Brotikasten/BROTCD01.iso/atari/atarifaq.txt

Text File | 1995-08-20 | 82KB | 2,055 lines

                          Atari 8-Bit Computers

                     Frequently Asked Questions List

                            Revised 31-Jul-95


Additions/suggestions/comments/corrections are needed!  Please send to:

                      mailto:[e-mail]
                     UUCP: ...!umn-cs!ccnfld!mcurrent
                        Cleveland Free-Net: aa700

Copyright (c) 1992-1995 by Michael D. Current, and others where noted.
This file may be reproduced, in whole or in part, so long as the content of
that portion reproduced is not modified, and so long as credit is given to
this FAQ list or its Maintainer, or the author of that section reproduced
when given.

The Atari 8-Bit Computers Frequently Asked Questions List was created to
provide answers to many commonly asked questions found in the Internet's
comp.sys.atari.8bit/Info-Atari8 Digest/INFO-A8 discussion group.  It is in
a constant state of development, and comes with no guarantees.  If you
see any problems, I need to hear from you!

     ---  Where to get the latest copy of the 8-bit Atari FAQ List  ---

The home of many FTP archive sites, automatically updated monthly:
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-group/news.answers/atari-8-bit/faq

The World Wide Web hypertext version, automatically generated monthly:
http://www.smartpages.com/faqs/atari-8-bit/faq/faq.html

WWW "flat hypertext" versions, automatically generated monthly:
http://www.cs.ruu.nl/wais/html/na-dir/atari-8-bit/faq.html
http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/internet/news/faq/archive/atari-8-bit.faq.html

Usenet newsgroups where this FAQ list is automatically posted monthly:
news:comp.sys.atari.8bit   news:comp.answers   news:news.answers

You can also get the latest version by e-mail.
mailto:[e-mail]  message says:
  send usenet/news.answers/atari-8-bit/faq
  quit

------------------------------

Subject: 0.1) Table of contents

 0.1) Table of contents

     Introduction
 1.1) What is an Atari 8-bit computer?

     Usenet
 2.1) What is comp.sys.atari.8bit?
 2.2) What is comp.sys.atari.announce?
 2.3) What is comp.sys.atari.advocacy?
 2.4) What is comp.sys.atari.programmer?
 2.5) What is comp.emulators.misc?
 2.6) What is comp.emulators.announce?

     E-Mail
 3.1) What is the Info-Atari8 Digest?
 3.2) What is INFO-A8?
 3.3) How can I access the Merit/UMich Archive by e-mail?
 3.4) How can I retrieve files from FTP sites by e-mail?
 3.5) How can I post to Usenet newsgroups by e-mail?
 3.6) How can I access the World Wide Web by e-mail?

     FTP
 4.1) How can I access the Merit/UMich Archive by FTP?
 4.2) What is the Boston Archive?
 4.3) What is the PVV Archive?
 4.4) What is the ClarkNet Archive?
 4.5) What is the Gatekeeper's Archive?
 4.6) What is the Closer To Home Archive?

     Telnet
 5.1) What is the Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG?
 5.2) What is the Youngstown Free-Net Atari SIG?
 5.3) What is the National Capital Free-Net Atari SIG?
 5.4) What is the Closer To Home BBS?
 5.5) How can I access the World Wide Web by Telnet?

     Gopher
 6.1) How can I retrieve files from the Merit/UMich Archive through Gopher?

     World Wide Web
 7.1) What WWW pages support the 8-bit Atari?

     Prospero
 7.8) How can I access the Merit/UMich Archive by AFS?

     IRC
 7.9) What IRC channels discuss the 8-bit Atari?

     Online Magazines
 8.1) What is the CAIN Newsletter?

     File Formats
 9.1) What's this UUEncoding stuff (.uu, .uue files) all about?
 9.2) What is an .arc file?
 9.3) Okay, how about a .dcm file?
 9.4) What is an .xmo file?

     Emulation
 10.1) What 8-bit Atari emulators exist for other computing platforms?

     File Transfer Solutions
 11.1) What are the best terminal emulators available?
 11.2) Can I read/write 8-bit Atari disks on an IBM-PC?
 11.3) Can I read/write MS-DOS disks on an 8-bit Atari?
 11.4) How do I transfer files using a null modem cable?

     Storage Media
 12.1) What 5.25" floppy disk drives are available?
 12.2) How can I use 3.5" floppy disks with my 8-bit Atari?
 12.3) What do I need to connect a hard drive to my 8-bit Atari?
 12.4) How can I use an IBM-PC as a storage device for my Atari?

     General Interest
 13.1) What's the best DOS for the Atari?
 13.2) What hardware has Atari created in the 8-bit computer line?
 13.3) What are the power-supply requirements for my Atari components?
 13.4) What are the pinouts for the...?
 13.5) What BBS software can be used on the Atari?
 13.6) What version of Atari BASIC do I have?
 13.7) What are the Standards for Used 8-Bit Stuff?

     Other Documents of Interest
 14.1) What vendors, developers, or publishers support the 8-bit Atari?
 14.2) Where is my nearest 8-bit Atari BBS?
 14.3) Where is my nearest 8-bit Atari user group?
 14.4) How do I use my new or emulated Atari?
 14.5) What prominent Atarians are reachable by e-mail?

------------------------------

Subject: 1.1) What is an Atari 8-bit computer?

In order of their release, the Atari 8-bit computers include the 400, 800,
1200XL, 600XL, 800XL, 65XE, 130XE, and the XE Game System.  The 400/800
models were first shown publicly in November 1978 and first sold in
1979.  The final machine, the XE Game System, was released in 1987.
Atari Corp. officially dropped all remaining support of their 8-bit
computer line on January 1, 1992.

The following text was written by Chris Crawford and appears in De Re
Atari (Atari#APX-90008), a book published and copyright by Atari, Inc.,
1981-1982.  It has been very slightly modified here for generality.

     "The internal layout of the Atari 8-bit computer is very different
from other systems.  It of course has a microprocessor (a 6502), RAM,
ROM, and a (PIA).  However, it also has three special-purpose (LSI) chips
known as ANTIC, GTIA, and POKEY.  These chips were designed by Atari
engineers primarily to take much of the burden of housekeeping off of the
6502, thereby freeing the 6502 to concentrate on computations.  While
they were at it, they designed a great deal of power into these chips.
Each of these chips is almost as big (in terms of silicon area) as a
6502, so the three of them together provide a tremendous amount of
power.  Mastering the Atari 8-bit computers is primarily a matter of
mastering these three chips.

     ANTIC is a microprocessor dedicated to the television display.  It
is a true microprocessor; it has an instruction set, a program (called
the display list), and data.  The display list and the display data are
written into RAM by the 6502.  ANTIC retrieves this information from RAM
using direct memory access (DMA).  It processes the higher level
instructions in the display list and translates these instructions into a
real-time stream of simple instructions to GTIA.

     GTIA is a television interface chip.  ANTIC directly controls most
of GTIA's operations, but the 6502 can be programmed to intercede and
control some or all of GTIA's functions.  GTIA converts the digital
commands from ANTIC (or the 6502) into the signal that goes to the
television.  GTIA also adds some factors of its own, such as color
values, player-missle graphics, and collision detection.

     POKEY is a digital input/output (I/O) chip.  It handles such
disparate tasks as the serial I/O bus, audio generation, keyboard scan,
and random number generation.  It also digitizes the resistive paddle
inputs and controls maskable interrupt (IRQ) requests from peripherals.

     All four of these LSI chips function simultaneously.  Careful
separation of their functions in the design phase has minimized conflicts
between the chips.  The only hardware level conflict between any two
chips in the system occurs when ANTIC needs to use the address and data
buses to fetch its display information.  To do this, it halts the 6502
and takes control of the buses."

The 130XE and XEGS contain a small additional LSI called FREDDIE, a RAM address
multiplexor. . According to mailto:[e-mail]
(Masstorage), "Freddy is a type of memory controller.  It takes the address and
clock from the CPU and multiplexes it with the appropriate timings and signals
to use DYNAMIC memory.  Freddy also buffers the system clock crystal and
divides it down then feeds that to GTIA.  The XEGS has a freddy but it doesn't
have the extended RAM.  Even if it did, you would still need the chip that does
the REAL bank switching.  It is a small 16-pin chip (Atari/Best Electronics
catalog number CO25953: rev9/page 42).  It gets RAS from freddy, the bank
select bits from PIA, A14, A15 and the 6502 halt signal to control which bank
of 8 chips RAS goes to.  A14 and A15 then go to freddy for the address range of
the extra memory bank (or normal address range with no bank switching).  The
ANTIC/6502 select bits in combination with the 6502 halt line, control the
switching of the PIA bank number bits to A14/A15 and which bank of memory RAS
goes to.  Why people say freddy does the bank switching is beyond me.  An 800XL
can look like a 130XE with that 16-pin chip installed (That's right NO freddy)
and an extra 8 RAM chips."


Hardware Arrangement

   OS RAM======#
               #======+-+
   User RAM====#      |P|      +-----+
                      |r|======|6502 |
   Left Cart.==#      |o|      +-----+
               #      |c|
   OS ROM======#======|e|
               #      |s|      +-----+
   Right Cart.=#      |s|======|ANTIC|-<------Light Pen
                      |o|      +-----+
                      |r|         |
                      | |         \/
                      |b|          |        /-Console Switches
                      |u|      +-----+-<---+--Joystick Triggers
                      |s|======|GTIA |      /-Picture
                      | |      +-----+--->-+--Sound
                      | |          |        \-Keyboard Speaker
                      | |         /\
                      | |         |         /-Keyboard
                      | |      +-----+-<---+--Paddles
                      | |======|POKEY|
                      | |      +-----+====Disk Drives====Other Peripherals
                      | |
                      | |      +-----+      /-Keyboard Controllers
                      +-+======| PIA |-<---+--Joystick
                               +-----+      \-Paddle Triggers

Beginners at using the 8-bit Atari platform may wish to contact Bill
Kendrick, mailto:[e-mail], for his Newbie/Emulator FAQ.

The following is taken from Bill's Newbie/Emulator FAQ.
Graphics:
  The Atari has maximum resolution of 320 x 192 (standard, non-overscanned
    screen) x 2 colors.  160 x 192 x 4, 160 x 192 x 2, 160 x 96 x 4,
    160 x 96 x 2, 80 x 48 x 4, 80 x 48 x 2, 40 x 48 x 4 graphics are also
    supported.  40 x 24 x 256-character (128 normal, 128 inverse, character
    set indirection available) text mode is standard (2 colors).
  40 x 24 x 128-multi-colored-character (4 colors per character allowed,
    the other 128 characters have 4th changed into a color 5) and
    40 x 12 x 128-multi-colored-character screen modes are available.
  GTIA graphics support 80 x 192 x 16 shade-only, 80 x 192 x 16 hue-only,
    and 80 x 192 x 9 color screen modes.
Graphics Modes Summarized:
  Mode Horiz.xVert.xColors text/graphics
     0    40 x 24 x 2 text
     1    20 x 24 x 5 text
     2    20 x 12 x 5 text
     3    40 x 24 x 4 graphics
     4    80 x 48 x 2 graphics
     5    80 x 48 x 4 graphics
     6   160 x 96 x 2 graphics
     7   160 x 96 x 4 graphics
     8   320 x 192 x 2 graphics
     9    80 x 192 x 16 luminence-only graphics
    10    80 x 192 x 9 graphics
    11    80 x 192 x 16 hue-only graphics
    12    40 x 24 x 4-colored text
    13    40 x 12 x 4-colored text
    14   160 x 192 x 2 graphics
    15   160 x 192 x 4 graphics
  Normal (bordered), narrow (underscanned), and wide (overscanned) screen
    modes are available.
  Screen modes can be mixed (by lines) down the screen using the Display
    List (a program which is executed by the ANTIC graphics chip every
    screen refresh (60 times per second on real NTSC Ataris).
  Fine scrolling (both vertical and horizontal) can be enabled on any
    line on the screen.
  All other screen attributes (color, player/missile horizontal position,
    screen width, player/missile/playfield priority, etc.) can be ajusted
    at any point down the screen via a "Display List Interrupt."
  Four 8-bit wide, 128 or 256 byte high single color players, and four
    2-bit wide, 128 or 256 byte high single color missiles are available.
    A mode to combine the 4 missiles into a 5th 8-bit wide player is also
    available, as is a mode to XOR colors or blacken out colors when players
    overlap (good for making three colors out of two players!)  Players
    and missiles have adjustable priority and collision detection.

Sound:
  Four voices of 8-bit pitch-resolution, 4-bit volume-resolution,
    8-distortion sound can be produced.  2 voices (1 and 2, and/or 3 and 4)
    can be combined to make 16-bit pitch-resolution.  Also 4-bit volume-only
    modes can be enabled for digitally sampled sound replay.
  A fifth "voice" is produced by the internal speaker on Atari 400/800's
    (for keyclick and buzzer) and in the XL's and XE's this was
    (fortunately!) rerouted through the normal audio output, and the
    keyclick can be disabled.

[I'd like more system spec's here.]

------------------------------

Subject: 2.1) What is comp.sys.atari.8bit?

If you have Usenet newsgroup access you can access this discussion group
through news:comp.sys.atari.8bit.  This is an unmoderated newsgroup for
discussion about the 8-bit Atari 400/800/XL/XE computing platform.  All
postings to news:comp.sys.atari.8bit automatically appear in the
Info-Atari8 Digest and in INFO-A8.

comp.sys.atari was split into comp.sys.atari.8bit and comp.sys.atari.st in
approximately 1986.  To the best of my knowledge, there is no charter for
comp.sys.atari.8bit, presumably because the custom of drafting charters
for new newsgroups did not exist at that time.

news:comp.sys.atari.8bit is archived by the INFO-A8 listserv.

------------------------------

Subject: 2.2) What is comp.sys.atari.announce?

news:comp.sys.atari.announce is the moderated Usenet newsgroup for news
items and announcements related to all Atari computing platforms.  This is
a low-volume, high-signal newsgroup, useful for reaching the widest
possible audience when making 8-bit Atari announcements.  Moderated by
Yat Siu from mailto:[e-mail]

------------------------------

Subject: 2.3) What is comp.sys.atari.advocacy?

news:comp.sys.atari.advocacy is the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup for
advocating for or against the various Atari computing platforms.  If you
enjoy making comparisons between Atari 8-bit and other computing
platforms, this is the place to do it.

------------------------------

Subject: 2.4) What is comp.sys.atari.programmer?

news:comp.sys.atari.programmer is the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup for
topics in programming on the various Atari computing platforms,
including the Atari 8-bit.

------------------------------

Subject: 2.5) What is comp.emulators.misc?

news:comp.emulators.misc is the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup for the
discussion of emulating computing platforms on other computing platforms.
All emulator discussion that does not involve the Apple ][, the
Commodore 64, or the WINE MS-Windows emulator (which each have their own
emulator groups) may be found on news:comp.emulators.misc.

------------------------------

Subject: 2.6) What is comp.emulators.announce?

news:comp.emulators.announce is the moderated Usenet newsgroup for
news items about emulating one computing platform on another.  This is
a low-volume, high-signal newsgroup, useful for reaching the widest
possible audience when making 8-bit Atari emulator announcements.
The moderator may be contacted at mailto:[e-mail]

------------------------------

Subject: 3.1) What is the Info-Atari8 Digest?

If you have Internet e-mail access you can access this discussion group
through the Info-Atari8 Digest.

The Info-Atari8 Digest originates from

mailto:[e-mail]

Subscription requests should be sent to the above address with the subject:

SUBSCRIBE  |  UNSUBSCRIBE         (that is, one or the other)

The first line of the body of the letter should be the person's full name
followed by his/her mailing address.  For example:

Mike Todd [e-mail]

     To contribute to discussion threads in the Info-Atari8 Digest, send
your posting to mailto:[e-mail].  Postings sent
here automatically appear on news:comp.sys.atari.8bit and in INFO-A8.

     Note that any posting sent to mailto:[e-mail]
will NOT be cross-posted to news:comp.sys.atari.8bit.  The Moderator is
presently working to correct this.

The Info-Atari8 Digest is archived by the INFO-A8 listserv.

Recent copies are also kept at
ftp://ftp.kendall.mdcc.edu/pub/atari/info-a8/ (147.70.146.36) by Jason
Duerstock.

The Info-Atari8 Digest Moderator is Mike Todd,
mailto:[e-mail]

------------------------------

Subject: 3.2) What is INFO-A8?

If you have BITNET or Internet e-mail access you can access this
discussion group through INFO-A8.

The BITNET subscription commands are:
      tell listserv at marist register <your real full name>
      tell listserv at marist subscribe info-a8

The Internet subscription command is:
      mailto:[e-mail] where the message says
      subscribe info-a8 <your real full name>

To contribute to discussion threads in INFO-A8, send your posting to
mailto:[e-mail] .  Postings sent here
automatically appear on news:comp.sys.atari.8bit and in the Info-Atari8
Digest.

Any postings sent to mailto:[e-mail] or to INFO-A8@MARIST
will not reach news:comp.sys.atari.8bit, so don't send your postings there.

You may leave the list at any time by sending a "SIGNOFF INFO-A8" command
to LISTSERV@MARIST, or by sending a message to
mailto:[e-mail] that says "unsubscribe info-a8".  Please
note that this command must NOT be sent to INFO-A8@MARIST nor to
mailto:[e-mail] .

The archive of comp.sys.atari.8bit, the Info-Atari8 Digest, and INFO-A8:

You can obtain a list of the available archive files by sending an "INDEX
INFO-A8" command to LISTSERV@MARIST or by sending a message to
mailto:[e-mail] that says "index info-a8".  These files can
then be retrieved by means of a "GET INFO-A8 filetype" command, or by
using the database search facilities of LISTSERV.  Send an "INFO DATABASE"
command for more information on the latter.

Recent copies are also kept at
ftp://ftp.kendall.mdcc.edu/pub/atari/info-a8/ (147.70.146.36) by Jason
Duerstock.

The INFO-A8 Moderators are:
          HARRY@MARIST                    (A Harry Williams)
   mailto:[e-mail]                   (Ravi Subrahmanyan)
   mailto:[e-mail]        (Bill Westfield)

INFO-A8 was created on December 9, 1986.

------------------------------

Subject: 3.3) How can I access the Merit/UMich Archive by e-mail?

For more information on the Merit/UMich archive, see the section of this
FAQ list on accessing this archive by FTP.

Downloading - BART
-----------
Brode's Archive Retrieval Thang - the Merit/UMich Archive e-mail file server

     To learn about using BART to access the Merit/UMich Archive, send
e-mail to: mailto:[e-mail] .  The subject of the
message doesn't matter, but let the body of your message be:

help
send 8bit/0index

If you receive nothing within a day (it should take just a few minutes),
try including a line of this form:

path [your e-mail address]

BART automatically uuencodes binary files (so they may be mailed over the
Internet) and splits up large files into parts of about 30K or less.

Uploading
---------
Simply uuencode the file, (please split it into parts of 60 K or less)
and mail the result to mailto:[e-mail] (Jody Lenn).  Please
name the parts in the subject line.  This is really helpful as the parts
usually don't arrive in the proper sequence.  Also, please include a
message labeled "file transmission," containing a short description of
the file, etc.  Shar files are also acceptable, but uuencoded is preferred.

------------------------------

Subject: 3.4) How can I retrieve files from FTP sites by e-mail?

     There are several general-purpose FTP mail-servers.  These may be used to
retrieve any files available from anonymous FTP sites on the Internet.

     1) mailto:[e-mail] with no subject line, and two-line
body with line 1 help and line 2 quit

     2) mailto:[e-mail] (body: help ) Please, European
users only.

     3) mailto:[e-mail] (body: help or ftplist for a
list of anonymous ftp sites)

Of the mail-servers listed here, I recommend this "BITFTP" server.  To help you
get started using it, try this example of retrieving files from the Merit/Umich
Software Archives (through the barnone.citi.umich.edu mirror site).  Send a
message to [e-mail] that says exactly:

  ftp barnone.citi.umich.edu
  user anonymous
  cd /afs/umich.edu/group/itd/archive/atari/8bit
  dir
  cd Telecomm
  dir
  get ft80v037.txt
  get icet.txt
  binary
  get ft80v037.arc
  get icet.arc
  quit

     4) mail BITFTP@DEARN or to mailto:[e-mail] (body: help or
ftplist for a list of anonymous ftp sites) (Europe only)

------------------------------

Subject: 3.5) How can I post to Usenet newsgroups by e-mail?

There are a several 'public' mail/News gateways. Each one has their own
ways for addressing syntax. The three most common ones are:

           Site:    cs.utexas.edu
           Syntax:  [e-mail]
           Example: To send to the newsgroup 'comp.sys.atari.8bit',
                    address the message to
                  [e-mail]

           Site:    newbase.cs.yale.edu
           Syntax:  [e-mail]
           Example: To send to the newsgroup 'comp.sys.atari.8bit',
                    address the message to
                  [e-mail]

           Site:    decwrl.dec.com
           Syntax:  [e-mail]
           Example: To send to the newsgroup 'comp.sys.atari.8bit',
                    address the message to
                  [e-mail]

     Mail-to-news gateways of this sort tend to be overloaded.
     Therefore, please do not use these gateways or any other similar
     gateways if you can post to Usenet directly.

------------------------------

Subject: 3.6) How can I access the World Wide Web by e-mail?

Swiped from the WWW FAQ, which is maintained by mailto:[e-mail]
(Thomas Boutell), here is how to access a web page by email:

   mailto:[e-mail] (preferred) or to
   mailto:[e-mail] (older address) containing
   the following single line. (What you put on the subject line doesn't
   matter; blank is OK. This line should go in the text of the message.)
   You will receive as a reply a simple page intended to help you learn
   more about the Web.

send http://www.earn.net/gnrt/www.html

------------------------------

Subject: 4.1) How can I access the Merit/UMich Archive by FTP?

     The Merit/University of Michigan Software Archives hold a huge number
of files for many computing platforms, including the Atari 8-bit
computers.  Our 8-bit Atari Archivist is Jody Lenn,
mailto:[e-mail] ; the Atari Archive as a whole is
maintained by mailto:[e-mail] (Mickey Boyd).

  The convention for Anonymous FTP sites is to accept "anonymous" as your
username, and your e-mail address as your password.  All of the
FTP sites mentioned in the FAQ list follow this convention.

Downloading (Try the site nearest you first)
-----------
  a) ftp://atari.archive.umich.edu/atari/8bit (141.211.120.11, United States)

  b) ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/systems/atari/umich.edu/8bit
     (128.252.135.4, United States)

  c) ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/computing/systems/atari/umich/8bit
     (146.169.2.10, United Kingdom)
  d)
ftp://info2.rus.uni-stuttgart.de/afs/umich.edu/group/itd/archive/atari/8bit
     (129.69.8.13, Germany)

  e) ftp://ftp.orst.edu/pub/mirrors/archive.umich.edu/atari/8bit
     (128.193.4.2, United States)

  f) ftp://barnone.citi.umich.edu/afs/umich.edu/group/itd/archive/atari/8bit
     (141.211.128.22, United States)

  g) ftp://phlem.ph.kcl.ac.uk/pub/Atari8bit (137.73.4.24, United Kingdom)

  h) ftp://ftp.kendall.mdcc.edu/pub/atari/umich.edu/8bit/
     (147.70.146.36, United States)

Remember to set file type to BINARY when downloading non-text files
(.arc, .com, .dcm, etc.) by FTP.

Uploading
---------
Place uploads in ftp://atari.archive.umich.edu/atari/8bit/New

No uploads may be made to the Archive's mirror sites.

Remember to set file type to BINARY when uploading non-text files
(.arc, .com, .dcm, etc.) by FTP.  Also, please upload a short .text file
describing what your upload is, so our 8-Bit Archivist will be sure to place
it in an appropriate permanent directory.

Note that the 8bit/New directory is "write-only."

Newly uploaded items may be found in the 8bit/Newitems subdirectory.

------------------------------

Subject: 4.2) What is the Boston Archive?

     Here's an 8-bit Atari FTP site located at Boston University.  It is
maintained by Adam Bryant, mailto:[e-mail] .  This site seems to
have seen no uploads for years, but there are some files here that aren't
on any of the other sites.

     ftp://cs-ftp.bu.edu/PC/ATARI (128.197.13.20)

------------------------------

Subject: 4.3) What is the PVV Archive?

     This is a mid-sized Atari FTP site maintained by Eyvind Bernhardsen,
mailto:[e-mail] .  PVV stands for ProgramVareVerstedet, or The
Software Workshop, a student society at the University of Trondheim, Norway.

     ftp://nova.pvv.unit.no/pub/Atari/8bit (129.241.36.207)

Uploads go to ftp://nova.pvv.unit.no/incoming/atari/8bit; Eyvind moves
them to the appropriate directory.  Please include a .readme file with
each upload, so people know what they're downloading.

------------------------------

Subject: 4.4) What is the ClarkNet Archive?

This smallish 8-bit Atari FTP site is maintained by Kevin Atkinson,
mailto:[e-mail] .

ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/atari (168.143.0.2)

Write to Kevin for uploading instructions.

A mirror of the ClarkNet Archive, kept by Jason Duerstock:
ftp://ftp.kendall.mdcc.edu/pub/atari/clark.net/ (147.70.146.36)

------------------------------

Subject: 4.5) What is the Gatekeeper's Archive?

This small FTP site offers most of the resources provided on the Atari
8-Bit Home Page.  Kept by mailto:[e-mail] (Ivo van Poorten, The
Gatekeeper).

ftp://ftp.cs.vu.nl/pub/ipoorten/atari.8bit (192.31.231.43)

------------------------------

Subject: 4.6) What is the Closer To Home Archive?

Here is a fairly large FTP site in Australia kept by
mailto:[e-mail] (Dave Blears).

ftp://closer.brisnet.org.au/pub/archive1/8_bit (203.4.149.97)

Support site for James Bradford's Super 8-bit Products including SuperDos,
SuperRam, Super800<->XL and much more.

Uploads go in ftp://closer.brisnet.org.au/pub/incoming

------------------------------

Subject: 5.1) What is the Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG?

     The Cleveland Free-Net is the hub system of the NPTN, the National
Public Telecomputing Network.  It can be accessed by any of the following:
telnet://freenet-in-a.cwru.edu, telnet://freenet-in-b.cwru.edu, or
telnet://freenet-in-c.cwru.edu (129.22.8.32 or 129.22.8.51).
Type "go atari" to reach the Atari SIG.

Those who add their names to the Atari SIG user directories are
automatically members of the official Atari user group C.A.I.N. - Central
Atari Information Network.

The Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG publishes the CAIN Newsletter, maintains
the CAIN Home Page on the WWW, and keeps the "Who's Who in the Atari
Community E-Mail Directory" listing.  Send correspondence and press
releases to mailto:[e-mail] .

------------------------------

Subject: 5.2) What is the Youngstown Free-Net Atari SIG?

Youngstown Free-Net (Youngstown, Ohio  USA)
telnet://[e-mail] (192.55.234.27)

Type "go atari" to reach the Atari SIG.  Write to
mailto:[e-mail] for more information.

------------------------------

Subject: 5.3) What is the National Capital Free-Net Atari SIG?

National Capital Free-Net (Ottawa, Canada)
telnet://[e-mail] (134.117.1.25)

Type "go atari" to reach the Atari SIG.  Write to Christopher Browne at
mailto:[e-mail] for more info.

------------------------------

Subject: 5.4) What is the Closer To Home BBS?

Kept by mailto:[e-mail] (Dave Blears), this is a
BBS in Australia which supports the 8-bit Atari.

telnet://[e-mail] (203.4.149.97)

------------------------------

Subject: 5.5) How can I access the World Wide Web by Telnet?

This section swiped from the WWW FAQ, which is kept by
mailto:[e-mail] (Thomas Boutell).

   An up-to-date list of these is available on the Web as
   http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/FAQ/Bootstrap.html and should be
   regarded as an authoritative list.

   telnet://telnet.w3.org
          A telnettable browser provided by the W3 coalition.

   telnet://[e-mail]
          Offers Lynx, a full screen browser which requires a vt100
          terminal. Log in as www. Does not allow users to "go" to
          arbitrary URLs, so GET YOUR OWN COPY of Lynx and install it on
          your system if your administrator has not done so already. The
          best plain-text browser, so move mountains if necessary to get
          your own copy of Lynx!

   telnet://[e-mail]
          (or telnet 128.235.163.2) Log in as www. A full-screen browser
          in New Jersey Institute of Technology. USA.

   telnet://[e-mail]
          A dual-language Hebrew/English database, with links to the rest
          of the world. The line mode browser, plus extra features. Log
          in as www. Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

   telnet://sun.uakom.cs
          Slovakia. Has a slow link, only use from nearby.

   telnet://[e-mail]
          (or telnet 128.214.6.102). Log in as www. Offers several
          browsers, including Lynx (goto option is disabled there also).

   telnet://[e-mail]
          Hungary. Has slow link, use from nearby. Login is as www.

------------------------------

Subject: 6.1) How can I retrieve files from the Merit/UMich Archive through
              Gopher?

     The Merit/UMich Archive has a native Gopher server.  Try

gopher://gopher.archive.merit.edu:7055/11/atari/8bit

to connect directly to the Merit/UMich Archive's 8-bit Atari directory.  I
personally recommend this method for downloading from the Merit/UMich
Archive.

There are also several mirror archive sites with Gopher servers:

gopher://wuarchive.wustl.edu:70/11/systems/atari/umich.edu/8bit

gopher://sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk:70/1/0-Most-Packages/atari/umich/8bit

gopher://gaia.ucs.orst.edu:70/11/g-i-s/computer/zftparea/mirrors/archive.umich.
edu/atari/8bit

------------------------------

Subject: 7.1) What WWW pages support the 8-bit Atari?

Atari 8-Bit Computers FAQ and Vendor/Developer Lists
Michael Current, mailto:[e-mail]
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/atari-8-bit/faq.html

Atari 8-Bit Home Page
Ivo van Poorten, mailto:[e-mail]
http://www.cs.vu.nl/~ipoorten/Atari.8bit.Homepage/index.html

Atari 8-Bit Resort
Marek Tomczyk, mailto:[e-mail]
http://www.uni-karlsruhe.de/~un55/8bit.html

Big Atari 8bit Home Page
Tomasz Tatar, mailto:[e-mail]
http://www.uci.agh.edu.pl/student/airgrp/tatar/public_html/Atari/hp.html

Central Atari Information Network
Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG, mailto:[e-mail]
http://ace.cs.ohiou.edu/personal/mleair/cain.html

Rob Funk's pages
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~funk/

CompuCat BBS
Neal Kinney, mailto:[e-mail]
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/nk/nkinney/html/compucat.html

Classic Computer and Video Game Systems
http://www.gate.net/~cmwagner/atari8.html

------------------------------

Subject: 7.8) How can I access the Merit/UMich Archive by AFS?

If your local system supports AFS, this method of accessing the Merit/UMich
Archive is a breeze.

Downloading
-----------
Just copy files from file:///afs/umich.edu/group/itd/archive/atari/8bit/

Uploading
---------
Just copy files into file:///afs/umich.edu/group/itd/archive/atari/8bit/New/

------------------------------

Subject: 7.9) What IRC channels discuss the 8-bit Atari?

#Atari8 - Just for 8-bit Atari users!

#classic - Classic Games and Systems Collectors.

------------------------------

Subject: 8.1) What is the CAIN Newsletter?

The Central Atari Information Network Newsletter is the monthly online
magazine of the Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG.  The editor is Mark
Leair of the Atari SIG.  8-bit computers support is provided by Michael
Current and Craig Lisowski.  For information, write to the Atari SIG at
mailto:[e-mail] .

------------------------------

Subject: 9.1) What's this UUEncoding stuff (.uu, .uue files) all about?

     UUEncode/UUdecode is a UNIX utility that will convert a binary file into
100% printable ASCII characters, so that the file may be posted or e-mailed
anywhere a text message can go.  The 8-bit Atari is perfectly capable of
UUEncoding/UUdecoding as well.  On the archives:

Uudecode 1.2a by John Sangster - very functional.
  Merit/UMich: Archivers/uudecode.bas, Archivers/uudecode.doc
  Boston: comm/uudecode.lst, comm/uudecode.doc

Yet Another UU-coder by John Dunning - both decoding/encoding.
  Merit/UMich: Archivers/yau.arc
  Boston: comm/yau.uue, comm/yaue.uue, comm/yau.doc

Uudecode.com, Uuencode.com by ??? - "newer, cleaner, easier to use."
  Merit/UMich: Utilities/uue.arc

Dumas UU-coder by John Dunning - should work w/BART-style split files.
  Merit/UMich: Cc65/dumasuu.arc

------------------------------

Subject: 9.2) What is an .arc file?

     A file with the extender .arc has been archived in a standard manner that
is common in the MS-DOS world.  This is done to make the file shorter,
so it takes up less space on your disk and it takes less time to transfer
between computers.  The archives contains several 8-bit Atari archivers
fully compatible with this standard, including:

Super Un-Arc 2.3, Super Arc 2.0 by Bob Puff - highly recommended.
  Merit/UMich: Archivers/superarc.arc - both Super Un-Arc & Super Arc
               Archivers/suprarc2.arc - Super Arc
               Archivers/supunarc.com - Super Un-Arc
               Archivers/supunarc.uue - Super Un-Arc
  Boston: {comm,util}/superarc.uue, {comm,util}/superarc.doc

------------------------------

Subject: 9.3) Okay, how about a .dcm file?

     A .dcm file is a format unique to the 8-bit Atari which is used to convert
entire disk images into files.  To work with .dcm files you'll need:

Disk Communicator 3.2 by Bob Puff.
  Merit/UMich: Archivers/dskcom32.arc or Archivers/diskcomm.arc (same thing!)
  Boston: {util,comm}/diskcomm.uue

------------------------------

Subject: 9.4) What is an .xmo file?

.xmo stands for XMODEM.  The idea was that the file was not plain text,
but was a binary file.  As a binary file, it had to be downloaded using a
file transfer protocol such as XMODEM.  The use of ".xmo" as a filename
extender was popular once, but has been discouraged for years.

------------------------------

Subject: 10.1) What 8-bit Atari emulators exist for other computing
               platforms?

These are the emulators that are usable.

1) ST Xformer 2.55, from Branch Always (see companion Vendor/Developer
List for complete contact info).  A freeware 8-bit Atari emulator for the
Atari ST.
  Merit/UMich: /atari/Emulators/stxf255.lzh

2) PC Xformer, from Branch Always (see companion Vendor/Developer
List for complete contact info).  The 8-bit Atari emulator for
DOS/Windows/OS/2.  Versions 2.0 and 2.5 are freeware; 3.0 is the commercial
version.

The following further info on PC Xformer provided by Bill Kendrick,
mailto:[e-mail] .  Contact him for his Newbie/Emulator FAQ.

      2.0 emulates an Atari 800.  It requires about 300K of
      free memory, 320x200x256 (MCGA/VGA/SVGA) graphics, and a 286 CPU.
      It does not support ROM files, disk image swapping within the
      program, player/missile graphics collision detection, sound,
      PC joystick support, modem/printer support, but is free.

      2.5 is the replacement for 2.0.  It emulates either an Atari 800
      or an Atari 800XL.  It requires about the same as 2.0.  It does
      support ROM files and the PC speaker is used to emulate the old
      Atari 400/800 internal speaker clicks.  It is also free.

      3.0 is the first commercial release.  It emulates an Atari 800,
      800XL, or 130XE (128K RAM; I heard it was to do 320K but I think
      that was reduced).  It requires a 386 and 512K of memory.  It
      supports Sound Blaster, player/missile graphics collision detection,
      modem/printer and PC joystick support.  It
      comes with a disk with the software, an ammendum to the printed
      documents, and a bunch of Atari 8-bit software (example programs:
      demos/games, and a few useful utilities).  It supports disk swapping
      through a (currently) simple menu.

      All versions support .XFD (Xformer disk) format disk images, and
      all versions of PC Xformer support SIO2PC disk images (.ATR's).

      PC Xformer 3.0 comes with a 36-page printed manual and reference.
      It includes appendicies explaining graphics, sounds, colors, BASIC,
      subdirectory paths (for MSDOS which in turn explains SpartaDOS/MyDOS),
      a quick keyboard reference, ATASCII characters (all 128 drawn out),
      the Atari editor, error codes, file IO (commands, devices, XIO calls)
      as well as giving breif information on how to contact other Atari
      users, common file extenders, and it includes a LARGE glossary
      explaining Atari BASIC / TurboBASIC XL commands, Atari computer
      terms, and general computer terms.

  Merit/UMich: Xf2/xf2.zip, Xf2/xf25.zip

Of importance to PC Xformer users is:
DcmToDsk, freeware by Jason Duerstock.  It converts most .DCM files into
SIO2PC .ATR's for use with SIO2PC and PC Xformer.
  Merit/UMich: Sio2pc/dcm2dsk2.zip

------------------------------

Subject: 11.1) What are the best terminal emulators available?

     Here are some of the more popular PD/freeware/shareware terminal
programs available.

BobTerm 1.22, shareware by Bob Puff
     Emulates: VT52
     Text: 40 columns in gr.0; 80 col. w/ XEP80
     File Xfer: XMODEM, YMODEM, FMODEM
     Autodial: Yes
     Backscroll buffer: No
     Capture-to-disk: Yes
     Summary: Feature-filled; excellent for BBSing
     Merit/UMich: Telecomm/bterm12.arc

Kermit-65 3.7, PD by John R. Dunning
     Emulates: VT100
     Text: 40 columns in gr.0; 80 col. in gr.8; 80 col. w/ XEP80 (sort of)
     File Xfer: Kermit
     Autodial: No
     Backscroll buffer: No
     Capture-to-disk: No
     Summary: Excellent VT100 emulation; rock-solid Kermit Xfers
     Merit/UMich: Telecomm/k65v37.arc - latest version
                  Telecomm/k65doc.arc - documentation
                  Telecomm/k65src.arc - source code

OmniCom by CDY Consulting
     Emulates: VT100
     Text: 80 columns in gr.8
     File Xfer: XMODEM, Kermit
     Autodial: No
     Backscroll buffer: No
     Capture-to-disk: No
     Summary: Combination VT100, XMODEM, Kermit; buggy at file Xfers
     Merit/UMich: Telecomm/omnicom.arc

VT850 B1, shareware by Curtis Laser
     Emulates: VT100/VT102 (plus complete VT220 keymap)
     Text: 40 columns in gr.0; 80 col. w/ XEP80
     File Xfer: None
     Autodial: No
     Backscroll buffer: No
     Capture-to-disk: Yes
     Summary: Excellent at VT100 on the XEP80; 1200bps top speed
     Merit/UMich: Telecomm/vt850b1.arc

FlickerTerm 80 0.37, freeware by LonerSoft (Clay Halliwell)
     Emulates: VT100, IBM ANSI
     Text: 80 column via a special Graphics 0 screen (no hardware req'd)
     File Xfer: None
     Autodial: No
     Backscroll buffer: No
     Capture-to-disk: No
     Summary: Fastest and most complete VT100 emulation; readability a minus
     Merit/UMich: Telecomm/ft80v037.arc

Ice-T 2.0 XE (requires 128K) or 1.1 by IceSoft (Itay Chamiel)
     Emulates: VT100
     Text: 80 column via a fast-scrolling graphics 8 screen
     File Xfer: XMODEM download
     Autodial: Yes (2.0 XE) or No (1.1)
     Backscroll buffer: Yes--8 screens (2.0 XE) or One screen (1.1)
     Capture-to-disk: Yes--up to 16K (2.0 XE) or No (1.1)
     Summary: Excellent for high-speed VT100 emulation
     Beta-test versions of both available from mailto:[e-mail]

------------------------------

Subject: 11.2) Can I read/write 8-bit Atari disks on an IBM-PC?

There are several programs that allow an MS-DOS system to work with an
Atari-format diskette.  The following require a DOS and disk drive on the
Atari end capable of the SS/DD 180K format:

ATARIO by Dave Brandman w/ Kevin White - Reads SS/DD 180K Atari disks.
  Merit/UMich: Diskutils/atario21.arc

SpartaRead by Oscar Fowler - Reads SS/DD 180K SpartaDOS disks.
  Merit/UMich: Diskutils/sr.arc

UTIL by Charles Marslett - Reads/Writes SS/DD 180K Atari disks. Use MyUTIL!
  Merit/UMich: Diskutils/dskutil.arc
     (Older versions are contained in pcxfer.arc, util.arc, and ataridsk.arc)

MyUTIL by Charles Marslett and Mark Vallevand - The latest version!
  Merit/UMich: Diskutils/myutil.zip
  PVV: utilities/disk/myutil.zip

HereZs some advice on using the above utilities from mailto:[e-mail]
(Hans Breitenlohner):

There are two technical obstacles to interchanging disks between
DD Atari drives and PC drives.

1. The Atari drive spins slightly slower (280-some rpm instead of 300 rpm).
   If you format a disk on the Atari, then write sectors on the PC, it is
   possible that the header of the next physical sector will be overwritten,
   making that sector unreadable.  (The next physical sector is usually
   the current logical sector+2).  The solution to this is to format all
   disks on the PC.
       (Aside:  Does anybody know how this problem is handled on the
        XF551?  Is it also slowed down?)

2. If the PC drive is a 1.2M drive there is the additional problem of the
   track width.  The following is generally true in the PC world:
    - disks written on 360k drives can be read on either drive
    - blank disk formatted and written on 1.2M drives can be read on
      either kind
    - disks written on a 360k drive, and overwritten on a 1.2M drive,
      can be read reliably only on a 1.2M drive.
    - disks previously formatted on a 360k drive, or formatted as 1.2MB,
      and then reformatted on a 1.2M drive to 360k, can be read reliably
      only on a 1.2M drive.
    (all this assumes you are using DD media, not HD).

   Solution: Use a 360k drive if you can.  If not, format disks on the
   Atari for Atari to PC transfers, format truly blank disks on the PC
   for PC to Atari transfers.


While the above work with SS/DD 180K Atari-format disks, the following
combination of utilities can be used to work with SS/SD 90K Atari-format
disks, and is currently the best bet for reading SS/ED 128K Atari-format
disks.

AnaDisk 2.07, shareware by Sydex - Reads/Writes "any" 5.25" diskette
  Merit/UMich: Xf2/anad207.zip, Xf2/anadisk.txt
Deana by Nate Monson - converts AnaDisk dump files from Atari format
  Merit/UMich: Xf2/deana.com, Xf2/deana.txt

Explanation --> According to mailto:[e-mail] ,
"As best as I can figure it out, if your PC drive happens to read
FM disks (I'm not sure what the criteria for that is), then you
can read single density disks on your PC by dumping the contents
to a file with AnaDisk, and then using Deana.com to convert the
dump file into a usable format.
For enhanced density disks, Anadisk generally only reads the first
portion of each sector, but it demonstrates that it is possible for
a PC drive to read enhanced density disks."


------------------------------

Subject: 11.3) Can I read/write MS-DOS disks on an 8-bit Atari?

a) Mule by Rick Cortese - Read/Write 180K MS-DOS disks with an Atari 1050
drive or equivalent.  Very limited.
  Merit/UMich: Diskutils/mule.arc, Diskutils/mule.exe, Diskutils/mule.txt

b) SIO2PC, described elsewhere in this FAQ List (section 12.4), can be
used to read/write to a hard drive connected to an MS-DOS system.  This
can also be a very effective file-transfer solution.

c) The XF551 3.5" Upgrades from Computer Software Services (see the
companion vendor/developer list) allow the Atari XF551 disk drive to read
720K 3.5" MS-DOS disks.

d) The Floppy Board, the add-on to the Black-Box from Computer Software
Services (see the companion vendor/developer list), allows both low
density (360K 5.25", 720K 3.5"), and, in the case of the Deluxe
Version, high density (1.2M 5.25", 1.44M 3.5") external MS-DOS-standard
floppy drives to be used on the Atari.  A utility is included to
read/write MS-DOS formatted floppies in all supported densities.

------------------------------

Subject: 11.4) How do I transfer files using a null modem cable?

This section by mailto:[e-mail] (James R. Gilbert)

A:  Simply put, you need a terminal program and an RS 232 port on
    each computer.  The RS 232 ports need to be connected
    together using a 'null modem cable'.

    For up to 4800 bps, no flow control lines need be
    connected.  Just cross the transmit and receive lines
    and join the grounds together.  (Transmit is pin #2,
    receive is pin #3 and ground is pin #7 on the 25-pin
    port.)

    The right hand pin on the 'long' side of a female 'D'
    connector is #1.  There are 13 holes on this 'long'
    side, 12 holes on the 'short' side.  The numbers go from
    #1 on the right to #13 on the left on the 'long' side
    and from #14 to #25 from right to left on the 'short'
    side. #25 is closest to being under #13.  A male
    connector is the mirror image of this.

    Most terminal programs allow a null connection, without a
    carrier detect.  Notably, '850 Express!' does not.

    A convenient way to make a null modem cable, up to about
    30 feet long, is to use two female DB25 connectors and
    some three or more conductor cable.  Using the two DB25
    female connectors allows unplugging your modem and
    plugging in the null modem cable.  This also avoids the
    confusion of the wide variety of serial port jacks on
    different computers.  Almost all computers connect into
    the modem via a DB25 connection.

    The SIO port on the Atari cannot be used directly.  An
    850 Interface Module, P:R:Connection, Multi I/O, Black
    Box (by Computer Software Services) or similar device
    that provides an RS232 port must be used.

    On the Atari, the port is a female DB9.  So you need a
    male DB9 to male DB25 modem cable to connect to your
    modem. So why not use this cable as your null modem
    cable as well?

    For higher speed connections, above about 9600 bps on the
    8-bit, you need the flow control lines.  You also need
    a Multi I/O or Black Box, which use the PBI (parallel bus),
    then you can go higher than 9600 bps.

    Following are pin assignments for a DB25 pin RS 232 C
    port.
                 13                       1
                  o o o o o o o o o o o o o
                   o o o o o o o o o o o o
                  25                     14

          (Above is female, male is mirror image.)

1.  Protective Ground        12.  Select Alternate Rate
2.  Transmit Data            15.  Transmit Clock (sync)
3.  Receive Data             17.  Receive clock (sync)
4.  RTS (Request to Send)    20.  Data Terminal Ready
5.  CTS (Clear to Send)      22.  Ring indicator
6.  Data Set Ready           23.  Select Alternate Rate
7.  Signal Ground            24.  Transmit Clock
8.  Carrier Detect

    A high speed cable would need not only pins 2 and 3 crossed
    but also pins 4 and 5 as well as 6 and 8.  Or better
    yet, make a true 25 wire, straight through cable and use
    a commercial null modem.  A commercial null modem is
    just a small device with the correct lines already
    crossed.

    (DTE = Data Terminal Equipment, i.e., your computer.
     DCE = Data Communications Equipment, i.e., your modem.)

------------------------------

Subject: 12.1) What 5.25" floppy disk drives are available?

Major contributors to this section:
mailto:[e-mail] (Glenn M. Saunders)
mailto:[e-mail] (Tomasz M. Tatar)
mailto:[e-mail] (James Bradford)
mailto:[e-mail] (Konrad M. Kokoszkiewicz)

==> Atari 810
            SS SD           19.2Kbps standard

==> Happy 810
            SS SD           Warp speed

==> Atari 1050
            SS SD/ED        19.2Kbps standard

==> Happy 1050
            SS SD/ED/DD     Warp speed US Doubler/19.2 and 52k. track
buffering

==> Super Archiver 1050
            SS SD/ED/DD     Ultra Speed 50+K

==> Speedy 1050
            SS SD/ED/DD     78K mode (European) unknown DOS restrictions

==> Supermax 1050
            SS SD/ED/DD     19.2k and 52k (ultra speed)
by Super products. Compatiable with superdos and US Doubler

==> Lazer 1050
            SS SD/ED/DD     Another Happy clone; Compatible w/ US Doubler

==> Atari XF551
            SS/DS SD/ED/DD  38K burst mode usable only with SpartaDOS X,
SuperDOS 5.1, TurboDOS, DOS XE, and patched SpartaDOS 3.2. XF DS system now
considered "standard".

==> CSS XF551
            SS/DS SD/ED/DD  US Doubler compatible. Updates drive to work
better and faster.  Also 3.5" upgrade available

==> Percom RFD4x-Sy
where: x=0 -> a single-sided drive
       x=4 -> a double-sided drive
       y=1 -> a single-drive unit
       y=2 -> a dual-drive unit

==> Percom AT88-Sy[PD]
where: y=1 -> a single-drive unit
       y=2 -> a dual-drive unit
       PD  -> equipped with a built-in parallel printer port

==> Trak ATD1
            SS SD

==> Trak ATD2
            SS SD/DD
Built in Diagnostics.  Track indicator.  Write protect switch.  Built in
parallel printer interface.  2k printer buffer (expandable).  Optional
Turbo software on Eprom.

==> Trak AT-1
            SS SD/DD        Slave

==> Indus GT
            SS SD/ED/DD     Synchromesh mode usable with SpartaDOS X and
DOSXL only.

==> Astra Double-D?
            SS/DS SD/DD?    standard /LEDs and such

==> Rana 1000
            SS SD/ED/DD     standard /LEDs and such can format disks on a
stand alone basis

==> TOMS 720
double head disk drive, 5.25", with mounted interface Centronics,
chips: CPU 8085, WD2797, PIA 8255 (for handle Centronics), 32 KB ROM, 8 KB RAM
ROM contains: OS of drive, MYDOS 4.50 and some utilities (copy, format, etc.)
ROM is seen by computer as drive D1: (if drive is open), and D3: (when drive
has number D1:) or D4: (when drive has number D2:). It makes possible load DOS
from ROMdisk during booting system.
Formats of disks:
- SS/SD - 40 tracks, 18 sects, 128 bytes = 90 KB
- SS/ED - 40 tracks, 26 sects, 128 bytes = 130 KB
- SS/ED - 40 tracks, 18 sects, 256 bytes = 180 KB
- SS/ID - IBM S-9 - 40 tracks, 9 sects, 512 bytes = 180 KB
- DS/DD - 40 tracks, 18 sects, 256 bytes = 360 KB
- DS/QD - 80 tracks, 18 sects, 256 bytes = 720 KB
- DS/ID - IBM D-9 - 40 tracks, 9 sects, 512 bytes = 360 KB
Transmition modes:
- normal - 19200 bps
- Turbo - 70000 bps
- Ultra Speed - 70000 bps
Also tracks buffering.

==> AS SN-360
double head disk drive, 5.25", CPU 8051, controler WD2797
19200 bps
Available formats:
- SS/SD - (FM) single sided, single density - 90 KB
- SS/ED - (MFM) single sided, enhanced density - 130 KB
- SS/DD - (MFM) single sided, double density - 180 KB
- DS/DD - (MFM) double sided, double density - 360 KB

==> TOMS 710
(The newest polish disk drive and probably the best one)
Similar to TOMS 720, one more format:
- double sided, 80 tracks, IBM (720 KB)
Transmition modes:
- standard 19200 bps
- TOMS Turbo (loaded from ROMdisk if drive is open) - 67000 bps
- Ultra Speed (QMEG-OS, SpartaDOS) - 67000 bps
Also tracks buffering.
ROMdisk contain:
- MYDOS 4.50
- COPY
- INIT
- TURBO - turn on/off TOMS Turbo mode
- BASIC - turn on/off Atari Basic
- AUTORUN.SYS - ramdisk
- README
Also TOMS Navigator instead of DUP.SYS. It is program similar to Norton
Commander on PCs.
IBM-ST copier on additional disk.

==> LDW Super 2000
            SS SD/ED/DD     19200 bps or 38000 bps
CPU Z80A, ROM 4 KB, RAM 256 B.  Some difficulties with ED

==> LDW CA-2001
            SS SD/ED/DD     19200 bps or 38000 bps
CPU Z80A, ROM 4 KB, RAM 256 B.  Some difficulties with ED

==> LDW CA-2002
            SS/DS SD/ED/DD  19200 bps, 70000 with SpartaDOS
CPU 8040, ROM 4 KB, RAM 256 B

==> Floppy board various
            Any standard    very fast parallel
DOS-transparent. Requires Black Box. DS system configurable for
XF Percom or ATR style

==> HDI various
            Any standard    very fast SIO? European

==> SWP ATR-8000
            Any standard    standard except 1.2 meg and unique DS system
(HD) nice Z80 CP/M system in which CP/M drive acccess is parallel only
thus faster.

==> Atari 1450XLD drives
            DS SD/ED DD?    standard, requires DOS4.  unusual DS system
Only prototypes exist.

==> KARIN MAXI
Double head disk drive 360 KB/5,25" or 720 KB/3,5", controller WD 1772.
Available formats:
= standard SS/SD 90 KB
= standard SS/ED 130 KB
= standard SS/DD 180 KB
= 'cylindric' DS/DD 360 KB (XF-551 uncompatible)
= 'cylindric' DS/QD 720 KB (TOMS-compatible; 720 KB drives only)
Any other capabilities depend on a special software.
Transmission mode:
- parallel: real speed 11.25 kilobytes per second with DOS or 22.5 kilo-
  bytes per second with special track-copier.
Notes:
Because of the 1772-registers available in 6502 i/o pages ($D100),
the KARIN MAXI drives look full-programmable.
Preferred systems: My-DOS, SDX.

==> XFD-601B
Double head 360 KB/5,25" disk drive. Controller WD 1772, CPU 8051.
Available formats:
- standard SS/SD 90 KB
- standard SS/ED 130 KB
- standard SS/DD 180 KB
- standard DS/DD 360 KB  (XF-551 compatible)
Transmission modes:
- normal 19200 bps
- Top Drive 1050 70000 bps
- Indus GT (synchromesh) 70000 bps (GTSYNC.COM and INDUS.SYS are not necessary;
  full-compatibel with the SDX)
- Ultra Speed 70000 bps (full-compatible with the older SpartaDOS)
Notes:
Customized sector skew. In fact, the XFD-601B is a original clone of the
XF-551.

==> XFD-602B
The two XFD-601B drives in the one unit.

------------------------------

Subject: 12.2) How can I use 3.5" floppy disks with my 8-bit Atari?

to be written.  volunteers?

- Amdek
- XF551 upgrades
- Floppy Board

==> Atari XF521
            3.5" system     Unreleased

------------------------------

Subject: 12.3) What do I need to connect a hard drive to my 8-bit Atari?

 original by mailto:[e-mail] (Glenn M. Saunders)

Corvus          ?               10 megabytes    Fast but still relatively
                                                slow I/O, kludge through
                                                joystick ports for 800.
                                                Rare
Supra/K-P       N/A             various         Some limitations on drive
                                                type and size and total
                                                number of drives in sys.
FTe             Multi I/O       various         256 byter per sector
                                                restriction.  256K and
                                                1 meg ramdisk models.
                                                Printer and modem, modem
                                                will handle 19.2K bps
CSS             Black Box       various         Will handle all SCSI drives.
                                                Allows 9 drive access for
                                                MYDOS.  Currently the only
                                                modem interface with CTS/RTS
                                                hardware flow control. 19.2K
                                                ready.
SWP             ATR-8000        unknown limits  Rare daughterboard for hard
                                                drives.  I/O is probably
                                                fairly slow on this baby and
                                                there may be DOS restrictions.

==> IDE/AT-BUS hard disk (still under construction)

------------------------------

Subject: 12.4) How can I use an IBM-PC as a storage device for my Atari?

 Original by Dave Paterson, mailto:[e-mail]

SIO2PC is a cable and software combination that lets you use your PC as up
to 4 drives for your 8-bit.  Drives can be SD, ED, DD or custom sizes up to
16 megs.  SIO2PC also lets you redirect the printer output to your PC
printer or to a file on the PC.  High speed drives are emulated (a la US
Doubler).

All these functions are transparent at the Atari end; you never notice the
difference between SIO2PC and regular drives, except that the SIO2PC drives
are faster than any others (except Ramdisks and PBI interface drives).

SIO2PC 3.19i is shareware by Nick Kennedy.
  Merit/UMich: Sio2pc/sio319i.exe

Of importance to SIO2PC users is:
DcmToDsk, freeware by Jason Duerstock.  It converts most .DCM files into
SIO2PC .ATR's for use with SIO2PC and PC Xformer.
  Merit/UMich: Sio2pc/dcm2dsk2.zip

------------------------------

Subject: 13.1) What's the best DOS for the Atari?

This is a matter of opinion, but general consensus is that all 8-bit Atari users
should treat themselves to either MYDOS or SpartaDOS to appreciate the power of
the system.  MYDOS is modelled after Atari DOS 2.0S/2.5, but provides
subdirectory and hard-drive support.  SpartaDOS is a completely different
command-line DOS modelled after MS-DOS, though it is perfectly capable of
reading all Atari DOS and MYDOS disks.  SpartaDOS 3.2g is disk-based; SpartaDOS
X 4.22 is cartridge-based and includes many additional features. SpartaDOS is
available from Fine Tooned Engineering (see companion vendor/ developer list);
MYDOS 4.53 is freeware from Wordmark Systems (Charles Marslett and Bob Puff).
There are two versions of MYDOS 4.53, one uses 3 digit sector numbers where
possible, known as 4.53/3; the other, known as 4.53/4, uses 4 digits minimum.

It is recommended that all 8-bit Atari users own at least DOS 2.5 for complete
compatibility with existing software, and then choose either SpartaDOS or MYDOS
as they see fit.  DOS 2.5, MYDOS and SpartaDOS are all available on the
archives.
  Merit/UMich: Os/dos25.arc (DOS 2.5)
  Merit/UMich: Fte/fte32g.arc (SpartaDOS 3.2)
  Merit/UMich: Os/mydos453.dcm (MYDOS - latest version)
               Os/mydos45m.arc (MYDOS - latest complete doc's)

------------------------------

Subject: 13.2) What hardware has Atari created in the 8-bit computer line?

Computers:
400 Personal Computer  (1979) 8-16K, membrane keyboard, 400/800 OS
800 Personal Computer  (1979) 8-48K, two cartridge slots, 400/800 OS
1200XL Home Computer   (1982) 64K, early XL OS, F1-F4 keys, 4 LEDs
600XL Home Computer    (1983) 16-64K, BASIC, PBI, XL OS
800XL Home Computer    (1983) 64K, BASIC, PBI, XL OS
800XE Home Computer    (1987?)~same as 130XE but 64K. Mostly eastern Europe.
65XE Personal Computer (1985) same as 800XL minus PBI
130XE Personal Computer(1985) same as 65XE with 128K plus ECI
XE Game System         (1987) same as 65XE plus Missle Command, detach keybd

Peripherals:
410 Program Recorder       -Japan and Hong Kong versions
810 Disk Drive             -SS/SD 90K with DOS 1 or DOS 2.0S,MPI&Tandon vers.
820 Printer                -40 col.
822 Thermal Printer        -40 col.
825 80-Column Printer      -req. 850
830 Acoustic Modem         -300 baud req. 850, with Telelink I
835 Direct Connect Modem   -300 baud, with Telelink II
850 Interface Module       -4 9-pin serial, 1 15-pin parallel ports, beige &
                            black metal versions
1010 Program Recorder      -Sanyo and Chelco versions
1020 Color Printer         -40 col.(80 by command) print/plot in 4 colors
1025 80-Column Printer     -7-pin dot matrix
1027 Letter-Quality Printer-80 col., letter quality
1029 Printer               -7-pin dot matrix, same as Commodore MPS-801
1030 Direct Connect Modem  -300 baud, with ModemLink
1050 Disk Drive            -SS/ED 128K with DOS 3 or DOS 2.5
1064                       -64K RAM module for 600XL
XC11 Program Recorder
XC12 Program Recorder
XM301 Modem                -300 baud, with XE Term
XMM801 Printer             -80 col.  Ribbon: Mannesman/Tally MS80
XDM121 Printer             -80 col.letter quality. Ribbon: Silver Reed CF130
XF551 Disk Drive           -DS/DD 360K with DOS XE
XEP80 Interface Module     -80 col. video display and DB25 parallel port
SX212 Modem                -1200 baud, rarely with SX-Express! package

Atari 8-bit vaporware computers: (note some are more vaporous than others)
     1200     1200XL internally, many slight cosmetic differences
     800XLF   800XL incorporating a FREDDY chip (as in the XE's)
     1250XLD  Earlier concept of the 1450XLD
     1400XL   800XL plus modem, speech synth.(looks like a 1200XL)
     1450XL   Earlier concept of the 1450XLD
     1450XLD  1400XL plus 5.25" floppy drive
     65XEP    65XE plus 3.5" floppy drive, 5" green monitor
     65XEM    65XE plus AMIE sound chip

Atari 8-bit vaporware peripherals:(note some are more vaporous than others)
815 Dual Disk Drive     -2 x SS/DD 180K with DOS 2.0D
1090 XL Expansion System-for PBI, CP/M/MS-DOS/Apple II compatible
XM128                   -12" green monitor w/ built-in 80-column card
XC1411                  -composite 14" color monitor
XF521                   -5.25" floppy drive - 1050 compatible, in XE style
XTM201                  -non-impact printer
XTC201                  -non-impact color printer

------------------------------

Subject: 13.3) What are the power-supply requirements for my Atari
               components?

As with the rest of this FAQ list, please let me know if any of this
information conflicts with the units you have.  I'm also not sure how much
of this section is valid outside North America.  If it's not valid where
you are, I need to hear from you!

The most important information is the voltage (in volts) required, and
whether you need a transformer (AC output) or an adapter (DC output).  The
power (in watts) and current (in amperes) specifications of the original
equipment as presented here should be regarded as minimum values.
Higher-than-specified power and current capacities are entirely usable,
and often preferable because such supplies run cooler and last longer.

Relevant law of physics:
Power (in watts) = current (in amps) * voltage (in volts)

9 V AC  5.4 VA  (600 mA)  Atari#CO62195  transformer:
  1030

9 V AC  ???? VA  (??? A)  Atari#CO61516  transformer:
  1010
9 V AC  15.3 VA  (1.7 A)  Atari#CO14319  transformer:
  400,800,822,850,1010,1200XL,256K FTe MIO
9 V AC  18 VA  (2.0 A)  Atari#CA014748  transformer:
  400,800,810,822,850,1010,1200XL,256K FTe MIO
9 V AC  18 VA  (2.0 A)  Atari#CA016804  transformer:
  400,800,810,822,850,1010,1200XL,256K FTe MIO
9 V AC  31 VA  (3.4 A)  Atari#CO17945  transformer:
  400,800,810,822,850,1010,1200XL,1020,1050,XF551,256K FTe MIO
9 V AC  50 VA  (5.6 A)  Atari#CA017964  transformer:
  400,800,810,822,850,1010,1200XL,1020,1050,XF551,256K FTe MIO

9.5 V AC  40 VA  (4.2 A)  Atari#CO61636  transformer:
  1027

24 V AC  3.6 VA  (150 mA)  Atari#CA016751  transformer:
  830

5 V DC  1.0 A  (5.0 W)  Atari#CO70042  adapter:
  65XE,XE Game System
5 V DC  1.5 A  (7.5 W)  Atari#CO61982  adapter:
  600XL,800XL,65XE,130XE,XE Game System
5 V DC  1.5 A  (7.5 W)  Atari#CA024814  adapter:
  600XL,800XL,65XE,130XE,XE Games System
5 V DC  ??? A  (??? W)  Atari#CO81982  adapter:
  XL/XE

6 V DC  300 mA  (1.8 W)  Atari#???????  adapter:
  "410P"

9 V DC  500 mA  (4.5 W)  Atari#CO16353  adapter:
  XEP80,SX212,2600
9 V DC  500 mA  (4.5 W)  Atari#CA014034  adapter:
  XEP80,SX212,2600

9.3 V DC  1.93 A  (18 W)  Atari#CO18187  adapter:
  Indus GT,1 Meg FTe MIO,5200
11.5 V DC  1.95 A  (22 W)  Atari#CA019141  adapter:
  Indus GT

5 V / 12 V DC  1.1 A  (5.5 W / 13.2 W)  Atari#CO62297  adapter:
  1400XL,1450XLD

These draw their power from the SIO +5 V:
  XM301 (60 mA),XC12;FTe P:R: Connection

Draws power from the 600XL PBI:
  1064

These have built-in power supplies (plug directly into the wall):
  410,815,820,825,1025,1029,XMM801,XDM121

The power supply requirements for the following are still needed:
??? V DC  ???? A  (???? W)  Atari#CA060535  adapter:
  835

XC11 program recorder (no brick needed -> internal or SIO source?)

------------------------------

Subject: 13.4) What are the pinouts for the...?

Serial I/O (SIO) Port (all machines):
   2   4   6   8  10  12
 1   3   5   7   9  11  13
1. Clock Input             8. Motor Control
2. Clock Output            9. Proceed
3. Data Input             10. +5V/Ready
4. Ground                 11. Audio Input
5. Data Output            12. +12V (400,800 only. 1400XL/1450XLD?)
6. Ground                 13. Interrupt
7. Command

Cartridge Slot ("Left" slot on all machines; "Right" slot on 800 only):
A  B  C  D  E  F  H  J  K  L  M  N  P  R  S
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15
 1. ~S4(Left) R/~W late(Right) A. RD4(Left) B02(Right)
 2. A3                         B. GND
 3. A2                         C. A4
 4. A1                         D. A5
 5. A0                         E. A6
 6. D4                         F. A7
 7. D5                         H. A8
 8. D2                         J. A9
 9. D1                         K. A12
10. D0                         L. D3
11. D6                         M. D7
12. ~S5(Left) ~S4(Right)       N. A11
13. +5V                       P. A10
14. RD5(Left) RD4(Right)       R. R/~W
15. ~CCTL                      S. B02

Enhanced Cartridge Interface (ECI) (130XE and 800XE only):
A  B  C  D  E  F  H
1  2  3  4  5  6  7
A. Reserved   1. ~EXSEL
B. ~IRQ       2. ~RST
C. ~HALT      3. ~D1XX
D. A13        4. ~MPD
E. A14        5. Audio
F. A15        6. ~REF
H. GND        7. +5V

Monitor Jack (all but 400, North American 600XL, XE Game System):
3       1
 5     4
    2
1. Composite Luminance  (not on 600XL)
2. Ground
3. Audio Output
4. Composite Video
5. Composite Chroma (not on 800XL,1200XL; grounded on 600XL)

Power Adapter Plug (all but 400,800,1200XL,1400XL,1450XLD):
  7   6
3       1
 5     4
    2
1. +5V
2. Shield
3. Ground
4. +5V
5. Ground
6. +5V
7. Ground

Controller Port (4 on 400/800, 2 on all others):
1   2   3   4   5
  6   7   8   9
1. (Joystick) Forward Input
2. (Joystick) Back Input
3. (Joystick) Left Input
4. (Joystick) Right Input
5. B Potentiometer Input
6. Trigger Input / Light Pen Input. Port 4 only on 400
7. +5V
8. Ground
9. A Potentiometer Input

Parallel Bus Interface (PBI) (600XL and 800XL only):
 1  3  5  7  9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49
 2  4  6  8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50
  1. GND ground                2. External select
  3. A0 Address output         4. A1
  5. A2                        6. A3
  7. A4                        8. A5
  9. A6                       10. GND
 11. A7                       12. A8
 13. A9                       14. A10
 15. A11                      16. A12
 17. A13                      18. A14
 19. GND                      20. A15
 21. D0 Data (bidirectional)  22. D1
 23. D2                       24. D3
 25. D4                       26. D5
 27. D6                       28. D7
 29. GND                      30. GND
 31. Phase 2 clock output     32. GND
 33. NC Reserved              34. Reset output
 35. (IRQ) Interrupt request  36. Ready input
 37. NC                       38. External decoder output
 39. NC                       40. Refresh output
 41. Column address output    42. GND
 43. Math pack disable input  44. Row addr strobe
 45. GND                      46. Latch read/write out
 47. NC (+5V on 600XL only)   48. NC (+5V on 600XL only, used to power 1064)
 49. Audio input              50. GND

 --850 R1-4 pinouts from: mailto:[e-mail] (Chris Rosenthal)
R1: Serial port (850 Interface Module):
5   4   3   2   1
  9   8   7   6
1. Data Terminal Ready (DTR, Ready Out)
2. Carrier Detect (CRX, In)
3. Send Data (out)
4. Receive Data (In)
5. Signal Ground
6. Data Set Ready (DSR, Ready In)
7. Request to Send (RTS, Out)
8. Clear to Send (CTS, In)

R2: Serial port (850 Interface Module):
5   4   3   2   1
  9   8   7   6
1. DTR
3. Send Data
4. Receive Data
5. Signal Ground
6. DSR

R3: Serial port (850 Interface Module):
5   4   3   2   1
  9   8   7   6
1. DTR
3. Send Data
4. Receive
5. Signal Ground
7. RTS
8. -8 Volts

R4: Serial port (850 Interface Module):
5   4   3   2   1
  9   8   7   6
1. Send Data +
3. Send Data -
7. Receive Data +
9. Receive Data - (20 mA)

  --850 P: pinout from: Jim Evans, mailto:[e-mail]
P: Parallel port (850 Interface Module):
      8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1
       15 14 13 12 11 10  9
1. Data Strob
2. D0
3. D1
4. D2
5. D3
6. D4
7. D5
8. D6
9.
10. Data pins pull up +5V
11. Ground
12. Fault
13. Busy
14. -
15. D7

P: Parallel port (XEP80 Interface Module):
    13  12  11  10   9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1
      25  24  23  22  21  20  19  18  17  16  15  14
    1. Strobe
  2-9. Parallel Data
   10. Not Used
   11. Busy
12-17. Not Used
18-25. Ground

------------------------------

Subject: 13.5) What BBS software can be used on the Atari?

This section by mailto:[e-mail] (Winston Smith)

Here is the run down of ATARI 6502 8-BIT BBSes that I am aware of:

  o  A.M.I.S. BBS --  The A.C.E. Message Information Service.
                      This BBS was written in BASIC by the Atari Computer
Enthusiasts computer club (was it the Michigan chapter?).  It included
designs for a ring-detector.  You needed a sector editor and had to
allocate message space by hand, hex byte by hex byte.

  o  FoReM BBS --  Friends of Rickey Moose BBS.
                        At the time, there were a lot of BBSes around
called things such as "FORUM-80" and "BULLET-80", ergo the name.  FoReM BBS
was the first truly RBBS-like BBS for the ATARI 8-bit.  It was programmed
in BASIC and was somewhat crashy.  I think that this is the
great-grandparent of the FOREM-XE BBSes that survive today.

Matt Singer, mailto:[e-mail] writes:
FoReM BBS derived from an early AMIS. When multiple message areas were
added the name was extended to FoReM 26M.  Then, When OSS released BASIC
XL the program was rehacked and called FoReM XL... Bill Dorsey wrote most
of the Assembler routines (where is he now?).

  o  ABBCS --  The ANTIC Bulletin Board Construction Set.
               The user design of the ABBCS was very good.  It sported
features such as intra-line editors.  Unfortunately, the coding of the
ABBCS was really poor.  You could practically blow on your keyboard and
crash this BBS.  The BBS would sometimes crash several times a day.

  o  NITE-LITE BBS --  Paul Swanson's BBS with RAM disk.
                       Paul Swanson was a programmer from the Boston,
Massachusetts, USA, area.  I'm not sure whether his BBS for the
Atari 8-bit has been placed into the public domain or not.  This BBS was
the first to support a RAMdisk, which Paul Swanson called a "V:" device
for "virtual disk".  This BBS was written in Atari BASIC and required a
joystick hardware "dongle" device.  This was notable as being one of the
first Atari 8-BIT BBSes that could actually go for a week without having
to be rebooted.  Pointers to the message base were kept in an Atari "very
long string" (for which Atari BASIC is famous).  The BBS would only have
problems (for the most part) if this string became corrupted.

  o ATKEEP --  An Atari 8-bit version of CITADEL BBS.
               I believe that AT-KEEP, like FOREM-XE, requires the use of
the commercial BASIC XE cartridge to run.  This BBS program was very
popular around Louisiana, USA, from what I understand.

  o Benton's SMART BBS --  BBS written in BASIC by Marco Benton.
                           This program is written entirely in BASIC.  It
expects to be running under a SpartaDOS environment.  This was a problem
until very recently, when the disk-based version of SpartaDOS was
re-released as shareware. This BBS program uses a "modem clock string"
rather than an R-Time 8 cartridge in order to retrieve the current time.
It also comes with an Atari BASIC game door called "Sabotage".

  o FOREM-XE --  FOREM using BASIC XE.
                 This version of FOREM BBS requires the commercial BASIC XE
cartridge in order to run.  It is in the public domain and can import and
export messages from the Atari PRO! BBS EXPRESS-NET (7-bit text only,
control ATASCII graphics are reserved for message data-structure bytes).
FOREM-XE BBS is still currently in use as we speak, and may be reached via
the PRO! EXPRESS-NET as long as the cross-networking "transnet" is still in
effect.

  o The BBS Express  --  PRO! BBS demo program.
                         This is the public domain version of EXPRESS!-BBS,
which is the Keith Ledbetter companion project of the EXPRESS!-TERM
terminal program of days gone by.  I am not familiar with this program.  I
think that it is written in Action! and only supports XMODEM Checksum
transfers.  I have never called or seen this program demonstrated.

  o OASIS JUNIOR III --  OASIS BBS demo program.
                         OASIS JUNIOR III is the --ALL MACHINE LANGUAGE--
demo version of the OASIS BBS program.  OASIS is very crash-resistant and
comes with a "dial out" screen so that the Sysop can use the BBS as a
terminal program to call and fetch files without having to bring the BBS
down and reload a terminal program.  OASIS supports "Door programs" which
it refers to as "OASIS PAL modules".  This OASIS demo module comes with an
excellent message system.  The OASIS file system is one of the most
complicated that I have ever seen.  It consists of "file libraries" with
suites of "file types".  There is quite a bit of overhead involved in
performing a download (which may be a good thing, as it discourages file
hogs).  There is a commercial version of OASIS called "OASIS IV" that
performs networking.  There was an OASIS network between Boston,
Massachusets, USA and Murfreesboro(SP?), Tennessee, USA.  Occasionally word
of the OASIS IV developers reaches the network from New Zealand or Canada.

  o Frank Walters BBS --  I know nothing about this BBS except that Frank
                          Walters wrote it.


     OASIS IV, CARINA, and BBS-EXPRESS-PROFESSIONAL! are all commercial
programs.  I haven't heard anything about OASIS IV and CARINA for a while,
but PRO!-BBS is still a viable commercial enterprise last that I had heard.

------------------------------

Subject: 13.6) What version of Atari BASIC do I have?

At the READY prompt, enter Z? PEEK(43234)Z

If the result is:  You have Revision:
     162                  A
     96                   B
     234                  C

------------------------------

Subject: 13.7) What are the Standards for Used 8-Bit Stuff?

Developed by mailto:[e-mail] (Ben Poehland)

When selling used 8-bit Atari equipment in the comp.sys.atari.8bit/Info-Atari8
Digest/INFO-A8 discussion group, please consider describing the condition of
the materials you are selling using these standards.  This will go a long way
toward preventing potentially highly-contentious misunderstandings.  Usage is
voluntary, but recommended.

LN (Like New)-- Item is pristine, unused, w/all manuals & original packaging
                materials.
EC (Excellent Condition)-- Item is little used, good working order, physically
                clean, may have a very few minor cosmetic blemishes, w/original
                manuals.
GC (Good Condition)-- Item is in good working order but slightly soiled,
                contains worn parts or minor scratches/dings that betray heavy
                service or old age, w/original manual or copied manuals.
FC (Fair Condition)-- Item in working order but missing manuals/accessories;
                heavily worn/soiled or cosmetically damaged.
BC (Basket Case)-- Item does not work, is damaged/butchered, missing manuals &
                accessories etc., but contains salvageable parts.

------------------------------

Subject: 14.1) What vendors, developers, or publishers support the 8-bit
               Atari?

See the "Atari 8-Bit Computers Vendors and Developers List."  The latest
version may be obtained in the following locations, among many others:

ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-group/news.answers/atari-8-bit/vendev
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/atari-8-bit/vendev/faq.html
news:comp.sys.atari.8bit   news:comp.answers   news:news.answers
mailto:[e-mail] , message says:
  send usenet/news.answers/atari-8-bit/vendev
  quit

You can also ask me for a copy at mailto:[e-mail]

------------------------------

Subject: 14.2) Where is my nearest 8-bit Atari BBS?

Rick Detlefsen is presently compiling a new comprehensive Atari computers
bulletin board systems list.  Contact him by any of the following for more
information:

Rick Detlefsen  Compuserve:74766,1561
                Genie:R.DETLEFSEN
                Internet: mailto:[e-mail]

Or by Mail:     USER GROUP SURVEY
                C/O RICK DETLEFSEN
                8207 BRIARWOOD LANE
                AUSTIN, TX  78757-7642

------------------------------

Subject: 14.3) Where is my nearest 8-bit Atari user group?

Rick Detlefsen is presently compiling a new comprehensive Atari computers user
groups list.  Contact him by any of the following for more information:

Rick Detlefsen  Compuserve:74766,1561
                Genie:R.DETLEFSEN
                Internet: mailto:[e-mail]

Or by Mail:     USER GROUP SURVEY
                C/O RICK DETLEFSEN
                8207 BRIARWOOD LANE
                AUSTIN, TX  78757-7642

------------------------------

Subject: 14.4) How do I use my new or emulated Atari?

"The Unofficial Atari 8bit Newbie / Stupid Question / Emulator Help FAQ" is
maintained by mailto:[e-mail] (Bill Kendrick).  Bill and his FAQ are
excellent sources for information on basic usage of the 8-bit Atari, and for
information on the PC Xformer 8-bit Atari emulator for Windows from Branch
Always Software.

------------------------------

Subject: 14.5) What prominent Atarians are reachable by e-mail?

The "Who's Who in the Atari Community E-Mail Directory" listing includes people
involved in all of the Atari computing and gaming platforms.  This file is
maintained by Len Stys, SIG Manager of the Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG.  Write
to mailto:[e-mail] (Atari SIG).

------------------------------
End of atari-8-bit/faq
------------------------------