31343 18-AUG 14:59 Telcom RE: Terminal Programs OS9 (Re: Msg 31329) From: TIMKIENTZLE To: SQUAREB (NR) Most RSDOS term programs do support XModem. I know for certain that Autoterm does, since I've heard many people report problems with it! If you're interested in downloading OS9 files, then you can use an RSDOS terminal program to download the file, and then use one of two programs to transfer it to an OS9-format disk. - RS2OS9.BAS (many other names) is an RSBASIC program that "converts" an RSDOS disk into an OS9 disk. You can then read the files from OS9, and copy them to a "real" OS9 disk. Many of these programs unfortunately have restrictions on the number and size of files they can deal with. - "rsdos" is an OS9 program that can read/write RSDOS disks. It's a bit tricky to install, since it requires patching some parts of OS9. You'll need to use something like RS2OS9.BAS to get the needed files ("rsdos" binary, documentation, patch files, and the patch program "ipatch") onto an OS9 disk to get started. Worth the effort, though, if you plan to transfer a lot of files back and forth. Once you can transfer files from RSDOS to OS9, you can then work on getting an OS9 terminal program working. Be aware that using a terminal program reliably under OS9 _requires_ an RS232 pak. I recommend Telstar, Supercomm, or JTerm as probably being among the easiest to start with. Once you have one of those running, you'll be able to download directly to an OS9 disk, and can start thinking about getting another terminal program, such as OSTerm, KBCom, or WizPro. All of these (and more!) are in the databases here. Good luck, Tim Kientzle -*- 31412 21-AUG 04:29 Telcom RE: Terminal Programs OS9 (Re: Msg 31343) From: FRANCALCRAFT To: TIMKIENTZLE (NR) You forgot to mention that one also needs the archiving program to unarchive those programs. Ipatch & associated files, and RSDOS and associated files are both archived. -*- End of Thread. -*- 31344 18-AUG 15:02 Device Drivers RE: 80track qume (Re: Msg 31330) From: TIMKIENTZLE To: SCG The standard Tandy-compatible controllers can only step as fast as 6ms. All of that timing is handled by the FDC chip, and all standard disk controllers use the WD1773 FDC, which can only go as fast as 6ms. The Eliminator or some of the SCSI floppy controller boards can go faster, but I doubt it's worth it just to get faster floppies. If you want to get a hard disk, you might keep this in mind, that some of the hard disk interfaces can also interface floppy controller boards. - Tim -*- 31424 21-AUG 22:32 Device Drivers RE: 80track qume (Re: Msg 31344) From: SCG To: TIMKIENTZLE (NR) Thanks for the reply ... unfortunetly I kind of figured that but thanks again! and also dodgecolt thanks -*- End of Thread. -*- 31345 18-AUG 15:05 General Information RE: Cave Walker (Re: Msg 31328) From: TIMKIENTZLE To: DRDUDE One other desperate idea.... a very few programs do have problems with Shell+, and you may want to at least try it with the stock Shell. Someone else mentioned that they had run it by booting from the stock Tandy OS9 Level II boot. Have you tried that? - Tim -*- 31348 18-AUG 18:19 General Information RE: Cave Walker (Re: Msg 31342) From: DRDUDE To: TIMKIENTZLE Well, I have tried all of this, and no go... I even booted up my OS-9 disk that came out od the box, and still no go... thanks for everything though! -Dr. Dude -Andy DePue -*- End of Thread. -*- C334$LNK@ULR":%=I55IM"Un RE: large data file problem (Re: Msg 31341) From: GREGL To: THUNDERFNGRS (NR) I would suggest changing your offset variables from an integer to a real. For example, use something like this: DIM Offset:REAL DIM Path:BYTE OPEN #Path,"temporary_file":UPDATE Offset:=140250 SEEK #Path,Offset The problem with integers (in BASIC09) is that the value is limited to a range of -32768 to +32767. This is much to small for large files and the signed arithmetic will drive you nuts. BASIC09 is a good language but it has a serious limitation of data types. But REAL variables do work - BASIC09 will automaticall convert from REAL to LONG when necessary. But note that this will not work if you use system calls via SysCall; but you shouldn't use SysCall for seeks anyway. -- Greg -*- 31347 18-AUG 18:00 Patches RE: b&b + PBJ CC-BUS (Re: Msg 30752) From: SALZARD To: DENNYSKALA I downloaded the article on the PBJ modifications to work with the Co/Co-3 but references to "U-9" etc. did not help since I must have an earlier or later model PBJ C-C Bus with differenct "U" assignments to the same chips. What is the Chip ID for U-9? Is it 74LS10N ? I also discovered that the Schotkey (sp) diode interrupt fix suggested in last november's Rainbow caused some really weird problems unless the Rad Shack Multipak is plugged in, so I had to rip that out too. --Rodger Alexander -*- 31401 20-AUG 22:08 Patches RE: b&b + PBJ CC-BUS (Re: Msg 31347) From: DENNYSKALA To: SALZARD Yup, U-9 is indeed a 74LS10 - the only one on the board. I guess I'm not too surprised the the diode hack is incompatible with the CCBus - it always *WAS* kinda touchy. Keep that cable short fer sure! ***** Dennis ***** -*- End of Thread. -*- 31349 18-AUG 19:40 General Information SCSI HD From: MATTSINGER To: MATHOMPSON Matt, Since you have a Seagate, you would know this, and I want to make sure that I have the story straight. Does the disto board plug DIRECTLY into a HD that has an imbedded controller or does it plug into that card they sell to plug into the IBM bus? -*- 31364 19-AUG 04:00 General Information RE: SCSI HD (Re: Msg 31349) From: MATHOMPSON To: MATTSINGER Hi Matt, Like I said, I've never seen Disto's new drivers/patch/whatever, so I dunno what they do. Also, when I said get Ken Scales SASI drivers, I didn't know that minutes before, he was uploading new SCSI drivers. So you might wanna try them. My drivers are coming along. I highly recommend that you wait until mine are available before you do the format tho, so that you don't have to reformat to get an extra few meg (dunno why Seagate used so #$%& much inter-sector control byte garbage). Also, you can bet your drive will already be preformatted for 512, so you won't even have to use a single RuSty-DOS formatter program. And there is one other hitch. I highly suspect that the ST296N can only handle 512-byte sectors. In this whole SCSI debate on the forum, I have an extra card in my favor. There's a guy in my department at work who is the SCSI drive expert/ hacker/purchaser for my company, Northern Telecom/BNR, a $6BillionUS/yr Canadian telecommuncations company. I will check his vast library of product manuals and SCSI specs to find out for sure, but my suspicion is that only the 125N, 138N and 157N can do 256. I got talking to this guy about this once and he said the only reason they added to 256 support to SOME drives was for the retro-fit market, to replace dying competitors' drives. Hardly any new computers/systems/whatever these days use 256 byte sectors. The 225N and 251N have also been upgraded to 256 sector capability. These are older 5.25" drives, while the others above are 3.5". Originally none of these drives supported 256. The manual I have at home only talks about the 125N, 138N and 157N. Another reason I am led to believe that the 296N won't work is recent messages on the forum by XLIONX that he can't get his friend's 296N to work. If the RuSty-DOS format program tells it 256 bytes, & the the 296N doesn't like it, it dies. But in all, I am not *totally* sure that the 296N cannot handle 256, so don't take my word for it unless I find out for sure. As far as I know, Ken Scales is not planning 512 support. He basically wrote his drivers to get a friend's SASI system up and running, and Disto's drivers weren't so hot. I am writing mine to help get my new hard drive, which I got free but is 512-only, up & running. I've got over 90 megs riding on these drivers. And having access to a mountain of SCSI docs like me sure helps! Also, I sure hope you didn't get suckered into getting an IBM SCSI controller to go with your 296N-- you don't need it, and you can't even use it. Some dealers in Computer Shopper sell IBM package deals as opposed to just the drive, so you gotta watch out. The Disto or any other SCSI controller plugs right into the drive. That's what I like about embedded SCSI... a minimum of cables and cards to get it the way and soak up power supply juice. And since you ETA is 2-3 weeks, sit tight. I'll see what I can do to get my 512 byte drivers uploaded by then. Note that I will not be able to logon to Delphi from Aug 30 - Sep 10, as I will be moving. I also won't be working in Ottawa anymore, so I won't be able to consult Northern Telecom's SCSI oracle, either. One way or the other your 296N will be up and running in no time. - Matthew Thompson -*- 31374 19-AUG 13:38 General Information RE: SCSI HD (Re: Msg 31364) From: MATTSINGER To: MATHOMPSON Just wanted to make sure that I don't buy the card if I don't need it. Well, TTYL! Thanks! -*- 31409 21-AUG 00:59 General Information RE: SCSI HD (Re: Msg 31364) From: 07ESRTIMOTHY To: MATHOMPSON How about ESDI drivers. I have 2 327 meg esdi drives and two esdi scsi to esdi controlers. Also how about drivers for a 60 meg 1/4 inch tape drive with scsi controler. Are they a lot different than what we have been talking about? Is it possible to partition disks like have a discriptor for h0a, and h0b being able to format each seperatly have there fat table etc? If you need hardware specifics let me know. Thanks Tim Fadden -*- End of Thread. -*- 31350 18-AUG 21:24 Utilities RE: help (Re: Msg 31336) From: DCJR To: ROYBUR Roy, I use HDKit for backing up my hard drive, and I would highly recommend getting the "ReBack" utility also. This is a Basic09 program that acts as an interface for the HDKit utils and takes a lot of the pain out of using them. The command lines for HDKit can be just a wee bit abstruse at times... DCJR (Doug James) -*- 31351 18-AUG 22:26 Utilities RE: help (Re: Msg 31350) From: ROYBUR To: DCJR Thanks a lot, Doug - for both the tips. I'll have to wait 'til I can get off this 'other' computer (and I use the term loosely :) ) to get hdkit, etc. downloaded. But get it I shall! thanx again Roy -*- End of Thread. -*- 31352 18-AUG 22:28 Device Drivers RE: New DIsto Driver (Re: Msg 31320) From: XLIONX To: KSCALES Howdy Ken, I am helping (trying) a friend with a ST296N (manufactured this or last year) and a second hand DISTO 4in1 system. The docs were crashed but another friend had a set of originals. The drive came formatted with 512 bytes per sector and a spec sheet with ZERO defects! The question I have is: Can this drive be formatted for 256 bytes/sector and can the RSDOS low-level format be patched (or edited) to work with this drive. A call was placed to CRC/DISTO and they said "Oh, yes this should work fine". Was there another revision of software released for the larger drives? Where can I get a copy FAST? When do you forsee a patched driver (or new) for the 512 byte/sector format? (from you or MATHOMPSON (spell?)) Thanks -Mark W. Farrell (PegaSystems) -XLIONX (DELPHI) -SIGOp ProSIG (Pinball Haven RiBBS v2.0 (708)428-8445) -mwf@SANDV -*- 31363 19-AUG 04:00 Device Drivers RE: New DIsto Driver (Re: Msg 31352) From: MATHOMPSON To: XLIONX Hi Mike, I think I can help you more with your problem than Ken Scales (Ken would agree, I am sure :-) or Disto. In the last week I've created alot of noise on the forum with my SCSI experiences, and one thing that I have tried to point out to people is the 256/512 byte sector dilemma. If you haven't read all the forum messages from the last week carefully, you might wanna check all messages from/to MATTSINGER, KSCALES, COLINMACKAY, ANTNIE and myself from the last week or so to get a complete lowdown on the subject. I recommend this for anybody who hasn't already done so and is considering hard drives. As for your 296N problem, see my reply to MATTSINGER which follows this message. It should answer some of your questions. If you have a Seagate N-Series drive you should wait for my 512 drivers anyways. Becuase the real advantage of 512 on a Seagate N is MANY MORE MEGS of storage (the full 80-odd meg) as opposed to an inefficient 256 (oh, say 75 or so). This is assuming the 296N even works at 256... which I doubt. See the following message. Good luck... - Matthew Thompson Ottawa Canada -*- 31365 19-AUG 04:01 Device Drivers RE: New DIsto Driver (Re: Msg 31319) From: MATHOMPSON To: KSCALES Hi Ken, Private business: Yes I am getting a PIN so I can dial in. Would like to get your 3270 emu plus kermit xfer prog, assuming you get it working. I just found a few meg of gif & mac gfx files on the token ring... wouldn't wanna bog you with 'em, so will do 'em myself. May try xfer from my Apollo if I can find an xym-type cmd. Delphi business: 1) Open mouth 2) Insert foot. I guess you just uploaded your SCSI drivers as I was recommending people to get your SASI . In case you forumers aren't aware, Ken Scales SASI/SCSI drivers is a culmination of what has to be the ultimate helping-to-get-a-fellow-OS9er's- hard-drive- system-up-and-running story that you'll probably ever know. He slaved untold of hundreds hours and late nites trying to get a friend's SASI system up and running. He eventually gave up on all available SASI drivers and wrote his own, and has uploaded them here. It is the product of two years of head banging and wild goose chases, trying to get this elusive system working. So you really gotta give him credit for these drivers. He had no other reason to write them except to help this guy out. Now this guy is buying my SC-II/4-in-1 when I get my MM/1, and I'LL have to support his drive system. Ken, HHHHEEEELLLLPPPP!!!! You know who :=] -*- 31430 22-AUG 01:36 Device Drivers RE: New DIsto Driver (Re: Msg 31352) From: KSCALES To: XLIONX Mark - By now you have probably read Matthew Thompson's msg #31363, which identifies our main worry about the ST296N drive -- we aren't sure if the controller firmware has support for 256-byte sectors. Matt was going to try to check his available docs to see if support was documented. But as he implied in his msg, this capability was being retrofitted into selected Seagate drives, so might only be mentioned in the very latest docs. Might be that the only way to get the definitive answer, is for you to just try it out. If so, either the ST225N or ST157N formatter should do the job with some bug fixes (MPI slot selection if you use an MPI, and addition of a timeout following the SCSI bus reset -- see my msg #31321 to ANTNIE for details). For optimum performance, a minor change is needed for the interleave factor [variable C(5) in line 65]. ASSUMING that the ST296N CAN be formatted for 256-byte sectors, we still don't know a couple of very important things: - how many sectors/track result? If docs don't tell us, we will have to create a program to query the drive itself for this info. - what is the optimum interleave factor [variable C(5)]? This may require some very tedious trial-and-error work on your part. So... the big question is... How quickly do you want to get this drive up and running? Can you wait for Matt to complete his driver, or do you want to get it working sooner (meaning 256-byte sectors)? ... / Ken PS - By the way, I have NO plans to add 512-byte support to my version of the drivers. This is Matt's project, and he is in a better position to tackle this one, since he has all the necessary hardware. Incidentally, we are NOT working in isolation -- we are friends, and currently work for the same employer. Though sometimes he doesn't listen to me as much as he should . -*- 31443 22-AUG 03:11 Device Drivers RE: New DIsto Driver (Re: Msg 31352) From: AJMLFCO To: XLIONX can say for sure that you can use a ST296N drive under OS9 with 256 byte sectors. I have spent the time to re-write the Disto program to properly work with ST157N and ST296N drives. I am talking about the RS-basic formatter, not the OS9 drivers. I will ask Disto's permission to put the corrected code here in the forum. I am eagerly awaiting better SCSI drivers. I think those are already posted here. I have two ST157N's and my friend Mark Johnson has the ST296N. Mark is the sysop of Columbia Heights BBS at 206-425-5804 2400bd 24hrs. Fidonet 105/641. Allen Morgan -*- 31451 22-AUG 23:18 Device Drivers RE: New DIsto Driver (Re: Msg 31430) From: XLIONX To: KSCALES Howdy Ken, just logged on to leave you a message and you have one for me! Well things are looking MUCH better as I have talked to Tony (DISTO) and CRC. The ST296N WILL handle 256/512/1024 bytes per sector. (WHEW) We have installed your SCSI patch and are holding you responsible for the thing suddenly starting to....WORK!!! THANKS. What we had here was a failure to communicate! (The drive and I ) What Tony said (and it seems to be working) is that since the drive works by LSN alone, the only reason you need the info in the descriptor (H/C/S) is to develop the correct (usualy less than the drive capacity) size of the sector allocation table starting at LSN1. Otherwise, since we don't give the drive any of this info for normal use, all we have to make sure of is that Heads x Cyl x Sect_Track x Bytes_Sector = 75Mb (approx size of ST296N fmtd). Our main problem is/was that we have a copy of the initial release for the SC-II and the 4in1 board and we are probably missing some DOCS. Tony says that the most current DISTO 'ware is dated Dec 28, 89. The dates on some of the files on these disks date to April, 87?!?!?!?!? (OOPS) Well thanks from Jeff Chapin (Tangerine) and I (XLIONX) for the help and the driver patch. -Mark W. Farrell (PegaSystems) -XLIONX (DELPHI) -SIGOp ProSIG (Pinball Haven (708) 428-8445) -mwf@SANDV p.s. Our first attempt will use the built in ILV and STP. CYL=820 SCT=60 TOS=60 SAS=16 SID=6 We will give you an update after we load software. -*- End of Thread. -*- 31353 18-AUG 22:37 Device Drivers SCSI the universe and everything From: XLIONX To: DISTO Howdy Tony, Hey, are you aware of a method to make a Segate ST296N work with a 4in1 system? We are trying to get the system to work (second hand 4in1 (old I think)) and have no way so far to low-level format the system. What should we do guy??? I will call CRC on monday morning to ask for myself...mabey we need some new software or something?!?!?! Mabey there is a trick to it that is on a page that is missing? Thanks for any hael you can offer!!! :-) (That's help BTW) -Mark W. Farrell (PegaSystems) -XLIONX (DELPHI) -SIGOp ProSIG (Pinball Haven RiBBS v2.0 (708)428-8445) -mwf@SANDV -*- 31354 19-AUG 03:30 General Information RE: UUCP port (Re: Msg 31277) From: EDDIEKUNS To: THEFERRET The "%" signs mean something like "gateway" to the internet, I believe. ie: Something like name%mts@itsgw.rpi.edu means the address itsgw.rpi.edu is a gateway that has access to the machine mts. Eddie -*- 31355 19-AUG 03:31 Programmers Den RE: MM1 & C (Re: Msg 31279) From: EDDIEKUNS To: ALPHASOFT Does anyone know if the MM/1 will come with a debugger? I'm hoping to be able to debug C, of course! (I wonder if Microware sells a debugger, or if it comes as part of the C package?) Eddie -*- 31366 19-AUG 04:13 Programmers Den RE: MM1 & C (Re: Msg 31355) From: THEFERRET To: EDDIEKUNS I don't think it comes with a "real" debugger. it may come with the 68000 debug, but that'S about it, I think. What were you expecting, Saber-C ? :-) -*- 31379 19-AUG 16:55 Programmers Den RE: MM1 & C (Re: Msg 31366) From: GREGL To: EDDIEKUNS (NR) Microware does have a C source debugger if you are willing to pay $695 for it. But what else did you expect from Microware besides exhorbatant prices. Sometimes it really makes me sick, especially considering that you can get a professional development system for MS-DOS for $150 - including ANSI C and C++ compiler, assembler, source debugger, and profiler. And if the 6809 C compiler from Microware reflects their workmanship, I wouldn't expect the 68000 C compiler to be any better. We all know the defects in the 6809 compiler and from looking at the source, I'd say it was thrown together in the course of two weeks and shipped out the door. And as for getting it fixed, I've come to the conclusion that a total rewrite is the only way to fix it. Hopefully Microware has more heart in the 68000 products and is willing to put in the time and energy to deliver a working product that is, for all intents and purposes, without bugs. If not, perhaps Microware can take lessons from their early days when they had the drive and determination to be the best they could be. -- Greg -*- 31404 20-AUG 23:16 Programmers Den RE: MM1 & C (Re: Msg 31379) From: ALPHASOFT To: GREGL Hopefully Microware will make a special cheapie version of their debugger for us small time users. I wish they would go after the mass market insteppOad of the high end market. I've seen companies produce cheapie versions of their software for different markets (Microsoft C/QuickC $595/$99). If Microware doesn't come through, maybe we can make one of our own? I have put some thought into this. A simple way to get at least source could be implemented as follows Have the compiler output assembler code with the source code in comments (theres an option for that). Read in the assembler code, and stick SWI statements after every comment line (code). A special Cstart could then be written that processed the SWI calls and output proper lines of code. I'm sure there would be some things to work out, but this might get us at least a source level stepper (not a real debugger). If anyone else has comments, let me know! Keith. -*- 31422 21-AUG 21:10 Programmers Den RE: MM1 & C (Re: Msg 31404) From: GREGL To: ALPHASOFT I understand what you are trying to get at but I do have some disagreement. In the specific case of Microsoft C and Quick C, the end result is an overpriced C compiler with a cheap debugger and a torn-down version of a Quick C compiler. Granted, some people think Microsoft Quick C is the best thing since sliced bread but I disagree. Especially considering that you can purchase Turbo C++ Professional for $150 which is both an ANSI C compiler and an AT&T C++ compiler with a debugger that supports 386-protected mode and 286-protected mode along with a source profiler. Of course that means real hardware breakpoints on the 386 - yeah, it took Intel that long to add hardware breakpoints. I think all of the 68000-series has hardware breakpoint registers. Hooray Motorola! It's too bad that Borland is marketing to a wider end-user market and Microware is marketing to a narrow industrial market. That means Borland can maintain a nice profit margin by selling large quantities of its products whereas Microware's products gather dust on the shelves. Maybe, finally after all these years, OS-9 will come out of the closet and give all of us the luxury of marketing to a vast number of end-users. Sheesh, these guys on MS-DOS systems think being able to hot-key into Sidekick from another application is real multitasking. They haven't seen anything yet - like compiling huge amounts of source code while downloading files from Delphi and editing other files simultaneously. Even Microsoft Windows can't do that without an extremely fast processor with gigabytes of memory and disk space. -- Greg -*- 31428 22-AUG 00:40 Programmers Den RE: MM1 & C (Re: Msg 31366) From: EDDIEKUNS To: THEFERRET Hehehe. Well, something like Turbo's debugger would have been really nice. :) Eddie P.S. Hey, I'd be overjoyed even with something as primitive as UNIX's debuggers! :) -*- 31437 22-AUG 02:05 Programmers Den RE: MM1 & C (Re: Msg 31428) From: THEFERRET To: EDDIEKUNS (NR) "I'd be happy with something as primitive as UNIX's debuggers" Actually, I was referring to OUR primitive debugger in the developer's pak (Which is the same debug that was released with os9 Level I, I believe!!!) -*- End of Thread. -*- 31356 19-AUG 03:36 General Information RE: Tetris (Re: Msg 31114) From: BRIANWHITE To: DODGECOLT Mike, Okay, it was just an idea. I played Tetris once in an arcade and a couple of times on an IBM-PC (both PD and original version) and I always remember being able to move a block until it tried to move over an existing block, not only until it touched an e xisting block. I'm not very experienced with Tetris either (getting better every day -- now have a score over 1000!!!), but that is what I remember. What do other people say? Have you seen the take-offs on Tetris? One was called something like "Those Darned Columns" and involved matching rows/columns/diagonals of the same color. All of the pieces came in multi colors. I can give you more info if you are interested. By far the most interesting was 3-D Tetris. Now that is a challenge! Brian -*- 31375 19-AUG 14:05 General Information RE: Tetris (Re: Msg 31356) From: DODGECOLT To: BRIANWHITE (NR) The only takeoff from Tetris I have seen was 3-D tetris. Yea, that did look REALLY nice, tho I don't know if I could get the graphics smooth enough. Sure, you can send me info about any of the takeoffs, but knowing me I probably won't get to it until next year... :) -Mike -*- End of Thread. -*- 31357 19-AUG 03:36 General Information RE: GFX2 & MM/1 (Re: Msg 31123) From: BRIANWHITE To: GREGL Greg, The OS-9 file descriptors aren't that bad... They could have been done like RS-DOS! Still, they could use improvement. I was just trying to think of a way to expand them without losing any real compatability. Brian -*- 31378 19-AUG 16:12 General Information RE: GFX2 & MM/1 (Re: Msg 31357) From: GREGL To: BRIANWHITE (NR) I agree for the most part. When OS-9 Level I, the file descriptors were perfect - or nearly so. But with more powerful systems and mega-mega hard drives, it is obvious that it could use some help. What you may be missing is that it does have to be totally incompatible. After all, RBF is the guru handling the file descriptors and who's to say that you can't have two RBF's sitting in memory. For example, Old_RBF and its floppy driver and descriptor could handle compatibility with older systems while RBF and its hard/floppy drivers and descriptors handle the new stuff. The first step would be to back up the hard drive and install the new RBF and old_RBF simultaneously; reformat the hard drive and restore using old_RBF from floppies. The only time you would need to use old_RBF after this would be to copy files from outmoded floppies. The only problem is that it isn't this clean. old_RBF could fake the new stuff to return to the kernel to help with the conversion. But you can't make everybody use it. -- Greg -*- End of Thread. -*- 31358 19-AUG 03:37 Programmers Den RE: Speeding up the coco3 (Re: Msg 31134) From: BRIANWHITE To: DSRTFOX (NR) Send that last message to MATHOMPSON. He designed something like that and could give you more info. Brian -*- 31359 19-AUG 03:37 General Information RE: Alias (Re: Msg 31245) From: BRIANWHITE To: TIMKIENTZLE Tim, Yeah, I was thinking about the UNiX dot convention for hiding files, too. It was one of the reasons why I said that those two flags were both pretty useless. One idea for an extra byte could be last-modified "seconds". That would keep make from re-compiling/assembling files that had their source and output written within the same minute. Do you write your milti-megabyte files as a background task while you do disk access in the foreground? OS-9 should simply extend the last segment most of the time, unless you have two or more process that are leap-frogging. Brian -*- 31394 20-AUG 10:10 General Information RE: Alias (Re: Msg 31359) From: TIMKIENTZLE To: BRIANWHITE (NR) No, Brian, these files were written while nothing else was running. The reason they got so badly fragmented was that OS9 couldn't simply extend the last segment. My hard disk is large, and I've been running it for almost two years, so there are lots of holes in the allocation. Since the output was from a pipe, there's no preextension, so OS9 just tries to allocate segments as large as the current SAS setting. This setting is normally 32, and there are LOTS of 32-sector holes in my disk structure. Setting SAS to 255 keeps OS9 from allocating segments in those smaller holes. The only (temporary) fix is to defragment my hard disk. Ugh. And even with that, it will eventually get this bad anyway. You see the problem? - Tim -*- End of Thread. -*- 31360 19-AUG 03:37 Telcom RE: remote login question (Re: Msg 31214) From: BRIANWHITE To: ZACKSESSIONS Zack, I got a suggestion for your login problem. Since login will pass parameters to a program when it starts it, why not change the last part of the password file to be: ...,shell p="What Now? " i=/1 Note: I also discovered that if you were to put a program name in the above parameter list, the immortal shell would run that program and then send it's prompt to "/1" when finished. (Shell+ v2.1) Brian -*- 31372 19-AUG 11:35 Telcom RE: remote login question (Re: Msg 31360) From: ZACKSESSIONS To: BRIANWHITE (NR) Actually, a previous responder supplied me with the solution. It was to patch the binary with the string "What now? " INCLUDING the quotes. This works in window devices and for device /t2. Zack -*- 31396 20-AUG 10:21 Telcom RE: remote login question (Re: Msg 31360) From: TIMKIENTZLE To: BRIANWHITE (NR) Brian, Care to try your comment about putting a program name as part of the shell? I couldn't get it to work here. Just curious, since your comment doesn't quite match my impression of how the shell handles certain things. - Tim -*- End of Thread. -*- 31361 19-AUG 03:37 General Information SCSI Driver Speed From: BRIANWHITE To: COLINMCKAY Colin, Watch what you say about SCSI! I personally re-wrote Roger's SCSI drivers (the same ones that Matthew uses) to be capable of moving 1 MB of data in under 14.5 seconds (no-halt, no-IRQ-mask, of course) and its hard to see how how any data transfer loop f or any controller could be much smaller/faster! TOP THAT!!! SCSI, however, is capable of handling up to 4MB per second in its transfer rate, though few drives around the CoCo users price range go above 1MB per second. The speed slowdown is not SCSI, n or is it the SCSI controller on the computer. As far as Matt and I have been able to tell, the biggest slowdown for our drives is the interleave factor when used with the CoCo's inefficient RBFMan. We have not bothered to optimize that...yet. Matt can give more info on the actual drive because he has the tech-specs on it. It is most difinitely not SCSI that is the speed factor here. Brian P.S. Don't forget that SCSI is far more portable than anything else, including access to most all computer brands. It also has such wonderful things as 800MB optical WORM drives and upcoming THOR-CD's -- Writable, Eraseable, Readable 600MB storage! Ai n't SCSI grand... -*- 31390 20-AUG 02:45 General Information RE: SCSI Driver Speed (Re: Msg 31361) From: THEFERRET To: BRIANWHITE (NR) "the problem is the interleave factor" ??? I presume you know that you can change the interleave factor when formatting any new volume. What I suppose you mean is that RBFman cannot COPE with close interleaving ? Philip -*- End of Thread. -*- 31362 19-AUG 03:38 General Information Message Replies From: BRIANWHITE To: KSCALES Ken, Whatsa matter Ken? Never sure if the people you send mail to have read your message because they never reply back? Hmmm... Seems to me (and Matt) that there was some other "KS" guy here on Delphi who did something like that... Brian -*- 31367 19-AUG 07:18 Utilities rssave From: WB4GCS To: ZACKSESSIONS Zack Just got a look at rssave --- SUPER! One thought -- how about a pcsave version using pcdos??? I'm going to attempt to patch the source code, but you could probably do better since you wrote the original code. I have a great use for a pcdos version. 73, Jim wb4gcs -*- 31373 19-AUG 11:38 Utilities RE: rssave (Re: Msg 31367) From: ZACKSESSIONS To: WB4GCS Simply patching to use PCDos instead of RSDos will not do it. You will also have to modify the interpetation of the directory output for MS-DOS. I will look into it, though. Good suggestion! Zack -*- 31398 20-AUG 19:11 Utilities RE: rssave (Re: Msg 31373) From: WB4GCS To: ZACKSESSIONS Zack Yes, I knew that directory interpretation would be required...working on it. If I get it done before I hear from you, I'll send you the changes...also considering removing the hardcoding of the RSDOS device ...it's not clear to me why that was necessary. Anyway, will keep u advised. tnx & 73! Jim -*- 31403 20-AUG 23:11 Utilities RE: rssave (Re: Msg 31398) From: ZACKSESSIONS To: WB4GCS 73, huh? Should've known from your "handle" that you were a HAM! Hardcoding of the RSDOS device? Hmm, I guess you mean forcing it to be /d0? I felt that that /d0 would be the most common device name for this application, and anyone who want to change it only had to patch one location. I didn't want to have users to have to enter it every time, since this device, once established should never change. Keep me informed on the progress! Zack -*- 31420 21-AUG 20:52 Utilities RE: rssave (Re: Msg 31403) From: GREGL To: ZACKSESSIONS Perhaps in most cases the device used by RSDOS will never change, but certainly not in all cases. The device I use will either be /F0 or /F1, depending on whether I am transferring files from 3.5 or 5.25 inch disks. But even with all the hoopla about hard-coding device names, I can understand why you made the decision. After all, I use 3.5 inch disks with RSDOS about once a blue moon, if that often. And storing something as trivial as that in a configuration file seems like a such a waste of disk space. -- Greg -*- 31427 21-AUG 23:22 Utilities RE: rssave (Re: Msg 31420) From: ZACKSESSIONS To: GREGL The big diff between your system and mine is that you call your floppy drives /Fn where I call mine /dn. The reference to /d0 is a constant so a simple dEd patch will fix it up, and knowing you, a simple re-edit of the source with a re-compile could fix ya up. Zack -*- End of Thread. -*- 31369 19-AUG 08:27 General Information Tymnet From: JTHUIRER To: ALL Is there any special setup required for 2400 baud operation on Tymnet? On a non stop read of forum mesages the down load stops after about a minute. Will restart with break key, but that is a pain. No such problem using Telenet. With new pricing I want to change to Tymnet. By the way the terminal program is Wizpro. Never had any problems before. Any help will be appreciated. John -*- 31391 20-AUG 02:52 General Information RE: Tymnet (Re: Msg 31369) From: THEFERRET To: JTHUIRER (NR) I use tymnet ALL the time, at 2400 baud, and I don't have any problems with non- stop stuff. If it'S just the form, may be it'S something to do with your DELPHI setup or something. Tried downloading long files? -*- End of Thread. -*- 31370 19-AUG 10:46 Utilities Copy.ar From: PAULRINEAR To: ALL Hi, I am having alot of trouble with COPY.AR that was downloaded from here. It works fine until you try to do a multiple file copy with wild cards, for example: OS9::copy #40k /d0/lib/* -w=/r0 returns ERROR 216 can't copy /d0/lib/clib.l OS9::copy #40k /d0/lib/*.* -w=/r0 returns the help menu ?? Sometimes, it works and will copy multiple files. Usually when I first boot and haven't done very much else. Any ideas? PAULRINEAR -*- 31393 20-AUG 03:46 Utilities RE: Copy.ar (Re: Msg 31370) From: KNOT1 To: PAULRINEAR Paul, Why not try my program, "cp"? :-) What? Plugging my own program? I don't know what you're talking about! Really. It does work well with multi-file copies, ect., and doesn't require a memory specifier (e.g. #40k). You can find it in the "new" database. I haven't used the other program, so, sorry that I can help you there. -Jamie (KNOT1)- -*- 31399 20-AUG 19:46 Utilities RE: Copy.ar (Re: Msg 31393) From: PAULRINEAR To: KNOT1 I will download it and try it right now. Let you know how it works. Paul -*- 31441 22-AUG 02:43 Utilities RE: Copy.ar (Re: Msg 31399) From: KNOT1 To: PAULRINEAR Ok, Paul. Also, did you ever get that "Zenix" game? If so, how do you like it? -Jamie (KNOT1)- -*- End of Thread. -*- 31371 19-AUG 10:55 General Information RE: Repeating keys (Re: Msg 31340) From: KINGTRENT To: TIMKIENTZLE No, the multi-pak is not upgraded, and yes, the IRQ line is disconnected. So now I might be talked into the mpak upgrade. Would be curious as to why it would have any effect (affect - where is that dictionary!). - Mike -*- 31395 20-AUG 10:13 General Information RE: Repeating keys (Re: Msg 31371) From: TIMKIENTZLE To: KINGTRENT (NR) The explanation I've heard is that the MPI upgrade keeps the MPI from responding when the CoCo accesses the GIME. Without the upgrade, the CoCo can't always correctly read the GIME registers. In particular, it (incorrectly) thinks that the interrupt used for keyboard scanning happens more often than it does. (i.e. whenever an interrupt happens, it checks to see what interrupt it was, and the MPI causes OS9 to beleive that it was a keyboard interrupt) Since the keyboard scan code assumes it gets called at fixed intervals, if it gets called more often, the key repeat counts get decremented too fast. Make sense? - Tim -*- End of Thread. -*- 31376 19-AUG 15:41 General Information RE: Solid State Disk SRAM PACK (Re: Msg 31331) From: ADLSL To: SCG Tnx for Disco suggestion. I will check their catalog. They were not the vendor I remember however. It was a single product company that had a regular 1/8 page advertisement in Rainbow. The unit had built in battery backup and came with OS9 drivers. -*- 31380 19-AUG 16:58 General Information RE: 80 Track Drive (Re: Msg 31327) From: MPASSER To: DRDUDE (NR) Congrats on the hard drive acquisition, but I'm afraid that I know little to nothing about them, not having one myself. However, I am certain that you will be able to find plenty of competent people on the subject here in the forum. Mike Passer [MPASSER] -*- 31382 19-AUG 18:36 Telcom OSTerm From: PHILSCHERER To: ALL I use Osterm but I cant get it to backspace. Does any one have any ideas? All appreciated. -*- 31386 19-AUG 23:11 Telcom RE: OSTerm (Re: Msg 31382) From: ZACKSESSIONS To: PHILSCHERER Try a ^h (control H). -*- 31392 20-AUG 02:55 Telcom RE: OSTerm (Re: Msg 31386) From: THEFERRET To: PHILSCHERER Some systems want a DELETE for a backspace character (many UNIX systems do). I do not believe OSterm supports delete (chr$ 127). However, KBcom in the database, DOES have delete. Philip P.S. if you want it for a UNIX system, all youse have to do is use "stty erase ^H", the ^H being a "real" ^H, not a composite, as I just did here. -*- 31414 21-AUG 18:12 Telcom RE: OSTerm (Re: Msg 31386) From: PHILSCHERER To: ZACKSESSIONS Hi Zack--I just tried what you said and it had no effect. Thanks for the reply. -*- 31416 21-AUG 18:14 Telcom RE: OSTerm (Re: Msg 31392) From: PHILSCHERER To: THEFERRET Thanks for the reply. Does KBcom have an ANSI option?? -*- 31436 22-AUG 02:04 Telcom RE: OSTerm (Re: Msg 31416) From: THEFERRET To: PHILSCHERER (NR) Not quite sure about ANSI. VT100 usually is about the same thing, but without color. It probably does, thou. -*- 31440 22-AUG 02:42 Telcom RE: OSTerm (Re: Msg 31392) From: KNOT1 To: THEFERRET You can generate a DELETE character under OS-9 by pressing Ctrl-Simicolon ( ^; ). It would appear as an underscore on a text screen, as a shaded box on a graphics screen. Thus, any OS-9 terminal program should be able to produce a DELETE character. -Jamie (KNOT1)- -*- 31442 22-AUG 02:49 Telcom RE: OSTerm (Re: Msg 31440) From: THEFERRET To: KNOT1 Thank-You! IS that delete character actually in the manual, or is it just a bizzare fact you stumbled upon? -*- 31456 23-AUG 01:07 Telcom RE: OSTerm (Re: Msg 31442) From: KNOT1 To: THEFERRET Philip, I didn't find it in the manual myself, but it may be there. I believe I was just trying every key combination I could, to see what characters were produced. Produced a shaded box and wondered what character it was. Turned out to be the DELETE character. Of course, this was AFTER I added a function to my terminal program to send a DELETE character! -Jamie (KNOT1)- -*- 31457 23-AUG 01:43 Telcom RE: OSTerm (Re: Msg 31456) From: THEFERRET To: KNOT1 Well, it IS nice to have delete as ONE key (say, the back arrow), instead of a control key! Philip -*- End of Thread. -*- 31383 19-AUG 22:27 General Information SCSI ETC... From: COLINMCKAY To: BRIANWHITE (NR) Greetings, Brian! Long-time-no-argue! I wasn't deliberately belittling SCSI, only most of the implimentations that I have seen on the CoCo. Plan to get a SCSI drive myself, just as soon as my MM/1 arrives. Could you post a copy of your megaread program if it is different from the version that Bruce Isted posted? Would be interesting to run it on the Eliminator, and Ken's B&B system to make a legitimate speed comparison. 14.5 seconds is amazing! But if you are using the version that Ken gave you, watch out, as he had patched it for use on Bill's drive to only read 1/4 meg. The CRC for the unmodified version of MegaRead is $FE97D8. Assuming that you were using the patched version, that would put your speed at about 58 seconds. The Eliminator gives me a time of 41, though I haven't played with interleave etc. pending arrival of the daughter- board plans for the controller from Bruce Isted. Got MVCanvas recently, pretty good program, especially considering that it obeys all the rules. Not quite as fancy as CoCo Max, but it doesn't take over the entire screen either. Matt passed around a copy of your MIDI sound file spec at the last meeting. Looks pretty complete, though we really didn't have much time to look at them during the meeting. Finally got my system completely repackaged in a PC case. Even has a nameplate on the front -- KMA 09. Kinda neat, eh? Not too much happening locally. You are aware of the fun Ken is having with Bill's drive, and you've heard all about Matt's new drive. (Are you green with envy too?) Hope you find a job locally during your next work term, as you and Matt do help to keep the meetings interesting. TTYL. Colin. -*- 31384 19-AUG 22:29 General Information Stuff From: COLINMCKAY To: JENG Jerry, Yes, it looks like a few of us from Ottawa will be making the trek down to Atlantafest, all in pursuit of the elusive MM/1. Thanks for the new (at least to me!) info on the GUI for the MM/1. Also saw it mentioned by a guy named Mark Sheffield (who reportedly works for IMS) that the machine will come with CoCo style windows, with the GUI to arrive later, essentially the same way that the CoCo 3 version of OS-9 level two did, with Multivue arriving at a later date, and hopefully in much better shape. I agree with your assessment of OSGateway. Looks like there is no support planned initially, though some may arrive later. (PKW, any comments?) I suggested to GREGL that a conference be held online, with Frank Hogg, Paul Ward and Kevin Darling be held here to discuss the new machines. Also created a poll, so vote if you are interested. So you're from Pincher Creek? Ken Scales (KSCALES) used to be in a band that played there once. I guess they blinked the second time. -*- 31385 19-AUG 22:30 General Information MM/1 From: COLINMCKAY To: PKW (NR) Greetings, Paul A lot of confusion has been cleared up during the past few weeks with regards to the MM/1. Prices, details on some of the hardware options, software and so on are starting to fall into place. BTW, in message # 31286, you mentioned that Quick Basic is being bundled with DOS 5.0. Better be careful that line doesn't get misinterpreted as meaning the MM/1 comes with DOS... I do see the problem that you had phrasing your ad to say that DOS programs would be available. What would be reasonable estimates for the availability of hardware and software? I work at a project management office, so I know the difference between what the supplier says, and when the equip- ment actually starts arriving. The MM/1 was most recently announced as shipping in mid-September. Does this still hold true for the first units? When do you expect to start shipping in quantity to end users? When do you expect to start shipping the bus? How many slots will it be? And what cards will be available? Any estimates on when the Open Look clone will start shipping? How about Quick Basic? Any other titles to announce yet? And their shipping date? Thanks. Colin. -*- 31387 20-AUG 01:33 General Information RE: ROBOT ODYESSY I (Re: Msg 30719) From: WAYNELAIRD To: OS9BERT hmm can't think of a think of a thing, have you tried opening it in a graphics window? 32X16? or are you sure that the changing of the execution directories is the problems -wayne -*- 31429 22-AUG 01:16 General Information RE: ROBOT ODYESSY I (Re: Msg 31387) From: OS9BERT To: WAYNELAIRD (NR) I did that already. But the original program changes the execution directory to "/D0" which complicates things. I have disassembled the code and tried to patch it to run on a hard drive with a path "/dd/misc/robot" but with only about half of the code working. Bert -*- End of Thread. -*- 31388 20-AUG 01:48 General Information RE: Copyrights (Re: Msg 31050) From: WAYNELAIRD To: XLIONX hi mark, not wanting to jump too far into this discussion but I thought I saw a lawyer mention this about copyrights in an old rainbow issue. That if you buy someones program, that you can change it to suit your personal desires but if you sell that program to someone else then you have give all up all rights to owning that program including any changed ones that you may have made. the law currently says, I believe, that you can't change someones effort a litle and put your name on it. Which I believe is what you had in mind. if you have old rainbows check 'em out for that article. I belive there's currently congressional discussions on copyrighting going on as to how to protect your ideas. best, wayne -*- 31389 20-AUG 02:01 General Information 68K From: ATRDES To: ALL Does anyone know how compatible the file systems are between os9 6809 and osk? I have several disks which I believe to be from osk systems but I cannot read the file system. I have been able to t perform a sector by sector search of the disks, but I would like to view the actual file system. Is there a utility out there already? Does anyone have the info on how osk differs from the os9 filesystem so I can write my own utility to do this? -*- 31397 20-AUG 10:29 General Information RE: 68K (Re: Msg 31389) From: TIMKIENTZLE To: ATRDES (NR) I suspect you'll have to be more specific about _what_ OSk system they are from. You see, OS9 (and OSk) have been around long enough on enough different hardware that there are actually several different OS9 disk formats. Mostly, they differ just in the number of tracks/sectors, and Universal" OS9 format which has a few other changes. OS9 and OSk have (to my knowledge) always used the same basic file structure, though there are differences in the physical formats used. - Tim -*- End of Thread. -*- 31400 20-AUG 21:07 General Information RE: WIZ (Re: Msg 30978) From: OS9UGED To: KELLYH (NR) Either remove ACIAPAK driver from your boot, or make **very** sure that it is not being directly or indirectly INIZ'd. Also, make sure you are set for 7 bits SPC parity. -*- 31402 20-AUG 22:32 General Information RE: 15 meg Tandy HD (Re: Msg 31297) From: 6809ER To: TEDJAEGER Yes, I still have a Tandy 15 meg hard drive with controler card. Send me some Email and we will talk. Steve, 6809er -*- 31405 20-AUG 23:38 Programmers Den c wINDOWS From: MFAHY To: ALL I'm in the process of writing my own graphic editor for OS-9 using C. So far, so good (although it's only the second C program I've (and fastest way) to copy yet, to another window. I'd like to use such a routine as an 'UNDO' command (What goods an editor without one?) Any suggestions??? Also, who can tell me what word processor to buy for OS-9? I'm tir of powering down to use Telewriter in BASIC, but the people at Owl Ware don't seem to want to sell Window Writer lately. Help! -*- 31408 21-AUG 00:47 Programmers Den RE: c wINDOWS (Re: Msg 31405) From: TIMKIENTZLE To: MFAHY Looks like part of your message got lost. Be careful to press at the end of each screen line, or else stuff will get lost. As for Undo, the fastest way is probably to just "GET" chunks of the screen. Should be able to get the entire screen in just a few chunks, and fairly quickly at that. No need to mess with another window at all. (Though I guess you could use two windows, and swap between them... Hmmm..) - Tim -*- End of Thread. -*- 31406 20-AUG 23:42 Graphics & Music CGP COLOR DUMP From: MFAHY To: ALL Anyone interested in a color screen dump program for the CGP-220 anymore? I waited and waited for someone to make one, but I finally broke down and did it myself. Works great (All 64 colors displayed true), but could use a little refining. If you'd like, I could go ahead and upload it, or I could spend a little more time w ith (It just needs to be a little smaller, perhaps a little faster). It's written in C andoes what it's supposed to. -*- 31407 21-AUG 00:07 Graphics & Music RE: CGP COLOR DUMP (Re: Msg 31406) From: CBJ To: MFAHY Yes, by all means do upload it here. I have a CGP-220 and I'd love a copy. I feel there is never too much in our databases anyhow. ---Carl--- -*- 31415 21-AUG 18:13 Graphics & Music RE: CGP COLOR DUMP (Re: Msg 31406) From: ZACKSESSIONS To: MFAHY Since I just got a CGP-220, I'd be interested! -*- 31421 21-AUG 21:03 Graphics & Music RE: CGP COLOR DUMP (Re: Msg 31415) From: RAYMAYEUX To: MFAHY By all means upload it! -*- End of Thread. -*- 31410 21-AUG 02:03 Programmers Den Walias From: TIMKIENTZLE To: ZACKSESSIONS Zack, Take a look at "walias" I just uploaded. I think you'll like it. - Tim -*- 31411 21-AUG 02:05 Telcom Automatic file type detection From: TIMKIENTZLE To: EDDIEKUNS (NR) Eddie, I did just yesterday find a file that XYDown guessed wrong on, so I made a change to the file type determination code. You can look at the source I just uploaded, but the general jist is that I added a check to make sure that any nulls or Ctrl-Z's are at the end of the tested section, before a file will be accepted as ASCII. - Tim -*- 31413 21-AUG 15:11 General Information Hard drive with 4-in-1 From: RGRAHAM To: ALL I have a Seagate 157N SCSI drive I have hooked up with my Disto 4-in-1. Unfortunately I was unable to get the software off of it that should come on a small partition (I have a friend with an IBM who tried). Anyway, I couldn't figure out the basic logical format program, and don't know what to set the HMODE params to afterward. Can someone please help me with what to change in the BASIC program and what to set in the HMODE params. Thanx, RGRAHAM -*- 31417 21-AUG 20:23 General Information RE: EZGEN (Re: Msg 31381) From: BANDMAN To: ZACKSESSIONS Thanks...will check it out! ...Gary... -*- 31418 21-AUG 20:29 General Information MM/1 From: COLINMCKAY To: ALL Well, found another piece of the puzzle... ------------------------------------------------------- From: Kevin Darling DMA SCSI interface for the MM/1 on the second board is a WD 33C93. Any SCSI hard disk, or a regular hard drive with an Adaptec 4000A/4070 SCSI controller board should work. ------------------------------------------------------- From Computer Shopper, March 1990, p391: 4000 SCSI to ST506/412 $ 89 4000A SCSI - ST506 $139 4070 SCSI to ST506/412 RLL $119 Also of note: 4520 SCSI to ESDI $ 98 5500 SCSI to ST506/412 $125 5580 SCSI to SMD $175 -*- 31419 21-AUG 20:34 Device Drivers RE: SASI on the 4in1 (Re: Msg 31099) From: DISTO To: XLIONX Mark, Ken answered your questions much better than I would have......Thanks Ken!!!! -Tony. -*- 31423 21-AUG 22:27 General Information UUCP From: RICKADAMS To: GREGL Well, I've been having fun with my uucp implementation. On Wednesday, August 15th, I posted my first direct message to Usenet. This is the first Usenet message ever to be posted directly from a Coco 3. This morning, I saw that my entry into the UUCP maps had been accepted and distributed world-wide. I am, at this point, the only Color Computer 3 in the entire world that is an officially registered UUCP site. Yeeee HAW! --Rick Adams ...!apple!fico2!ccentral!rickadams -*- 31425 21-AUG 22:50 Patches SCSI patch From: MATTSINGER To: KSCALES When you say that your patches to the SCSI drivers for the disto board help eliminate lost characters, does that mean that some are STILL lost? Will I lose keystokes also at some times? Also, will they work withjh the 2 in one board? (HD and RS-232 port?) Thanks! -*- 31433 22-AUG 01:51 Patches RE: SCSI patch (Re: Msg 31425) From: KSCALES To: MATTSINGER There are many factors that can contribute to lost characters, and my patch can only help with one aspect of this problem. Please read the doc file provided with my patch for further detail. My driver is optimized to try to ensure that it absolutely minimizes the number of characters lost from the serial port (especially at 4800 baud and lower... higher baud rates will also be improved.) All of the preceeding applies to received RS232 characters. In terms of keyboard keystrokes, my driver should completely eliminate any lost characters. Clarification -- completely eliminate any characters lost due to the Hard Disk drive, of course!! Regarding the 2-in-1 board -- I am not aware of anyone who has tried this configuration. I see no reason why it would not work, since the drivers are compatible with the Disto stand-alone HDI, as well as the 4-in-1. Unless Tony made some incompatible changes for the 2-in-1. ... / Ken -*- 31446 22-AUG 19:16 Patches RE: SCSI patch (Re: Msg 31433) From: MATTSINGER To: KSCALES Thanks...just for some re-assurance in purchasing my hard drive, I am planning to buy a ST157N. Can you give me a very short abbreviation of what I will be doing to get it up and running? Thanks. -*- 31448 22-AUG 19:46 Patches RE: SCSI patch (Re: Msg 31425) From: ROYBUR To: MATTSINGER Don't know about the SCSI patches, but I used the SASI patches with my 2-in-1 DISTO board and it seems just fine - but it looks like I may need to re-format the thing, though for OTHER reasons. Other reasons. (I think I just screwed that up - hope it's still readable!) BTW, in order to get my rs232 port to work (it's IN the SC2) I had to place jumper J3 in the alternate memory map location. Is that also true for you, or do I have an odd one here? Roy -*- 31450 22-AUG 20:06 Patches RE: SCSI patch (Re: Msg 31448) From: MATTSINGER To: ROYBUR I don't have the board yet, but as I think, I may get the 4-in-1 at the last minute. Tell me something though, does the 2in1 extend OVER the rom socket? i.e. I want to put a smartwatch in there. -*- End of Thread. -*- 31426 21-AUG 23:11 Programmers Den WALIAS From: XLIONX To: TIMKOONCE (NR) Hey Tim (couldn't remember how to spell your new alias )!!! -*- 31431 22-AUG 01:47 General Information Choose From: REVWCP To: STEVECLARK (NR) I d/l your choose program and I have a few questions. I cannot get it to work when the hires adapter is plugged in. You mentioned a set of fonts, are they available for downloading? I am new to OS9 and really don't have a very good grasp of it, but I liked your program and I think it will be something I can add to. Thank you. Brother Jeremy, CSJW (I am a monk in the Episcopal Church if you wonder what the initials stand for. My order is the Community of St. Jospeh the Worker.) -*- 31432 22-AUG 01:50 General Information MAX10 From: REVWCP To: ALL How many of you would like to see a MAX10 type of word processor to run under OS9. Lets have a poll. If their is enough interest, perhaps it would be commercially feasible to develope. Or, it might be a good group programming project. Perhaps this could be posted as a Letter to the Editor in Rainbow. Lets see what happens. Br. Jeremy, CSJW. -*- 31454 23-AUG 00:27 General Information RE: MAX10 (Re: Msg 31432) From: IVANSC To: REVWCP I for one would LOVE to see DTP on OS9! -*- 31455 23-AUG 00:37 General Information RE: MAX10 (Re: Msg 31454) From: REVWCP To: IVANSC (NR) Good, lets make our voices heard. Maybe Dave Stampe could rewrite MAX10 or allowthe code to be changed by someone who can program in OS(. -*- 31458 23-AUG 01:48 General Information RE: MAX10 (Re: Msg 31454) From: MFAHY To: IVANSC (NR) Count me in as well. Home Publisher just isn't funny! -*- 31461 23-AUG 06:26 General Information RE: MAX10 (Re: Msg 31432) From: WLADI To: REVWCP (NR) I would be interested to have a word processor, like MAX-10, to run under OS-9. I haven't had much experience with it, but I like what I know about it, and like most OS-9 users, I don't see an overabundance of good quality programming going on. Please help us. wladi -*- End of Thread. -*- 31434 22-AUG 01:52 Grits & Gravy msg 31432 From: REVWCP To: MARTYGOODMAN (NR) Marty, please see ms9 31432 and let me know what you think. I am not certain if I can do much programming at this point, but I would be willing to help in any way I can. Jeremy, CSJW -*- 31435 22-AUG 01:54 Graphics & Music WORDPROCESSING From: REVWCP To: JEFFPARKER (NR) Do you think that there would be any interest for a MAX10 type of program under OS9? I am not a programmer, but since word processing is one of your areas, may be you could help generate some interest. see msg 31432 -*- 31438 22-AUG 02:24 Telcom xydown From: THEFERRET To: TIMKIENTZLE (NR) THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU! Just what I've been waiting for. Now hopefully I shall never have to switch terminal programs again, just because I want to download something. Ahhh, Tim... Now that you've got most of the hard part done , like CRC checking, and the file system done, and all that fun stuff.... Ummmm.. How about adding WXmodem, huh? Please? Pretty please? Philip -*- 31439 22-AUG 02:30 Telcom xydown From: THEFERRET To: TIMKIENTZLE (NR) ahh, Tim? I got a "read error while copying" trying to unAR the executable. First lesson in uploading AR files: Put text files LAST, so Executables don't get chewed up!! -*- 31444 22-AUG 06:57 New Uploads Hard Disk Formatting From: ROYBUR To: KSCALES Hi, Ken! Thanx to all the Forum messages about your DISTO hard drive patches, I got 'em. And I must say the results were immediately noticeable!!! Now it's the DRIVERCHECK program that ends up waiting... But to quit rambling - in the docs, you mention a 'physical format' of the hard disk - could you/would you clarify that a little, please. My drive was already formatted (by ASCP, the vendor - heard not-so-nice comments about 'em) and so I really don't know, since I (thought I!) had no need to learn about hard drive installation, set-uo, etc. But now it seems I must learn, and where better to start than with a recognized expert???!! BTW, SAS=1 on this drive - thus my concern... Thanx for the patches Roy -*- 31445 22-AUG 12:09 General Information 1 Meg Upgrade From: AARONS To: ALL I have just installed the Disto CRC 1 Meg upgrade. No problems !!! It's Fantastic! But I'm concerned..... It appears that it is adding considerably to the heat inside the CoCo. Is it now nessary or wise to install a fan? Has anyone installed a fan? Where was the best place to install it? What size did you use and is there a tandy part number? Also, When I had the CoCo apart to install the upgrade I noticed that electrolytic capacitors C29 and C31 looked like they were leaking (looks like wax around there base). Before I run out and get or order replacements, I would like to know if anyone recommends replacing them with larger caps (greater inMfds), if so what size fits and do you have Tandy part numbers? -Aaron -*- 31452 22-AUG 23:28 General Information RE: 1 Meg Upgrade (Re: Msg 31445) From: XLIONX To: AARONS Howdy Aaron, YES YES YES add a fan. The size is not that important as long as the heat can't build up. (The more CFM the better) I have a fan on EVERYTHING!!! I even use the exhaust from the hard drive case to cool the Multi-Pak! The "WAX" around your Caps is "probably" just a mounting compound used to keep the Caps from flopping around and breaking the two small wires that are soledred in But check any ways. I would replace them with some comercial caps from NEWARK or DIGI-KEY. Get the ones rated at 105 deg C and they will probably last forever (will cost a little more). -Mark W. Farrell (PegaSystems) -XLIONX (DELPHI) -SIGOp ProSIG (Pinball Haven RiBBS v2.0 (708)428-8445) -mwf@SANDV -*- 31463 23-AUG 08:33 General Information RE: 1 Meg Upgrade (Re: Msg 31452) From: AARONS To: XLIONX (NR) Mark, Thanks for the info. I'm going to mount a fan ASAP. -Aaron -*- End of Thread. -*- 31447 22-AUG 19:27 General Information Conferencing From: TEDJAEGER To: COLINMCKAY Just wanted to say I wasnt being snooty last week when you invited me to conference and I did not respond. Couldn't figure out how!! It was my first shot. Could you provide a little instruction? --Thanks, TedJaeger -*- 31449 22-AUG 20:05 Patches 1 meg upgrade software From: WB4GCS To: KDARLING (NR) Kevin: Please check the mail I left u......have problems with the software I got from crc with the 1 meg upgrade. thanks & 73, Jim -*- 31453 22-AUG 23:40 Device Drivers adaptec From: 07ESRTIMOTHY To: ALL Hi, I also went round and round with a hard disk. Just an added note to the last message. An Adaptec 4000 controller is SCSI only. the 4000A is settable for either SCSI or SASI. If you want SCSI save some money and get the 4000. Also I have the manufacturers original docs for the 4000, 4000A, 4070(RLL) controlers. Includes sample driver routines, jumper settings, formating data etc. Tim Fadden -*- 31460 23-AUG 01:59 Graphics & Music CGP-220 From: MFAHY To: ALL Well, it's here now. By popular demand, I uploaded my CGPDump program. Try it out and tell me what you think. It's rough, but it does the job! Thanks, - Mike Fahy -*- 31462 23-AUG 07:27 Device Drivers Hitchhiker's Guide To SCSI From: MATHOMPSON To: ALL I've got lots to say to many people so to $ave time and money, I've squeezed it all into one message: Look for your name here: ALL: I have from a very reliable source that Disto never came out with any new SCSI drivers, and that Kevin Darling never wrote them, either. So if you were wondering about them, stop holding your breath. BRIANWHITE, COLINMACKAY: I believe Brian's timing was for a hypothetical OS/9 system where RBFman had zero overhead. For the heck of it, I'm gonna throw a hook in my drivers while I'm writing them to see how long megaread takes when the driver just returns without doing diddley squat. This will give a final result as to total RBFman overhead in reading a megabyte. Will post results on the forum, for all to see. Also, Brian and I are using Bruce Isted's original megaread for all of our tests. About the only thing that can be truly said is the SCSI protocol supports more megabytes/sec than ST412/506/ESDI/SMD/IDE. I also believe SMD ( SMart Drive) = IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics). XLIONX, MATTSINGER, AJMLFCO: XLIONX and MATTSINGER, it would seem that AJMLFCO has answered your question re: 256 bytes under OS/9. The 296N can crank it. But the Northern Telecom SCSI oracle didn't have a product spec for the drive, and the only literature I could find was a spec sheet that only gave the sectors/track for 512-byte blocks. But remember, with my new drivers, and ONLY with MY new drivers, will Seagate N owners get several more megabytes out of their drives when they (re-)format for 512-byte sectors. Instead of 75MB on your 296N, you'll have the full 84!!! Hang in there. RGRAHAM: For the ST157N, you have 44 sectors per track, about 612 useful sectors, and 6 heads. Do an hmode /h0 cyls=612 hds=6 sectrk=44 sectrk0=44 alloc=32 ilv=15 initcmd=0. Also, for now, I suggest you get Ken Scale's SCSI drivers from the database and use them in place of Disto's drivers. Then get mine when I upload them. Then you'll get 7 more megs from your drive than you would with any other driver available. Keep tuned. ROYBUR: If your drive was physically formatted once, there really isn't much point in formatting it again, unless you want to fine tune the interleave for a marginal performance gain that isn't worth a backup and restore. You can change your SAS in the device descriptor to whatever you want, whenever you want to. It doesn't matter what the drive was formatted as. Dunno if SAS is even stored on the drive (could be wrong on that last point). 07ESRTIMOTHY: Well, the only thing ESDI I will support is anything hooked to a SCSI-to-ESDI interface. Obviously, a full ESDI driver would preclude there being ESDI controllers for the CoCo, which there are none. But you might ask Chris Burke about it (COCOXT on Delphi). He made the CoCo XT interface, which basically fudges an IBM card slot for the CoCo, so you can plug in an XT drive controller and an ST412 drive. Maybe he could be convinced to write something to support an XT ESDI drive controller card. I am also looking into supporting cartridge and tape drives. Cartridges are easy, since you access them like a disk. Tape drives are different, but I dunno how different. May have to support other things like rewind or whatever. May even have to write an SBFman (Sequential-Block-File) for them. Or maybe you can just treat them like a drive, and they figure it all out. Will see... ALL: By the way, does anybody in forum land know if Chris Burke still uses COCOXT much around here. Haven't seen or heard much of COCOXT, or gotten replies to mail. Chris, are you out there? Matthew Thompson -*- 31464 23-AUG 17:13 General Information RE: 4-in-1 board and ST-157N (Re: Msg 31306) From: ANTNIE To: MATHOMPSON (NR) Thanks so much for the help!!!! I will wait to see if your drivers work well, and maybe get in touch with RGB. Thanks a million! Anthony -*- FORUM>Reply, Add, Read, "?" or Exit>