*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*¢¢¢ The SIO2PC Interface¢ A Product of Nick Kennedy¢¢ Reviewed by Alan Sharkis¢ Member, OL' HACKERS A.U.G., Inc.¢¢ I bought a PC clone, a '286 machine,¢ a couple of years ago when it became¢ apparent that I would be doing¢ considerable writing in the next¢ several years. I never intended to¢ give up my Atari, but I needed a¢ couple of things that showed no signs¢ of being possible on the Atari. ¢ There was an XEP80 out there, to be¢ sure, and that would certainly help¢ me with my writing. But AtariWriter¢ 80 had not yet been released, and¢ there was no way that I could get¢ decent resolution for 80 columns¢ without hooking up a monochrome¢ monitor as well as the beautiful¢ nineteen inch TV that had served me¢ as a monitor for so many years. File¢ format was another problem. It would¢ be difficult to send my written work¢ to people on Atari disks, even though¢ I knew that Happy modified 1050s (I¢ didn't have one) could produce disks¢ readable on PCs. I was also so¢ spoiled by the keyboard on my 800¢ that I could never get along with the¢ one on my 130XE, at least not for¢ quick typing. The PC seemed to be a¢ solution. It could help me write,¢ and it could also help me with my¢ Atari. Heck, null-modeming between¢ the two machines became second¢ nature. I also learned that¢ telecommunicating in general was more¢ efficient with the PC, in spite of¢ the best efforts of Bob Puff. So,¢ the two machines are connected¢ through switchboxes to both my¢ printer and my modem and through a¢ null-modem cable with each other. I¢ had read of several modifications to¢ the Atari that seemed to be PC based,¢ including the TransKey, which I might¢ still buy, and the SIO2PC, which I¢ will review here.¢¢ The SIO2PC is the brainchild of Nick¢ Kennedy, an engineer who uses PCs at¢ work and has used 8-bit Ataris for a¢ long time at home. Nick was always¢ interested in having machines talk to¢ each other through the SIO daisy¢ chain. Some of his earlier projects¢ involved creating hardware/software¢ to allow a couple of Ataris to¢ network in this way. But the SIO2PC¢ goes way beyond that both in its¢ function and in its utility now and¢ in the future.¢¢ Essentially, the SIO2PC consists of¢ files that run on the Atari and on¢ the PC that allow the PC to become a¢ "file server" for the Atari. That's¢ the software end. The hardware is¢ contained in a little box, with two¢ cables coming out. One connects into¢ the SIO daisy chain -- anywhere in¢ the chain. There is minimal¢ electrical drain, so you don't have¢ to put it in as your first¢ peripheral. Mine is connected after¢ a P: R: Connection and two disk¢ drives. The other end plugs into a¢ serial port on your PC -- any serial¢ port. Most PCs come with two of¢ these (COM1 and COM2), the program¢ can support up to COM 4 if you have¢ more ports installed. Since the¢ SIO2PC "takes over" the Atari's SIO¢ operations, you typically run a¢ special file when you boot up the PC¢ that blocks most of this from¢ happening. That way you can use your¢ Atari with the PC turned on. If¢ there is still a problem, you simply¢ disconnect the SIO2PC at the Atari¢ end. I have this problem when I want¢ to print from the Atari or use the¢ Atari with the modem and the PC is¢ powered down. I think I'll¢ investigate a switched Quitopus to¢ avoid wear and tear on my SIO¢ sockets. There is another solution¢ to the printing problem, but more¢ about that later.¢¢ A PC, especially a modern one, has a¢ good deal of memory available. Nick¢ Kennedy reasoned that a good chunk of¢ that memory could be used to hold¢ ramdisks for the Atari. Indeed, he¢ has provided in the software the¢ means to create up to four such¢ ramdisks in sizes of 64K, 92K, 143K¢ or 184K in either single or double¢ density. The ramdisks can be¢ formatted, or you can format them¢ with any Atari DOS. I have found¢ that the largest ramdisk in double¢ density will not format for double¢ side with the Sparta X cartridge, but¢ it seems to do so with the disk-based¢ Sparta 3.2D. Perhaps the X¢ anticipates 360K of disk space. ¢ However, all forms of formatting¢ (enhanced density works in a single¢ density ramdisk, as expected) seem to¢ work. Once the ramdisks are set up,¢ you can simply load Atari files into¢ them and use the PC as a big ramdisk. ¢ The PC in service to the Atari 8-bit? ¢ Heck, you ain't seen nothin' yet!¢¢ Now, you MIO users out there, kindly¢ keep still for a moment. I know you¢ can do this with the MIO, but this is¢ one of the exciting parts. Suppose¢ you boot your Atari from D1: as you¢ normally do. Then you set up a¢ ramdrive in the PC with the SIO2PC,¢ say D2:, and format it with an Atari¢ DOS, and write DOS files to it. Then¢ you turn off the Atari computer AND¢ D1. You then give the SIO2PC a¢ command to create ramdisk 1 and swap¢ the contents of 1 and 2 (yes,¢ ramdisks can be swapped, once set¢ up.) Now turn on your Atari¢ computer, and it will boot from¢ ramdisk 1! If you use the Sparta X,¢ Ramdisk 1 need only hold a config.sys¢ and an autoexec.bat file, although it¢ can hold considerably more than that. ¢ You can boot your favorite DOS and¢ your favorite application. Loading¢ is faster than from a mechanical¢ drive, and SIO sounds are mimicked to¢ let you know what's happening. You¢ can even load your favorite DOS into¢ ramdisk 1 automatically when you¢ start the SIO2PC program. How is¢ this possible?¢¢ I told you at the outset that the¢ SIO2PC acts as a "file server" for¢ the Atari. That means that the¢ ramdisks supply the files to the¢ Atari. But those ramdisks can also¢ be saved as ramdisk "images" on any¢ one of your PC's disk drives. Mine¢ happens to have a 65Meg hard drive,¢ nearly full up. But I have saved¢ ramdisk images of my Sparta X boot¢ disk (as described above) and my¢ Atari DOS 2.5 in the same directory¢ as the SIO2PC. You can use the¢ floppy drives in your PC the same¢ way. Mine happens to have high¢ density drives. The 5.25" drive can¢ give me 360K in double density or¢ 1.2Meg in high density. The 3.5"¢ drive can give me 720K in double¢ density or 1.44Meg in high density. ¢ If I use the last of these formats, I¢ can save 7-9 ramdisk images per 3.5"¢ disk, giving me storage for all of my¢ Atari disks (7 disk files worth) in¢ one 100 disk filebox. That's become¢ the primary reason for my getting the¢ SIO2PC. I needed a wall-stretcher¢ very badly, and this is really¢ helping. Also, the time may be fast¢ approaching when it will be difficult¢ to get service on Atari drives. I¢ know that it's almost impossible to¢ get service for Indus drives and that¢ the only 1050s and XF551s you can get¢ are now used. With the SIO2PC, you¢ don't even need to turn on your Atari¢ drives, which should cut down on¢ their wear and tear considerably.¢¢ I mentioned a problem with printing¢ before, and that there would be an¢ additional solution in this review. ¢ Here it comes. Suppose you want to¢ print a file from your Atari. Say¢ you have a word processor running and¢ you need to print to a printer that¢ is connected to your PC. No problem! ¢ In fact, several potential problems¢ are eliminated. You simply ask¢ SIO2PC to go into "print-through"¢ mode. It will then take the output¢ of your Atari and direct it to the¢ PC's screen, printer, or a PC disk¢ file. The program will ask if you¢ want the Atari's EOL characters¢ (ASCII 155) changed to carriage¢ returns, and you'll probably say yes,¢ because ASCII 155 in the extended IBM¢ graphics is a cent sign, hardly a¢ combined line feed and carriage¢ return. You'll then be asked if you¢ want to add line feeds. The answer¢ to this depends on how your printer¢ is set up. I need to say yes, or to¢ reconfigure the printer. It's easier¢ to say yes. Finally, the program¢ asks if you want the eighth bit¢ stripped. Those of you who don't¢ know what that means will soon find¢ out! Should your Atari file contain¢ graphics characters or even inverse¢ characters, they will not print¢ normally when in print-through mode. ¢ They _WILL_ give you the IBM graphics¢ characters (which will probably be¢ entirely inappropriate) or headaches¢ in the form of printer control codes¢ that will really mess up your work. ¢ The easiest solution is to simply¢ strip the eighth bit, which converts¢ all of the characters to normal ones. ¢ I have a printer that works in either¢ IBM or Epson emulation, and I make¢ sure it's set for Epson. It's¢ possible that inverse alphabetics on¢ the Atari will give me italics in¢ print-through, but I haven't tried it¢ yet. I have printed Atari files¢ through to my printer with the eighth¢ bit stripped, and to the PC's screen¢ as well. I get nice 80-column screen¢ displays if the Atari text files are¢ set up that way.¢¢ There are, of course, several¢ improvements I would like to see in¢ the SIO2PC, but they concern areas at¢ the PC end, and are probably best¢ addressed through software¢ improvements. However, these¢ improvements will likely be dependent¢ on each PC user's configuration and¢ the DOS he or she is using. For¢ example, I would like the SIO2PC to¢ be capable of using expanded or¢ extended memory, although I¢ personally would not do that with my¢ system. I would also like the¢ program to tell me how much room is¢ left on my PC's floppy disk when it¢ tells me the names of files I have¢ already placed there. Otherwise I¢ have to estimate and sometimes miss. ¢ That means resaving the ramdisk image¢ on a new, hopefully preformatted¢ floppy and erasing the partial save¢ on the old one with DOS after exiting¢ the program (inconvenient, but not¢ tragic). At the Atari end, I'd like¢ to see a positive shutoff of the¢ device without plugging and¢ unplugging connectors, as I described¢ earlier.¢¢ There are a variety of operations¢ possible with the program that I have¢ not talked about because I don't¢ personally use them. For example,¢ there is a status line displayed at¢ the bottom of the PC's screen that¢ tells you what SIO2PC is doing. ¢ Because of the way this line writes¢ to the screen, it can cause problems¢ with some PC displays, so there is a¢ way to take it out. The COM port¢ number can be changed. Sometimes a¢ particular user's system needs the¢ data line locked on, and this can be¢ set from the software. Usually it's¢ in auto mode. If you have unusual¢ addresses for the COM ports or wish¢ to use one higher than 4, there is a¢ way to set that address. Ramdisks¢ can be uninstalled, just as they are¢ installed, so that more memory is¢ freed up for others. There is a file¢ included that lets you check your bus¢ timings and then you have the ability¢ to alter them. Most of the time,¢ however, this is not necessary. ¢ There is also a file that tells you¢ what COM ports your machine comes¢ with and what their addresses are (in¢ case you don't know). One last file¢ lets you convert PC files into Atari¢ ramdisk images.¢¢ There are also lots of nice files¢ that can run on the Atari, including¢ one that you run from Atari DOS that¢ lets you control SIO2PC functions¢ from the Atari. I tried it, and it¢ works, but I have my two machines¢ sitting side-by-side, so I don't use¢ it. Another lets you convert Atari¢ files into PC files instead of Atari¢ disk images. I haven't tried it yet,¢ but it should be useful in some¢ applications. ¢ Nick Kennedy claims that this project¢ is simply a hobby for him, and that¢ he has constructed only about fifty¢ of the units (mine included) and¢ really wants to get away from that¢ aspect of it. Therefore, he has¢ provided three routes for those who¢ want the SIO2PC. You can, of course,¢ get a fully assembled and tested unit¢ from him. You can also download the¢ files, which are on many systems as¢ shareware, and either buy a kit of¢ materials from him using the files to¢ help you construct it, or you can¢ simply go out with the list of¢ materials in the files, purchase the¢ parts, and hardware-hack to your¢ heart's content. Mr. Kennedy¢ suggests a shareware contribution for¢ the files, and charges $35.00 for a¢ kit, and $49.95 for a fully assembled¢ and tested unit ($2.00 more if you¢ need a DB25 connector at the PC end¢ instead of a DB9). Postage and¢ handling for both kits and assembled¢ units is $5.00. Mr. Kennedy accepts¢ money orders only at this time. He¢ offers full money-back guarantees and¢ upgrades at $5.00. His address is:¢¢ N. R. Kennedy¢ 300 S. Vancouver¢ Russellville, AR 72801¢¢ Note: I read a message on FidoNet's¢ Atari 8-bit echo from a somewhat¢ dissatisfied user of the SIO2PC named¢ David Reed. Some of David's points¢ are valid; some I cannot verify. For¢ example, David Reed claims that his¢ copy of the software came complete¢ with a virus. Nick Kennedy is¢ sending out software with a¢ disclaimer about viruses and he puts¢ a file-size message on the screen as¢ a primitive virus-check. If you are¢ the owner of a PC, you should have a¢ virus-checker and use it while any¢ new software is still on floppy. I¢ used mine, and found the files to be¢ virus-free.¢¢ (ALAN graciously invited members of¢ OL'HACKERS to his home in November for¢ a MINI-MEETING, and to demo his SIO2PC¢ as a good way to learn what equipment¢ is around, and useful for the 8 BIT.¢ THANKS ALAN! EDITOR)¢ ¢ *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*¢
