Most liked posts in thread: What's new Pussycat too?

I received a belated Christmas present this week, a FujiNet
Only had time for a quick play so far, but what an awesome little device. Apart from using it to play games on my 130XE I plan on using the PDF print feature to do some old school certificates from the like of Printmaster (or Printshop, can't remember the name).

It'll keep me going while I save up the pennies to get an AVG Cart from RetroLemon. Once that's done my 8bit Atari collection will be complete. I say that now, until something else catches my eye!

 

Done my first printout today with FujiNet. It even gives the PDF an authentic dot matrix look

Really impressed with it so far and straight forward to use as well. Just need to look for more servers to add to it. Tend not to use the 130XE much but I can see it getting a fair bit more action with this plugged in now. I'd love to see something similar for the Amiga and ST as well. Who would have guessed that after 40 years our little 8-bit computers would still be going strong?

 

Very cool @nysavant ! I really haven't had an interest in using the PDF's to print from my deskjet printouts that look identical to my real dot-matrix printer, and I'd missed it's classic noises too. But if you don't have a classic printer, Fujinet is definitely one good answer.

I've been spending time with Platoterm (Platoterm is the software for Atari and other 8/16-bit systems, the server/network is known as Plato) through Fujinet, starting with the 1.4 version made for Fujinet, but it's a Fujinet version of 1.3 which is "Platoterm lite" and there are some features missing, including my favorite, choosing a controller option to use with it. For me it's mouse, trak-ball or touch tablet, all of which work very fast and smooth, unlike the joystick with Platoterm which crawls across the screen like a snail and make Platoterm a pain to use. Platoterm 1.0 has all the features and controller options, so I've been working on getting it installed on my CF HD and running it through SDX with the traditional R: handler. But so far when I try to load Platoterm 1.0 I'm getting a "not enough memory" error, on my 1MB Atari! So obviously I must have something else in memory that Platoterm 1.0 is trying to use, so I have to see if I can figure it out. It should work without the special Fujinet 1.4 edition since Fujinet is supposed to be 100% compatible with R:handlers and all the legacy software that uses it. I'm sure it is, but I am also brand new to the entire Fujinet wifi/BT/N: handler as well as the R: handler.

But anyway, Platoterm is something to marvel at. It plays vintage multi-player games, including probably the first ever MMO RPG! But also chat rooms and development and my favorite part so far; thousands and thousands of archived high-school and college level academic lessons and series with real working "lab" programs to go along with them, under the menu option 'catalog.' Yesterday I studied a lesson on astronomy regarding astronomical bodies and gravitational forces show animated examples of orbits and crashing bodies! Next, I jumped to a lesson on the Atom and it's structure with electrons, neutrons and positrons and their orbit energy levels around the nucleus and how many electrons can orbit in the same "planes" and then went through examples of most of the elements and how many electrons they have, what energy orbits they occupy and how many electrons per energy orbit level makes a given element. I've already forgotten all the terms and whatnot but I've actually learned new things.

There are courses/lessons on Plato that range the entire spectrum of academics and everyone can find lessons and courses of interest. It's amazing, archived stuff from high schools and universities from the last 55 years, finally going obsolete completely in 2015, then revived in 2018 with Cyber1.net server and in 2019/20 with Irataonline.net where there is apparently a growing 8-bit community including most 8-bit machines that has a membership of about 600 people now, and new programs and lessons, tutorials, whatever being entered now by all of them! It's all done in an incredibly legible 80-column font with text and graphics freely interacting in the system, programmed with a language similar to BASIC known as TUTOR. You can become a member of Irata.Online and also ask for "developer/teacher" level member access so you can program your own stuff for it.

I'll be learning a lot for my 8-bit Atari robot project from courses and lessons about robots and A.I. right on Plato!

 

My AVG Cart arrived first thing this morning. Pretty excellent service considering I only ordered it on Sunday from RetroLemon

Been able to load some .car files on real hardware for the first time and also got the SIO mod so have been trying out multigame .atr images with no problems.

I know the AVG can also emulate Side2 which I don't have any experience of or what it actually does, so that might be next to explore. Between this and the FujiNet my Atari's have never had it so good!

 

Nice one, Andy.

Which ones are your stand out ones, so far, any decent utils or demos?

I've got quite a few of these too and I do give them a run out from time to time...

Once more, time is something that is completely tied-up this end with either f/t work or f/t further house demolition.

Here's a view tonight of our landing as the walls come down and we prepare to put up a new staircase to the attic:



I'll be in touch soon, fellas.

Up to our (dusty) eyeballs here.

 

Fraid not, Al.

It's currently all in boxes up there but it's the spare bedroom in case Alan Sugar or any of you retronauts ever drop by, mate.

The room that's earmarked for my retro bits is at the back of the house and currently has an exercise bike in there so I'm already battling for space.

All being well, I'm getting some new "modern" display units to stick my bits in for display purposes... I should maybe rephrase that(!)

Will update you when we get that far, fella.

Hope you're all keeping well on here.

PS. Got my Covid 1st jab date for this coming Friday 4:25 at a pharmacy not 2 miles from here - not bad considering I only booked it 30mins ago and the only other option was some place in Grimsby some 20+ miles away.

I'm just bracing myself now for the extra limbs, gills and antennae I'm bound to grow following the blessed needed needle.

 

Not a man cave, a nursery

Better start now, after the jab your bits may explode...

Finally getting a side effect from my jab, my arm is very tender around the injection point..

So far that's it and I hope it stays that way..

I'll let thee get back to the never ending house, must feel like groundhog day at times..

 

Tough of the track I remember that
I also had Hotspur annuals and Commando magazines as well...
I used to play Subbuteo back in the 70’s/80’s and I used to have England and Aston Villa. I don’t think they ever made a Darlington set did they?

 

I picked up an issue one ZX81 last week with the RAM pack so I scratch built a Back Porch/Composite mod based on JasperColoumb’s circuit.
The transformer had dry solder joints which needed attention and was the cause of the resets listed in the listing. Easy fix though and one a new membrane later it works fine.

 

It is a clone of the SuperSnapshot V5 which is the US cart the Action Replay was based on. So poke finder, sprite killer, machine code monitor etc.

 

The Pi1541 lets you run JiffyDOS for it’s 1541 and 1581 emulation and it works 100% I bought the ROM image set rather than physical so I could burn my own and make some dual OS versions.

 

As ever, Rich, you are so very welcome.
I'm not sure if the York Fruits are Atari compatible but you never know as they are juicy and cool schmule and as you say, loaded with vitamins so they may constitute a contribution to your retro 5-a-day!
Do enjoy those carts, mate.
I am so glad you are already get stuck in and giving them a good run out.
Those lights are more a back burner project if you get time and run out of things to play with/fix.
Thanking you.
The ZX81 backdoor porch video mod wotist sounds intriguing...I might have a donor that could do with a mod to improve its output.
Once more, once we get settled and sorted out here in the next month or two, I am gonna give some of my more "exotic" rarer micros out like the old ded-ex, give em a once over again with the old 3D Monster Maze, Flight Simulator, Mazogs and original Kevin Toms Footie manager and then report back as I believe I may well have an 81 with video issues, bud, so please reserve one for me.
Cheers Rich and all at Atari Owner.
Have a relaxing Easter break and if anyone fancies an hour either tomorrow avvy or tomorrow evening for a vid meet up then just holler.

 

Ruddy hell, Matt.
You have been busy prepping and working up a head of steam for the new growing / gardening season.
Cracking job there all round, mate - certainly, those mitts of yours are getting some hammer!
Take it easy where you can and get in some relaxing Easter hols retro action where possible - you've been missed.

 

There are some lovely walks, country and coastal, in all the areas you mention, fellas: East Yorks/East Riding; Cornwall of course, Scotland - without doubt and also Northumberland around Lindisfarne and Morpeth. The UK has some terrific scenery and areas of natural beauty and it also has...at times, the most unseasonal weather like today's arctic blasts of freezing cold wind! Lol. You've gotta take the rough with the smooth but like you and Al, Paul, I personally don't think you can beat being out and feeling as one with nature/yer other half in the country or by the sea. The city is for shops, stress and strain (endless traffic jams). Fek it. Embrace the fresh air every time and leave the rat race behind etc.

 

Before we came to the city I spent so much time just roaming forests, trails, the odd coast line (rarely) and it was just great, even as a kid I was climbing every tree I could find. If I wasn't doing any of these I was on my bike in the forest all over the place..

In door playing with toys, hardly ever. The only place I didn't like was the River Lagan because it had leeches everywhere..

One of the best walks I did was around the Lake District, through Kendal etc....Just beautiful scenery everywhere..

 

The new piston for my petrol-fueled blower/vaccum arrived today. I mistakenly called it a cylinder yesterday. Hopefully the cylinder is fine, and maybe even the piston, and it just needs a new ring, but I bought the entire piston assembly too, just in case. I can send it back if it's not needed. It's a cute little thing...


I pretty much tore down the entire machine this evening, I'm down to the engine block, but one of the bolts that holds the cylinder block to the manifold is seized so I'm soaking it overnight in hopes of freeing it.

Atari objects are for common size reference.

 

I received the dual-PIA boards and controller I/O boards that go with them from @Graham yesterday. Thanks Graham! I'm very much looking forward to installing them on both my 800 boards and a complete install and new ports in my Incognito 800. I guess I'll finally install the replacement Sophia 2 board in it at the same time. But it will be a bit yet as I'm still busy with the business, remodeling and taking care of the place, my mom and the dogs. So I have some priorities and it may be another couple of weeks or a month before I can really sit down and practice my hobbies again. My room is currently in disarray anyway as I do some repairs and additions to my 'XL Command Center' area that started with my moving all the consoles to the entertainment cabinet in my room to hook up to my projector since I have a screen for it again.


In other news, we now have 5 dogs. Our two Huskies, the blood hound, the Shepard mutt and last week my brother found another abandoned puppy in the woods on our ten acres that we have adopted. She looks like a full-blooded Rottweiler to us, and that's what the dog identifier app on my phone says as well. She is barely weened, with all her puppy teeth still. But we can tell she'll be big soon, like our rescue hound dog, with the hugely over-sized paws for her current body.


In other doggie news, our female Husky, Bella was in heat and mated with Beaux, our other Husky. We had to pull them apart twice when he got stuck in her. But unfortunately, two weeks later, she doesn't appear to be pregnant and my brother wants to get her fixed (she's his dog, Beaux is mine) because he's tired of dealing with keeping her separate from the other males we have. So I guess I'm not going to get a replacement for my Beaux, who is ten years old now. The deed should have been done though, so we think either Bella is underdeveloped as she is a runt of the litter and smaller than normal or Beaux is too old and shooting blanks.

 

Absolutely intriguing, Matt.

I cannot wait to see this project come to fruition...I said fruition there, Paul, not come all over Matt's handkerchief etc... oh dear, I didn't realise it was that kind of forum...I'll get me coat/flasher's grubby rain mac...

 

Nice looking machine Richie. Is it working or needing some TLC? My mate has an MSX on a chip system in his shop just now but think that goes for a pretty penny!

 

Wow, guess you have been saving up.. I've always fancied the Memotech MTX512, purely on looks, and the way it was built, so so much better than the plastic ccased omputers of the era. It's a shame there not MSX compatiable, I do wonder if it could ever we moddified with an alternative O.S a a little hardware address change, but appreciate that would just not be the best thing to do ... , the TMS99xx Video Chip I think all have to have video RAM seperated from system RAM, but I could be wrong as I've not looked it up.
Edit Needed 16K VRAM which could be accessed by the CPU as additional scratch RAM
I know there was a Memotech RS128 with 128K of RAM I guess Bank switched.

Changing back to MSX
I know that the MSX2 computers often had or perhaps had to have larger system and Video RAM some had 256K System and 128K Video RAM I'm guessing these are much more expensive, I'd guess the same now.
Certainly the games that were available on this platform were some of the best coin op conversions, and I think that it was Coin op games that drove the specification of both the MSX & MSX2 specifications.
I hope we get to see some more of it online..
Edit this is interesting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSX#Evolution

Turns out there was MSX MSX2 MSX2+ and MSX3 or MSXTurboR
The later two only ever released in Japan.

 

Sounds busy Andy lol

Tuesday I can do Brid if you can. Just give me an idea of time. Plan on a nice walk along from Sewerby in the afternoon and some retro retail therapy...

 

Nice retro station Paul! I wish you well with the neighbor issue finally getting solved

As you all know, I'm busy with my business and the spring boom, which also includes maintaining the equipment. Well after the first two weeks of mowing, and having two belts and a spindle go out on my Cub Cadet riding mower, I decided it was time to get my back-up 2006 Craftsman LT1000 mower repaired. But since my equipment represents my professional image, I decided I needed to do more than just repairs, and in fact, a full restoration was in order. Unfortunately it didn't occur to me to take "before" photos at the time, but I included a photo of another junk Yard Machine mower I plan to restore as a close approximation of the condition the Craftsman mower was in, after sitting in the yard exposed to weather for the last 5 years, and before I started the restoration. Next to it is what the Craftsman looked like new in 2006.




The entire project cost me $180 (the 2021 version of this model costs ~$2600-$3000) and a lot of time. The seat was torn just as badly as the one in the picture of the Yard Machine, but I found replacement seats cost $150 and I refused to pay that much. So, instead I got the idea of Gorilla taping all the cracks in the vynil seat and then applying several coats of Flex-Seal in a can, with a brush. It worked like a charm (I did the same to my Cub Cadet seat). The only part of the body that isn't a new paint job is the main hood that is the darker grey color. I used Rust-oleum's Recolor Wipe-new to restore the paint and decals.

 

Nice gear there Matt and yes, image is everything so well done for getting it all looking good. I hope the boom keeps booming...

 

Brilliant results there, Matt - glad to see that you are another guy determined NOT to get ripped off by the present craze of companies charging the rest of us over the odds prices because they think we are desperate to jolly up our homes and replace and repair our gear as travel and holidays continue to be very limited so they feel it is OK to cash in on our desire to improve our lot after the recent shite we've all been subjected to. It's not on charging these exorbitant sums so good on yer, pal, for doing a great job and saving some money.

Paul, so sorry you've had to endure more pain with the cracked rib and that daft noisy cow from upstairs. Let's hope that this time she has played right into your hands/the eyes and ears of the law. The woman and her hell brood should be removed ASAP and dropped (from a great height) on to a very remote island in the middle of the South China Sea.
Get well soon, buddy and great to see your games set-up there/console collection all revamped and pride of place etc. Looks like you've got some tasty faves on offer in that tower of entertainment.

Graham, thank you so much for your thumbs up and greets of late. We have just finished the decking, steps and lights tonight and Bev is over the moon with the new living space outdoors.... shame it's gonna persist it down all afternoon tomorrow but never mind. We;re busy with my mam anyhow (hope yours is OK) and will be able to enjoy our new "outdoor living space" to the max soon/rest of the summer. Just hope I can get the grass to come back as it's now had a year of bricks, cement mixers, tile cutters, wood and machinery crushing it and leaving it looking like a... builders yard so here goes the great restoration programme as well as sorting out my retro cave and getting that looking like something semi decent.

Al, hope to see you Tuesday tea, mate.
Got your numero so we'll fine tune the meet-up (me mam lives near Sewerby so we might get a cuppa tea there if we find we're both broke!)
What do you reckon to fish n chips, as well as computer chips and a Guinness?
I'll get me coat.
Have a good rest of bank holiday weekend, folks.

 

Did my shop, 4 bags, 2 full of water bottles, discovered I could feel more pain than I first thought. Took forever with a stupid traffic light entry system that everyone ignored (bar me). Thankfully the chest is a little easier today (or maybe I've OD'ed on the tramadol).

So glad to hear everyone is having a good time and things are coming together well, it would be a shame to let this covid cast a 2 year negative on all of us, although I do worry about testing 3,000 person raves in Liverpool before lockdown is finished and even more worried that although they were tested as negative for the rave that the 'after' test isn't mandatory so the results will be a hodge podge...Very unscientific..

Good night last night, no upstairs and the end of series Line of duty (stunning TV) meant the Irvine house was all smiles....Hell, I think I even saw Felix with a grin

And as Ted Hastings said (almost) look after Joseph, mary and the wee donkey...