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************ Topic 2 Wed Jan 27, 1988 AIRCRAFT [Browe] (Forwarded) Sub: 1764 upgrade to 512k How can I upgrade my 1764 to 512k? 8 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 11, Topic 2 Message 1 Mon Oct 24, 1988 L.AMMONS (Forwarded) <RETURN>, <S>croll, <Q>uit ?s Can anyone tell me how to upgrade my 1764? I see where you put the additional 8 drams. Is that all you have to do? ------------ Category 11, Topic 2 Message 2 Tue Oct 25, 1988 D.RAY1 (Forwarded) There is a text file here on GEnie that details how to upgrade your 1764 to 512k. It is file # 4339 library 1. there is also a ramtest program in the same library to test your newly upgraded REU, it is file #4374. both files were uploaded by TBEREMAN. I have done a 1764 upgrade and it is not that hard. You need to have some skill using a soldering iron. ------------ Category 11, Topic 2 Message 3 Tue Oct 25, 1988 COLOR64BBS [Greg Pfountz] (Forwarded) Yes, you just add the 8 extra ram chips - piece of cake. It is recommended that you actually solder in sockets, then plug the chips into the sockets - less chance of blowing a chip by a novice with the soldering iron. Ram dos is smart enough to see the extra ram and will automatically show you the 2011 blocks free. ------------ Category 11, Topic 2 Message 4 Thu Mar 23, 1989 C128.CPM [Bill] at 07:59 EST Software Support International is selling 1764's that have been crammed with chips, making it a 512K REU for $199.95. They also will upgrade your 1764 to 512K for $75.00. Thank you, H.Herman1 (Howie) for this info! ------------ Category 11, Topic 2 Message 5 Thu Mar 23, 1989 D.RAY1 [Dale] at 18:46 EST Bill, If I remember right the price on that 1764 upgrade is $119. Also, SSI is keeping the heavy duty power packs that come with the 1764s and selling them seperately. I think the ad I saw said $24.95. ------------ Category 11, Topic 2 Message 7 Fri Mar 24, 1989 THX1138 at 03:03 EST Yes I just ordered the 512k 1764 and they said they were shipping Friday (today). The price is $199 for the 512k 1764(less heavy duty C64 power supply) and $124.95 to upgrade your own 1764. It is a little pricy, but considering that the 1750's are not being produced it is the only game in town. I let you know how the 512k 1764 turns out when I receive it next week (I hope). Software support 800 356-1179 or 206 695-9648 to order, the later number is a twenty four hour a day, order only no info, line. Their hours are 9-5 PST. ------------ Category 11, Topic 2 Message 8 Fri Mar 24, 1989 C128.CPM [Bill] at 15:51 EST Dale and THX are correct. 199.95 for the 512K 1764, and 124.95 for updating your 1764! Address info: Software Support 2700 NE Andresen Vancouver, WA 98661 1-800-356-1179 ------------ Topic 17 Sun Apr 05, 1987 MICHAEL.M [-:SysOp:-] at 19:31 EDT Sub: 1764 RAM EXPANDER and RAMDISK Now that the 1764 RAM Expander is available, a TOPic devoted to discussion about it seems warranted. 14 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 11, Topic 17 Message 1 Sun Apr 05, 1987 MICHAEL.M [-:SysOp:-] at 19:56 EDT At long last, the 1764 RAM Expander is available. If the past problems with <RETURN>, <S>croll, <Q>uit ?s the 1700/1764 are any indicator, the 1764's might be hard to find and in short supply at first. Some stores that *do* have them are selling them for $159.95 (or thereabouts). That seems about right for 256K, about midway between the 1700 (128K) and 1750 (512K). As was promised, the 1764 comes with a large (2.5 amp) power supply (vented and apparently repairable), and a disk containing the RAMDISK program, FILE COPIER, DOS WEDGE, DEVICE CHANGER, RAM UNIT TEST program, two DEMOS, and a GEOS WEDGE. The RAMDISK program can be used with the 1764, 1700, or 1750, and should be available here in the *FlagShip* libraries as soon as our Utilities SySop has a chance to download/test it. The RAMDISK emulates a disk drive, in that it is assigned a device number and you can RENAME, COPY, SCRATCH, NEW, INIT, VALIDATE, POINTER (for REL files), UJ, UJ0, UI, U0>CHR$(n) (where n=unit number). DOS commands *not* supported include: B-R, B-W, B-A, B-F, B-P, M-R, M-W, and M-E. It does support wild cards, SAVE with REPLACE, PRG/SEQ/REL/USR filetypes. The DOS interface to the KERNAL is through the standard indirection vectors for the following Kernal Calls: OPEN CLOSE CHKIN BASIN BSOUT GETIN LOAD SAVE INMI. The DOS INTERFACE BLOCK may be installed on almost any page in the system, provided it is *not* under any ROM's. The default is the page starting at $CF00 (207) during initialization, but you are given an option to change this. First impressions: WUNNERFUL! Naturally, many disk directory utilities such as DIR ASSIST and DIR MANAGER have problems dealing with the RAMDISK, but most programs just love their new 'home'. ARC runs *from* the RAM well, but will access the 1541 as drive 8 instead of the RAMDISK as drive 8. Haven't had much time to fool with the thing yet, so I'll leave it at that. (Thanx to THE DAILY EXCHANGE and ILLUSIONS BBS!) -=:[ Mike ]:=- ------------ Category 11, Topic 17 Message 2 Sun Apr 05, 1987 CHARRINGTON [Courtney] at 18:56 PDT Okay...it works with the 1750/1751. Wonderful. But (!) will in work in 128 mode. Bet not. So us 128 owners still have to wait for support on our machine. *sigh* Courtney ------------ Category 11, Topic 17 Message 3 Mon Apr 06, 1987 GBARRETT [VISION100] at 21:22 CDT Court, if I remember correctly (correct me if I'm wrong fellows...), the ONLY difference between the 1700/1750 and the 1764 is the current load and the new power supply. Memory management is the same in all of them, far as I know. Only thing...I believe the RAMDISK program IS 64-specific, so we 128ers have to wait...again... -GaryB ------------ Category 11, Topic 17 Message 4 Tue Apr 07, 1987 SPARROW.J at 00:39 EDT Gang, I asked Fred about releasing the C-128 version of the R-disk software again today, and again we are all still waiting for final approval from his bosses. I sware to you I am running up a huge long distance phone bill trying to persuade CBM to release this thing! --Sparrow James ------------ Category 11, Topic 17 Message 5 Tue Apr 07, 1987 MICHAEL.M [-:SysOp:-] at 00:39 EDT Just confirming that the RAMDISK program *is* 64-specific. (How long has the 1700/1750 been out??? GRR!) ------------ Category 11, Topic 17 Message 6 Tue Apr 07, 1987 CHARRINGTON [Courtney] at 06:20 PDT The RAMDISK will run on my 1750 *in 64 mode* which is a step in the right direction. I finished my taxes last night after making it device 8 and loading all the files into it. And yes...the file copy program is slow as hell (can't use a fast copy)...but the tax program when lickity-split after that. I can imagine what the 1750/51 would do in 128 mode. And Sparrow--thanks for the efforts! I know they will pay off sometime down the road. Courtney ------------ Category 11, Topic 17 Message 9 Tue Apr 21, 1987 CHUCK.WAGON at 22:59 PDT dsc Well, I got a chance to down load this little goody and run it through its paces and here's what I found. 1. A System reset (using the reset button as implemented on the 128) will cause a loss of all RAM-Disk memory. This is a disapointment as those of us who have utilized the 17xx CP/M mode RAM Disk capabilities have come to appreicieate. Also as most C=64 Commercial programs will not allow the user to reset or return to System this will greatly reduce the use of storing some programs in the expander. 2. On the Plus side it was a pleaseure to load a whole disk full of my favorite SID Player Tunes and not have to wait for those timley pauses between songs. However, though SID Player and Multi-Sid Player worked without a glitch, I was not able to get Sid Pic 2.5 to work. The program was not able to read any MUS programs on the RAM-Disk even though I had reset the RAM-Disk DU # to Unit 8. I did list the Sid Pic Program to see if I could figure out a way to make it run but was unsuccessful. Any help in this area would be appreciated. 3. I was able to load Slam Ball into the RD (RD = RAM-Disk) an run it but couldn't reset the sytem as noted above so tryng to store a bunch of your favorite games may be a problem. 4. A word of advise, As Courtney commented or inferred earlier, I suggest that you initiate the RD as unit #15 or any other unit# other than 8, copy your programs with the file copy program and then change your physical drive (1541, 1571, or what ever youre using) to #9 and reset the RD to unit #8. This is because most basic programs that load ML programs usualy make there call for the ML programs on DU #8 if you don't reset the RD Drive Unit # to #8 You will Crash the System or get a Device Not Present Error. The Alternative of course is to re-write the basic portion of the program if possible to make the call to the desired Unit#. Its a shame you can't Log In a drive like you can in CP/M and MSDOS Operating Systems. Overall I am sure that many users will find that the 1764 will give them a whole new dimension of use and power that the original designers of the C-64 never imagined. I have No doubt that Software Taking full advantage of this new tool will follow much quicker as the base of Installed 64 users far exceeds that of the 128. And MAYBE we may soon see a RD program for the 128 as well. # ------------ Category 11, Topic 17 Message 10 Wed Sep 30, 1987 AMFORD at 20:14 CDT Has anyone tried out terminal programs with the 1764? I am interested in either commercial or public domain. ------------ Category 11, Topic 17 Message 11 Sun Oct 23, 1988 L.AMMONS at 20:28 CDT I just got through writing a Ramdisk terminal. I started with Comm Term III and took it from there. I have it configured so that downloads go straight to the ramdisk. I had to shorten the buffer and locate th ramdisk driver at page 194. I set it up so that uploads come from the ramdisk also. Buffer saves are dumped to the ramdisk as well. I used the basic code in the filecopy prg on the 1764 disk to transfer files to and from the ramdisk. The one I am using is for Hayes compatible modems only. If there is enough interest I will fix it for other modems. I plan to upload it soon. I did some testing of download speed to the ramdisk as compared to the 1541: Xmodem at 1200 baud: 68 cps on the 1541. 87 cps to ramdisk. Xmodem at 2400 baud: 88 cps to the 1541. 150 cps to ramdisk. As you can see, it is much faster. You can fill the 2013 blks of ramdisk online and then selectively transfer it to different disks offline. Give me a reply to this message if you want me to upload the Hayes version. Like I said, if there is enough demand, I will put the other modem routines back in. ------------ Category 11, Topic 17 Message 14 Thu Jan 19, 1989 C128.CPM [Bill] at 18:01 EST This topic started out with many questions and answers about the 1764 REU. I finally gave up hunting for another 1750, and bought the 256K RAM for my other C128. Works like a champ, AND I got a spare 128 power supply, that only needs the 128 connector (at the puter end) soldered onto the cable. What a deal! It even survives resets! Lets see, a replacement C-128 power supply is about 60.00-70.00, and a mail order 1764 is about 120, making the real cost of 256K about 50-60 bucks. ------------ Topic 20 Sun Aug 24, 1986 CHARRINGTON at 16:10 PDT Sub: Using the 17xx Ram Extension Here's a chance to share with others our combined knowledge of the 17xx Ram Extension. Not the hardware itself, but software to make it work. Most of us aren't STASH and FETCH experts. 49 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 1 Sun Aug 24, 1986 MIKEM [Pax Regal] at 17:23 PDT <RETURN>, <S>croll, <Q>uit ?s Good idea, Courtney! Here I am, *hoping* for something to come out that supports the RAM, when I could be learning about programming the sucker and sharing what little knowledge this pea-brain will accept. <Now, whats REC, DMA, .......> I also wonder how similar the STASH and FETCH commands are to the @STASH and @FETCH used in 'ULTRAHIRES'....hmmm. -<ike er...Mike ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 2 Mon Aug 25, 1986 SURVIVOR [S. Gutknecht] at 18:40 EDT I have created a simple 1 pas 1571/1541 disk copier in 128 mode,. but waiting till I can get the BURST working right before I throw in out into the public. ((My ZBBS might even support it for downloads...)) ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 3 Mon Aug 25, 1986 MIKEM [Pax Regal] at 18:07 PDT Steve: Great! There are a few already out, but I for one wouldnt mind seeing another! Actually, what *I* could use is a quick, single-file copier. One that runs in 80-column mode, one that doesnt keep reading the directory every darn time, one that doesnt ask for filetype every time...<Sheesh>. -Mike ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 13 Sun Sep 14, 1986 MIKEM [- Mike -] at 13:15 PDT BoyOhBoy....Talk about missing the obvious. When you're STASHing, FETCHing, or SWAPing less than about 9K things are pretty straightforward....if anyone (like me) has had problems trying any more than that, try this little piece of info (which Mr. Butterfield has been so kind as to tell us). Just enter 'BANK0' before the STASH or FETCH command, and away you go! Now, I refuse to wonder why the manual says nothing about this. (ARG!) -Mike ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 14 Mon Sep 15, 1986 DEB [*deb!*] at 07:12 EDT Mike....so, *why* does it help??? ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 15 Mon Sep 15, 1986 SURVIVOR [S. Gutknecht] at 19:57 EDT Come on MIKE.... You have to enter BANK0 to even mess with memory over 16K.... due to ROM overlays ((I thing above $b000 is free.... wrong?)).... There is also a way to switch from bank1 to 17xx..... Twin Cities 128 ((latest issue)) has how.... SPARROW? ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 16 Tue Sep 16, 1986 MIKEM [- Mike -] at 07:11 PDT Hey, I told y'all I just started messing with this stuff! (smile) Stephen - The problem that we non-seasoned programmers encountered was that it wasnt apparent as to how to store more than that 9K in one fell swoop. We'd heard that it *should* just overflow into the next bank. Apparently, specifying BANK0 beforehand helps. Do you have any tricks or tips to share with ""rookies"" like me? Thanx in advance... -Mike ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 17 Tue Sep 16, 1986 SURVIVOR [S. Gutknecht] at 18:16 EDT MIKE- I have never programmed with the 17xx, but have done a lot of memory mapping on the standard 128... it applies here. You CAN POKE to bank 0 while in 15 ((bleeeeds through)), but to PEEK you need to set BANK 1..... I also recommend messing with ""custom bank configs"", due to the fact that you MAY want the KERNAL in, but nothing else.... Hope that helps. ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 18 Tue Sep 16, 1986 SALEWIT at 23:21 PDT Well I'm one of the odd ones here using the 17xx with a 64. I don't know if this relates or not, but I've been having trouble with the same thing (I think). I'm trying to store 8 programs in the RAM, when I get to the 5th prg, I specify bank 0, and figure that it will overflow into bank 1, but for some reason I don't think its doing it. If I peek that location (the one that holds the bank position), it still holds bank 0 even though I KNOW the program should have flowed into bank 1 thus settint that bank pointer to 1. No dice. Any ideas? Or does this have to be done manually? ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 19 Fri Nov 07, 1986 RICHARDL at 19:35 MST you hac ve to many ually w swith ch the banks, the manual says it will wrap around to if it goes past the 654 4 k of that bank, maybe someone will write a dos for it so it will act like the disk drive of cp/m a real nice 502 k disk. ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 20 Sun Apr 12, 1987 CHARRINGTON [Courtney] at 11:46 PDT I have a suggestion for all us 128 owners stuck with the 17xx ram expansion unit. How about a petition gathered on GEnie and maybe some of the other major networks. Deb could set up a temporary catagory or topic with an opening plea to Commodore to write and release something that will support it ala the 1764. When done, we print it, and send it to the responsible officials. Individ- uals pleas don't work so let's try the democratic way by giving them some idea of how many people are being left in the cold...and don't like it. Thise with access to the other networks can ask the SIG sysop's to set up something similar. We coordinate the send date of the petitions and wait to see what happens. (altho I can guess: nothing) Whatta think folks? Courtney ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 31 Thu Apr 16, 1987 MICHAEL.M [-:SysOp:-] at 20:38 EDT Dont laugh, Gayle. That thought *did* cross my mind last week! [Grin] Interesting note: CALCO Software (Surrey, England) has been offering a RAMDISK for the C-128/1750 for a few months now. The thing is called RamDos- 128 and is retailing for 34.95 (British Pounds). I've ordered it last month, but it has not arrived yet. No idea whether the thing will even work on our US 128's, but it was worth a shot. I'll report on it when it finally gets here. (By the way, last time I checked, the exchange rate Dollars <--> British Pounds was about 1.69! Not a great deal at all.) -=:[Mike]:=- ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 34 Sat Apr 25, 1987 MICHAEL.M [-:SysOp:-] at 05:14 EDT More about that RAMDOS 128 from Calco Software (in the U.K.) .... I recieved the thing yesterday. It is actually called RAMDOS Lightning Fast Ram-Disk by Oxford Systems Software. They also put out Hack-Pack 128 (which includes a C-128 internal memory Ram-Disk), Oxford Pascal (sound familiar?), and PetSpeed-128. The thing supports the 1700/1750 RAM expanders in 40 or 80 columns and has one of the strangest copy-protection schemes I've ever seen. The disk itself is not protected, but the package comes with this grid that resembles one of those Pengo gameboards. The grid consists of 1040 squares, each containing any one of four different colors. When you boot up the program, it gives you three coordinates to look up on that chart and asks you to enter the colors found at those coordinates on the grid. If you do not answer all three questions correctly, the program freezes up. After a while, this gets *very* old (but then again, it beats the heck out of dongles, half-tracked disks, 40- tracked disks, etc.). At boot-up, the RAM is assigned device 9 and the program makes use of all memory in the cartridge, giving 512 BLKS FREE with the 1700 and 2048 BLKS FREE with the 1750. Changing the cartridge to device 8 is simple enough (and your Function Keys are reprogrammmed to make it easier) by a simple statement: OPEN1,9,15,"U8":CLOSE1 . You are given an option to load the program into BANK 0 or 1 (it resides at the top of memory and uses $03F0 to $0400 and $1300 to $1400 in common RAM). There is also a pair of ALLOCATION commands which allow you to specify precisely which areas of expansion RAM will be used by the RAMDISK and which will not. Commands which are supported include: OPEN, CLOSE, DOPEN, DCLOSE, APPEND, CATALOG, DIRECTORY, CONCAT, DCLEAR, COPY, SCRATCH, COLLECT, LOAD, SAVE, DLOAD, DSAVE, BLOAD, BSAVE, RENAME, HEADER, DVERIFY. RAMDOS also has extended commands (like ALLOCATION, DEBUG, GREETING, etc.) It allows pattern matching and wildcards as well. If you must reset the computer, you can regain control over the lost links with a simple SYS, and the programs you have in RAM are recovered intact. I've left out quite a few of the options available and have not had a chance to really put the thing through its paces, but all-in-all it looks pretty good. It provides an extended variety of the COPY command to copy files to and from devices, but it has thus far ignored my brief attempts at this. More to follow at a later date... -=:[Mike]:=- ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 35 Sat Apr 25, 1987 CHARRINGTON [Courtney] at 09:09 PDT Mike- Is there an address, price etc anywhere? I think the only way I'll every see a 17xx ram program is to order that one from England. Courtney ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 36 Sat Apr 25, 1987 MICHAEL.M [-:SysOp:-] at 19:03 EDT Courtney - The only distributor I have seen which sells RAMDOS is Calco Software. There may be others with better prices. A few things you might want to consider before sending out for one... The current price is 34.95, but that is in British Pounds. Considering the current exchange rate of 1.67 (making the actual price closer to $57.34), the amount you need to spend for a cashiers check drawn on an English bank (probably another $10-$15), extra costs for airmail if you want to recieve it this year, etc., it might not be such a great deal. But, if you just cant wait for CBM anymore, here's the info..... Calco Software Lakeside House Surrey, KT2 7QT England (Tel. 01-546-7256) The information for Oxford Software Systems is: Oxford Ltd. 16B Worcester Place Oxford, OX1 2JW England (Tel. [0865] 54195) (International Tel. 44 865 54195) (Telex: 83147 OXSOFT) (Fax: [0865] 726753) ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 38 Sat Apr 25, 1987 MICHAEL.M [-:SysOp:-] at 23:53 EDT I hope they provide an appropriate way of regaining pointers to the expander after a reset (on CBM's RAMDISK, that is). If not, the thing will almost be more trouble than it is worth. Consider the number of programs (commercial, mainly) like BTPRO which do soft-reset the 128 after exiting. (Gads, the thought of filling and re-filling the 1750 doesnt appeal to me at all.) ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 39 Sun Apr 26, 1987 MAYSMITCHELL [SounDesign] at 17:19 EDT Mike, While true in most cases, ponder this...I was workingon the RamDiskfor Nezterm (using VT200(!) today) and it sure does take a while to transefer the Buffer to theDisk. This is byte-by-byte. If I use the Sprite area for speedier transfers (I think it's 512 bytwes) then it's more comfy. HopefullyI won't fall asleep and be able to upload Nez tonite! -KLM ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 40 Sun Apr 26, 1987 MICHAEL.M [-:SysOp:-] at 19:05 EDT Ken - Why are you using a byte-by-byte technique in NezTerm (and in the RAM utilities package you uploaded)? Just curious. ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 41 Sun Apr 26, 1987 MAYSMITCHELL [SounDesign] at 23:27 EDT Byte-by-Byte RamDisk programming is the easiest to control and program. I could do it many ways really but the more byte space you want to work with, the more space you must have in the C128 to store temporary data. You may ask (well what about Bank 1?), well bank one has to do everything from storing the buffer and the variables...I could use it but it's a pain in the ... well it's just a pain (hehe). -Ken- ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 42 Mon Apr 27, 1987 MICHAEL.M [-:SysOp:-] at 00:12 EDT What portion of the term program are you going to use it on? You're talking about a real slow process. ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 43 Mon Apr 27, 1987 MAYSMITCHELL [SounDesign] at 00:19 EDT Portion..you mean what menu? It7s in the Buffer utilities part. I'm going to test out a few faster techniques and put it in later. The old way is good enough for me. -Ken------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 48 Fri Feb 12, 1988 C.HOGAN at 23:25 EST Does anyone know if the 17xx is compatable with EBBS 128? I want to put a game room in the 1700 and go to it and return to the BBS at the same place it left it. Is this possible? It must also remember all the variables used in the main BBS program. ------------ Category 11, Topic 20 Message 49 Sun Feb 14, 1988 GRAFIX.M [GFX *SysOp*] at 13:46 EST Best bet would be to ask EBBS directly! He's on GEnie with the name of (what else) EBBS. Be sure to let us know what he says! \\GFX// ------------ ************ Topic 26 Thu Apr 06, 1989 HORO [-SysOp-] at 06:03 EDT Sub: Using your Ram Expander Suggestions for improving productivity with the Ram Expansion Units. 1 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 11, Topic 26 Message 1 Thu Apr 06, 1989 H.HERMAN1 (Forwarded) For those of us who have the REU, here are some productive suggestions: When using your REU as a RAMdisk, you might want to consider using "loader" type files, beforehand, and to set-up whatever sys you want before running your main program. This is not a new idea, and many commercial programs have been doing this for years. As part of the package that came with Busy Bee's The Write Stuff is a series of "loader" program modules, to take care of a variety of choices. You select one to start, have it jump to another task you want, etc. [This is really very much like having batch and/or script files to perform automatic tasks, with the nicety of having all of Basic 7's language and conditionals available.] Busy Bee was nice enough to write their loader modules in such a way, that with a little modification, they can be made to do most any task, for any program, and not just The Write Stuff. As an example of what I am referring to, I have started to use the upgraded vt100-128, which now uses the REU. So, when this program is selected from menu, item #4, it first runs a custom written version of RAMdisk.bas, to set up the REU (it doesn't ask questions, since I already know the I/O page number, etc, required, although it does do a SNIFF.) Once the REU is set-up it then calls a custom version for FILECOPY.bas, which then loads the REU with several modules that vt-100 will need to run. Its last task is to call up vt-100, which is loaded into the 128. Vt100's config file tells it to look to the REU for its additional modules, and set itself up, all ready to run. Everything I have just described is all done by _ONE KEY PRESS_! [I suppose I could use CS/DOS's batch files to do the same thing, but if you are jumping from using one program to another (not compatable with cs/dos), this isn't always the fastest way to go.] So, to apply all this to any program you may run, why not try a custom variation of RAMdisk to set it up, then a custom version of FILECOPY.bas to load your program's modules into REU, and then calling your program for loading. In addition to the speedy disk accesses, you will find having all this stuff done for you automatically is sort of fun, and you'll enter and use the program more. It is certainly nicer than sitting at the keyboard and answering RAMdisk's questions, and then loading and running FILECOPY, and writing out all the files to be copied, etc. And finally, not unlike CP/M's submit files, you may want to write yourself a custom routine for when data entry is complete. All that is needed is to again call FILECOPY, and to copy back to disk the data and other files that may have been updated during your session. This should allow for a short coffee break, while the updated files are being written to disk for you. The same principal can be applied to a lot of stuff you run, and especially from the REU. Another option is to allow RAMdisk to SNIFF the REU, and if already set-up from another routine, just initialize it, etc. Here's to automating those mundane tasks! Howie ------------ Topic 82 Sat Apr 02, 1988 FRANKIE.HLWD at 01:18 EST Sub: Expansion port extension cable? Looking for and extesion cable for the Commodore 128... 4 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 11, Topic 82 Message 1 Sat Apr 02, 1988 FRANKIE.HLWD at 01:20 EST Hello fellow Commodorians!! I'm looking for a extension cable for the 'CARTRIDGE' port (not the user <RETURN>, <S>croll, <Q>uit ?s port) for the Commodore 128. I need about 6 ft of cable with 1 male & 1 female end to extend the Cartdridge port of the Commodore 128. Any help on this would be greatly be appreciated!!! Thanx in advance!! Ray ------------ Category 11, Topic 82 Message 2 Sat Apr 02, 1988 DO.RAE.MI at 21:56 EST Don't know of exactly what you want, but Aprotek puts out an 8 incher. you might call & see if they are willing to custom one for you. Haven't seen anything in the ballpark for you. Sorry Ted ------------ Category 11, Topic 82 Message 4 Sun Apr 03, 1988 H.HERMAN1 at 05:12 EDT Any cable extension for the cartridge port cannot exceed about 10" (yes, that's right, ten inches) in length, or it will throw off the ports timing, making anything plugged into it unusable. On the otherhand, you can use extensions of six and more feet in length from the user port to modems, etc., without any prob. At various times I have tried using different attachments to the cartridge port, before settling on just using the #1750. As a result I have the following: [1] Aprotek 10" cartridge port expansion to connect to the Aprospand. [2] Aprospand, 4 slot expansion, each slot with its own on/off switch, and entire unit fused. [3] Modem Master six foot expansion cable for the User port. [4] Marjac, L-Bow, 2 slot expansion for the cartridge port, with its own re-set switch. I never really got to use any of the above, all of which is in brand new condition. If you would want any of this stuff let me know. Will gladly sell it to you for price of shipping, and a few bucks. It's just lying around here, and I'd prefer to see someone get some use out of these things. Howie ------------