Why do I get only about 20K of available memory with my Atari Microsoft
BASIC II cartridge whether I have 32K or 48K of RAM Installed In my 800?
David Ferguson
Pontotoc, MS
The reason for this is that the 16K cartridge "overrides" any RAM that
would otherwise use the same address space. If the RAM is not there to
begin with, it isn't missed. Standard Atari BA SIC gives only 8K of address
space, so a 48K machine will give you only 8K more available memory than
a 32K machine If you own an XL or XE and press the [OPTION] key while hooting
up, you are telling the computer to use its RAM instead of the "built-in"
BASIC-ANTIC ED.
WRONG POKES
In September's Tech Tips, the POKEs necessary for controlling the cassette
motor were given in reverse order. POKE 54018,52 to turn it on and POKE
54018,60 to turn it off.
Richard Brewer
Princeton Junction,
New Jersey
WEFAX LED
When building the WEFAX Interface Board (Antic, September 1986) I recommend
using a very low power consumption LED. Otherwise you may not "see the
light." It is always good practice to use the lowest power consumption
components available in any project.
Michael Anger
Seabrook, Texas
THANKS, CHARLIE
Many thanks to Antic Technical Editor Charlie Jackson for donating
his survey compiler program, without which I probably would still be laboring
over the figures from our club survey
Paul Wheeler
MACE Membership Chairman
Detroit, MI
ODD CHARACTERS
When I list my progam on paper, Atari's special characters come out
wrong. Can you suggest a software package that can print any Atari character
in my program list?
Brian LaChance
Wolcott, CT
Try Lister Plus ($19.95, Antic Catalog, AP0170). This program by Chet
Walters, author of Antic's Card Shuffler (July, 1986) and SSSnake! (October,
1986) dumps any listed file to the printer usng any character set you choose.-
ANTIC ED
COLOR AUTOBOOT
How can I run 1st Word from inside an AUTO folder? This is the only
program I have been unable to autorun on my ST by putting it into the AUTO
folder with a .PRG extender. Also, is it possible to autoboot programs
(e.g. dBMAN) in medium resolution on a color monitor? I have tried this
without success.
Raymond Norris
Waterloo, Ontario,
Canada
The AUTO folder, if found, is executed right after the ST has booted and
before GEM is initialized. A program making a single call to any GEM-related
function will hang up the system. 1st Word is certainly GEM-based.
As for booting in medium-res, set up your color desktop as desired
and then click on "Save Desktop." The disk will be active for a short time,
and when you use it to boot with, your desktop will reappear.-ANTIC
ED
PAYROLL BLUES
I am a small business entrepreneur with a complete Atari setup that
I use daily. Many business programs are just great, but I'm having trouble
finding a good payroll program for the 8-bit computers. Do you know of
one?
Carl Manson
Seaside, CA
See the Miles Payroll System from Miles Computing in this issue's Shoppers
Guide. A review of this product is scheduled to appear in a forthcoming
issue. -ANTIC ED
ANY 1020 PENS?
After I bought my Atari 1020 color plotter, I used it often. Now I
can't use it at all because the pens have run out of ink. Where can I find
another set of pens?
Russ Novotny
Orland Park, IL
At this writing, Atari Corp. is out of 1020 plotter pens, but plans
to restock. Meantime, they suggest trying local dealers. If that doesn't
work, maybe by the time you read this, the pens will be again be available
from Atari Customer Service, 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94086
(408) 745-2000.-ANTIC ED
PRL LICENSES
This was Prospero Software's answer to my query about a distribution
license for compiled Pro Fortran-77 programs using the company's PRL program:
"The position with run-time licenses is that it free-you may distribute
the PRL with your software when you sell it."
This is the icing on the cake. There isn't a better deal around. Prospero
has done the ST world a great service.
Jay Thaddeus
Houston, TX
FAIR SHAKE
Steve Roquemore's review of Micromod 2.4 (Antic, July 1986) was fair
and greatly beneficial. I thank the Editorial Department for adding the
updated information at the end of the review. This has saved much confusion
on the part of those we've talked to.
Steve Bolduc
MicroMiser Software,
Orlando, FL
800 SPACEBAR
The spacebar on my Atari 800 has gone bad, and apparently only another
key-board will remedy it. The repair people can't find one, however, which
means that all the hardware and software I've bought is useless.
I'm a teacher who uses a word processor during the school year, but
I've been without the computer for several months because of this "parts"
problem. Please tell me where I can find a keyboard or another 800, either
new or to use for parts.
Laurie Pate
Monticello, GA
We can see that you have a strong attachment to your immobilized Atari
800, but consider that the current 65XE model can be bought for under $100-probably
not much more than your keyboard repair would cost. Virtually all your
existing software should run on the 65XE with no problems, and any isolated
compatibility problems can be solved with the public domain program FIX
XL ($10.95, Antic Catalog PD0026) If any readers have other ideas, please
let us know. -ANTIC ED
MINER SETBACK
Atari game fans, Help' When playing Zone 10 of Miner 2049er by Big
Five Software; I can't complete Quadrant 5. There are two areas in the
lower corners that my miner can't reach. Is there a mathematical flaw in
the screen layout making it impossible for the miner to jump or fall to
these areas? I've killed more miners than any cave-in trying to find out.
I would ask Big Five Software, but they don't seem to have a phone number
anymore.
Curt Sayler
Bismarck, ND
MPP HANGUPS
Neither the MPP (Supra) 1000-C and 1000-E modems hang up the phone
if they answered it. The modem only hangs up if it originated the call.
MPP owners can get modification instructions from Supra Corp, 1133, Commercial
Way, Albany, OR 97321.
Keith Ledbetter
CompuServe ID
76703,4061
UPWARD COMPATIBILITY
As my wife enters law school, I'd like to add an second inexpensive
Atari to the household as a word processor. Will my older 800 software
run on an 800XL as is? Will newer 8-bit software run on my older 8-bit?
I sure don't want to build another software library from scratch.
Gerry Leone
Minneapolis, MN
Most Atari 8-bit software is "upwardly" compatible. That is, a program
which runs on a 800 with 16K will also run on a 800XL with 64K or a 130XE
with 128K. Incompatibility problems are rare today and can almost always
be taken care of by the Atari Translator disk or FIX-XL, a public domain
program (Antic Catalog $10, PD0026.)-ANTIC ED
XM301 PRO*TERM
Is Mathew Arrington's modem program PRO*TERM (Antic, August 1985) compatible
with the new Atari XM301 modem?
Gary D. Reed
Santa Ana, CA 92704
Yes, and it works without modification. Just plug it in.-ANTIC ED
Antic welcomes your feedback, but we regret that the large
volume of mail makes it impossible for the Editors to reply to everyone.
Although we do respond to as much reader correspondence as time permits,
our highest priority must be to publish I/O answers to questions that are
meaningful to a substantial number of readers.
Send letters to: Antic I/O Board, 524 Second Street, San Francisco,
CA 94107
ANTIC VOL. 5, NO. 8 / DECEMBER 1986 / PAGE 6