Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!bellcore!texbell!uhnix1!uhnix2!uace0 From: uace0@uhnix2.uh.edu (Michael B. Vederman) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: CMI Accelerator Board Keywords: Uh oh... Message-ID: <812@uhnix2.uh.edu> Date: 22 Jul 89 14:25:29 GMT Organization: University of Houston Lines: 102 Well, after having waited with bated breath for the CMI accelerator board, I would like to share my experiences with the rest of the net... *** FLAME ON *** When I first called the folks at CMI (after their first press release), I was glad to hear that they had a product that not only SOUNDED good, but was ready to be released very shortly. So much for first impressions. As a faithful developer for the ST, I decided that any boost to compile or assemble times would be great. Little did I know that I was in for a shock! Double Click Software is a strong supporter of the local user's group (HASTE), and I thought it would be nice to show the accl. at our July meeting, and according to CMI, they would deliver by the first week of July. Great, I thought, the meeting isn't until the next week. CMI missed the first deadline, but promised that the board would go out in the second week. This is not unusual (missing a release date) so I waited. By the middle of the second week, I called ~rCMI to confirm everything was on schedule for me to receive my board. "No problem, we will ship by Friday." Friday July 14 rolls around, and I call CMI. "Your board has been shipped second day (blue label) UPS. You should get it Tuesday." Finally, I thought. Tuesday rolled around, and no delivery. The people at work were getting tired of my ranting "Come on U.P.S. lady. (We have a female carrier)" So, I thought, maybe it will get here Wednesday, you know how things are. By Wednesday, July 19, at 5 pm, when the UPS lady made her final pickup, I had *NO* accelerator board. So, I called CMI. I spoke with Mark something-er- other (Lilliane Carter's boss -she has been pleasent when I spoke to her), and he said, "All boards were shipped today." Sure, I thought, sure. "But I was told they shipped Friday." "They didn't and I was the ***hole who told Lilliane to tell everyone they did." "How do I know you shipped today?" "You don't, and I don't care if you don't believe me." Hmmph! Friday rolls around, and after a delay from UPS, I got the board. Looks nice, although they used the Amiga box cover (no big deal). Instructions, all parts, can't wait to get home and install it. Begin the trouble. The directions are clear enough if you want to do a piggy-back method, but my ST already had a socket for the 68000, so now what? According to the manual, you have to cut 3 pins for the piggy-back, and use "fly-wires" to connect the board to the ST. Do I need this for the socket installation? No answer in the manual. Trial and error, showed that they were not needed. Easy, I install the board in my 68000 socket and turn the baby on. Everything looks ok. Familiar bootup pattern (I didn't install the FAST ROM option just yet), and then the desktop. But wait! My hard disk didn't boot. Ok, dig out the floppy drive and boot off that. Nope, sorry, the disk drive}i didn't boot either. Just a desktop and two drive icons. When I try opening drive A, I get (output device is not responding). Hmmm. I remove the accel. board, pop in the 68000, everything boots. Pop in the accel. hard disk and floppy drive don't read data. Pop out the 68000/16, plug that directly into the motherboard, all works ok. Plug in the accel. board, nothing. Point of story: I have a $300 paper weight. So, I figure, might as well try installig in my other ST (using piggy-back). Be very careful! Almost all the diagrams in the manual show the ROMs and 68000 oriented 180 degrees from how you would normally view them in the ST. (Pay attention to your chip orientation). Installation took about 1 1/2 hours, including doing the FAST ROM hack. Turn on the machine. Same thing. So, now I have two paper weights. Not only that, but my ST (the second one), no longer has a 68000 chip in it. I cut the sucker out, so I can put a socket in. Today, I am buying another 68000, and a socket so I can have my ST back in working order. I don't know about you, but when someone ships a product like this, I expect it to work. Instead, I get a desktop, but no access to the drives. A lot of good that does me. Not to mention that the board itslelf has jumpers, and hacked TTL chips (some cut and piggy-backed, another so the pins are twisted so that it can fit in their board). If you want beta-testers for your product, then don't make us pay for it! Now I have to spend more money just to get my ST back into original condition! Now what? I guess I'll buy a FAST-16 board, since it looks like it will do the job (I know someone who has a prototype and may eventually manufacture it and distribute it -- I learned this AFTER I ordered my CMI board). Sorry for the long post. I'm pissed! I get lied to, and then I get a product that doesn't work. And they have my money!}i *** FLAME OFF *** The opinions expressed are my own, and do not necessarily reflect Double Click Software (but I guarantee no one else here will buy one of these). See you at the Dallas WOA show. Please drop by our booth (unless you are CMI). - Michael B. Vederman -- for (;;) : Use ATARINET, send an interactive do_it(c_programmers); : message such as: : Tell UH-INFO at UHUPVM1 ATARINET HELP University Atari Computer Enthusiasts : University of Houston UACE