Z*Magazine: 21-Mar-89 #149
From: Atari SIG (xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)
Date: 09/18/93-05:17:56 PM Z
From: xx004@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Atari SIG)
Subject: Z*Magazine: 21-Mar-89 #149
Date: Sat Sep 18 17:17:56 1993
|SYNDICATE ZMAGAZINE|
| Issue #149 |
| March 21, 1989 |
|Copyright 1989, SPC|
|This week in ZMagazine|
512K 800XL Upgrade
Dan Schmidt
Hard-To-Find Support Updated
Super Archiver
Paul Gittins
Crazy-Eights
Robert Buman
AtariTech BBS XL Power Supply
The Traveler
Z*Net Newswire
Harold Brewer
|THE 512K ATARI 800XL/1200XL|
|by Dan Schmidt|
CIS: 72347,354 GEnie: D.SCHMIDT4
Courtesy of CompuServe Atari8
| An upgrade for the 800XL/1200XL |
|computers that already have a 256K|
|RAMBO XL or Claus Buchholz upgrade|
I've been using a RAMBO 256K XL for the
last year. It has served me well
without a hitch.
Lately, I have been thinking of setting
up a BBS. Between that and an unused
set of 8-256K DRAMS, I decided to
expand to a half meg.
I proceeded by downloading all the
information I could find. Needless to
say, I found nothing that described
upgrading my trusty XL.
Finally, I decided to make my own
upgrade and here is what I came up
with:
It uses 1 chip only (not including
the 8 DRAMS)
You can have access to the entire
448K of RAMdisk, even when you are
in BASIC.
No switches are needed.
Diagnostic ROM is available at any
time, even though this upgrade uses
this line (PB7) to select the added
256K of RAM.
The system remains 100% 130XE
compatible in CPU mode.
Finally, I have included a patch file
for fellow SpartaDOS users, that
modifies RD.COM version 3.2 to
support this upgrade.
Unfortunately, for those without
SpartaDOS, you are on your own. I'm
sure that any RAMdisk handler that
uses a bank select table could be
modified without too much trouble.
If you don't have a 256K XL yet, either
build Claus Buchholz's upgrade or
buy a RAMBO XL. They are identical.
For those 576XE users that have made it
this far, by moving 2 wires in your
XE and using this patched RD.COM file,
you can also have all 512K of RAMdisk
available from BASIC. However, you
will have to use your little switch to
select 256K mode before attempting a
coldstart or your machine will lock up.
This switch may be then placed back in
512K mode as soon as the boot load
starts and left there until diagnostics
is required (i.e. BASIC's BYE command)
For more information on RAMdisks and
their handlers, call the CHAOS BBS at
517-371-1106
|Parts List|
8-256K Dynamic RAMs--150ns
8-16 pin sockets
1-74S139--Dual 2 to 4 line
multiplexer. I have used a 74LS139
with some success also, but I won't
recommend it as it is slower, less
powerful and may cause the system
to lock-up
1-33 ohm, 1/4 watt resistor
Hookup wire
2pc 1" heat-shrink tubing
Hot-glue gun
|Instructions|
Open up the computer, disconnect the
keyboard and remove the RF shield. The
upper metal RF shield will no longer
fit with the top bank of RAMS in place.
It must either be cut to fit or
discarded.
Carefully remove the 8 old 256K DRAMs
(U9 - U16) from their sockets.
Take the 8 new sockets and gently bend
pin 15 out on each of them.
Solder a socket to the top of each DRAM
leaving a small gap for cooling between
the DRAM and the socket. Solder each
of the socket's legs to the DRAM below,
except for pin 15.
Take the hookup wire and run it from
pin 15 to pin 15 on all the sockets.
"Daisy chain" the 8 sockets together
leaving about 1 1/2" wire between each.
Replace the DRAMs with the new sockets
soldered on top of them into their
sockets on the PC board.
Take the 74S139 and bend out all the
pins except for pin 8 and 16. Then
clip in half all the pins that you have
bent out.
Take the hookup wire and connect pins
2, 13, and 8 together.
Solder another piece of wire between
pins 3 and 12.
Take the 33 ohm resistor and clip it,
leaving 1/4 inch of lead on either
end. Bend one end over sharply then
solder that end to pin 6.
Put the 74S139 aside for a moment.
Take the board and locate U23
(CO14795)--the PIA. If yours is
socketed, you can pry it up and bend
out pin 17. If it is soldered in, you
can either have it unsoldered, or
simply cut the trace where it leaves
pin 17.
Locate R108, a 33 ohm resistor, one of
a pair, located immediately below
the row of DRAMs on the board. Heat up
the innermost end and gently pry it up
and out. Straighten the resistor end.
I am not sure where this resistor is on
the 1200XLs, but it can be located by
following the trace leading from pin 15
on the existing DRAMs back to it's
origin at the 33 ohm resistor.
Now take the 74S139 and solder pins 8
and 16 on the IC to pins 8 and 16 on
U28, a conveniently located chip.
Take a wire and solder one end to pin 1
on the 74S139. Attach the other end
to the pad where you just removed one
lead of R108.
Run a wire between pin 4 and the lifted
lead of R108, slipping a piece of
the heat-shrink tubing over the wire
before soldering it to the resistor.
Run another wire between the 33 ohm
resistor soldered to pin 6 and pin 15
on the newly added row of DRAMs. Use
the other piece of tubing to insulate
this resistor also. Slide the tubing
over the resistors, making sure no wire
remains exposed and heat gently with a
lighter.
Run a wire from pin 11 on the 74S139 to
the MMU U3 (CO61618), pin 6 (U14 on the
1200XL).
Attach another wire between pin 2 of
the 74S139 and pin 17 that you lifted
on U23, the 40 pin PIA.
Now take a look at the 256K circuitry.
One of the chips is a 74LS153. On the
RAMBO XLs, they are labeled as IC2.
Solder a length of hookup wire between
pin 14 on IC2 and pin 14 on the 74S139.
Take the new 256K DRAMs and insert them
into their sockets on top of U9 to U16.
If you had to remove the PC board from
the case, replace it now.
Leave the keyboard detached for the
present. Instead, connect up the power
and monitor and see if the computer
starts up. If it doesn't start up,
re-check your wiring job. Also make
sure none of the DRAMs have bent legs
and that all are inserted properly.
Tack the wires down neatly with the hot
glue gun. They can easily be lifted
later by running a hot soldering gun
over them for a second.
Replace the keyboard and the modified
RF shield. Plug in the SIO line and
reboot.
Run the file PATCH_RD.BAS from BASIC.
Insert a disk containing SpartaDOS's
RD.COM on it into D1:. This file will
be modified into a file called
RDXL.COM. This is the 512K RAM disk
handler program. Load this program as
you would RD.COM, to give you 448K of
globally accessible RAMdisk.
Unfortunately RDXL.COM does not
recognize unmodified 128K XEs. Also,
320K XEs are treated as 192K XLs. This
RAMdisk handler is primarily for 512K
systems, fully supporting both the
512K XL and the 576K XE.
The rest of this is for XE owners.
Those with 576K XEs who wish to use
RDXL.COM and retain their entire 1/2
Meg RAMdisk even from BASIC, should
remove U23 (CO14795) and bend out pin
17. Unsolder the wire attached to pin
11 and reattach it to pin 17.
Straighten out pin 11 and replace the
PIA in it's socket again.
Then, find U3 (CO61618), the MMU.
Remove the wire soldered to pin 13 and
re-attach it to pin 6 on the same chip.
When you reboot, you will have to
switch your system to 256K mode
momentarily as the OS accesses the
diagnostic ROM during bootup. As soon
as the drive kicks in, throw the switch
back again to 512K mode.
PORT B - Memory control register
Bit: 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
D a b E c d B R
D=0 enables diagnostic ROM and upper
256K RAM
B=0 enables BASIC ROM
R=1 enables OS ROM
E=0 enables extended RAM
abcd is the 4-bit extended RAM bank#
The new RAM is now controlled by
bit 7, but only when extended RAM
is enabled. Otherwise it
controls diagnostic ROM.
Here are the bank control numbers in hex, as used by RDXL.COM.
60,64,68,6C
20,24,28,2C
40,44,48,4C
E0,E4,E8,EC
A0,A4,A8,AC
C0,C4,C8,CC
80,84,88,8C
00,04,08,0C
(This final set of banks is only used
by XE systems.)
SpartaDOS and RAMBO XL are trademarks
of ICD, Inc., 1220 Rock St., Rockford,
IL 61101-1437, USA.
Atari 130XE, 800XL and 1200XL are
trademarks of Atari Corp.
(Editor's note: The program Dan writes
about (PATCH_RD.BAS) can be found in
CompuServe's Atari8 files in an ARCed
file which contains both the BASIC
program and this doc file.)
|HARD-TO-FIND SUPPORT UPDATED|
Courtesy of
Weatherman's Wisdom--March 1989 Edition
Editor:Lawrence Estep [71450,1050],
The Atari Exchange of Louisville, KY,
and
CompuServe's Atari8
These sources of support are arranged
alphabetically by product:
Accolade software:
Accolade
550 S. Winchester Blvd.
San Jose,CA 95128
Activision:
Activision Entertainment
P.O.Box 3048
Menlo Park, CA 94025-3048
Product Hotline (415) 329-7699
Product Ordering 1-800-345-2888
In Canada: (408) 848-4391
To be included on mailing list,
write MAIL LIST [ATARI type]
on lower left corner of envelope
(type=2600 or 8-bit, etc)
Advanced Music System II (AMS II):
LOTSABYTES
15445 Ventura Blvd.
Suite 10H
Sherman Oaks, CA 91413
Atari DOS master disk & docs, etc:
Atari Customer Relations
P.O.Box 61657
Sunnyvale, CA 94088
attn: DOS 2.5 --OR-- attn: DOS XE
(cost is about $10 + $3.50 s/h)
(408) 745-2367
AtariWriter (original) printer
drivers:
Gary Furr
P.O.Box 1073
Mountain View, CA 94042
ATR-8000 interface:
SWP, Inc.
1000 W. Fuller
Fort Worth, TX 76115
(817) 924-7759
AwardWare, PrintPower, etc.:
High-Tech Expressions
584 Broadway
Suite 1105
New York,NY 10012
(212) 941-9703
ChalkBoard PowerPad:
ChalkTalk
c/o Practical Atlanta, Inc.
3025 Manning Dr.
Marietta, GA 30062
Electronic Arts:
Electronic Arts Warranty Cards
1820 Gateway Drive
San Mateo,CA 94404
Electronic Arts Catalog Offer
P.O. Box 7578
San Mateo,CA 94403-7578
Send a SASE & $.65 for P&H
(415) 572-2787
Epyx, Inc. programs:
Epyx, Inc.
600 Galveston Dr.
Redwood City, CA 94063
(415) 366-0606
Indus GT disk drives:
Future Systems, Inc.
9811 Owensmouth, Suite 9
Chatsworth, CA 91311
(818) 407-1647
Lightspeed C Compiler:
Clearstar Softechnologies
Omega Soft
P.O.Box 140
Rt. 2, Box 135-D
Harrells, NC 28444
(919) 532-2359
PERCOM disk drives:
Computer Service Land, Inc.
14506-B Lee Road
Chantilly, VA 22021
(703) 631-4949
Various replacement parts:
B&C Computervisions
3283 Kifer Road
Santa Clara, CA 95051
(408) 749-1003
Best Electronics
2021 The Alameda
Suite 290
San Jose, CA 95126
(408) 243-6950
American Techna-Vision
15338 Inverness St.
San Leandro, CA 94579
WEFAX chip (XR2211):
JDR Microdevices
110 Knowles Dr.
Los Gatos, CA 95030
1-800-538-5000
|SUPER ARCHIVER|
|by Paul Gittins, PAC|
Courtesy of CompuServe Atari8
When I got my new 1050 disk drive,I
knew that I would be wanting to modify
it for high speed and perhaps improve
its copying capabilities.
It doesn't take long to learn that
working with a backup copy is just good
sense. The only thing I really had to
decide on was just what kind of upgrade
I wanted to use. After careful thought
and comparison, I decided to give the
Super Archiver a try.
I called the number given for Computer
Software Services and talked with Ron.
Just making the order was a special
experience because Ron was so good to
talk with. He wasn't just interested
in taking my order and getting me off
the phone. We talked for a few minutes
about the Super Archiver and what it
would do. His information was very
helpful and convinced me to give it a
try.
I placed the order and asked him to
ship UPS Blue. There is a $3.00 charge
from UPS for this service, but it is
worth it. I placed my order on Tuesday
and it arrived Friday of that same
week. Not bad considering it was sent
from Rochester, New York to Portland,
Oregon.
The installation involved removing one
IC and plugging the Super Archiver
module in its place. There were also a
couple of pins which had to be lifted
and wires soldered to them. The whole
process required 6 solder connections
and took me about an hour. I could
have done it faster, but took my time
and was careful.
The modification worked as soon as I
tried it. The first step was to test
the drive with the cover off. The
installation includes a speed control
pot which slows the drive down for some
operations. This needed to be adjusted
for the correct speed. All I had to do
was watch the screen and turn the
little control screw. The software
with the package includes all the drive
diagnostics to allow you to do this
easily.
The Super Archiver comes with two
copies of the software disk. There is
no way it can be copied, so the two
copies allow you to use one and save
one for emergency use. Ron told me
this was done in case one failed. You
would have one to use while you
notified CSS and they sent you another
copy. Naturally, I asked why I
couldn't copy the disk and was told
that the disk had been physically
modified by laser. It was explained
that the Super Archiver software
was compatible with the original
Archiver. (Note--the original Archiver
was not produced by CSS.) At any rate,
they didn't want to encourage piracy of
their product.
Yes, you can purchase the Super
Archiver software only, for $29.95.
The software by itself will
dramatically enhance your old Archiver
and will also work with the Happy
Archiver Emulator. Not only does it
work with the Happy, but fixes all the
bugs.
The software's features include double
density, ultra-speed read/write,
automatic copying, extra memory
support, and too many more to mention.
One of the things I enjoyed most about
using this product was the ease of
copying most programs. After booting
the program, the first command is
simply "C" (for copy). The prompt
"insert source disk" (press start) is
followed by a neat display as the
entire disk is being read. You can see
the sector map of each track as it is
read and watch the copy protection
techniques as well. It is important to
note that that copies are not "broken"
but are in fact duplicates of the
original disk. Since the program
supports memory upgrades, it is
possible to make most disks in one
pass. I use a 320K 130XE or a 256K
800XL and have had only a couple of
disks require more that one pass.
These were very full disks!
So far, I have been able to copy
everything I tried except some
Electronic Arts disks with a large
number of short sectors per track. The
ad for the Super Archiver clearly
states this. In addition, I have
learned more about disks and tracks and
sectors and such than I would have
guessed.
The neat thing is that there is a lot
of untapped potential in this product
for me. Not only do you have a very
good copying device here, but a very
useful disk analysis tool. Did I
forget to mention the built-in
disassembler? Like I said, there is a
lot more to this than meets the eye.
While it is easy to use for the person
with limited knowledge, there is plenty
here for the most advanced users as
well.
I now own three modified 1050 drives
and the Super Archiver has become my
favorite. I have really enjoyed using
the product and am constantly learning
more about it. If there is anything I
could fault, it is the documentation.
It is not the fancy glossy stuff you
get with some things and can be hard to
understand at times. If you look, it
is all there, but you may have to read
a bit. I talked with Ron about this
and he explained that they spent most
of the effort on the product and its
quality. If you consider the price at
$69.95 and all the features, it is well
worth it. As the old saying goes:
"A bargain at twice the price".
If you have a 1050 drive, I strongly
suggest giving this product serious
consideration.
|CRAZY-EIGHTS|
|by Robert Buman|
Courtesy of:
Spectrum Atari Group of Erie
and
GEnie's Atari 8-bit SIG
Welcome to the new, LUXERIOUS office of
the SAGE library.
We mentioned last month how the
building we previously occupied was
suddenly demolished when a massive
wrecking-ball happened to drop in. I
didn't invite it. I moved out soon
after; too much noise.
A benevolent millionaire, who also
happens to be an 8-bit Atari fanatic,
read of my situation on a local BBS and
has given me free use of his fabulous
yacht during the winter months. The
S.S. Polywog has been converted into
the S.S. Crazy Eights.
I've set up house in the lower-level.
It's a good place: as long as I stay
down there I can imagine I am floating
out on Misery Bay rather than hanging
in this storage facility. My pals on
the SAGE board of directors are
especially happy, knowing that I can
get into very little trouble in a boat
that is nowhere near water.
We have another of our many reasons why
the '8-bits' are better than the
'16-bits' for you in this issue, so
hang in there.
|GENIE'S TOP 100 FILES LIST|
Let's talk about some of the more
popular 8-bit public domain software
out there. GENIE (General Electric
Network for Information Exchange)
provides a large collection of Atari
P.D. software to its subscribers, which
contains some of the best stuff going
around.
Not long ago, while purusing my
printout of their 8-bit P.D. library a
file called TOP100.TXT caught my
attention. It seems that the crew of
the Atari Round Table came up with this
great idea to post a list of the 100
most downloaded files! I found it
interesting and, as club librarian,
quite useful. You might too.
On the surface, the text file is
nothing more than library file
descriptions listed in order of most
accesses. In fact the format is
exactly the same as is used for library
directories. Looking a little closer
reveals some less obvious facts. If
you have already downloaded the file,
make a printout of it and follow along
with me as I point out some interesting
statistics.
|EAGER TO ARC|
The top-five files on the list are all
archiving programs. This is
understandable since many files found
on GENIE (and other similar services)
need to be unARCed before they can be
used. The number one most downloaded
program is ARCX12.COM with a whopping
2422 downloads to its credit. Thats
over twice the number of the number two
file, ARC12.ARC with a mere 1130
downloads!
>From number six and on, most of the
categories are represented with only a
couple not included. So what library
do you think was MOST represented?
Take a wild guess...if you said "Games"
you are absolutely right! I actually
went through the list and counted
libraries. Library number 10, Atari
Amusements, had 19 out of 100 files.
Second was library number 16, Disk
Tools, with 18 files.
Oh, and let's not forget picture files!
There were a number of them on the
list, Koala format and ASCII format and
Print Shop format. But what KIND of
picture files, you ask? Well, I can
answer you by telling you what library
came in third place. It was library
19, ADULT Graphics with 15 files!
Pretty good artwork I have to admit.
In fact, now that I think about it I've
downloaded most of those picture files!
Some people who upload files are
frequent uploaders. Which uploader has
the best track record for uploading
"winners"? The name that popped up
most often was MARTY.A with 10 of the
most popular library files.
Congratulations, Marty! By the way,
can I swap disks with you??? There
were 14 people (if my finger math
serves me right) who had multiple
uploads in the top 100.
One file on the list made me laugh.
That file? Why, "TOP100.TXT", of
course! Now how did that get on it's
OWN LIST? Hmmmmmm. Ok, I think I
know: this list must be an ongoing
project and I only recently stumbled in
on it.
Here's a short sampling of files found
on the list, and a brief CRAZY-EIGHTS
summary of why it's popular:
ALFCRUNCH12.ARC: how can you resist a
file that sounds like a candy-bar?
Besides the description says "must get
this".
WARGAMES86.BAS: Everybody wants to be
Matthew Broderick!
SEVEN NUDES.ARC
HOTGIRL.PIC
RATEDXXX.PSF: They sort-of speak for
themselves!
WHEELOF.ARC: Will Vanna turn the
letters? Besides, the description says
"THE BEST".
FINAL THOUGHTS: A tip-of-the-hat goes
out to the hard-working gang of
co-sysops who makes the Atari 8-bit
roundtable a fun place to hang out and
browse: DARLAH, MARTY.A and
CRAIG.S.THOM.
Watch for future updates to TOP100, if
they choose to continue it. It could
be interesting to see what recent
arrivals make the list. Last month I
said I wanted to make CRAZY EIGHTS your
favorite newsletter column. I also
would like to make it GENIE's most
POPULAR DOWNLOAD FILE EVER!!
(HINT-HINT). Oh well, I can dream,
can't I?
|FAN MAIL/HATE MAIL|
This month we received E-mail on the
SAGE BBS from fellow SAGE member Earl
Hill. Earl wants to add to our
ever-growing list of reasons why our
8-bit computers are better than the
16-bitters:
REASON #9: ST computers only have three
graphics modes. The 8-bit computers
have over a dozen!
You know, Earl, you're right--The 8-bit
machines have SO MANY graphics modes I
keep losing my place when I'm counting
them! Earl is a long time 8-bitter who
has crossed the border into ST country.
Never forget your roots, Earl. Earl
will be receiving a dozen labels each
with a COLORFUL SAGE LOGO lovingly
printed there-upon. They look much
better on 5 1/4" disks, Earl.
You can receive these COLORFUL
COMplimentary COMmemorative COMputer
labels too! Send us your COMments or
add your ideas to our "8-bits are
better" list. If we quote from your
mail, a dozen complimentary labels will
be sent to you, provided you give us
your address. Now here's ours:
CRAZY EIGHTS
C/O SAGE
PO BOX 10562
ERIE PA 16514
On GENIE you can direct comments to
"LAKE31"
Thanks for reading.
|ATARITECH BBS XL POWER SUPPLY|
|by The Traveler|
Courtesy of CompuServe Atari8
The power supply for the Atari XL/XE
computer is notorious for its ability
to "fry" itself at the time that it is
SURE to cause the most aggrevation.
Not to mention the aggrevation when you
open the power supply with the
intention of repairing it. The
transformer is "potted"--a thick, waxy
material is poured into the power
supply, making it impossible to repair.
An inexpensive alternative power supply
is easy to make.
|What You Need|
Soldering Iron and Solder
Wire Cutters and Stripper
Heat Shrink Tubing
DC Supply--Radio Shack # 277-1022
5-Pin DIN Plug--Shack # 274-003
Instead of the 5-pin plug, you can
substitute the power supply cable with
the 7-pin power plug from the bad power
supply--this is preferred.
|How to Build It|
Cut off the plug of the power supply.
Remove approximately 3/4 of an inch of
the outer insulation of the wires. You
should see four colored wires inside
the supply. Remove approximately 3/4
of an inch of the outer insulation of
the wires. You should see four colored
wires inside the cable.
Cover the yellow and white wires each
with a short piece of shrink tubing and
shrink them over the ends of the wire.
These are the -5 Volt and +12 Volt
wires--you will not need either of
these.
Next, strip about 1/8 inch of
insulation from the red and blue wires
These will be soldered to the plug. Be
sure to slip the outside cover of the
plug over the wire BEFORE soldering,
and short pieces of shrink tubing over
the blue and red wires (but don't
shrink it yet!). Also a larger piece
over all four wires would be
recommended.
Solder the blue wire to pin 3 on the
plug. Solder the red wire to pin 1 on
the plug. Be sure that you look
carefully at the plug--the pins are NOT
numbered consecutively!
Pinout (Solder Side):
2
4 5
1 3
After soldering the wires in place,
slip the shrink tubing down over the
wires. Put the metal shield over the
plug and crimp it to the wire.
Finally, slip the outer cover into
place. That's it!
Instead of the 5-pin plug, you may wish
to use the cable from the old power
supply with the 7-pin plug on the end.
This is the best way, for this reason:
Atari purposely put a 7-pin plug on the
power supply so that it could NOT be
plugged into the 5-pin video jack,
which would very likely damage the
computer. The 5-pin plug will fit into
the 7-pin jack, but you loose the
fail-safe feature built in.
To use the old cable, strip back about
1/4 inch of insulation from each of the
wires of the old power supply cable.
Use a multitester to check continuity
in the wires--the wire with the white
stripe should be connected to pins
1, 4, and 6 of the old power plug and
the other wire to pins 2, 3, 5, and 7.
7-pin Pinout (pin side):
2
5 4
3 1
7 6
Solder the red wire to the wire with
the stripe (pins 1, 4, and 6) and the
blue wire to the other wire (pins
2, 3, 5, and 7). Be sure to cover the
wires with shrink tubing.
|Additional Notes|
You may have noticed that this power
supply (for the Coleco Adam!) is rated
at 0.9 Amps, while the Atari power
supply is rated at 1.5 Amps!
The power supply works on my 800 XL
with my 576K mod, and runs a P:R: to
boot! The reason is that the +5 volt
line is the only one used--the +12 volt
and -5 volt lines are not used. This
allows more power to go to the +5 volt
line. Also, the 800XL only draws about
1 Amp, including the RAM upgrade and
the P:R: I have connected to the
system.
While I would not specifically
recommend using this power supply on a
BBS, I have used it on my 800XL and
P:R: running continuously for several
weeks with no problems! It is more
than adequate for normal use, and for
around $7.00 for the parts--compared
to about $20 for a new Atari power
supply--you can't beat the price!
If you have any questions about this or
any technical questions about Atari
8-bit computers, you can call the
AtariTech BBS at (813) 539-8141
or write to:
AtariTech BBS
P.O. Box 7974
Clearwater, Florida 34618.
We have many files on easy-to-build
hardware projects, memory upgrades,
fixes and mods.
|Z*NET NEWSWIRE 8-BIT VERSION|
|by Harold Brewer|
"Atari is still manufacturing the
850 Interface Module, and it is
available through dealers or through
Atari Customer Relations at:
(408) 745-2367."
"A lot of people think that it is
discontinued since the 850 was very
difficult to get for a few years, but
there are plenty now!"
This was found on GEnie written by
Dan McNamee--Atari Technical Support
Lee Jones of Gromor-Systems is
interested in starting an Atari
gardeners' user group. Possible areas
of endeavor could include
production/accumulation/use of software
for gardeners/farmers, a group BBS, and
a periodically released group diskette.
For more information, please write to:
Lee Jones
c/o Gromor-Systems
Route 1, Box 76-B
Pleasantville, TN, USA
37147-9801
| Syndicate Publishing Company |
| P.O. Box 74, Middlesex, NJ 08846 |
| (201) 968-8148 |
|Copyright 1989 All Rights Reserved|
CompuServe: 71777,2140
GEnie: ZMAGAZINE
Source: BDG793
ZMagazine Headquarters BBSes:
Centurian BBS--(314)621-5046
(618)451-0165
Chaos BBS--(517)371-1106
Shadow Haven--(916)962-2566
Stairway to Heaven--(216)784-0574
The Pub--(716)826-5733
-----------------------------------------
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