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From: cbbrowne@watnot.UUCP (Christopher Browne)
Newsgroups: net.micro.atari8
Subject: Re: ATARI 800 and ATARI 800 XL
Message-ID: <11981@watnot.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 3-Sep-86 11:09:41 EDT
Article-I.D.: watnot.11981
Posted: Wed Sep  3 11:09:41 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 3-Sep-86 21:50:02 EDT
References: <8608232228.AA02986@hplabsc>
Reply-To: cbbrowne@watnot.UUCP (Christopher Browne)
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 55

In article <8608232228.AA02986@hplabsc> dsmith%hplabsc@HPLABS.HP.COM (David Smith) writes:
>
>	The Translator disk I have, which is called "The XL Fix" has a menu
>	of three options - boot a Basic program off disk, boot a machine
>	language program off disk, and boot a cartridge. The 3 cartridges I
>	own run fine on my XL, so I've never tried the catridge option to
>	see how it worked...
>	  -- Howard Chu
>		hyc@umx.cc.umich.edu
>	
>How is that supposed to work?  Are you supposed to plug the cartridge
>into the slot with the computer already running?  I didn't think that
>was safe.  But if you power up with the cartridge in the slot, it will
>boot off the cartridge and not the disk.
>
>		David Smith
>		{backbone!}hplabs!dsmith

It would seem to be possible (if you're careful) to keep the 'Translated' OS
in memory when you plug in a cartridge.  Most definitely, plugging in a cart.
will NOT destroy the computer.  Would Atari sell a machine that can be so
easily destroyed by a little mistake by a consumer?  Certainly not!  (This
data is not merely my own assertion - it has been stated by Bill Wilkinson of
OSS, and by various other people over the years.  They know some of the 
technical side too).  I plug in and unplug cartridges all of the time on my
XL, with no ill effects (well, the computer does lock up pretty good - but
when I press reset, it clears up.  What do you expect when a computer's 
program suddenly disappears from memory while it's executing?).

     On to Translators and Cartridges.  Way back (I think in either late '84 or 
early '85) Analog Magazine produced their own 'Homemade Translator' (which works
quite well - and can be used for some neat tricks).  In the article, the author 
said that you could use it with some of those cartridges, if you insert the 
cartridge very carefully (and then reset using the special reset combination
that the program used).  The idea was, put the cartridge in the slot, but don't
push it in far enough to cause electrical contact.  Then, in one clean, swift
motion, push it in (make sure everything is straight so that it goes in cleanly)
Apparently, if you push it in fast enough, the circuitry gets fooled into
thinking that nothing has actually happened - that is - it does not detect the
insertion of the cartridge.  This may or may not work for other translators.
If this is a help to anyone, great!  I suspect, however, that it won't be.  I
don't remember seeing anything in the discussion about any specific cartridges
that needed to be used.  I hope at least that this discussion has not (will
not?) be(en?) boring.

-- 
            Christopher Browne
            University of Waterloo
            Faculty of Mathematics

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