Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!caen!hellgate.utah.edu!csn!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!fseipel From: fseipel@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Frank E Seipel) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit Subject: Z-Magazine Issue #192 (Part I) Message-ID: <1991May9.212000.26752@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> Date: 9 May 91 21:20:00 GMT Sender: news@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Organization: The Ohio State University Lines: 205 Originator: fseipel@bottom.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Nntp-Posting-Host: bottom.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu A.C.E.C. BBS (614) 471-8559 3oo/12oo/24oo Pandora BBS (614) 471-9209 3oo/12oo baud (Both 8-bit BBS's with 500+ downloads available on first call) ==(((((((((( == Z*MAGAZINE - ATARI 8-BIT ONLINE MAGAZINE =========(( === ---------------------------------------- =======(( ===== April 24, 1991 Issue #192 =====(( ======= ---------------------------------------- ==(((((((((( == (c)1986-87-88-89-90-91, Z*Net Publishing Rovac Industries, Inc. Post Office Box 59 Middlesex, New Jersey 08846-0059 Z*Net BBS (908) 968-2024 EDITORS DESK ============ by Ron Kovacs This issue contains programming information and a review. The next edition will contain more 8-bit only information and be available next week, April 30, 1991. DEFAULT DRIVER PLUS =================== Reprinted from the Australian Atari Gazette (edited by Ron Kovacs) by Peter Bailey The following short program makes several alterations to the AtariWriter Plus printer driver F (XMM801). Before making any adjustments you should know more about the AP.OBJ file. Each data line contains the total information for each alteration and may be deleted if not required. The format for each line is (XL Version) sector, byte, (XE Version) sector, byte, number of bytes to change and data. In some cases the format is repeated until all the necessary alterations were made. NOTE: DO NOT ALTER THE DATA STATEMENTS. Line 80 changes [SELECT] [.] from Double Strike (two passes) to Bold (one pass). NOTE: Bold is only available with Pica. Line 90 changes [CONTROL] [G] 4 (superscript) and [CONTROL] [G] 5 (subscript) from condensed to current type face or selected type face, e.g. for elite subscript when using pica select elite first and then condensed, [CONTROL] [G] 6 [CONTROL] [G] 5, then return to pica, [CONTROL] [G] 1, when subscript is finished. Line 100 allows selection of condensed after using elite. Previously this was not possible as elite was not cancelled first. This is done by having condensed first select pica (to cancel elite) and then sending the required printer code. EO 10 V=2:OPEN #1,12,0,"D:AP.OBJ":NOTE #1,S1,B1:S2=S1+194:B2=B1+20 YW 20 POINT #1,S2,B2:GET #1,A:IF A=224 THEN V=1:REM XL VERSION QF 30 READ A:IF A=-1 THEN 70 EI 40 READ B,C,D,E:S=S1+A:B=B1+B GI 50 IF V=2 THEN S=S1+C:B=B1+D PN 60 POINT #1,S,B:FOR X=1 TO E:READ Y:PUT #1,Y:NEXT X:GOTO 30 YA 70 CLOSE #1:END LG 80 DATA 191,123,27,57,1,70,192,1,27,60,1,69 CJ 90 DATA 192,42,27,101,1,17,192,51,27,110,1,17 SQ 100 DATA 192,15,27,74,19,7,27,19,27,84,27,112,0,9,27,19,27,20,27,84,27,112,0,6 FY 110 DATA -1 The screen color of AtariWriter Plus is 144. If you would prefer a less contrast border, why not use 146 instead of 0. To make the change, simply add the following line to the above listing. You may prefer to preview the combination first, so with BASIC type 'POKE 710,144:POKE 712,146'. THE WORKBENCH ============= (Reprinted from the Mid-Florida Atari Computer Club Bulletin) by Len Spencer This is probably one of the last articles original to me for a while, but I will try to bring you some of the best fixes, modifications, and other projects of other authors in the coming months. In this article however, I will try to give a little help on fixing one of the more common breakdowns, the keyboard. I'm sure quite a few of you have an Atari in the closet with a keyboard that has gone belly-up in one way or another. You would like to put that machine to use again, or would like to sell it for the best price as a working computer, so let's dig right in. The 400's membrane keyboard was a joke from the git-go. The only solution there is replacement, and a lot of people replaced them with third party keyboards. Since there were so many manufacturers, I can't even begin to cover them all here. With the 800's, as well as the 800XL, there were more than one design of keyboards, by far the most durable of which was the full stroke, contact-switch type. Stackpole was one of the major manufacturers here. While I'm notsure about what percentage of 800's used this type, not many of the 800XL's had them. If you should happen to have an 800 or 800XL with a Stackpole keyboard, then you should have very little if any problems with it. If you lose function of a key here, a nice bath with a good tuner cleaner will take care of even the nastiest keys. If that doesn't work, then the keyswitch can be replaced. The other was the printed circuit contact sheet, where conductive paint traces were silkscreened onto plastic sheets. My 800 is one of these, manufactured by Mitsumi, and a lot of the 800XL's were made by Chelco. Here you must exercise a little more caution. DO NOT use any solvent type cleaner or you will wash the traces right off. The only thing you can use here is a little water and a soft cloth. Even alcohol will discolor the traces and raise the resistance. If a trace is broken, a little dab of conductive paint, available at any electronic supply store, will fix it up nicely. If the key still doesn't work, try giving the spring that presses against that contact a little stretch. Be careful here, as it is easy to go too far and have the key stick on all the time. Remember, it is easier to stretch a spring than it is to shorten it, (cutting it is "NOT" an acceptable alternative!!). If the problem is a key sticking on all the time, try it with the pressure spring removed. If it stops repeating, then shorten the pressure spring by squeezing it down with gentle pressure. If it still sticks, then take the separator sheet (the one with all the holes in it), and add a piece of scotch tape over the corresponding hole, and cut out the tape where it covers the hole. Don't use masking tape or anything like that, as it is too thick. You should never use more than two layers of scotch tape for this type of repair. If it still sticks after two, then replace the keyboard or use the computer for parts. There are quite a few 800XL's floating around that can be had for a more-than-reasonable price, and you should be able to find one with a working keyboard. The 130XE was a radical departure from the others, in it used only a single sheet of plastic, with a contact on the bottom of the keyshafts bridging two contacts on the sheet. Here if cleaning doesn't help, save yourself a lot of aggravation and replace the keyboard. If you've found everything to be fine and dandy with the keyboard itself, but you don't have function of a group of keys, check the ribbon connector where the keyboard connects to the computer. There may be a bad connection. On the 800 this shouldn't happen, as this is a full plastic-bodied 18-pin connector. On the 800XL, the ribbon is merely an extension of the silk-screened sheet that slips into a connector on the main board. If part of the conductive paint has been scrapped away, you can reach fresh trace by trimming down the ribbon a little. If you find yourself having to go too far, then replace the keyboard. Sometimes the problem is on the main board itself. The keyboard is read by two 4051 decoders and fed into the POKEY chip. Try swapping out the chips, one at a time, and eventually the keyboard should come back to life. If not, then there is a more serious problem that requires professional attention. Hopefully, I have given you enough information here to enable you to do your own keyboard repairs and save a little money. ADVENTURE SYNTAX MAGAZINE ========================= Adventure = SYNTAX = Magazine Why should you try it? * It's the only ST disk magazine dedicated to adventures and RPGs. The first issue was produced in July 1989. The magazine is bi- monthly and is available in colour or mono versions and all issues are STE-compatible. * Each issue so far has contained several screenshots and an average of: 10 solutions (some with maps, some serialised) 11 reviews including some adventure-related book reviews 12 files of hints * The specially designed SynTax 3-in-1 hints give two levels of hints - subtle or sledgehammer - depending how desperate you are! * Each disk contains news, letters, and various information sections including a reference list of ST adventure/RPG software which is being continually updated. * The SynTax PD library contains over 150 disks of adventure-related software including games, map disks solutions and demos. If you make a contribution to SynTax on disk, you can pick a PD disk to replace it - free! * SynTax has had favourable reviews in all the major glossy magazines and the disks build up into a useful reference collection. * At only 3 Pounds 50 Pence an issue or 20 Pounds for a year's subscription of six issues in the UK/Europe (Five Pounds 25 Pence /