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Forrest

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Posts posted by Forrest

  1. Let me explain. The SDrive acts as a large floppy disk drive. The Operating System built into your computer is incomplete - it doesn’t know how to access a floppy disk drive. This is different from reading and writing programs and data from cassette - which IS built into the Operating System.

     

    So the Operating System extensions are loaded into RAM from a floppy disk, when you turn the computer on. If you need to format a disk, copy files from one disk to another, delete files then you need to type DOS from Basic which loads the disk utility program. 32 KB RAM is needed to run with DOS loaded according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_DOS

     

    Another thing to keep in mind - the vast majority of programs released for the 8-bit computers require at least 48K of RAM.

     

    I hope this convinces you to spend the $30 plus shipping to upgrade your computer. This is quite a deal - I believe this memory expansion cost $200 back when the computer was new.

     

     

  2. It looks like you can install this upgrade board https://thebrewingacademy.com/collections/atari-800-xl-xe-xel-xld/products/tba-ultimate-atari-video-uav-board-for-400-800-xl-xe along with a monitor connector https://thebrewingacademy.com/products/monitor-port-for-600xl-uav-upgrade to allow you to connect a monitor to your 600XL

     

    The monitor port will let you connect a composite monitor. Note many of the inexpensive composite to VGA converters on Amazon will NOT work with your Atari. 

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  3. I’m a new ZuluSCSI owner with a 1040STE, so here are my comments. BlueSCSI Pico is similar to the ZuluSCSI RP2040, but not identical.

    1.  You are running the initial Firmware on your BlueSCSI. There have been 3 releases since then, that make lots of enhancements. You’ll find the newest releases here https://github.com/BlueSCSI/BlueSCSI-v2/releases

    2. In your log file above, I see multiple references to .hda file and Apple images. This looks incorrect if you are using ICD Pro drivers, which require a .img drive drive. Try rebuilding your BlueSCSI.ini using one of the IMG types at the bottom of the list.

     

    Just my two cents. 

     

  4. I’ve been using the ZuluSCSI for a day and it’s performed great. I transferred MB’s of data from the Syquest drive to the Zulu without a single glitch.

     

    Note to other Atari owners - if you use the Create filename to create a hard disk img, be prepared to wait a few minutes where the ZuluSCSI will blink constantly while creating a 1732 MB image. Secondly, it takes about an hour for ICDformat to partition the ZuluSCSI.

     

    I used the ICD RateHD program, which clocked in at a hair under 1200 KB/s transfer speed. The Syquest 555 drive (44 MB) clocked in at 497 KB/s transfer speed.

     

    Overall I’m very impressed with the ZuluSCSI

  5. At the moment I need to buy or make an isolation transformer.”


    in my opinion, you’ve passed the point of safety and reliability if you plan to make your own isolation transformer. You run the risk of the power supply going up in flames. The Mean Well RD-50A is widely available at electronics distributor’s for $28

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