@L)}5 _$% l0$)$$Hȱ$ UhL" `e$$%`$%`  R@W!( L(1   Y I`  d  Ld M * @  $ % CC$$)%1 Udߥ$9%: !0 S$% DD˙`  }J)Lr Digi-Studio -- What it is and howwe did it.Article by Dean Garraghty.Most News-Disk subscribers should have received det}ails of Digi-Studio, but this article is designed to tell you a little more about it, and also a bit about what went on "behi}nd the scenes" during development.Part 1 - About Digi-Studio.--------------------------- Digi-Studio is my latest c}ommercial software release. It is another digitized sound manipulator, but is far more advanced than its predecessors. }The main feature of Digi-Studio is that it plays samples in real musical pitch, over a 3 octave range. The keyboard player al }so has fully responsive keys. This basically means that the sound will only play for as long as you hold the key down. This i }s exactly how synthesizers work, and pianos to some extent (the sound here still lingers after releasing the key). This featu }re means that you can play real music using the keyboard like a piano keyboard. Digi-Studio also allows you to have 3 samples } in memory at once, and you can change the playback sample very easily while actually playing music. Another feature added to } Digi-Studio, is that samples are wiped before new ones are loaded. This avoids the overlapping which was a problem with the }old DMS. At present, only the keyboard player and the tune player are available to the public. The song editor is still} in development (more on this in section 2). The tune player will play pre-programmed tune files using any of the samples on }the Digi-Studio disk. Five tunes are supplied with Digi-Studio for you to play. The keyboard player and tune player are} currently being sold as "package 1". Also supplied are about 25 samples of all types with lots of synth sounds, animal sound}s, churchbells, a baby crying, and lots of other sounds. The manual has been printed using Daisy Dot 3, and is supplied as an} A5 booklet with a nice green stiff cover. The manual is quite detailed, though only 6 pages long. Package 1 with DS/SD} disk, A5 manual, and P&P costs 5pounds. It is only available direct from me. Side 2 of the News-Disk (the catalogue disk) co}ntains a copy of the official sales blurb along with an order form. If you are unable to print the form out, then just write }your order on paper and send it with your cheque/PO.Part 2 - Behind the scenes!--------------------------- Well now} we've got the sales pitch out of the way, I can go on to talk about what went on during the development of Digi-Studio, and }also what is planned for the future. In the summer of 1990, I decided that DMS just wasn't up to much! I knew that I ne}eded to get round the problem of not having real pitch. Solving this problem proved to be easier than I first thought! In fac}t, the clue came from the crummy 800XL manual supplied with the machine. The relationship formula between frequency and time }is what I needed. Unfortunately, the Replay M/C player routine was just not up to coping with this. Stuck again! Soon a}fter, though, I got a copy of the new Antic Sampling Processor. The M/C player with this was radically different to Replay's.} It could do exactly what I needed it to with little modification. The next step was to work out count-down times for e}ach sound frequency. My first thought was to use the 800XL manual again. This hada diagram of pitches and the corresponding n}umber for the Basic SOUND command. Theoretically, these would be what I needed. Wrong! Some worked, some didn't! I needed hel }p! At this point I employed the help of David Robinson. He's an old friend of mine from way back. He's currently a 3rd !}year student in maths at Hull University. But, his musical talents run just as far. He's an accomplished organist, and is hig"}hly qualified in music theory. We spent days working out these count-down values! Some were still not right, and it was time #}for us to depart to University (me for the first time!) The small holidays at Christmas and Easter aren't long enough to do a$}ny serious work, so we put Digi-Studio on ice until the next summer holiday. Summer 1991 came, and back to work we went%}. We finally worked out a complete set of pitch values! Back in summer 1990 we started writing a tune editor, but hit problem&}s, so many of the early test routines were hard coded in Basic. One thing we managed to do last year, was to sample plenty of'} sounds, so we didn't spend to long this year sampling. One thing I realized this year was that I wouldn't be able to use the(} ASP code because of copyright reasons. So I had to write my own M/C play routines! This was perhaps the hardest part of writ)}ing Digi-Studio! It drove me up the wall! The finished code contained the techniques used in the ASP code, but without direct*}ly ripping code off. It also had to remain compatible with Replay samples. Because we hit problems with the song editor+}, we decided to work on a keyboard player. These are easy to write, and would also give usa chance to make sure that the pitc,}h values we worked out really were correct! But, it still had the same problems as DMS did. You had to specify in advance how-} long each note would play for. This just wasn't acceptable anymore. It was at this point that I remembered a program in Comp.}uter and Video Games magazine from 1985, which dealt with the volume only sound technique. So I dug through the archives and /}found the article, and also a copy on disk. The answer was in there, and my M/C player code only needed a little tweaking to 0}do it! This is why Digi-Studio has two player programs on the disk - one for the keybaord player, and the other for the tune 1}player. The early test version of the keyboard player was a bit primitive. You had to have your sample (only 1 allowed!2}) in the correct part of memory beforehand, and had to run another program to load in a new one. You also had to make sure yo3}u had the correct M/C player routine loaded. It didn't have any pretty front-end, or menu like it has now. Only when we were 4}satisfied that it worked, did I add the menu and load options and add the 3 sample banks option. Then I realized that w5}e had some tunes ready with our very primitive song editor, and that it would be nice to include them with Digi-Studio. So, I6} wrote a song player which didn't take too long. This is just meant as a taster for what is to come. The next problem w7}e encountered was the fact that everything was written in Turbo-Basic, which is PD. We wouldn't be able to charge for this, a8}nd may not even be allowed to put it on the Digi-Studio disk. But, as long as we made it known that Turbo was being supplied 9}as a freebie then we'd be OK. At the end of the summer we had all the development done, and lots of samples, so you'd p:}robably think that would be it! Wrong! There was the dreaded manual to write. I started this in late September. The first dra;}ft was scribbled on paper, adding a bit each time I had a spare minute. After it was ready on paper, I typed it up using Atar<}iwriter. I printed it out on my XMM801, and I thought it was good. Wrong again! I gave it to a mate to proof-read (Thanks to =}Mike Watson for this) who pulled it to pieces! Lots needed doing to it. His first reaction was "What? It's gonna look like TH>}IS!!". I had to rethink presentation, and contents! Several drafts later and it was ready. Presentation was still a problem, ?}so I printed it using Daisy Dot 3 and it looked quite good. The cover was done using the little DTP on PD100. Not really much@} of a job for a DTP, but it looks OK! It was now looking likely that I would be able to release it at AMS5 in November.A} So, out came the programs for tidying, out came all the samples and tunes (at this point Digi-Studio was on about 15 disks!)B}, and a master disk was created. A little intro was done (the nice little scrolling bit at during boot up!), and there it wasC}. The next step was to create a release master, the difference being that the programs are protected. This caused problems inD} Turbo-Basic, so a compromise had to be used. And there it was. Pre-release copies were sent to Mike Blenkiron and Mark KeateE}s about 5 days before the show. Thanks to Mark for his radical suggested changes to the manual, but 5 days before release is F}NOT the time to make changes!! Then it suddenly struck me. The manuals hadn't been printed. So, the day before the showG} I turned up at Kall Kwik printing in Doncaster with a pile of A4 printouts, and asked them to turn them into A5 booklets to H}be ready the same day - caused a few laughs did that one! "What colour would you like the cover?", he said. Err, woops! I hadI} no idea! So out came samples of the available colours. I just closed my eyes and picked a colour at random! Yes, lots of thoJ}ught and consideration goes into my manuals!! Digi-Studio was officially released at AMS5. We had a machine playing it K}all day, and we had quite a bit of positive feedback. Thanks to all those who parted with their cash! Currently, the soL}ng editor is still in production. We are hoping for a release in the summer. I have very nearly finished a sample editoM}r, to allow samples to be changed and new ones created using a joystick and sample patterns on the screen. It also allows youN} to reverse parts of the sample, and copy chunks around to create some really weird samples! Release of this will be in a couO}ple of months. This disk will also contain more samples and tunes, along with a utility to allow you to put tunes in your ownP} Basic programs.is disk will also contain more samples and tunes, along with a utility to allow you to put tunes in your ownThis article was taken from the Unix newsnet. It was transferred by Mark Keates, and tidied and edited by Dean Garraghty.---R}--------------------------------Subject: 3.5" In A 1050I disagree with Jim Hague's suggestion that the 1050S} should be eliminated. A noble idea, to be sure, but totally impractical. The reason being, that 5-1/4" disks with clumsy oT}le DOS 2.0s or 2.5 is the common medium of software exchange. There are just too many 810's, 1050's & XF551's out there, theU}y number literally in the millions.For the better part of the past year I have been using 3.5" 720K drives from CSS, I loveV} them, I call them "The Poor Man's Hard Drive". But I still have to keep a few 1050s around to handle boughten software or pW}rogram/data disks I exchange with other people thru the mail.I'm not familiar with the IC 3.5" upgrade.The CSS upgrade coX}mes in 3 flavors, as follows:1.) The single 3.5 replacement upgrade;2.) the dual 5.25"/3.5" upgrade;3.) the dual 3.5"/3Y}.5" upgrade.All three require an XF551. With item 1.) above, you replace the 5" mech with the 3" mech in the case of the 5Z}51. In item 2.), the 3" is simply slaved to the 551; you keep the 5" mech in the 551 & the 3" mech sits on top. And item 3.[}) combines 1.) & 2.).The hardware consists of a sealed module with wires you have to solder to various pins on the 8050 CPU\}, plus a ROM that replaces the original on the XF551 controller card. Then there's the cables & drive mech. CSS uses 3.5" S]}ony mech mounted in a 5.25" frame. I've also successfully used 3.5" Sony mechs purchased for $39 from Jameco.The aesthetic^}s of the CSS upgrade leave much to be desired. I was bummed out with the bare mech sitting on top of the 551 with wires hang_}ing out. But the mech from CSS can be fitted into a 1050 case (with some labor) & it looks really nice. The color of the CS`}S Sony mech is exactly halfway between the grey of the 551 & the ivory of the 1050. No matter which shell you use, it comes a}out looking OK. I employed a 1050 whose board already was dead, so I stripped the parts from the board & kept the +5V supplyb} to run the 3.5" mech. The little drives consume almost no power: 20mA at idle, 800mA full load.I use Sparta 3.2 on thesec} drives. DS/DD format w/ultraspeed gives you 737K of actual storage.Much simpler to implement than a hard drive, cheaper td}oo. Not as fast, tho, & of course lacking mega storage. Even so, I love it.- BEN POEHLANDAlways The AlchemistStill offie}cially 8bit editor of Current Notes til the end of the year.n so, I love it.- BEN POEHLANDAlways The AlchemistStill offi=This article is about hard drives on the Atari, and was taken from the Unix newsnet, and originally from Z*MAG. Transferred bg}y Mark Keates, and tidied and edited by Dean Garraghty.-----------------------------------Subject: Hard Drives for the Atah}ri 8bit machinesOrganization: AT&T Bell LaboratoriesThis article was in the latest issue of Zmagazine, Ron Kovacs' fine pui}blication for the Atari 8bit computers. Unfortunately, it is soon to go away. This is from Issue #197 (I think, my memory ij}sn't what it use to be and I didn't write it down).Kit KimesAT&T Bell Labs===============================================k}======================THE 8-BIT STATE: Adding BIG Power to your little system.by Chuck SteinmanOne of the most signifil}cant time saving and productivity raising peripherals you can add any computer system is a HARD DRIVE. That goes for the 8-bm}it Atari too, and once you have one you will wonder why you hadn't upgraded before. There is something about having many megn}abytes of files instantly available on the 8-bit that is nothing short of amazing. And the speed of access and loading is blo}inding--quite literally indistinguishable from the speed of a RAMdisk.While there were hard drives made for the original 80p}0, they appear to have gone underground over the years. We'll concentrate on the newer systems.THE HOST ADAPTORThe gatewq}ay to hard drive use is the device called a HOST ADAPTOR. There are two main units used in the classic Atari world, the Multir}-I/O (MIO) from ICD, Inc., and the Black Box (BB) by Computer Software Services (CSS). Both provide similar performance, wits}h each offering their own special features. They both connect to the Atari 600XL and 800XL PBI (Parallel Bus Interface) and t}to the 130XE through the ECI (Enhanced Cartridge Interface). Several other companies used to market hosts for the classic Atu}ari, and their products might still be available either second hand or from dusty dealer archives. Beware, it might be imposv}sible to find technical support.The MIO has been out for many years, but ICD is presently trying to close out their 8-bit lw}ineup. One of the unique features that the MIO offers is its built in RAM. You can order the MIO with either 256K or 1M bytx}es of RAM, which can be used as a RAMDisk or a print spooler. The amount of RAM dedicated to each function can be user progry}ammed using the built-in configuration menu.The Black Box does not have a built-in RAMDisk, but does have an optional printz}er buffer. There is a print screen button, which will send a text/graphics dump of the current screen contents to your print{}er. Another pushbutton will activate the BB debugger, extremely handy for programmers. The BB also has a port on it for a p|}arallel floppy drive, but they are not available.Both the MIO and BB will control up to eight disk drives, of which any num}}ber can be RAMDisks, standard Atari floppies, or hard drives. You can change the logical drive number of any drive, or swap ~}drive numbers of two drives. Hard drives can be divided ("partitioned") into several separate sections, each seen as an inde}pendent disk drive.The BB and MIO both offer a serial (modem) port, a parallel (printer) port, and an SASI/SCSI (hard drive}) expansion port. This last port will allow industry standard SASI or SCSI hard disk controllers to be attached using a 50 p}osition ribbon cable.BUILDING A HARD DRIVE SYSTEMAn 8-bit Atari hard drive setup will include several parts: the HOST (p}robably an MIO or BB), a CONTROLLER, a HARD DRIVE, and some kind of case and power supply for it all. Other than the host, a}ll the other parts will be usable on other computers (including the ST) if you later change systems (shame on you). Total co}sts can be as low as under $400 with careful shopping. And you won't really need more than a single floppy anymore, perhaps }freeing up some hardware you can sell. Hard drives are available in a wide range of sizes, from 5 megabytes to hundreds of m}egs. The capacity of your drive is up to you and your budget, but for the relatively small 8-bit applications, even a (very }cheap!) 10 meg drive will hold an incredible array of software. You can also easily add a second drive later.When buying y}our hard disk controller, make sure it matches your hard drive. Controllers are available for Modified FM (MFM) and Run Leng}th Limited (RLL) type drives. RLL will provide 50% more disk space at approximately the same cost, and are usually a bit fas}ter. Don't use MFM drives with an RLL controller, as the increased data density of the RLL system will likely exceed the cap}ability of the MFM drive, leading to data loss sooner or later. You can usually use an RLL drive on an MFM controller with n}o harm, but with only two-thirds of the rated drive capacity.Another option would be to get a drive which has the controlle}r built right on it. These drives tend to be a bit faster and more expensive. These are designated as "SCSI drives" and have} the 50 position ribbon connector right on the drive.A wide variety of cases (most with power supplies) are on the market, }with the most popular being the external "shoebox" type formerly used on the original PCs.To be able to access all of this }disk space, you will need a DOS which will support hard drives --Atari's own DOS systems haven't got the capacity. Both Spar}taDOS (including the cart-based SDX, both sold by ICD, Inc.) and MyDOS 4.50 (included with the BB) fill this need very nicely}. Both support drives with partitions as large as 16 megabytes.Both ICD and CSS offer prepackaged hard drive systems to si}mplify the task of adding a hard drive to your 8-bit. Call CSS or ICD to check their current stock, pricing, or for addition}al information.Resources:Computer Software Services P.O. Box 17660 Rochester, NY 14617Tel: (716) 429-5639ICD Inc. 12}20 Rock Street Rockford, IL 61101-1437Tel: (815) 968-2228BIO: Chuck Steinman not only reads and writes about the Atari 8}-bit computers, he designs software and hardware for them, which is sold by DataQue. He can be contacted on GEnie and Delphi} as DataQue, or CIS at user i.d. 71777, 3223. for them, which is sold by DataQue. He can be contacted on GEnie and Delphi0EiͩkΩ͙kCopj`j {j`Hi͝Νh` }L"SAB.ORTNI:D"NURͩkΩ͙kCopj`j {j`Hi͝Νh` This is a copy of a 1050 question posted on the newsnet, and the answer it received. Files transferred by Mark Keates. Edited} and tidied by Dean Garraghty.And just to fill you in, Ben Poehland had a bit of a fire in his house recently.-------------}----------------------Subject: How can I fix my 1050?Summary: Do I have a head alignment and/or track 0 sensor problem?}Greetings to all.I've been having trouble with my 1050 disk drive for some time now, and a few hours ago I had no choice b}ut to open it up to try to fix it myself.In doing so, I decided to unscrew the track 0 sensor and clean the space between t}he transmitter and detector (I guess that's all it is).However, when I was screwing the sensor back in place, I realized th}at there was more than one position to put it back in. The reason is that the two holes for the screws in the sensor casing }are *oval*, which allows for a couple of millimeters of play. Unfortunately, I have no idea how you're supposed to figure ou}t exactly where the right position is!When I first put the sensor back in place, the drive was unable to read *any* sectors} back. Then I slid it over a bit, and thankfully it was able to read some of the sectors near the center of the disk. After} playing around with it a bit more, I can get it to read almost the whole disk properly.When I try to read in a sequence of} sectors starting at sector 500 (remember that there are 720 sectors in all, on 40 tracks), I can see the head step toward th}e center of the disk track by track - until it gets to the end of track 37, when it actually steps *back* by one track (to 36})! Then it fails to read the sector, and the head goes back to track 0 to reorient itself, and it goes out to track 38 as it} should. Does anyone have any idea why it does this? What do you do to fix this?The other thing I'm worried about now is }*writing* to disks. While my drive might be able to write sectors (I haven't tried yet), it is likely that no other disk dri}ve will be able to *read* these sectors (except for my drive).So what I'd like to know is, is a head alignment based solely} on the position of the track 0 sensor? Do you need an oscilloscope to 'center' the sensor? Is there hope for someone withou}t an oscilloscope to do this? Any references to technical documents, personal suggestions, helpful hints, or any comments, a}re welcome (and thanks in advance!).Jean GouletCC:POEHLANDSubj:1050 Drive AlignmentIn IA8V91#84 AKH104@PSUVM (sure w}ould like a name there) suggests downloading the 1050 drive diag prog from compuserve & use the software to align the sensor.}I was unaware the software was available online, but I do agree with this suggestion. I had occasion to use the diag progr}am this past weekend (before the fire) & saw that sensor alignment didn't require a scope. You just move the sensor around u}ntil it says OK. I've never had occasion to use it, as I always made ascoremark first.I think it will work, but it's tedio}us. Mostly because the sensor invariably ends up moving while you're tightening it down If I aligned a sensor that way, I wo}uldn't trust the drive until it had passed the 10-min burn-in test in the diag prog, plus also had passed compatability tests} with at least 2 other known good drives.The diag program is probably worthless if you only have one drive, & that's the on}e that needs aligning. You need at least one known good drive to load in the the test program. Then disconnect the good dri}ve & boot up the misaligned one to do the job. If the bad drive is already pretty close to correct alignment you might luck }out & be able to load the test software with the bad drive.I got the diag prog some years ago from B&C. It might also be i}n the 8bit library on GEnie.About the time I was fighting the fire in my house Jean Goulet sent me email expressing concern} about the drive in question being equippeed with U/S Doubler & noting the drive already had a Tandon mech. (Sorry for the d}elay, I've been distracted the past few days (!))I'm not 100% sure of this, but I'll take a stab at it. If your original m}ech was a Tandon & you replace it with a Tandon, no problem, the U/S-D ROM will work fine. The only thing you need to concer}n yourself with is the RPM adjustment on the new mech. The RPM.COM utility in SpartaDOS is just fine for this. (I also use }the RPM utility in DOS 2.6f, but Sparta's is better.) The RPM adjustment screw is right in front of the area in the rear of }the drive where all the connectors plug in, near the 2917 tachometer chip.*** NEVER *** attempt to adjust ANY of the pots u}nder the RF shield!!!If the original mech was a WST type, the drive is equipped with U/S-D, & you plug in a replacement Tan}don mech, my gut feeling is that it should still work, but since I haven't done it myself I won't swear to it. You'll still }need to adjust RPMs on the new mech. The 1050 diag software doesn't work on 1050's containing U/S-D. If you want to run full} diags on a U/S-D drive, you have to pull out the ICD chips & replace the original chips. If there was a jumper change when t}he U/S-D was installed, you have to desolder the jumperts & put them back in their original positions. Fun, fun, fun!Of co}urse, if you trashed the original chips, or failed to note the originl jumper configuration, you got a hell of a headache.I} was in the process of investigating the ROM/jumper situation the weekend of the fire. Dunno if I'll ever get back to it now}.BEN POEHLAND8-BIT EDITORCURRENT NOTES MAGAZINE**********************************************************************w|This reply to an article on the Unix newsnet gives a little advice on 1050 drive mechs. Transferred by Mark Keates, and tidie}d and edited by Dean Garraghty.-----------------------------------Subject: Re: 1050 DRIVE ALIGNMENTFrom the previous ar}ticle:> *** NEVER *** attempt to adjust ANY of the pots under the RF shield!!!>> If the original mech was a WST type, the }drive is equipped with U/S-D, &>you plug in a replacement Tandon mech, my gut feeling is that it should still>work, but sin}ce I haven't done it myself I won't swear to it.If you switch mechs like that you are going to have a neat time! I did th}is once to see if my drive mech was out of alignment or if there was something wrong with the board. First of all it acts ve}ry wierd...most likely the speed pot will have to be adjusted...also.. careful when pluging in the head connector header. Th}e pins on different boards are of different diameters and you could easily (as I did) push the connectors out of the headers }and mangle them. I however dropped this attempt at swapping the mech. Last I heard you could buy WST mechs for $60 and Tand}on for $45.One last thing..."NEVER adjust the pots under the RF shield?" Hmmm... what if some unsuspecting person did actua}lly "tinker" with these???How does one correct the problem? I have both the Atari and Sam's manuals. Neither give explicit }detail on "adjusting" them.Andrew. K. Heller.the problem? I have both the Atari and Sam's manuals. Neither give explicit 0This article talks about a package called AtariLab. It was transferred from the Unix newnet by Mark Keates, and tidied and ed}ited by Dean Garraghty.-----------------------------------From: Jeff McWilliamsSubject: AtariLabThe Atari lightlab plu}gged into the joystick port and has RCA type connectors for Voltage, Ground, the Two paddle inputs, and the Digital inputs/ou}tputs of the corresponding bits or PortA of the PIA chip.It comes with a manual, a thermistor (electronic temperature senso}r), and a cartridge that will read the thermistors values, calibrate it, record the data on cassette or disk, and even graph }the data over a time domain.The manual is excellent for Gradeschool science and maybe even some high school science classes}.The light module comes with a light and light sensor. It also has polarizing filters and some other stuff, including a te}st tube I think for shining light through chemicals. This tells you something about the properties of the solution but I am }not sure what. It also has a cartridge and lab manual.It will show as a percentage how much light is reaching the sensor. } It is quite sensitive. The lab manuals have all sorts of experiments and stuff you can do with the different sensors. I th}ink the light module will let you record light and temperature data simultaneously. There are some great ideas for science p}rojects in the lab manuals.. I think two temp. sensors or two light sensors could be hooked in at once. The manuals give y}ou the program code needed to make your own BASIC programs to read the differentsensors. When I brought the lab kits home f}rom the show my uncle was very interested in the temp sensor because he works for a factory which among other things plates p}arts for GM. They use temp. sensors alot to monitor the plating baths and stuff.Thermistors could be bought but would hav}e to be calibrated and I don't know if what would need to be done to treat them so they can be dipped in solutions. 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( +/<<>? :*<<誢?0 < ?><1}?< ??<0 < ;;?< ?>VVRV1}Vffbbb333333??00<00?<33<33< 33?333????33000000?<33333<?33<333@@@@PT#-5@@<5HHQ[`Q[[Hll`[1}`lll`[[[[`l<&&8|<<8|<>8|<~1}?<|dP8` P8`XXP8```P8```P8` 0 1}<: <8 <: < 08||D|L|d`8||D|ld8||D1}|ll8||D|~20|lL8||D|~fd|L T|D822T|D8ffT|D8llT|D8T|D1}88| `|l|l| l| ` 8||1}D|||``8||D|||l`8||D|||ll8||D|~~||l 8||D|~~|| 1}|||8| `|||8| l|||8|l|||8|`l1}|||8|`` >?<~<>&>?<|xx888>?<<888>?<|dd888>?<~<>61}     300pc`<@@G0pc`<@@\1}0pc`<0pc`<@@\0pc` @@G1}"0PThis is a nice article from the Unix newsnet. Transferred by Mark Keates, tidied and edited by Dean Garraghty.--------------5}---------------------From: Mike Barnes Subject: Good ol' daysKeywords: Atari 800I have enjoyed all of the recent posts5} from everyone writing about their love affair with the old Atari 800s. I guess I can begin my "remember when" story.I saw5} an add for An Atari 800 in print long before I actually saw the computer. There used to be a high tech store called Chafitz5} in the Washington, D.C. area that only sold high technology products. They were passing out literature on the Atari 800 an5}d 400 about a year before they ever showed up in the store.I wished I had kept the flyer. It pictured a businessman wearin5}g a suit carrying an Atari 800 up to his office. The computer sounded impressive as it came standard with 8 KB of memory and5} was expandable to 48 KBytes of memory.If I remember correctly, the Atari 800 was introduced at about $1000.00. There was 5}a game pack available that included two joysticks and the game Star Raiders. This was about $70.00.There was a $99 cassett5}e. I don't think the 810s were in the stores yet. At nearly $800 each, I couldn't afford one anyway. There was also the op5}tional basic cartridge.I bought the Atari 800. I had owned two 6800 based computers that bit the dust prior to buyingthe 5}Atari. For over a year, I only played the few cartridges and tape based games I had and practiced learning BASIC.I had alw5}ays been interested in the technical side of computers. The Atari was the first computer that really did anything but allow 5}me to hack with computers. I think that anyone that purchased computers in the 1980 to 1981 time frame remember computers pu5}rely as toys. There was no serious purpose for them. They were not the "productivity tools" they have become. Back then, 5}computers were their most pure, they were there solely for fun and experimentation.When I met my wife, I told her that I ha5}d a personal computer. She was a mainframe programmer but had never seen a personel computer. She said that she had heard o5}f them but had never seen one.I told her that I would loan her the computer to try out. She took it home with a copy of Sp5}ace Invaders. The next morning, she called me and told me she had stayed up all night and wasn't going to work. I think I k5}new then that we were ment for each other.I wore out joystick after joystick playing Missile Command and Star Raiders. Abo5}ut 25% of myyearly income had been invested into the Atari. I spent night after night playing games, programming and trying5} to understand how it all worked. It is hard to believe how many years when by that I continued use and expand my 800 system5}. I bought everything from the 80 col. boards to expanded memory cards. I bought double density drives and even double sid5}ed drives. I set up a BBS once. My wife and I even started a software company XLEnt Software, to share our fascination with5} the Atari computers with other Atari fans.I soon realized that Atari owners were different from other computer owners. At5}ari had always neglected it's customers and software vendors were slow to recognize the Atari as an equal to the Apple II. D5}espite this, we knew we had a better product. We knew that our computer had custom designed graphics and I/O chips that were5} missing in other computers. The Atari's custom chips gave the Atari a personality that was missing in the other computers. 5} The Atari's faster game action, programable character sets and various graphics modes, provided the patient hobbiest with ho5}urs and hours of challenges. Hell, we weren't even limited by graphic modes, we had display lists.When I first bought a co5}mputer, I had this sense of urgency that I was too late. I had read about all the wiz kids that were even younger than me th5}at were making a fortune in computers. I was 26 and I felt like it was too late for me to catch up to these 24 year old kids5} that already knew so much more than I did. Besides, they all seemed to be so much smarter than me anyways.Over time, I be5}gan to assume a confidence about Atari. It was no longer enough to play. I wanted to evangelize. I went into business sell5}ing many high tech products. The store I had sold projection TV's, laser disk players and high fidelity equipment. We also 5}sold Atari computers, printers and floppies. I sold enough floppies in those days to pay the rent. (Floppies were $3.50 eac5}h then).Over time, I was forced to offer new computers. I started with Apple II clones and moved up tothe Columbia which 5}was one of the early IBM PC clones. All along, the Atari 800 remained my personal computer. I wrote my proposals, resumes o5}n the Atari. I wrote articles and typed letters. I learned spreadsheets and databases on the Atari. I learned my first str5}uctured language, Action which was similar to a cross between C and Basic. I learned the joys of telecommunications and the 5}pricipals of D/A conversion.There is much more I could tell but I will skip to the end. In all these years, I have left a 5}Atari 8 bit computer hooked up. The original Atari 800 has been packed away. It will likely never be sold and may never be 5}used. I may pass it down someday but it will remain my most "personal" computer.My five year old used to turn on the Atari5} 8 bit and simply type letters on the screen. She'd call us to the screen and show us that she had typed her name. My wife 5}dragged out a box of cartridges. I had collected about fifty Atari cartridges over the years. My daughter has tried every g5}ame. She rushes to the old computer every night to play her favorite games. Recenly, our Thai exchange student has joined m5}y daughter in playing games. They will sit and challenge each other to game after game of Galaxians, PAC MAN and Centapedes.5}At night, I am sitting in front of my 80386 based computer with 4 MBytes of RAM. I am cursing and swearing as I try to pic5}k the right font for the paragraph I am about to type. My computer has a fax card, a CD ROM, a laser printer, mouse, scanner5} and many other implements of torture that allow me to maintain the image of professionalism I strive for with my clients and5} associates.Hours go by as I create charts, graphs and graphics to make my point. I am considering buying an even larger c5}omputer. My 100 MByte disk is saturated. I look at the clock and see that it is 3:00 am. I notice that I am not the only o5}ne awake. I see a light from another room. I walk towards the light and see my wife sitting with joystick in hand. She is 5}playing with the Atari.I remind her of the time and go back to finish my report.e sitting with joystick in hand. She is 4T************************************ THE ADVERTS! ************************************For public dom9}ain software, used commercial software, software exchanges, hardware, books, specially written commercial software, support, 9}and an 8-bit newsletter, contact: Dean Garraghty, 62 Thomson Ave, Balby, Doncaster, DN4 0NU. (Please allow for re-d9}irection at certain times of the year). I also usually have lots of used tapes available from 50p each. Boot side9} 2 of this disk for my current complete range of used software, and my full PD list.-----------------------------------Do9}n't forget about Digi-Studio! Full details about this are on side 2 of this disk. Fuller details are in the file DIGISTUD.DOC9} on this side of the disk.-----------------------------------A NOTE ABOUT ADVERTS:---------------------Private individ9}uals wishing to sell old hardware or software (originals ONLY) or wishing to place a wanted advert, may do so free of charge.9} Just write out your advert and send it to me at the usual address. Please try to keep them short, as I don't like typing!C9}ompanies or profit-making enterprises may also advertise for a small fee. This is as follows: 1 full screen for 10 pounds, 1/9}2 a screen for 5 pounds. Follow the same procedure as given above. You may also send your advert on disk, saved as a standard9} ASCII file in DOS 2.x format. Your disk will be returned. above. You may also send your advert on disk, saved as a standard8;V<A$AV<<<,d+@%@n0@x0@@@=}33(@" THE ATARI 8-BIT NEWS-DISK(@ Š/(@/(@ ****************=}**77(@& 1050 DISK DRIVE atari hard disks44(@# AMS5 SHOW REPORT digi studio!!(@=} $$(@ ******************-@A  % D:MENU.BAS D:COVER.BAS<vAll Micro Show 5 Report-----------------------By: Dean Garraghty.Back on November 9th last year, the All Micro Show (AA}MS) 5 was held in Bingley Hall, Stafford. This venue has established itself as the main show for Atari 8-bit computers. It isA}, in fact, a general computer show, and electronics fare. But, the Atari 8-bit dominates the show.I must admit that I didn'A}t get much time at all to look around. I was too busy on my own stand (thanks to those who came and supported us). We were seA}lling PD, used commercial software, used hardware, and Digi-Studio. Many people came to visit us during the day.Other than A}us, there were the usual Atari exhibitors, as well as a few new ones. Page 6, Micro Discount, and BaPAUG/Gralin were all therA}e as usual.Page 6 was selling its huge range of software and books. Page 6 are at: Page 6, PO BOX 54, Stafford, ST16 1DR.A}Micro Discount was by far the most popular stand (as usual!). It was crowded for the most of the day, and not suprisingly! HoA}w about a 400 for 3quid?! Derek had loads and loads of books/software/manuals as well. How about the complete Technical ReferA}ence Notes for a quid, or De Re Atari for a fiver?! Loads of Field Service Manuals were also available at a quid each. Micro A}discount are on 021-353-5730.BaPAUG/Gralin were selling there usual stock items. Colin was showing off his 1400XL (I even gA}ot to hold it, for a few seconds!).BaPAUG are at: BaPAUG, 248 Wimborne Road, Oakdale, Poole, Dorset, BH15 3EF.Gralin are atA}: Gralin International, 11 Shillito Road, Parkstone, Poole, Dorset, BH12 2BN.A new face to the show was LACE (London Atari A}Computer Enthusiasts). They were there gettin subscribers to there BOOT! newsletter. LACE also run a PD library of "the higheA}st quality" (so there leaflet says!). They also have a dedicated menu on the City BBS (021-352-1237). They also are setting uB}p there own BBS soon. LACE are at: LACE, 143 Richmond Road, Leytonstone, London, E11 4BT. Tel: 081-960-1605. LACE were going B}to have an advert on this issue of the News-Disk, but failed to get it to me by the time I specified (tut tut Simon!).Bill B}Sutton (Late of XL/XE Alive) was there selling some reconditioned hardware and some software. He also had disk notchers at 2.B}50 each. Haven't seen those for a while! Unfortunately, I have no idea what address or phone he is operating out of now.TheB} rest of the show was taken up with other weird and wonderful computers, like the TI-99/4A, et al, and electronics and radio B}enthusiasts. Lots of bargains to be had here too.As usual, AMS was great. Lots to do, and loads of bargains. Looking forwarB}d to AMS6!-----------------------------------This extra little bit here is just to embarrass Mike Blenkiron!!Mike drove B}me down to AMS and also helped on the stand during the day. But, getting to Stafford was not as easy as we had hoped. 30 secoB}nds onto the motorway out of Doncaster, we had a bit of trouble with the police! A police land rover started flashing its ligB }hts. We thought "it can't be us, let's drive on". So we did, and in fact overtook it! Then the lights started flashing again!B } "It can't be us, we thought". Then it over took us, and stopped us. Yikes, I thought! We got severely told off for driving wB }ith full-beam headlights on. I would just like to thank that policeman for being so lenient! We may never have got past DoncaB }ster if he hadn't of been!!I would like to thank Mike Blenkiron, Mark Keates, Paul Saunders, and William Todd for helping oB }n the stand all day long, under extreme pressure and for no pay!, Mark Keates, Paul Saunders, and William Todd for helping o@A  <DMGETA6;@(,6-@&&6.hhEhDF}hIhHhhB V` --@@ D:PLAYER.OBJQ)@)@*)@7)@D)@F}Q)@ @@,)@A5%,6-%@ @(8@8@@F} D:ISSUE4.SPL*776-?:C:,<@$AV<@ $AV<@,+@2RR6-?:A6<@<@$AF}V<A$AV<<<,d+@%@n0@x0@@@F}33(@" THE ATARI 8-BIT NEWS-DISK(@ Š/(@/(@ ****************F}**77(@& 1050 DISK DRIVE atari hard disks44(@# AMS5 SHOW REPORT digi studio!!(@F} $$(@ ******************-@A  % D:MENU.BAS D:COVER.BASDv  +AR@CC(;This brief introduction will now appear on all issues.--(%-----J}--------------------------------(rr(iFor the purpose of reading text files,a program called XR40.OBJ has been supplied.J} This also has a DOC2HH(@ file called XR40.DOC which explains how to use this program.7(<mm(dXR40 can be run frJ}om the menu, after pressing Y when asked if you wish to turn off Basic. When theFtt(l program starts, type D:XR40.J}DOC and press return. Press the space bar to advancethrough the pages.PH(H(=Also read D:INTRO.DOC which is the edJ}itorial to this disk.Z0(0(%PRESS THE START KEY TO CONTINUE......d F:B2y,@An% D:COVER.BASJ} D:INTRO.BAS disk.Z0(0(%PRESS THE START KEY TO CONTINUE......d F:B2y,@An% D:COVER.BASH/IO||||~~> xN}|||||||~|l8l8lfff< 0`x`x`~<~~<N}0~0 ~ fffffff>`<|0`̌8l8pv00```00 0f<|||||~~> xN"}|||||||~|l8l8lfff< 0`@`0N#} 000006c<~~<|~~||~~||>````~~8<N$}8<||~~~|0000~l8|ll8l~ 8`N%}8pp80LK,I 4)2 198 198 198 252 ;1123&O46 6 0 1 4)98 198 198 126 ;113)4&u40 0 0N&} 252 4)192 192 192 ;114O4$40 0 0 126 192 4) 6 252 ;115u4#40 0 48 254 48 48 4 4A ;1164&40 0 0 198 198 198 198N'} 126 ;1174%50 0 0 198 4198 108 56 ;1184&-50 0 0 198 214 254 124 108 ;1195%R50 0 0 198 108 56 108 198 ;120-5(N(}z5!6 252 0 198 198 198 198 126 4)21R5#50 0 0 254 12 56 96 254 ;122 4)50 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ;1235#514 0 1 4) 24 56 2N)}4 24 ;1245#524 24 24 24 24 24 2444 ;1255%$6112 02 24 24 2hihiHHȱȱ`8HN*}h` D6E…¦ D6`LD6` U6"Ff ee&8Lv6p B V8l N+}6 Vhhl6HHJJJJhh`hhl6 `iDiE`Hh6`Hh` 6IHiDiE B 6N,}HI B 6`ԆՄ ؠ0ȑ8)ȑ` 7L7 7L7 6HI B 6`ȱ - ƥN-}180* &H& & &eehe8ȥ 8堅塅` 6HIB 6` 6 7JKB 6JJN.}JJ` 6 B 6`H` B VhKI JS:DEB 6`8`ƢN/}ƣ8`HhL8Ƥƥ8`L8ISL 9``#9L9 i?9 i9999IN0}LY99@LY9999L,99`Lb9,screenLl9 i d9 ie9d9e9 9h9 i ia9`9f9d9e9N1}h9L9 _9f9L98f9` ,cL999 i 9 i999 i ia9`9 _9 i!9 i99N2}9Ll:9m99i99999L4:99`utSizen:L: 6}: i9::}:L:~::`N3} i : i::: i ia9`9Ȍ:}:::̈́:L ;- _9:L: _9 i!: i::::IN4}Lm;:@Lm;~:m::i:::::L ;~::8:`===L; 6;;;; :;;ѮLN5}<;;ѮL<;i;i;i;i;;8 8;;8`pp<C<N6}<C=<<`LG=8//`PtL^=Y=6 6L=6IL=Y=666`/5/5/6N9}655Y= <66"/6666L=6Y=55Z=5586666Z=`L> D=6N:}66666/5/5/m65/m65`LS> X8/<# 8104`tL>>M>LN;}>`Byte X,L>4>$>>>>>>>>>66 _7>>>>>>>> 86I  6IL? %4N<}6Ic 6IL.? &4`L2?IL?LQ?ȍL?)Lg?ɍL?)L}?ʍL?)L?ˍL7?N=}`? L?A4 8L?(Enter Filename > ?5t 8??tm??5i????N>}??5u??? 8??I~L@ͣ?L@?? 8????8???????N?}IL@L@?L@??????????I ?IL3@?IL@`???4 8?44N@}`or LA6A6A6ILB 6I!L9B /? 6 6ILA 6LA4 4 6AM6 AM6LA66 >LA 4 NA} 4 686666 > >L6B 6I 6ILAiL6B 6I 6ILA8L6B 6I 6IL B8LNB}6B 6I 6IL BL6B 6IL6B666`L/A 6 4 4 844 4 4 8 44 NC}8 ,44 84i54i566Ȍ64 4AM6 AM6LB6i66i6LB66 >`LB6ND}6Ȍ66( 64e4ei5i5 6I LLC [= 6 A`LSC >6Ȍ6454544 8NE})4` 8)4 8)47 8A4 8)5t 8)5 8)5 8LC PAGE CNF}4 8L%D (C) 1988 James C. FullerD47 844!8 LtD*ߴԠҠDNG}I4` 84a4 44i54i5 L8"/6666666Ȍ 6 >`LDLF [= 6 6I 6I LNH}D BL|F 6I LE55556I( 6IL[F8556(6L=E(666( 64e54e56Ȍ66NI}ILE5654 8 655 8 A4655 85m655i56m66ii6NJ}i6L[F56555 8 655 85m655i56m66ii6i655 6NK}5566 6ILF 6`LD` FLFLF'Can't find F5 845555FNL}555FF5F5FF 84iAF4iF5'FF 8`LBGLnG( Read another file? (Y/N) NM} GE5 85Ǎ 8>G>GIY>GIy>GIN >GInLG>GIN >GInLG L8 L8 L8 X8 7 L8LHK:H $8 8GGLGHG i9GLLHG PCGLHGNO}LH4 :GILHH ;H GH ;H GGLH ?4I* 4I*LHGGLHHLHGH4NP}HG <ŠLI"/LIH 7 FLI D ?G/LLH``HH ?4I* 4I*LHGGLHHLHGH4LG)*DKEBLWIDTERFILEFNAMEFSPECFPSECRR}  ;@,;@,  6.6.6 +6($PRINT .DOC FILES TO PRINTER (40/80).II(AMRS}ODIFIED BY DEAN GARRAGHTY FROM A PROGRAM BY LES ELLINGHAM.J( ( ((=((Enter filename (no D: or extender): >>RT}J@_67@<@,.D:967@<@%B:,,._67@%B:,<@%B:,,..DOC&V@RU}@6@@V@@K:0 A: A-@D)@RV}N3!&@*"@2&(@)'3 A0X(@>:,b"AU' A0l v"F:@,!@RW}!" AP Ap(ԠΠϠ)@(>:A%,$ F:A,A6A0RX}9F:A,"A6#@.@9@V(0(%END OF MANUAL - PRESS TO RE-RUND(ANY KEY TO EXITRY}VAdAU8F:B2y,"@#@.@8 AP-F:Ad,AU*AdAU-% RZ}A/.@.@@K:4-(>:A%,-( Width 1) 40 columns> ( 2) 80 coR[}lumnsH<)@6-&@H< @)!@A@R46-$@@1@@P:4$\B AR\}`0(ˠҠĠԠBAdAUf)@@p APD:P2.BAS4$\B APsSubmitting articles for the News-Disk.Article by: Dean Garraghty.Why not put your creative talents to the test by writiV^}ng for the News-Disk?!Whether it's an article or a program, we want it!I have no strict standards for articles. They can V_}be on any aspect of the Atari. They can be about something technical, reviews of PD (or commercial stuff), or anything. Have V`}a read of past News-Disk articles to get a feel of what I'm after.You don't have to be a brilliant writer (I'm not!). Any mVa}istakes you make will get edited (if I do my job correctly!).For every article I use you will be allowed to choose a free PVb}D disk of your choice from the library.All articles must be submitted on disk in standard ATASCII format. Any word processoVc}r will do this, but don't use any of its special functions in the file. Also, don't put returns at the end of each line. TheyVd}'re the only rules for submission!If you submit a program of some sorts, then send it on disk with some sort of instructionVe}s for use. If the program is written in machine code, then a source listing file would also be nice. If you write something iVf}n another language other than Basic or M/C, then please include a copy of any relevant runtime program, but make sure if you Vg}are allowed to copy this.The continued existance of the News-Disk lies with every reader. Please try and take a little timeVh} to write something for the News-Disk. The chances are, it will get published!very reader. Please try and take a little timeTOAtari 8-bit News-Disk Issue 4.------------------------------Editorial by Dean Garraghty.----------------------------WZj}ell here it is! Issue 4 of the News-Disk. Yet again, it was very difficult to put together. This was because of the old problZk}em: no articles. You will notice that all articles on this issue have been written by me, or have come off the newsnet. I reaZl}lly would like to see some articles from News-Disk readers.The initial idea of the News-Disk was to collect articles and prZm}ograms from a group of users and then share each others work with the others. So far, this has failed.If you don't want to Zn}write an article or program, then why not write us a letter? If you write a letter for publication then please write "for pubZo}lication" at the top of the letter. If it's going to be long, then please send it on disk!I have written an article for thiZp}s issue called SUBMIT.DOC. This tells you exactly how to submit articles. Please read it, and write some articles!!For manyZq} of you, this will be the last issue on your subscription. If your subscription number ends in /4 then it's time to re-subscrZr}iibe! You will have a subscription renewal form enclosed if you fall in to this category. Please please re-subscribe, I need Zs}your support! It would be a waste of time and effort to produce the News-Disk for just a handful of users. I have kept the coZt}st at 4pounds for 4 issues, despite postal rate rises, and stationary price increases. The cost of production is subsidised bZu}y PD sales, otherwise it would run at a loss!Talking of PD, sales have slumped again. There are quite a few new disks in thZv}e library now. See the latest catalogue on side 2 of this disk.Other articles on issue 4 are: 3 articles on aspects of the Zw}1050 drive, an article on rare and long gone hardware, all about hard disks on the Atari, a nice story about an Atari die-harZx}d, a show report of AMS5, an article by on Digi-Studio (including behind-the-scenes details!), an article on AtariLab, and poZy}ssibly more, depending on how much disk space is left after writing this!I have also put a couple of PD games on. These areZz} DUNGEON.COM and CLOWN.COM. There is also a little demo by Mark Keates called SERVANT.COM. I have had to remove the DUP.SYS fZ{}ile from this disk to fit these on.And that's it for this issue. Keep those articles coming, keep those PD orders coming, aZ|}nd please re-subscribe if you need to.Thank you for your support!Dean Garraghty.24 Jan 1992. those PD orders coming, aXcThat long-gone and rare hardware.Article by: Dean Garraghty. Many newer Atari users won't know about some of the old^~}er hardware that was once available. Also, some old-hands may not know about some of the rarer hardware, some of which was ne^}ver released. This article will discuss both rare and old hardware. It is going to be very difficult to split thi^}s artcile into 2 sections: old hardware, and rare hardware. In some cases certain items could be classed as both. So, this is^} what I've done: the old hardware section will talk about old hardware that was available in the UK. The rare hardware sectio^}n will talk about hardware (old or new) that was either: available in the States but not the UK, or not available at all!S^}ection 1 - old hardware If you own a XL/XE machine then it's possible you won't have used, or even seen, a 400 or 800 ^}machine. The standard 400 didn't have a real keyboard. It was a membrane (or touch pad) keyboard, and very difficult to^} type on! It only had 16K of RAM, and so it wasn't really feasable to use it with a disk drive. They were quite large machine^}s, made even bigger because they had a cartridge lid, which had to be lifted up to put cartridges in. The 400 had a built-in ^}TV lead, and no monitor socket. The quality of the picture and sound was awful. Also, it didn't have Basic built-in as on the^} XL/XE series, so you had to plug a Basic cartridge in. The 400 had 4 joystick ports, for those old 4 player games! But, for ^}all its "faults" this was a nice sturdy machine. The standard 800 either had 16,32, or 48K RAM. Extra 16K cards were sl^}otted into sockets under a cover at the back of the machine. The 800 had a GREAT keyboard, the best of any of Atari's compute^}rs! Ask any old-hand and they'll tell you the same! The 800 also had no built-in Basic, but did have 4 joystick ports. It als^}o had a monitor port. That's got the old computers dealt with, so let's go on to talk about what peripherals were avail^}able for use with them. If you wanted a datarecorder, then you had to get a 410. These were quite bulky, but sturdy. Th^}ere were 2 different 410s released. If you wanted a disk drive, then you needed an 810. These were HUGE beasts, and cou^}ld only hold 88K a side! There were 2 different versions of the 810 (well, there were more than 2, but the others were operat^}ing differences, which are too technical for this article). One had a Tandon drive mechanism. Here the disk was just entered ^}into a slot, and a latch brought over the end of the disk. The other types had a MPI drive mechanism. Here there was just a l^}arge box shaped hole at the front. The disk was pushed into the middle, and then a large door slammed down to cover the hole.^} A very weird drive! The 810s were not exactly quiet either! If you wanted a printer, then you had a choice! You could ^}have the Atari 825 80 col. dot-matrix. This was very strange, in that it didn't use the standard Atari serial socket. It need^}ed an 850 interface to work. Then there was the 822 40 col. thermal printer. What a weird looking device that was. It was par^}t metal and part plastic. They were quite small, and very quiet in operation. Then there was the 820 40 col. I think this was^} dot-matrix. This was also a strange looking thing. It looked like an 810 drive with a hole cut in the top for the paper to c^}ome out of! I've only seen a photograph of one of these, so I can't really comment too much on them. I'm not exactly sure whe^}ther or not they were actually sold in the UK. Atari also had other hardware available back then, like the 850 interfac^}e which supplied parallel and serial ports for printers and modems. They had a modem of their own: the 830 acoustic modem. I ^}don't think this was available in the UK.Section 2 - rare hardware Some items of hardware were only sold in the St^}ates, and others never made it out of the Atari workshop! Atari had a far wider range of computers than many people thi^}nk. We usually talk about the 400, 800, 600XL, 800XL, 65XE, and 130XE. But there are others, some VERY strange! One you^} may have heard of, is the 1200XL. This really is the "black sheep" of the Atari family. It was a pre-600/800XL computer. It ^}had the silver function keys along the top of the keyboard. As well as the OPTION, SELECT, etc. keys, it also had some extra ^}function keys, and a couple of LEDs up there! It is probably the least compatible of all the Atari machines. It had no in-bui^}lt Basic. It had 64K RAM. Then there is the 1400XL. This beast had a built-in modem and speech chip, along with associa^}ted device drivers. A very odd looking thing, but with a nice keyboard (managed to see one of these things thanks to Colin Hu^}nt at BaPAUG). There was also a 1450XLD. This was basically an 800XL with a double sided disk drive built into the back^}. VERY rare machine. Atari also released a 65XEM. This had 8-channel stereo sound. It was compatible in every other way^}, but the sound had to be specially programmed. Atari was planning on releasing the XEP portable Atari, but pulled out ^}before production. Atari may well have had more computers than this, but I know of no others. Readers of Mapping ^}the Atari, will have read that Atari meant to release the 815 double density disk drive, but it was withdrawn from production^}. One of the things that never got past Atari's door! However, you may have read on past issues of the news-disk that the 815^} was actually a two 810s in one case. No idea which is true! Also on disk drives, Atari experimented with the 1050, and^} came up with the 1055. This had a 3 1/2" drive mechanism, which was never produced. I have heard that the XF-551 drive^} was developed as a 3 1/2" drive. This is why the circuit board is crammed at the back. The big space left was for the 3 1/2"^} drive mechanism. Other bits and pieces never released in the UK are: the 835 modem, XM-301 modem, 1030 modem, XTC201 c^}olour thermal printer, XDM121 daisy-wheel printer, 1025 printer, and possibly lots more things! It is very possible tha^}t a lot more hardware than that listed here never made it into the shops, but Atari was very secretive (and still is!), and s^}o there's no way we'll ever find out! The sources used for this article were: computers for people (Atari edition), sev^}eral old copies of ANTIC magazine, the latest 'Ol hackers Atari User Group newsletter (New York), Atari Explorer magazine (Ja^}n/Feb 91 issue), Mapping the Atari, and several old Atari friends and contacts.tter (New York), Atari Explorer magazine (Ja\Q ABCDMXYLOOBBA(Bh@@ @b} @ S."D:MENU.SYS LOAD*IT BY KARL STIEFVATERREVISED 10/24b}/85BY CLAYTON WALNUMCOPYRIGHT (C) 1985(BY ANALOG COMPUTING2 Ap<&&;@ ,;@,;@@b},FA +AR@A6-F:A`,%F:Aa,$AVPk0@70@Q0b}@@k0@ZG%@@d%@3%@@G%@&@Hd70b}@@70@@@nd6-6-% Ap,(}R(! ӭ ISSb}UE #4d-@@x1@1@@D:*.*2@27@<@,4 FA`b}&&7@<@,4SYSA06-%@( 2@27@<@,4 FA`&&7@b}<@,4SYSAE( A0K-@(->.-@@!K(USE