Working around a problem

[Omega-TI]

I'm not personally a cassette user, they're too slow for me, so I've not kept up-to-date on software (if any) to enhance their use. I have a kernel of an idea forming that maybe someone can help me determine the viability of the idea or if anything to accomplish the task already exists.

 

I'm wondering is there a directory/menu or file transfer type program that can copy ANY FILE TYPE using a cassette recorder? If I could get a program like that onto a CF card, it would then be possible to transfer files back and forth between CF cards using a cassette recorder. Yes, it would be gawd awfully slow and painful to use, but if it worked, it would be a step in the right direction.

 

If this project is viable, I figure I'd need to put a couple of things onto a cassette myself, so a cheap Chinese USB sound card from Ebay would be necessary. << HERE >>. My question is, does anyone know for a fact which (if any) is non-attenuating?

 

Thanks Guys

[Shift838]

I'm not personally a cassette user, they're too slow for me, so I've not kept up-to-date on software (if any) to enhance their use. I have a kernel of an idea forming that maybe someone can help me determine the viability of the idea or if anything to accomplish the task already exists.

 

I'm wondering is there a directory/menu or file transfer type program that can copy ANY FILE TYPE using a cassette recorder? If I could get a program like that onto a CF card, it would then be possible to transfer files back and forth between CF cards using a cassette recorder. Yes, it would be gawd awfully slow and painful to use, but if it worked, it would be a step in the right direction.

 

If this project is viable, I figure I'd need to put a couple of things onto a cassette myself, so a cheap Chinese USB sound card from Ebay would be necessary. << HERE >>. My question is, does anyone know for a fact which (if any) is non-attenuating?

 

Thanks Guys

 

there used to be a CS1 to Disk program for the TI that would copy a program from the Cassette interface over to a disk drive. Or do you mean on the PC side ? I have not been able to locate it though.

Edited December 22, 2015 by Cschneider

[Omega-TI]

 

there used to be a CS1 to Disk program for the TI that would copy a program from the Cassette interface over to a disk drive. Or do you mean on the PC side ? I have not been able to locate it though.

 

Unfortunately no PC will be involved by the end user. The idea is for the kid to be able take a file from a Nano-PEB's CF card and put it on tape. Then he could switch CF cards and move the program from tape to the other CF card. I know, what KLUDGE!

 

I doubt the required utility would be loadable from tape... that would be too simple. I figure a program like this would have to be installed on both CF cards before delivery.

[Shift838]

if we could locate cs1 to disk then we could test it.

 

Of course now that I think about it, i am wondering if I have it backwards and there was one called Disk2CS1 ??

 

Maybe someone else will chime in that their memory is better than mine.

[Shift838]

of course if they are just basic or XB games he can just issue the 'OLD CS1' command then resave to the mounted drive of the CF card..

 

Adventures are easy enough to do also with ADVCopy. I think it was posted on the Atariage forum somewhere. Or just copy them from the FTP like we all have anyway.

[sparkdrummer]

Attached is a dsk containing TAPETODISK (xb) and TAPEMASTER (ea)

 

The author of TAPETODISK recommends doing a CALL INIT, CALL LOAD(-31888,63,255) , NEW then load the program.

I think this is for loading of any larger Extended Basic programs that could be on the tape. I doubt that it's needed to load E/A programs but it just takes a second to do it.

 

TAPETODISK saves each consecutive program on the tape to DSK1 using the format PROGRAM/A, PROGRAM/B,etc.

 

I tested it by loading JUMPY, JUMPZ onto my Myarc 512 configured as DSK1. I then used TAPEMASTER to copy the files to a cassette.

 

I then loaded up TAPETODISK in xb using the CALL INIT routine above and the files saved off to DSK1.

 

Using DSKU file compare, I compared JUMPY to PROGRAM/A - same. I compared JUMPZ to PROGRAM/B - same.

 

Unless TAPETODISK has some issue with a nanoPEB setup, I think this could work for the boy.

 

sssd.dsk

 

 

[Tursi]

CALL LOAD(-31888,63,255)

This sets the top of VDP RAM to >3FFF, which essentially deletes all the disk buffers without telling the disk controller. I can't see any case where this is actually useful, since if you actually needed that extra memory you would overwrite the start of disk buffers header, and the disk DSR would then refuse to function (or crash), and if it succeeded anyway, the DSR would overwrite the end of the cassette program, corrupting your save.

 

That's theory, of course. It would be interesting to know if it actually worked on files that require less than CALL FILES(3) without corrupting them... (I would think CALL FILES(1) would be safer though and still cover most cases).

[Omega-TI]

Attached is a dsk containing TAPETODISK (xb) and TAPEMASTER (ea)

 

The author of TAPETODISK recommends doing a CALL INIT, CALL LOAD(-31888,63,255) , NEW then load the program.

I think this is for loading of any larger Extended Basic programs that could be on the tape. I doubt that it's needed to load E/A programs but it just takes a second to do it.

 

TAPETODISK saves each consecutive program on the tape to DSK1 using the format PROGRAM/A, PROGRAM/B,etc.

 

I tested it by loading JUMPY, JUMPZ onto my Myarc 512 configured as DSK1. I then used TAPEMASTER to copy the files to a cassette.

 

I then loaded up TAPETODISK in xb using the CALL INIT routine above and the files saved off to DSK1.

 

Using DSKU file compare, I compared JUMPY to PROGRAM/A - same. I compared JUMPZ to PROGRAM/B - same.

 

Unless TAPETODISK has some issue with a nanoPEB setup, I think this could work for the boy.

 

sssd.dsk

 

 

 

THANK YOU Sparkdrummer,

I'll test these out in a week or two and make up some easy instructions that an 8 year old can comprehend. This will probably work out for him.