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=============================== Any 'multisync' monitor which handles 70 video fields a second can be used with the ST; the custom cable involves no tricks, or commercial ones are available. The original NEC multisync does NOT handle 70 fields a sec. More than 3 bombs often means more than 1 error, so interpretations are tricky. An ST-formatted disk which is not readable by a PC can be made readable by putting the 3 bytes EB 34 90 (those were 3 bytes of hex) at the beginning of the boot sector (sector 1 of track 0, I believe). This can be done with either an ST or PC absolute sector editor. Some (older) PC-3.5"-drives cannot deal with the short track-header produced by ST formatters. On those drives, ST-formatted disks are not readable, independent of their boot sector contents. The other way, however, does always work: format on the PC. When using disks formatted on a PC in an ST, make sure to insert and access a disk with a different serial number in between disk changes. For those with the 'inaccessible' mouse and joystick ports, a joystick extender cable will make life easier. The Y-cable joystick extenders make it extremely easy to keep mouse and joystick connected to port 0, and a joystick extender cable in port 1 makes for easy hookup after you've moved the machine. BARREL is a program which can redirect printer-data to a file. It comes in handy when your printer is unavailable, and the program does not already have an option to 'print-to-a-file'. (It is available on the atari.archive server.) DBLEFEAT is a program which can redirect disk access from, say, drive A to drive B. Handy when a program 'hard-codes' the data drive, and you wish to use your hard drive instead. (It is available on the atari.archive server.) =========================================================================== I would appreciate feedback, comments, suggestions for more TIPS AND HINTS, etc. E-mail can reach me at the following: davidli@simvax.labmed.umn.edu Internet davidli@simvax BITnet -- David Paschall-Zimbel ------------------------------ Date: 15 Jan 92 16:17:37 GMT From: arizona.edu!cerritos.edu!nic.csu.net!usc!wupost!spool.mu.edu!umn.edu!lapis.labm ed.umn.edu!davidli@arizona.edu Subject: welcome to comp.sys.atari.st (2/3) To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Last update: 15 January 1992 Author: David Paschall-Zimbel (davidli@simvax.labmed.umn.edu) Comments and suggestions welcome. Welcome to comp.sys.atari.st Part 2 - Software ============================ DIRECTORY (new articles and articles with changes are marked with an '*'): You may search for the capitalized keywords to find the related article. ARCS How do I deal with Archived files (.ZOO, .ARC, .LZH)? ARCHIVERS - a list of archiver utilities ARCSHELLS - a list of GEM program shells for archive utilites CLI What Command Line Interpreters are available? ERR What does TOS ERROR nn mean? What do the bombs on my screen mean? GDOS What is GDOS, and where can I get it? GNUC Is GNU C available on the Atari ST? HAM Where can I find Ham Radio software for the ST? LANG Public Domain/Shareware languages... MINIX Is MINIX available on the Atari ST? PAINT What is the format for [x] paint program data? PD Where can I get Public Domain/Shareware software? MAILSITES - a list of archives accessible via e-mail FTPSITES - a list of archives accessible via FTP TEX Is TeX/LaTeX available on the Atari ST? PD Where can I get Public Domain/Shareware software? ================================================= There are FTP sources and a comp.sources.atari.st/comp.binaries.atari.st mail server. You can also try the commercial on-line services such as GEnie, CompuServe, Delphi and Bix. Using FTP, most files should be retrieved in BINARY format (at least those ending with the suffix of .ARC, .LZH, .ZOO, .PRG, .TTP, .TOS) Mail servers encode files. You will need a program called 'uudecode' in order to change files ending with the suffix .UUE (or .UAB, .UAC, etc.) into their original form. For Mail Service: archive-server@twitterpater.Eng.Sun.COM: ------------------------------------- Twitterpater holds all of the comp.sources.atari.st / comp.binaries.atari.st postings. If you aren't reading these two newsgroups, you should consider doing so. You may obtain uuencoded files as e-mail. You can obtain a help file by mailing a message to archive-server@twitterpater.eng.sun.com, with the main body of the message being the word 'help'. atari@atari.archive.umich.edu: ----------------------------- The atari.archive server is mentioned many times in this article. It contains a multitude of Atari ST PD and shareware programs. If you don't have access via FTP you can obtain many of the files via e-mail. You should first obtain a help file by mailing a message to atari@atari.archive.umich.edu, with the main body of the message being the word 'help.'. If you are from a uucp site, please enclose this statement also 'path host1!host2!....', where host1!host2!... is your path. Please read the help file completely before you ask questions, and then send any you may have to jon@atari.archive.umich.edu. Jeff Weiner will only forward them to Jon, so please save him the time. Any questions about the archive or specific files go to weiner@atari.archive.umich.edu For anonymous FTP: atari.archive.umich.edu [141.211.164.8] User anonymous <enter e-mail address in response to Password prompt> cd /atari For anonymous FTP in the UK: uk.ac.lancs.pdsoft User pdsoft Password pdsoft This is a national public domain archive, available to sites in the UK only via JANET. Mail access is available from within the UK - send mail to archive-server@lancs.pdsoft for information. For anonymous FTP in Europe: ftp.Informatik.Uni-dortmund.DE [129.217.64.63] Some selected Atari ST software is in the directory pub/comp/atari-st. The mail server has also moved. Send an e-mail message to info-server@ftp.Informatik.Uni-dortmund.DE For anonymous FTP in Europe: cs.uni-sb.de [134.96.7.254] Contains the most interesting tools of the german PD-scene, most of the GNU programs ported to the ST (including ports of emacs and bash and an extended version of bammis library for gcc) and also ports of software posted to comp.sources.unix, alt.sources and comp.sources.misc. For anonymous FTP in Europe: archive.cs.ruu.nl [131.211.80.5] How to get ATARI-ST/index from the archive at Dept. of Computer Science, Utrecht University: NOTE: In the following I have assumed your mail address is john@highbrow.edu. Of course you must substitute your own address for this. This should be a valid internet or uucp address. For bitnet users name@host.BITNET usually works. by FTP: (please restrict access to weekends or evening/night (i.e. between about 20.00 and 0900 UTC). ftp archive.cs.ruu.nl [131.211.80.5] user name: anonymous or ftp password: your own email address (e.g. john@highbrow.edu) cd /pub don't forget to set binary mode if the file is a tar/arc/zoo archive, compressed or in any other way contains binary data. get ATARI-ST/index by mail-server: send the following message to mail-server@cs.ruu.nl (or uunet!mcsun!hp4nl!ruuinf!mail-server): begin path john@highbrow.edu (PLEASE SUBSTITUTE *YOUR* ADDRESS) send ATARI-ST/index end NOTE: *** PLEASE USE VALID INTERNET ADDRESSES IF POSSIBLE. DO NOT USE ADDRESSES WITH ! and @ MIXED !!!! BITNETTERS USE USER@HOST.BITNET *** The path command can be deleted if we receive a valid from address in your message. If this is the first time you use our mail server, we suggest you first issue the request: send HELP BITNET users: LISTSERV@UOGUELPH.BITNET Mail messages with the contents HELP will bring you some usage information and GET PROG-A16 FILELIST will provide you with a list of files. Subscriptions to INFO-A16 are also available on this server. INFO-A16 is a digest of messages from comp.sys.atari.st. ARCS How do I deal with Archived files (.ZOO, .ARC, .LZH)? ===================================================== Files ending with suffixes .ZOO, .ARC and .LZH are archive files. They are binary files which may contain one or more other files in a compressed format. Archive files usually take up less disk space, and for this reason have become quite popular for transferring large files via modem. In order to extract the files from an archive file, one must use an archive program. Here are the correspondences: ARC Use ARC.TTP LZH Use LHARC.TTP ZOO Use ZOO.TTP ARCHIVERS These programs are all available via FTP from the atari.archive server, in the /atari/archivers directory. Recommended files are: arc602.ttp - version 6.02 of ARC, includes features to archive subdirectories and also include comments with files. arc602.arc - contains documentation. UnArc using arc602.ttp. arc521e.arc - older version of ARC. Used mostly by those who want speed, better compression, and don't care about archiving subdirectories. UnArc using arc602.ttp. lharc.ttp - version 2.0 of LHARC. lzh201i.lzh - Thomas Questors lzh utility. German documentation. UnArc using lharc.ttp zoo21.ttp - version 2.1 of ZOO zoo21bin.zoo - ZOO archive includes documentation. UnArc using zoo21.ttp. ARCSHELLS There are also several GEM programs which act as 'shells' for the archive programs. The most popular are Shareware offerings, also available on atari.archive server. They are: arcgsh35.zoo - written by Rainer Klute, usefule for ARC, LZH, and ZOO archives. arcshl30.arc - written by Charles Johnson, useful for ARC and LZH archives. Works with Questor's version of LHARC. xshell.lzh - a very nice archiver shell, it includes the archive utility programs as well. zooshl06.zoo - a basic shell for use with ZOO archives. The GEM shells are recommended for inexperienced users (and appear to be quite handy for the experienced user as well!) They require a copy of the archive program -- in other words you need BOTH the GEM shell *AND* the archive program in order to use the GEM shell. Documentation on the use of the archive programs should accompany the archive files mentioned above. To extract the files from any of the archives from a Command Language Interface, you can use the generic line below: [arc/lharc/zoo] x <archive> For example: arc x arc602.arc lharc x lzh201.lzh zoo x zoo21bin.zoo From the GEM Desktop, click on the respective TTP program and enter the following line at the parameter dialogue box: ARC.TTP: xh arc602.arc LHARC.TTP: x lzh201.lzh ZOO21.TTP: -extract zoo21bin.zoo The information above assumes that you have the TTP program and the archive in the same directory. Extracted files will end up in the same directory. Source and binary code for archive programs have also been posted to comp.sources.atari.st and comp.binaries.atari.st. They are available via e-mail through the panarthea archive server. See Steven Grimm's posting for more information on how to obtain files from panarthea. ERR What does TOS ERROR nn mean? What do the bombs on my screen mean? ==================================== The information below was written, in part, by Darryl May, and posted on GEnie in January (of ????) by John Townsend. The original also appeared in the June 1988 issue of _Current Notes_ (122 N. Johnson Rd., Sterling, VA 22170). It has since found its way to me, and is being posted to comp.sys.atari.st as a service to readers. Alan Pratt wrote to tell me that the basic information may be correct, but that it cannot be dubbed "official" unless it originates, on paper, from Atari. This makes sense, as electronic communications are easily modified, even accidentally. Roland Waldi provided information regarding the difference between TOS and GEM return codes which appears to be correct. The tables have been modified to reflect his information. The following is an unofficial list of the errors that can appear while you are operating your ST computer. Error description return code alert box # ====================================================== OK (no error)....................0 Fundamental error...............-1 Drive not ready.................-2 Unknown command.................-3 CRC error.......................-4 Bad request.....................-5 Seek error......................-6 Unknown media...................-7 Sector not found................-8 No paper........................-9 Write fault....................-10 Read fault.....................-11 General error..................-12 Write protect..................-13 Media change...................-14 Unknown device.................-15 Bad sectors on format..........-16 Insert other disk..............-17 Invalid function number........-32............1 File not found.................-33............2 Path not found.................-34............3 No handles left................-35............4 Access denied..................-36............5 Invalid handle.................-37............6 Insufficient memory............-39............8 Invalid memory block address...-40............9 Invalid drive specified........-46...........15 No more files..................-49...........18 Range error....................-64...........33 Internal error.................-65...........34 Invalid program load format....-66...........35 The last code is the infamous "TOS error 35"! Also, some unofficial information via Alan Pratt: Notably, you should add -48: ENSAME (not the same drive, occurs when you call Frename and the two names you give aren't on the same drive), and -67: EGSBF: you can't use Mshrink to GROW a block of memory. Those bombs that appear on your screen are error messages from the 68000 micro-processor. Number Description of bombs =========================================== Reset: Initial PC2...............1 Bus Error........................2 Address Error....................3 Illegal Instruction..............4 Zero Divide......................5 CHK Instruction..................6 TRAPV Instruction................7 Privilege Violation..............8 Trace............................9 Line 1010 Emulator..............10 Line 1111 Emulator..............11 [unassigned, reserved]..........12 [unassigned, reserved]..........13 Format Error....................14 Uninitialized Interrupt Vector..15 [unassigned, reserved].......16-23 Spurious Interrupt..............24 Level 1 Interrupt Autovector....25 Level 2 Interrupt Autovector....26 Level 3 Interrupt Autovector....27 Level 4 Interrupt Autovector....28 Level 5 Interrupt Autovector....29 Level 6 Interrupt Autovector....30 Level 7 Interrupt Autovector....31 Trap Instruction Vectors.....32-47 [unassigned, reserved].......48-63 User Interrupt Vectors......64-255 PAINT What is the format for [x] paint program data? ============================================== There is a periodic posting of ST Picture Formats, edited by David Baggett. The file is on the atari.archive server under /atari/graphics/picfmts.doc. GDOS What is GDOS, and where can I get it? ===================================== GDOS stands for Graphic Device Output System (at least that's what my copy of STart, volume 1 number 1 said...) There is a newer version, called FSMGDOS, which should be available commercially from Atari. It is currently included with WordFlair II. FSMGDOS uses scaleable fonts - you do not need to create a font file for every point size. Current word is that the street price for FSMGDOS will be about $50. The Lucida font family comes with FSMGDOS, and the output is very nice, even on a 9-pin Epson printer. There are desk accessories which allow you to manipulate available fonts, and also CPX programs for the newer Atari Control Panel. For those who only have limited memory, a newer version of GDOS is also included with the distribution. For those with investments in older bit-mapped GDOS fonts, they may be used with the new version of GDOS or used as bit-mapped (ie. non-scaleable) fonts within FSMGDOS. You can get a copy of "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About GDOS (and more)" by Douglas N. Wheeler from the atari.archive server. The file is /atari/programming/gdos.arc. There is a German version of GDOS available from the atari.archive server. The file is /atari/utilities/amcgdos.arc. Currently, there are no truly public domain sources for the GDOS system files or font files (at least those supplied by Atari). You can get these files with many commercial programs, such as Degas Elite, WordFlair, etc. You might also want to check your local user group to see if they received a copy of the WordFlair demo program (also available on GEnie). The demo program appears to have the GDOS system and font files. HAM Where can I find Ham Radio software for the ST? =============================================== Plenty of Ham Radio software is available for the Atari ST: Morse code Radio Teletype (RTTY) Packet Radio (W0RLI BBS and K9AQ TCP/IP) Satellite Tracking WEFAX Color Slow Scan TV (SSTV) etc. For more information contact the Atari Microcomputer Network: Newsletter Editor - Gil Frederick, VE4AG 130 Maureen Street Winnipeg, Manitoba R3K 1M2 Canada or Program Librarian - John Adams, KC5FW 17106 Happy Hollow San Antonio, TX 78232 U.S.A. or Tune into the weekly net Sundays 16:00 UTC on 14.325 MHz. 73, John Langner, WB2OSZ CLI What Command Line Interpreters are available? ============================================= There are a large number of Command Line Interpreters for the Atari ST. Some of the more popular ones include: gulam the 'classic' cli, somewhat UNIX in flavor BASH GNU Bourne Again Shell - available under MINT ksh Korn Shell - available under MINT gemini MUPFEL is the shell used by the gemini environment okami a German shell with many useful utilities built in pcommand an MS-DOS-like shell Check atari.archive under /atari/cli or /atari/mint, or check one of the other FTP sites for files. TEX Is TeX/LaTeX available on the Atari ST? ======================================= The TeX/LaTeX typesetting programs are available on the Atari ST. Check the atari.archive server under /atari/tex. Be advised that, although these programs produce high-quality printed pages, they also require many megabytes of disk space in order to take full advantage of the various fonts and device drivers. A 5-10 megabytes should be sufficient for most applications, although when creating the fonts using Metafont you may wish to have more disk space. The latest version of TeX (3.1) has recently been made available on the atari.archive server. The files are in a subdirectory of their own. Graham Higgins recently wrote a message in comp.sys.atari.st indicating the minimum files needed to get a working TeX/LaTeX system up and running on the Atari ST. He said: You'll need, at minimum: The binaries for LaTeX/TeX :StTeXBin The style files :StTeXSty The font macros :StTeXTfm If you want to screen-preview, you'll need screen font files (showdvi) If you want to print locally, you'll need printer font files (dvifont) Allow 5Mb. There is also an 'installable' version of TeX and LaTeX, called CS_TeX. It fits on eight double-sided disks, and provides fonts and device drivers (including a screen drivers). A minimal number of fonts are pre-made, you can use the MetaFont program to generate the full font set (but be prepared to spend a lot of time, and have a lot of disk space available). CS_TeX is available from the atari.archive server and from most of the European FTP servers. But wait, there's more. One can obtain a version of Lindner-TeX from the DANTE group (an association of German speaking TeX users, who also have CS_TeX available). Their server is rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de [129.69.1.12]. Also available is br-tex. Check for it on ifi.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de [129.69.211.1]. LANG Public Domain/Shareware languages... ==================================== There are a large number of programming languages available for use with the Atari ST. Programmers seem to flock to the Atari ST, and if you know of a language, you can probably find it, or an equivalent, for the ST. 68000 assembler/disassembler abc APL BASIC C cross assemblers (z80, 6502, 68xx,8031/80xx) Elan FORTRAN FORTH ICON LISP Modula2 OPS5 perl PROLOG SCHEME Check the atari.archive server under /atari/languages. Most other archive sites will have a language directory which you can also check. GNUC Is GNU C available on the Atari ST? =================================== The Free Software Foundation C compiler, commonly known as GNU C (or gcc) is avaialbe for the Atari ST. The minimal memory required to do any useful (i.e. beyond 'hello world') programming is 2.5 megabytes. A 4 megabyte system is recommended. There is an extensive archive of the latest GNU C programs via anonymous FTP on atari.archive. GNU C is also available at cs.uni-sb.de and most other European FTP sites. The most complete archive of FSF programs for the Atari ST, including gcc and g++, debuggers, shells, and utilities such as BISON and GAWK is the atari.archive server. Check the files under the /atari/gnustuff/tos directory. MINIX Is MINIX available on the Atari ST? =================================== MINIX is a UNIX-like operating system for the IBM PC, XT, AT, 386, and PS/2, as well as the Apple Macintosh, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, and later in 1991, Sun SPARC. It is available with all the source code for the entire operating system, the libraries, and nearly 200 UNIX-like utilities. Demonstration disks for the IBM PC line and Atari ST are available for free via anonymous FTP for people on the Internet. A Macintosh version will be online soon. (If you can't wait, see below.) To get a free demo disk and the manual, use ftp to connect to ftp.cs.vu.nl (192.31.231.42) and look in pub/minix/demo. The READ_ME file describes the contents of the directory and how to use it. Be sure to fetch and read this first. It contains important information. If you don't have FTP access, you can buy the demo disk package from Prentice- Hall for $10 by calling (201) 767-5969 or FAX (201) 767-5625. Please DON'T ask me to send it by email. I have quite enough work already thank you. The ordering numbers for Prentice-Hall are: - MINIX 1.5 IBM demo disk (0-13-582768-x) (in stock now) - MINIX 1.5 Atari demo disk (0-13-582792-2) (in stock now) - MINIX 1.5 Macintosh demo disk (0-13-582784-1) (in stock now) Please note that although the demo disks are available for free on line, MINIX itself is copyrighted software and is not available on line. The demo disks are also copyrighted, but permission is hereby granted to upload and use them for evaluation purposes. The READ_ME file tells how MINIX can be ordered. AS A COURTESY TO US, PLEASE DO NOT FTP DURING BUSINESS HOURS (EUROPEAN TIME). PLEASE FTP AFTER 11 A.M. EASTERN STANDARD TIME. If you want to follow the MINIX discussion, read the comp.os.minix newsgroup, which is quite active and has almost 50,000 subscribers. Have fun! Andy Tanenbaum (ast@cs.vu.nl) =========================================================================== I would appreciate feedback, comments, suggestions for more TIPS AND HINTS, etc. E-mail can reach me at the following: davidli@simvax.labmed.umn.edu Internet davidli@simvax BITnet -- David Paschall-Zimbel ------------------------------ Date: 15 Jan 92 16:18:57 GMT From: arizona.edu!cerritos.edu!nic.csu.net!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!spool.m u.edu!umn.edu!lapis.labmed.umn.edu!davidli@arizona.edu Subject: welcome to comp.sys.atari.st (3/3) To: Info-Atari16@naucse.cse.nau.edu Last update: 15 January 1992 Author: David Paschall-Zimbel (davidli@simvax.labmed.umn.edu) Comments and suggestions welcome. Welcome to comp.sys.atari.st Part 3 - Hardware ============================ NOTE: Much of this area is still 'under construction'. If you have an article or information which you would like to see included under a particular heading, please send it to me via e-mail. It will get into the very next issue. DIRECTORY (new articles and articles with changes are marked with an '*'): You may search for the capitalized keywords to find the related article. ACCEL Hardware accelerators DRIVES What should I know about hard drives and the ST? FLOPPY What should I know about floppy drives and the ST? GRAPHIC How can I enjoy enhanced graphics on my ST? JOY What joysticks work best with the Atari ST? MODEM What should I know about modems and the ST? MONITOR What should I know about monitors ST? PCEM How can I turn my Atari ST into a PC emulator? SPECTRE How can I turn my Atari ST into a Macintosh emulator? UPGRADE Can/should I upgrade my ST? VIDEO How can I interface my ST with a TV and/or television equipment? ACCEL Hardware Accelerators ===================== <This area under construction. Useful articles would be appreciated> DRIVES What should I know about hard drives and the ST? ================================================ <This area under construction. Useful articles would be appreciated> FLOPPY What should I know about floppy drives and the ST? ================================================== 1.4 megabyte floppy drives will soon be available from Atari for MegaSTe and TT machines. If you own an older Atari ST, there is a company which offers a $199 kit (including floppy) to install and use the drive. (I will supply the name next month, sorry...) Note that Tos versions prior to 2.06 will not format a 1.4 meg floppy from the desktop. GRAPHIC How can I enjoy enhanced graphics on my ST? =========================================== For stock STs, JRI makes a chip which allows a 4096 color palette. There are a number of graphics boards on the market. Here is a first pass at listing some of them. The information is based on postings by Ben Gilbert and Jari Lehto within the past month. C32 board by Matrix Datensystem (Germany) * 800x608, 256 colors * all ST/TT models * 256k, 512k and 1meg versions C75Z board by Matrix Datensystem (Germany) * 1024x768, 256 colors * Mega ST or STe, TT VME Buss (Matrix GmbH has over 15, maybe over 20 with all versions, different graphics boards available, from hobbyist to professional, from CAD to GenLock and digitizing.) ISAC board by Dover Research Company (U.S.) * 1024x768, 16 colors from palette of 4096 * makes hi-res look like ST low res, just with a huge window * Mega ST buss * Dover Research Co. (612) 492-3913 The Imagine by Wittich Computer GmbH (Germany) * 1024x768, 256 colors * Mega ST only (Versions available for all ST/TT models. Several possible resolutions. Reasonable price, but slow and not very compatible..) Crazy Dots by TKR (Germany) * 1024x768, 256 colors * Mega ST only (1280x800, 256 colors out of 16.7 million color palette. 1664x1200 for both 16 color and monochrome. True color option available. Mega ST, Mega STe and TT.) reSOLUTION SuperVGA by GengTec (Germany) * 8 resolutions, 320x200 through 1600x1200 * 16 colors without driver, 256 out of 256,000 with driver * 1 mb RAM * uses a standard VGA monitor * Mega ST or regular ST * available in U.S. from Rio Datel, 1-800-782-9110, (702) 454-700 (1024x768 is the highest resolution with 256 colors. Driver is called Multicolor VGA option. Compatible with NVDI and Blitter. Multisync monitor recommended.) AlberTT * like ISAC card, but specific for TT VME buss MegaScreen * 832x624 monochrome * connects to MegaBus * works with Spectre Reflex *1024x1024 with SM124 monitor *2048x2048 possible with expansion *usable with most big-screen displays ODIN by Marvin AG (Switzerland) * external expansion * gives TT-resolutions to a regular ST Cyrel * RISC-based card * extremely costly Graphics cards for which information is sought: OmniChrome board by Omnimon Peripherals JRI GenLock Atari/Lexicor 24 bit color card Jari Lehto proposed the following recommendations: Low budget SVGA - reSOLUTION Professional high-end use Cyrel (or is it Cyrix?) Hobby or semi-pro DTP Reflex Hobby DTP MegaScreen To obtain TT resolution ODIN JOY What joysticks work best with the Atari ST? =========================================== The Atari ST works with joysticks with a 'standard' D-Socket. IBM-style joysticks, Apple joysticks, and Nintendo joysticks will -not- work. Some recommended joysticks: Konix Navigator - "best .. if you want to use it for any length of time" Gravis - "responsive ... great for games like MidiMaze" WICO - "strong reed switches, hard plastic and metal components" Atari - "FAR more controllable and responsive than other, more durable units" MODEM What should I know about modems and the ST? =========================================== Any external modem should work fine with the Atari ST-series of computers. You will need to purchase or build an RS-232 cable. Be sure the cable is capable of establishing DTR with your modem, as many telecommunications packages check the status of the DTR line. (Ask your local hardware guru if you don't know what DTR is...) The ST can connect to modems at up to 19,200 baud. Practically, you will purchase either a 2400-baud or 9600-baud modem. The cost of 2400-baud modems has dropped so much in the past few years that you should not even consider a slower modem. Believe me, modem speeds under 2400-baud are going to seem SLOOOOOOOW to you! MONITOR What should I know about monitors and the ST? ============================================= The monitor is your connection to the ST. Without a monitor, you're typing blind. (Unless, of course, you have an RF modulator on your ST and attach it to your TV set. This is discouraged, as the bandwidth and resolution are pretty terrible for anything other than arcade games.) There are three monitor choices for those of us owning Atari ST/STe equipment: 1. Monochrome monitors - these include the venerable SM124, one of the sharpest monochrome monitors on the market. Street price is about $150, used monitors should run around $80-90. You can also purchase a 19" monochrome monitor. This gives you a 'big screen' to play around in, and is best for work with DTP and CAD systems. The price is a bit high at $1500+, and you'll need a plug-in board, which is generally set up for the Mega ST machine. 2. Color monitors - including the SC1224 in all of its incarnations (JVC and Goldstar being the primary vendors). The newer monitor, the SC1435, has a 14" screen and stereo sound. 3. Multisync monitors - these monitors provide monochrome and color access in one monitor. The street price is around $450, about $100 more than a standard Atari color monitor. You need to reset your computer to change resolutions. In many cases, a nice little switch box is provided (or you can build one) which does this for you. Examples of multisync monitors include the OMNIMON RAINBOW MONITOR. There are any number of monitor choices for those owning Atari TT equipment, although they all boil down to 'multisync VGA'. There 14" color VGA monitor from Atari is quite nice, as is the 19" monochrome monitor. Any standard 14" multisync VGA monitor will do as well. Forget moving your SM124 or SC1224 monitor to your new system, the cabling and electronics is just not going to work. MOUSE What do I need to know about the mouse and the ST? ================================================== You can use the standard Atari mouse, or you can purchase one of the slick new mice from a third party, such as the Golden Image mouse. Got a sluggish mouse? Check the rollers in your mouse. Garbage collects on the rollers every time your roll it around that little mousepad you bought with your ST. This can eventually cause problems. The solution: pop open the mouse at the bottom (the little slide panel surrounding the rubber ball), take out the ball and then scrape the greyish gunk on the rollers you see. Replace the ball and slide panel, and see whether your mouse is now working a bit better. PCEM How can I turn my Atari ST into a PC emulator? ============================================== <This area under construction. Useful articles would be appreciated> SPECTRE How can I turn my Atari ST into a Macintosh emulator? ===================================================== <This area under construction. Useful articles would be appreciated> UPGRADE Can/should I upgrade my ST? =========================== The answer depends on the type of ST you currently have, and what you want to do in the future. Be aware that there are a large number of modifications one can perform on the venerable 1040ST, and that newer machines are coming down in cost so much that to obtain a certain feature it may be cheaper to purchase new than to upgrade. 1. Memory - most ST machines may be upgraded to 4 megabytes. The newer STe machines use either SIP or SIMM chips. Costs for memory upgrades on older ST machines run about $350 for 4 megabytes, at which point you can almost afford a 1-meg STe! 2. TOS - for those still running TOS 1.0, now is the time to consider an upgrade. TOS 1.4 has been around for at least 2 years now, and is -much- faster (and safer) for those using hard drives. TOS 2.06 is available as a hardware upgrade to ST and MegaST machines for around $150 from CodeHead Software. The 2.06 ROMs cost about $60. One can replace the ROMs directly in most STe machines. The MegaSTe is currently running TOS 2.05. VIDEO How can I interface my ST with a TV and/or television equipment? ================================================================ 1. Use a VideoKey, which takes RGB input and converts it into composite video which can then be fed into your TV system via VCR. The VideoKey is no longer manufactured, as the company, Practical Solutions, is no longer in business. 2. As an alternative to the VideoKey 'from the now-defunct Pratical Solutions', there was an article on page 81 of the December 1989 issue of RADIO ELECTRONICS which described a circuit to convert RGB to NTSC (suitable for that Radio Shack RF modulator). Incredibly the article was specificly written for the Atari ST!! so you will not have to adapt it to the 1040. [info from an article by David Galloway dated 15 Jan92] 3. JRI offers a semi-expensive GenLock device for stock Atari ST computers. An address would be appreciated. =========================================================================== I would appreciate feedback, comments, suggestions for more TIPS AND HINTS, etc. E-mail can reach me at the following: davidli@simvax.labmed.umn.edu Internet davidli@simvax BITnet -- David Paschall-Zimbel ------------------------------ End of Info-Atari16 Digest ******************************