_____________________________________ ZMAGAZINE MARCH _____________________________________ ZMAGAZINE ISSUE 44 MARCH 23, 1987 _____________________________________ Zmag Staff: Publisher: Syndicate Services Editor in Chief: Ron Kovacs Editor: Alan Kloza Special Assignment Editor:Steve Godun _____________________________________ Xx This week in Zmag <*> EDITORIAL COMMENT <*> ZMAGAZINE ST NEWSWIRE <*> TECHNICAL TIPS <*> 320,576,1088 XE UPGRADES <*> UNITED KINGDOM BBS LIST <*> ZMAGAZINE ATARI REPORT <*> ZMAGAZINE INDEX <*> ZPRINT7.BAS _____________________________________ Xx Editor Commentary .....Atari vs Darek..... _____________________________________ If you have been reading Zmagazine over the last few weeks, You will notice that we have been publishing articles in refrence to the ST Transformer. This piece of software emulates an ST into an 8 Bit. To date this program has not been 100% completed, But the author, Darek Mihocka has been having troubles getting permission from Atari to persue his project. What I would like to do is get a letter writing campaign going so that we can get the Atari higher-ups respond with a reasonable explanation why Darek can not be givin permission to use the Atari ROM. To date we have no response from any executive from Atari. Please help us out by writing a letter to Atari. Please ask Atari to respond openly in a message on CompuServe, the Atari BBS, or any BBS, to Darek with there point of view on the matter. I have sent a letter myself, and I will publish it in next weeks edition. If you send a letter, send a copy to me, I will publish it here. Atari's address: Atari Customer Relations Atari Corporation PO Box 61657 Sunnyvale, California 94088 or call: 1 (800) 745-4851 Address your letter to: Jack Tramiel Sam Tramiel Niel Harris Our address: Zmagazine PO Box 74 Middlesex, NJ 08846-0074 Thanks for your support _____________________________________ Xx ZPRINT7.BAS .....New Zmag Utility..... _____________________________________ To our readers interested in printing our issues. We have a new utility for just that purpose. ZPRINT7 was made by one of our readers, (which to date) I still dont know who it is. If you own an Epson or compat printer this utility allows 3 column printing of any Zmag issue. If you are interested in getting this file. Give the Zmag Headquarters a call at: (201) 968-8148 _____________________________________ Xx ZMAGAZINE ATARI REPORT By Permission From Atari User Group News (Issue #4) _____________________________________ PRODUCT LINE ------------ At the January CES, Atari unveiled our revamped product line for this year. This is the most complete lineup in the industry, running the gamut from the very inexpensive XE home computers to multi-megabyte desktop publishing systems. The high end products are the new Mega ST computers. These models come in 1, 2, and 4 megabyte configurations. They come in a new -stackable- housing with a detached keyboard and a CPU box which includes a 3.5- floppy drive and all the same ports as the current ST's. New features in the Mega ST computers include an expansion bus with all the pinouts of the 68000 chip as well as some interrupt lines, a battery backed-up realtime clock, and a blitter chip as standard equipment. These systems are currently scheduled to begin shipping in Spring. Pricing will be announced shortly. Another new product announcement is the Atari laser printer, priced at the breakthrough price of under 1500. The printer will plug into the DMA (hard disk) port of ANY ST computer. With a 520ST, the laser printer will emulate a Diablo 630 and is also capable of screen dumps. With larger memory ST computers, the laser printer will gain such features as multiple fonts and dot-program-mable graphics. Since the smarts of this printer reside inside the ST, there is no set protocol used with it - the ST can be programmed to use virtually and graphics protocol to control the laser engine. The current ST product line remains as is, with some reductions in pricing. The 1040ST is now $100 lower at retail than in 1986, while last summer's special promotion for 520ST monochrome systems has been reinstated. The SH204 hard drive is also $100 lower than last year. One improvement to the 520ST and 1040ST this year will come with the release of the -blitter- chip, which speeds the performance of graphics and text. This new chip will be available as a $120 upgrade to the current ST line, consisting of the blitter itself which attaches to the 68000 CPU chip, as well as a set of replacement ROM chips which provides software compatibility, improved performance, and some bug fixes. It is possible that a later revision of the ROMs will be made available later in the year to further improve and correct system performance. The XE product line continues into 1987 as well. Atari is making a strong effort to improve this line by releasing the XEP80 (an 80-column adapter) and by making the new SX212 modem compatible with this line as well as the ST line. New software titles continue to be released for the XE as well. BITS AND PIECES --------------- ST BASIC is still alive and is undergoing internal testing. once we're satisfied that it is bug-free, we'll release it. In the meantime, there are some good BASICs out there. For instance: -GFA BASIC- Michtron 576 South Telegraph Hill Pontiac, MI 48053 (313)334-5700 * Michtron also carries -GFA COMPILER- which makes this already fast BASIC even faster. -AC/BASIC- Absoft Corp. 4268 North Woodword Avenue Royal Oak, MI 48072 (315)549-7111 -HENRY'S FUNDAMENTAL BASIC- Philon, Inc. 641 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10011 (212)807-0303 -1ST WORD PLUS- - There has been a snag in progress having to do with our contract with GST, so we're not expecting to release -1ST WORD PLUS- in the near future. -MICROSOFT WRITE-, which is still in beta testing, has been getting raves at the Atari offices. Atari expects it to be out in the second quarter of 1987. -SX212 1200 BAUD MODEM- - The SX212 will not need an 850 interface module in order to be connected to the Atari 8-bit computers. It has an SIO connector on the back, in addition to the standard modem connector. Atari will be selling a special SIO and terminal package (SXExpress, a special version of Express, the most popular 8-bit terminal program) for 8-bit users. Please note that this will be a separate package, and is not included with the SX212. Of course, the SX212 can be used with the 850 interface and any terminal program which uses it. For those who don't have an 850, ICD is marketing a device called the -PR CONNECTION-, which works identically to the 850. -NEW SOFTWARE FOR THE XEP80 80-COLUMN CARD- - New versions of -SILENT BUTLER- and -ATARIWRITER PLUS- for the 80-column card that is coming out for the 8-bit machines are in production. The new -SILENT BUTLER- will work in both 40- and 80-column modes; however, those people who wish to use -ATARIWRITER PLUS- will have to use the version for the mode they've got - that is, 40-column users will have to use the 40-column version and 80-column users will have to use the 80-column version. The two are not interchangeable. -LASER PRINTER- - Many of you have asked if the new laser printer will have loadable fonts. The answer is: sorta. Other manufacturers' laser printers are expensive because they actually have a computer inside to provide all the wonderful things laser printers provide, including the capability to load fonts. Atari will use the power and speed of the Mega ST as the engine for the new laser printer. You will be able to load fonts into the ST just as you would a laser printer and voila, you can print fonts. _____________________________________ Xx UK BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS ....Zmag reprint from May 1986.... _____________________________________ *=300 +=300/1200 @=1200 #=2400 ===================================== Number Name Location ===================================== (0001)885634 DUBBS Dublin * (01)200 3439 AirtelTBBS London + (01)200 7577 TuG London * (01)248 5747 Prestel London * (01)262 1629 Capital London * (01)346 7150 Marctel London + (01)348 9400 London London * (01)429 3047 OSI London * (01)450 9764 TechnoLine London @ (01)452 1500 Techno-line 2 @ (01)455 5380 NNBBS London + (01)542 3772 WBBS London + (01)542 4977 TBBS London * (01)638 2034 CyberZone London * (01)658 6942 Typnet London * (01)679 1888 Distel London * (01)679 6183 Distel London + (01)735 6153 Brixton London @ (01)853 3967 Assylum London * (01)883 5290 NBBS London + (01)888 8894 Gnome/home London @ (01)927 5820 Owltel London @ (01)941 4285 Metrotel London @ (01)954 9847 Dark Crystal + (01)960 4742 ITCU Exchange @ (01)968 7402 Communitel London @ (01)985 3322 Hackney Hackney @ (01)986 4360 Healthdata London @ (0204) 43802 Bolton BBS Bolton *# (0206)862354 Pete's Colchester * (021)4303761 CBABBS Birmingham * (0222)461824 Capital Cardiff * (0222)464725 Cardiff Cardiff @ (0223)243642 Acorn BBS Cambridge + (0224)641585 ABERDEEN Aberdeen + (0224)781919 Commodore Aberdeen * (0247)455162 SBBS II Ireland + (0258)54494 TBBS Dorset * (0268)22177 BITEC Basildon + (0268)25122 BITEC Basildon * (0268)710637 RICBBS Basildon ? (0295)720812 Bloxam BBS Bloxham * (0376)518818 REACT Essex * (0384)635336 West Mid Stourport * (0392)53116 CBBS SW Exeter + (0394)276306 BABBS-1 Felixstow * (0395)272611 CFC Exmouth * (0401)50745 MBBS Leconfield * (0429)34346 On-Line Cleveland + (0443)733343 MGBBS Ferndale * (0482)497150 Hamnet Hull * (0482)859169 Forum-80 Hull * (0483)573337 Fido Guilford + (0483)573338 Fido 2 Guilford + (04862)25174 PBBS BBS Mitcham + (0492)49194 Cymrutel Colwyn Bay + (0506)38526 Livingstone BBS * (051)4288924 Mailbox Liverpool + (0524)60399 CNOL Lancaster * (0534)39389 Jersey Fido Jersey * (0592)860313 Amstrad BBS Fife * (0767)50511 CBBS Nr Sandy * (0707)52242 RSGB London @ (0604)20441 Norview Northants + (061)494 6398 Fido TeeP Manchester + (061)736 8449 Matrix Manchester + (0625)33703 Telmac 15 Macclesfield (0698)884804 SABBS Larkhall * (0702)5 6373 C.View Kent @ (0702)552941 Matel Southend * (0705)524805 ApricotBBS Gosport * (0705)736025 BBSO9 Portsmouth ? (0752)364059 Haunting Plymouth + (0762)333872 PBBS N. Ireland * (0782)265078 Stoke ITeC Stoke @ (0784)65794 Staines BBS Staines + (0792)203953 FBBS Swansea * (0874)711147 Communitree Brecon * (0883)844164 LABBS Surrey + (0895)420164 CBBS West Drayton * (0895)52685 West Tech Uxbridge + (0903)212552 Fido Worthing + (0908)668398 Key-board M. Keynes + (0923)676644 SBBS Watford + (0936)77025 NBBS Sandbach + _____________________________________ Xx TECHNICAL TIPS .......XL Ramdisk........ _____________________________________ Those of you with 130XEs already know the power of the RAMdisk. A RAMdisk configures as part of the computer's memory so it can be treated just like a disk drive, boosting speed and convenience (at the cost of available memory, of course). Good news! There is a chunk of unused RAM area in the 800XL/1200XL that sits under the ROM and is used only occasionally by BASIC XE and a few other programs. You can renovate it into a mini RAMdisk with the following quick steps: 1) Boot DOS 2.5 with BASIC 2) Type the following: POKE 1802,PEEK(1802)+128 DOS L RAMDISK.COM I 8 Y B POKE 5439,56 The DOS menu (which is actually called DUP.SYS) will now come up instantly, loaded from a RAMdisk known to your computer as drive 8. You can put away your DOS disk. This quick RAMdisk is limited to 15K (even less once DUP.SYS is resident), and that is not enough room to cache a complex program or reams of data. But if it fits, any chunk of code can be kept there for instantaneous RAMdisk retrieval. This XL RAMdisk tip ONLY works with the Atari 1200XL, 800XL, expanded 600XL, and 65XE computers.) _____________________________________ Xx ZMAGAZINE ISSUE INDEX ...By: Ron Kovacs... _____________________________________ Starting with this edition, we will list an index to previously released issues. Since much of our readership as increased since the start of the year, I will start at Issue #31. In the weeks ahead, I will go back to the start of New Jersey Zmag. If you are interested in reading any of the older articles, Please send me a note. ISSUE 31 December 6, 1986 ------------------------------------- <*> Batteries Included drops copy protection on software. <*> Star Raiders II and The Last Starfighter--Whats Up?? <*> ICD's Multi I/O Board-- Hands on review. <*> New ST Mac-Cartridge and IBM emulator. <*> Enlarging the ST Monitor screen. <*> Games Computers Play- Review <*> Atari 8-Bit Blues.. The Final Chapter. <*> Updated Zmag Systems list. ISSUE 32 DECEMBER 15, 1987 ------------------------------------- <*> Atari's 3rd quarter earnings-- Looking Good!!! <*> Newsroom for the 8-bits <*> Chess for the ST <*> Computer Phone Fraud--Phreakers indicted <*> Editors Notes--Last Issue of '86 ISSUE 33 JANUARY 5, 1987 ------------------------------------- <*> PC Pursuit threatened by FCC Re-Regulation. <*> Atari to market 32-bit business computer. <*> Atari fairs debut across the US. <*> New Atari 8-bit products. <*> ICD- A visit with the company that is saving the 8-bits. <*> Technical tips--The Atari XM301 modem. <*> Computer Expos--Flea markets and expos. <*> PC Pursuit- Capsule review. <*> Guest editorial-Alan Bechtold. _____________________________________ Xx 8-BIT UPGRADES By:Scott Peterson _____________________________________ [ED. I have received 3 letters in the last few weeks about Zmagazine re-printing the Peterson 8-bit upgrades. Instead of running them for three straight weeks, I decided to include all three here.] -===============- After reading and building both the 800/288K upgrade from (D.G.Byrd), and the 800XL/256K upgrade from C.Buchholz. I decided that there also had to be a way to upgrade the 130XE. There is, and thanks to the -Freddie- chip (CO61991) this modification is much easier to do than either of the other upgrades. To do the upgrade you will need a: Soldering iron De-soldering tool Some fine wire. See the parts list for the chips needed. First, remove both the case and the metal shield to get down to the mother-board. Then remove the eight ram-chip U26 thru U33(MT4264). They are the row closest to the TV RF module. Next, install Z2 thru Z9 in the place of U23 thru U33. These are the 256K ram-chips. You can solder them to the mother board, or use sockets. Now take a piece of wire approx 12 in. long and run a jumper from pin one on each of the 256K ram -chips to the next. After you do this the wire will be connected to pin 1 on Z2 thru Z9 and you should have about 6 inches left over. Do this on the rear of the mother board and then snake the wire thru the large hole near the ram chips. Next, desolder and remove U23 (CO14795), and replace it with a 40 pin socket. Bend up pins 15 and 16 on U23 and insert it in the socket you just installed. Take Z1(74LS158) and bend up all the pins on it except pins 8 and 16. Put this -piggy-back- on top of U20(HD14050) and solder pins 8 and 16 of Z1 to pins 8 and 16 on U20. Now solder a short jumper from pin 15 on Z1 to pin 8 of Z1. Now, take a piece of wire about 4 in. long solder one end to pin 30 on the chip marked -CO14805- on the mother board, and the other to pin 1 on Z1. Next solder a wire to pin 15 (one of the two you bent out) of U23 and connect the other end to pin 2 on Z1. Solder a wire to pin 16 on U23 and connect the other end to pin 3 on Z1. Take R1(33 ohm) and trim the leads to about 1/4 in. Take the wire you connected to pin one on the 256K ram- chips and solder it to one end of R1, solder the other end of R1 to pin 4 on Z1. Re-assemble the RF shield and case and you are done. PARTS LIST. ----------- Z1 74LS158(2 to 1 Multiplexer) Z2-Z9 41256 dynamic RAM(150ns) R1 33 ohm 1/4 watt resistor. 1 40 pin socket. 8 16 pin sockets(optional). This upgrade has been built and tested on a BBS, it has run for days on end without a memory loss or error. If you need help or more information feel free to call the Peanut Gallery (408)-384-3906. 24HR, 300/1200 Baud. Leave mail to the Sysop(thats me). Good luck and let me know if you write a better handler. If you are using MYDOS 3.016 and wish to use Basic XE and a ram-disk at the same time, boot DOS and poke 5275,163 and 5324,16. Go to DOS and write the new DOS. This will keep the two from -bumping- into each other. A similar poke can be done to DOS 2.5, it is poke 4838,163. The handler I have will set up 192K of the extra ram as 2 SD ramdisks or 1 DD ramdisk. If you are a hot-shotprogrammer (Im not) I think a print spooler that uses part of this ram would also be very nice. This mod is easy to do and perfect for running a BBS. One note, on compuserve there is a mod by Rich Andrews which should not be confused with this one, his uses 33 new chips and mine uses 9 new chips. Have fun. The 130XE/576K upgrade .........by Scott Peterson........... ........Copyright (C) 1986........... _____________________________________ Here we go again, this time I recommend you have some electronics experience if you wish to preform the upgrade. Some of the work is duplicated from the 320K upgrade so 320XE owners will not have as much work to do. One other point, when in the 576K mode you MUST use some sort of basic cart. as you lose the internal basic, this is only in the 576K mode, in the 130XE mode internal basic will function normally. TOOLS NEEDED; To preform this upgrade you need the following; Low wattage fine tip soldering iron. Vacuum de-soldering tool(like Radio Shack PN#64-2098). Some 30-gauge wire (Radio Shack PN#278-501). #2 phillips head screwdriver. Heat-shrink tubing, 1/8 in. Dia. Also a pair of small needle-nose pliers and a small flat tip screwdriver are handy. PARTS NEEDED; Z1 74LS158 Z2-Z17 41256(150ns.) Z18 74LS138 Z19 7432 R1-R2 33 ohm 1/4 watt resistor. S1 Micro-mini DPDT switch (like Radio Shack PN#275-626) Remove the 130XE case and metal RF shield to get down to the mother board.(320XE users go to step two). STEP ONE: Now de-solder and remove the eight ram chips U26 thru U33(MT4264). They are the row closest to the TV RF module (do NOT use solder wick, the circuit board of the 130XE has very weak runs and they will pull loose if not completely de-soldered). Replace these with the 16 pin low profile sockets. Take a piece of wire approx 12 in. long and run a jumper from pin 1 of each socket to the next. When you are done the wire should be attached to pin 1 of each of the new sockets and you should have about 6 inchs left over. Do this on the rear of the mother board and then snake the wire thru the large hole near the ram chips. Next, desolder and remove U23 (CO14795), and replace it with a 40 pin socket. Bend up pins 15 and 16 and insert it in the socket you just installed. Take Z1(74LS158) and break off pins 5,6,7,9,10,11,12,13,14. Bend up the other pins on it except 8 and 16. Put this -piggy back- on top of U20 (HD14050, or 4050 - located just to the right of C50) and solder pins 8 and 16 of Z1 to pins 8 and 16 on U20. Now take a short jumper from pin 15 on Z1 to pin 8 of Z1. Take a piece of wire about 4 in. long, solder one end to pin 30 on the chip marked -CO14805- on the mother board, and the other end to pin 1 on Z1. Next solder a wire to pin 15(one of the two you bent out) of U23 and connect the other end to pin 2 on Z1. Solder a wire to pin 16 on U23 and connect the other end to pin 3 on Z1. Take R1(33 ohm) and trim the leads to about 1/4 in. Take the wire you connected to pin 1 of the ram chip sockets and solder it to one end of R1, solder the other end of R1 to pin 4 on Z1. STEP TWO: Slide the mother board back into the bottem half of the plastic case (do not use the RF shield, you must be able to get at the mother board), and attach the keyboard. It will rest above the mother board without touching it. Test all 41256 ram chips by putting one set of 8 in the sockets and using the handlers (or DOS's), and then the next. After testing all ram chips remove them all from the sockets, and take 8 of them and cut about half of pin 15 off of each one. Only the -fat- part of pin 15 should be left. After doing this you have to -piggy back- the 8 256K ram chips with the short pin 15's on top of the other 8 256K ram chips. Now solder all the pins together on the stacked ram chips except for pin 15, it should not be touching the other pin 15, make sure you have them going pin 1 to 1, pin 2 to 2, ect. When you get done you will have 8 sets of Piggy backed 256K ram chips. Now take a piece of wire about 16 in. long and run a jumper from pin 15 to the next one on all the top 256k DRAM's, leaving about 1 inch between each ram chip. Put these stacked ram chips into the 8 sockets you installed earlier. Take Z18 (74LS138) and bend up all the pins except 8 and 16, cut the pins you bent up in half so only the fat part is left, and solder pins 8 and 16 to pins 8 and 16 of the other 74LS138 right below the U23(CO14795). Take Z19 and bend up all pins except 7 and 14, once again cut all the pins you bent up in half and solder pins 7 and 14 to pins 7 and 14 of the 74LS08 right below U23. Take the wire you jumpered earlier to pin 15 of Z10 thru Z17(the upper row of 256K ram chips) and go out 2 in. and cut the wire, now install R2 (33 ohm) between this cut. Place a piece of heat shrink tubing over R1 and make sure no wire is exposed and heat it with a lighter. Take the other end of this wire and connect it to Z18 pin 14. Find the 2 33 ohm resistors just to the right of U28(one of the ram chips you socketized). The upper one of the 2 is R111, desolder the right leg of it and bend it up. Take a piece of wire and solder it to the land where you just removed the leg of R111. Connect the other end to Z18 pin 4. Trim back the leg of R111 and solder a wire to it, slip a piece of heat shrink tube over it and heat it up. Now connect the other end to Z18 pin 12. Take a short wire and run a jumper from pins 1 and 16 of Z18. Take another short wire and connect a jumper from pins 3,5, and 8 of Z18. Now connect a wire from Z18 pin 2 to Z19 pin 3. Find the wire you installed from U23 pin 15 to Z1(74LS158) pin 2 and desolder it from U23. Take it and reconnect it to Z19 pin 11. Ok, now pry U23 (CO14795) back out of the socket and bend up pin 11, plug it back in. Run a jumper from pins 1 and 4 of Z19, and another jumper from pins 10 and 13 of Z19. Connect a wire from U23 pin 11 to Z19 pin 1, and from U23 pin 15 to Z19 pin 13. Now connect a wire from Z19 pin 8 to the right side of the 3.3K ohm resistor marked R206 (located at the bottom right of U23). Connect a wire to Z19 pin 6 and run it to pin 18 of U3 (CO61618). Now comes the tricky part, drill a small hole(1/4 in. or so, depending on the switch size) at the rear right on the back of your 130XE. Take the small DPDT switch (S1) and install it in the hole. Now connect it as shown (make sure the switch DOESNT have a center off position); S1(rear) U23 ________ U23 pin 20 ----|-O O-|----- pin 1 | \ / | Z19 ---|-O \/ O-|--- Z19 pins 2+12 | /\ | pins 5+9 | / \ | | O O | |________| Note: where the wires cross in the middle, they are NOT connected. Make the connection from the switch to U23 on the rear of the mother board. Well that's it(thank god). Now re-assemble the computer, being carefull not to break any wiring going to the switch. You should now have in one switch position a 100% compatable 130xe, and in the other you have a 576K 130XE that does not have Antic memory enhance mode and also can-not use internal basic. In the 130XE mode you gain 64K as bit 6 of the PIA can still be used. The following page list of the bit table and numbers to be used in location 54017 (PORTB). Once again, if you need help call the Peanut Gallery BBS (408)-384-3906. If you want a mailer of all the upgrades I have as well as a disk with handlers, source codes, ect. send a money order(please, no checks) for $10.00 to; Scott Peterson P.O.Box 33 Ft.Ord CA. 93941-0033 This includes the 800 288K upgrade by D.G.Byrd, the 800XL/256K C.Burchholz, the 130XE/320k upgrade and anything else I finish. Good luck, and have fun. There is a version of MYDOS to support this mod, its called 4.1A and will run up to 32 16K banks. At this time ICD is working on a RD.COM file to support this. Also I have written a machine lang. tester that will load and test all 32 banks of memory to insure that they are there and work. Wonder how long it will take Jay Torres to copy this one. Good luck Scott Peterson The final step, the 1088XE Well, this is it for me, the last installment on the 130XE. I have not built this mother, but the theory behind it has been built and tested. This doc assumes you have already built and tested a 576K 130XE. To finish it you will need the following parts: Quantity Part No. Description. -------------------------------- 16 41256-15 256K DRAM'S 1 7432 Quad OR gate 1 7404 Quad invert buff. 2 33 omh Resistors 1 Small piece of PC board. --------------------------------- Note: On the 74 series, you can sub them with 74LS series chips, they use less power. Tools: Nothing fancy, a fine tip soldering iron and some fine wire,etc. Mount the 7404 and the 7432 on a small PC board(1in. X 2in.). Connect together pin 14 on the 7432 and pin 14 on the 7404 with a length of fine wire. This is the +5v supply to the chips, connect it to pin 14 of any 14 pin chip in the 130XE any 14 pin chip in the 130XE or pin 16 of any 16 pin chip in the 130XE. Next connect a length of wire to pin 7 of the 7432 and pin 7 of the 7404. This is ground for the two chips, connect it to pin 7 of any 14 pin chip in the 130XE or pin 8 of and 16 pin chip. Next, take U23(U23) out of the socket and bend up pin 17, reinsert it in the socket. Solder a piece of wire to pin 17 of U23, and connect it to the 7432 pins 2 and 5. Next connect a wire to pin 14 on U23 (PIA) run it to pin 1 on the 7404 and pin 1 on the 7432. Now connect a wire from the 7432 pin 6 to pin 17 of the socket U23 is in. Find the 74LS138 you piggy backed to the mother board when doing the 576k mod. Remove the jumper from pins 1 and 16. Solder a wire from pin 3 of the 7432 on the PC board to pin 1 of the piggybacked 74LS138. Put some double backed tape on the PC board and stick it somewhere on the mother board of the 130XE. RAM-CHIP installation(lots of them!) Take the 16 new ramchips and cut pin 15 on all of them in half so only the 'fat' part is left. Now, you have to piggy back them on-top of the 64K drams(the left-most row of chips). Solder in 8 of them, connecting all pins except pin 15, then connect a jumper to pin 15 of each new ramchip. Make sure you have about a foot left over. Solder in the next 8 doing the same thing. When you get done you should have 2 new rows of 256k DRAM's soldered in on-top of the 64K DRAM's, with a 2 wires, one connected to all pin 15's of the middle row and another connected to all the pin 15's of the top row. Take one wire and go out a few inches and install a 33 ohm resistor in-line, cover with heat shrink tubing and do the same to the other wire. Connect one wire to pin 15 of the 74LS138 and the other to pin 13 of the 74ls138. Your done!!! Sorry, as of right now I know of no software to run on this I release this doc file with out testing it. I have built the small circuit on the PC board and connected it in a 576K 130XE and used it to move the memory instead of the basic control bit, so I know it works, this little circuit works in both the 800XL or 130XE if you have something you would like to use bit 7 (self test bit) for. If you have constructed a 320XE mod and would like to use bit 7 instead of bit 5, this is a good way to do it. A warning though, you will regain your antic enhanced mode but software written for the original 320XE mod will not run on it after you do it. If you are trying to figure out your memory control bits here's a cheat sheet. Decimal 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 --------------------- Control bit 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 --------------------- Just find you control bits and add them up to figure out the decimal control number. When you get done you should have in one switch position a 130XE with 320K,built in basic and antic enhanced mode. In the other position you lose antic enhanced mode, internal baisc but you have 1088K of memory, 64 banks of 16K. By the way, typing BYE will still throw you into the self test mode (bit 7 still works). If anyone complete's this monster, please call my BBS at (408)-384-3906, or leave me a message at compuserve. Good Luck Scott _____________________________________ Xx ZMAG ST NEWSFILE ....Navarone Announces Hardware.... ....Tackle Box ST.................. ....Family Computing Report........ _____________________________________ (Sonora, CA) - Navarone Industries,Inc. recently announced the addition of the -ST SOUND DIGITIZER- and -ST VIDEO DIGITIZER- to its product line for the Atari ST. The two low-cost hardware peripherals bring the world of sight and sound directly into the heart of the computer. In addition to the new products announced, Navarone manufactures -TIMEKEEPER-, a battery-backed clock/calendar with built-in extender slot for the Atari ST. Easy-to-use GEM-based software comes with each digitizer and -TIMEKEEPER- from Navarone. The software is mouse controlled and designed to support both monochrome and color systems. An added benefit from Navarone's video software is its compatability with the video digitizer previously manufactured by Hippopotamus Software, Inc. -TIMEKEEPER- retails for $49.95 and the -ST VIDEO DIGITIZER- and -ST SOUND DIGITIZER- (software included) and available at a retail price of $139.95 and $159.95, respectively. Navarone plans to make the standard ST video software available as a separate package for users who wish to upgrade their Hippo hardware. The software will be sold at $19.95 only from Navarone. Navarone's customer support policy requires users to return the product registration information. Product support is available only to registered users. For more information on Navarone Industries and Navarone products, call toll free 1-800-624-6545, or in California 1-800-654-2821. Navarone will be happy to provide you with information on distribution and dealers located in your area. Navarone Industries, Inc. 21109 Longeway Road, Suite C Sonora, CA 95370 (209)553-8349 _____________________________________ TACKLE BOX ST: A utility for Personal Pascal users. If you are looking for complete documentation on GEM calls for Personal Pascal, then look no more! Tackle Box ST contains everything you need to make calls to GEM. If you are a novice programmer, this utility may be all the help you need to understand GEMDOS. Be forewarned, IT DOES NOT TEACH YOU PASCAL! If you are an advanced programmer, use this utility as a quick reference to GEMDOS. This utility can be used to decode 'C' type GEMDOS statements. This utility was written as a service to Pascal users. In as much, we would like to see a standard emerge for GEMDOS Procedure or Function names. In making the AES and VDI library calls for example, we have stuck to the 'C- convention of naming Procedures and Functions. Therefore, if you run across a piece of 'C' code, you can use our book as a reference guide to their call and in turn, make the same call in Pascal. Once these standards emerge, GEMDOS should become a little more self- documenting. If you do not agree with our reasoning, don't despair, we give you all the documentation and source code to change the name to whatever you like! We are also in the process of writing a newsletter called TB Newsletter. This letter will actually be on disk at a cost of $3.50 per disk(remember, you get the first 3 issues free with the purchase of Tackle Box ST). This newsletter will be a vehicle for updating Tackle Box ST, will be a forum for discussing new Atari developments, as means for distributing public domain programs and finally as a way for users to get to know each other. We are accepting articles, demo programs and comments at this time. Your help in 'getting the word 'out' is much appreciated by us and all those that you may help. Please send your programs to us on a diskette and please include the source code so others may benefit. All topics are welcomed! TACKLE BOX is compatible with Personal Pascal Version 1.11 and lower. Updates will be made, if needed, as newer releases of Personal Pascal are made! TACKLE BOX ST WILL BE AVAILABLE 16 FEB 1987 SUGGESTED RETAIL IS $39.95 AND ONLY AVAILABLE DIRECTLY FROM: SRM ENTERPRISES P.O. BOX 40 USAFA, CO 80840 (303) 472-6624 Personal Pascal is a trademark of Optimized Systems Software, INC. _____________________________________ Family Computing Report Reprinted By Permission From FAMILY COMPUTING, (C) April 1987 By John J. Anderson (CIS# 76703,654) At COMDEX (Computer Dealers Exposition) and CES (Consumer Electronics Show) - both trade shows held in Las Vegas recently - desktop publishing was a buzzword. Good desktop programs were in abundance for the ST. CAD (Computer Aided Design) was another big idea. Many exhibitors at the Atari booth had a 1040ST, a hard drive, and a laser printer. There printers were lent by QMS, Hewlett-Packard, Canon, and others. Atari itself showed a laser printer it plans to sell for under $1,500. Two WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) publishing packages, -Publishing Partner- from Softlogik (314-894-8608; $149.95) and -Fleet Street Editor- from Mirrorsoft, a British company (011-44-1-377-4600/4384; $172.50), attracted lots of attention. Also shown was the new -Typesetter Elite- from XLEnt Software (703-569-8881; $49.95) and the command-driven -LaserType- from Softlab (801-628-4969; $279). *** WHAT A CAD! *** Progressive Computer Applications had its -Graphic Artist- program (301-340-8398; $199.95) working with a huge IOLION (Houston Instruments -compatible) plotter, creating all kinds of architectural designs, page layouts, and pictures. Also in the CAD area, Foresight Resources Corp. had a top-notch package called -Drafix 1- (1-800-231-8574; $249) According to Foresight, it runs as fast on an ST as it does an IBM PC/AT (running at 8 MHz with a math co-processor!). Generic Software's -FirstCADD- (1-800-228-3601; $49.95) was also a popular exhibit, as was Abacus Software's -PC Board Designer- (616-241-5510; $195). _____________________________________ ZMAGAZINE MARCH 23, 1987 ISSUE 44 PLEASE CONTRIBUTE!! REPRINTING OK _____________________________________ (C)COPYRIGHT 1987 SYNDICATE SERVICES