I'm going to build a WEFAX interface

Anyone remember this one? It's from the September 1986 Antic. I was browsing through my old mags again yesterday and stumbled across this old article and decided it would be cool to get weather info, images, etc. off of my Atari. And of course WEFAX is still in use today for maritime use. It's a simple enough circuit and thought it might be fun to build. I just ordered the XR2211 IC for decoding and pretty much the rest of the parts needed I have on-hand. And it will make good use of my EPSON compatible Panasonic 24-pin printer. And, of course, the magazine has the type-in software needed. The only other thing I need to get is a short-wave radio with SSB (single side band).

 

Matt, do you have any spare time in your life...You seem to be doing a million and one things...

Good luck with the project...

 

This is the type of hobby projects I spend my spare time on, actually. I don't watch TV, I have no friends to "hang out" with, and I'm in the middle of nowhere, so besides the great outdoors, my hobby and gaming IS all I have...and contributing to the Atari forums.

This time of year business is slow, so it's the time of year I try and do the most (electronic) projects. This project will only take a few hours to complete. But when I'm not working, like now, I've got plenty of time for neat projects like this. It'll be about a month before the XR 2211 arrives, so this isn't something I'm starting today, except for seeing what components I have on hand and ordering those I don't.

My 800 upgrades are stalled until I get another Sophia 2 as the one I got is non functional and I have to send it back. And I'm waiting on @Graham (no hurry buddy) for my PIA board(s). But, my 800 is ready to start using and my next project here is burning some OS and BASIC eproms and finally finish up your 1200XL. That should keep me busy for a while as I wait.

I was just looking for a shortwave radio with SSB, and most are quite expensive, more than I thought. However, I did find one that should be good enough for me for $60. I have to wait for another week before I have money to order it though.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Degen-DE11...-AM-SW-LW-SSB-New-English-Manual/322252459542

 

Sounds a great idea, Matt.
Excellent and useful project that will bring radio comms, Atari classic micro and Panasonic dot matrix printer together to give you weather report hard copies.
Yep, it's something that gives you an immense amount of pleasure building this kind of utilitarian kit and showing the world that our retro micros are still extremely relevant.
Please give us a run through how you get on as and when the parts arrive.
I'm sure we'd all get a buzz out of this one.

 

Hi Matt
That does look an interesting project, especially using an Atari as there is so much that needs a PC now.
I do wonder about the ablity of the Radio your looking at, maybe worth seeing if there are any reviews on it before splashing out for it. SSB can be a difficult signal to recieve, and usually needs some good filtering and a nice VFO to resolve. Saying that It may well be fine, I'll see what frequencies WEFAX is on and have a listen with one of my radios and see what the data signals sounds like.

I also think you should share your 800 AI blog on AA, on AOC as well.

 

Keep me informed about the radio. And I DO have the 800 AI blog up here already! I even tagged you in it! But I guess no alerts are given if you tag people in blogs? I even add a note to the profile news feed down the left side on the main forum page every time I update or create a blog. AA was the second place I posted it, I copied/pasted and redid it over there being less verbose. Just look in the blog section here! It's been an on-going blog I've been adding to for the last year! I've been slowly re-posting my blogs here, over there so more people could enjoy them. I also plan to redo threads/blogs I had on Atari Sector that are now lost forever, here and there. My Atarilab Interface was one of the first I re-did here. I'll redo my 1200XL one eventually too.

 

Hi Matt
My appologies
I looked through the one on AA, and I hadn't seen some of the pictures you had posted, i.e. PBI , the pins soldered to the SIO. and a few others. I had seen the ones with incognito on AOC
Not sure why I don't get updated as I'm watching your Blog .. vagaries of the board, as I don't get that many alerts, even though I ticked near every box to be alerted on. I never see any new post unless I go looking ..

Not sure I've got any decent antenna for such low frequencies but maybe a bit of long wire (or a damp bit of string) will surfice.

 

@Graham What is the "USB" mode referred too, I'm guessing this is not the same "USB" with computer I/O. My educated guess (from being a generally educated person, I've no education with shortwave radio...yet) is "ultra short band?"

It looks like for the strongest signal in my part of the world, Louisiana is the station I'd want to tune in.

 

Its really nice to see the Atari being used for so much these days, was talking to Allan in a chat re fujinet and although its not something I need I do see how much it opens the old Atari up....

Good times for the Atari, will follow the progress of you project Matt...Its not something for me but I love seeing people max out the machines...

 

I've got a Fujinet on the way, but I haven't really been following the threads about it on AA and have no real idea of all it can do, I just wanted wi-fi for my Atari. Once I get it, I'll read up and learn about it, like I'm doing with the Turbo Freezer now. I haven't even learned and looked into all the possibilities of the Incognito or Pokeymax yet either! I've just been getting stuff lately faster than I have time to learn and use them!

But I've still got so many hardware projects I want to do, I probably won't get around to learning and using any of this stuff to it's full potential for a while. First things on my hardware list now are getting your 1200XL finished Paul, and then the 800XL for my friend Danny, and then, finally, back to my 1200XL. Once I have all of them finished I can actually start learning to use my Atari's with all their upgrades, and learning programming, etc.

The other small projects projects like this WEFAX interface and installing a dual PIA board have to wait until I get the hardware in my hands. I have my two Indus GT's to upgrade as well as my CA-2001 drive, finish trouble-shooting my 1010's Rambit upgrade (I think that is just a lack of proper grounding).Then, comes my robot project, but a large part of that is learning to program so I can program it when the time comes.

Then there are other non Atari 8-bit projects to finish, like restoring and repairing the Bally Arcade, my Atari Lynx, 1084S monitor, and various other audio/video equipment. But this will all be spread out over the next couple of years.

So yeah, when I really start listing all I need to accomplish electronic's wise, I do seem to have a 1001 things going on as you stated, @Paul "Mclaneinc" Irvine . But at least with the Incognito 800 working, I can start these other projects and slowly tick them off. But part of the reason I have so many on-going projects is probably a combination several things including a bit of laziness, even though it's work I enjoy most of the time (it can be a headache sometimes and I just need to step back a while) and I'm pretty sure I've been going through life with a bit of Attention deficit disorder, so I jump around to different on-going projects and I'm a bit OCD.

So I don't feel like I can settle into being a user and programmer until all the hardware repairs,mods and upgrades I want to do are all done and out of the way, especially since they will all improve experiences in using and programming these machines. But I do eventually get things done. I also spend way too much time on AA and here talking about the stuff I'm doing and want to do instead of doing it! And as you guys all know, I'm often "long winded" with my posts, this one being a perfect example. But it's all a part of my overall "hobby,"

As to the Atari being used for so much these days, I agree, it's amazing. I think there are more on-going "home-brew" projects, both software and hardware, than was even being done commercially back in the day, or at leas on a par with it when considering all the third party stuff from back then. It was really just Jack and Atari Corp. that did little for the 8-bit line to keep it a "going concern." The 80's may have been the golden age of computing in general, but this is really a golden age Renaissance for the Atari 8-bit. It's finally getting the attention it deserves.

 

Hi Matt
close but no banana SSB or Single Side Band refers to a way of saving power on the transmittion, by supressing both the carrier signal, and one half the side band, as identicle information is carried just 180 degrees out of phase. The side bands are call Lower Side Band & Upper Side Band hence USB, depending on your radio either method can be used to re create the original signal for voice however adviced to use USB on the frequency to use for LSB quoted first or USB in brakets, the radio has to recreate the carrier, before it can decode the date hence the two frequencies given for peoples preferred operating mode.
and of course there are four possiable transmission frequencies, usually better to use the higher frequencies, which have more loss over distance (generally) so 17.146400MHz LSB or 17.144500MHz USB
Matt RE AA post I added do you need a board to break out the signals to joystick ports ??

Paul it is indeed, great to be arround when all these new additions are being produced. And theres more to come I'm sure.
other 'Retro' computers are getting the same treatment

 

Thanks for the SWR lesson Graham. As per your question above that I "bolded," yes please!

 

Next Question Matt ..

Cheapest is two boards each carrying two Joystick ports each, if I do 4 inline as on the front of the 800, even closing the gap up then the board goes to $25 plus for 5. better to go with two boards and approx $5 or likely less as they will be only double sided, That way I'll change the PIA board to give 8 Bits for each port and a Ground. the 5V would have to be external and I'll add a socket to the board, and a cople of jumper headers, that way power can be applied to one board only, and the 5V line jumpered to the send board for the 5V on that leaving only one power input. Or can be left free. I'll get on it now. If you really want 4 inline I'm happy to design that one.

 

Two boards as you said will be fine. Though I'm not sure I follow with the external 5V. Why couldn't they be connected to the 800's 5V internally? I use the Atari "universal" PSU with 31VA, so there should be plenty of amperage to drive them even with all the other upgrades.

That said, I do already have a separate 5V PSU going in that drives my internal LED's (I had to do it that way because the receiver for the RGB LED remote control is housed within the LED's plug) so I could use a jumper wire from it to the 2 boards. I may need to use a 5V PSU with more amperage, but I have those on hand.

 

Hmm I'm Wrong as it's only a two layer board it would be about £4 $5 for 5x 4 port boards
Not routed and now 5V power in but something like this it's 130mm long though don't think it would fit easily.

 

Yeah, I don't want the 4 in-line board you attached an image of because it wouldn't fit where I want to put the ports. Or I'd have use that board without the DB9's attached to it and then run wires from the board to the DB9's mounted to the back case in the 2x2 orientation so they will fit where I want them, next to my DVI out. The picture below is a rough sketch of how and where I intend to mount them.

 

for Two port boards and I included a barrel jack but can change to anything .. £3 or about 4$ your call Matt
I'm unlikely to need any personally so they would all go to you, or I'll send you the design files, just thought it easier if I got them on one order and passed on
Also need to know your prefered input power connector ?? currently a barrel jack but can do anythin, USB, Mini & Micro so use a cell phone PSU ? Good source is the raspberry Pi power supplies Micro USB or Type 'C'

 

So should be o.k With above, can leave off PSU in and Just add additional Dupont Pins on the board what do you think ?

 

Yes, that will work and do the Dupont pins as like I said, I'll be running jumper wires from either the 800's 5V supply line or my LED 5V power to the boards. But can you design those boards so that the DB9's are sticking out beyond the boards where the DB9's port "wings" are flush with the board edge and not recessed like in the board picture you posted? Mounted the same way you did with the 4 in-line board?

 

How about this ? 4 lots of Power Pins, can join to other board etc, I can easily add mounting holes so you can join the two boards one above the other buy using short lenths of solid wire, you can fit what ever pins you need to the board, or even solder direct. If you have the space can still add a connector, but worried it'll be two near the case edge ?

Sorry missed one of your posts re PSU, It tends to be a good thing to power something like a robot or at least something with motors in them from a seperate supply Can easily be done externally using your atarilab interfaces. best not to use the same PSU as although there maybe enough, I've not included any form of Power Supply 'conditioning/ Filtering' and Motors with cause electrical noise on your Atari's power possiably even crashing the computer.
Plus you have to remember that the PSU is rated at approx 3A (9VAC at 31VA very approx) but the internal Power Regulator is only 1.5A for the 5V line its a LM340T-5 the 12V LM341T-12 only 500mA

 

Its a hive of activity in this thread, so good to see..

 

That looks and sounds perfect. Don't worry about adding the connector.

 

We've derailed from the WEFAX project, but yes, lots of activity! Though the WEFAX does use a controller port, so it's vaguely related and I will adjust the WEFAX program(s) to use one of these new ports on the new PIA, so I don't have to plug it into one of the front ports.

 

Yep Sorry Guys' Not the same post but Hey It's all retro sinanigans .. (spelling anyone )
I'll go route the board now then.

 

No apology necessary, I started the thread and I don't mind where it meanders. I think it's sHinanigans.