Hello vintage fans! This is exactly the kind of problem a growing
show wants to have, but it's a problem nonetheless. The Clarion Inn
hotel attached to our show venue is FULL for Saturday night 9/14.
There may be a few rooms left for Friday 9/13, but that doesn't do you
a whole lot of good if you're staying the weekend.
We have arranged a small room block at the Comfort Suites in Oak Brook
Terrace, a short drive away from our hotel (sadly there was nothing
nearby that was walkable). Room rates are the same ($109/night) and we
have King and Double rooms reserved from Thursday through Sunday
nights.
More information and a booking link can be found here:
http://vcfmw.org/hotel.html
We recommend checking with the host hotel (Clarion Inn, info at the
link) first in case a cancellation freed up a room before booking with
Comfort Suites. And remember - the deadline to book a room is August
24th. They're not going to let us slide!
Looking forward to seeing everyone there in September!
-jt
Good question. There are upgrades up to 4mb, but ones for the 800 most
common range from 64k to 1088k. A pair of really common and several
less common standards have existed for many years. This one conforms
to the Axlon standard, which is among the oldest for the Atari's. It
switches the banks in 32k increments. The other standard was set by
Atari on the introduction of the 130xe; that switches in 16k
increments.
Aside from a ramdisk, what can you do with it?
My primary reason for building the thing is to gain memory for the
Spartados X operating system, which benefits greatly from more memory
(256k is the sweet spot). SDX barely runs on 48k ram and the SIDE
driver does not load. SIDE2 is a cartridge for the machine that grafts
a CF slot on and allows it to act as a hard disk under SDX. This is of
course very useful.
Here's a link to the Spartados X cooperative:
http://sdx.atari8.info/index.php
The Side2 cart, in addition to hosting Spartados X and the CF hard disk
controller and firmware, also hosts a real-time clock, and can carry
several other programs which must be hosted by hardware because of
thier bank-selecting rom design, such as Basic XL, Basic
XE... Spartados is a 256k bank-selected cartridge itself.
Released in 1988 by ICD, Spartados X is a surprisingly rich disk
operating system which adds a host of features not available on other
8-bit machines. IO redirection and batch processing, memory
management, paths of various sorts...
Here's a link to the Side2 cart, which comes with the SDX firmware pre-
loaded:
https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=55
Being able to load the SIDE driver and access the CF slot as a hard
disk is my primary purpose. The machine will have ample memory to run
real programs while running SDX, which is also very important.
Best,
Jeff
On Fri, 2019-08-02 at 13:06 -0500, Eric Christopherson wrote:
> On Fri, Aug 2, 2019 at 12:39 PM Jeffrey S. Worley via cctalk <
> cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
> > I'm building as many as ten of a 512k Axlon compatible memory board
> > for
> >
> > the Atari 800 (not xl) computer. If you'd like to have one, please
> >
> > message me and let me know so I can reserve one for you.
> >
> >
> >
> > I'm not sure of my cost at the moment, but it is something on the
> > order
> >
> > of $30.00 per board. I'll tot things up when I get around to it,
> > but
> >
> > it will probably come out to less. So for parts and shipping, you
> > can
> >
> > have one. Here's a photo of the completed board:
> >
> >
> >
> > https://atariage.com/forums/topic/256464-designing-an-axlon-compatible-boar…
> >
> >
> >
> > https://atariage.com/forums/topic/256464-designing-an-axlon-compatible-boar…
> >
> >
> >
> > I've got all the parts on order but the boards, for which I'm
> > waiting
> >
> > for a quote. I gather the boards are about $10.00 each but am not
> >
> > counting my chickens quite yet.
> >
> >
> >
> > Best,
> >
> >
> >
> > Technoid Mutant
>
> Hi, Technoid!
>
> I'm certainly interested. I didn't know 512KB was possible in the
> original 800. Other than RAM disks, do you know what sorts of things
> it would let me do?
>
>
I'm building as many as ten of a 512k Axlon compatible memory board for
the Atari 800 (not xl) computer. If you'd like to have one, please
message me and let me know so I can reserve one for you.
I'm not sure of my cost at the moment, but it is something on the order
of $30.00 per board. I'll tot things up when I get around to it, but
it will probably come out to less. So for parts and shipping, you can
have one. Here's a photo of the completed board:
https://atariage.com/forums/topic/256464-designing-an-axlon-compatible-boar…https://atariage.com/forums/topic/256464-designing-an-axlon-compatible-boar…
I've got all the parts on order but the boards, for which I'm waiting
for a quote. I gather the boards are about $10.00 each but am not
counting my chickens quite yet.
Best,
Technoid Mutant
To all,
After several more months of delays - personal and project issues -
Cadetwriter is being released.? [Cadetwriter is the official name of our
general-purpose, Wheelwriter-based Computer Terminal.]? The public
unveiling will be at this weekend's VCF West at the Computer History
Museum in Mountain View, California. Attached is a flyer on the device.
At the show we'll be demonstrating the Cadetwriter connected to:
??? ??? *? IBM 1620 Jr. via USB & proprietary protocol
??? ??? *? ALTAIR 8800 replica (Chris Davis) via RS-232 running OS/8
??? ??? *? PiDP-8/I replica (Oscar Vermeulen) via USB running MITS
Extended 16K BASIC (Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Monte Davidoff)
??? ??? *? Windows laptop via USB and a USB->RS-232 adapter
Our plan for the show is to invite anyone with a computer having an
RS-232 or USB port to try out Cadetwriter with their computer. We're
hoping for a lot of takers
We're finishing getting the documentation written or updated and
everything uploaded to GitHub.? It should all be available next week.
We appreciate your patience.
Thanks,
IBM 1620 Jr. Team
Hello list,
I have been looking for years for a q-bus or unibus-based disk controller that is able to handle 7-track drives (NRZI encoding). So far, I only located one controller type which handles that: Dilog DQ120 or DU120 and I never came across any.
Any other suggestions regarding controller types?Contact me off-list if you are happy to part any 7-track tape controller with me. That would be very much appreciated :)
Best regards,Pierre
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.digitalheritage.de
I just picked up a VT-320, with no keyboard.
I have some questions:
1) the price on DEC keyboards, at least on eBay, is insane. Does anyone have a VT-320 keyboard they?d be willing to let go cheaply?
2) ?or, failing that, I found a posting of someone who?d done an Arduino-based key code mapper that let him use a PS/2 (or maybe it was an AT) keyboard as a replacement. The link to the actual project was dead, though. Anyone have schematic and source code for such a project?
3) If anyone's got a DB-9-or-25-to-MMP cable you?d sell cheap, I?d be happy to buy it instead or making my own. OK, that?s not really a question. There?s a blank insert where the 25-pin connector usually is; was that a ?feature? of the B2 model? (that?s a question but not much of one)
?aaaaand while I?m here, another question.
4) I have a number of Apple IIs and one III that have sustained some keyboard damage. Where can I get/what is the name of the little plus-shaped keyboard stems for those? If I had a couple dozen that would be most helpful.
Adam
Hi Jeff,
I have hundreds of crystals here for you, and built a crystal tester (Jim Williams app note)
https://www.analog.com/media/en/technical-documentation/application-notes/a…
AN12 - Circuit Techniques for Clock Sources<https://www.analog.com/media/en/technical-documentation/application-notes/a…>
Application Note 12 AN12-3 an12fa Figures 4a and 4b use another comparator based approach. In Figure 4a, the LT1016 comparator is set up with DC
www.analog.com
Brian and I are keen on making a new analog computer, possibly a kit. All new things, like the Analog Devices multipliers, better op amps etc, and possibly a USB, MIDI interface.
Let us know how you come along on your bringup of the EC-1.
The Heath manuals are the best in analog computing, on actual hardware.
Randy
I have an ill NLS MS-230 Miniscope.? Is there anyone on list that might
be interested in getting it running for me?? I'm willing pay for the
privilege.? I'd like to see the unit working, but I have no experience
with analog scopes, and I'd rather just entrust it to someone who can
see it to success.? I did replace the batteries and let it charge for
quite a while.? The red LED lights up on the front when on, but no sign
of a trace, even when fed a known good 1kHz wave.? The CRT does not
appear to be on.
Anyone a fan of these units and might be interested in taking a look?
Jim
--
Jim Brain
brain at jbrain.comwww.jbrain.com
VCF West is this weekend at the Computer History Museum in Mountain
View, California.
All of the details (and online ticket sales) are at
http://vcfed.org/vcfwest.
-Evan K.
Yesterday evening, in the process of refurbishing five very badly
treated Atari 800 computers I had a hunch and subjected a failed Pokey
chip (Atari Part CO12294 Wikki link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POKEY
) to high heat by way of the barrel of my soldering iron until
saliva evaporated from it in about 1 second.
The chip, which did not work before in any of the machines now works
perfectly.
Pokey (see wikki link) is common to all Atari 8-bit computers and
common in many Atari coinop video game systems. These chips are
becoming scarce, so much so there is a sort of replacement being
manufactured
https://hotrodarcade.com/products/pokeyone-atari-pokey-chip-replacement-for…
.
The replacement Pokey only emulates the audio portion of the original
chip, leaving the PotKEY part unimplemented. Pokey gets its name from
Potentiometer Keyboard. It also handles the Atari SIO peripheral
signals, so without those an Atari computer cannot use standard
peripherals like serial disk drives, and other common interfaces.
Thus, for Atari computers a true Pokey is a must.
I stumbled upon a fix for this one and wonder if I reinvented the wheel
or if this information may be of use to the group in treating other
sorts of chips.
Reflowing is a treatment for a lot of hardware these days and generally
regarded as a hack which won't last. As modern hardware, CPU's and
video chips in particular run very hot, I can see how this might be,
but Pokey and most of the stuff we work with don't have this
environmental restriction. Most of our gear runs at 40 degrees
centigrade or lower. So I'm guessing the problem with my disused chip
was oxidation within the package and that cooking the chip a bit
cleaned things up? Any advise or observations would be appreciated.
I tried this on another chip the same evening, an Antic. The Antic DID
work for a second or two, whereas it had before given no signs of life,
but then returned to its failed state.
Best,
Jeff
(Technoid Mutant)
