1050 Hyperdrive (Issue 2)

[+x=usr(1536)]

On 3/24/2021 at 6:52 AM, HyperDriver said:

I still have all my Atari stuff up in my loft somewhere, which should include all the Hyper Drive stuff. When (if) I get time, I'll hunt around for it.

Would you be kind enough to see if the refund for the upgrade kit that was never sent to me is also in that pile?  I realise that it's been 30-odd years at this point, but I would like to receive it if it's knocking around.

 

And yes, I did attempt to order an upgrade kit from Chaos back in the day.  Sent a Sterling postal order (which were not cheap to get in Ireland) and heard nothing back after almost 4 weeks.  Called the number (an international call) to see if the postal order had been received and was told that it had been and that my order would be shipping out shortly.  Another four weeks went by, with nothing arriving.  Another international call, but this time I was told to (and this is a direct quote), "fuck off," before being hung up on.

 

After playing a game of we're-not-answering-the-phone for a couple of days, I eventually got back through and demanded a refund.  This time, I was told that I could go fuck myself.  It was an interesting variation on the previous suggestion, that's for sure.

 

So, in the end, I was out of pocket for the kit, postal order, and international calls.  Customer service at its finest.  Fortunately, I was able to source a US Doubler from another retailer who knew how to not swindle their customers outside of the UK.  They also ended up getting the group order from our Users' Group, which was good for about 15 units in one shot.

Edited March 26, 2021 by x=usr(1536)

[HyperDriver]

36 minutes ago, x=usr(1536) said:

Would you be kind enough to see if the refund for the upgrade kit that was never sent to me is also in that pile?  I realise that it's been 30-odd years at this point, but I would like to receive it if it's knocking around.

 

And yes, I did attempt to order an upgrade kit from Chaos back in the day.  Sent a Sterling postal order (which were not cheap to get in Ireland) and heard nothing back after almost 4 weeks.  Called the number (an international call) to see if the postal order had been received and was told that it had been and that my order would be shipping out shortly.  Another four weeks went by, with nothing arriving.  Another international call, but this time I was told to (and this is a direct quote), "fuck off," before being hung up on.

 

After playing a game of we're-not-answering-the-phone for a couple of days, I eventually got back through and demanded a refund.  This time, I was told that I could go fuck myself.  It was an interesting variation on the previous suggestion, that's for sure.

 

So, in the end, I was out of pocket for the kit, postal order, and international calls.  Customer service at its finest.  Fortunately, I was able to source a US Doubler from another retailer who knew how to not swindle their customers outside of the UK.  They also ended up getting the group order from our Users' Group, which was good for about 15 units in one shot.

HF Developments had no connection with Chaos! computers. When demand for the drives slowed down, one of our customers bought up our remaining stock. He used the name Chaos! computers & advertised in an Atari magazine (as shown in a previous post).

[+x=usr(1536)]

5 minutes ago, HyperDriver said:

HF Developments had no connection with Chaos! computers. When demand for the drives slowed down, one of our customers bought up our remaining stock. He used the name Chaos! computers & advertised in an Atari magazine (as shown in a previous post).

 

In that case, I apologise unreservedly for the confusion, as well as the ire aimed in your direction.  I was unaware that the two entities were entirely unrelated and was completely off-base with my earlier comments.

[HyperDriver]

That's OK. No problem. I've been in a similar position myself (I think most of us have at some point unfortunately). We gathered addresses from Atari magazines & sent off our mail shots to them. We never had any adverts in any magazines. It actually didn't work out too bad. I was quite surprised at how many orders we received back using this method.

 

I did try handing out our flyers at a computer show once, but was stopped by a security guy. I had only handed out around a dozen or so. He asked which stand I was from & whether I had permission. Erm...that put a stop to that!

[BillC]

4 hours ago, HyperDriver said:

I've noticed .atr files on many posts here. I take it these are software dumps?

ATR files are images of an Atari storage medium(can be floppy or hard drive),these are used with emulators.

SIO2SD, Sdrive, SIO2USB are standalone emulation devices that connect to the Atari via SIO and give access to mounted ATR images.

 

There is also software that runs on a PC and connects to the Atari via an SIO2PC device, the most common versions are Atarimax APE and RespeQT.

 

There is also the recent Fujinet device, it connects to a WIFI network and emulates storage devices, printers, modem connections.

 

Then there are emulators like Altirra which emulates the entire system, including many peripherals.

[HyperDriver]

Right. So I need a hardware interface first. I've seen a place in UK selling Lotharek's 10502PC Sio2PC USB REV2. I take it that the AspeQt, or RespeQt software allows reading from pc to Atari and reading from 1050 drive to pc?

 

https://retrolemon.co.uk/8-bit-mass-storage-devices/57-10502pc-sio2pc-usb-rev2.html

 

I also looked at the interface on Atarimax, but that is shipped from USA, & the software for it is another $50.

[BillC]

2 hours ago, HyperDriver said:

I take it that the AspeQt, or RespeQt software allows reading from pc to Atari and reading from 1050 drive to pc?

I believe both of these only emulate drives and connect to an Atari computer, and can't be used with actual drives. 

 

Lotharek's website has a link for KAFAR software(still in development) for 10502PC connections, I believe the downloadable trial version of the Atarimax ProSystem software can also be used.

[ratwell]

55 minutes ago, BillC said:

Lotharek's website has a link for KAFAR software(still in development) for 10502PC connections, I believe the downloadable trial version of the Atarimax ProSystem software can also be used.

Or use Hiassoft’s AtariSIO package for Linux with Lotharek’s SIO2PC-USB in 1050-2-PC mode:

 

https://www.horus.com/~hias/atari/#atarisio

[E474]

Hi,

 

   I think RespeQt works with emulated and real drives, though I have only used Hias's AtariSIO/atariserver utilities (on a Raspberry Pi). When I got back into the 8-bit scene, I went down this low cost route: http://blog.lmorchard.com/2018/03/01/sio2pi/ - I think I got 10 logic level shifters via eBay as it seemed like a good deal.

[HyperDriver]

19 hours ago, BillC said:

I believe both of these only emulate drives and connect to an Atari computer, and can't be used with actual drives. 

 

Lotharek's website has a link for KAFAR software(still in development) for 10502PC connections, I believe the downloadable trial version of the Atarimax ProSystem software can also be used.

I have ordered the hardware. I've been trying to find out what is missing/crippled in the trial version of Atarimax ProSystem software, but can't find any details.