I/O Board:

 ANTIC VOL. 3, NO. 10 / FEBRUARY 1985 / PAGE 10

I/O Board

GETTING YOUR HEAD ON STRAIGHT

My 410 recorder recently stopped loading correctly, although all the parts move properly. This has me baffled. Can you help?
Marge Hildebrandt
Simsbury, CT

The problem sounds like improper alignment of the head in your tape recorder. See Carl Evans' article "Get Your Head On Straight," in the August 1983 issue of Antic.-ANTIC ED

CHAINED ATARI

Do all Atari compatible disk drives have "daisy chaining"? I would rather not have to plug and unplug peripherals as I transfer files from cassette to disk.
James Anderson
Oakdale, CT

Every drive we've seen for the Atari (including Atari, Indus, Percom and Astra) has two ports, meaning they support daisy chaining. Thus, ,you can connect another peripheral to the drive instead of the computer and the drive need not be turned on. -ANTIC ED

AVOIDING THE DOUBLE-FILENAME BLUES

Have you ever ended up with two files with the same name on a disk? If you try renaming them with option E on the DOS menu, both files get renamed. The problem can be renamed with a sector editor, but there is an easier way.
From BASIC, type the following statements: POKE 3111,76; POKE 3112,234; POKE 3113,18. Now go to DOS and use option E as usual for renaming a file. Only the first file found will be renamed.
Use option H (Write DOS files) to save this modified DOS. Otherwise, restore things to normal by choosing option M (run at address) and entering E477 to reboot the system. Or you could turn the computer on and off.
Philip Altman
Huntington Beach, CA

MODEMS IN MEXICO?

Can I use my modem in Mexico, and if I can, do I have to pay long distance fees?
Miguel Penichet
Guadalajara, Mexico

You can use a modem anywhere you, have a phone line and a power supply. Any phone line sufficiently free of static to permit conversation with another person is suitable for modem communication. (The modem transmits information by turning computer signals into audible sounds and sending those over the phone) ,
You should make sure your local power voltage will work with you modem's adapter. Also, if you don't have access to modular (plug-in) phones, you may be stuck using an acoustic modem.
The telephone fees you pay depend on where you call. You will pay more to call Boston than you will to call next door You are not paying to use the modem, only to make the phone call.-ANTIC ED

FOOTBALL, ANYONE?

I'm looking for a good football prediction/ statistics program for the Atari. Does anyone have any ideas?
Mel Carian
San Francisco, CA

If somebody turns in a good football handicapping program, Antic would be interested in publishing it. -ANTIC ED

BASIC DIRECTORY

Kudos' to Kenny Ksajikian for his BASIC directory in November's I/O Board. Here are two modifications to eliminate the error message:

First, go to DOS. Then type
C [RETURN]
E:,D:DIR [RETURN]

CLR:DIM NS(17):CL.#5:0.#5,
6,0,"D:*.*":FOR I=1 TO 65:
I.#5,N$:?N$:I=I-65*(ASC(N$
(2))>32):N.I:CL.#5

[CTRL] [3]

Then, in BASIC, type
ENTER "D:DIR"
Bruce Noonan
Edmonds, WA

HOME FILING MANAGER PRINT BUG

My Gemini 10X printer gives me "hieroglyphics" from Home Filing Manager even though I get excellent printouts on my other Atari Software. Your reply to B. Sonvico's letter in the July Antic didn't solve my dilemma. Won't you please help?
Leslie Lee
Carmel, CA

This is just one of many letters Antic received in recent months concerning ptintout problems with Atari's Home Filing manager software, The July, 1984 I/O board contained our one-line BASIC fix for the Alphacom 81 thermal printer. But readers were quick to inform us that this remedy did not work for most other printers commonly used with the Atari.
It's been a long frustrating job trying to find a solution. But we finally discovered that Home Filing Manager sends each character to the printer with the high-order (eighth) bit set. This is the same as adding the decimal value 128 to each character, or trying to print inverse characters.
Some printers, such as the Gemini 10X, contain graphics characters which are printed out by generating ASCII codes above 128. As a result, Home Filing Manager prints garbage on the Gemini and other printers having this feature.
How easily you can solve this problem depends upon your printer. Look through the printer manual for any reference to the "high-order bits" or "7/8 bit." Hopefully it'll give you a way to turn off the high-order (eighth) bit. This might be done by transmitting printer control codes, or simply by flicking a DIP switch.
On the Gemini 10X, turn pin 3 of DIP switch 2 to the ON position. This will set the printer's interface to 7 bits and Home Filing Manager will work just fine We had no problem printing on our Epson with the program, but you can turn off the Epson high-order bit by sending control codes: [ESC] [=] -ANTIC ED

1200 BAUD DIRECT CONNECT MODEM?

How can I get 1200 baud speed and upload/download capability with my Atari 1200XL and 835 direct connect modem? Are there plans for a 1200 baud direct connect modem?
Gary Johnson
Lubbock, TX
There is no way to convert a 300 baud modem to 1200 baud with software. As for future plans, look for Microbits Peripheral Products to release an inexpensive 1200 baud modem capable of plugging directly into your Atari and phone line When? We'll have to wait and see. -ANTIC ED

DOING MACHINE WORK

Many of your recent programs were made only for disk. Why is this so, and could you please make games for cassette and disk?
Brandon Brooks
North Tonawanda, NY
We go to great lengths to assure that all our programs run on cassette as well as disk. In the case of some machine language submissions, the program was designed to run only on disk. For this reason, we prefer ML submissions to include a BASIC loader which will allow the program to use both storage devices. We don't always have time to devise such a loader ourselves. -ANTIC ED

DISABLED PROGRAMMERS

In the November issue, we ran a call for suggestions to simplify typing for disabled programmers, specifically seeking alternatives to commands where two keys must be pressed simultaneously, such as the [CONTROL] and cursor keys.
We'd like to thank those of you who quickly responded. We have passed along a machine language routine that filled the bill perfectly.
Several other suggestions involved hardware modification. One reader suggested installing foot pedals for the [CONTROL] and [SHIFT] keys. Another recommended installing lock keys, similar to the lock keys on typewriters. One reader uses a pair of flat, smooth sticks, bolted (hinged) together to form an "A". The unhinged ends have small, stick-on rubber feet to hit the keys.
Again, our thanks for the responses. -ANTIC ED

COMPUTER-APPLIANCE INTERFACING

I wanted to let you know that there is someone out here who has built and uses the CAI described in Antic, April 1984.
My father uses an Atari 1200XL and a tone dial program I developed to simplify the extensive telephoning needed to run his bus tour organization. He uses the interface and Atari to make, dial and break the phone connection.
However, trying to track down the micro-relay recommended in the article wasn't easy-one company wanted upwards of $10 per relay. Fortunately, the 1985 Radio Shack catalog contains an "Ultra-compact SPST Reed Relay with LOW-Current Coils," for only $1.49 (part number 275-232).
I bought joystick extension cord at Radio Shack (also new, $3.99, instead of $4.48 for the DE9S connector alone!), and wired it up.
My father and I both thank Antic for the article. All this proves that the Atari is more than just a game machine.
Robbin Lewis
Pittsburgh, PA

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION

Title                                                    ANTIC, The Atari Resource
Frequency of Issue                              Monthly
#of Issues Annually                             12
Annual Subscription Price                    $24.00
MailingAddress                                   524 Second St.,San Francisco, CA 94107
Publisher                                             James Capparell
Owner                                                ANTIC Publishing Inc.
Total # of Copies Printed                    134,583

Circulation Data (average per issue for preceding 12 months)
Dealers and Vendors                           76,957
Mail Subscription                                 23,181
Total Paid Circulation                          100,139
Free Distribution                                  2,754
Total Distribution                                 102,910
Copies Not Distributed                        1,334
Return From News Agents                   30,339
Total                                                    134,583