NEW MIO production run.

[_The Doctor__]

I remember some of my embedded scsi drives required the originator ID to be 7, this trend continued for a while, when I finally got my falcon it had for hard drive the scsi bus arbitration enabled and the Falcon was already set to 7. so you might look into the arbitration scenario. Hey that MIO could be scsi id 7 in the future maybe?

[+warerat]

I remember some of my embedded scsi drives required the originator ID to be 7, this trend continued for a while, when I finally got my falcon it had for hard drive the scsi bus arbitration enabled and the Falcon was already set to 7. so you might look into the arbitration scenario. Hey that MIO could be scsi id 7 in the future maybe?

 

I understand the arbitration sequence.

 

See post # 619.

[_The Doctor__]

I was actually going to say can we make the MIO let's say 6 or 5 etc in future as the initiator, can we set it to another number ourselves, mio one initiate 7, target port 6, mio two initiate 6, target port 7 and so on.

that would make it easy to connect 4 computers with 4 or more drives and share the drives as well as talk to the other computers on the scsi network. less filling tastes great. This has been done on other machines so maybe now it could be possible on the eight bit. provided the mio starts at default 7 but could be configured to another ID.

[sl0re]

I was actually going to say can we make the MIO let's say 6 or 5 etc in future as the initiator, can we set it to another number ourselves, mio one initiate 7, target port 6, mio two initiate 6, target port 7 and so on.

that would make it easy to connect 4 computers with 4 or more drives and share the drives as well as talk to the other computers on the scsi network. less filling tastes great. This has been done on other machines so maybe now it could be possible on the eight bit. provided the mio starts at default 7 but could be configured to another ID.

 

If that doesn't happen; how about the old CSS 'multiplexer'? It’s a pretty simple stand alone device (both the schematics, and ready made boards, are out there) that might let you share the drives too.

[_The Doctor__]

I haven't seen speed posted for those. but the scsi bus is fast, and would not eat up a whole computer as a server.

[MEtalGuy66]

I haven't seen speed posted for those. but the scsi bus is fast, and would not eat up a whole computer as a server.

 

Your not gonna get 'SCSI networking' to work with the MIO..

 

And the CSS multiplexer is fast as hell..

[sl0re]

I haven't seen speed posted for those. but the scsi bus is fast, and would not eat up a whole computer as a server.

 

They're a parallel device (cart slot) and I don't believe it ties up the master as a server. I have not used them but I’m under the impression that all you do is run a version of Dos that supports them (these carts) on all the ataris and then can see the master’s drives. Provided the Dos also works with the MIO; it might get the job done.

[_The Doctor__]

so I guess we do it the hard way and burn the prom to different ID's ourselves. Just to share the hard drive and leave them connected make this worth it. I can look into the multiplexer. It seems to have a master card and master computer to play traffic cops so 3 computers equal two, at least the way it's being described. My tower of icd carts can get daunting.... and adding another cart or plugging and unplugging another cart could prove difficult. I still don't see what the opposition to letting a person set the ID could possibly be. it's a config just like all the others. some equipment expects to be a certain id and others expect to see another not that anyone cares too greatly, most like 7 or 15 to be the init but I have had some scsi cd drives insist on seeing 6 as the init while others insisted nothing be id 6 as they wanted that all to themselves.

as far as talking to and from the adapters as well as reading/writing to and from devices.... that is what the Small Computers System Interface was invented for.... flexibility is always good, and using little space if any to implement.

[MEtalGuy66]

Youd have to do alot more than burn roms to get multiple MIOs to exist on the same SCSI chain...

The multiplexer is a pretty damn kewl setup.. ANd it is designed for a MASTER computer to control the bus traffic..

But who says thats ALL the master can do? I think the idea of having an ATARI server, serving ATARI workstations is pretty kewl, personally..

[sl0re]

Youd have to do alot more than burn roms to get multiple MIOs to exist on the same SCSI chain...

The multiplexer is a pretty damn kewl setup.. ANd it is designed for a MASTER computer to control the bus traffic..

But who says thats ALL the master can do? I think the idea of having an ATARI server, serving ATARI workstations is pretty kewl, personally..

 

Does it tie up the master or can it still run programs as a workstation too?

[+David_P]

I have a few old external SCSI to Ethernet Adapters, targeted in the day at Mac users (requires System 6.0.3 and 1 Mb RAM, as I recall). Never tried them out (part of an EBay lot). The old Mac drivers are on the net (plus I've got them downloaded). No idea of whether one could be hooked up to an MIO or not - nor of what the Atari-side software would have to do. That being said, anyone interested in obtaining one to play with can PM me.

[sup8pdct]

The master is fully tied up with a program running to monintor the multiplexer and do sector level access to the shared devices.

Each slave has a modifyed rom that has it's disk and printer SIO routines redirected to use the multiplexer instead of the serial/pbi bus. Rs232 is left alone.

Each slave is limited as to what dos it can use. The master can run any dos.

I once modifyed the slave rom to run on an 800, then had the 800 on the chain. I told Bob Puff I had done this, he was amazed.

 

James

 

 

 

 

Youd have to do alot more than burn roms to get multiple MIOs to exist on the same SCSI chain...

The multiplexer is a pretty damn kewl setup.. ANd it is designed for a MASTER computer to control the bus traffic..

But who says thats ALL the master can do? I think the idea of having an ATARI server, serving ATARI workstations is pretty kewl, personally..

 

Does it tie up the master or can it still run programs as a workstation too?

[MEtalGuy66]

90% of what the master is doing is waiting & constantly checking for slave initiated access requests.. If I were to ever write a program to utilize the multiplexer system to it's fullest, I'd modify the "master" program to allow additional things to be happening on the master end..

 

it's also important to note that its not JUST disk/printer traffic. You can share any storage device mounted on the master, including the MIO ramdisk, or internal ramdisks..

 

Also, there are also 120 "127 byte" data pipes, as well as 8 "1024byte FIFO" buffers that can be used to exchange data between slaves..

 

Also, the Slave ROM has a built in configuration menu that allows you to configure device mapping of any/all machine(s) on the mux system, from any single machine.. This configuration data is stored on the master, so it survives any combination of reboots..

 

 

Master & slave is kind of a strange terminology as used in the mux system... It would be more accurate to describe a mux system as having a single "Mux-server" and up to 8 "mux-stations".

Edited April 6, 2009 by MEtalGuy66

[_The Doctor__]

If it were detailed in the sales pitch at metalguy just stated I think a heck of alot more of these would have sold!

[sl0re]

The master is fully tied up with a program running to monintor the multiplexer and do sector level access to the shared devices.

Each slave has a modifyed rom that has it's disk and printer SIO routines redirected to use the multiplexer instead of the serial/pbi bus. Rs232 is left alone.

Each slave is limited as to what dos it can use. The master can run any dos.

I once modifyed the slave rom to run on an 800, then had the 800 on the chain. I told Bob Puff I had done this, he was amazed.

 

James

 

 

 

 

Youd have to do alot more than burn roms to get multiple MIOs to exist on the same SCSI chain...

The multiplexer is a pretty damn kewl setup.. ANd it is designed for a MASTER computer to control the bus traffic..

But who says thats ALL the master can do? I think the idea of having an ATARI server, serving ATARI workstations is pretty kewl, personally..

 

Does it tie up the master or can it still run programs as a workstation too?

 

Do you still have the 800 roms? After this talk about the muxes I bought a starter set today and would LOVE to get my 800 on the [future] network.

[MEtalGuy66]

The master is fully tied up with a program running to monintor the multiplexer and do sector level access to the shared devices.

Each slave has a modifyed rom that has it's disk and printer SIO routines redirected to use the multiplexer instead of the serial/pbi bus. Rs232 is left alone.

Each slave is limited as to what dos it can use. The master can run any dos.

I once modifyed the slave rom to run on an 800, then had the 800 on the chain. I told Bob Puff I had done this, he was amazed.

 

James

 

 

 

 

Youd have to do alot more than burn roms to get multiple MIOs to exist on the same SCSI chain...

The multiplexer is a pretty damn kewl setup.. ANd it is designed for a MASTER computer to control the bus traffic..

But who says thats ALL the master can do? I think the idea of having an ATARI server, serving ATARI workstations is pretty kewl, personally..

 

Does it tie up the master or can it still run programs as a workstation too?

 

Do you still have the 800 roms? After this talk about the muxes I bought a starter set today and would LOVE to get my 800 on the [future] network.

 

Just tell Steve carden you need the 800 ROMS.. He can burn them for you..

[sup8pdct]

unfortunatily, no. i lost them years ago. i did have to mod them a bit. ie get the nmi reset working.

I did it just to see if it could be done. leaving the cart door open all the time would be a bit of a pain.

I Used a local rom upgrade board that had both a 4k and 8k rom on it for $Cxxx and $E000-$FFFF reagons. The orignal maths rom was left in.

 

James

 

 

Do you still have the 800 roms? After this talk about the muxes I bought a starter set today and would LOVE to get my 800 on the [future] network.

[sl0re]

The master is fully tied up with a program running to monintor the multiplexer and do sector level access to the shared devices.

Each slave has a modifyed rom that has it's disk and printer SIO routines redirected to use the multiplexer instead of the serial/pbi bus. Rs232 is left alone.

Each slave is limited as to what dos it can use. The master can run any dos.

I once modifyed the slave rom to run on an 800, then had the 800 on the chain. I told Bob Puff I had done this, he was amazed.

 

James

 

 

 

 

Youd have to do alot more than burn roms to get multiple MIOs to exist on the same SCSI chain...

The multiplexer is a pretty damn kewl setup.. ANd it is designed for a MASTER computer to control the bus traffic..

But who says thats ALL the master can do? I think the idea of having an ATARI server, serving ATARI workstations is pretty kewl, personally..

 

Does it tie up the master or can it still run programs as a workstation too?

 

Do you still have the 800 roms? After this talk about the muxes I bought a starter set today and would LOVE to get my 800 on the [future] network.

 

Just tell Steve carden you need the 800 ROMS.. He can burn them for you..

 

I asked and he blew me off. He is just offering to send the 800xl / 130xe rom.

 

The 1200xl is probably more imporant / higher priority. Sup8 is probably right about the cart door on the 800 being a pain.

Edited April 7, 2009 by sl0re

[+bf2k+]

Got my new MG66 MIO #26 today... it's already plugged up and working!

[sl0re]

unfortunatily, no. i lost them years ago. i did have to mod them a bit. ie get the nmi reset working.

I did it just to see if it could be done. leaving the cart door open all the time would be a bit of a pain.

I Used a local rom upgrade board that had both a 4k and 8k rom on it for $Cxxx and $E000-$FFFF reagons. The orignal maths rom was left in.

 

James

 

 

Do you still have the 800 roms? After this talk about the muxes I bought a starter set today and would LOVE to get my 800 on the [future] network.

 

Yeah, true.... I'd still like to find out how to use a 1200xl with them though. They are my main atari. Puff said it could be done. Something about needing a second rom.

[sl0re]

The master is fully tied up with a program running to monintor the multiplexer and do sector level access to the shared devices.

Each slave has a modifyed rom that has it's disk and printer SIO routines redirected to use the multiplexer instead of the serial/pbi bus. Rs232 is left alone.

Each slave is limited as to what dos it can use. The master can run any dos.

I once modifyed the slave rom to run on an 800, then had the 800 on the chain. I told Bob Puff I had done this, he was amazed.

 

James

 

 

 

 

Youd have to do alot more than burn roms to get multiple MIOs to exist on the same SCSI chain...

The multiplexer is a pretty damn kewl setup.. ANd it is designed for a MASTER computer to control the bus traffic..

But who says thats ALL the master can do? I think the idea of having an ATARI server, serving ATARI workstations is pretty kewl, personally..

 

Does it tie up the master or can it still run programs as a workstation too?

 

Do you still have the 800 roms? After this talk about the muxes I bought a starter set today and would LOVE to get my 800 on the [future] network.

 

Just tell Steve carden you need the 800 ROMS.. He can burn them for you..

 

I asked and he blew me off. He is just offering to send the 800xl / 130xe rom.

 

The 1200xl is probably more imporant / higher priority. Sup8 is probably right about the cart door on the 800 being a pain.

 

Well, talked to him on the phone and I guess he just does not have the 800 or 1200xl roms (and was having some surgery earlier today when we emailed). They probably exist in the wild though.

 

So, can’t do anything about it when someone doesn’t have it; but on the other hand, if anyone out there does please let me know. I didn't realise metalguy had these on his website until after I brought them up in the thread but I think we're on same page regarding them. With more MIOs getting out there these kinds of items will also get another look / life. Would be cool if the rom issues were worked out (re: we put togeather all the options we can for them).

Edited April 7, 2009 by sl0re

[MEtalGuy66]

unfortunatily, no. i lost them years ago. i did have to mod them a bit. ie get the nmi reset working.

I did it just to see if it could be done. leaving the cart door open all the time would be a bit of a pain.

I Used a local rom upgrade board that had both a 4k and 8k rom on it for $Cxxx and $E000-$FFFF reagons. The orignal maths rom was left in.

 

James

 

 

Do you still have the 800 roms? After this talk about the muxes I bought a starter set today and would LOVE to get my 800 on the [future] network.

 

Yeah, true.... I'd still like to find out how to use a 1200xl with them though. They are my main atari. Puff said it could be done. Something about needing a second rom.

 

if your 1200xl has been upgraded to use the xl/xe rom, then its no problem.. just drop it in.. if you wanna use the old 8k rom sockets, then talk to guitarman or Bob1200XL. They can tell you how to split the rom image, and which eproms to use...

[Defender II]

WTF is a "hard drive"? Aren't all drives hard? The last time I took a floppy disk drive out and banged it on the table, it dented the table and hard pieces of plastic broke off. I think it's the disk (the round, brown part) that's floppy. Try this: poke a floppy disk with a screwdriver and it see that it just kind of flops around. Now, open up a hard disk drive and poke the disk (the brown, round part) with a screwdriver. It doesn't flop. Now bang it with the screwdriver. It makes a sharp clink, like hard metal.

 

So it's the disk that's hard or floppy, not the drive. If you're too lazy to say "hard disk drive" then say "hard disk" like we all said in the early 80's when we could not afford one. And since "floppy disk" can be shortened to "floppy", you can say "floppy drive" because it's a drive for a floppy, even though it's hard. But don't say "hard drive" because it's not a drive for a "hard".

 

"Hard drive" came from the non-techie PC user base. Tech savvy folks like us should not lower ourselves to that level!

 

Mumbling rant continues off-line...

 

My MIO has a hard drive connected to it that uses removable hard disks.

Edited April 8, 2009 by Defender II

[sl0re]

unfortunatily, no. i lost them years ago. i did have to mod them a bit. ie get the nmi reset working.

I did it just to see if it could be done. leaving the cart door open all the time would be a bit of a pain.

I Used a local rom upgrade board that had both a 4k and 8k rom on it for $Cxxx and $E000-$FFFF reagons. The orignal maths rom was left in.

 

James

 

 

Do you still have the 800 roms? After this talk about the muxes I bought a starter set today and would LOVE to get my 800 on the [future] network.

 

Yeah, true.... I'd still like to find out how to use a 1200xl with them though. They are my main atari. Puff said it could be done. Something about needing a second rom.

 

if your 1200xl has been upgraded to use the xl/xe rom, then its no problem.. just drop it in.. if you wanna use the old 8k rom sockets, then talk to guitarman or Bob1200XL. They can tell you how to split the rom image, and which eproms to use...

 

After you pointed me in the right direction I found Guitarman's thread on the xl/xe rom upgrade. I'll go with it. So that’s cool, getting a 1200xl to work with the mux should not be a big deal... and I'll do the internal basic while I'm working on it.

[sup8pdct]

I just a real quick look at the mux rom. the 800 v ersion would also loose the config menu.

I can re do it If you want, but won't be able to look at it till after easter. Then you will need to get it going in the 800.

 

James

 

unfortunatily, no. i lost them years ago. i did have to mod them a bit. ie get the nmi reset working.

I did it just to see if it could be done. leaving the cart door open all the time would be a bit of a pain.

I Used a local rom upgrade board that had both a 4k and 8k rom on it for $Cxxx and $E000-$FFFF reagons. The orignal maths rom was left in.

 

James

 

 

Do you still have the 800 roms? After this talk about the muxes I bought a starter set today and would LOVE to get my 800 on the [future] network.

 

Yeah, true.... I'd still like to find out how to use a 1200xl with them though. They are my main atari. Puff said it could be done. Something about needing a second rom.