Z*Magazine: 18-May-87 #52
From: Atari SIG (xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 07/16/93-10:10:22 AM Z
From: xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Atari SIG)
Subject: Z*Magazine: 18-May-87 #52
Date: Fri Jul 16 10:10:22 1993
_____________________________________
^^^ ZMAGAZINE MAY
HOT ATARI NEWS AND REVIEWS ISSUE #52
_____________________________________
PUBLISHER/EDITOR
RON KOVACS
_____________________________________
Xx ZMAGAZINE STAFF:
Assistant Publisher: Ken Kirchner
Software Reviews: Eric Plent
Columnist: Steve Godun
Guest Columnist: Mark Knutsen
Guest Columnist: Mike Davis
_____________________________________
Xx May 18th Zmag
<*> ZMAG USER GROUP OF THE MONTH
"Jersey Atari Computer Group"
<*> MIDI BBS Information
<*> PROPOSAL FOR PARALLEL DEVICE BUS
For the Atari 8 Bit Line
<*> CEBIT 1987 REPORT, PART 1
From Antic Online
<*> COMMENTARY--"What Atari Should
do!"
<*> GEnie Zmag Directory
<*> Favorite Software Survey
<*> TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
"Using the Sony KV-1311CR with
The Atari 520ST"
<*> Next Week in Zmag
_____________________________________
Xx Zmag User Group of the Month
...Jersey Atari Computer Group...
_____________________________________
By:Mark Knutsen SysOp - JACG BBS
** ** **** ****
** **** ** ** ** **
** ** ** ** **
** ** ** ** ** ***
** ** ****** ** ** ** **
**** ** ** **** ****
Bulletin Board System
-------- ----- ------
(201) 298-0161
You have reached the NEW JACG BBS,
the official Bulletin Board System of
the Jersey Atari Computer Group,
located in beautiful downtown Roselle
(first village lighted by
electricity), New Jersey.
Hi, my name is Mark Knutsen, and I'm
one of the three SysOps who service
the JACG BBS and aid its callers.
A club as large as the Jersey Atari
Computer Group needs a good BBS, to
link the club members together, and
to advertise the club to the world.
The JACG BBS has had several
incarnations over the years, as
various SysOps have come and gone.
As late as mid-1986, SysOp Scott
Brause was running the board out of
his home, using the BBCS software
that he authored and sold through
Antic's Catalog. When Scott left the
state to attend school, the BBS
needed a new home. Scott and Eric
Jacoves served a brief stint as
SysOps, running a Carina system.
Then, one day in October (or was it
November?) of last year, I received a
call from the then-President of our
club, Joe Kennedy. "Would you like
to be our new SysOp?" "Sure," I said,
"why not?" Should've known...
You see, I'm a college student, and
running a Bulletin Board System for a
large organization out of a dormitory
room simply doesn't work, especially
when one has two roommates, only one
phone line, and a phone number that
will change every May. If this setup
was to work, the actual BBS hardware
would have to be elsewhere. I spent
over a month searching for a location
before I discovered that Gary Gorski,
our club's Advertising/Sales Manager,
had moved to Roselle, just a few
blocks from my home. He was ready
and willing to take on yet another
job for the club, and so one of my
problems was solved.
At about the same time, a decision
was made to use one of the club's
16-bit machines to run the BBS, in
the hope of providing a faster, more
powerful system to the users. This
meant a search for software, as the
STs have not been around as long as
the 8-bitters, and the range of BBS
software to choose from is limited.
An ad in the December '86 issue of
Analog magazine intrigued me, and I
gave Quantum Microsystems, Inc. a
call regarding their new "BB/ST"
software. It turned out that I was
one of the first to inquire, and the
JACG BBS became the very first end-
user beta-test site for BB/ST. Only
one problem now remained. How was I,
attending Rutgers University New
Jersey, to regularly call the new BBS
in Roselle without draining my bank
account to pay long-distance charges?
The amazing PC Pursuit service came
to the rescue here.
The system was put on-line in
mid-January of this year, running
BB/ST version 1.00 on a 520ST with
one single-sided drive and a Hayes
Smartmodem 1200. Gary and I were
soon joined by JACG 16-bit Vice
President Tom Shoosmith, who brought
his ST expertise and computer
programming know how to the team of
SysOps. Together, we weathered the
first few rough months of system
crashes and bug fixes to the still-
developing software.
Today, BB/ST is in version 1.03, and
is becoming very well-behaved. An
SH204 20-megabyte hard drive has been
added to the system, and the number
of messages, callers, and download
files increases daily. Thanks are
due to the JACG Executive Board for
having the faith to invest club funds
in this new, ST-based venture, and
especially to Gary Gorski and Tom
Shoosmith, for the many long hours
that they spend attending to the
system. Without people like them, a
computer Bulletin Board cannot
survive.
Of course, the JACG BBS is a ZMAG
board, and is also (surprise)
accessible via Telenet's PC Pursuit
service. Why not give us a call?
Your suggestions for, comments on,
and questions about BB/ST are
especially encouraged. Our number,
again, is (201)298-0161.
...and when you call, don't forget to
tell us, "I read about it in Zmag!"
_____________________________________
Xx MIDI BBS
_____________________________________
:: The Chocolate Pasta BBS ::
M I D I & M O R E !
The CPP BBS offers a chance to
exchange information concerning the
Musical World of MIDI!
A FREE system, it supports:
Atari
IBM
MAC
Commodore
SIG's for Synth Patches, Engineers/
Techs, Programmers & more, for all
levels of MIDI-philes... If you've
got MIDI questions, The CPP BBS may
have the ANSWERS!
Running at 300/1200 baud
7pm-7am Monday-Thursday EST 24 hours
Friday & Weekends 516-928-4986.
Check it Out! You're only a phone
call away!
_____________________________________
Xx Parallel Device Bus for Atari
_____________________________________
Proposal for Parallel Device Bus for
Atari Personal Computer Type 600/800
XL and 130 XE -or- The Next
Generation of Atari's 8-Bit Computer
by Michael T. Davis
We are all aware of the popularity of
both the Apple IIe and the IBM
Personal Computer (PC). A great deal
of this popularity is due to the
degree of expandability of these
systems. This was once a quality of
the Atari 8-bit line, with the Atari
800 and, to some degree, the Atari
400. With the advent of the 600/800
XL and later, the 130 XE, it became
much harder to expand an Atari
computer. Third-party manufacturers
have only now started introducing
peripherals for the "Parallel Bus
Interface" (PBI) on the XL machines
and the "Enhanced Cartridge
Interface" (ECI) on the XE, but these
devices use what is known as a
"closed architecture"; that is, there
is no way to readily expand these
devices.
ICD's "Multi-Input/Output" (MIO)
device is a step in the right
direction, but to expand the RAM in
this device, a user must send it in
to ICD, as the RAM chips are socketed
directly to the printed circuit board
(PCB). These chips are supposedly a
variation of the "standard" RAM chip,
so they aren't readily available to
the general user. Furthermore, the
MIO does not extend the PBI/ECI
beyond itself...it's a "dead end", so
to speak.
What I propose is a system that, when
connected through the PBI/ECI, adds
up to eight slots to the system. By
utilizing the built-in Generic
Parallel Device Handler (GPDH), each
of these slots will be addressed as a
separate device. This handler can
handle up to eight unique devices, so
eight slots is a natural
configuration. Using this setup, each
slot would carry the usual address
and data lines, but also interrupt
and device select lines, specific for
each slot. All of these lines would
be decoded by a buffered interface
that lies between the "slot board"
(for lack of a better term) and the
computer. Among other lines (i.e.
address, data, etc.), this interface
will decode the interrupt line (IRQ),
the device select (DEVSEL) and
various other lines used by a
parallel device. But the idea is to
get slots for peripheral PCBs...
Think of the possibilities of having
slots on an 8-bit Atari: cardbased
hard disks, REAL RAMdisks (as
implemented in ICD's MIO), TRUE
serial (MODEM) and parallel (printer)
ports, parallel floppy drive
controllers, video controllers, voice
synthesizers, etc. Almost anything
you can stick in a PC, you would be
able to stick in the "slot board".
Of course, as with any idea, there
are potential problems. One of the
most serious would be third-party
support. The makers of the
Prometheus MODEM have been quite good
at supporting the Apple and the IBM,
but there's a big difference (read:
market share difference) between an
Atari and an Apple. Another problem,
more related to the equipment itself,
is that all of these interfaces are
going to produce a large amount of RF
interference. To this end, it would
be a good idea to get everything in
one case. An IBM-type motherboard
case would do quite nicely, with
enough room for up to four disk
drives (floppy and/or hard). The
advantage of using an IBM-type case
is that almost all of them are made
out of metal, and they would make
excellent RF cages.
Naturally, the easiest way to get
this done would be to have Atari
market it. They could then define the
entry-level system as the 130 XE, and
the expert system as the 190 (?) XE.
(Why not use the unused bit on PORTB
of the PIA, right?) This expert
system would have a separate
keyboard, and a system unit. The
monitor, as with any personal
computer, would be optional. The
system would also include one disk
drive with a floppy controller board
in one slot (which could handle up to
eight drives: four internal and four
external). The motherboard should be
modified to automatically handle a
truly parallel printer port, and the
Operating System (OS) should also be
likewise modified. The OS should also
be modified to automatically
recognize the extra RAM as a RAMdisk,
unless a flag byte is (not) set
(presumably by an AUTORUN.SYS file).
The keyboard should also be enhanced:
Besides the present keyboard, 20
function keys, dedicated cursor
control keys and a keypad (preferably
with four PF keys, for easy VT
terminal emulation) should be added.
All of these keys, with the exception
of the keypad, would generate
keystrokes that can already be
generated by the current keyboard.
Ten of the function keys will produce
the same hardware keyboard code as
pressing <Control> and a number key.
The other ten will produce the codes
usually interpretted as a <Shift>-
<Control>- [Number key] keystroke.
In this way, such programs as Keith
Ledbetter's "SuperKey" will still be
compatible with the machine. The
keypad and PF keys should generate
codes that are loaded into a 128-byte
RAM buffer (installed somewhere in
the I/O region of the OS) from ROM
during ColdStart. This way, if the
user needs to modify the codes
generated, (s)he can merely change
the buffer, without having to
sacrifice user memory. And of course
the cursor control keys should merely
produce the usual <Control>-[Cursor
direction] keystroke. There should
also be four additional keys, which
produce the same keystrokes as the
now-discontinued 1200 XL function
keys.
These four keys should be grouped
into the same area of the keyboard as
the cursor control keys, since they
are, for the most part, editing keys.
Well, this started out as a
description of a comparitively simple
addition to a computer, and turned
into a definition for an entire
computer. Either of these proposals
would be fine, but of course, most
users would prefer the latter
suggestion, since it doesn't involve
so many separate pieces of hardware
sitting out on his (her) desk.
Lately, there have been some major
concerns raised about the future of
the Atari 8-bit line. If the Atari
computer should survive into the next
few years as a sellable product, it
will only be through some such
enhancement to the computer as has
been described (including an
altogether improvement to the
computer system, itself). It would
surely be a sorry day for many
computer users if Atari decides to
abandon its 8-bit users. Let's all
hope the 8-bit Atari user will live
on for a long time to come.
_____________________________________
Xx 1987 CEBIT Report from ANTIC
...ANTIC PUBLISHING INC., COPYRIGHT
1987. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION.
_____________________________________
PART #1: HARDWARE
BY CHRISTIAN SCHMITZ-MOORMANN
What is CeBIT?
The CEBIT fair at Hanover supposedly
is the world's largest show in bureau
and information electronics. CEBIT
stands for: Computer, Electronics,
Bureau, Information and
Telecommunication. On an area of
more than 205,000 square meters in 12
halls more than 2200 firms showed
their products.
This year's show had snowstorms
causing chaotic traffic situations so
even the usually reliable Bundesbahn
(federal train service) had delays of
up to 6 hours. For this reason the
show was nicknamed 'Schnee-BIT'
(Schnee is German for snow). But
anyway, though we arrived late, we
finally got there and it became a
very interesting day.
HARDWARE...
ATARI presented itself in its newly
adopted white-and-blue look and on 50
1040s the software-houses presented
their new products.
Before looking at the software I was
pulled to the new MEGA-STs and that
experience was great. The design was
appealing and the keyboard a lot
better than my 1040's. Helas, the
MEGAs won't hit the stores before May
or even June due to a slight timing-
problem with the shifter-chip.
This error results in small vertical
black lines on the display. The delay
in the MEGAs will probably also
affect the PC since ATARI said they
would only put out the PC after the
MEGAs to show their preferences. But
with Jack Tramiel one never can be
certain. The last all new product
was the laser printer. Connected to
one of the MEGAs it was turning out
page after page.
The quality was as can be expected
from such a machine. The printer
emulates a Diablo 630 and supports
GDOS. According to a German ATARI
representative they are working on
post- script.
Naturally ATARI was not the only to
show new products. On the hardware
side there was also HEISE, a German
publishing-house, that showed its new
version of the real-time language
PEARL/RTOS system which was
developed at Hanover university. It
was simultaneously showing a graphic
(a more sophisticated version of the
only too-well-known jumping-ball) and
controlling a robot that balanced a
glass of water.
BASIS-O, who formerly built APPLE
compatibles, showed an interesting
new integrated scanner-printer
/plotter and telecopier. Within 4
minutes it is possible to send or
receive a letter in handwriting or
with graphics on any public or
private telephone. The device
incorporates an acoustic coupler and
can be run on rechargeable batteries.
The resolution is is 4096 pixels per
line and 1125 lines per page.
PRINT-TECHNIK presented its 3rd-
generation digitizers. Their new
Realtizer digitizes a picture with up
to 16 gray-levels in less than one
second. It now plugs into the ROM-
port.
Its big brother, the PRO 87,digitizes
1024 pixels in 512 lines and 128
gray-levels. Both digitizers come
with a toolbox-software and the PRO
87 also includes the necessary
hardware for real-color images. PRINT
-TECHNIK also offers a Genlock-
interface for the ST.
Other products are a Meteosat weather
satellite receiver, a sound digitizer
and a memory-oscilloscope.
GTI, a Berlin-based society,
presented a VMEbus-interface that
plugs into the DMA-port and includes
a full bus-arbitration-logic and
supports interrupts. The DMA-port is
pulled through so that a hard-disk
can still be used.
Another bus that opens your ATARI is
produced by RHOTRON. It is plugged
onto the CPU and has eight slots.
Since installing the bus voids the
warranty RHOTRON also offers a
PC-like case in which the ST and the
bus and a stronger power supply are
incorporated.
Rhotron offers several cards to fill
the slots, from 2-Meg RAM to
multifunction-cards they have just
about everything, or how about a
math-coprocessor?
A barcode-reader can be obtained from
CDS in Freiburg/Rhine valley.
Barcodes invade our lives, they tell
you what is in a specific product,
which film you just rented and with
such a reader you can find out
yourself.
LINDY, a maker of printer-cables and
other computer add-ons also presented
an oscillograph. It can be used as a
sound-sampler or as a digital
oscilloscope.
The last interesting hardware I wish
to present was not on the show, but
since Desktop Publishing is becoming
more and more important, I feel it
should be mentionned.
HEIM-Verlag, another young publishing
house, that was the first in Germany
to have a magazine purely dedicated
to the ST-line (STcomputer-mag),
offered a program and interface to
connect an ST to a CompuGraphic-MCS
-layout station called 'transmit'.
They use it to make their magazine.
And as far as I can tell it seems to
work pretty well.
[Ed.] Next Zmag will present PART 2
of the three part CEBIT Report.
_____________________________________
Xx Commentary
....."WHAT ATARI SHOULD DO".....
_____________________________________
By Steve Godun
I know that I'm no computer whiz,
business genious, or electronics
engineer, but I'm always thinking of
things that would make life in
Atariland more interesting and less
expensive. This opinionated article
tells what I feel Atari SHOULD do for
the common users like you and me.
First off, I suggest that Atari
release those long-awaited 8-bit
peripherals, namely the SX212 1200
baud modem and the XEP-80 video
display card. As for other 8-bit
peripherals, how about a 3.5" disk
drive for under $175, a 20-meg hard
disk for under $500, or a redesigned
1050 disk drive to match the
appearance of the XE line?
Other 8-bit ideas: A portable 130XE
setup consisting of a 5" color
monitor, 5.25" disk drive, detached
keyboard, and all of the standard
8-bit ports that can fit inside a
briefcase for user group members who
hate carrying all that heavy Atari
equipment to and from each meeting
(and sell it for under $350). Maybe
create an add-on 850 interface that
will also fit inside the briefcase?
Or how about a disk drive that can
link up to the parallel port on the
XL (or the ECI port on the XE) for
super-fast disk access? Or a BLITTER
type chip for the XL/XE line? Why
not? Of course, it would have to
maintain compatability with the "old"
graphics system. Or maybe making the
AMY sound chip a reality by making it
into a $40 upgrade to XL/XE owners?
While you're at it, create an 8-bit
GEM and install it in physically
switchable ROMs; One way, it's a
standard Atari, the other way and
you get GEM. Maybe make a complete
single-unit XE computer (like the
fabled 1450XLD) for under $250?
OK, so some of those might sound a
little outrageous. But who knows?
Those tech wizards at Atari are quite
amazing at times. Let's take a look
at some interesting (and possible?)
ST stuff.
Remember that portable XE I had
mentioned? How about making a
portable ST? Slap a meg of RAM, 5"
color monitor, 3.5" disk drive,
detached keyboard, and moveable mouse
table into a briefcase and you're
ready to go. Put an under-$600
sticker on it and you're all set to
go.
Want more? OK. How about taking all
the good stuff in the Amiga 2000
(hi-res color graphics, speech
synthesis, IBM compatability, over
4,000 colors, etc) and stuffing it
(along with previous ST
compatability, 10-meg hard disk, GEM
desktop, and at least 4-megs of RAM)
all into a new ST model; maybe call
it the "Atari ST-II"? And don't
forget to use the now-famous styling
of the ST along with a detachable
keyboard, two DS/DD 3.5" disk drives,
BLITTER, and/or one 5.25" floppy
drive in the CPU box.
How about some software for the ST
line? Make a disk with software that
emulates the most popular 8-bit
computers around today (Commodore
64/128, Atari 130XE, Apple //GS),
place them on a disk with some
healthy documentation, and price it
for under $100. A guaranteed seller.
Well, that's all I can come up with
right off the top of my head. I'm
always thinking of new things, so
look for an upcoming article with
more "new" stuff to play around with.
Atari, are you listening?
_____________________________________
Xx GEnie Zmag Directory
_____________________________________
No. File Name Address Bytes
1321 ZMAG0920.TXT KHK 34020
Desc: The online Atari magazine
1363 ZMAG1003 KHK 22680
Desc: October 3, 1986 edition of Zmag
1377 ZMAG1011 KHK 23940
Desc: October 11, 1986 edition
1407 ZMAG1018.TXT KHK 23940
Desc: Zmag issue of October 18, 1986
1422 ZMAG1025 KHK 28980
Desc: Zmagazine for Oct 25, 1986
1431 ZMAG1101.TXT KHK 30240
Desc: Zmagazine for November 1, 1986
1442 ZMAG1108.TXT KHK 30240
Desc: November 8, 1986 edition
1459 ZMAG1115.TXT KHK 31500
1483 ZMAG1122.TXT KHK 28980
Desc: Zmag issue for Nov. 22, 1986
1499 ZMAG1129.TXT KHK 31500
Desc: ZMAG For Nov. 29, 1986
1505 ZMAG1206.TXT KHK 37800
Desc: December 6, 1986 issue of Zmag
1532 ZMAG1215.TXT KHK 18900
Desc: December 15,1986 issue of Zmag
1610 ZMAG33.TXT KHK 28980
Desc: Zmag issue 33. January 5,1987
1614 ZMAG34.TXT KHK 25200
Desc: Zmag January 12, 1987
1651 ZMAG35.TXT KHK 26460
Desc: Zmag Jan 19, 1987
1693 ZMAG36.TXT KHK 26460
Desc: Zmag issue 36. January 26, 1987
1714 ZMAG37.TXT KHK 26460
Desc: Zmag issue 37. Feb. 2, 1987
1735 ZMAG38.TXT KHK 27720
Desc: Zmag issue 38. Feb 9, 1987
1756 ZMAG39.TXT KHK 25200
Desc: Zmag issue 39 - Feb. 16, 1987
1792 ZMAG40.TXT KHK 31500
Desc: Zmag issue 40 - Feb. 23, 1987
1802 ZMAG41.TXT KHK 23940
Desc: Zmag issue 41 - March 2, 1987
1819 ZMAG42.TXT KHK 25200
Desc: Zmag issue 42 - March 9, 1987
1829 ZMAG43.TXT KHK 34020
Desc: Zmag issue 43 - March 16, 1987
1852 ZMAG44.TXT KHK 37800
Desc: Zmag issue 44 - March 23, 1987
1922 ZMAG45.TXT KHK 23940
Desc: Zmag issue 45 - March 30, 1987
1949 ZMAG46.TXT KHK 22680
Desc: Zmag issue 46 - April 6, 1987
1964 ZMAG47.TXT KHK 22680
Desc: Zmag issue 47 - April 13, 1987
1970 ZMAG48.TXT KHK 21420
Desc: Zmag issue 48 - April 20, 1987
2003 ZMAG49.TXT KHK 23940
Desc: Zmag issue 49 - April 27, 1987
2029 ZMAG50.TXT KHK 22680
Desc: Zmag issue 50 - May 4, 1987
2059 ZMAG51.TXT KHK 21420
Desc: Zmag issue 51 -May 11, 1987
1349 ZMAG927.TXT KHK 20160
Desc: Sept. 27, 1986 issue of Zmag
This list is current to May 11, 1987.
Starting in June, The Compuserve
Data Library will contain ARC'd
editions of all issues. In the
fairness of equal time. Issues 48-51
are available in the 8-bit SIG in
ComuServes ATARI8 Data library 7.
GO ATARI at GEnie
GO ATARI8 at CompuServe.
_____________________________________
Xx Favorite Software Survey
_____________________________________
This is a survey to determine which
types of software are actually the
most popular with the users. Please
answer as many of the questions as
you wish. Please answer honestly.
The data obtained from this
questionnaire will be used in a club
newsletter and posted on this
bulletin board. Please return this
questionnaire to the address at the
bottom by June 1, 1987. If a
question does not apply to you or you
do not use one particular type of
software, just put n/a.
Thank you for taking the time to
download this and answer the
questions. Any additional comments
will be read, taken into account, and
appreciated.
1. Do you purchase or pirate
software?
2. Please name your one favorite
software package (commercial,
public domain, or shareware) for
each of the uses listed below.
Please feel free to add any other
additional information about the
software. Also include the
company or person by which the
product is marketed or produced
if at all possible.
Communications:
Database:
Word Processor:
Outliner:
General Graphics Program:
Specific Graphics Program:
Spelling Checker:
Spreadsheet:
Personal Finances:
Accounting Package:
Utility:
Entertainment:
Programming Language:
Clip-art (Package):
Music:
Desk Accessory (Package):
Font (Package):
Integrated Package:
Font Editor:
CAD Package:
Network File Server:
RAM Disk:
Print Spooler:
Educational Software:
Statistical Package:
Desktop Publishing (Page Layout):
3. Please indicate how you obtained
this questionnaire.
4. Please describe your computer
configuration (i.e. type of
computer, printer, modem, hard
drive, and any other accessories.
Please include brand names where
possible).
5. Do you have any additional
questions or comments about the
software or this questionnaire?
If so please feel free to enter
them here.
When completed, please send this
to:
Justin Connor
317 Manchester Road
Binghamton, New York 13903
Thank you very much for completing my
questionnaire! I will post the
results in one month.
Also, Please mention you received the
survey from Zmag and the BBS System
you downloaded this from. As soon as
the results are in, we will publish
them here.
_____________________________________
Xx Zmag Technical Assistance
..USING THE KV-1311CR SONY TV/MONITOR
WITH THE ATARI 520ST..
_____________________________________
By:Henry Katzmarek
Since having uploaded my last article
I have had numerous questions
regarding making a passive interface
hinted at in the description instead
of the active one described. (A
passive interface requires no
components that need power). This
article will attempt to describe how
to hook-up the KV-1311CR Sony monitor
to the Atari 520ST with all passive
components.
Before I start the description, I
want to remind you that you are
making the interface at your own
risk! I have made the interface
myself and it is currently working
just fine on my own computer;
however, I cannot vouch for any
problems due to changes in the
computer and/or monitor, or omissions
I might make in this article. In any
case, I would appreciate any feedback
so I might update this article as
needed.
Also, two related notes. The circular
DIN connectors you might need for
this and related projects are
available from:
Alpha Products, Inc.
5740 Corsa Ave., #104
Westlake Village, CA 91362
Telephone: (818)889-9304
Alpha products has both plugs and
jacks of the 13 and 14 pin DIN
variety.
The second point I wish to make is
that I have received a message from
Mark Sloatman of Prac. Sol. on
Compuserve, his ID is 74206,356.
Mark tells me he currently has
available for sale cables to connect
your Sony KV-1311CR to your Atari. So
if you don't mind spending a few
bucks and/or are not electrically
inclined, you may wish to check out
this source rather than proceeding on
building your own cable.
First, I wish to define the pinout
present on both my Atari 520ST and my
Sony KV-1311CR monitor, as a number
of people have stated they have
different signals on different pins.
Atari 520ST Monitor Connector
Pin Signal Name ------------------------------------
1 Audio Out
2 Reserved
3 General Purpose Output
4 Monochrome Detect
5 Audio In
6 Green
7 Red
8 Ground
9 Horizontal Sync
10 Blue
11 Monochrome
12 Vertical Sync
13 Ground
-------------------------------------
Sony KV-1311CR Monitor Analog RGB
Input
Pin Signal Name
-------------------------------------
1-3 Not in use
4 Ground
5 Not in use
6-16 Ground
17-22 Not in use
23 Composite video output
24 Audio input
25 Red input
26 Green input
27 Blue input
28 Not in use
29 Fast blanking input
30 Composite sync input
31,32 Not in use
33 RGB/Normal mode select
34 Audio select
-------------------------------------
During this description I will refer
to the pin and signal name as
described here, you can judge whether
yours is the same or not.
The parts you will need are as
follows:
1-470 ohm resistor, 1/4 watt or
higher, 5%, quantity-2
2-general purpose diode, 1N4001 or
equivalent, quantity-2
3-connector for analog RGB input on
your sony monitor
4-connector, male, DIN 13 pin for
your computer
5-wire, solder, etc for making the
actual cable
Parts 1, 2 and 5 can be bought at
almost any electronics place, Radio
Shack, etc. Part number 3 I am not
sure of a good source, I know AMP
makes the appropriate connector. Part
number 4 can be obtained from Alpha
Products.
Actual Description of Wiring Follows:
-------------------------------------
Atari signal/pin Additional
circuitry
Monitor signal/pin
-------------------------------------
Audio out/1 None
Audio input/24
Monochrome detect/4 None
None
(Note: Ground this pin for monochrome
operation only)
Green/6 None
Green input/26
(Note: I did NOT use any dropping
resistors in the R,G,B lines)
Red/7 None
Red input/25
Ground/8 None
Ground/4
HorizontalSync/9------->CR1-------->
-------->R1------------->Comp. sync
in./30
(Note: CR1 is the first of the diodes
listed above)
(Note: The non-banded side of CR1
goes to the computer, pin 9)
(Note: R1 is the first of the
resistors listed above, no polarity)
Blue/10 None
Blue input/27
Vertical sync/12-------->CR2----->
----->R2------------->Comp. sync
in./30
(Note: CR2 is the second of the
diodes listed above)
(Note: The non-banded side of CR2
goes to the computer, pin 12)
(Note: R2 is the second of the
resistors listed above, no polarity)
Ground/13 None
Ground/6
+5 volts DC None
Fast blanking/29
+5 volts DC None
Mode select/33
+5 volts DC None
Audio select/34
Note that I do not have +5 volts DC
present on either my monitor or my
computer connectors, and yet it is
needed for pins 29,33,34 on the
monitor. My solution was to install
a +5 volts DC voltage regulator (7805
type, Radio Shack) in my monitor and
bring the +5 volts DC out on an
unused pin, thereby providing me with
+5 volts DC as needed.
Newer ST computers may have a +5 VDC
output to use for these signals; if
not, the decision whether to modify
your monitor (voiding warranty) or to
use some external source (power
supply) is yours.
I would not suggest trying to use a
battery as it may wear out at the
most inopportune time (Murphy's
Law).
Please advise me of any updates
and/or corrections to this article,
and I will update it as needed. Good
luck, and may the force be with you!
Henry Katzmarek
CIS ID#---70735,664
PLINK ID#---OLS606
_____________________________________
Xx Next week IN ZMAGAZINE
<*> CEBIT Part 2 from Antic Online
<*> Antic's review of the 80 column
card, to be released this month.
<*> Part 1 of a Dan Rhea article.
<*> ST-IBM???
<*> JACG User Group Article
<*> and more!!
_____________________________________
Zmagazine Headquarters:(201) 968-8148
Issue 52, May 18, 1987 (c)SS
Please Contribute!!
_____________________________________
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