ing myself. As a result, I have made a few modifications that may be of interest to other XF551 owners. You will not be able to successfully make these changes unless you have reasonably decent electronic skills, so don't gamble with your new XF551 unless you know what you are doing. Most User Groups have skilled members that will be happy to guide you if you need help. First But, before I get caught up in details of the drive, I would like to clarify some points on the XF551. The drive IS double sided and can read and write in single, enhanced or double density. The -book- that comes with the drive is incorrect. MyDOS, SuperDOS and SpartaDOS can all format the drive as double sided and double density. Previous Atari drives did not use the INDEX hole on the diskette, which allowed us to flip the disk over and format the back of the media. The XF551 uses a standard, bone stock, IBM style drive. It uses INDEX. It will not FORMAT the back of a diskette unless the disk jacket has two index holes. It WILL read and write to the back of any disk. Guaranteed! On side one, the tracks on the disk are written from the outer edge in, from 0 to 39. On side two, the tracks are written from the inner edge out. This allows us to read the first 40 tracks of a DSDD diskette on a SSDD drive. The second side is not backwards nor could it be read on a SS drive even if you changed it. The speed of the drive is NOT 288 RPM, the speed you are used to seeing, but 300 RPM, the industry standard. The XF551 compensates for the difference by using a clock frquency 4% (.33mhz) higher than it should be. This will read and write the data in exactly the same place on the disk as your 288 RPM drive, although programs that measure the speed of the drive will read 300 RPM. Talking To The Drive The XF551, as it comes from Atari, has the ability to format a disk in any of three configurations: single density (SSSD-88K), 1050 density (SSED- 127K) and double-sided, double density (DSDD-360K). The DSDD format has a standard skew (skew is the physical sequence of the sectors on the disk) and a high speed skew option available to the user. This extra skew layout allows faster data transfers on the SIO buss, much like the ICD Doubler upgrade on the 1050. For those of you interested in programming, the DSDD format SIO command is $23. For a high speed skew format in DSDD, you just need to turn on bit 7 for a value of $A3 (the SSSD and SSED formats do not have a high speed skew, although the drive will transfer data at high speed in those densities). To transmit data at high speed to and from the XF551, just set bit 7 of the command to -1- again (a get sector ($52) with bit 7 on is $D2). You must still send the command frame at the normal SIO rate ($28 in $D204) and then set $D204 to $10 for high speed operation during the data frame. The drive will also recognize the Put (and Get) Option Table command ($4F and $4E), which are similar to the Percom configuration table operations. Only bytes 4-8 are changed by the Put command, however, and only the three supported formats will be recognized. Even if you sent the Option Table a 512 byte sector size, you would only get 256 byte sectors. A number of the newest DOS versions (SpartaDOSX, SuperDOS 5.0, DOSXE) now have XF551 support built in. Also, a file is available in the Atari8 area on Compuserve that will modify SpartaDOS 3.2D for the XF551 features (in DL3 XF32D.BAS). Using any of these methods will transfer data almost twice as fast as DOS 2.0. Into The Hardware. The first thing you notice about the ICs in the drive is the one in a nice socket, the ROM. Makes it a lot easier to burn an EPROM (use a 2764) to make code change if you can just plug and unplug your devices. I didn't see the ROM source code printed anywhere, so I wrote a simple dis- assembler for the 8050 MPU used as the brains of the drive. It was very nice when Atari used a 6507 (which uses 6502 OPCodes) in their drives but, no more. Everything Atari comes out with now seems to use a different chip and this 8050 stuff was a bear. Finally, I got most of the program logic worked out and designed some changes: One upgrade that was available for the 1050 is a ROM change that will re-address the drive as D5: thru D8:. This can be done on the XF551 ROM by altering location $0095 from $31 to $35 ($33 gives you a range of D3: to D6:, etc.). Having 360K is nice. Having 720K is even nicer. Putting a 720K, 3.5 inch drive in place of the stock drive is not too hard, so let's start with the ROM. There is a little bug in the code that allows the drive to start writing the track before it has reached operating speed. To remedy that, change $528 from $90 to $00, $C1D from $88 to $80 and $E25 from $88 to $80. The 720K drive has 80 tracks per side which requires you to change $680 from $28 to $50, $80F from $30 to $60 and $811 from $FD to $FA. A 3.5 inch drive uses a 3ms seek time - change $53D from $00 to $03, $57B from $18 to $13, $9D1 from $08 to $03, and $B15 from $18 to $13. Finally, the 3.5s use write pre-compensation - change $61D from $F6 to $F4, $621 from $F6 to $F4 and $D0D from $A2 to $A0. For a drive, I used a unit from JDR Microdevices (MF353B Mitsubishi) that plugs right into the 5.25 connectors and uses the same mountings as the larger drive. This simplifies the installation quite a bit. When you go to plug in the 3.5, you may notice that the 34 pin cable is too short. I de-soldered the connector and added a longer cable, but one hacker, Joe Wyks, managed to pry the top off of the board connector and crimp his new cable into place without soldering. The power connector can be adapted with cables made for that purpose, if necessary. That's about all that's needed to run a 720K 3.5. Format a disk using SpartaDOS XINIT, option 7 (DS 80 tracks) and start filling it up! You now have 2820 DD sectors. Bob Woolley [75126,3446] ######################################################################### Conveyance of Zmagazine courtesy of PayBax BBS, Wilmington, DE. 302-731-5558 All Bauds/All Hours ######################################################################### SYNDICATE ZMAGAZINE, Issue #138, Copyright (C)1989 SPC, Rovac January 3, 1989 ZMAG,ZMAGAZINE,ZNET,STZMAG,SYNDICATE ZMAGAZINE,(C)1988, 1989 #########################################################################