SPACE Newsletter - March 1986

March 1986

MARCH This month's meetings: SPACE MAST-SIG

1 9 8 6 FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 7 : 30 PM FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 7 : 30 PM

At the Falcon Beights Community Center 2077 Larpenteur Ave. W. Bruce Baug . . . President 774-6226 Bob Rhode .... Editor 222-3593 Jim Schulz ... Vice-Pres 537-5442 Bob Siede . ... Treasurer 489-3982 Frank Baug... Disk Lib. 774-6226 Bob Floyd . . . . Secretary 487-2627 Jim Siede . ... Paper/Educational Librarian 489-3982 SPACE/TAIG Bulletin Board . . . 473-2897 Published by the St. Paul Atari Computer Enthusiasts {SPACE), an independent organization with no business affiliation with Atari Incorporated. Permission is granted to any similar organization with which SPACE exchanges newsletters to reprint material in this newsletter. We do, however, ask that credit be to the authors and to SPACE. Opinions expressed are those of the article authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of SPACE, club officers, members, or Atari Inc.

IN THIS ISSUE ST NEWS 256K 800XL MODIFICATIONS

by JOE DANKO WORLD USERS NETWORK January Report by JOE WATERS, WON Chairman f r om WAACK SOUND for the ST

by STUART J. DIMON

from SLCC

SPACE MARCH, 1986 PAGE 2 BYTES FROM THE PRES Well I hope you liked Todd Burkey's deao of the prograas he wrote-·! know that I'aa going to purchase one of thu that I forgot he had, until I saw his de10 1 at last 10nth's attting. The two prograas I do own of Todd'S are used each and every aonth. March is here and the D.O."· should start getting better. It seeas that everybody works on their praqraas during the Ninter, and when Spring and Su11er c011s along, the quality of the 0,0.M. prograas goes up. Have you turned yours into Frank yet, our D.O.M. li]rarian?? This aonth 11 are going ta have a quiet review of haw a sode1 works, and a deao of how soae of the local BBS's work - 1.ybe there are a few short cuts that you know .bout, and the rest of us don't, Coae to the aeeting and tell us about thea. All the de■o's will be on local BBS's, that have free access. Cou and see a new apprach ta deao·s. Yau will be asked to fill out a short question I answer shtet an haw goad or bad the new and different way to present de■o·s is, (not on wether you like BBS's or natl. You will not have to sign your naae ta this, so coae and speak your piece!! The following inforaation is on upc011ing software for the 8·Bi t ATARI: In 1986, Electronic Arts pr01ises to release Adventure Construction Set, Heart of Africa, Mail Order "adness, Racing Destruction Set, Skyfox, Software &olden Oldies (Software Country), and Ulti ■a IV (Origin Syste■sl, for the ATARI XL·IE 8·Bit line ttt co■puters. See those letters did da soae goad. Mell, that's about it for the B·Bit news. Look in the back, and see what I have to say about the "AST SIS ~EETIN6 1 our FIRST!! THE PRES. February SPACE Meeting !ti.!l!!lli. by Bob Floyd The last SPACE aeeting was held Friday, February 14, L956. President Bruce Haug opened the 1eeting with an explanation of the organization of the new SPACE ST special interest group, "AST !Minnesota ATARI STl. There were no 8-bit ruaors to report. Jia Schulz, the vice president, reported an the new o5XE and 130XE packages that ATARI is new offering - $399 fer 130XE with 10use lyes, a 10use!l, printer, disk drive and 5 software titles. The 65 XE version 1s $SO to $100 cheaper. Jia reported that 1ost of the 800XL's have been sold, so the oSXE is now replacing it.

Bob Floyd reported that the 7800 prosyste■ gaae machine ($801 is to be released, as well as an updated version af the 2600 ga■e 1achine.

Bab Siede, the trec;urer reported a balance cf 18-49 and IOI 1e1bers. The balance is down a !ittle due to the new color 1onitcr and ribbon re·inker. The newsletter will now be larger and printed on lighter weight paper. The paper library recei ved •startir.g Forth" and "BASIC on ATARI Coaputers for Kids". The BBS i: having its ups and downs - apparently 1ostly ups. A SynCalc Minnesota tu te1plate is en the current DO". The new Zenith ■onitor was used for the first ti1e at this aeeting and 11as very sharp. The ribbon r!·inker arrived and Larry Vandenplas volunteered to take care of re·lnki~g ribbons for the club· tere on this at the ne~t 1eeting. The 1020 color plotter is available 2ail-order fro■ Electronic One for only $20. The pc11er supply and l/0 cable are Marth double this price. Todd Burkey de■cnstrated his software progra1s - Ultracopy, ~is~edit, Cartdisk Plus, and Softbase. D.O.". Ne•s Frank Haug Well, I hope all of you have been ~orking hard at prograas fer the DOM. You all have, haven't you? ••. I thought so. Anyway, this 1onth's disk Nill contain two of the infa■cus Atari deao ·s. Unfortunately, not all of the titles will be put into the H·L this t11e <sorry about thatl,but the DO" will contain a Qe■ber written progra1 fer the 1020. II told you that 1e1bers can write progra1s 1 didn't I?l Ne will also sell a dcuble·sided "1ov1e• disk for s:1 dollars. The disk contains 1ovies made with ~cvie"aker (11hich, apparently, none of you have. If you 1on 't knoN what I 1ean 1 read so■e of the past art:cles en the DOK.l !'larch DOK 1996 1.FUJIBOINK.COH - An ATARI original . 2.BOINK.CON - Adeto sho•n on some other ■achine Nhose nan escapes 1e. [It better! -ed.J 3.ROTPRT.BAS - A utility for use with SYNCALC and the 1020, allows you to put teeplates on a B 1/2" x 11" paper .... (Yes, this is the donatE!d one.) There will be

■ore

prograas on the disk!:

Weinbe rg's Law If builde rs built buildin gs the way program mers write program s, then the first woodpe cker that came along would destroy civiliz ation.

SPACE MARCH. 1986 PAGE 3 ANALDS D.0.11. Bob Floyd

NAST VIEWS l NEWS Nell I feel the first NAST ST-S16 ■eeting of S.P.A.C.E. was a success!!! 27 people attended, and that was without advertizing. Just ward of ■outh!! This 1onth we are listed in the TC Co■puter User, and on quite a few local BBS's. This doesn't ■ean you should stop telling your friends about our eeting. The ■ore people that attend, the ■ore infor ■ation everyone gains. Welco■e, to the new 1e■bers who joined S.P~A.C.E. hope you enjoyed our ■eeting, and can contribute your questions and answers. In general everyone gains ■ore knowledge on ATARI, by questions being asked. Hopefully the NAST ST-SIG ■e1bers will review 520-ST progra■s in this newsletter, and the ST-Section of the newsletter will grow. See you at the next ST-SIG ■eeting on the 3rd Friday of Narch, the 23rd. Bruce Haug, SPACE PRES. February l!ll Neeting Ninutes by Bob Floyd The liSt (and first! NAST ■eeting was held Friday, February 21, 1986. President Bruce Haug opened the ■eeting with an explanation of the organization of the new SPACE ST special interest group, NAST l"innesota ATARI ST!. He appointed Bob Floyd and Ji ■ Schulz to co-ch1ir the group. Scott Hutchinson volunteered to be ■e■bership chair ■an. Ji ■ Schulz reported that the 1040ST's and ■odified S20ST's have arrived at ATARI froa Japan. These include RF and co■posite color outputs and apparently 110rk in both low and 1ediu1 resolutions. Ji ■ reported the following ruaors: There will be CPN and Naclntosh e1ulators. He said that over 10 1000 copies of DESAS have been sold and that Hippo is selling lots, too. There are over 150 titles available now with another 100 due by the end of Narch. Two new BASIC languages are now available. Unix is due soon.• There will be a battery-backed clock cartridge available and an IB"-PC e1ulator (hardware plugs into DNA port!, too. The 20 1eg hard disk will be out in aid-April for $799. It has an on-board co-processor. An expansion box will be available shortly for $75. Anett _version of ST BASIC is on the way. The RO"'s are on the way and show better desktop colors <supposedly for the new RF signal clarity!. A68020 and graphics coprocessor are ru■ored for the ST (see Narch issue of Byte>. The TT is due in late '86. It will feature 1024x1024 resolution in 16 colors. It will use the ST as the driver. Todd Burkey, Nindtools Inc., is offering to let NAST ■eabers use his ST bulletin board. The phone nu1ber is 542-8980. There were de■os fro• the disk of the 1onth VIP Professional, Solitaire/21, King's Quest II, Sundog and Easy Draw.

I will have the "arch, 19B6 1140) Analog Computing disk for sale at the 1eeting. Price is $4.00 each far registered Analog subscribers onlv. You 1ust also be a SPACE 1e1ber. I a1 enforcing this rule now with !1Q. exceptions. Here is a list of persons who need to (re-lregister their subscriptions with 1e. You 1ust bring a current issue showing your name on the 1ailing label. Also listed are those who need ta pay up their SPACE 1e1bership. If you want to be dropped fro■ the list, please let ae know. 3 Jesse Fleury

2 Curtis Gibson 3 Brad Jones 1 Steve Kemaer 2 Kris Kruger

1 Arnold Pagel 2 Robert Pechaan 2 Donald Overland 2 Susan Richter

1 = overdue subscription 2 = overdue ae■bership 3 = bath

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WILL GIVE YOU DIRECTION WE HAVE PRODUCTS AND EXPERTISE

111ta11».

WA;~~ ~ILJAflJJ

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HOURS: M&W 11-7 T.TH-S 11-5:30

SPACE MARCH, 1986 PAGE 4 ilORDS FRDII THE CHAIR by Bob Floyd

-====--==--====~ B & D HDIJ1E1187CDilfUTEn 51.IFPUES E. HOYT .IIIIE. ff. P11UL. - . SSI08 1812J-n',-e228

See the Chair Talk' - This is the first install1ent of, far lack of a better idea, "Words Froa the Chair". "Words" are bigger than bytes, so this fits the ST image better, and, "chair" because I a1 noN a co-chair of the IIAST special interest group of SPACE. I really don't have too 1uch neNs to cover this 10nth, because Jim Schulz (the other co-chair) covers the news so thoroughly at the aeetings. (In other Nords, you should come to the meetings fer the latest info.) So, this column will usually be fairly short. First lleeting - There were 27 persons at the first ever 1eeting of IIAST on February 21, 1986. Fro1 these, we got 5 neN SPACE/IIAST 1e1bers. This is a very good turnout for a first aeeting. I expect our nu1bers to double Nithin a ■ onth or two. Disk Qf. the l!onth - For the two IIAST disk-of-the-10nths for February go incredible thanks to a Herculean effort by Ji1 Schulz. 1·1 sure you can't find public do1ain disks anywhere that are as nice as the ones Jim prepared for l!AST. Can you believe there was an average of 44 files per disk, and only for $5.00 per disk? Ji ■ also was selling the new version of TOS with 23 useful desk accessories and utility files for fS.00. Plus, ill of the files are docuaented with READ.IIE files within each folder, plus a 1 DISKINFO.X 1 file for the overall disk. Jia has done a tre■ endous job on these disks and should be congratulated. (P,S. You can also buy IIAST disk of the 10nth's fro• previous IIAST aeetings during the SPACE aeetings. See Frank Haug.I lle ■bership Chair1an - llany thanks to Scott Hutchinson fer volunteering to handle IIAST 1e1bership duties. I'• sure his efforts will be greatly appreciated in the aonths to coae. IIAST ANALOS Disk - I would appreciate it if those of you who own ST's and subscribe to 'ANALOG" aagazine would register with ae (or let ae know who you are}. Then, when the ti1e is right, Ne can get a club ST disk subscription. ~indtools - l!any thanks to Todd and Steve !l!indtools, Inc.I for lugging an extra 520ST to the NAST 1eeting so we could have deaos. We wouldn't be able to have an ST at the ieeting otherwise. Little News - Yes, the ROl!'s are here - I have a set! I'1 also getting a 1 1eg upgrade fro• LR Data, Inc. which I'll be able to report on at the aeeting. The CPI! eculator is now being discussed as a real product and ru1or has it that IIAST aay get hold of a rather large library of public domain CPI! prograas - ■ore on this when I knoN acre. Also, some good news and bad news. The good news is that [BIi was beat out by Zenith for the IRS laptop co■puter, a ',ery large potential purchase. The bad news is that the Zenith uses 5,25 1 disks !the IBI! was ru10red to be 3,S"l, so the eaergence of IBM software on 3.S• disks 1ay not happen for some ti ■ e. So, if and/or Nhen the IBII e1ulator for the ST appears, there aay not be too 1uch IBI! software to run unless you buy _a 5.25" drive for your ST. 1

5 1/4 SSDD PLOPPYS 10 POR t,JH!:l,,f0

3 1/2 SSDD PLOPPYS ·

10 POR S ~ /8,'IO

BUTTONS S.50 EA 100 TO CHOOSE PROM OR a=~

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EAR TO iHE SROUND by Bob Rhode People, this is YOUR column. That's right, this is a brand new column I'• trying. EAR TO THE GROUND is going to be just what it sounds like (ha-hal; perhaps! shou!d have called it EYES PEELED. What I want froa YOU is any interesting tidbit of information you might have run across since the last meeting. Here are a couple exaaples: The 1040ST is on the cover of the Narch issue of BYTE, and is the subject of a very favorable feature story. ELECTRONIC ONE is still selling 1020 color plotters for f19.99; see their ad in Antic and Analog for ■ ore. There's a new price-busting name in •ail-order house called Black Patch Systeas, ~ho claias to beat any price. While this say be overly boastful, with iYPESETTER for $20, it may be worthwhile to check the1 out. I found their ad in Antic. Apple has joined the 1 Meg market with Mac PLUS (Popular Science, Aprill, aimed at the businesses at·f2b00. It still comes in B~W with one 3,5 disk, with optional 20M hard disk, Thanks, but for my 2.6 Kilobucks, I'll buy TWO COLOR 1040ST's, ELECTRONIC ARTS is offering FREE SOFTWARE. Buy one, get one free - of your choice' Ads in many aajor mags. 1

Well, folks, here is your creative outlet. No naws item toe saall. This is your chance to participate from the safety of your telephone; y~u car. see your na1e in print without even having to write an article! If you have seen something you'd like to share, give me a call at 222-3593.

SPACE MARCH, 1986 PAGE 5 TI£ ATARI BOOQlL

by Joe Danko Quarter-lteg ':,"IDry upgrades far the XL. Using •Y ATARI 400 and 800 ,as getting ta be a little tao routine and tedious since ,e had ta split up our two disk drives. We couldn't think up a goad reason ta buy an BOOXL or a 130XE untill I saw the Septe1ber issue of BYTE 1agazine with the haaebrew 256K upgrade ta the BOOlL. I had done the haaebre• 16K ta 64K upgrade in 1y 400 but this sounded like it would be easier and a lat of fun. I downloaded the raadisk software fro, the BYTEHET BBS, asselbled it with IIAC65, got 1y chips together and after about 2 days casual hading it was wrking as _ expected. Then I realised that it was not co1patible with the l30lE. Instant obscelesence. lly next 1ove was brought on by a fit of i1patience and laziness. I ordered a kit fro, NEWELL INDUSTRIES that caae with a 1odified ftYDOS that allowed near 130XE co1patibility and flexible ratdisk configuration. It was ok but still not 1001130XE, I reaoved that and installed another hoaebre, that worked-well and allowed the use of a lot of exotic ratdisk soft1are I do1111loaded froa COftPUSERVE and the CHAOS BBS in ftichigan. Unfortunately, the NEWELL upgrade couldn't run ust of this s/w and the new ho1ebrew kit would not run ftYDDS. About the ti1e that I os starting to build yet another hottbrew 256K upgrade that J found on the CHAOS BBS l ,as-saved by Chris Tigguann. He had just coapleted prototypes of his DWI version and asked II if I wuld do soae beta-testing. The one froa CHAOS sounded goad but I aa glad I used Chris's, Chris has coae up with a very si1ple and elegant design that really works. He is ~sing a high-tech device called a PAL chip that drastically cuts do1n the nulber of chips required. It is very stall and fits inside the BOOXL ~ery nicely after the capacitors are bent over. The only 11proveaent I 1ould suggest is to have the connecting •ires all pre-soldered to the board. J had a tricky ti1e connecting the 10 ,ires to the board due to the close spacing of the circuit foils. I installed the 128K/256K selector s1itch in back after drilling three holes. I used a rather stiff slide switch to prevent accidental switching. lly BOOXL is no, 100% 1301E coapatible in the 128K ude and 1ostly caapatible -·as tell as being capable of a lot ,ore - in the 256K ude. I have been using one particular raadisk handler a lot. I downloaded it frat the CHAOS BSS in ftichigan. It allONS the IDSt flexibility. It is 1erely a 1odification ta the 'RAftDlSK.COft' progra1 that is nor1ally used Nith DOS 2.5 on the 130XE. With this procedure and the EDITOR-ASSEftBLER CARTRIDGE or any other debugger that alloNs instant reasse1bly the 'RAftDlSK,COft' file can be reconfigured forone ra1disk, 'DB'= 720 sectors and another 720 sector ra1disk setup for 'D2,D3,D4,D5,D6, or D7', This does not conflict with aast 'AUTORUN.SYS' files and will also NOrk 1ost of the tiae with the 'DISKIO' utility fro,

ANTIC. In conjunction with DISKIO it is very nice if you have a one disk syste1 and need to 1anipulate a lot of files. Another good handler is fro, COftPUSERVE by Claus Buchholz. It is an AUTORUN.SYS file that only works with DOS 2.0s and sets up two 720 sector ra1disks as 03 and D4. This Nill usually work where the previous handler will not or where DOS 2,0s is required. There are a whole bunch of raadisk routines on COftPUSERVE and I have d1111nloaded aost of thee as ,ell as a bunch fro■ CHAOS BBS. Afe• of the• just flat don't ,ark but a person can probably find one to configure the extra 192K of 1e1ory just about any ,ay you 1ould nnt. The special version of NYDOS that I recieved fro• NEWELL IND. sets up a ratdisk as any nuaber disk you want but only as 1522 sectors which causes so1e probleas. Now that I have stabilized 1y hardware and see1 to be getting into sote applications ,here I can actually use it, I will be going back to check out all of the various handlers and, hopefully, I will be back next 1onth with soae specifics. If possible I Nill collect enough stuff that actually ,orks to fill up a disk to put in the library. So far, I have successfully used the ra1disks 1ith 1y 1odu and '1030 EXPRESS', 1ith NASIC WRITER, SPEEDSCRIPT and FLEET SYSTEft 2 NOrd processors and with the new SPEEDCALC spreadsheet. Best results are usually seen ,hen used •ith software that runs 1ith DOS.

w.u.N.

January Report

Joe ·waters - Chairaan, World Users Network

------------••==

Octablr. As lilly of you knDlit, in October ANTIC passed control of its World Users NetNOrk into the hands of the user group representatives. I Mas chosen to be teaporary chairun and Frank Nagle, of the Bay Arn ·Atari Users Group, NH chosen as vice-chairllill.

Navtlblr. Since CINIEX Mil slated far Navelber and several of the 1111 representatives were going to be in Las Vegu, we thought we light fcrego the awblardness of an online ccnference and siapl y aeet in per!ICII. Those of you who have participated in online conferences Nill readily ooderstand h0II u:h aore can be accoaplished by face-toface coamications. Tht Li5 Vegas aeeting Nas attended by Dave Duberraan, the (now-ex) Atari User Group Coordinator, Frank Nagle, aysel f, and Jack Durre· of the Dade Atari Users Group of 11~aai, Florida. The purpose of the aeeting, besides getting to aeet each other, NaS to begin the discussioo as to just what U should be. Irle did not arrive at any definitive· decisions, but the cancensus ita5 that whatever U NaS going to evolve into, it's priaary functioo should be to serve the inter-

SPACE MARCH. 1986 PAGE 6 ests of Atari User Sroups around the country. Let • expand a IOlll!llt on this thNe,

At the •..ting• level, an Atill"i User Sraup is priairily a social institution . It's a place Nhere people can get together, aeet kindred souls, talk inCI le1rn ibout this uchine they low so IUCh, and, in genenl, just hiW a good tiae. There isn't auch of a role for U here. Each individual user group will kn011 Mhat its constituent Nllbers !Wit to do ind will be ible to act accordingly. Besides the basic social function of holding aeetings, there are other services a user group can provide for its INOers such as building a library of public doaain prograas, publishing a newsletter, or running a bulletin board systN. These services, hDllever, all entail a significant expenditire of IQfley ind often are beyond the reach of s.ull clubs. Larger clubs, or Sllill clubs that have banded together to enjoy the benefits that econoaies of scale bring, can and do provide such services. Nonetheless, here is an area where, perhaps, D could be of assistance to the clubs. It is very difficult to build a •quality• library and editors are constantly crying out for input. Perhaps U could serve n a central distriblation point where high quality public doui~ ~t~e or "sharl!IW'e• could be provided to clubs for d1stnbutla n to their INbers as they see fit. Ir aaybe soaething could be. done to help the struggling club editors arOll'ld the ccuntry. If this view of U, as an organization designed to serve the interest of llf!llber clubs, which, in turn, are wcrking to serve the interest of their INOers, can be successfully iaplNtnted, then perhaps • can provide sufficient incentive for clubs throughout the country to NANT to join the organization. And, IF clubs do actively join and support the organization, then and only then will • be in a position to turn around and look in the other direction at Atari Corp. and other coaaercial interests involved in the Atari aarket.

With sufficient user support, • should be in a position to convey to Atari and other aanufacturers the attitudes and desires of users and thus, perhaps, influence decisions. Note that our ultiaate pOloll!f' over Atari and other aanufacturers lies way back doNn at the roots of the organization. Users can decide to buy or not buy a product. In the last analysis, therefore, it is the aarketplace that deteraines success or failure of any enterprise. It is ludicruous to iaagine that•, ~s a_ •Board•, can vote on soaething and expect any c0Merc1al interests to be bound by anything we say. The best 11e can hope for is to provide a clear and accurate representation of. what Atari users want and thus, hopefully, prevent Atari or other developers froa aaking a serious aistake. All of the above just goes to provide a br~ general outline of what 11e MDUld like to see WN evolve toward. In this industry, I ~an HoN are Ill! going to get there? assure you, it NOn ·t be by any long-range plan. The industry is sillf)ly changing too a1ch and too fast to i.aste any tiae 110rrying about WN two or three years down the road. I have al111ays felt that the best way to get froe point A to point B is siaply to step. forward and start

..alking. With each step we will get closer to where we are· 90ing. By also keeping our eyes~ ~s open ~s we ..-ch along, hopefully, .- will keep going 1n the direction yau, the Atari users, want us togo.

With Cristaas c1111Plicating everyone's Die...,., noraally hectic schedules, no aeeting was slated for Decf!llber. ~ - As January rolled in, the holidays were OON once acre, to go to NDrk, D behind us and it wn Board aeetings are scheduled for the second Thursday at NCh aonth U0:00 p.a. ESTI as an online conference in the AtariSI& an CoapuServe. Since CES was in progress on the second Thlrsday in Janury, the JinUary aeeting was_~ layed until the third Thursday. The user group part1c1pants included Frank Nagle <BMUGI , Jack Dlrre (DAU31, Rick 6ierle <PACE>, and ayself <WAACE>. Ron Luks and Dave Sroves <AtariSI& SYSIPSI represented CoapuServe, and soaeone Ut ..as never quite clear Nhol represented ANTIC CJ+Llt£. · Naraally, Neil Harris and Dave Duberaan Mould be onhand representing Atari. Hollewr 1 Dave has found a new jab· and, • learned at the beginning of the aeeting, that Neil ..as ill that day. In spite of his illness, Nl!il did join the conference later in the evening.

ti•,

Three i teas lll!re on the agenda: a U aessage base on

CmpuServe, selecting additional user group representa-

tives, and establishing SOie •synditited• COlUlflists. Without providing a bloirby-bl011 description, let ae sua..-ize the results of cufirst real •user sponsored• conferences

,,..._ a.,. ColpuServe, as part of their ~has agreed to provide a U aessage base in U, fer port the Atari SI&.. Al. those of · you llllo regularly use CaapuServe knole, the Atari SI& noN has thr• eajer elN111ts: the 8-bit fcru11,-the 16-bit fcru11, and a dwelaprs fan-. If you choose the developers forua, you ldll SN six available aessage bases. Soae of these are really INl'lt for develq,ers Nho are Norking on products and need tedlnie&l assistance and, in fact, access is restricted to authcrized developers only~ lblever, the fifth aessage use It is has been allocated to the World Usrs Nebcrk. available t o · ~ not just board aeabtrs. Feel free to Visit, see llhat topics·· are 1l1der. consideration · for board· Ktion, 11111 111d yo, 0lilR COMllltS and feedback. llith this aesYCJI! base availabl•, there will be ale oppcrtll1ity to debate issues and · procedures without having to restrict 111 Ktians to a ~ t h l y online conferU

enc•.

8prd · ......,lhip. 'There is rooa to provide positions ·fer ,.,,.e USl!r representatives an the U board of directcn~ lklt hale do • decide who should be on the board? Irf 'setting up u, ANTIC had divided the country into 12 geographical . regims. Do the 'regions accurate! y represent

· the national distributie11 of·Atari usrs? Should • have . 1 llllblr froa Ndl regim? I • not llre of the aMNers to ··u. alJCM tNO cp!Stions, but I do think thit anyme . , can· speak fer· a sizNbl• dutk of Atari users (say, a 1,000 er ainl deserves ta be heard. If yo, club is not big ·mougtl by itself, llhy· not gwt togett.,- with other in yo, arN so you can haW! 1 r11Jional represanta-

...._libs

SPACE MARCH, 1986 PAGE 7 llliling to all bthlr thin llllding aut a the? tad, it is. int.-es is • M detrlli to country the in clUN t us, via cant.ac to cla ted intrl!l Nlir far us to Ilk the 11.N . . . baa, illd Mb yalr CIIII CIR far beiNJ on tlw llN bDrd of directo rs.

]k IUHJ,-. lhlre an lite-al ly llllldredl of club 111Mletter1 published round the 111rld. If thlre is one caamn thrHd I 11e in ...., of U.S. n..slet te-1, it is the difficu lty editors smetil lS haw in filling up all thDH patJII MrY aontlt. MTIC IN.ItE 1111 provided an invalual e llrvice far ...., editors by offwiNJ ti•ly and inforeative MNI repcrts that clubs can dalllload and include in their 111111letten. llnyane llflo has 11111'1 abl• to obMrw the cant.ants of ..iet trs frCIII round the ccuttry can attest to tlw,, papulr ity of NITIC lN.ItE. 11rf nat prorida Mltlle tt•. tditars Mith a IIICh brOidlr selection of lltria l.thit could N available far

r1printiNJ in their local 111N1lett.-1? If OM is lucky IIICIUgh to i. abl• to follaw tlw ...., fint Atri n1111lett1r-s publith ed tadl 111111th, yau Nill natice hire and there lltry. 111M truly txcalll llt rMIW 1 tutoria ls, . and CIIMll Hawing. r1print far le· availab 'art Virtually all of tfllse __., it is a ujar tnk for a barritd lditar to haw to rwtypa selections. If 111ly ttw, could be, SOlllh011, provided in electronic fora ••••

TIiey can. In the Dlwelapr1 Farua of the Atari SIB an ~ , the doNnload uctie111 car rtspandiNJ to the llN asuge ball Nill N ustd to llalm thl IUK.ltE. Tlw IUK.ItE Ni 11 contain ainut11 of 11.N INllrd INting s, ., ....-y nparts u dlairaan, pr111 ralNII I and offici il sut.. .ts froa Atri' _, I Nida MlectiCII of colums, article s, revt ..., and tutoria ls fr• ·the Atri ftllllle tt.-s round the tallltry . AnythiNJ postlCI in the IUK.It1E is available for r1printing in dub MNSlltte-s. Editar1 b9 of Nida -,1111111'. .yau find· an article that ,-, thinlc eaald it to thl upload to fr• feel_. , aditars interes t to other

IUK.ItE.

SU,.,.,

that 1115 1hln Mari introduced at this · 11111:ing, although nal quit1 finaliz ld yet. SoM· of yau,- Rf haw. naticed that wry often yau hear canf liding rlpClrts mat llllit is' er is nat going an . at At.-i. ,Guatll uy a.· fr• this er that At.-i offi, cial and·it·:. is not &q1rlCldllltld that thlll sut..n ts ht does Atari Ccrp. ICIMti■IS cantradict Heh other. the mtthly 11.N board -■ to likl lllllld llt have ta uy? thly can ,... ■-ting to provida Atari Nith, a fana ..,_,. INN •offici al• policy ltatw nls ind N lllll"td that thl ..-d Nill N lprNd quickly ind lffici111tly rClllld tlle -■ to r■part an cCUltry. llaybe 11111t ■onth, I ·11 haw ·. · · this ita. is .OM • • 1lwn l

U 8rwd · of Directors · INting Februa ry_~, at 10100 p.a. EST. y, lllrlda an Nill b9 held to 1ht canflrence is hlld C11 Olinnll S..eNch is rNtric tlduy llN board ....-. . . ...._. , · anyane WIG' ...ts ..to •utten in• lluy timing into . atannel 30 and, ma there, typing •JID 5••.· This Nill 111011 aba'w rs on Olinnll 30 to ■onitar thl baa'd INting llllil1 ltill Jllalling tla to t inaakl. CIIMlllt.1 -and abwva tillftl to Reh athlr _Nithau .. . terrupting pnlCIIClrN.

Mnw:Ys Tlw act

ST So und Tut oria l STEWART J. DIMON SO lltAT'S WHAT THE ST SO~DS LIKES 11 If you have taken the ST p I unge. as sure that one of the firs~ have. I • pl"Ogras you typed Into ST Basic went something Ike thls: 10 FOR A• 1 TO 3 20 SOUND A.10 6 6 100

30 SOUND A,0, 6•6•6 40 NEXT A Weren't you disheartened to discover thaT this ONLY worked the first time Basic has through, that ts, It seems that ST some BUG that only allows the first sound channel to be addressed. t n the Turn Ing a few pages back cryp tic r· rathe a see we al• manu ste ST-Be of st t I the at Ing C011111and • WAVE. Look Is one first the that ls revea eters pera only Not . clue) FIRST title d ENABLE (our does this enabl e the WAVE command. buT this SOUND 111.1st be set prior to any calls to the to says• l manua the what te I Desp . .ant stat the set to need we enab Ie a sound channe I • bits (0-2) to a value of 1 <not 0). To do this. the following char t should be used : TO ENABLE CHANNEL(S) SET ENABLE VALUE TO 1 2

1 2 3 1 + 2 1 +3 2 + 3

4 3

6 7

t +2+3

Note. thfs sets the appro priat e ical" mode. The channelCs> to their "musmode. You can er anoth has sound chfp a Incorporate "nois e• <sounds l I I Ike the of any/a with along HISS> background For this, sound channels If you desir e. es: valu g lowin fol the E assign ENABL

NORMAL

NOISE

!NABLE VALUE

EEENNNXX • 123123XX

2 3 2 + 3

1 3 1 +3

1 1 1 1 2

2 2 2

8 10 12 14 16 17 20 21

(0001.0000) (01010000) (00110000) (01110000) (00001000) (10001000) (00101000) (10101000)

;\ SPACE MARCH, 1986 PAGE 8 Fotlowlng are a few simple programs 32 (00000100) 3 that wlll allow you to experiment with the 33 ( 10000100). 3 1 sound c011111and. They are Intended ONLY to 34 (01000100) 3 2 demonstrate the power of the sound/wave 35 (11000100) 3 1 + 2 d. C011111an 24 (00011000) 1+2 00) (001110 28 2 + 1 3 The first program plays a broken chord 40 (00010100) 1+3 THREE .<so that you can HEAR that there are 42 (01010100) 1+3 2 nt differe 4 In plays It ls). channe e separat 48 (00001JOO) 2 +3 T.BAS) SNDTES as DOM Basic ST (On s. octave 49 (10001100) 2 +3 1 + 2 + 3 56 (00011100) 10 WAVE 7,7 *E•Ene ble. N•Notse Enable. X-Not Used 20 FOR Y•3 TO 6 30 SOUND 1,10,1,Y,9:SOUNO The next parameterdeten1lnes If you 9:SOUNO 3 a a Y 25 2,9,5,Y wish to set up a wavefona for a channe l, or 6 SOUND 1, 6, 6, 6, 6:SOUND 4 square a being It with ed If you are satisfi 3,0,0,0 ,0 0:SOUNO 2,0,0,0 wave (full volume while on, no volume when Y 6 NEXT 5 off, nothing tn between>. The setting s are 99 END Identic al to these used for ENABLING a sounda If 7). •• 1 from channel <that Is, values The next program, demonstrates some of channel Is NOT setup as a WAVEFORM channe l, the sounds that are avallab le to you. It Is and It Is enabled, then the default state Is a fixed tone (spread over 3 octaves for for a square wave. clarity ), and the current SHAPE and PERICO values are displayed In the output window. The third par-aeter ts the SHAPE (On ST Basic DOM as WAVER.BAS) manual, Basic the to ng parameter-. Accordi setting bits 0•• 3 causes something to 10 FULLW 2 happen. I have experimented on nunmer-s In CLEARW 2 20 the range o•• 15 (as par-•eter-s>, and hav6 SPE • 1 TO 31 FOR 30 of variety a QUITE ar-e found t~at there t TO 10001 STEP 1000 PRO• FOR 40 sounds that this chip can produce. Most of current shape Is ";SPE;• "The PRINT 50 are there ar-, I 1ml s the sounds are ver-y ";PRO Is Period subtle differe nces regarding the attack 60 SOUND 1,1,1,3,0:SOUNO (Initia l) volume. Solle values start at full :SOUNO 3,1,t,5 ,0 2,1,t,4,0 at volume and decay to nothlngf others startSome WAVE 7,7,SPE,PR0,75 70 volume. I fu to nothing and "swoop" 80 NEXT PRO, SPE setting s cycle between high/low volumes, 99 END some are In repeated pattern s, others sound In llstlng d detaile <See all. time/c one only The last sample program, allows you to flle WAVE.TXT on the ST-Basic DOM). specify the SHAPE, PERIOD and TIME (If any) nt for a particu lar fixed note. This allows you dlffer-e with around Try exper-l~entlng Is to ex_perlment and find that sound that as ng values. These wlll sound differe nt dependithe DOM Basic ST (On I" RIGHTI "JUST er-, paramet fourth on the setting of the WAVEFORM.BAS) PERIOD par-ame'ter-. The per-lod parameter sets sure, not • I the amount of time <In WHAT 10 INPUT "En1"erSHAPE C0 •• 31> ";SHAPE It Is (of course> NOT documented), that It INPUT "Input PERIOD (0 to STOP) 20 one through cycle takes for the WAVE to D •;PERIO comp late tone. This 11ay be a POSITIVE 30 INPUT "Input DELAY (0 Is 00 unsigned Integer value <0 •• 65535), the ";DELAY Iarger the number, the s Iower the decay 40 IF PER I00 <> 0 THEN SOUND cycle. Through a combination of this and the ,0: 1,1,4,5 SHAPE parameter, you wl 11 be ab Ie to cr-eate WAVE 1,1,SHAPE,PERIOD,DELAY:GOTO 10 wish, you (almost) any sound pattern END 99 provided that ft exists within the sound chip. The f Jfth (and final) par-ametr to the WAVE cccrmand ts the TIME parameter. This (Ilka the 2nd through the 4th paraet er) Is option al, and If 9111ployed, will create a fixed length delay, during which time, 1>_r-ocesslng of the pr-ogr• c:oees to a. halt. This figure ts In 50ths of a second (approximately), so a value of 50 wlll "delay• the processor for (approxlinately) 1 9Laal ...... . second. ·v.,-r

r.,,.,---....

THE PADDLE CONTROLLERS by Bob Rhode

G,l<ouµI) PAt)bl.G ScHr: fltArlC

I aa sure I u not the only 1t0ul d-be hardware hacker out there who is blown away by the co1ple1ity of aany of the scheaatics for hardware aodifications. Fact is, I'• uO.M.rvrs k too young to have an engineering degree. fdR.T" That doesn's 1ean I can't have fun, too. I have always been intrigued by the joystick ports, especially the oft-ignored paddles. So now that I have started playing• '3 ~ 11ith thu, I thought I'd share llhat I've - I learned. As the scheaatic shows, pins 1,2•6 are unused. 3l4 are the paddle triggers for players 1•2 respectively, as well as being left and right for the joysticks. That's right; try controlling the horizontal 1ove1ent of any joystick ga■e 11ith the paddle buttons. It works! Both of these connect to B, the ground, 11hen closed. Pin 7 is +5 volts, and both 9 and 5, pAbALE(I) pots Aand·& get their power fr01 it. "Pot• values of PADDLE (01 and The the aaperage. is short for "potentio1eter•, 11hich is a the voltage that passes reflect 11> PADDLE variable resistor, like a di1aer Bitch on a into pins 9 and S. You and pots the through light. It varies the voltage in the 0 to 228, 0 being no fro• value a get will circuit. The pots in the ATARI paddles are to the leftl, and 11ay the tall resistance l "egoh1. Each pot has 3 ter1inals. You or no voltage is resistance, infinite is 228 only use the first two. llhen you use all _t~rough. gett~g three, you have a rheostat, which controls

.~{ .,

+5v

ST. PAUL ATARI COMPO'tER ENTHUSIASTS BROCE HAUG, PRESIDENT 1691 B. BOYT AVE. ST. PAUL, MN, 55106 (612)174-6226

Now, just because 1·1 the editor doesn't give 1e special priveleges. If any one of you should give 1e a si1ilar article, I can all but guarentee that you will see it in the next newsletter. I would like very 1uch to print anything and everything I receive fro, a 1e1ber. Yau ARE the club, and your knowledge is ■ore precious to 1e than the wisdo1 of ATARI's foreaost engineer. Please, share your talents 11ith us.

8'ACE ii II indtpentlllt u• int.-llt .,.. . Df ..... Df ATARI NaN Colput.-1. It h11 bttn ar91niZN by lDCll Ollltrl Df ATARI c-,.t1r1 far t111 purpGII Df •tllll Hlf 111t1tlnc1 and lhartn1 Df tnfaruthn, It ti apan to 111 lnt.-nttd c11111ut.- nthu1int1,

TIit 1rou, 1111 recently chanpd 111tt119 tt• 11d location to acclll0d1t1 th1 recant Influx Df n• 1Nb1r1. SPACE nDI 111ts on thl IICond Friday Df IIClt IGlltlt It tltt Falc• lfltpts Colluntty Ctnter, 2077 Nut Llrputeur, It 7130 P•• lluUn9 ti• 11d location ca b1 c•flrald by cl1Un1 OM Df tht offlc1r1 Usttd b11&w. IIAIT ii I II& (lptctll lnttrllt &r111111J Df SPACE, 11d ii tnttndld for th1 Ollltrl of th1 nN ATARI 5209T, infar11Uon • othtr ATMI Cllljlflttrl ii lat diKUllld at MST 111tt1191. Tltlr1 11 no lddttloall IIMtrllllp fN to btcOII I llllltr Df IIAIT, 1'I IIA8T IIEl8LEfflR ii p1rt Df tlt1 r111l1r SPACE lllnl1tttr and h uUtd to Y• hOH uclt aonth blfar1 the llltillf d1t1,IIAIT lllt1 the third Friday Df tht IGllth at tbt 11M lllov1 loc1tton and ttM, 1Ntfit1 Df IIMlrlhtp include IDft•• d....tration1, ,._, purch1111 at 1Ub1tutt1l dhc•h, voup proJtct1, public dclllin dist Df tht •th IDft•• at vry 11111 prtca, boat library, n• lducattonal 1Dftw1 library with over 20 ll'oVIII, ptr11111l COltlCtl / l1arnl119, vut.- tnfar11u.,......... N th, world Df ATARI, IDftwar, It dhc111111tld ,ricn frOI dtlltrl It llltlllfl, luntlOII I ....,. lnliOII, ttc. COit to I Mtttn1 to find out IOt"I,

------ FOiIIF-TIDI, CONTACT ACUii OFFICER• ■■-•..

. .. . ._

lruct lllu9,.,Prnidat __ 774-6226 loll Floyt1,,,.Slcr1tary__ 487·2627 Ball Rbod1,,,.Edttar ____222·3593 Jt• uu11,,,,Ytc1-Prn __ m-5442 loll Sttd1,.,,Tr11sur.-__ 419-3912 Frant h1u1,,,Dt1t Ltb ___ 774·6226 Ji1 ltllll.. ,Paptr/Educ1tlon1l Ltllf'artan_489-3982 SPACE/TAI& lulltttn loard, •• 473•2897

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N•m• __________ __________ __________ Phone __________ __ D•t•----- --------Address __________ __________ __ City __________ _ St•te ______ Zip __________ _ Equipment /System-Us ed __________ __________ __________ __________ _______ _

Ar•••

Interest __________ __________ __________ ___ _

CHECK ONE or BOTH1 SPACE ____ MAST ___ _ Dues •14.00 per Y••r - Pl•••• enclose check with Applicatio n. Mail Applic•tio n and dues to1 St. Paul ATARI Computer, Enthusiast s 1697 E. Hoyt ave. ST. Paul, MN ~~106