Path: news.dna.affrc.go.jp!newsgw.affrc.go.jp!news.imnet.ad.jp!newsfeed.kreonet.re.kr!nntp.kreonet.re.kr!newsfeed.kornet.nm.kr!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news-pull.sprintlink.net!news-in-east.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!Sprint!204.102.243.3!newshub.csu.net!zippy!kendrick From: "William Kendrick" Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit Subject: How do I program for GameLink 2? Date: 15 Jul 1997 05:39:20 GMT Organization: Information Resources and Technology Lines: 166 Message-ID: <5qf2e8$oel$1@nuke.csu.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 NNTP-Posting-Host: zippy.sonoma.edu Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE Engine V4.71.0544.0 Ok, I've asked this a dozen times and nobody seems to know right off.. So, I'll post a snippet of the docs to building one (from "GAMELNK2.DOC" inside the Maze of Agdagon ARC, "agdav1c.arc", found at http://umich.edu/~archive/atari/8bit/Games/Action/agdav1c.arc ) BTW, for those who don't know, Game Link 2 is a piece of cabling that allows you to connect 2 or more (up to 8?) Atari 8-bits together. A small number of games were created for this system, and I'd like to see (and write) more! Here's the info. Hopefully one of you can figure out what I need to do to talk back and forth with a cable like this: B) Temporary GameLink-II SIO Connections (2 nodes): Realizing that users might want to try "Maze of AGDAgon" and the GameLink II system before committing to building or buying a = more permanent connection, we offer the following directions. Follow these for a quick, temporary method to connect two Atari 8-bit computers together. 1) Scrounge up two or three paper clips (the smaller size) and = a rubber band. 2) Bend and cut the clips into the following shapes with the dimensions shown below. Make sure the cut ends do not have = any burrs, as these could damage your SIO cables. <--5/8"--> <--5/8"--> <---7/8"---> ---------- ---------- ------------ ^ | | | | | | ^ | | | | | | | | 1/2" | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3/4" v | | | | | | | "A" "B" | "C" | | | | v 3) Boot up the Host computer, load the AGDAgon.COM file, and disconnect the serial cable from the disk drive. The other = end of the serial cable should still be connected to your Atari. 4) Get the other Atari ready (monitor or TV connected and = turned on, serial cable plugged in). 5) Take the free ends of the serial cables, and wrap the rubber band around the two connectors, so that the free ends face = you like the diagram below: ---------------------- / C \ / o o o o o o \ / \ / o o o o o o o \ / A B \ --------------------------------- --------------------------------- \ A B / \ o o o o o o o / \ / \ o o o o o o / \ C / ---------------------- 6) Now take the first of the two smaller clips you made and = gently push it into both pins marked "A" above. If you feel great resistance, do not try to force the pins in, as you may = damage the connectors on your serial cable. Since the clips you = have made are narrower than the standard Atari pins, they should = not cause damage if inserted correctly. Be careful not to accidentally short together any other pins. 7) Take the second of the two smaller clips and push it into = the pins marked "B" above. Try to push the two pins in an equal amount. It doesn't matter if the two clips touch each = other. 8) Take the remaining (longer) clip you made and push it into = the pins marked "C" above. Be careful not to short it against = any other pins. The third clip was intentionally made longer so that it won't be touching the other two clips when installed correctly. 9) Place this assembly carefully on a table top and out of the = way (don't leave it dangling from the two computers). C) GameLink-II SIO Connections (2 or 3 nodes): The following directions give you some insight into how the = GameLink II system works, and will allow you to create a more permanent connection for two or three player games. They are provided for = the more technical user who has sufficient experience to assemble a small hardware project. Non-technical users who wish to buy a multi-node connection should skip to the next section. 1) The easiest way to construct a GameLink-II cable is to = purchase a long (6 foot) SIO cable and cut it in half. 2) If more length is needed, the wires can be extended to = around 6 feet per node (thus, from one computer to any other would be = a maximum of 12 feet). 3) The connections are made according to the following list: pin name connection description --- -------- ---------- = ------------------------------- 1 SCLK not used leave with no connection 2 OCLK not used leave with no connection 3 SID PARALLEL connected to all other SID & = SOD 4 DGND PARALLEL connected to all other DGNDs 5 SOD PARALLEL connected to all other SID & = SOD 6 CGND PARALLEL connected to all other CGNDs 7 COMMAND not used leave with no connection 8 MOTCTL not used leave with no connection 9 PROCEED not used leave with no connection 10 +5V not used leave with no connection 11 AUDIO IN not used leave with no connection 12 +12V/NC not used leave with no connection 13 INTERRUPT not used leave with no connection 4) Both grounds are connected between all systems. 5) Both the SID (Serial Input), and SOD (Serial Output) lines = are connected together from all nodes. This allows any node to transmit data to all other nodes (including itself, if desired). 6) A graphical representation of a 3 node GameLink-II network = is shown below, with wires indicated by dashes (-) and vertical bars (|). Junctions shown by asterisks (*) Node-1 Node-2 Node-3 ------ ------ ------ SID(3) SID(3) SID(3) | | | *---------------*---------------* | | | SOD(5) SOD(5) SOD(5) DGND(4) DGND(4) DGND(4) | | | *---------------*---------------* CGND(6) CGND(6) CGND(6) | | | *---------------*---------------* 7) Another method would be to buy SIO sockets, and mount them = in a box, or PC board, and connect them as above. This would = allow you to use unmodified SIO cables. So, anyone out there (including Jeff Potter, who I believe was one of = the designers of this system) want to help out!? Thanks!!! -bill! kendrick@zippy.sonoma.edu http://zippy.sonoma.edu/kendrick/