========================================================================= (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. ========================================================================== ************ Topic 11 Sat May 20, 1989 D.ANDERSON22 at 00:53 EDT Sub: TURBO16-30 from Fast Technology A place to discuss Jim Allen's 16MHz accelerator board for the STs. 200 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 1 Tue Mar 10, 1992 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 23:56 EST Finally....... FAST TECHNOLOGY proudly announces..... TinyTURBO030 TinyTurbo030 is our entry level 68030 based accelerator for the Atari ST and STE computer line. There are two versions, one for the ST, the STE (including MegaSTE). They are identical in function and feature, differing only in physical layout. The TinyTurbo030 has the following features: * Motorola's advanced "030" running at 40Mhz!!!! * a spot for an optional 68882 FPU chip running at 60Mhz!!! * Onboard 8Mhz 68000 chip for _100%_ compatibility, hard/software * The most compact 030 accelerator design available anywhere * Fits all models of the ST and STE line, even the STacy * Optional Virtual Memory software for up to 128Megabytes of "ram" * Super fast static ram cache design to speed up program AND video!! * Makes your ST or STE up to 6 TIMES faster in real world use * Equipped with Atari's new TOS 2.06, with some further enhancements!! * Bundled with CodeHead Technology's QuickST acceleration software * Specially designed to support and speedup Mega ST/VME video boards * Fully BLiTTER chip compatible, works with them all!!! * No auxiliary or replacement power supply needed!!!! * Only 3.5" by 2.5", fits in the palm of your hand!!! Fast Technology has been honing this design to perfection for a full year now, we have numerous beta test sites and customers around the world, so TinyTurbo030 customers are assured of solid performance and a no-hassle installation and above all a _very_ high degree of compatibility in 030 mode, and total compatibility in 68000 mode. When you buy a TinyTurbo030 you are buying a proven design from the leaders in Atari accelerator design!!! The 68000 onboard the TinyTurbo030 lets the user boot up as a stock machine, able to run any software, or use any peripheral which isn't compatible with an 030 chip...simply at the flip of a switch!! The 68000 may also be set to boot off your original TOS roms, just in case TOS 206 compatibility is in doubt. The 030 is running at a minimum of 40Mhz, when the final printed circuit boards are here, we'll decide on 40...42...46...... The Virtual Memory option is a sneaky software way of making your system "think" it has lots more than the standard 4Megabytes of ram ST/STE computers are capable of. This does require you to have 4 Megabytes of real ram in your ST/STE, but for those who need ooooodles of memory, that's no big deal. The Virtual Memory option also includes an upgrade to the 50Mhz 030 chip and perhaps a bit high clock speed ;-) There is a spot for a 68882 math coprocessor. We say "spot" because due to height restrictions a socket is not possible in most ST/STE systems. Here at Fast Technology we have the ability to install and remove PGA chips easily, so being soldered in is not a problem. We use the PGA...pin grid array...package because that's the only one the 50Mhz 882 chip is available in. We've been using 50Mhz 882's at 60-75Mhz for months without a single failure. The temperature range that desktop ST/STE computers live at is low enough to allow this. The TinyTurbo030 has been tested with Moniterm, ISAC, Matrix, Crazy Dots, and a few other obscure video addon boards. When you dive into the world of serious DTP and CAD work, and have invested in a big screen setup, you REALLY NEED an accelerator. The basic design of the TinyTurbo030 is similar to that of the now "World Famous" Turbo25. A small super highspeed static ram cache combined with a very fast 030 processor produces a very healthy speed increase in a Tiny package. Combining the proven design of the Turbo25, with the tremendous speed of the 030 chip seemed a natural, and the TinyTurbo030 was born. Using Atari's TOS 2.06 the TinyTurbo030 brings you the latest and greatest of Atari's operating systems. This new OS has been enhanced and made immune to speed, your system will feel like it was designed from scratch, custom, just for you!! We've added some nice features too, like a user settable boot delay, and other "goodies". How fast is it? Take a look... QINDEX 2.2, MegaST4, Blitter on, ST high resolution, QuickSTE(TT) speed comparison versus Tos 1.4 Test TinyTurbo030 AtariTT ---- ------------ ------- Memory 497 812 Register 1024 827 Divide 1268 1024 Shift 4457 3661 Text 1032 894 String 5121 4756 Scroll 158 426 Draw 1508 1003 Tos 2.06 3.06 Mhz 40 32 Dynacadd 3D Cup 43seconds 50seconds In real world use, like CalamusSL, the TinyTurbo030 is without question faster than a fast ram equipped TT, just ask a Tiny user!! How much does it cost? The TinyTurbo030 has a list price of $999.00 US, compared to other accelerators of similar speed on other platforms, like the Amiga and Mac, this is a very reasonable price. But wait.... For a limited time only...till April 30th, 1992...the TinyTurbo030 introductory price is $599 !!!! Yes, only $599 will get upgrade your ST/STE to the latest technology, with a massive speed increase, the new Atari TOS, and still allow you to maintain total compatibility with your favorite oldies!!! The only requirement to lock in this price is that we receive your deposit for 50%...$300...before April 30th. The other 50% due when your TinyTurbo030 is shipped. The FPU option is $299 ($50 deposit) and the Virtual Memory option is also $299($50 deposit). Include with your order a COMPLETE description or your system, and your option choices if any. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 2 Sun Jan 10, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 20:23 EST Jim, Tom, the Tiny's are almost there I keep getting little walls thrown up in my way but the shipping time is coming up. I'll scream LOUD the second the first unit goes into a box!! ;-) Brig, I have some Tiny's that people backed out of, so you can still get one at the special $599 (40Mhz) or $699 (50Mhz) pricing, I'll let people who've asked recently know when they'll be ready just as soon as the units due for shipment go out the door. So the current pricing is: T25.....$349 Tiny030-40Mhz.....$599 Tiny030-50Mhz.....$699 Tiny030NoCPU.....$504 Turbo030-50Mhz-4Megs TTram....$1,495 Jeff, the GCR is here, all mod'd, and I'll send it out to you now. The rom jumpers on the STE are no big deal, chances are you won't need to touch them, but if you do it takes about 10secs to do. Congrats on getting an ICD disk setup, it's really the way to go....always been my only choice, and the latest SW is soooo good! Jack, your 68000 is on it's way. If you need any help fixing the machine just ask. Wally, thanks. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 3 Mon Feb 22, 1993 D.A.BRUMLEVE [kidprgs] at 23:46 EST You know, fine craftsmenship is hard to come by these days. These FAST Tech products are hand-made wonders! ;-) I develop software. There's not much overhead in a box of blank disks and a box of copies from Kinko's. Like Jim, I have to pay for the pieces of the product before I can sell it, but unlike Jim, I don't have to pay very much. I'm glad to see Jim here supporting his products and keeping his customers up-to-date on the status of their orders, and I'm proud to be associated with him as a fellow Atari dev. All good things come to him who waits. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 4 Tue Feb 23, 1993 R.STEELE8 [Bob Steele] at 01:14 EST Dave Small has a very good article in the February '93 issue of Current Notes about Online Lynching. I don't think a public forum is the place to vent your frustrations with anyone, free speech or not. It's too easy to jump to conclusions when you don't know all the facts. It's obvious to me that Jim cares very much what his customers think. If he didn't, he would never show up here on such a regular basis nor would he respond to E-mail. There are not many Atari developers who would hang in there as long as Jim has. Jim, I'm still hangin' in there. Hope you do too. Bob Steele ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 5 Tue Feb 23, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 01:17 EST I appreciate the kind words folks, this particular hump will be over soon and life can go back to just frantic. Thanks! ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 6 Tue Feb 23, 1993 R.JONES82 [Bob Jones] at 01:22 EST I'm pulling for you too Jim, I don't own a single product of yours but I can empathize with your situation. If only people would give as much praise when the goings GOOD as they do when it's tough. If your still around next summer, I'll be finished with grad school and will be making some real money. I'll see if I can help out a bit and buy one of your turbo boards. We need harware people like yourself to make the most of the ST line of computers. I think little companies like yourself take pride in thier work and it shows in quality. I hope Atari will be successfull with the Falcon so you will have a larger user base to sell to. "Eye of the tiger" Jim don't loose it, hang in there! ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 7 Tue Feb 23, 1993 STACE [Mark] at 12:36 EST Jim and I have had our differences over the years but I gotta say that I am impressed with his honesty about his current financial situation. Atari users should be thankful that Jim hasn't pulled a "Bill Teal" and just vanished from the face of the earth. In fact, not only has Jim not vanished, he has announced his intention to do a speedup board for the Mac Centris 610 (message in the Mac RT BB). With BIG $$$ companies like DayStar, Mobius and Applied Engineering already having serveral months worth of a jump on him (they saw protos well before they were released), I gotta add that Jim has GUTS! Best of luck Jim! Mark P.S. A side note to Jim Ness (cuz he asked), The entire Mac line has become MUCH MUCH less expensive in the last 4 months. Mac LC II (16mhz 68030, 640x480 w/256 colors, 4 MB RAM, 80 MB HD, 1.4 Hi-density floppy) is selling for about $900. That's a 68030 based COLOR Mac for under a grand. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 8 Tue Feb 23, 1993 J.NESS [Jim] at 18:14 EST Thanks for the Mac info, Mark. Sheesh. Who would ever have thought we'd see cheap Macs..? -JN ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 9 Tue Feb 23, 1993 STACE [Mark] at 20:29 EST That ain't the half of it Jim (Ness). Street price on the new Centris 610 (the machine Jim Allen purchased) is $1699! That's $1700 for a >040< equiped Mac with 4 megs/80 meg HD (no FPU in the O40 though). Heck, there are still Mac accelerator boards out there that are selling for more than that! (040 boards) Amazing! Anyway, enough of this...sorry to interupt the subject. Mark ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 10 Tue Feb 23, 1993 G.ANDERSON at 21:11 EST Hang in there Jim, the last thing I or anyone out here (I hope) want to do is drive you away from the Atari market. I KNOW you make one H$LL of a product. Heck, I've been using one of your original T-16s for the better part of three years and flat REFUSE to go back to 8 Mhz. If it won't run at 16Mhz then the heck with it! My situation was unusual and I recognise it. Being in Japan caused you to loose several units via mail. That bothers me some, your stuff seems to be the ONLY things NOT to ever reach me in one or more pieces. Have you insulted your postman lately? Maybe he's mad at you or something. I'll hang in and wait until everything gets sorted out, but if you would please leave Explorer a note so they'll know why the review is late (sort of like a note from my mother for the teacher ). Don't give up on us yet, and I'll keep the old eyes open in case you do decide to sell off something. I doubt if I can afford it but I'll look. Just stay in there with us... we can't afford to loose our best example of 'what do you mean it can't be done?' denial. Besides, when I get the $$ I'm going to want a 50 Mhz Falcon. Gregg ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 11 Tue Feb 23, 1993 G.ANDERSON at 21:20 EST John (J.Spohr) So far no change, still unemployed (brain's still in vacation mode, it can't stay there much longer or the $$$ will run out ) and alive. \The drive swap is finished but my laser printer drum got messed up and the powerbar smashed in the move from Japan. I kind of miss Japan, and definately miss you and the rest of the FEAST crowd. I especially miss that regular paycheck . I've known Jim for several years now. You know I've been as frustrated as anybody by the problems in getting hardware, but I also have to admit that I can understand some of his problems (after 10 years in electronics and 10 more years in the management/supply/command fields I have a very good idea of what he's going through). Tell you what... EMail me your COMPLETE address, the one I would need to place on UPS or Federal Express to get it there to your place. Then Email Jim to send it to me here in North Carolina and I'll try and send it on to you... I owe you a buck or two anyway..... I think. If you're willing to trust the USMail I'll do that, but Jim has had a LOT of bad luck with them getting stuff to Japan over the past few years. I consider both you friends and am only too happy to do anything I can to get everything resolved. By the way John, I found a mail order place that sells SyQuests for $64 each in packs of five... got some good prices on regular SCSI drives too. Looking for any? Gregg ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 12 Tue Feb 23, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 21:58 EST Thanks Mark, actualy the company I'll be marketing the Mac products through is bigger than any of the ones you mentioned! ;-) The unit I got was the bottom line model, for $1,789. That's on my APPLE credit card, which can't be cash advanced, etc...so it's only good for APPLE corporation hardware. And I took them up on it. I put my order in for that unit at the beginning of December when I first got word...didn't know what to call it but wanted to be first on the list, figuring there would be shortages but a few would get to each dealer on announcement day...my dealer got 5, they don't know when they'll be able to get more. I had to have the unit to examine in order to compose a proposal for future projects....in a little business like this you are forced to plan ahead actively, if you wait till you get there to figure out what to do, you won't be doing anything...and fast. This Mac project is a June timeframe project to be my next project after the Tiny's go...R+D and engineering must keep going all the time, or you end up left behind by the rest of the manufacturers. There is a change in the TurboRam design, and the product _will_ be made...by a combined effort from myself and JRI. Instead of using 1Megx4 ZIP packaged rams, we will be using ONE of the new 32bit wide Mac SIMMs. The 32bit wide SIMM can be used as a 16bit SIMM twice as deep, so you will be able to plug in one 1Megx32 SIMM or one 2Megx32 SIMM for 4 or 8 Megabytes of ram in addition to the ram you have on the motherboard. SO I haven't forgotten about that product, the design is all done, and it will be made, I just can't move on it till the Tiny's leave the house! Gregg, that's a great idea!! I'll send down the disk with your stuff, and the money to cover mailing, and you can send it to John. I appreciate the help! ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 13 Tue Feb 23, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 21:59 EST I suppose I should let you know, the Centris, with a 20Mhz 040 chip, is 20% faster than the full blowm 50Mhz Turbo030....needless to say, I'm impressed. Hmmm, where is the 040 manual.....;-) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 14 Tue Feb 23, 1993 S.KIEPE [Steve ] at 23:30 EST Jim, I just wanted to add a more positive note to this ongoing diatribe by some of the people in this topic. I'm the very happy owner of a T-25 that I installed over 1 and a half years ago. I had to wait a bit for my board (I was part of a package deal with Dennis Kay) but the wait was to allow you the time to come up with an integrated blitter fix for the board that corrected the original Atari based problems and allowed removal of Atari's daughter board. You then provided (free of charge) a suggestion on how to install TOS 2.06 in a standard Mega ST WITHOUT the need to purchase an add on board. When I had installation problems, you spent a lot of time on the phone with me as we troubleshot the board together. As a result, I have an absolutely solid system that has been an absolute pleasure to work with. Your genius has added tremendous value to my Atari system and is one of the reasons I will be keeping my system in the long run. I am also in the market for a Mac system, not because I don't like Atari, but because the products are lagging and the developers folding. Why are the developers folding? Because they are backing a system with a very small market share and a tenuous hold on the future. I respect the genius of you and other Atari developers but question your business sense, for if you were really smart, you'd probably abandon this small (and occassionally ungrateful) group and put your effort into developing for a system that would pay better. For those quick to cast stones and criticize that in which they either have little stake, or who so crave the right to downgrade the work of others, I suggest that YOU are some of the reasons that Atari developers are folding. Only a masochist would buy a computer associated with a group that likes to "eat it's young." If you want security, buy a PC clone. At least then you can have a bigger group to grouse with. Hang in there Jim, you have a lot more support than you may realize! ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 16 Wed Feb 24, 1993 DENNYA [Denny Atkin] at 14:18 EST Jim, Question about the Centris: I've heard rumors that it uses an EC040 or LC040 part; does it, or does it have the full 040 with MMU and FPU? (Also, as far as I know, Moto doesn't make a 20MHz 040 part, which means Apple's underclocking the CPU by 5MHz for marketing reasons...) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 18 Wed Feb 24, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 22:31 EST It says XC68LC040RC20 Denny. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 19 Thu Feb 25, 1993 DENNYA [Denny Atkin] at 19:06 EST Jim, Ooh, an LC040? That doesn't have an FPU. Ick. It's the real 040 that doesn't come at 20MHz. The LC does. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 20 Fri Feb 26, 1993 G.ANDERSON at 00:36 EST Jim, please Email me John's full address and phone # before you send me his Syquest cart. I'll want to give him a VERY short phone call and make sure he's still at the same address. It's been quite a while since 'I've seen him though I'm sure he hasn't moved. When we get together at the next WAACE show (I hope to make it anyway) I can fill you in on life in Japan . Come on now, fill us in on what you've got planned for the Falcon.... Gregg oops.... again? ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 24 Sun Mar 07, 1993 W.JESSOP [WARREN PHOTO] at 19:38 EST Hi Jim, Hope all is well in the progress on the Tiny '030... I was wondering what ever happened with your efforts to make a deal with ICD to include their "pro HD software" along with the Tinys. I'd sure be interested in that! Thanks, Warren ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 25 Sun Mar 07, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 21:09 EST Still plugging away Warren, I am sending a unit to ICD to help clear up a problem that has crept into the driver SW in reference to 030 boards, seems booters after 6.0.0 aren't quite at home on our 030 boards. I'll be asking for ICD about a quantity special purchase for the Tiny boards, just to make it painless for anyone who doesn't already have ICD HDrive software. I figure getting people ICD's latest at my cost will be less expensive then the cost of dealing with the pitfalls of trying to make Supra and Atari HDrive SW work well on such a spiffy 030 accelerator. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 26 Wed Mar 10, 1993 J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 00:37 EST Are there any plans in the works for virtual memory + speed boosts for the Falcon? :) (Virtual memory being the most important add-on.) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 27 Wed Mar 10, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 02:08 EST Jonathan, the virtual memory software works on the Falcon now! It will be marketed by COMPO Software, they have a GEnie account "COMPO" if you want to ask them about it. The standard Tiny030 for the ST will fit into a small adapter board that connects to the Falcon expansion bus, only a couple of PAL equation tweaks are required to make it play. So 50Mhz with cache for the Falcon will be ready when the Falcon's are. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 28 Wed Mar 10, 1993 B.AEIN [B Man] at 23:35 EST Jim, How hard would it be to swap a tiny from a mega to a F030? Or does it need to be hardwired directly into the Mega? Also, if the Tiny is running at 50Mhz in the falcon, how fast would the math coprocesser run? Would it use the Falcons FPU or the Tinys FPU? Physical dimensions aside, could one put a full fledged Turbo 030 board in the falcon? Would Quick Index give the same kind of numbers on the Falcon with a Tiny as a regular ST, in an ST mode? Will there be a Tiny made just for the Falcon that does not have a 68000 on board and maybe 32bit memory? Thanks Bman ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 29 Thu Mar 11, 1993 J.GNIEWKOWSK [GE-Lamp ST] at 01:38 EST Jim, Do you have any 'homeless' Tiny030s? If so, I am interested in pricing and availability. Sincerly, John E. Gniewkowski Editor, GEnieLamp ST ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 30 Thu Mar 11, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 11:16 EST Bman, The stock ST Tiny030, coupled to a simple adapter to translate the 68000 socket to the Falcon expansion bus, will plug right into the Falcon. There are two changes made to the Tiny in that context: 1) The TOS 2.06 roms are not used, the Falcon OS is run instead. 2) The 68000 chip is DELETED, since it is not at all clear the Falcon can even operate with a 68000, the OS may not have the needed support code any longer. So only the 50Mhz 030, and high speed cache, are active. It should give the same or better benchmarks, I'll know in a few weeks for sure. The expansion bus access speed is NOT as fast as the onboard 68030 direct is, there are extra wait states, so it will slow down a bit, but the increase in CPU speed and cache speed will more than make up for this. Yes, if the Falcon was relocated into a Tower case, the Full Turbo030, 50Mhz, with high speed cache _and_ 4-40Megabytes of 32bit Fast ram, will operate. Again, it is just a matter of using the adapter, and deleting the TOS 2.06 roms and 68000 chip. I do not know as of yet if the Fast ram support software is still available in the Falcon OS, I won't know till I dig in, but I can't do that until the Tiny's ship out. John, Yes, there are orphaned Tiny's available, some folks have asked for and gotten refund, and those boards are now ownerless. For these boards the original price is still in affect...$599-40Mhz, $699-50Mhz. Bman, The 68030 is run at 50Mhz, the 68882 is run at 60Mhz with its own oscillator chip. The Tiny or T030 in a Falcon would use the thier own, since the Falcon's is limited to a 33Mhz max (and that requires a small mod to the motherboard to use at 33Mhz instead of 16Mhz). ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 31 Thu Mar 11, 1993 G.ANDERSON at 22:34 EST Falcon + Tiny-030 Turbo + MiniTower = SOMETHING I WANT!!!!!!!!!! Think of it, the VGA and audio capabilities of the Falcon WITH the power and speed of a TT..... Add in a minitower (someone, please get a tower falcon out soon) and we're rolling in clover. The only thing I could want to top it off would be a higher resolution like the TT's 1280 x 960 mode on a larger monitor (without having to own two monitors of course),. Gregg PS: Jim, any idea of when my T-25 & John's Spectre cart will reach Sheldon's? I need to make some plans on mailing and working on the review between college classes. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 32 Fri Mar 12, 1993 ARCHIVIST [Charlie] at 19:01 EST Gregg, I've never seen the insides of a Falcon, of course, but I can't imagine why you couldn't put it in a tower now if that's what you want. Wasn't there a company that did that for the the ST's and STE's? I know one of the hardware guys at my local dealer did that. He did it partly because he wanted a seperate keyboard and partly because he wanted everything in one case, his STE, his harddrives, his CD-Rom ETC. BTW, consider a Falcon + TinyTurbo at 50Mhz + the Cyrel board. It's what I'm drooling for, though it would cost about 3g's. It would be an incredable machine, though. Charlie/sysop jr. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 33 Sat Mar 13, 1993 D.PHILLIPS25 at 07:26 EST Jim, Is the RAM expansion going to be a MegaBus expansion, and will it require you to already have 4 megs onboard, or could you have the equivalent of a Mega 1 and still hook it up for 9 megs total? I hear Marpet (formerly Frontier) in the UK is due to release their version soon, but I'll take a FAST/JRI upgrade any day, even at twice the price (which it won't be)! Keep on keepin' on, Dan BTW, the check's in the mail. ;^) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 34 Sat Mar 13, 1993 W.MAYO2 at 11:45 EST Hey Jim. What happened with the Mega 4ST coming to me? If there is a change or anything, let me know. Maybe the Tiny is ready? Lookin' for the UPS truck (2- day?). ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 35 Thu Mar 18, 1993 SHAFFER [Fantasy-Man] at 11:19 EST Jim: I want to thank you publicly for a FINE product and the outstanding support you provided in getting it up and running. The TURBO 030 board you installed for me has all of my business software SCREAMING in TT mode, putting my 2 IBM compatibles to shame. I also now have an extra 4 MEG for much needed expansion space. With my growth to 45-50 fantasy baseball leagues this year, I'd be hard pressed to meet my deadlines without this upgrade. I also want to thank John Eidsvoog of CodeHead Software for his assistance in solving some technical problems. Again, Jim, you went beyond what 90% of the outfits out there would have done to support a customer. THANKS! John Shaffer National Fantasy Sports Leagues ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 36 Fri Mar 19, 1993 M.BENES at 22:34 EST Jim: Any possiblity I could latch onto one of those "ownerless" Tiny 030's at 50 Mhz for $699?? Mike B. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 37 Fri Mar 19, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 23:10 EST Yes Mike, as soon as I have the lot ready to head out I'll Email yourself and anyone else interested that the "ownerless" are ready. Won't be much longer. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 43 Sun Mar 21, 1993 M.BENES at 21:40 EST Jim: Thanks! I appreciate it... Mike B. P.S. Hang in there! I STILL believe these machines have the BEST OS that can be had for the money--and we need people like you to keep supporting 'em! ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 45 Sun Mar 21, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 23:33 EST Well, looks like the GFA worries are over, you'll need 3.6beta in order to be very compatible with the 030 chip, although alot of the package in 3.5e does work OK. But it's nice to have the whole situation flogged out. Many many thanks to John Eidsvoog and Hutch for the help, and John Schafer for his being a great gunieapig ;-) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 46 Mon Mar 22, 1993 MYECK.WATERS [myeck] at 18:43 EST Why so many deleted messages? ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 47 Mon Mar 22, 1993 CRAIG.S.THOM at 21:43 EST I believe they got moved to another topic a littler farther down. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 49 Mon Mar 22, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 22:41 EST Dave Small was looking for some beta testers for Mac mode HDisk timing under Spectre. He's now got a topic...#44...to support the effort. Looks like Spectre will be getting an update soon!! ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 50 Tue Mar 23, 1993 G.ANDERSON at 21:47 EST Jim, it's coming up on the end of March. Any hope for my unit? I've got John Spohr's address now so I can send his cartridge on when I get it. Feel free to send everything to Sheldon's Computer STudio if you like.. Who knows, you may even get Sheldon interested in the T-xxx series . Gregg ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 51 Wed Mar 24, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 01:05 EST Jim, I meant to ask the other day but, how much is the TurboRam thing going to sell for? ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 52 Wed Mar 24, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 01:36 EST The Turboram will be $199 (0K) and take Mac 32bit SIMMs, which run for about $110 for 4Megs and $220 for 8Megs...that's megabytes! The ram uses addresses $400000 through $BFFFFF...8Megabytes...so it fits above ST ram, and under any video card ram. It must be disabled to run Spectre though, since there are Mac devices in that address range that Dave needs to report a buserror on the ST. SO there is no conflict with Moniterm or Isac type cards, and there is a jumper that kills off 2Megs on top to make room for the space the CrazyDots card, or Matrix C110 card take. So you get only 6 extra megabytes when running it with a CrazyDots or Matrix card. This is the same in the MegaST or MegaSTE machines. 1040STE machines will have to have the center plastic post under the keyboard cut in order for the board to fit...one size fits all sometimes leads to compromises, sorry. So the board plugs into the machine and accepts ONE Mac 32bit SIMM...4 or 8 Meg...just like a Mac LCIII would. You are REQUIRED to have TOS 2.06 in order to run the ram, so if you have a MegaST please give the Codeheads a yell for a TOS adapter and roms, or just roms if you have a T25, or neither if you are getting a Tiny030 (which has 2.06 built in). The MegaST board plugs in where it won't bother any other addons, so it physically fits with video cards, accelerators, and internal HDrives. For 1040STE and MegaSTE units, just plug the TOS 2.06 into the machine, no adapters are required, just buy a set of roms from your favorite dealer or the Codeheads. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 53 Wed Mar 24, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 04:11 EST Thanks Jim. I definately would like to get one of those but will have to wait until the finances straighten out. I mentioned it at our User Group meeting and a guy like to have fell over when I told him. He seemed VERY interested for some reason. :-) It will be a great addon to the Tiny030 and MultiTos when it becomes available. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 54 Wed Mar 24, 1993 D.PHILLIPS25 at 07:35 EST Jim, By your last post, I assume that we have to have 4 Megs? Or are you just saying that it will clear any and all ST memory, and it will work with anything from 1 Meg to 4 Meg, including 2 Meg, which uses only one bank, and 2.5 Meg, which uses both with differing chip capacities. Of course, this is about to become pretty academic since I'm about to pick up 8 1X4-80 DIPPS to go to 4 Meg, anyhow, but I'm sure someone else wants to know... Thanks, Dan ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 55 Wed Mar 24, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 11:27 EST Dan, it's a seperate item, so you can have 1-4Megs STram, and still slap this Tram addon in. It logs into the system like TT ram, and shows up in all the ram free space measurers as TT ram. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 56 Thu Mar 25, 1993 J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 21:55 EST Jim, Glad to hear about the virtual memory! Any word on pricing? This might actully make a 2MEG Falcon worthwhile, I hope, meaning I might start saving for one. Does it do any sort of paging, or just swapping? I'm familiar with UNIX, so any comparisons to that would be just great. ;) (If you don't know specifics on it, no problem!) 50MHZ Falcon... Wow. :) --- I had planned to save my Christmas money to use with my BD money to snag a nice new receiver, but car problems and such have shut that down, so I'm quite a bit short. However, I'm still in the basic Turbo16/20/25 range I think... What's the running price for each type of speed board? Nothing fancy, just the basic speedup. I've got an STe, and I absolutely must have a way to slow/shutoff the T-whatever back to 8mhz. Backwards compatiblity is very important to me. :) Is a Turbo25 still the fastest non-030 based accelerator? (Is there a 30mhz 68000?) Thanks for any info, and good luck developing for the Falcon! ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 57 Thu Mar 25, 1993 J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 22:29 EST Can TOS 2.06 be installed with a T16/20/25 later, or is it a purchase-time option only? I can't really find any recent info on Fast Tech hardware (just ads from 2+ years ago) so if there's any text file I can DL, just point me at it! :) Does TOS 2.06 have any major compatibility problems? (Any at all? :) I guess my only two big concerns about a new TOS is that it'll run Dungeon Master, Chaos Strikes Back, Bard's Tale, and Empire. :D (Anyone tested these on 2.06?) If this is straying too far off topic, someone just boot me out of here or reply in email. :) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 58 Sat Mar 27, 1993 WWD at 12:35 EST Jim: Did you get email? Bill Destler (WWD) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 59 Sat Mar 27, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 17:23 EST Yes Bill, thanks, will get to it as soon as possible. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 60 Mon Mar 29, 1993 J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 18:52 EST Good and bad news... Mom is kicking in the mega BD gift, so I'm getting the amp, and no Turbo25... I'd still be intersted on prices, how 2.06 and TRAM fits into the picture, and if the T-whatever can go back to a standard 8mhz... ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 61 Sun Apr 04, 1993 P.NEREO [Philip] at 15:26 EDT I just purchased a used T-16 that came without any installation info, except to say that the long gray wire gets soldered to pin #39 of chip U31, and the short blue wire is possibly the control for switching between 8 and 16 mhz. Except there's two blue wires! 1 - Is there an info sheet usually supplied with the T-16, and could Jim or anyone send me a copy? (leave E-mail reply for address). 2 - If not, is this info correct, and what do I do with the 2 tiny blue wires to rig up 8 - 16 switching? 3 - Is it even necessary to worry about 8 -16 switching? Thanks all. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 62 Mon Apr 05, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 00:12 EDT Phil, leave me your phone # in Email. I'll need to explain what to do. There is a group of T16 control files available in the library here...you connect the T16 to the Yamaha sound chip for speed control. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 63 Mon Apr 05, 1993 BRATMAN [Bratman] at 03:13 EDT JIM ALLEN HOWS MY STACY? Did everything turn into your worst nightmare or what? call me at the store or at my house 310 864 2423 you already have the store number thanks Rik @ Mid Cities! ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 64 Mon Apr 05, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 23:46 EDT Couldn't have been more opportune Rick, in sync with your STacy disaster two other dealers had similar situations. So I have 3 STacy motherboards here I'm bringing back to life. I think for the future I'll have to do Stacy installs myself, have the dealer strip it down but let ME do the de-solder-re on the T25. Very tedious repair work. Hang on, I'm almost done. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 65 Wed Apr 07, 1993 J.BRIGHAM at 20:07 EDT Jim...What's this about the TurboRam? How much ram does it add and can I use it with my Mega4ST. Will it add ram to your 030 accelerator boards? How much $$? So many questions. Brig ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 66 Sat Apr 10, 1993 A.B.SMITH [Barry] at 06:28 EDT Jim- Anything firm on the Tiny-Torbos? (Turbos, that is.) - Barry ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 67 Sun Apr 11, 1993 G.ANDERSON at 17:41 EDT Ah, Jim... It's now Sunday of the next week.... no T-25. What happened? I'm counting on you not just for the T-25 I ordered so long ago but to also have a 32Mhz (or better) and TT-RAM upgrade for the Falcon ready for me to buy and review once Atari let's the bird out of it's cage. Gregg ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 68 Thu Apr 15, 1993 W.MAYO2 at 18:43 EDT Hey Jim, did you get my E-MAIL? I gummed up the address, tried to fix it and not sure it "took." Maybe it got in the hopper. Let me know if there are any possibilities. Later. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 69 Sun Apr 25, 1993 J.WILES1 at 10:41 EDT Jim, It's been pretty quite over here. Hopefully, no news is good news. Can you give us an update on the progress of the Tiny Turbos? Problems holding it up, guestimate time for shipment, ICD hard drive booter working, etc. It has been over a year and although I'm waiting patiently, a word or two from you could help ease the wait. Hang in there, Jim, we may be a small group but we are supportive. Jeff ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 70 Tue Apr 27, 1993 AEO.7 [Gregg] at 19:51 EDT I'm getting a touch worried Jim, it's been an awfully long time since you've graced us with your presence here.... What's up? Gregg ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 71 Tue Apr 27, 1993 M.BENES at 23:00 EDT Jim: Ditto the above 2 messages..... What's up??? Mike B. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 72 Wed Apr 28, 1993 POTECHIN [Nathan] at 11:38 EDT I speak with him daily. He's testing and checking and fixing and soldering and testing and checking and fixing and soldering and testing and checking ..... you get the idea. He is definitely still alive and well although his skin is turning white caused by underexposure to the light of day. :-) And one of these days, TinyTurbo's are going to ship!! Nathan @ DMC ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 73 Wed Apr 28, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 22:17 EDT I'm still alive, the lead poisoning has lowered my IQ but I can still speel and do arit, er, math. The boards are in Salem NH having parts moved from the ones with my screwup to the new screwupless boards. It's only going to take them a few more days, please hang on a little longer, I know it hurts, believe me it's killing me every day. I haven't typed much here because there just hasn't been any good news to type, but I'll try and liven things up here in the next few days. Thanks- Jim ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 75 Thu Apr 29, 1993 MUSE [Tomas] at 03:17 EDT Hey Jim, That's great, now shut up and get back to work, and use some ventilation will ya? (Working with solder can cause damage to the eyes.) I just ran SysInfo v8.34 on my T20'd Mega and it says I'm running at 24 MHz. Are you missing 4 MHz there at your shop? If so, I'll return the extra speed, you may need it someday. After more than a year of uninterrupted service from my T20 I had to come over here to thank you again. It runs great, it runs cool and it hasn't burst into flames. I like that in a product. While I was in SysInfo I noticed the BLiTTER was off. I saved a NEWDESK.INF with it "on" and rebooted, but it still defaults to BLiTTER Off. This was in T20/TOS 2.06 mode. In Compatibilty mode, the BLiTTER is coming up "On" by default. Any idea what would cause that? ===Tomas=== April 28, 1993 @ 11:17:39 pm PDT ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 76 Thu Apr 29, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 10:57 EDT Tomas, sounds like the CONTROL.INF file made by the GENERAL.CPX has the blitter saved as OFF. Try re-saving in GENERAL.CPX with the blitter ON, and also re-save the desktop with the blitter ON, then see if that cures it. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 77 Thu Apr 29, 1993 J.BRIGHAM at 22:01 EDT WHAT about this turboram thing? You mentioned it about 10 messages ago. Brig ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 78 Thu Apr 29, 1993 EXPLORER.1 [] Ron [] at 22:08 EDT Hang in there Jim! If you get a chance to take a break and attend the Motorola 680x0 seminar that's touring the country, give it a shot. They're giving out a great T- shirt with the data books ;-) -- Ron ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 79 Fri Apr 30, 1993 MUSE [Tomas] at 00:20 EDT Jim, Bingo! Thanks, should've thought of that. ===Tomas=== April 29, 1993 @ 7:34:44 pm PDT ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 80 Fri Apr 30, 1993 J.WILES1 at 07:39 EDT Jim, Great hearing from you again. The wait has been alittle tough but with your rep with accelerators, it will definatly be worth it. The silence was defining but then it's hard to work and play at the same time. "liven things up in the next few days" - My taste buds just started drooling. Could it be Speedup time? My hopes just got Tiny Turbo charged again. Thanks, Jeff ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 81 Sun May 02, 1993 N.FRAGA at 23:09 EDT I hoping buy a MSTE in a month or so, this compared to Atari's "other" computers doesn't quite cut it anymore, unless it's upgraded, that's just my opinion though. I want to upgrade as soon as possible with a faster cpu, gobs of ram, better graphics etc! Well to be honest I'll spend more upgrading than rather having bought a FALCON 030 in the first place, but I'd rather see the FALCON 030 do real good and then go with that one. I have some questions I would like fully answered: 1) Will Fast Tech's TinyTurbo fit in the MSTE case? What options do I get with cpu, what's it's cost? 2) 4 megabyte WON'T evem be enough with what I will want to do is Fast Tech going to produce this TurboRAM ( or whatever the name is) Again what is the RAM configuration, what will it cost, and will this fit inside the MSTE case (along with the TinyTurbo 030? 3) I want to upgrade the graphics with either the Crazy Dot 32 (?) or Cyrel graphics boards, again does 'anyone' know if all this will fit inside a MSTE????? if not then what other choice do I have as far graphics cards, or just a FALCON 030??? Anyway you look at it, this is me "dream setup" along with Lexicor, Codehead, and Atari software!!! Any replies or solutions are welcomed!! Norm ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 83 Wed May 05, 1993 MIKE-ALLEN [NM~SysOp] at 03:00 EDT Norm, The CyRel board uses the VME slot in the MSTe. Seems to me there is a CrazyDots version for the VME slot too. There is also the AlberTT card for the VME slot which is less expensive that the CD or the CyRel board, but not as capable. Jim will probably tell you about the AlberTT here. For info on the AlberTT check CAT4/TOP28 For info on the Cybercube Sunrise check CAT16/TOP12 For info on the Crazy Dots check CAT17/TOP12 Hope that helps. BTW, I really like my MSTe. Mike Allen ST HelpDesk~SysOp ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 84 Wed May 05, 1993 D.HOHENSTEIN [PRIMETIME] at 21:21 EDT I have a Mega STe and I'd put it up against any computer at the price. Three modem ports, DMA stereo sound, 4 Megs RAM, 16MHz 68000... But the MAIN reason I picked this little beauty up was it's upgradability. The question you've asked is one that's been on my mind lately. In theory the MSTe SHOULD be able to take both a Fast 30 and the Cyril board, as they are both advertized heavily in the Calamus community, but I don't know for sure. I understood that BOTH of these beasts were VME devices. PS- go for the Cyrel Sunrise board. It's FAR more than just a palette upgrade. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 85 Thu May 06, 1993 BRIAN.H [ST~SysOp] at 00:19 EDT Thanks Mike for the information. Brian ... Written on Wednesday 05 May 1993 at 09:18 p.m. ADT ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 86 Thu May 06, 1993 POTECHIN [Nathan] at 09:47 EDT Wrong! ;-) The Cyrel Sunrise IS a VME board. The Turbo 030 or TinyTurbo are not. They replace the 68000. The definitely can both work in the same machine at the same time, fast and colorful. ;-) Nathan @ DMC ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 87 Sat May 08, 1993 DAVESMALL at 20:36 EDT Please realize that Jim is busier than (insert metaphor of your own), and if he spends a lot of time here answering notes, he isn't soldering and cutting wire and designing and debugging. I have gained a healthy respect for the sheer amount of *time* hardware requires. It's almost as bad as software! (You can quote me). As Wayne used to tell me, "Well, at least software doesn't break...". (Wayne designed the ATR- 8000, one of the finest CP/M machines I ever saw, and it plugged into the 8- bit). Look, I'm trying to complete some blasted tricky routines in the disk Input/Output (I/O) so they are "bulletproof" when run at any speed. Spectre 3.0 just is not rated for over 55 MPH and positively WILL break at high Mhz. I also don't want to kludge the job and have to re-do it. I'm having a Real Fun Time, and I know what Jim is going through. I am also not on Genie as much as I would like to be; Darlah will tell you anytime that I can really get rolling on notes ... I'm not antisocial; I'm just overloaded. So is Jim, I gather. Give him a chance. (There is also a "chain reaction" effect, similar to nuclear fission, when people ask "Did you get my mail dd/mm/yy ? " Then there's TWO replies to write, and other people get worried, and then the Online Panic Effect goes into action. You know ... "Did J.R. shoot Jim?" and stuff. I have seen Jim go out of his way to help people for years. Please return him the favor, and give him time to *work* and do what he does best, okay? -- thanks, Dave Small / Gadgets [p.s. Jim, looks like I *really* need to test T-25 on the new routines. I've gotten a fair number of faxes and email on 3.0 locking on keyboard or disk, which are both timing loops. We both know T-25 wasn't out when 3.0 was released, and I'd like to get THIS release right and for the future, although I refuse to promise 040... *grin* ] [p.p.s. I suppose this means I'M doing it TOO !! Sheesh!] ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 88 Sat May 08, 1993 J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 21:04 EDT Dave, just to get WAY off topic, are there any plans for a 24bit Mac emulator running on a Falcon? :) A friend is going for a Quatra (sp?) or Sentra, since he needs to use PhotoShop in 24bit... :) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 89 Sat May 08, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 22:02 EDT Thanks Dave, I will get a T25 to you by Tuesday. Hope it's going well for you. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 90 Sat May 08, 1993 BRIAN.H [ST~SysOp] at 23:07 EDT Jonathan/Dave, Please use the Spectre topic (topic 41 of category 4) for threads on a 24 bit Mac emulator. Thanks. Brian ... Written on Saturday 08 May 1993 at 11:29 p.m. ADT ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 91 Sun May 09, 1993 J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 20:08 EDT Yes yes yes. :) I'll move right along. (Just trying to somehow avoid adding yet another TOPic. :) Actully it's TOP 44. :) Jim, Do you have any accelerator boards for the Falcon ready to ship? ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 92 Sun May 09, 1993 J.HANLEY4 [John] at 22:05 EDT I recently read somewhere that Fast Technology was going to offer a special deal on used boards exchanged for upgrading. What can you tell me about this? ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 93 Mon May 17, 1993 J.BRIGHAM at 19:53 EDT Any info on that Turbo Ram board, Jim? Keep up the great work.. If you and Dave Small would have abandoned us, I would be on a different computer now instead of my Mega. Brig ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 94 Wed May 19, 1993 D.HOHENSTEIN [PRIMETIME] at 00:03 EDT Okay. Where can I get a rundown of all the Fast Technologies products and some prices? I'm sitting here drooling over all this talk about what I can do with my MSTe. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 95 Sat May 22, 1993 S.EAKINS [SCOOTS] at 01:05 EDT I would like to tell all of ya a little story.... Awile back, my 4 meg T25'd STe died. I mean dead, gone, nadda. All I got when I turned it on was that old familiar speaker click you hear when you have the volume all the way up and boot. Anyway, I took the beast to my local Atari dealer, and he said that the only recorse was to buy a new machine. I know what your thinking, all he really wanted to do was sell me another computer, but I truthfully don't think that this was the case (this fellow has built his dealership on providing excellent service and knowledgable support!) Well, I really can't afford a new computer, so what do I do? I pick up the phone and call Jim. Jim listens patiently as I tell him my tale and then in a calm soothing tone instructs me to send him my computer and the T25, he'll take a look. 2 days later Jim receives my dead computer. For what seems like an eternity I wait patiently for any word on my grey beauty. Maybe I better define eternity - 4 days! There, wedged in my screen door is a box, a big box, might this be it? Yes, Yes, oh boy yes!!! I tear into the box and hastily plug in the necessary cables.....Voila, she's back! I call Jim again to thank him and asked what was the problem. It seems that Jim desoldered the 68000 socket and replaced, tested and refurbed the T25 and glued the accellerater into place. I have experienced absolutely no problems since that day. Why am I telling you this? Listen closely...SERVICE. Thats what I expected when I purchased one of Jim's boards, thats what I expected when I needed help, thats what I got, period! I recommend Jims products and service to anyone considering purchasing an accellerater. While I have had no dealings with Jims competition, (and I'm sure they are very good), I can tell you that Jim's stuff screams. I speak only with the utmost respect for this man. Support your platform. Support Atari computers. Support Jim Allen. You won't be sorry!!!!!! And to Jim, Thank you ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 96 Sat May 22, 1993 JWKUEHN [Wolf] at 16:40 EDT I just want to say "hello" here after a long time of absence. My T-25 ha een doing its job for almost two years now without a problem. From time to time of course I feel a bit anxious about what to do when the chip finally passes out - you hear a lot about these 486 chips burning out quickly when run at high speeds. So I am glad that Jim | 1 em ;< ~wY"+ b y o is still providing the excellent service he has been known for years Wolf /s ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 97 Sat May 22, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 19:25 EDT Glad to hear it's still ticking Wolf, so far there haven't been any 68000 chip failures, so I'd say you're safe for another decade or so ;-) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 98 Mon May 24, 1993 B.DEWITT [Nerd Perfect] at 23:37 EDT Jim; Despite the rancor exhibited by a certain disgruntled customer in a certain unnamed topic in Category 18, I have been convinced by your many admirers to jump on board the Fast Tech Express before it leaves the station. I have a sense of what you must feel at this point, and although my contribution won't make a great deal of difference financially, I'd like to throw my two bits into the pot (I love mixing my metaphors) and have my name put on the waiting list for a TinyTurbo030 (while I don't mind waiting for you to get the bugs worked out of your one-man production line, I am getting tired of waiting for my screen redraws and rendering times)! See your Email for a message from me (I'm working it up on my secret, Captain Bucko decoder ring, right now). Keep up the good work, Bob ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 99 Tue May 25, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 05:12 EDT Nerd Perfect! Wotta handle! Welcome, Bob! Al ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 100 Wed May 26, 1993 J.DINGA at 22:01 EDT Bob, Wecome to the ranks of the MegaE fanatics. Maybe we should design a T- shirt for the tinytubo's shipping day party.....any ideas? :) btw, make sure you tell Jim your _complete_ system configuration! During a fortuitous call, he told me that the Spectre I had just purchased to 'play' with would require a modification to work properly at 50mhz. Needless to say, he gets to 'rewire' it when installing my tt030 ! .............ttyl...........JON ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 101 Thu May 27, 1993 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 07:40 EDT Jim, What's the deal on memory expansion for the MegaSTE? Do you have a new board? I need more RAM than 4mb, and am thinking of going TT. Ken Van Dellen d8^) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 102 Thu May 27, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 14:33 EDT The TURBORAM board is all designed, but I can't go forward with making the units until the Tiny030s are out the door. It does let you add 4 or 8 Megs, and does NOT take up the expansion bus, and uses only 8 or 16 drams chips, so it is very power efficient. The 0K board will be $199, you just plug in one of the new Mac 32bit SIMMs...4 or 8 Megs. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 103 Thu May 27, 1993 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 19:56 EDT Well, when I posted my inquiry I got about 4 months of messages, and it looks as though I got all the information I need for now. Ken Van Dellen d8^) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 104 Thu May 27, 1993 B.DEWITT [Nerd Perfect] at 21:35 EDT Thanks for the welcome, Al. I live just down the street from WordPerfect in Orem, Utah, so I thought it was somehow appropriate to call myself Nerd Perfect (plus I wear spectacles and sometimes carry a pen in my pocket-- although never in a plastic pocket protector). Bob ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 105 Fri May 28, 1993 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 06:11 EDT Mac SIMMs? As in Macintosh? Is this for regular Atari use or Spectre? Ken Van Dellen d8^) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 106 Fri May 28, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 09:08 EDT NerdP: Hollerin' distance from WordPerfect, and only 25 miles from your local Atari dealer? Sheesh, some guys are lucky. How big's Orem, by the way? Al ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 107 Sat May 29, 1993 W.JESSOP [WARREN PHOTO] at 02:23 EDT Aloha Jim, I just bought a used Spectre GCR...what's involved in making it compatible with my 50 mHz 68030 I'll be using in the Tiny? Would it be something Dave F. can handle so I don't have to send the GCR to you? Or should I send it to you now while I'm still awaiting the arrival of some software I'll be using on the MAC side of things? Thanks, Warren ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 108 Sat May 29, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 02:49 EDT Hi Warren, yes Dave can do it, it is just the modification that Gadgets wants done for use with TT's, plus a couple extra pull up resistors I like to put in, and the parts are all easily obtained. I'll Email you the file describing the mod. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 109 Sat May 29, 1993 A.DEFFENDERF [ALAN] at 02:58 EDT Warren, the file is available for download from the library. I believe the name is GCRMODS.TXT. A search under GCR should find it easily, just in case Jim doesn't want to spend time uploading files. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 110 Sat May 29, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 08:49 EDT Ken, Regular Atari use. The fact that they are Mac SIMMs just means they are the type that Macs use; Mac and PC SIMMs differ slightly. Al ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 111 Sat May 29, 1993 M.SMITH63 at 10:17 EDT I just did a search under GCR and could not find a file on the 50Mhz mod. If anybody finds it, could you put the file name up here. Matthew Smith ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 112 Sat May 29, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 10:26 EDT Al, it's the Mac 32bit wide SIMMs for the LC III and new Centris machines. Thanks Alan/Matt. I think the file is in the Gadgets RT library, but I will Email it anyway...it's short. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 113 Sat May 29, 1993 A.DEFFENDERF [ALAN] at 20:31 EDT OOOPS.....that's right. The file is only in the Gadgets RT. Alan ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 114 Sun May 30, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 03:24 EDT Thanks, Jim. Now I understand which SIMMs. You made it SIMMple... Al ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 115 Sun May 30, 1993 R.SYKES2 [RAYMO] at 10:16 EDT HI Jim what would be the price\performance ratio of the TINYTURBO\TURBORAM COMBO verses the TT & falcon I use a MegaE and Chronos Phoenix and will be using the NOVA 24 BIT VME board also are both these products going to be released or has the Atari market took it toll on you too. I was seriosly looking at the Amiga market for 3D rend\anm. soft\hard. but if I could stay with my Atari I would be alot more comfortable with : Sam T. Jim A. Lee S. thanks Ray Sykes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 116 Sun May 30, 1993 B.MENAGH [Bill] at 14:48 EDT I really appreciate the effort that some developers are taking to keep the Atari platform in the minds of some users. It must be difficult to keep focussed on a platform that the manuafacturer sometimes appears to be disinterested in. Thanks to Jim and others for hanging in when the rewards must seem few and limited. Bill ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 117 Sun May 30, 1993 J.BRIGHAM at 16:35 EDT If I purchase a TinyTurbo at 40 Mhz, is there a way to upgre ade to to 50 Mhz at a later date? Brig ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 118 Sun May 30, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 21:22 EDT Thanks Bill, I appreciate your patience. Brig, you can upgrade later, we'd do a board swap actually from one with a 40Mhz 030 to one with a 50Mhz 030. Just to keep the work done. Sockets add too much capacitance to the signals at 50Mhz, so we strictly solder in the 030 chips. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 119 Sun May 30, 1993 K.VANDELLEN [Ken Van] at 22:36 EDT Thanks, Al. I don't know where some of you guys learn all that stuff! I'm somewhat friendly with a Mac dealer, but all I ever bought from him was a System (you know, their OS). Ken Van Dellen d8^) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 120 Mon May 31, 1993 MUSE [Tomas] at 01:45 EDT Jim, I'm a real candidate for your memory board. I understand you have prior commitments so keep at it. You say it won't use the Mega BUS? So, where will it go in, say, a hypothetical T20'd Mega 4 with your initials burned into the nameplate?? ===Tomas=== May 30, 1993 @ 9:56:34 pm PDT ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 121 Mon May 31, 1993 R.STEELE8 [Bob Steele] at 11:20 EDT Jim, All this talk about SIMMs and Spectre brings up 2 questions: * Will the SIMMs (120 ns possibly) I now have in my 1040STe need to be replaced with faster ones once the Tiny Turbo is installed? * Will the modification that TT users perform on the Spectre cartridge have to be done by users of Tiny Turbos? Bob Steele ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 122 Mon May 31, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 12:28 EDT Hi Bob, Yes, the mod that TT users perform on their GCRs will also need to be done for GCRs used with 030 boards. I also have 4 additional resistors I like to put on. No, the ram you have in the machine will not have to be changed, the Atari MMU chip runs tha ram at the rate that 150ns rams would run, regardless of how fast the rams might actually be. So as long as they are 150ns or faster, you are all set. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 123 Mon May 31, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 12:58 EDT Ken, It's my job to learn this stuff! Al ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 124 Tue Jun 01, 1993 B.AEIN [B Man] at 19:29 EDT Does the Tiny use its own memory or the ST's internal? IS the tinys memory faster than ST memory? IF we send you a 50mhz 030 is it still more expansive for the 50mhz version? Have you tried the F030 FPU speed up yet? Thanks Bman ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 125 Wed Jun 02, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 00:04 EDT From my understanding, adding a Tiny would in affect be much like the Falcon. It uses ST memory. With the TurboRam board adding up to 12 meg of ST ram. So you could have a 12 meg ST Ram 030 machine. That would cut out the incompatibility of FastRam. I would prefer it this way. It may be a little slower than FastRam but, it would be more compatible. Like I said, that is my understanding of it. I could be wrong though. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 126 Wed Jun 02, 1993 N.FRAGA at 20:34 EDT What is the current price on a TinyTurbo030, once it's available?. I sure would like to know what that would cost along with a TurboRAM board! Norm. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 127 Thu Jun 03, 1993 A.DEFFENDERF [ALAN] at 01:37 EDT I have found that not that many programs break in fast ram. Far more break because of the 030 than fast ram. I believe the current price for the Tiny is $599 w/ a 40mhz cpu. Jim knocks off $95 if you supply your own 030. The Tiny does not have its own memory, though you can get virtual memory software with the Tiny The Turbo Ram board adds up to eight more megs to the existing memory of your system. If I remember correctly the Turbo ram board will be slightly quicker than conventional memory. You can have up to 12 megs of memory assuming you already had 4 on board. I hope this stuff helps. I know Jim is busy soldering. Alan ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 128 Sat Jun 05, 1993 M.SMITH63 at 12:57 EDT I found the GCRMOD file in the Gadgets RT. I didn't even know I had a problem. I'm not even sure that I do after reading the file. At least I have not experienced any read/write errors on Mac formated disks with a TURBO 030 board (without any fastram). I copied and filled a Mac formated disk with files, then copied them back to my hard drive. All intact. Yet when I ran the the GCR test on the same disk, there were lots and lots of errors. Strange behavior. Matthew Smith ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 129 Sat Jun 05, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 17:22 EDT The results people have really vary widely. Just a matter of too many variables, the equation is too complex. Making the mods recommended by Gadgets will help get rid of any errors you have during GCRTST too. Also, keeping the caches OFF when doing floppy work is a very good idea. Give the mod a shot Matt, and let me know what affect it has on your test results. Thanks. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 130 Sat Jun 05, 1993 R.DEAN3 [GUNNER] at 19:26 EDT Jim; Can a GCR owner with a TinyTurbo030 still use the GCR with the Turbo set to 8mhz? Gunner ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 131 Sun Jun 06, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 02:34 EDT Yes Bob, the mod just makes it a little more forgiving toward 030 chips, it doesn't harm 8Mhz operation. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 132 Sun Jun 06, 1993 J.DINGA at 21:35 EDT Jim, I am seriously considering a memory expansion after the tt030 is installed, but the thought that my CD8 VME card will 'knock off' 2 megs of a possible 8 meg addition to my already installed 4 meg is a little upsetting :( Is there any possibility that because I only use a monochrome monitor that I will not lose this extra 2 meg? Does this also happen with a CD8 in a regular MegaST, with a Turbo030 and TurboRAM upgrade installed? .........sigh..........JON /*S ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 133 Sun Jun 06, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 22:26 EDT Hi John, Actually it cuts off 1 Meg. This is because the CDots card has memory at address $00C00000 (1 Megabyte) which is OK, but also has IO mapped to address $00B00000 and this dips below the "video expansion" section of the MegaST memory map, and cuts into the 8 Megs of space between the top of ST ram and the start of video expansion area. There is nothing I can do about it, CDots would have to redesign the card to stop invading that space. But hey, 7Megs more is better than no megs more! And the thing about the Turboram design is that it can be used _WITH_ a video card, since it doesn't take up the Mega expansion connector. It also doesn't plug into the 68000 socket. The Gadgets MegaTalk board also takes a bite out of the memory map that cuts into how much ram there can be. There is only so much space in the memory map, if you want to use multiple devices, sometimes somthing has to give. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 134 Tue Jun 08, 1993 G.RICHARDSO1 [George] at 00:18 EDT Megatalk punches holes all through the ST memory map. It was designed to emulate a Mac Plus's I/O as closely as possible, and the Mac Plus has stuff all over. George Richardson Merlin Group Inc. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 135 Tue Jun 08, 1993 R.STEELE8 [Bob Steele] at 00:20 EDT Jim, Is ICD's AdSCSI Pro software recommended when using the Tiny Turbo? Just trying to get ready... Bob Steele ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 136 Tue Jun 08, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 08:39 EDT Bob, yes the ICD software is best, it is vastly superior to any alternatives. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 137 Tue Jun 08, 1993 J.DINGA at 19:56 EDT Jim, I guess I confused myself. Does the MegaST_E_ get 7 megs out of the new JRI/FAST memory upgrade useing Mac 8 meg SIMM ????? Yeah, I know, getting a bit more memory is better than not getting anything at all, _but_, I want Multi*** to, too :) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 138 Tue Jun 08, 1993 R.SYKES2 [FusibleGraph] at 20:47 EDT Jim, Does the Tiny Turbo board have 68000 on it? I seem to remember reading at an earlier time and what clock speeds are availible for 68030? ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 139 Tue Jun 08, 1993 J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 23:52 EDT Someone told me that Fast Tech was not selling any more hardware, now or ever... Is that correct? ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 140 Wed Jun 09, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 00:18 EDT John, The memory map in the ST and the STE are nearly the same, so whether it's a MegaST or a MegaSTE the crazyDots still takes a bite out of the 8 Meg extra memory block between the first 4 Megs and the normal video card space. The Matrix cards, C32 and C110, take a 2 Meg bite out of the space, limiting expansion ram to only 6 Megs...glad you have a CrazyDots now? ;-) So yes, you get 7 Megs instead of 8, sorry. R.S. Yes, the 030 boards have 68000's on them, and you can decide which CPU to run on at boot time. There are 40Mhz and 50Mhz versions. Jonathan, We'll be making stuff till the PCboards run out, then re-evaluate. As it is I have PCboards to make T25's, Tiny030's, and Turbo030's, and it would be silly to stop selling until I run out of them. So don't count me out for a few months yet! ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 141 Wed Jun 09, 1993 R.SYKES2 [FusibleGraph] at 22:00 EDT Jim Will you be at the Conn. show selling them and if not what is price and availibilty I was going to buy the NOVA board from Lexicor but may wait if the avail. is limited also intrested ram board also can "I" add the 68882 at a later date when I have few more Peso's ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 142 Wed Jun 09, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 22:13 EDT I don't think I'll be at Conn, but there won't be any problem with you getting a Tiny later if you jump on a Nova card now. Yes, you can add the 68882 later, but I usually like to solder them on, so you might want to send it and the board back at that time. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 143 Thu Jun 10, 1993 J.JOHNSON17 [BRIAN ] at 22:13 EDT Jim, Would you please e-mail me the pricing on your products. Thanks, Brian ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 145 Fri Jun 11, 1993 J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 00:04 EDT Yeah! :) It'll be a while before I can get a T25, since I'm getting a new amp instead, but when I do upgrade, I'd definatly go with Fast Tech. ;) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 146 Sun Jun 13, 1993 S.BURTON2 at 18:05 EDT Is the Tiny Turbo actually shipping? ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 147 Sun Jun 13, 1993 M.SHANNON at 22:50 EDT Jim Allen, Hi, I have an opportunity to buy a T-16 (no socket) for $125.00 and I need to know if 1. Its a good price 2. What else I need to know\have to get it up and running in a MEGA I haven't got yet. 3. Will it help me (at 16mhz) when I'm running CALAMUS to any degree or am I too hopeful (I hate waiting for the damn 8mhz redraws) Oh! 4. I will have to have a T-16 socket(?) to instal the T-16. 5. Can you, would you E-Mail the instructions relating to all this to me? and also... the seller, J.BRIGHAM is including the soundchip (& switch?!) tho'. Please RSVP at your earliest convenience. (I know your busy) Thanks MShannon ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 148 Mon Jun 14, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 01:38 EDT The Tiny030's are not shipping yet, just a few more days. M.Shannon, I'd be happy to put the T16 in for you if you like, $25 plus return shipping. It takes expertise to do the install, desoldering, etc, so unless you're a technician you're best off having me do it. Send the machine to: Fast Technology 14 Lovejoy Rd. Andover, MA. 01810 (508)-475-3810 Let me know- Jim ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 149 Tue Jun 15, 1993 AEO.7 [Gregg] at 20:55 EDT M.Shannon.... I echo Jim's suggestion. Desoldering and removing the original 68000 is NOT something I'd want to try to do. Even after a LOT of years (ok, several years ago) experience in electronics and solder work it is something I'd leave to experts. $25 to do the job is CHEAP!!!!! Trust me, I've been there . Gregg ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 150 Wed Jun 16, 1993 M.SHANNON at 01:54 EDT Thank you Jim. I'll be back! Morgan ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 151 Wed Jun 16, 1993 W.JESSOP [WARREN PHOTO] at 06:27 EDT Aloha Jim, When you say "don't count me out for at least a couple of months" does that mean you expect to have all the previously ordered boards out by that time? Some of us are still waiting with bated breath... What's up in your life lately? (And how are the board repairs, manuals, etc. coming along?) Thanks, Warren ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 152 Wed Jun 16, 1993 J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 23:06 EDT Heck, if anyone is selling a used T25 board, let's talk. :) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 153 Sat Jun 19, 1993 B.WEHLER [B.WEHLER] at 14:09 EDT Hello, This is a question for Jim Allen or anyone who can help. I run a Mega 4ST with Turbo20/JRI FPU combo. I just got the Nova board from Lexicor. This card plugs into the Mega Bus slot and the Turbo sits in the 68000 socket. My dilemma is that there is some overlap of the two boards and the Turbo sits too high for the Nova to clear. What I think I can do is find some sort of extension to the Mega bus to raise the Nova about 1/4 inch. Is there some sort of socket that has male on one end and female on the other that I can plug into the bus and then plug the Nova into it? So far, this is the only problem I have encountered of any real consequenc. Nova seems very good at what it does. Bill ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 154 Sat Jun 19, 1993 G.RICHARDSO1 [George] at 15:02 EDT Bill, you could try getting a DIN64 female plug for PC board mounting. Just plug it into the Mega expansion bus and then plug the Nove card onto the back of it. Then you just need to get longer standoffs for the board. Also, the case may no longer close, since the board will be higher. I've used this technique many times on the test bench. George Richardson Merlin Group Inc. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 155 Sat Jun 19, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 17:18 EDT Thanks George, I was thinking that too. They make a "wirewrap" version of the DIN64 connector, that has fatter pins than the standard PC mount one, and these will mate perfectly with the DIN64 connector on the Nova....although the leads tend to be longer than you need and will have to be trimmed short a bit. Also, the T20 may be installed with TWO sockets, one soldered to the board, and one stuck to the bottom of the T20 so it was high enogh to clear the empty two closest roms sockets. We could actually remove the two empty rom sockets, and the extra socket on the T20, and that might get it down low enough to fit under the Nova adapter. I'll be happy to do this for you if you wish Bill. I'd appreciate the chance to test the Turbo030 and Tiny board's fit also. Sounds like you may have to leave the 68000 chip off the 030 boards when using the Nova, to get the clearence under the adapter. The Nova card is basically a standard, quality, hires PC super VGA card, which plugs into an adapter board that translates the Atari Mega Bus into the PC ISA bus signals that the card wants to see. Coupled with VDI replacement software, you get to use a good PC video card in the Atari...literally!!! The VME Nova is the same idea, but with a VME to ISA translator, and the PC card is held in an external box. I'll be happy to help in anyway I can Bill, let me know. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 156 Wed Jun 23, 1993 B.WEHLER [B.WEHLER] at 22:03 EDT George and Jim, Thanks for the replies. Do you think Rad Shack would have this DIN 64? Jim, if you wanted another beta tester, why didn't you just ask? I'd be happy to have you send me a loaded Turbo030 to test the clearance.;-) Well, anyway, I'll try and locate one of these DIN 64, if I say that to someone at a parts house, will they, or should they know what that is? Is there only one type, or do I need a special kind? Bill ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 157 Wed Jun 23, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 23:16 EDT The supply company DIGIKEY has the DIN64 connectors, call 1-800-DIGIKEY and ask for a catalog, then pick out the correct part number and order it. They have a $10 minimum, so see if there is anything else you'd like ;-) Actually, when testing things like video boards it really requires _ME_ to do the testing, so if there are any problems I have all the tools to track down what they are, and in the case of timing problems, I can make adjustments. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 158 Thu Jun 24, 1993 J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 02:36 EDT I can't believe I posted a message about a used T25 board. :) I'm broke! Too much stress I guess... ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 159 Sun Jun 27, 1993 R.SYKES2 [FusibleGraph] at 09:53 EDT Hello Jim Any idea when the Tiny turbo board is going to be released.I have the opportunity to buy an TT030 And need to let the other party know this week if I want it. I rather keep my MegaSte and accelerate it and also is the turboram board still in the works.Im willing to wait for both products. Im using the lexicor suite of software and am tired of waiting for screen updates [kind of take the wind of the creative proccess]please let me know asap thank you Ray Sykes ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 160 Sun Jul 04, 1993 J.LEMLEY [Jack] at 17:12 EDT Hi Jim! Is there an adapter available that will allow me to install my T-25 in my Mega STe? If so how much? Is it plug and play? I have the Rev C T-25 in the event you didn't remember. Thank you Jim for your invaluable support :-) Jack Also will the Turbo ram card work in a Mega STe? ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 161 Tue Jul 06, 1993 R.LEVY8 at 00:16 EDT Hello Jim! I was hoping that you could help me out. I bought an 030 board from you last Nov ( or there abouts) and I had a problem with the floppy controller not working... you were busy at the time so we let it go till after Christmas... well... it's after Christmas ;-)... is your offer to fix it still on? Thanks Richard Levy ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 162 Thu Jul 08, 1993 B.WEHLER [B.WEHLER] at 21:41 EDT Well Jim, I was able to get a 64 pin DIN from Digi-Key that fit just fine in the Mega bus, so I went to try to use my Turbo 20 with Lexicor's Nova board. NO GO!! For some reason, it doesn't like to run at 20MHz. Now, I was going to ask if you had any suggestions, but I think all you would say is 'send it to me'. Well, I don't want to do that because I can't be without my computer. So what I'm left with is a Turbo 20/J.R.I. F.P.U. that is of no use to me. Are you aware of anyone who is in need of a Turbo 20? We could work out a good price. Let me know. Bill ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 163 Thu Jul 08, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 23:29 EDT Hi Bill, Well, if it is anything like the CrazyDots card, the "caching" needs to be turned off during accesses to the video card memory. So a newer CDots T25 could be just what you need. I am actually doing up one with FPU on it...custom design because doing BOTH the special video and the FPU takes a nonstandard set of PAL equations. As soon as I have this combo worked out I can make more of them, so I'd be happy to upgrade you for just a few bucks, if you like that idea. Also, if anyone out there is looking for a T20/FPU combo, they can get it from you and the next person that calls in to ask for one I'll send to you, no sweat, glad to help. I will probably need to find a NOVA card to do some testing with, Lexicor doesn't give loaners out from what I was told, so I need to either find a customer who'd loan me one for a week or two, or I need to buy one, but I don't know if there are enough folks out there wanting to use the combination to justify an expenditure when things are very tight here....even though the NOVA is inexpensive. I'll have to dig around and get back to you. By all means, if there are any NOVA users out there who'd be willing to loan me a card for testing, I'd be willing to do a big discount deal on a speedup card to return the favor. But since the T25 and 030's work on the CrazyDots and some other PC SVGA type cards that were out when we were in testing mode, I'd have to believe it's only a minor tweak needed to make the NOVA happy too. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 164 Fri Jul 09, 1993 R.LEVY8 at 20:35 EDT Hello Jim... Did you see message #161? I'm just sitting here, and waiting a response ;) Thanks Richard Levy (Turbo 030 customer) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 165 Fri Jul 09, 1993 M.ROCUS at 22:40 EDT HI. Has anybody else been waiting since October of 1992 for their TinyTurbo030 to be delivered? Please contact me if you ordered since then and recieved your order, or if you bought one at a Fest. Thanks. M.Rocus ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 166 Fri Jul 09, 1993 M.SHANNON [Morgan] at 23:29 EDT WEHLER, I may be in the market if the price is right. Please reply your soonest. Thanks Morgan ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 167 Sat Jul 10, 1993 M.STEFANI [MCH] at 00:47 EDT Jim, Are you considering doing a board for the Falcon030? Would this be, considering the architecture of the Falcon, relatively easy to do? Mark @ VISION Music ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 168 Sat Jul 10, 1993 V.MAYEVSKI [Ukrainian] at 01:55 EDT I am looking for a so called "Tiny Turbo 030" 50mhz version. I would like to get some info on it and the price too if you would. Please leave Email to V.Mayevski. Thank you. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 169 Sat Jul 10, 1993 POTECHIN [Nathan] at 09:12 EDT M.ROCUS ...No one has yet received a TinyTurbo although hopefully this will not be the case in a few SHORT weeks. Jim's been working on them non-stop and should have them out the door shortly. Nathan @ DMC ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 170 Sat Jul 10, 1993 ST.LOU [Lou Rocha] at 11:12 EDT V.MAYEVSKI.... send email to J.ALLEN27. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 171 Sun Jul 11, 1993 B.WEHLER [B.WEHLER] at 17:15 EDT Jim, It DOES seem to be something off in timing, because the Nova driver also has ST mono and color emulation modes, and they appear to work okay, just a little slow. Only the VGA modes seem to have trouble. When doing 640*400*2 (ST high) in VGA mode, I get a raster that is compressed vertically to 1/2 screen height. Forgive me if my screen terminology is poor. When doing 640*480*256, no desktop, just a white screen. If this sounds like something that you think you could fix by turning of 'caching', let me know. Also, how much is 'a few bucks'. The idea of lending you my Nova card has crossed my mind, but I don't think I could go through with it. If something would happen, I would be sick. Granted, the card is inexpensive in comparison to others, but it still is alot to me. The Nova is quite fast as far as graphics like screen redraw, but 24-bit rendering at 8MHz is quite tedious. I realize it wouldn't be dramatically faster with the T20 or 25, but every little bit helps. Let me know what you come up with. Thanks for the response, Bill ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 172 Sun Jul 11, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 21:41 EDT Well during rendering Bill, the CPU is doing most of the work still, so having a fast CPU is a good thing. The standard T25/25 does two things that would bother a PC svga type board: A) It caches accesses to the $00Cxxxxx address range, this is in order to speedup frame buffer boards like the Moniterm or ISAC, but is bad with boards whose onboard chips may alter screen memory without the CPU bus seeing any activity there. B) In order to support caching correctly, we ALWAYS do a 16bit wide "word" read access, even if SW only request an 8bit "byte" access. This may upset the controller chip on the PC svga card, as it does the CrazyDots. I have someone who has offered to loan me one, I will make a deal with him and then check the NOVA out. I think the CrazyDots version of the T25 will do the job, I just want to check first. Also, the 030 boards have a jumper on them that turns the caching/word access option OFF, and work fine with the CrazyDots and some other svga cards we tested back in Germany in 1991. There are a number of folks using the T25 and T030 with the CrazyDots card without any difficulty, so I am sure we can make the NOVA happy too. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 173 Sun Jul 11, 1993 R.LEVY8 at 22:19 EDT Hello Jim! I got your EMAIL... Thanks... I'll send out the unit tomorrow... no hurry on getting it back, I have a couple of other computers here to play with. Thanks Richard Levy ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 174 Mon Jul 12, 1993 JWKUEHN [Wolf] at 23:34 EDT Jim, I have the IMAGINE card and the T25 running together just fine. The NOVA card is manufactured by the same company and may have a faster video-card. The combo has been running for over a year and you advised me to make a wire connection somewhere - sorry I forget where and why. Without it the T-25 did not run properly. Wolf /s ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 175 Mon Jul 12, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 23:49 EDT Thanks for reminding me Wolf, and glad to hear from you again! Yes, the Imagine is a PC SVGA card with an adapter to allow it to plug into the Mega slot. It may be that the NOVA is made by the same folks, but using a more recent SVGA card as a core...and new software drivers too. But the interface should be the same, so other than a check out on the T25 and 030's, I think we should have them working with the NOVA soon. I'll let you know when I've done the research. Also, the CrazyDots II has been tested already, and works fine with the T25 and T030 in 24bit mode...my UK distributor checked them this weekend. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 176 Tue Jul 13, 1993 S.EAKINS [SCOOTS] at 00:58 EDT Hi Jim, Had any time to get that T25 of mine off the adapter? Thanks, Scott ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 177 Tue Jul 13, 1993 T.PATRICK5 [Happy Hacker] at 01:51 EDT Hey Jim! What's up man? You not speaking to me any more? Have I done something wrong? I've been leaving you email, but no reply? Aloha, from the Happy Hacker! ... (Tim) ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 178 Tue Jul 13, 1993 B.WEHLER [B.WEHLER] at 21:44 EDT Thanks Jim, Let me know how the T25 works and how much an upgrade would cost me. Bill ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 190 Sun Aug 01, 1993 B.DEWITT [Nerd Perfect] at 21:13 EDT Jim; Do you know whether the T-25 works with the NOVA card from Lexicor? Bob deWitt ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 191 Mon Aug 02, 1993 S.EAKINS [SCOOTS] at 01:18 EDT Jim, Had time to desolder the STe adapter from my T25? This new mega is running a little, no, a lot slower than I have become accustomed. Thanks, Scott ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 192 Mon Aug 02, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 10:00 EDT Bob, I don't know yet, I am waiting to get my hands on a Nova to find out. Scott, Yes, I'll get it back to you in a couple days. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 193 Wed Aug 04, 1993 J.GNIEWKOWSK [GE-Lamp ST] at 02:06 EDT Jim, Is there a phone number to discuss ordering some product from you? I can't find any on you... John E. Gniewkowski Editor, GEnieLamp ST ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 194 Wed Aug 04, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 07:22 EDT James C. Allen FAST TECHNOLOGY P.O. Box 578 Andover, MA 01810 Home phone: 508 475 3810 (fax) Work phone: 508 475 3810 GEnie: J.ALLEN27 Al ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 195 Thu Aug 05, 1993 D.TANG2 [Des] at 00:54 EDT Is there a current price list for the various Turbo boards? Does DMC handle just the Turbo030 or the full Turbo line? thanks, des ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 196 Thu Aug 05, 1993 B.DEWITT [NerdPerfect] at 01:20 EDT Jim; Do you want to borrow my NOVA card, or do you already have someone who has offered to loan you one? I have sent you a couple of e-mail messages regarding this, but no response yet.....Let me know. Bob deWitt ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 197 Thu Aug 05, 1993 POTECHIN [Nathan @ DMC] at 08:01 EDT Des ... We can get you any Fast Technology product, once it is available. Nathan ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 198 Fri Aug 06, 1993 J.GNIEWKOWSK [GE-Lamp ST] at 00:00 EDT Al, Thanks a million! John ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 199 Fri Aug 06, 1993 J.ALLEN27 [FAST TECH] at 22:05 EDT Thanks Al, I appreciate the help. I had loaned my computer to a friend for use at Macworld, leaving me unGEnie for a few days. Bob, see my Email, and thanks for the offer. ------------ Category 4, Topic 11 Message 200 Sat Aug 07, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 08:37 EDT My pleasure, Jim. As far as I know, unGEnie is uncurable; glad you were able to shake it. Al ------------