========================================================================= (C) 1993 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie are *official* information services of Atari Corporation. To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt.Type XTX99437,GENIE and press [RETURN]. The system will prompt you for your information. ========================================================================== Category 14, Topic 41 Message 1 Tue Jun 01, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 00:05 EDT Steffan, the Falcon's video output is as good as many $2000 JVC and Sony video titlers/sketch pads that I've seen. Cogswell College is doing some production work right now with a pair of Falcons at this time; I'll touch base with James Grunke and see if he can give us a report on how they're doing in a professional environment. -Bill ============= Falcon030 Bundled Software Bulletin =============== Falcon030's with Hard Drives are currently shipping with the following software: o MultiTOS o SpeedoGDOS o Landmines o Breakout o Calappt (Personal Time Manager, Telephone Book/Dialer) o ProCalc o Talking Clock They are supposed to have (many didn't because everyone was eager to get machines shipped to dealers quickly) a mail-in card that you mail to Atari to receive: o Atari Works (Personal Integrated Productivity Package) o System Audio Manager (Accompany System Keyclicks and Events with Digitized Sounds.) o Audio Fun Machine (8-band graphic equalizer and special effects processor.) o FalconD2D (Direct-to-Disk recording system with special effects and editing.) IMPORTANT: We know exactly which dealers received machines without the mail-in cards and they are being sent their cards this week. Users that purchased machines and did not receive these cards can contact the dealer in about one week to get their card. All you have to do is fill out the card (make sure you include your dealer's name and machine's serial number); keep the verification half, and mail the other half to Atari. Machines without Hard Drives will not be shipped with SpeedoGDOS, Atari Works, or FalconD2D. They will have everything else (including the hard disk utilities in case you have your own SCSI Hard Disk). The Atari Hard Disk upgrade kits will ship with Atari Works, SpeedoGDOS, FalconD2D, as well as MultiTOS, etc. on the Hard Disk. -Bill Rehbock, Atari Corp. ======================================================================= ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 2 Thu Jul 15, 1993 R.NELSON48 [Grouch (:{] at 00:29 EDT Gregg - I called my dealer today about the spin-down, spin-up routine my internal hard drive is going through. HE sez that he has had Atari reps and Conner reps at his shop checking the problem out and it is absolutly the fault of the RF shield. According to Alex if you remove the shield the drive will work fine. In fact they took units with intermittent drives, removed the drive from the unit and tested them and they were fine. When replaced in the roost they again showed the intermittent problem. When the shielding was removed the drive would once again function flawlessly. So - I have a reason for the fault, and I have a sort of kind of fix if I want the shield removed by my Warrenty Station dealer. Some how not to satisfactory, but then thats why I took to signing myself - =-= Grouch (:{ =-= ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 3 Thu Jul 15, 1993 B.DEWITT [Nerd Perfect] at 01:29 EDT Somebody at Atari: I know I've asked this here before, and I know the normal response is: get the ICD software; but does anyone at Atari know how to get a floptical to work with the Falcon using the latest Atari HDX which does state after all: "AHDI 6.05c will allow you to read and write to the InSite I235M floptical drive." Not only have I not been able to get it to read and write, but I can't even get the floptical to run when attached to the Falcon (the power is on, but the mechanism won't activate until I detach it from the Falcon at which point it will begin running. It will also run if I turn it on after the Falcon has already booted up). In any case, the HD driver doesn't recognize its presence. Any ideas? Bob deWitt ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 4 Thu Jul 15, 1993 C.OATES2 [Chris] at 02:24 EDT How much for the Acerview? ~Chris ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 5 Thu Jul 15, 1993 REALM [Joey] at 04:51 EDT James, Download Aladdin and you won't have to use GEnie anymore. It allows you to do all your typing off line in a real editor then uploads the messages and E-Mail with a single click. Plus you can scroll back and forth the messages and save the ones you want. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 6 Thu Jul 15, 1993 C.OINES1 [Chazz] at 07:41 EDT I'm currently using my old JVC-style (I think... it's the one with the dark grey frame around the picture tube that, by the way, matches the Falcon's keys) SC1224 on my Falcon, interlace and all. As I've mentioned here and there, the interlace is noticeable, but no major eye-killer on the older color monitors. Speedo text and graphics are rock solid. The 1426s flicker like it's going out of style, tho, so if that's your only current monitor, buy a VGA and get a cheap tv for the rest of it. Oh, that 1600x603 program freaks my monitor out bigtime. Not recommended... ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 7 Thu Jul 15, 1993 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 10:10 EDT Can any of the software screen rez enhancers for the Falcon do 800x600? I tried one which was 1600 x something and my NEC-3D did, indeed, go into interlaced mode which wasn't too pleasant to look at. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bob De Witt - re AHDI 6.05c and Flopticals, I've had a little more success than you have. I've been able to format, write to and read a Floptical disk, (although for some reason AHDI says it only formats them to 19k. I have also had AHDI fail to recognize the drive, but usually only after a crash of some kind when I first reboot. At least 80% of the time after a clean coldboot the drive is properly recognized. Does your Floptical have an ID switch? If not, that may be your problem, the Falcon demands it be set to ID 0 if its the first SCSI device you have connected. I recommend you buy the LATEST version of ICD Pro Utilities which works better with Flopticals than AHDI does. By the way, if you previously owned the Link and didn't format your old Flopticals to be formatted Atari-style, then AHDI will not read ICD formatted flopticals. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 8 Thu Jul 15, 1993 J.NESS [Jim] at 11:29 EDT I can second Sean's opinion of the Acer 56L monitor. It has all those features, and can be purchased for about $489 at places like Best Buy. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 9 Thu Jul 15, 1993 TALISMAN at 19:13 EDT To All - My dealer is selling for a slightly better price (it's a muzak store, though) Although I pay sales tax (6%) it would probably still be reasonable. If there's anyone here that can't get one locally for some reason, reply to this in EMAIL. My dealer has been faithful to the Atari line since the ST and I want to see him sell enough to reward him for his support! Talisman ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 10 Fri Jul 16, 1993 D.PHILLIPS24 [Darcy] at 20:06 EDT David and Rob- The music store here in Edmonton is Long and McQuade. Is that the store you were referring to in Toronto David? Long and Mcquade will price everything from their head office, the same across the country. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 11 Fri Jul 16, 1993 AEO.7 [Gregg] at 21:11 EDT Grouch.... I suggest you have your dealer call Sheldon or Cliff at the Computer STudio... They had a similar problem and were able to resolve it by isolating part of the RF Shielding without removing it (and thus getting the FCC all unhappy). Be warned though that this fix won't fix ALL the messing up conners.... there are one or two out there that this fix hasn't helped. Whatever you do, DON'T break open the system yourself... that will void the waranty and really mess you up if there's ever another problem. Screen Enhancement.... Well, I can't say for sure yet, but if you want a greater resolution than the Falcon's stock 640X480 then you might want to tune your ears to COMPO.... there should be a very interesting announcement from them soon. Enjoy; Gregg ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 12 Fri Jul 16, 1993 C.FLUEGEL [Curt] at 21:26 EDT there is a program up here (im using it right now) that will do 800x600x16 on a mulitsync. It is called Falcon Screen or something like that. Curt ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 13 Fri Jul 16, 1993 B.SUSLOVIC [Brad] at 23:03 EDT yeah, I'm using it now too, and love it. All you need is a Super VGA. WHERE's FPATCH.PRG!!! ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 14 Fri Jul 16, 1993 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 23:41 EDT So when and how will System Audio Manager be made available for the STe and Mega STe? I'm having a great time with it on my Falcon and I wish everybody could enjoy it too. Why not just make it available here on GEnie? C'mon Atari. It's semi-crippled anyway for anyone who doesn't have a Falcon, since they can't use it to record, so why make them pay for it? ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 15 Sat Jul 17, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 00:26 EDT They shouldn't have to remove or isolate (fix Atari's problem) the shielding. The drives SHOULD BE replaced by Atari. If Atari will not replace the drives, then it's the same old story. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 16 Sat Jul 17, 1993 TALISMAN at 03:39 EDT Anyone - Is there a program/patch to make the TOS 1.62 windows look like the Falcon030's 3D windows? I noticed that in interlace mode, the solid-colored 3D bars and sliders don't flicker nearly as much as the older ones.. Also, has anyone at Atari considered using different fonts as a solution to the interlace flickering? On my STe certain fonts have barely any perceptible flicker (because they are "double thick" vertically) If you could set up TOS/GDOS to use these fonts when in interlace modes, and design the icons in this way (double thick) the interlace flicker would be almost imperceptable on the desktop.. Seems like a simple and effective fix to keep the text bearable and have more resolution for the graphics at the same time. Talisman ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 17 Sat Jul 17, 1993 S.WINICK at 06:54 EDT Wayne, WW> They shouldn't have to remove or isolate (fix Atari's problem) WW> the shielding. The drives SHOULD BE replaced by Atari. If WW> Atari will not replace the drives, then it's the same old WW> story. Atari's one year warranty will cover repair or replacement of any defective subcomponents in the Falcon, including the hard drive. But the "fix" that was being discussed, while hard drive related, is really a problem caused by interference from the RF shielding adjacent to the drive. Replacing the hard drive will not correct the problem with the RF shielding -- correcting the RF shielding will solve the problem. In any event, any authorized Atari dealer should be able to determine the cause of such problems if they should occur. The problem being described is not universal and does not affect all Falcons so lets not blow this thing totally out of proportion. It is a truly minor problem that can be easily corrected in a few minutes by an authorized Atari service center. The RF shielding around the hard drive should NOT be removed. The "fix" being discussed is a dealer serviceable item and should NOT be done by the end user. I strongly urge Falcon owners to NOT break the warranty seal on the bottom of their computers to look inside and "mess around" with anything. Over the years we've spent a lot of time repairing damage to Atari equipment that was a direct result of the owners "messing around" where they shouldn't have been. The electronic components inside your computer are very sensitive and easily damaged by improper handling. Remember: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" Sheldon (Computer STudio - Asheville, NC) ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 18 Sat Jul 17, 1993 C.OINES1 [Chazz] at 07:36 EDT Good. Sheldon, you'll get the chance to poke around inside mine when I bring it down next week... the intermittent booting problem is driving me nuts. Of course, once it boots, it's smooth as silk. ;) ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 19 Sat Jul 17, 1993 BRIAN.H [ST~SysOp] at 10:34 EDT TALISMAN >Anyone - Is there a program/patch to make the TOS 1.62 windows look >like the Falcon030's 3D windows? Yep, MTOS. Otherwise, don't hold your breath [grin]. Thanks for the real good post Sheldon! ~~~~Brian ... Written on Saturday 17 July 1993 at 11:01 a.m. ADT ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 20 Sat Jul 17, 1993 D.FREELAND [SAXMAN] at 12:27 EDT Has anyone noticed that the sound on the SAM is much louder as compared to anything else that uses sound? I turned down the volume on the control panel to "0" and it gets softer but it is still pretty loud. I can not find a way to control the sample volume with SAM itself (as far as playback is concerned) I know you can adjust it while recording but during playback there is no way. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 21 Sat Jul 17, 1993 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 13:00 EDT How do I get SAM to play a sound when I drag something to the trash? Is this possible? ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 22 Sat Jul 17, 1993 G.NORTON [Falcon Systm] at 14:07 EDT Darcy, Your dealer is not far off what the price should be. Right now the banks are charging $1.3 to buy a US dollar. Also Canada Customs is charging a 3.5% duty on the Falcons since they are not covered under the FTA (being made in Taiwan). In addition shipping is around $10-15 US and customs brokerage fees are around $35 CAN through UPS. In addition I don't believe the $1299US includes the monitor adaptor. So when you add it all up, the price is not quite as high as you might think. David, There is indeed a full service Falcon Dealership in BC. We have the Falcon, Falcon Speed (PC Emulator), Musicom, True Paint and a couple of games for the Falcon in stock. We also carry alot of software and hardware for the ST. If you in the Vancouver area give us a shout. Graham @ Falcon Systems Falcon Systems 205-615 8th ST New Westminster, BC Canada V3M 3S3 (604) 522- 2915 ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 23 Sat Jul 17, 1993 R.COOPER2 [Rob] at 14:21 EDT Darcy.. Hehehe... ... I should have thought about it... the store I was referring to _was_ L&M.... it slipped my mind that they are all across the country (being a touring musician, you'd think I'd remember things like that, but...). Rob ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 24 Sat Jul 17, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 19:58 EDT Brian, Actually, Geneva provides the 3D look of MultiTOS to windows and dialog boxes. Neo 4.0 may provide the 3D icons as well; this I am only guessing at. Al ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 25 Sat Jul 17, 1993 R.HOEKSTRA1 [RandyH] at 22:55 EDT Well, I have had my Falcon for a couple of days now and all seems to be working well. Starting to figure out what's what, but still plenty to play with. I haven't hardly even touched Works or MTOS. I was just wondering how is one supposed to managed the various resolutions with respect to the desktop. I am setting up various .INF files to load in when I change modes, but it seems there should be an easier, more automatic way. Also, is there a boot manager type program that works good on the Falcon? I use Desk Manager on the Mega, but it does not work too well on the Falcon. And what about a screen saver? The mouse accelerater appears to work on the mouse, but doesn't do anything for the screen. I guess that's it for now - but sure to be lots more questions as I try to get a handle on the bird. RandyH ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 26 Sun Jul 18, 1993 B.SUSLOVIC [Brad] at 00:00 EDT RandyH, SuperBoot is a pretty good boot prg, and its right here on GENIE, and works on the Falcon. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 27 Sun Jul 18, 1993 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 00:09 EDT RandyH: I use MouseBoot on the Falcon and it works GREAT! Plus, it already has the Falcon 3D look! I've got dozens of desktops already setup, and it took only minutes! BTW, it's here on GEnie, in the library. I like it the best because it uses the mouse to let you select your preset at bootup. Very nice. -=James ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 28 Sun Jul 18, 1993 B.SUSLOVIC [Brad] at 00:37 EDT Has anyone noticed a bass boost on the headphone output of the Falcon? Its far from flat. I thought Atari did away with that. B.Suslovic P.S. Got my third replacement Falcon today. NO HD PROBLEMS! one minor flaw though, the numeric keypad is missing the number 3 key. In its place is another no. 2 key, needless to say I did a double take. *s *l ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 29 Sun Jul 18, 1993 M.STEFANI [MCH] at 01:59 EDT Has anyone among new Falcon owners come across a simple digital clock accessory that's compatible with the bird? I'm looking for one that displays in the upper right hand corner at the desktop and during programs, like DC Clock or something similar. Any thoughts? Randy, I've been using IDLE (here on GEnie) temporarily for a screensaver until WarpNine becomes Falcon capable. Mark @ VISION Music ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 30 Sun Jul 18, 1993 D.FREELAND [SAXMAN] at 02:02 EDT Brad, As far as I can tell, there is no Bass Boost on my machine. What kind of speaker setup are you using? That might be the problem. David ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 31 Sun Jul 18, 1993 R.LUNSFORD2 at 04:23 EDT To whoever asked the SAM question: I don't think SAM allows you to assign samples to things that happen on the desktop, unless a program or accessory makes it happen. For instance instance, I don't think you can make opening drive windows trigger a sample. Also, I don't think it triggers one if you double click on the trash can (and the dialog comes up). Don't know why.... Russ ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 32 Sun Jul 18, 1993 P-DIRECT [Sean@TWP] at 09:33 EDT My Falcon030 seems to have a bass boost on it, but I have a fairly early Falcon030 too. Has anyone else been having difficulties getting their card for the Falcon030 software? The dealer says the rep doesn't know about it and Atari says either nothing or that they've mailed it off. Sean Dougherty Two Worlds Publishing ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 33 Sun Jul 18, 1993 D.FREELAND [SAXMAN] at 10:57 EDT Sean, I had no problems with getting the software (the card was in the box) but I just got the software so yours might be on the way. Is your F030 a dev. unit? If it is, then it probably does have Bass Boost because I believe it was on the earlier models. BTW. How is the mag. coming? ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 34 Sun Jul 18, 1993 B.SUSLOVIC [Brad] at 14:18 EDT This Falcon is from the third batch from my dealer, and the headphone output is definetly not flat. Doing an A B test using a CD player and a HD recording through the same mixer and mains verified this. Has anyone had luck finding FPATCH here? I've read that its needed nomater what TOS version you have. B.Suslovic ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 35 Sun Jul 18, 1993 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 14:47 EDT What's the serial number of your bass boosted Falcon, Sean? Mine's #256 and I haven't noticed any boost. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 36 Sun Jul 18, 1993 C.FLUEGEL [Curt] at 21:56 EDT Brad : the convertors in the Falcons are far from flat (though very good considering price). If you A/B a CD you will hear the diference. Curt ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 37 Sun Jul 18, 1993 R.NELSON48 [Grouch (:{] at 22:07 EDT Anybody know how to shut the double danged internal speaker off without clipping the wires? I have tried SpeakerOff.prg and Speakeroff 2, and falcon boot. All of them claim to turn the speaker off, but once the hard drive has finished booting (giving me the internal speaker off message, or allowing me to type a choice for speaker off) then the speaker turns back on and blasts away with raucous high-volume distorted fuzzy annoying blaring sound! =-= Grouch (={ ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 38 Sun Jul 18, 1993 L.TRAPANI [Lou @Machine] at 23:04 EDT R.LUNSFORD2, Thanks for your observations on SAM. If it is true that you can not assign sounds to simple desktop functions, than it is really disappointing... --Lou T.-- Written: Sunday, July 18, 1993 10:25 p.m. EDT ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 39 Sun Jul 18, 1993 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 23:14 EDT Gee Grouch, Speakeroff works for me. I suspect you've got some other program or accessory running after Speakeroff that is turning your speaker back on. Try Speakeroff with a bare system and see if it works for you. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 40 Sun Jul 18, 1993 D.FREELAND [SAXMAN] at 23:45 EDT I turn my speaker off in the control panel. No problem. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 41 Mon Jul 19, 1993 MUSE [Tomas] at 01:31 EDT Grouch, The internal speaker can actually be unplugged. ===Tomas=== ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 42 Mon Jul 19, 1993 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 03:06 EDT Grouch: SpeakOff only works until your CPXs are loaded. Then the General CPX loads it's own settings (speaker on/off, volume, gain L/R, balance, etc). Make sure you turn off the speaker with the General CPX and _save_ that config immediately! ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 43 Mon Jul 19, 1993 R.LUNSFORD2 at 22:58 EDT Lou, One thing I did find out was that all the gem events DO work on the multitos desktop...Guess they forgot to test it on the non-mtos desktop... :). Russ ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 44 Tue Jul 20, 1993 SAM-RAPP [<>] at 01:02 EDT Sean: Contact G.LABREC here if you don't have your "missing software" card. I sent him GE mail last weekend and had my software on friday! Great work, Greg! Seems that Atari is definately shaping up in SOME departments! ----------------> Sam ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 45 Tue Jul 20, 1993 SAM-RAPP [<>] at 20:30 EDT Gee... I just use the "general" CPX to turn off the internal speaker. It works great! I never could figure out why everyone is writing speaker turn off programs. Doesn't everyone have a speaker on/off button in thier "GENERAL" CPX? mine is version 1.3..... Also, I notice a problem with the SAM desk ACC. If you DO NOT run sam in your Auto folder, and you try to use the ACC to record a sample, then you get two bombs. I works ok for playing a pre recorded sample, though. Interesting. I just tried it under MTOS, and when I hit the record button the Audio started passing through the system, the dialog box dissapeared, and the SAM setup ACC is GONE from the desk menu. It's process is not listed in U:\proc\ either. How very strange.... ---------------> Sam ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 46 Tue Jul 20, 1993 GREG at 22:01 EDT SAM-RAPP: S.A.M. has a few bugs but it is still a neat program. You need to make sure you exit before you run another program as sometimes it locks the sound system for its own use and won't let anyone else use sound till you reboot. The Photo Show program was re-engineered last week, baste on some of your (make that based on the above line) comments to run on a 4 meg machine with about 1.7 meg free. rturned out real nice. It's All Relative ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 47 Tue Jul 20, 1993 C.OATES2 [Chris] at 22:25 EDT Sam: Sounds like SAM (not you, the ACC) crashed and MTOS shut it down gracefully. ~Chris ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 48 Wed Jul 21, 1993 C.FLUEGEL [Curt] at 00:01 EDT Sam, people use the speaker off programs because programs in the auto folder may use the speaker before the cpxs are loaded, causing it too blare very loudly through my computer instead of peacefully throught the studio monitors. The welcome to the falcon 030 msg in SAM is a great example. Curt p.s. what is the status on the 14 meg updates? it seems even the ram gizmos are out of stock! ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 49 Wed Jul 21, 1993 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 00:08 EDT Say, anyone have any idea _what kind_ (i.e., model numbers, brands, etc) of SIMMS the RAM Gizmo utilizes? I know the size(s), but I'm still a little unsure of what I'm looking for when I shop for SIMMS. -=James ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 50 Wed Jul 21, 1993 D.FREELAND [SAXMAN] at 19:47 EDT James, I know that the simms have to be at least 80ns or they won't work. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 51 Wed Jul 21, 1993 R.COOPER2 [Rob] at 20:36 EDT All: Okay, here's a question for the Falcon think-tank... (you guys!! ) A friend who is considering purchasing a Mac-based HD recording system was asking me about the F030, and I wasn't able to answer this for him, and I thought maybe somebody here could help. Is it possible to hook a NuBus-type card into the VME bus of the Falcon? (eg.. plug a hardware digital i/o board in instead of running with the built- in 1/8" mini jack)... I'm not up on the technical end of buses, cards, ports, etc., so forgive me if this is a dumb question... ...hey, whaddya want?? I'm just a dumb musician! I'm not up on the hardware add-ons that are available/in development for Falcon Direct-to-Disk recording yet, so maybe somebody could fill me in on these as well, so I can pass this info on to my associate, and keep him within the Atari family!! Thanks very much in advance, Rob Cooper Toronto, Canada ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 52 Wed Jul 21, 1993 T.HEBEL [Spud Boy] at 20:48 EDT Has anyone tried GEMSOUND on the Falcon? Maybe he has the control panel turning the speaker volume on again? ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 53 Wed Jul 21, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 21:48 EDT Rob, The Falcon doesn't have a VME bus. The 1/8" plugs are no problem. Just get an adapter. It will not take line level input though so you need a reducer to reduce it down to mike level. The Nu-Bus cards will not work on the Falcon. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 54 Wed Jul 21, 1993 AEO.5 [Ed Krimen] at 23:01 EDT > Is it possible to hook a NuBus-type card into the VME bus of the Falcon? No, for the following reasons: A NuBus card can only go in a NuBus slot. The Falcon doesn't have a NuBus slot. The Falcon030 doesn't have a VME port. At this time, only the TT and MegaSTE have VME ports. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 55 Wed Jul 21, 1993 L.TRAPANI [Lou @Machine] at 23:04 EDT Rob, Mac NuBus cards will not work with any Atari computer. The Falcon030 does not even have a VME bus. --Lou T.-- Written: Wednesday, July 21, 1993 10:48 p.m. EDT ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 56 Wed Jul 21, 1993 C.FLUEGEL [Curt] at 23:09 EDT Rob : Have your friend get ahold of Digital IO, or D2D. They have professional boxes (balanced in/out delta sigma convertors) and more basic boxes that will allow spdio. Curt (there is a file somewhere in the library describing these products and with prices and phone #s) ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 57 Wed Jul 21, 1993 P-DIRECT [Sean@TWP] at 23:29 EDT Just as a side note - while the Falcon030 doesn't have a built-in VME slot, a processor direct slot card was shown that allows the Falcon030 a VME slot at the last CeBIT show. In fact, it was shown using the Crazy Dots card. Sean Dougherty Two Worlds Publishing ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 58 Thu Jul 22, 1993 SAM-RAPP [<>] at 00:12 EDT Greg---- Where/when/how much on Photo Show? And If I can pull photos off CD with Photoshow and save them to disk, What software is around to edit those photos? ---------> Sam ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 59 Thu Jul 22, 1993 C.LABELLE [Tintin] at 00:33 EDT Rob: I too have a RCA TV/monitor, 1986. It's the Colortrak 2000 model. I experienced the same snow problem than you had, when I hooked it up yesterday. It centered the picture OK, but it was rather fuzzy. I had to use a 300/75 ohms converter because the TV don't have an antenna screws to connect the Atari switch box. The cable I used was a shielded gold-plated video cable. Tintin ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 60 Thu Jul 22, 1993 R.NELSON48 [Grouch (:{] at 02:11 EDT J.KRACHT thanks for the input. Yes the CPX will shut that thing down but it can still surprise you. See mstg. 193 this topic. Thanks for the advice anyway, because that was the action I was overlooking. Falcon Hard Drive Woes --> I am happy to report that a very simple fix exists for very nasty internal hard drive problems I was experiencing with my new bird. These consisted not only of the drive shutting down and strange times but of corrupted data, bad writes, and the occasional loss of a partitin on boot. (It would be found again later, but it is still disturbing to have 20 megs just drop out of sight). As Sheldon pointed out the fix should only be done by an authorized dealer, but it is extremely easy and consists of moving a small section of copper RF shield from one side of the Hard Drive to the other. Once this grounding shield was moved away from the power supply all my strange glitches stopped. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 61 Thu Jul 22, 1993 D.FREELAND [SAXMAN] at 02:11 EDT If I'm not mistaken, the DSP port on the Falcon is what you would use to hook up external hardware for *serious* direct to disk recording. D2D systems offers the hardware and software needed. Their US distributor is Digital IO, 2554 Lincoln Blvd., Ste. 122; Marina del ray, CA 90291. (310)398-3993. David ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 62 Thu Jul 22, 1993 D.COOKE [Rob] at 17:02 EDT Tintin,yeah I was finally able to get my Falcon to work on my RCA moniter by buying an unusual adapter for the RCA plug. Anyhow it allowed me to hook it in direct and bypass the Atari box that came with it.Still not all my problems are over yet with it.Although the pitcure is clear I still can't run some programs because to screen scrolls and at times wraps around itself.Weird. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 63 Thu Jul 22, 1993 JIM.K [Jim~ST Sysop] at 17:24 EDT Messages #2-146 have been archived and are in the library-File #29449. FALCON20.ARC 23June93 to 14July93. Jim Kudron 22Jul93 ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 64 Thu Jul 22, 1993 GREG at 22:48 EDT SAM-RAPP: We just got the final clearances today to ship Photo Show for the Atari Falcon. I'll see if I can overnight a package to Ashville tomorrow with a copy of the program, manual, and some flyers. Watch for a formal announcement on Photo Show tomorrow. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 65 Fri Jul 23, 1993 B.AEIN [B Man] at 00:55 EDT Is there any way to permenantly disable the memory checking routines in the Falcon boot up? I.e. you disable it and it does not require user input? Bman ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 66 Fri Jul 23, 1993 C.LABELLE [Tintin] at 01:36 EDT Canadians, Falcons are in stock, in quantity, and at a reasonable price ($1649) in Ottawa: Chiang Computers, 1056 Bank Street, Phone # (613)730-0438. -------------- Rob: Is it a Radio Shack adaptor? What part number? Thanks. Tintin ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 67 Fri Jul 23, 1993 D.COOKE [Rob] at 02:14 EDT Tintin,well actually the adapter came with a video dubbing kit.I couldn't find it by itself so I had to buy the whole kit but I think the Cat. number is 15-1523. It also came with a 1/8" Mini-to-RCA plug. -Rob ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 68 Fri Jul 23, 1993 MUSE [Tomas] at 03:49 EDT Bman, I don't know about permanently disabling the bootup pause, but I know that BootTyme works on the Falcon030. ===Tomas=== ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 69 Fri Jul 23, 1993 B.SUSLOVIC [Brad] at 22:51 EDT Curt, Have you actually tried an A/B test with a CD? I have, with every HD recorder I could find. Dame proves to me that there is a bass boost, because it uses the DSP to filter it out. In fact, I can't tell the difference between a Falcon digital recording, and a CD while using Dame. I just want to know if the change was indeed implemented, or if I have another machine that slipped through under specs. i ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 70 Fri Jul 23, 1993 M.GARRISON1 [Lazarus] at 23:06 EDT Has anyone else noticed that the TT compatible resolutions are only availible intermittantly with a VGA monitor. Mark ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 71 Fri Jul 23, 1993 P-DIRECT [Sean@TWP] at 23:20 EDT Mark: When MultiTOS is active, the TT compatiblity modes appear, for whatever reason. This caught me by surprise at first, and after a little experimenting, it became rather clear... Sean Dougherty Two Worlds Publishing ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 72 Sat Jul 24, 1993 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 00:05 EDT B-Man: I may be wrongI think some of the German non-volatile RAM configuration programs/CPXs might allow you to bypass the memory test permanently -- I know I used one such program to boost that low-res bootup screen into 640x480 -- the Atari logo looks great! Of course, I don't know what most of the options are, as they're all in German! -=James ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 73 Sat Jul 24, 1993 P-DIRECT [Sean@TWP] at 00:13 EDT James: Where did you get the program to modify NV-RAM settings? For awhile I thought they might have taken it out of the production version, due to the lack of ultilities to change it. Sean Dougherty Two Worlds Publishing ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 74 Sat Jul 24, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 02:58 EDT Bman, Well, there is with the ST and TT, so the same technique should work with the Falc, I would guess. NOROACH is the official technique, but there are others. Al ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 75 Sat Jul 24, 1993 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 04:10 EDT Sean, I think I got the file on Delphi. There was also a CPX version too, but it isn't as easy to use as the .PRG version. I can't rightly recall, honestly. I got it long before I got the Falcon. I pulled a lot of stuff off the dealer unit HD (stuff put there by other customers). It might have come from there. How about I upload it to GEnie? :-) -=James ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 76 Sat Jul 24, 1993 REALM [Joey] at 18:17 EDT Hitting the space bar works the best.:-) ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 77 Sat Jul 24, 1993 D.PHILLIPS24 [Darcy] at 21:31 EDT Does anyone know how I can find out if there are any other Falcon dealers in Edmonton, Alberta? The Ottawa price of 1649.00 at Chiang Computers makes the local music dealer's(Long and Mcquade) price of 1865.00 look pretty outrageous. Help! signed, Poverty Stricken ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 78 Sun Jul 25, 1993 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 00:39 EDT Say... Anyone have any notion of how to force certain people to program 256 color front-ends for some of the games online here on GEnie? Doesn't seem right that even Amigas have front ends. -=James ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 79 Sun Jul 25, 1993 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 17:56 EDT James: I know some programmers with multiuser game writing experience who would love to write them, but I don't think the authors of the GEnie online code care enough to support the Atari line... at least not enough to actually pay someone to write Atari front ends. I don't think there are enough Ataris out there yet to make it profitable. I betcha they could write a nice Jaguar front end too... ____________________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 80 Sun Jul 25, 1993 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 20:33 EDT T-Bird: I'm not sure I understand the profit angle. Don't the games people their money from the users who play the game online? -=James ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 81 Sun Jul 25, 1993 M.STEFANI [MCH] at 21:48 EDT Whenever I run any digital audio program on my Falcon (D2D, Musicom, etc...), I lose my basic system sound/key-click. Has anyone figured a way to get it back without rebooting? When I check the control panel, I'm told that the speaker is "on" and the key-click activated. Any SLM804/605 laser users out there as frustrated as me about not being able to print? I've been told that it would be a simple procedure to create an adaptor for the SCSI port. I mean, PageStream looks great on the Falcon (as does AW), but I'd like to avoid having to shop for another printer just to see output from my computer. Besides, I love my SLM804! Really like the processing speed compared with my 1040stf w/AdSpeed. It's about 75 percent faster. The 3D icons are really nice, too. Am I correct in assuming that there's no present way to edit them? Thanks in advance... Mark Stefani ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 82 Sun Jul 25, 1993 T.HEBEL [Spud Boy] at 23:23 EDT The TT video Dialogs are only available from MTOS. You can still choose TT MED, but you must do it from the set video and choose double line off, 80 col, and 16 colors. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 83 Mon Jul 26, 1993 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 00:09 EDT MCH: I too have/love my SLM804. However, I also have a 9-foot long folding banquet table to use for my computing -- which means I still do all my modeming/dtp/printing on my 520STe which sits right next to my Falcon. Luckily, I have two great monitors, and can have both machines going at the same time. If my SLM eventually works on my Falcon, that'll be great. I'm so used to the STe, and so awed by so many other aspects of the Falcon that the SLM issue has virtually disappeared from my concerns. It would be great to be able to daisy-chain the SLM through my external HD though... -=James ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 84 Mon Jul 26, 1993 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 05:57 EDT James: Right now there are probably less than 2,000 Falcon030's in the hands of end users in the U.S. Even if every single owner were here on GEnie, and could afford to play the games even a little bit, that still doesn't amount to a lot of users. The front-end for an online game here on GEnie would take hundreds (if not thousands) of man-hours to create. Even porting an existing front-end would take a considerable amount of time, and a mere port would not take advantage of many of the features of the machine, and would be rather mundane. Someone has to pay the programmers and artists to write the front-end, and given the amount of time it would take, versus the amount of users it would benefit, I think they would be leaning more towards spending the time/money improving their support for the existing platforms. As much as it pains me to see them drop support for the platform, I cannot think of a good argument that doesn't sound like sour-grapes in the face of the facts. I suppose that they could provide front-ends that would work on the existing base of ST's, which is somewhat larger, but I don't think that the ST could really compete with the fast Macs and '486s out there. I've written games for the Atari platform, and while it is much more enjoyable than writing games on PC's and the like, it's nice to be able to earn something from the work. I'm sure the programmers would rather _not_ be writing PC games, but I know not many of them are rich enough to write games just for the fun of it. I'd really like to see a nice modem device for the Jaguar, which would allow access to these games. If Atari plays their cards right, they could have an installed base of Atari platforms in a year that it took IBM and the Clone makers 10 years to create! Wouldn't it be great! _______________________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 85 Mon Jul 26, 1993 R.SNYDER6 [Roger S.] at 19:30 EDT Of course if no one writes software for a new machine, the sales of the computer tend to not get high enough to make it worth while to write software for it. --Roger S. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 86 Mon Jul 26, 1993 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 21:32 EDT T-Bird: I see your point. I think it sucks, however. What a hideous Catch-22 IBM has forced on the little guys! Woe is me! 'Cept, I'm _very_ pleased with my Falcon so far! -=James ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 87 Tue Jul 27, 1993 C.LABELLE [Tintin] at 01:20 EDT Darcy: I wonder if in such a case, Atari would allow you to buy it from Ottawa. Contact Atari or Chiang to find out. The price charged by your dealer, and a music one at that, _is_ outrageous and way above MSRP. Don't let anyone tell you the contrary. Tintin ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 88 Tue Jul 27, 1993 G.DORRINGTON [GREG] at 05:42 EDT Darcy Last time I checked (about two weeks ago) Alphatel was taking orders on the Falcon at 1649.00. Seems that they're back in the Atari business, but only in a small way. Its a per order basis on Thursdays only between 3 and 7 pm. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 89 Tue Jul 27, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 05:52 EDT Doug, I saw your game Mecha Naught at John's table at the AtariFest. Looks good. There were a lot of people that sat down and played it. Some spent quite a bit of time at it. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 90 Tue Jul 27, 1993 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 18:10 EDT Wayne: I'm glad you liked Mecha-Naught. Thanks for the compliment. Tell me, is there anything in particular that you liked about the program? I'm always looking for good feedback... feedback has had a profound influence on the program thus far. I hope to have it completed soon. Keep your eyes open! Thanks again... __________________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 91 Tue Jul 27, 1993 R.LUNSFORD2 at 18:49 EDT Has anyone downloaded the NVRAM CPX and PRG from the library yet? I can't get it to remember my settings. I've gone in and set it, clicked OK, and gone back into the CPX immediately and my settings are lost. What am I doing wrong?? Russ ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 92 Tue Jul 27, 1993 P-DIRECT [Sean@TWP] at 20:32 EDT Russ: Try rebooting the machine after making the settings. I don't remember if the changes are reflected on re-entering the CPX, but all of the features do work (if you can manage to decrypt technical german) on my machine. Having it boot into VGA 640x480 is much more impressive than ST Low. The bootup screen rez doesn't seem to translate to what the desktop ends up using though... (yes, my NEWDESK.INF is .INX'ed) Sean Dougherty Two Worlds Publishing ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 93 Tue Jul 27, 1993 D.PHILLIPS24 [Darcy] at 21:33 EDT Greg Very interesting news about Alphatel. About two weeks ago they tried to sell me a 14/80 machine (which I sadly could not afford), and I got the feeling they were desperate to get out of the Falcon business. But I guess I should call them. . . Thank you! But you know, to tell you the truth, I am really beginning to wonder, after all these months, if I still want a Falcon any more. What with some of the other professional digital audio platforms out there, and the resounding _silence_ from Falcon music developers, and the money sitting there in my bank account. . . Anyone anywhere heard anything from D2D, or Cubase Audio? I mean at this point I would even find comfort in "Oh yeah, it will be shipping next month". Anyone know how many tracks Cubase Audio is supporting? I heard eight somewhere, and then four somewhere else, and something about four from a Ramdisk, I don't know. Will there be any outboard hardware, or compatibility with other companies' hardware? D2D is now apperantly only 4 tracks in the pro version, anybody know if it supports SCSI, not just IDE? I am growing very weary of all this. . . ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 94 Tue Jul 27, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 21:55 EDT Doug, I only saw it as people played it. I didn't really play it as I don't do games. :-) Sorry, all I can tell ya is that people seemed interested in it. John showed it to me a little as I was interested to see what you had done. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 95 Tue Jul 27, 1993 P-DIRECT [Sean@TWP] at 22:07 EDT Contrary to what some people may have thought, the Falcon does not have eight tracks of stereo sound. What it does have is eight channel sound, four on the left and four on the right. Each of these channels are addressed as pairs for four independant tracks of either stereo or mono sound. As such, you could record 8 channels of mono sound or 4 channels of stereo sound. The only real kink in this is the only way to play eight tracks of mono, you must turn them into 4 stereo tracks. Just as an interesting note - set all four tracks to mono, and you only have four channels available instead of the rated eight (I know, big surprise). I felt a little "ripped-off" when I found out about this too... Sean Dougherty Two Worlds Publishing ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 96 Tue Jul 27, 1993 R.LUNSFORD2 at 23:51 EDT I tried setting the NVRAM CPX and then rebooting...still no luck. I tried setting it, rebooting without closing it, rebooting after closing it, still no luck. Is it possible that they could have changed it with TOS 4.04? Any more ideas?? Thanks, Russ ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 97 Wed Jul 28, 1993 C.FLUEGEL [Curt] at 00:13 EDT its hard to learn anthing about Cubase stuff until it is released. Russ Jones rarely says anything and I dont speak German. I have a nice gglossy flyer if that counts for anything. It is 4 tracks from disk and four from ram. Not a bad deal at all. The D2D stuff is known to be buggy, overpriced, and in short supply. Im curious what Barefoot is up to anyway, and expect something from Emagic. (of course the Codeheads alsom but the no midi thing makes it unusable for some, but the price is great) Curt -- don't give up yet.......... ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 98 Wed Jul 28, 1993 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 01:47 EDT Darcy, as I've said before, D2D w/ 4T-FX has been shipping for a while now. You can buy it from The Computer Network in Glendale. I saw them doing some amazing things with a lengthy sample of Suzanne Vega and her guitar. The sound quality was crystal clear, no hiss at all. It sounded like she was there in the room. In fact, since I'm not familiar with Vega, until I peeked into their studio, from what I heard I thought she WAS in the room. But I agree with you that despite all its built-in digital audio capabilities, the Falcon has some SERIOUS catching up to do if it is ever going to make inroads in professional music. The current issue of Electronic Musician has a big feature on Digital Audio . . . and not a single word in the article about Atari. They mention Mark of The Unicorn, and Cubase Audio and Cakewalk among others, but no mention of Cubase Falcon. I'll never be able to afford Cubase Falcon anyway, but I sure would like to buy the Codehead's Digitape. Where is it? Or Musicom II? Don't get me started! Where is Jeff Minter's Llamazap? Why is TruePaint the ONLY truecolor paint program available for the Falcon? Why are there only two Falcon specific games, ISHAR and TRANSARTICA, and both of them are mere ports of existing games that do little to tap the Falcon's potential. Where is VROOM II? Where is SPACEJUNK? Even the PD demos I've seen don't seem to do more than scratch the surface of the Falcon's potential and that includes the huge megademo that was recently uploaded here. I feel like I've got a Ferrari that I can only drive at 55 mph. I sure hope some of these Falcon specific programs will be available at the Glendale show in September. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 99 Wed Jul 28, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 04:57 EDT The Falcon is really a nice machine. Some of the stuff that is out there for it and stuff coming out for it is real nice. Given another 4 months and I think stuff will really start showing up for it. There is even a Falcon only game out. I think it is called Ishtar or something like that. One thing that I am not suprised at and that is that I was told that when put side by side, the Mega STE will sell more than the Falcon. Even thought he Falcon has and can do a lot more (and the customer knows it), the Mega STE will win 9 times out of 10 simply due to the fact that it has a seperate keyboard. This was from a dealer who knows how to market the abilities of the machines. I still say it was a bad move and I think Atari is learning about that mistake. Sure, current Atari users will get a Falcon but, consumers new to Atari are choosing the computers with the seperate keyboard. The Falcons are simply not selling to new consumers like Atari thought they would. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 100 Wed Jul 28, 1993 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 09:55 EDT ...and another thing. Where the heck is FALCON ALADDIN!? ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 101 Wed Jul 28, 1993 SLP [Scott] at 23:09 EDT Wayne, that depends on what the salesman is selling. If I was selling Atari computers, there is no way the customer would go for a Mega STE instead of the Falcon, at least not a new customer. The reason why new people aren't being drawn to the Falcon in large numbers is simple. Atari hasn't produced many of them, and the ones that are produced and for sale aren't easily seen. My 2 county area of about 1.5 million people has 1 dealer who sells out of his house. If I was finally going to take the plunge and buy a computer (ie a new user) I sure wouldn't go search out an obscure machine that was only sold from the back room of somebody's house. Scott ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 102 Thu Jul 29, 1993 T.HEBEL [Spud Boy] at 00:46 EDT I run TOS 4.04 and haveno problems with the CPX. I do have a friend who uses TOS 4.02 and he can not get the CPX to work for him. He has the same problem of it not working. He has a good copy of the software too. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 103 Thu Jul 29, 1993 D.FREELAND [SAXMAN] at 02:52 EDT I just tried using the CPX in the library that can modify certain and I decided I did not want to use it so I removed it and now everything is in German on my desktop and in all the menus and message screens. Is there any way to get things back to normal? I don't know German!! ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 104 Thu Jul 29, 1993 D.PHILLIPS24 [Darcy] at 20:05 EDT Guess I'm not the only one with ranting to do. I guess had been expecting D2D to be eight tracks, and when the brochure came I searched through for a mention of "stereo" tracks, but nothing. Cause it seems to me that I had heard about 4T/Fx being 4 stereo, which would be quite a bit more powerful than four mono(for my purposes anyway). Incidentally, anyone heard anything about D2D's hardware? Curt, Barefoot was/is planning to have Smptetrack work in conjunction with 4T/FX, to start with anyway. I have heard nothing about E-Magic. Yeah, I guess 4 tracks off disk and 4 tracks from ram is fairly appealing, and certainly if I was already a Cubase user(as many obviously are), I would be sold. Sigh. So much gear and so little money. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 105 Thu Jul 29, 1993 R.LUNSFORD2 at 20:15 EDT I called Atari today, and asked about the NVRAM stuff, and the guy I talked to, asked what it did. I told him that it puts the screen in VGA 80 column mode for bootup, and he said, "Why would you want to do that?". He said [C [C [D [D the NVRAM is undocumented and that it can do bad things to your computer. I think he meant the language changes...? I still want it to work :)... Russ ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 106 Thu Jul 29, 1993 O-ZONE [Flakes] at 20:56 EDT Sean, Wha!... Couldn't someone just write software to address the channels seperately? ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 107 Thu Jul 29, 1993 P-DIRECT [Sean@TWP] at 21:06 EDT Got my Falcon030 "extra" software today, for the most part I am quite happy (particularly with the Atari Works manual), but some things struck me kind of strange... o The Falcon-D2D manual was too short, and assumed way to much. Any begining user would choke on this in a minute. Explaination of how to make the input level proper was quite inadequate, good thing I've been playing around with WinRec in the meantime. (The only tutorial or how to guide was the "Instant Start" section, and like most breakfasts by the same name, it left an unpleasant after-taste.) o There is a note on the bottom of page 27 of the manual which states that a bug in some Falcon causes the left gain setting to change the right gain setting too... Which Falcon's are these? o For the section on AFM in "How To Write Modules", it says that "It is easy to write modules." This is fairly odd, concidering that most people will get VERY confused on this section. Even the DEGAS manual said that making printer drivers was for experienced assembly programmers only... Other than these minor problems, the whole "out of the box" setup is rather impressive. In contrast to the D2D manual, the SAM manual was very complete and well written, and the AFM section is also pretty nice. I should also mention that I was printing labels out of Atari Works from a database along with taging text and sounds to documents within 10 minutes of installation. Is is very easy to find anything out about Atari Works from the manual. Sean Dougherty Two Worlds Publishing ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 108 Thu Jul 29, 1993 P-DIRECT [Sean@TWP] at 21:16 EDT O-Zone: The problem with that is the track select register is only 2 bits, and from there you select the attributes (stereo/mono, 8/16-bit). Sean Dougherty Two Worlds Publishing ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 109 Thu Jul 29, 1993 J.COLLINS22 [chro_MAGIC] at 23:18 EDT Notice to all owners of revision A RAM Gizmos: We have discovered that most Panasonic SIMMs will not function properly with the RAM Gizmo. We have been in contact with Panasonic to find out what is different about their SIMMs and have come up with a solution. Any revision A RAM Gizmo can be easily modified to work with Panasonic SIMMs. If you have a rev A Gizmo and want to use Panasonic SIMMs please return it to chro_MAGIC and we will perform the modification for FREE and ship it back to you. ALL future revisions of the RAM Gizmo ( starting with rev B ) will have the Panasonic fix "built in". If anyone has questions please feel free to leave a message to me or call chro_MAGIC at 417-623-7393. Jim @ chro_MAGIC Software Innovations ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 110 Fri Jul 30, 1993 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 02:34 EDT Saxman: Please don't be afraid of that NVRAM CPX. I don't really think it can do any real damage unless you turn the overscan selection on (which it actually won't let you do if you have VGA). Just click on the box that says GER or something. Use the arrows to select USA. The CPX makes changes to the NVRAM _instantly_ upon closing. Reinstall it, and change your language back to USA. You don't even have to fiddle with the screen modes. That original Falcon bootup screen is an ST compatibility mode. If you change it, and then try to load an ST game you really invalidate your chances of it running. Once I figured out the German word for "compatibility" (something like "kompatibilitmodus" or something) the setting for the screen becomes easy. If you have a VGA monitor, you'd use 80 columns, 256 colors, NTSC, and VGA buttons. This also works fine for the SC monitor as well. To play a game, you'd click on the "kompatibilitmodus" (or similar) button, and set it to 40 columns, 16 colors, NTSC, and TV -- then click on the "koampatibilitus" -- er, I mean click on OKAY. The settings are changed instantly. -=James ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 111 Fri Jul 30, 1993 B.STOREY [Billy B.] at 07:54 EDT >FAIRWEATHER [David] at 09:55 EDT > >...and another thing. Where the heck is FALCON ALADDIN!? >---------- > It will be found on page 1000 (ST Aladdin) when Tim gets it finished. He IS working on it. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 112 Fri Jul 30, 1993 R.BUSH [Richard Bush] at 08:19 EDT >...and another thing. Where the heck is FALCON ALADDIN!? YES! Where is it? I'm reduced to running Aladdin on a 1040 and 1 floppy, because I gave my old mega 2 to my son. Talk about a pain in the posterior.... Mr. Purvis won't talk about it in the ST Aladdin area. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 113 Fri Jul 30, 1993 O-ZONE [Flakes] at 18:47 EDT Sean, Are you telling me that I will not be able do 8 track recording, one track at a time while listening back to any combination of other tracks, as in professional studio 8 track recording? That is the main reason I am buying this machine. Have I been beguiled? ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 114 Fri Jul 30, 1993 P-DIRECT [Sean@TWP] at 21:51 EDT Ozone: Yes, you will be able to do eight track recording, one at a time. And, depending on the software, you could listen to the eight tracks on playback, providing they were all mono tracks without any trickery. It is possible to mix two 8-bit samples in a non-distored 16-bit sample, and it is also possible to mix two 16-bit samples with some degree of distortion (depending on the ending levels), and as such it is possible to play up to 16 mono 8-bit tracks at once in theory (if the software can mix them fast enough, that is another story). To sum all of this up: Type Max. Recordable Max. Playback Max. True Playback Stereo 4 4 4 Mono 8 8 4 All numbers are the total tracks. Max Recordable assumes you have the proper hardware. All assume you have the proper hardware/software. "True Playback" for Mono sound denotes how many tracks can be played without the use of a stereo playback mode in order to playback more; as stereo playback will seperate half the tracks to the right, and the other half to the left. Any other questions? Ask! I hope I am making this clear enough... Sean Dougherty Two Worlds Publishing (any one else record all the letters and assign them to their proper keys? It is gets annoying after awhile, but it is still odd to hear you [or the computer?] announcing each character you type!) ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 115 Fri Jul 30, 1993 D.FREELAND [SAXMAN] at 22:57 EDT SAM has already driven me batty so I don't even load it anymore. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 116 Fri Jul 30, 1993 R.LUNSFORD2 at 23:34 EDT James, So all you do iwith NVRAM CPX is select the settings, click OK and reboot? I tried it, and it won't work...I go back in the CPX without even rebooting and the settings are back to default... Russ ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 117 Fri Jul 30, 1993 DMJ [dmj] at 23:43 EDT Sean: Theoretically you should be able to mix 256 8-bit tracks onto a single 16-bit track with no distortion. With the Falcon's four stereo tracks, this is a _theoretical_ limit of 2048 simultaneous voices. The limiting factor, as always, is the software. -dmj ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 118 Sat Jul 31, 1993 P-DIRECT [Sean@TWP] at 00:09 EDT DMJ: That is really VERY theoretical though, if you were mixing three 8-bit channels into one 16-bit channel and all three of the sources are at 128, you are in for quite a problem (assuming 0 is center). For high sample rates, this wouldn't be readily apparent for say three or four unless you listened for it...but increase that to say 10 or 15 and you're in for a headache! :) However all of this is a bit on the technical side... Sean Dougherty Two Worlds Publishing ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 119 Sat Jul 31, 1993 R.HOEKSTRA1 [RandyH] at 12:26 EDT A couple of weeks ago I posted a request for info on screen savers and boot config programs. The next day my hard drive died and I just now managed to get Aladdin set up on a floppy (although it isn't pretty). I tried using Flash to navigate GEnie manually and it was horrible! I have used Aladdin from the start and I guess I never realized how good it was until I had to do without. :) (don't worry I am going to post this in the Aladdin RT also) Anyway, I did see some replies to my query and I appreciate the info, though I don't remember who to thank at this point. I am trying out the Mouseboot demo and will most likely send for the real version. I also am using Idle, though it has problems as an ACC when you change video modes. I just run it as a .PRG when I leave for awhile. Any other ideas for a 'fully' compatible Falcon screen saver? Also saw the posts about Falcon Screen and NVRAM and downloaded those. Both work great and really enhance the felibility of the Falcon. This machine is looking better and better all the time! Screen Blaster sounds real interesting too! Now for a new question. When I run Multi-TOS, S.A.M. does not seem to work. I can run the ACC and it works fine, but I don't get any sounds with the system events. It works fine without M-TOS. I have never used MiNT before, so I don't know if there is a problem or I just don't have things set up right. Also, awhile back I saw a post somewhere that had a list of radio shack parts that could enhance the audio uses of the Falcon (ie microphone, speakers, etc). I don't yet have a mic so I was wondering if someone could repost the info or point me to a file with the info. Love my new Falcon and thanks for all the help. RandyH BTW, the hard drive death above was on my MegaST, not the new one in the Falcon. Glad it waited till after I had the Falcon so I wasn't totally out of commision (and yes, having to use floppies is almost as good as being totally out of commision). ;-) ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 120 Sat Jul 31, 1993 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 15:17 EDT Russ: I'm at a loss. On my machine, it (the CPX) updates the NVRAM immediately. That is, at least it seems like it does. The boot-up res won't go into effect, of course, until you reboot. I assume the rest of the changes don't occur until that point either. If only there was a program to test the NVRAM... to make sure it was working/there. Randy H: Doesn't Mouse Boot look great in 640x480? This program seems to work _perfectly_ with the Falcon. -=James ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 121 Sat Jul 31, 1993 B.SUSLOVIC [Brad] at 20:09 EDT Has anyone had any luck running ACCs off the desktop, under MultiTos? the docs say its possible, but the only way I can get it to work is to rename them to prg. Ive also tried fiddling with the GEM.CNF file, ie. GEMEXT=ACX. no luck Russ, NVRAM works fine on my machine too, all aspects. The settings aren't saved, thier toggled in ram. brad ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 122 Sat Jul 31, 1993 S.ZIEGLER4 at 20:54 EDT I seem to be having a weird problem with my internal hard drive. It makes a "pinging" noise sometimes when I try to read from it, and it seems to take a long time to read the data, also... Is this the RF shield interference problem I have seen mentioned??? Thanks ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 123 Sat Jul 31, 1993 D.SHORR at 21:18 EDT Brad, Add the following line to your NEWDESK.INF file: #A 03 FF 000 *.ACC@ @ @ Dave ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 124 Sat Jul 31, 1993 O-ZONE [Flakes] at 21:19 EDT Sean, I guess I misunderstood your previous post. I hardly got any sleep last night. I am relieved to hear I'm not blowing $1300. I guess I'll just have to wait 'til the right software comes along. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 125 Sat Jul 31, 1993 J.KRACHT [James Kracht] at 21:58 EDT Has anyone redone their Falcon's HD with ICD Pro Utilities yet? The reason I ask is that since I re-partitioned my drive, and got my external HD going nicely, all those awesome demos (like the Plasma demos and Termfin, and Speeder, etc.) crash upon exit (usually hitting the spacebar). With AHDI, I just got the desktop. Now I get this horrible screen mess. It's not that big a deal, but I'm just trying to narrow down the possible causes of the "glitch." Also, what is known about SCSI2? I have an 18ms Maxtor hooked into my Falcon's SCSI2, and ICD's RATEHD.PRG tells me its now running at 46ms. And yes, it runs at 18ms on my STe (so says RATEHD.PRG). Does the length of cable affect speed? Just curious (and I'll go ask ICD right now, too :-) -=James ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 126 Sat Jul 31, 1993 B.SUSLOVIC [Brad] at 22:39 EDT James, funny you should mention it, Ive had the exact same experience, with my brand new Maxtor 7213. I ended sending it back, though not for that reason. It didn't seem to want to power up with the term resistors installed, even as the only device. Its performance went from 18ms/1200kbs to 46ms/650kbs, using RATEHD. There seems to be a few classifications of the SCSI 2 standard. An updated command set version, Fast SCSI 2, which uses different , more efficient packaging methods, SCSI 2 wide, which increases the bus path to 16 bits from eight. I posted a question back a while to see which of these the Falcon incorporates. rep ooopsss S.ZIEGLER4 thats not the RF shield problem, your best bet is to take it back for another. Dave, thanks, I'll give it a shot. Brad ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 127 Sat Jul 31, 1993 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 23:14 EDT Sean: If I were writing a F030 game that used digitized sound effects that were 16 bit stereo sounds, what is the limit on the number of sounds I can make simultaneously on a stock F030 with hardware only, and with software tricks. Same question for mono sound effects? ________________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 128 Sun Aug 01, 1993 P-DIRECT [Sean@TWP] at 01:07 EDT Tbird: Well, without any tricks you could do 4. With software "tricks", that gets weird. As any megademo will prove, the machine is cabable of alot of stuff simply through the use of unconvential methods. Saying that you could mix this to 8, or 10, or 12 is very difficult, as it depends on what you need to do other than the sound, and how well you write the mixing routines. I would say that you could easily play 2 16-bit stereo for every existing track, thus being eight. Lower the sample playback rate, the more samples you can play (more time you have to mix before the sample needs to be played). Totally pushing it, 25kHz 8-bit stereo, you might be able to play say 32 samples (this is a total guess, I don't have any timing tables in front of me, nor have I guessworked any routines to actually do this, again I could be WAY off). I have no doubt the sound system on the Falcon030 is more than suitable for video games, though. Truecolor may be out of the question for sprite manipulation (again, MIGHT), but the potential of the Falcon has yet to be seen. How many people would have guessed back at 1986 COMDEX that the ST would eventually be running those megademos? Sean Dougherty Two Worlds Publishing ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 129 Sun Aug 01, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 07:09 EDT Brad, Geneva runs DAs from the desktop using the variable that designates which apps are executable (GEMEXT, I think). You just click on them and they run. Al ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 130 Sun Aug 01, 1993 D.PHILLIPS24 [Darcy] at 14:33 EDT Flakes My impression of the professional level audio software is that for full bandwidth recording it seems 4 tracks is the norm. D2D's pro package is four tracks. Cubase Audio Falcon apparently offers eight channels, but only four of those are audio from the hard disk, the other four use data from ram, like a sampler. ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 131 Sun Aug 01, 1993 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 15:39 EDT Sean: Thanks for clearing that up for me. I was worried that the hardware was incapable of playing more than one at a time by itself. _______________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 132 Sun Aug 01, 1993 B.SUSLOVIC [Brad] at 16:22 EDT Dave, thanks for the tip on the ACCs, it works great. I was surprised to see them displayed with the prg icon. Heres another discovery, rename your XCONTROL.ACC to PRG and you can take advantage of all your CPX's without using the memory of an ACC. works without MTOS. Darcy, I think hard disc recording is going to take a little rethinking on the part of us recording musicians. More a question of sound and memory management, than of cut and dry multitracking. B.Suslovic ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 133 Mon Aug 02, 1993 V.VALENTI at 01:44 EDT I have a friend that has been able to blend FOUR stereo tracks on the fly using conventional 386 assembly! Imagine what you could do with the DSP? Maybe a total of 16 stereo tracks on the fly? Vince Valenti ------------ Category 14, Topic 41 Message 134 Mon Aug 02, 1993 ATARIAUSTRIA [J.Widi] at 03:59 EDT RandyH, You need to install the SAM_SET.CPX in order to get sound with MultiTOS. Just make sure it is in Your CPX-folder. Don't expect it to show up in the control panel though, as all it does is to activate the sound. ------------