DocRotCod Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 So I have several versions of the sio2sd devices and have been having some crazy issues and really just need to know where to go or what to buy to make them or a obtain a new one that is reliable. Years ago I bought 2 of the version 2.0 sio2sd devices. These have the 40pin ATMEL on them. Fuse bits weren't set on one of them so I reflashed it and it worked ok. The other one has always had this strange issue where 1/2 to 3/4 of the time screen would be blank and not read SD card (tried many cards). The other day I flashed to 3.1 and it seems ok. I have another one, a sio2sd micro, that is flashed to latest version, and it continues to much of the time have a blank screen - even without a card inserted. The real issue with the 2 devices is it is so inconsistent. Today they both worked perfect all day. Yesterday was a struggle. So I have 3 devices, all with past issues, current issues, and intermittent issues. Any advice is appreciated. I'm thinking of getting Lotharek's and see how it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Both Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Well, Lothareks SD devices work perfect for me. The first idea that came in my mind regarding your old devices however, is you may have a faulty power unit ? Stefan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRotCod Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 Well, Lothareks SD devices work perfect for me. The first idea that came in my mind regarding your old devices however, is you may have a faulty power unit ? Stefan That's a thought. That would make sense with it being intermittent. Thank you I will try a different power supply! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Buy Lotharek's device, in case, and don't look back. It will be the best investment you've made in your Atari 8-Bit experience in a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sup8pdct Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 What computer do you have them connected to? I think XL has a resistor or some such on power line to sio port that may interfere with Sio2SD. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRotCod Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 Buy Lotharek's device, in case, and don't look back. It will be the best investment you've made in your Atari 8-Bit experience in a long time. I agree, I have some of his products and they are definitely top notch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRotCod Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 What computer do you have them connected to? I think XL has a resistor or some such on power line to sio port that may interfere with Sio2SD. James It is a 130XE with a 576K ramdisk. I have also removed the resistors on the SIO port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspicious_milk Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 I use one from Lotharek on several XE models 130/65/GS resistors intact. Flawless operation for years. Divisor 0. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteym5 Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 One of the people I had been sending ATR files to keeps running to a TIMEOUT Error with his SIO2SD device when trying to load up the files I emailed him. Anything that would correct that problem that I can pass along to him. If not I would need to physically email the person floppy disk. The ATR is formatted for MyDOS along with some files. Tried to copy the files to floppy or ramdisk. Still getting the error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Both Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 I know you wrote, you have an xe130 connected. Just to exclude the computer itselve... can you test the devices with a different Atari 8bit ? Stefan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 (edited) I too share in the sio2sd hell. please show pictures of the devices and if you are using ntsc or pal machines..... my sio2sd problems are similar... is there a tolerance issue? is it the fuse bit issue? is it a dirty power issue? low power issue? certain productions have very thin traces.... and the fellows left out components to keep cost down... sure it works but barely... they simply don't calculate what the changes can do. One of the devices I posted about previously had a crappy cord... it worked much better once I figured out that it was getting static because of it... static while states are saved using the control/config program on the Atari and zappo scambled code on the device... only way to fix... reflash or replace... all because they save a tiny screw and nut or use less wire/lug/pin in the sio cord... and no help from the makers.... there are number of problems with timing and cutting of corners on these it would seem. Lothareks stuff was better made and not as thin.. I hope his boards have stayed that way as time marches on... I advise going that route if all else fails. Edited February 3, 2017 by _The Doctor__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syn Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 I bought one of Lotharek's eBay sio2sds that came with a memory card loaded with things. He doesn't offer that on his site. Works great on the 4 800xls I've tried it with. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACML Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 I have six of Lotharek's cased SIO2SDs and they all work flawlessly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteym5 Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Is everyone just connecting the SIO2SD as a solo device? I am wondering if there are issues when connecting it along with several disk drives, tape drives, etc. I recalled I started having issues transferring files to and from floppies. I suspect there is a power issue and hooking up several devices might cause a power drop out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 mine became f.u.b.a.r. all by themselves no other devices involved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRotCod Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 I know you wrote, you have an xe130 connected. Just to exclude the computer itselve... can you test the devices with a different Atari 8bit ? Stefan Well I've been dealing with this for years. I believe I had an other 130xe at home I was using also, but I will try some other computers. Again the issue is so intermittent. Today they both worked perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRotCod Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 Is everyone just connecting the SIO2SD as a solo device? I am wondering if there are issues when connecting it along with several disk drives, tape drives, etc. I recalled I started having issues transferring files to and from floppies. I suspect there is a power issue and hooking up several devices might cause a power drop out. Mine is solo, except sometimes i'll connect my MIO to the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRotCod Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 I too share in the sio2sd hell. please show pictures of the devices and if you are using ntsc or pal machines..... my sio2sd problems are similar... is there a tolerance issue? is it the fuse bit issue? is it a dirty power issue? low power issue? certain productions have very thin traces.... and the fellows left out components to keep cost down... sure it works but barely... they simply don't calculate what the changes can do. One of the devices I posted about previously had a crappy cord... it worked much better once I figured out that it was getting static because of it... static while states are saved using the control/config program on the Atari and zappo scambled code on the device... only way to fix... reflash or replace... all because they save a tiny screw and nut or use less wire/lug/pin in the sio cord... and no help from the makers.... there are number of problems with timing and cutting of corners on these it would seem. Lothareks stuff was better made and not as thin.. I hope his boards have stayed that way as time marches on... I advise going that route if all else fails. My 130XE is NTSC. The sio2sd device on the left I have 2 of them, and one I had to reflash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteym5 Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Maybe someone with the right equipment can check the voltage running through the SIO2SD device from the Atari computer. Maybe swap out some of those electronic parts to ensure enough power is running through the thing to function. Is the little LCD screen dimming or going out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRotCod Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 Maybe someone with the right equipment can check the voltage running through the SIO2SD device from the Atari computer. Maybe swap out some of those electronic parts to ensure enough power is running through the thing to function. Is the little LCD screen dimming or going out? Don't think it's a screen dimming issue. When the display is blank I also lose complete functionality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 replace the sio cord .... or remake the sio cord... then see if it's better. If it is then reflash them while it's behaving.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 I also avoid using maxflash 8 mb carts.... I stick with the 1mb versions.... the banking gets in the way of add-ons including the rtime8 carts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle22 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 I LOVE my Ultimate SD Cart with WiFi. All I want is to find, or learn how to re-script the upload / download web page it serves to give it a proper file manager type utility. Way better than Maxflash (which it emulates). My ONE cart with a 16GB Toshiba FlashAir in it holds the equivalent of: Well, let's see... 16GB = 16000MB, the Atarimax 8Mb cart is One MegaByte, so, naturally, I have the equivalent of Sixteen Thousand Atarimax carts and I have WiFi. What a savings in cost! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 The older SIO2SDs (with DIP40 ATMega32) seemed prone to bricking if +5v was applied to the device without GND. Eventually I started to bend the 5v pin on the SIO connector back to ensure GND was always connected first when the device was plugged into the Atari. Seemed to end those troubles for me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteym5 Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Looking through this thread, seems like some people are having issues with this device and is something that needs to be checked into. I am wondering what would cause a "Timeout" error when having a floppy disk drive attached. I know the SIO2SD should have the floppy drive designation as "Empty" so there is not like two D2s, D3s, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.