SPACE Newsletter

/

'Nov 1990 Newz from the Prez By Nathan Block

Hello a9ain members' This month is elections and I wanted to use my column to ,;iive a "campai9n speech", if you will ■ I am planning to run for president this month and I think a few things need clarifying. I have been pre s ident for a little more than ha 1 f a ye a r· , I t ook o v e r· w h en t he previous president resigned due t6 personal matters ■

fi

When he l ef t, SPACE had a few problems. The new sletter costs were taking a large bite out of the club' s finances and the treasury was getting rather small. Th e re wer e also other problems . Upon becom ing president, my first mo ve was to find another way to get our newsletter out in a much more affordable manner. Mike Schmidt contacted me and we worked out the details. Our newsl etter now costs us nothing except for postage. I also co mpl e tel y redid the membership and treasur y systems so that it would be smoother for the club. Pre vi ous membe rs hip rec ords had been lost and we were literall y without a membe rs hip chairman. I changed that a nd so far that h as run pretty smoothly. I don't want to sound boastfu l, but I would like to think that I h ave d one a d ecent j ob . Not a GREAT job (there is ALWAYS room for improvement ) , but a d ec ent job. I have put many hours into the club, recruited new members at my job, made deal s for the club, corresponded for the club, and many other things. What I am trying to get across to you is that I AM DEDICATED TO SPACE AND THE ATP.RI ::=:-BIT USEF.:. I 1,-ii 11 be hone s t with you, being president a is th ,-1nkl1::! ,; ", job. Out~. ide of my off j c er· immedi.2.te c o rp, I ha ve received ~ i t t le recognition f o r wha t I hi~'-/e done, ci.nd a c t ua ll y thi s is f ine. I cHTl doingmy

EJe&tions job, just like you would expect anybody to do ■ What has discouraged me though is cerin people who have brought accusations against meI am NOT going to name them, these people know who they are. But I am interested in my name being cleared ■ I have been accused of taking club funds, 11 screwin9 11 new members for· my own profit, and selling pirated software to name a fewANYBODY who knows me even remotely knows that all of these accusations ar-e not true. there was a point in time that I did pirate s oftware, but I purchased what I copied and I have none of that software left. And I have never sold pirated s oftware, not even once ■ C lub funds? Ourtreasurer and membership chairman keep carefully detailed record s of all club funds and not ONE PENNY has gone into my pocket EVER ■ I am sure our treasurer would be happ y to show you the long list of where our money goes and you 1,-ion't find "Nathan Block'~pocket" a n y place on the Ii.st. I get almost t9n phone calls a month from ATARI users in need of help, most of them later join the group. Ask them it I have " s c r· ewe d " t h em • I don ' t r· i p AT.C\PI user·s off, I don't intend to and I never· have. I am al1,,ay!:', available to help anyone with their problems. Thi s i. s something else that i s totall y untrue and anybod y who knows me at all knows this is falseFor those of you who maybe don't kno1,i me h ow e v e r , h e r· e is my position ■ I ATAFH have owned computers since 1985 and have been dedicated to the ATAPI 8-BIT since day #1. I purchased an AMIGA in 1989 because I had outgrown my 130XEH o ,.,., e v e r· , I h c~ ...,, €' f, t u c: k c'1 r· o u n d i n t he ATA RI world because man y people wer e no t able ta find the sources, books, mat erials, programs, and help that I was fortunate e noug h to find back in 1986 and 1 987 . I intend to be the

Nov 1990 president of SPACE for as long as I am elected in order to ATARI keep users as informed, helped and comfortable with their machines ■ ATARI 8-BITs are machines, however, ATARI as a company is lousy. SPACE is trying to bridge that gap and I am behind it 100% ■ If I am elected president, I will see to it that SPACE has a gr·eat year· . I have been talking to members of the club and have some very special things in store for next year ■ I have a Christmas party being planned for the December meeting and special seminars regarding printers, modems, wor d processing, etc. planned for January and the corning months ■ These seminars will be during the meetings and open to all ATAR I owners. I intend to start a sa v ing s account for the group to set as i d e money for an emergenc y such as a har d drive crash or if we ha v e to look for a new meeting place, etc. These are Just a few of the thing s I have planned for S PACE. I h o pe that you will elect me as your president so that SPACE will c ontinue to be a strong ATARI com p u t er club. Take care and please come to the next clu b meeting to vote for the candidate of your choiceNathan Blc,ck

INSIDE THE 1050 ADVENTURE By Ken Modeen

A MECHANICAL

Just this week I had my 1050 disk drive fail on meIn the course of nosing around inside the case, I found the problemThe drive belt had broken ■ Scary, Yeah, thats what I thought. But as I tore into th e proj e ct with reckle s s abandon (a s I am inclined to do ) I fou n d, it wasn't su ch a nail b iter after a llWh e n I was finished repl ac ing t he belt, I th o ught i t might make a good step by

Electio ns step do

it yourself

article ■

Fi r st it may helpful be if I describe some of the symptoms thc:1t were confusing to me for the pa s t few months ■ S y mptoms of the dr·ive's r· e a l i z e operation that I we i-• e now caused by the drive b e 1t ' s g r·a d u c:1 1 failur·e. A ver y common symptom of the failure was the intermittent abilit y of the drive to read or write to the disk after the drive had been on for an hour or so . This particular 1050 h.:1 s a. US DOUBLEF.'. instc:1 lled in it. It runs a bit warmer than a stock 1050 ■ I alwa y s atributed that particular proble m with the DOUBLER chip being too warm a nd I would shut it down fo r a n h o ur o r so and it wou l d wor k f ine aga i nI n o w re a lize that th e be lt h ad go t t e n so i n fle x ibl e and hard that a s the d r i v e go t war me r, t he belt e xp anded and was sl i pping on the pulle y s . I do wo nder. h ow e ve r, i f t h e warmer tem per at ur e in the dri v e di d n ' t speed the a gin g p r ocess o f th e b eltWh e n I say th e be l t broke, I mean there was nothing left of i t b ut mi n iture cord s a nd p i ec e s of rub b er l ay ing ar oun d. ( P i c t ure one of those shredded Semi truck tires y ou find pieces of for about a mile al o ng a freeway.)

Otten time s I would be formatting disks, and th e SPARTADOS X form at ting utilit y would suddenl y inform me that the disk drive would no longer run at high speed. I ne ver did know what to make of that symptom. But, I •Jsually chalked it up to the DOUBLER chip being hot. Of course, what would a good li st of symptom s be without throwing in a plain old drive NAK error out of the blue so me ti mes . Yo u k n o w, now th a t I th ink of it, I'm k ind a g la d th e b e lt b r o k e • I t '==· u r· e h c'-. s m ,;:,. d e in'/ co mp 1.t t i n ,;,r li te les s c omplicate dI do .3.lot le ss sc ra tc h i ng my h ead , a. rid a l ot more key b a ng i ng-

F'a o e

2

Nov 1990 a through y ou take So, now I ' l l routine . changing step by step belt Actuall y , The new belt hasn't arri ve d density doubl e the needed I y et. out belt the took I drive though, so and 1050 stock used of my very little one that in belt I ' l l put the new 1,1hen it comes ■ and top Lay the drive on i t ' s 1. bottom remove the four screws in the of the drive. Slightly loosen the two face screws under the darker colored o f t h e d r· i v e • set Turn the drive upright and 2. to sure Be feet. it on its rubber hold the two halves of the dri v e case apart come doesn't it together so Lift over. it while you are turning case drive the of half top the end back the at (cover) up, starting the lift to Continue drive. of the is it until upper half of the case de-hing es it nearly straight up and face front colored dark the from c o v €': r· a.s.id et op t he :; e t c o v e r· • I it , on (don't let your kids step know they're watching y ou ).

Elec tions it can be removed easily minimizing drive the harming the chances of however, , h s wi u yo If mechanismy ou can slip the belt off the large wheel) timing pulley ( fl y wheel or large the between it ease and pressinq ring hub pulley and the large the mechanism located above pulley. you To install the new belt, 6larger the through it must ease square area visible from the bottom the of of the casting to one side you that doing lar ge pulle y. After ting cas the lance a b to ma y want from work can straight up so you time. same the at sides both between belt the Carefully guide ring hub the large pulley and the and it, above pressing mechanism large s t the on posit ion the belt diameter area at the bo ttom edge of th e slip Ne x t, the large pulle y . o v er belt drive other end of th e the motor pul le y . Now, return the casting 7. on top of the f our pins.

back

of end far area work the drive up off the cover face enough to remove the two Pull 1. step in screws you loosened from away cover face colored the dark it set and drive the front of the (remind your kids to giv e yo u aside. explain please, room a little more that your a little ner vo us about this whole situation).

t o Check all wire connectors 8. during loosened be sure no ne wer e the j:rroc edu·,-· e.

of The main mechanical casting pins. four on the drive is setting off Lift the entire aluminum casting straight the four pins (just pick it any stress to up). Taking care not carefully. down wiring, lay it upside and belt This will expose the drive expose will it (or you. to pulleys pulle ys and belt drive you to the which is worse?)

top the of front 10. Slip the of er v co face drive cover into the and backside, the from the drive cover top the of lower the back into properl y fits down until it and over drive the turn placeth e reinstall the four screws into (whoops, bottom of the disk drive. the has one which kids ask the fourth screw that is missing.)

If the old belt is worn but not 5. broken, I suggest cutting the belt so

11. Hook qood luck-

Li f t

t he

,2 n

t i r· r2

f r·on t

4.

the drive Lift the front of cover chasis up and place the face dri v e. the back ont o the front of Install the two screws that hold it of b o ttom in place located a t the the dr· i ve.

it up,

plug it

in,

and

.___.,.

Nov 1990 MEETING

to any yet; need additional orders Every feasibleidea this make T-shirt. a get should member PLEASE GET YOUR ORDEP IN 1

The meeting was c:alled to order 1. 7:35 at Block Nathan by President P.M.

& Minnesota HAMFEST The 8 ■ the presented b y Computer Ex po!, held be will Twin Cities FM Club members needs October 27th; SPACE that's table 8-foot to staff the The HAMFEST runs from 7:30 rented ■ pay will SPACE AM to 3:00 PM and the at your entry fee if you help is Schmidt Mike booth. coordinating this-

MINUTES OF THE c O c to be i·· 12 , 1 ·:1·:10

SPACE

b y Pat Krenn, Secretary

of co 1 or· The special purchase 2. netted has resale monitors and the All members who the club about $300. will $35 want a monitor tonigh t for Some get one; there are just enough ■ ha v ing discussion on non-members not special-priced the to access a becom e to is monitors ; solution member ■

Jim from received was Mail 3who member local Johnso n , a former his sent He now lives in Michiganparts repair 1050 original chips as upgraded has he for the club since is ICD doublers . to 1050's his selling blemished chips for $25 ■ J

EJe&tions

new Jim Schulz reported that a 4. .book c.:1lled the "Pe vo lution Handbook: Atari an Use Join the Revolution P. rt i s an f r· om Comp u t: e r· " i '=· av a i l ab 1 e 19t h; Software for $10 until October this with included is stamp a the 19th, October after message; specic:~l $15; was pr· ice is this a message from Bob Brody . ._,. file new The two has BBS Special Interest Group (SIG) areas: & upgrades Modifications, 1) documents; 2) Local talent. c:-

more use could Newsletter 6Nathan, articles written by members ■ an writes always President, the f ood hotel Du l uth the article; manager is also writing an article on other usage; s yste m Atari his LET'S needed. always articles are WPITE ARTICLES FOR THE NEWSLETTER 1 The nuii1be1·· of o r · d e r· ~; f o r · th T-shirts is not high eno1.t9h to

SPl\CE c, r-d e r·

.Joe Danko News and Problems 9no ::::(H)XL reported that the club's to ds ee n and longer displa ys color th£, thc,t reported was it fixed; be c:'I (/ IJ it person at the Duluth h otel few da ys befo re one of our members At ari German A went to see himat group is willing to trade d isks of 2 fo r ours of the rate of 1 Nathan Block repo rte d that theirsBelguim a of penpal he's been a mail received has Nath an user ■ from other pla ces in the world from in published hi s letter which was 11 II At a r i E :,-: p 1 o re 1·· • " P•. tar i t he E ::-: p l o r· e r " p u b l i s h e d

h i ~,

a d d r· e ~; s •

10. The SPACE treasury as of beginning of October is $890.

the

has Co r·p o r·c:.~ ti on P.tari 11discontinued the entir·e :=::-bit line.

at up coming Elections are 12 ■ and meeting November the Nathan Block nominations are openKen President; as run agreed to Modeen as Vice-Preside nt and SysOp; and a D ■ O ■ M ■ Coordinator is neededis 13 ■ The Suburban Sears Outlet for Systems selling Atari XE Game $56-

Vote

Nov 1990 1,:i •

On Oct ob e f · at the 1 3th, Northeast Technic al Institute, which or Hwy . 36 on 1s lo c ated north a. C.:omputer· Ce ntu r y Avenue, the r e is fr· om 1 0 : 00 a nd Camera Sa l e, running AM unt i l 3:00 PM. 15The meeting concluded PM with the selling of the purchase color monitors demonstrations from the available at the meeting• End of the minutes for the 12th, 1•::-,,90 SPP..CE meetin •J · Respec t full y f; e C r e t i:~ r·· y

special and DOMs

October·

EJe~iions I bo u ght a 8 00 Xl for p arts, $7.00, doesn't work, somethin9 wrong with t h e v i di? o d i !:- p 1 a.y I t h i n k • E \1 en f o ·i-- _., $7-00 it pr obab l y wasn't bad. I also bought a complete 800Xl system, with color mo nitor (BMC), p owe r· <; up p 1 y , 1 0 5 0 d i s k d r · i v e • an d a load of games and software for $150-00 ■

I was also disappointed with our Disk Librarian - Joe Danko. He was hoping to make it there with the Clubs' Disk Library. If he had, I think \.-Je could s o1d s e v e 1-- a l ha v e d i sks. .

s ubm i t ted by Pat

HAMFEST - POSTMORTEM b y M. Schmidt, Editor I think it H E~ !:', a 9 t · e 2. t su c:c: es.s, e v e n t h o 1.1. '] h we didn't ha ve an y body si 9 n -- 1_1_p on t hF s, i=' 0 t • (',, lot of newsletters and mem b ership app l ic at ions were handed out. Those people who did stop, a sked a lot of questions. Hopefully we 9ave them c o -,-- r · e c: t: ,3 f'i ~?. V-J i:? r· ::. " I want t o thank Pat Krenn and Mike Weis t for don ating their timE• and effort. Wi t hout their help, I ~-Jo uld not have been able t o do i t ,,.lonE.'• though I wa s dissapointed I didn't see any members out thereIf we wa nt to inform the public, plenty of who probably have the trusty ATARI sitting in the back of a closet somewhere, about our CLUB and the su pport we provide, we ha ve to get the mes s age out. through e v ents like the HAMFEST we can accomplish thisThere were so me good deals to be had. We talked to one person who picked up a 600XL, power supply, and a 1030 mod em for $15-00 1 Another person bought a 800 Xl, no power supply, for ss.oo. WE hooked it up for him to test, worked perfect. Me,

Now that I've been th r·o ugh this one, there's another one in February calle d 'MIDWINTE R MAD NES S HOBBY ELECTPONICS SHOW'. I' 11 be bringing the flyer to the meeting on NOV 9th, and will ask the club to sponsor a table at this event alsoI t ' s going to held at the NATIONAL SPORTS CENTER i M BLAINE. Of co u rse I'll be asking for v o l u n t e er·~~ "~ g a.in , ma y b t• th i s. t 1 me -.__..I' 11 get a better re s ponse! s u 1·-e For that ev ent I ' l l make I have a big banner with our logo on it - I think we ma y have missed so me ATARI fans at the HAMFEST beca use they j 1Js t ~·ic:-1lk f2 d by not knowin g f o 1-- • l--J h a. t o u ·i-A1s o i table would like to make '=· u r· e t hi:.'\ t o u r· Disk Librar y is made avai lable for· this e--.,,ent.

Treasurers' Report Submitted by Glen K irs chenmann for Allan Frink, SPACE/MAST Treasurer The balance as of ~•Ja s ·$107::::. 6:2.

Oct.

30th

T-Shirts - We ll it looks like if no more orders come in b y the meeting o 1-- de 1-- e d on NOV 9th, those who have already will ha ve their money refunded -

Nov 1990 ;

EJe~tio ns

SPACE SOFTWARE LIBRARY NEWS ovember 1990 SPACE Disk of the Month

SIDE 2 COLLECTION OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS:

The library will be offering software for sale as usual, at the meeting or via the US mail, All disks are ·$ 3 each, If you can't make the meeting call Joe Danko at 777-9500 after 6 PM or mail your request to:

BOUNCEBA,LL Math drill that correct answers.

Joe Danko 2766 Chisholm

Av ■

N, 55109

Nst.Paul, MN

Mailed software will cost an add i tional S1 for each multiple of 3 d1=-ks or· so, BLANK DISKS will b~ for cents (S 0-30) each,

sale

at

30

DISK OF THE MONTH E3IDE 1 SPACE DOM 000 * NOV90SIDE1 000 * xxxxxxx xx xx 000 * DO S SYS 037 * DUP SYS 042 * AUTORUN SYS 001 * MENU 026 * SURGURY COM 171

*

* *

PONG

for

CONCENTF.:,ATN Popular matching game ■ MATHSL.AS-H 36 user selected problem~,. f<eeps a_ running score ■ Written by SPACE member Glen Kirschenmann3rd grade to adultMATHf<IDS Math drill that allows select largest number. di s play of performance,

user to Gr·aph i c

Pl?EMATH Mat h drill based on counting shapes with v i s ual rewardSLJRGURY DOC 076

TETRA *· READ

* * *

plays

TET1

ARS 186 ME

021~. DAT ,)()9

DAT 002 TET2 DP.T 001 TET3 *· C,C,RNY OBJ 100 030 FREE SECTORS

SURGURY,COM, SURGURY,DOC This program is a disk sector editor. With this software y ou can inspect and alter the raw data on a disk, The unique feature of v e r· ~, i o n this i s that it will work a with two -s ided disk in the ATARI XF551 double sided, double density disk drive. TETRA This is a demo version of a new tetris-type game written in all machine langu age, It can be played but not with all the features and on l y two a s c o r· e of 200.

METF:ICS Metric / US measures conversion aidNUMBEF::L ·, I NE Prompts for a range of values and the user has to solve the missing number in the sequence ■ PF.: ESCHOO . L 1

Pi-·imar·y ctr i 1 l.

colors

identification

PRESCHOO,L.2 Large letter recognition gameSPELLING-BEE Flashes a preloaded list of words for the user to spell ■ Programmable dur·ation. STATESNC,APS Draws u.s. MAP and flashes states fo r identification of state na1me or capitol-

C.C\F.J .JY • OBJ

A machine language 9 c.:1 1 1 e r· Y' g 2 m1:2 •

c ar ni va l

~-h oo t i n9

l-JOFWF IND C reat es a wor d jumb le fr o m of wordsThi s one PRINTS,

a Ron ■

list

Nov 1990 OTHER

NEW

SO FTW AR E

AVAILABLE

THI S

Mo1,rrH:

SPAR TA DOS UTI L IT I ES DISKS : a vast collection of uniqu e an d useful program s to make life with SPARTADOS easier and more convenient. This is a set of four double sided disks compiled with the help of Greg Hoviell ■

SPARTAOOS WEDGE: a program that adds 20 new commands to the SPARTADOS command line, 24 if yo u have an MIO ■ The onl y requirement is at least 128K of memor y ■ The WEDGE adds c omm a nds like PEEK, POKE, HE X, DEC, EDIT and FIND. SPACE L.IBRP.F:'.Y COLLEC T ION:

CLASSIC

SOFTWAPE

Al l of the programs on Disks Of the Month b ack to Jul y of 1982 have been ext ract ed and reorgani ze d int o disk ::- t1 t ~; s; u ch .::\ s:BP.SIC C'- P. ME S , MP.CH I NE LANGUAGE GAMES, UTILITIE S, GRAPHICS,etc. Al l the CLASSIC disks w ill se ll for t he unbelievable pr i ce of ***S l *** per dou bles i ded di sk to SPACE members. Non-members can get these disk s for $5 eac h. The unu s ual c h aracter i st ic of t he se disks i s that the y will in c lude progr am files only, no DOS or· menu. He re i s a li st of the s ets avail a ble: Bf..S I C CiA ME S MACHINE LANGUA GE GAMES UTILITIES 5 s ides DI S f< UTILITIES 5 ~,ides EDUCATIONAL 6 s ides GPP..PHICS :::: sides PROGRAMMING TOOLS 5 sides MUSIC (not AMS) 2 side;, DEMOs 3 sides PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS 2 sides WORD PROCESSING AIDS 3 sides ACCOUNTING 5 sides MISCELLANEOUS 2 sides DOM DOC:s 1 side Nearly 100 disk sides altogether' As we go through the SPECIAL disks the number will prob a bly grow.

EJe&tions We will tr y to h ave a quantitv of the MACHINE LANGU AG E GAMES DISK S available for s ale at the No ve mber meeting. At later meetings we will ha v e additional sets in stock. If you don't want to wait ju s t special-order disks from the li st of file titles that will be available at the meeting. To really make this concept work, the club needs someone to volunteer to be custodian and disk copier for the CLASSIC LIBRARY. I will not have time or space for the amount of disk copying required to maintain an invento ry of at least 5 e ac h of over 100 disk sides.

Wanted: Don Pfeiffer of Duluth is loo king for some Disk Drives ■ If yo u have a 810 or 1050 Dri v e for sa le y ou can co ntact him on the BBS or if yo u don't mode m, c on t act the edit o r of this newsletter an d he'll rel ay yo u r info to him v ia the BBS . For· S a 1 e: Tom Zemlin ha s

s ome stuff for s ale.

130XE - $70 ■ 00 XM30 1 modem - s10.oo Misc . ·,!; 10. 00 You can contact him on the BBS or if you don'T modem, contact the editor of this newsletter and he'll relay your interest to him via the BBS. F o 1·· Sa 1 e:

800Xl, 810 Disk Drive, power supplys, BMC 13" Color· Monitor, good color and sound, small computer table, two working joysticks ■ Asking $125-00 for the lot. Will be bringing the system to the next meeting on Nov. 9th. Contact Mike Schmidt, Newsletter EditorNumbers on the back page.

PAGE 7

D::CSCLA::CMER

President Nath¥. eiocic vice-President Ken NOdeen secretary Pat Krerw\ Disk Librarian Joe Danko Paper Libr.trian JiM 5cheib NeMbership chair Glen KirschenMann 5PACE/MAST Treasurer Allan ~rink 5PACE NeNsletter Edit. Nike schMidt

922-8012 425-12'9 631-3136

777-,500 721-4185

786-47'9 42,-490,

Published by tha 5t Paul ATARI Cunputc~

Enthusiasls (SPACt::), ar. independent organiza\ on Nith no business affiliation Nith ATARI corporation. PerMission is granted to any siMilar organization Mith Nhich SPACE exchanges neHsletters to reprint Material froM this neHsletter. Ne do hoHever ask that credit be given to the authors and to SPACE, Opinions expressed are t~ose or the authors and do not necessarily reflect the vieNS or the SPACE, club orricers, club MeMbers or ATARI corp0rat1on,

757-41~2

~aint Paul Atari COMPUter Enthusiasts SPACE Meets on the second friday of eaoh NOnth at 7:38 PM in the Fa con Heights COMNl.Klity Center at 2077 Nest larpenteur AVe, Doors open at 7:08 PM, Cleveland N GIBB~ MUSEUM

AveLJ

Falcon Height5 CoMMUnity Center 2077 N. Larpenteur

nx

X _____

llx

U

N+E s

~ , ·· im.1•~ SPACE BULLETIN BOARD

BBS Phone:(612)-425-3962

sysop: co-Sysop:

Ken Modeen

Larry Serrlaten

Larpenteur Ave

St, Paul of N CaMPUS

J

·. 5~""Cf

P,O, BOH .12816 New Brighton, ""· 551.12

- -------..::.tr:-.-;~--

---------- -•.;,

--.._ _ _ . . - - - -i:::!!-l"""!i~~ ..-......__..,.--.... _ - ~,,--

MEET:ING

NOV 9th

1990 t

'--