*************************************** * * * P O R T F O L I O N E W S * * * * Internet newsletter for * * Atari Portfolio users and fans * * * *************************************** No 5 September 4, 1995 In this issue: *** NEW EDITOR of BULLETIN PORTFOLIO NEWS *** HOT: 1 MB and 4 MB FLASH CARDS IN EUROPE *** Portfolio News International - the only English paper *** The Portfolio Inside *** File Manager 2 *** Atari Dealer in Holland *** Decoding the files from E-MAIL *** Question from Hong Kong: parallel file transfer *** Membership in CZ Portfolio Club *** Sending money for the products *** The FNT standard *** ATARI dealers in Italy *** BUG in MAZE.COM from soft-package no.3 *** A Superb Portfolio WWW Page *** PORTFOLIO MODEM *** ZMODEM ON PORTFOLIO *** Folio Drive and Portfolio Capacity *** Portfolio Club & Bank Connection *** Portfolio Hardware addon Idea *** HARDWARE IDEAS AND SOLUITIONS *** New Hardware under development *** Atari Show - will PF corner be there? *** Current Price-List of PF products by Portfolio Club CZ *** Portfolio Archive *** Opening the LCD display on PF *** Another FTP place for Portfolio *** Programming: LOAD.COM or LOAD.EXE =========================================================== The articles: ----------------------------------------- *** NEW EDITOR of BULLETIN PORTFOLIO NEWS From: Jan Sedlak, the (old) editor Paul Jolliffe offered his helping hand and will prepare the Portfolio News Bulletin and e-mail it instead on me. This does not mean that I am leaving the Portfolio scene. Not at all. I hope that this change will help me to get a bit more time for software and hardware development. I will be writing several articles for each issue, I will respond to hardware and software questions and I will forward attractive materials to Paul. I believe that every reader of this bulletin can supPort PF a bit. Just send to Paul or to me your ideas, experiences, short and long reviews of the software you use and ideas of what soft you would like to be published. From now on Portfolio News has a new home at paulj@jollyp.demon.co.uk but still you can use the old address sedlakj@dec59.ruk.cuni.cz to get in touch with living Portfolio world. Here is what Paul thinks: From: paulj@trideuk.demon.co.uk (Paul Jolliffe) I have done some thinking over the weekend and I will takeover the Portfolio News from issue 6 onwards (End Of September). I hope that this is o.k with you and your help and guidance will be very much apprechiated. If you would like to notify the PF users of the change in e-mail address etc, in the next issue. Could you also change my e-mail address to: paulj@jollyp.demon.co.uk <--- Home instead of paulj@trideuk.demon.co.uk <--- Work That way there shouldn't be any problems with replies etc. -------------------------------------------- *** HOT: 1 MB and 4 MB FLASH CARDS IN EUROPE The high capacity RAM Cards for Portfolio made by Optrol company USA are now available in Europe. We believe that there will be much interest in the cards by PF users, as the FLASH cards seem to be the ultimate solution for the disk space on Portfolio. 4MB in a size of a RAM card make a Portfolio (especially with 512 KB RAM) a powerful machine with top market value. We have received a pricelist from the manufacturer which enables us to reduce the price if we order higher qualities. That is why our Portfolio Club (Czech Rep.) will be selling the RAM cards in Europe for the same price as in the USA !!! (provided the minimal order of 10 pieces from Optrol is achieved) The pricing 1 MB FLASH CARD 180 USD 4 MB FLASH CARD 400 USD postage 15 USD for Europe 25 USD for the rest of the world If you decide to order the cards, you can include other items from the pricelist of the products mentioned later in this issue of Portfolio News. As the international (non-business) banking is still very slow, please, consider that it usually takes about one month to deliver the products. To speed up the procedure of ordering the FLASH cards from USA, send your orders by September 15th. If you want to order a FLASH card, send us e-mail with your order and send the appropriate sum to our bank account. BANK: Ceska sporitelna Jugoslavska 19 120 00 Praha 2 the Czech Republic BANK CODE: 0800 OWNER OF ACCOUNT: Jan SEDLAK - Portfolio Sarajevska 29 120 00 Praha 2 the Czech Republic NUMBER OF ACCOUNT: 720252-028/0800 --------------------------------- *** Portfolio News International - the only English paper bulletin about PF From: Jan Sedlak (the editor) As I mentioned in previous issue of PNews a new bulletin in English will be published and printed. This bulletin is aimed to support English speaking Portfolio fans both with Internet access and without. The first issue is planned to be published by September 20th. I will send a separate mail on the Portfolio News International. Please, let me know your opinion about such a kind of bulletin. ----------------------------- *** Portfolio Club in Germany From: Wolf-Theo Holl <100113.2626@compuserve.com> (Please, contact Mr. Holl if you want to learn more about the Portfolio activities in Germany) The 'foundation meeting' of the German Portfolio Club has been very successful ! There have been 9 men and 2 women(!) who discussed the general concept of the club and the services we are going to offer. They've told me to send you our greetings. We're very confident that our relationship will be successful and an advantage for all of us ! Here's what we are planning: > Mailbox with everything a Portfolio user will need. (Messages, News, Files,etc.) For the future we want to install a Portfolio board on several BBS's to build up a kind of web structure. > Software service (on disk and RAM card) for people who haven't got a modem or who do not want to make long distance calls. > Printed newsletter. The quantity of pages of the newsletter is calculated depending on the amount of membership dues we are going to charge. It's been suggested that about 60,- DM per year would be acceptable. The newsletter will contain reports about hard/software, general news and a classifieds section. > Hardware is sold by Stefan and me. While Stefan is going to offer various combinations of his RAM card, upgrade manuals, some genuine parts, combinations of often needed cable/software packages and of course your leather case, I'd like to offer ALL of your products and the Optrol cards. > Hard/Software developers support. Depending on the know-how and equipment of our 'PF-freaks' the club will also support every serious effort in the field of new products. > Hotline. I'll try to run a regular telephone hotline. We'll make an announcement in the first volume of the newsletter. > Entering computer shows. As soon as the legal status of the club is figured out we'll start to attend the various shows that are still taking place here (e.g. HobbyTronik, PRO-Tos) All the activities mentioned above will be introduced in an info letter we'll send to all possible members (e.g. everybody in our database). This letter will also contain a complete list of all available products, so that we'll send it to several Atari dealers and the magazines too. That's about everything we've discussed last saturday August 26th. ------------------------ *** The Portfolio Inside I finally have translated a part of the research work on Portfolio BIOS carried out by Martin and Milan Hrdlicka. All the conclusions further presented were discovered by experimenting and tracing the Portfolio BIOS. That is why some conclusions may be mistaken. --- LCD DRIVER I/O address to control the LCD 8060h - contrast of the LCD 8011h - control byte 8010h - data byte The 8060h address is a byte the value of which defines the contrast of the LCD. 0=min 255=max The 8011 and 8010 addresses may be driven in the following way: dodisp: ;input: ah- control byte push dx ; al- data byte xchg al,ah mov dx,8011h cli out dx,al ;out: control byte xchg al,ah mov dx,8010h out dx,al ;out: data byte sti pop dx ret The code above is just a possible solution, but it is important to observe the consequence: control byte always before the data byte. The interrupt must be disabled during the OUT instructions on LCD and there must be a certain minimal time between the control and data byte so that the LCD may process the data correctly. Control byte: 00h Data byte: as follows (in bits) xxx xxx x x ||| ||| | | ||| ||| | -------- 0 Japanese char. set ||| ||| | 1 European char. set ||| ||| ---------- 0 text mode ||| ||| 1 graphic mode ||| ||| ||| ----------- 000 full cursor blinking ||| 001 '_' cursor ||| 010 '_' cursor blinking ||| 011 full cursor blinking ||| 100 no cursor ||| 101 '_' cursor ||| 110 full cursor blinking ||| 111 '_' cursor blinking ||| ----------------- 001 ??? unknown meaning The meaning of the top 3 bits is unknown and they have the value 001. Control byte: 01h Data byte: the size of the character in graphics =77h (8x8) in text =75h (8x6) Control byte: 02h Data byte: the speed of LCD refreshment in graphics =1Dh in text =27h Control byte: 03h Data byte: the total of lines in graphics = 3F h (0...63 decimal) Control byte: 04h Data byte: the total of lines in text mode = 7 (0...7) Control byte: 05h Data byte: ??? unknown Control byte: 06h Data byte: ??? unknown Control byte: 07h Data byte: ??? unknown Control byte: 08, 09h Data byte: ??? - something like a internal position of a displayed window, BIOS sets to 0 Control byte: 0ah Data byte: setting of the low byte address of the display position and cursor The address is the position of the byte as if all the bytes were consecutive. In text mode the address is within 0..319 (40*8), in graphics within 0..1919 ( 240/8 * 64). Control byte: 0bh Data byte: setting of the top byte of the address - see above Control byte: 0ch Data byte: In text the ASCII code of the character In graphics the mirror image of the byte from the Video RAM in segment B000 or B800. The mirror image means that the bit 7 in video RAM is the bit 0 of the Data byte, bit 6 is the bit 1, .... etc. Control byte: 0dh Data byte: ??? increases the address of the display position (see function 0ah), as if a space was displayed Control byte: 0eh Data byte: the index of a single bit 0...7 of actual display position which will be cleared. We set the position using the functions 0a and 0b, then we can clear individual bits of the byte. The actual display position increases automatically after 8 functions 0eh and 0fh Note: The change of the bit is carried out just inside the LCD and is visible on the screen directly. In Video RAM this procedure must be carried out separately. This also explains why the standard BIOS screen refresh is so slow in graphics. It is necessary to carry out 30 722 I/O operations to refresh the LCD this way. Control byte: 0fh Data byte: the index of a single bit 0...7 of actual display position which will be set. See the function 0eh on setting the position and see the note too. The fast refresh by Martin and Milan Hrdlicka is based on using the function 0ch instead of 0e and 0f as used originally in BIOS. This fast refresh routine was published in last issue (No 4) of the Portfolio News bulletin. --- PORTFOLIO SPEAKER The speaker is at I/O location 8020 h. Values: 80h - non-active 00h - active Other values make either pre-designed (see the Tech. Guide) tones or the dialing signals. ------------------- *** File Manager 2 This is an idea for making a new version of File Manager. FM2 will have two windows, like Norton Commander. The windows will be able to display following: -available drives -current directory -drives and directories of remote computer -built-in applications -disk & memory information -tree -deleted files that can be recovered The directory listing will be able to display: -hidden, system, read-only attributes -file length -date/time The directory listing can be sorted: -no sort -name -extension -length -date/time It will be possible to copy and move files from one window to another. This also means copying and moving from different directories and drives. It will be possible to change file attributes. It will be possible to undelete files. The file handling in new FM2 will be the same as on old FM.COM. Pressing ENTER on ADR,DRY,TXT,WKS files will open the application with that file. It will be possible to define other executable extensions. E.g. pressing ENTER on BAS file will start a PBASIC with the BAS file. Pressing ENTER on PGC file will start PGSHOW.EXE viewer, etc. Pressing ENTER on file with undefined extension will cause typing on the screen. Pressing F1 or ATARI will open function menu. Pressing F2 will open user defined short cuts. (Similar to F2 in Norton Commander.) Pressing F3 will open a file viewer with the actual file. Pressing F4 will open the built-in editor with the actual file. I think that the ALT functions of the old FM.COM can be preserved. Other Norton Commander functions may be added. E.g. Find File, File filter, etc. New FM2 may contain hexadecimal editor for editing binary files (like pressing F4 in text view (F3) in Norton, but editable). The new FM2 will contain file transfer utility that will allow to connect PF to a remote computer for file exchange. This file utility will recognize if parallel or serial port is connected and will use the proper file transfer protocol. The file transfer utility will work with standard PF file transfer protocol (built-in and used in FT.COM), with 8 bit parallel transfer and with serial transfer of a standard type (e.g. XMODEM). It will be possible to send and receive marked files to and from remote computer. It will be possible to move files from PF (sending plus deleting). It will also be possible to execute files stored on remote computer. Pressing ENTER on COM, BAT, EXE files will load the file from remote computer into current PF directory and will execute the file. After returning back to FM2 program, the file will be removed from the directory. So it will appear to the user that the file was really executed from the remote directory. The FM2 may work in TEXT MODE but I think that using GRAPHIC MODE and 8x4 fonts or 8x5 fonts will help in displaying more info on the PF screen. --------------------------- *** Atari Dealer in Holland I found this address somewhere on NET. Maybe the company still have some Portfolio stuff on stock. I tried to fax there, but no response back came. I hope some PF fan from Holland will call there and will report back to us, if they have PF stuff. Maybe the company will order new PF products we make for Portfolio DATA-SKIP Oosthaven 58 2801 PE Gouda The Netherlands (Holland) Attention : Ton Versluis Phone : 31-(0)-1820-20581 Fax : 31-(0)-1820-22724 --------------------------------- *** Decoding the files from E-MAIL > Dear Mr Sedlak > Thanks for the soft. Unfortunately I have no idea how to use > the file port.arj and what it is supposed to do. Four steps to do to get the files from the mail: 1. Save the mail into a file. Using option s) in ELM mailer. 2. Then use UUDECODE command to convert the file into a binary file port.arj 3. Tranfer the port.arj to your harddisk, e.g. using ftp 4. Use arj.exe to extract the files from the port.arj If you use the Norton Commander, you can view and extract the files as if it was a directory. If you do not have arj.exe or NC, try to ask some friend of yours who has a PC. --------------------------------------------------- *** Question from Hong Kong: parallel file transfer > Hello: > > I am from Hong Kong. Recently, I get a second hand > Portfolio (HPC-004) with a Parallel interface (HPC-101) but haven't any > software included, those are made in Japan. But I can't use them because > it has a basic problem, that is I don't know how to send a File to the > Portfolio from my PC. > > Luckily, I find your web site from Internet, I think you can help me: > 1. How can I sent a file to the Portfolio? > 2. Is that need a communication program running in PC, how can I get it? > 3. Is PBASIC a BASIC language for PF, how can I get it? 1. You need to connect the Parallel interface to PF and connect it with a straight cable with 25 male connector. It is a direct cable usualy with 18 lines, NOT a lap-link (crossed) cabel. Press ATARI-S to enter SETUP. Then choose F for File Transfer. And then S for Server Start the communication software on PC, the Portfolio will respond automatically. 2. Try anonymous FTP to the scr.doc.ic.ac.uk archive Portfolio is in the following directory: computing/systems/atari/umich/Portfolio I think the FT.COM is in the Communications subdirectory. FT.COM is the program to run on PC to exchange files. 3. Yes, PBASIC is designed for PF. You can find it on that FTP server too. If you have any further needs, do not hesitate to e-mail. ----------------------------------- *** Membership in CZ Portfolio Club >Please send me more information >about the club and how to get >member of the club. We are running support for PF users. The club has no official way to be a member. Everyone who is interested in PF and wants to help us with supporting Portfolio is te "member" of the club. ---------------------------------- *** Sending money for the products >There is a problem on sending you >money by the bank. My bank wants to >have 40 USD for sending you the >money on your bank account. > Is there another way to pay you? I think, maybe there is another bank in your city which will be cheaper on sending many to CZ. Maybe they will carry out the transaction. Well I acually do not know any other way of sending money abroad. Maybe the holland post office may provide financial transfers to abroad. Let me know if you succeed on reducing the cost of the fin. operation. There are also other people in my database from holland who may have benefit from your bank investigation. -------------------- *** The FNT standard > Your club suggested this standard for fontfiles. > The header of such a file contains a byte that indicates the number of > the defined characters. But why is there no Byte that indicates the ASCII- > code of the first defined character? This FNT standard is designed either for complete char sets, or for partial charsets. The reason for the byte defining the number of characters is to save the Portfolio memory. For example of you want to write "I LOVE PORTFOLIO" in some special large font, you need only E,F,I,L,O,P,R,T,V characters. So your FNT file will enclude a header and 9 bit maps. The "E" will have ASCII 00, F -01, I-02, etc. That is why it makes no sense to useanother byte to define the first ASCII character, as you suggest. The font may be incomplete and the definition byte would be misleading. > Are the ASCII-values part of the > data behind the header? NO, behind the header there are only bit maps, no other info. -------------------------- *** ATARI dealers in Italy From: Marco Greppi According to Marco Greppi: We are really interested in Your products for Portfolio. Could You please send me more details? Marco Greppi - Emmesoft (ITALIA) Atari distributors for Italy Our company is VERY interested in Protfolio produtcs. Please rush me ASAP Your dealer prices with detailed information of products. Thank You. Marco Greppi - Emmesoft Fax +39 11 4374311 ------------------------------------------ *** BUG in MAZE.COM from soft-package no.3 The MAZE.COM is a 00 release. I mailed the the very day I have made it work. There are three bugs: - Up-scrolling error - Keyboard too quick on bumping into the scorpions - There is a bug in the maze scheme so you can never reach the very end. I made a mistaken wall. > I was at the left edge of the labyrinth and I wanted to go up. But when > I reached the top of the screen, it scrolled into the wrong direction > and it continued scrolling with every keystroke until the old position > in memory had been reached again. > > Also I have a suggestion: I would find it useful to clear the keyboard- > buffer when running into a scorpion. Because I often hold down a cursor- > key when moving into the same direction for some time > and so it happens > that I run into the same scorpion several times. ------------------------------- *** A Superb Portfolio WWW Page From: wwg28@rzserv2.fh-lueneburg.de (Wolf R. Gross) Latest Information on Portfolio including the Newsletters can be find on my Portfolio-Page now. The URL is... http://rzserv2.fh-lueneburg.de:8080/Portfolio Try it, it is a perfect page. And you can get back issues of PNEWS and software packages. --------------- *** Credit Cards \Do you accept credit card numbers? Sorry, we do not accept credit cards. But you may send us the money from your bank using SWIFT or other bank services. Ask at you bank for details on sending money to CZ. ------------------- *** PORTFOLIO MODEM /Can U please fax or EMail me any information you may have on /the Portfolio modem (speed, cost etc)? I do not know much, about using a modem with Portfolio. Anyhow, you need the serial RS 232 interface to connect PF to a modem. I was told by PF guys in Germany that there is a company in Germany that has developed a software that will enable to use a Z-MODEM communication on Portfolio. They were told to develop a FAXing software for Portfolio too. That is all I know. In germany there should be a Portfolio BBS at the end of September. This means that there must be away to use modem on PF. I'll let you know if I know more. ----------------------- *** ZMODEM ON PORTFOLIO Here is more info and the address of the German company that offers the ZMODEM for Portfolio: PTerm V2.2 01/02/95 This is a testversion of the up to now only terminalprogram for the Portfolio which includes the complete ZModem protocol. You're free to distribute it in unmodified form and without commercial purpose. The ZModem filetransfer is limited in this testversion to files with a size below 3 KB. WHAT'S NEW IN PTerm V2.2 ? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - Logging sessions - Screen capture To obtain the complete version of PTerm without restrictions contact merle GbR. Starnberger Str. 7 D-82343 Packing Germany FAX +49 89 3154268 or send the following to this address ------------------------------------ Order form: ____ PTerm V2.0 incl. manual DM 30,- (german), short manual (eng.), disk (3,5" /5,25"). ( ) I enclosed the amount (+ DM 10,- s/h) in cash/check (either in DM or any foreign currency) ( ) Please inform me about future releases and other products (Fax for the Portfolio will soon be available!) -------------------------------------- *** Folio Drive and Portfolio Capacity Have you ever seen this on your Portfolio? a>chkdsk d: 1457664 bytes total disk capacity 20480 bytes in 3 user files 1436672 bytes available on disk 520192 bytes total memory 468464 bytes free This is what FolioDrive gives you on Portfolio with 512 KB RAM. Do you like it? ------------------------------------ *** Portfolio Club & Bank Connection If you want to send us the money use following bank connection. You can send the money directrly, or via SWIFT, or by means of a cheque. Send US dollars, or German Marks, please. BANK: Ceska sporitelna Jugoslavska 19 120 00 Praha 2 the Czech Republic BANK CODE: 0800 OWNER OF ACCOUNT: Jan SEDLAK - Portfolio Sarajevska 29 120 00 Praha 2 the Czech Republic NUMBER OF ACCOUNT: 720252-028/0800 After you send the money, please e-mail. After the money arrives, we will send you the parcel. --------------------------------- *** Portfolio Hardware addon Idea From: paulj@trideuk.demon.co.uk (Paul Jolliffe) I have an idea for a PF hardware addon, but I don't have the technical skill or know anyone who could make it, if you are interested please e-mail me. This biggest problem I find with the portfolio is the lack of memory and disk space available. Sure I can go and by a RAM card but a 128k card is the same price as 4 meg of SIMMS or 8-10 Meg of DRAM. What would be a good idea, if it is possible, is a 'silicon disk' for the PF that either plugs into the card port or even better still the expansion port. The unit should be about the size of a PF, maybe thicker. The unit would have a mainboard that with the correct circuitry (whatever that might be) a set of sockets, if you opted for simms then simm sockets otherwise DRAM sockets, if they are DRAM sockets it could be double sided. There would also be a seperate area for expansion of system memory. The unit would need a battery backup which could be supplied from a ni-cadd or normall 'AA baterries'. You could supply blank or populated boards that would allow users to populate it when they can afford more memory. So they could start with 1 megabyte of either 4 * 256K 100ns simms or 8 * 1025K DRAMs chips, depending of which way you go. The unit should be able to hold 10-20 megabytes which should be aple for most people. It would work out more expensive than a HDU in the long run but you don't have to spend lots of cash to get some benefits. Because the PF is not the fastest machine in existance people would not need to buy expensive chips. Currently I can purchase 256k 100ns SIMMS for about 7.50 GBP and 1 Meg for 22 GBP, 4 Meg 100 GBP. I realise that this might be an idealists view of hardware but my backgound is software. All I have ever really done is software based. Let me know what you think, again thanks for the info etc ... Editor response: About your idea of the hardware add on. A few months ago I was thinking about a similar project. To connect sth. like "a silicon disk" to PF to increase the disk capacity. But there are reasons that made me leave this idea. 1. The DRAM and SIMMS have extermely high consumption, about 100 000 times higher than SRAM (static RAM) chips. For example teh SRAM chip we use in our 128 KB RAM card takes about 20nA (nano A) from the battery. The DRAM and SIMMS usually need 100mA to 500mA of power when running. This means that it is not possible to power them from normal NiCds or AA bateries. They must be powered either from the socket or special alcaline rechargables used in notebooks. I am sure you know that usual notebooks can sustain only about 2-3 hours on the batteries. And the SIMM consumpiton is one reason. 2. Another problem is that the DRAM and SIMM chips must be refreshed in order to keep the data. It would be a big burden for the Portfolio CPU to take care of the refreshing of the SIMMS. PF has enough troubles with refreshing the LCD screen alone. 3. Portfolio with any big hardware add on, becomes un- portable and then it looses its value. Portfolio is a Portfolio becaase you can take it with you. 4. There is a soulution for Portfolio memory and disk space: It is possible to upgrade the system RAM to 512 KB without any bigger problems. And there are the OPTROL flash cards with capacity up to 4 MB. This means that you can carry as much as 4 500 000 bytes in your Portfolio without any noticable change in consumption any without any change in Portfolio size. It is possible to have Portfolio upgraded to 512 KB for 195 DEM. There exists a description of 512 KB upgrade so the VERY skillfull users can buy just the chips for 80 DEM and do the surgery at home. (I do not recommend it, because the upgrading is really a pricise brain surgery, no home soldering. One mistake and the motherboard of the PF is damaged for ever.) It is possible to get the 4 MB OPTROL CARD for 399 USD. Which is the price Portfolio used to be sold for a few years ago. 5. And if there were still somebody in need of more than 4 500 000 bytes in his Portfolio, HDD may be connected to Portfolio. I do not know the scheme mow. But I hope to get it soon. And then I think the problem of lack of memory will be solved for ever. --------------------------------- *** HARDWARE IDEAS AND SOLUTIONS From: Stefan_Kaechele@fr.maus.de (Stefan Kaechele) 1. Serial and parallel in one housing I`ve got a circuit diagram how to fit a parallel board piggy- packing onto the serial interface. With a special hardware connection on the serial board the PoFo is told that there are both interfaces. This is undocumented by ATARI. With this "trick" you are able to access the parallel and serial interface at the same time. There is the $00 for the usage of both interfaces at the same time. You can adjust this kind of handling by software which changes the PID to $00, or by hardware access. In the original ATARI-interface this is hardware- done by the 74244- circuit which has to be changed as follows: Pin 17 to unwire from pad-connection and connecting to GND e.g. pin 10. Unfortunately there seem to exist different interfaces as there are existing quite different PoFos. Another guy who tried the change as mentioned before told me that his interface had to be changed by connecting pin 2 to pin 10 still working as described. For myself I didn`t tried this change. I hope my infos are useful and you will be able to develop a cheap interface- combination which will spare place and a second bus- connector. 2 - Internal drive B: Just some month ago I've worked out a circuit diagram how to connect 32KB and 128KB-SRAMs inside the PoFo as card drive B:. So you can have an internal card drive B:, with the additional feature to be batterie- supported, if PoFo crashes(one more time). But there seems to be a minor bug in it which makes problems with some PoFos. I've to discuss this with some profis. I'll send the diagram occaisonally by FAX. ---------------------------------- *** New Hardware under development From: sedlakj@dec59.ruk.cuni.cz I started to work on a 3 to 8 digit display connectable to PF through parallel interface. It is designed to display any numerical info (temperature, exchange rate, air pressure). I have testing board already and when I finish it I will send you the scheme. I plan to make it as a construction kit. ----------------------------------------- *** Atari Show - will PF corner be there? I got a following message about an ATARI show. I suggest that PF fans in US should contact the organizer of the show and ask about exhibition possibilities. This would help to get new/old PF users. The PF club in CZ will give special dealers pricing, if somebody will go there for the exhibiton with Portfolio products. Here is the message: From: sirsmedley@delphi.com Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Dallas Atari Show Update Date: Wed, 5 Jul 95 22:35:56 -0500 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The Atari Users of North Texas Computer Exposition The Atari Users of North Texas (AUNT) presents the D/FW Exchange Underground Computer Exposition (DEUCE). The show will be held in Dallas this October in conjunction with the monthly DFW XChange Corporation "Super Saturday" activities at the beautiful Dallas Infomart. Show date is Saturday, October 7th. The exposition, along with the Super Saturday activities, is free and open to the general public. The one day exposition will begin at 8:30 AM and run until 4:00 PM. Both a Friday evening pre-show get together and a post show get together are also being planned. October is a great time to visit the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. For one thing we probably have better weather in October than most of the rest of the world. The DFW Xchange Corporation "Super Saturday" activities are a monthly computer extravaganza where thousands of computer enthusiast get together, share their computer interests and enjoy some of the best computer and high-tech electronic buys in Texas. This October will be special for us Atarians because many of our finest developers and dealers will be participating in the activities. The Dallas Infomart facility - a replica of the famous 1895 World Fair Crystal Palace - is located in the heart of the Dallas Market District. The facility is leased by the DFW Xchange Corporation each month to provide a community service to all computer users in the Metroplex area. The Atari Users of North Texas is one of many participating user groups that help support this community service by sharing our Atari computer interests, general computer expertise and providing user assistance to our local Atarians and the interested general public. Vendors currently planning on participating include; It's All Relative, Systems for Tomorrow, chroMagic, Crawly Crypt Corporation, Oregon Research, Dave Munsie, DMJ software and Branch Always Software. Vendors interested in participating can contact: David Acklam (214) 242-9655 GEnie ...... D.ACKLAM Internet .... d.acklam@genie.geis.com. ---------------------------------------------------------- *** Current Price-List of PF products by Portfolio Club CZ PORTFOLIO PRODUCTS valid from 20 July 1995 Here is the price list for the products that we can offer you. All prices are in German Marks (DEM) and all prices do not take local tax and VAT into consideration. PERIPHERALS MADE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC - 2 year warranty code description quant./price END PRICE 1-5 6-30 31-100 101-250 251-1000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HPD 103 Genuine Leather Case with battery pocket 29 20 19 17 16 15 HPD 300 Parallel inteface 25 pin, cable, software 79 60 55 50 45 40 HPD 350 Serial interface 9 pin, RS 232, software 115 86 80 75 70 60 HPD 400 RAM Card 128 KB, min 2 yr. battery life-span 119 94 89 79 65 60 HPD 450 PORTFOLIO MEGA-PACK RAM Card 128 KB, Parallel interf. 25 pin, soft, cable, file man. more, soft instal. 169 136 130 118 105 95 HPD 500 FolioDrive 3,5" FDD Unit to read and write 1,44 MB diskettes from Portfolio Par. inferf., NiCd battery pack, cable, soft and 32 KB RAM Card incl. in the price 349 280 260 call call call HPD 600 PortWalk tape recorder interface mono/stereo 2MB on 60 minutes tape 59 35 30 25 22 20 --------------------------------- LITERATURE HPD 202 Portfolio Technical Guide in English 120 pgs,+ disk 29 18 17 15 14 13 HPD 203 Portfolio Programmier Praxis, in Deutsch 345pgs,+ disk 29 18 17 15 14 13 --------------------------------- ORIGINAL ATARI PRODUCTS HPC 402 AC adapter 220 V 24 14 12 - - - --------------------------------- OTHER SUPPORT HPD 700 Upgrade your PF RAM to 512 KB 195 150 call - - - HPD 801 60 pin BUS connector 14 10 7 - - - HPD 802 128KB SRAM chip 20 16 15 - - - ---------------------------------------------------- NOTES: END PRICE - suggested end-user price, we sell to individuals at this price call - get current information personally ---------------------------------------------------- contact person: Jan Sedlak sedlakj@dec59.ruk.cuni.cz Portfolio Sarajevska 29 120 00 Praha 2 the Czech Republic tel: + 42 2 99 61 894 fax no: + 42 2 29 51 86 --------------------- *** Portfolio Archive The anonymous FTP server is: src.doc.ic.ac.uk directory: computing/systems/atari/umich/Portfolio pub/packages/atari/umich/Portfolio Here is the list of the files on the server: Portfolio: [Note several subdirectories] Portfolio/Applications: Index 0 Verbose list of files in this directory (this file) function.lzh 11 Program to draw graphs of x-y functions outline.lzh 78 Turns input into outline form pbe13.lzh 24 The PBASIC Editor for MS/DOS systems pfcijf.lzh 18 ??? worksheet program ??? pim.lzh 56 menu manager and forms based database management system rpncalc.lzh 33 Reverse Polish Notation scientific calculator typist.lzh 2 tool to learn to type on Portfolio keyboard vde15.lzh 89 text editor with many standard features w_sheet.lzh 7 ??? sample worksheets ??? ws_edit.lzh 21 worksheet editor Portfolio/Archivers: Index ?? Verbose list of files in this directory arcex.com 7 uncompressed arc compression program for portfolio arcex.doc 12 uncompressed doc file for arcex arcex.lzh 9 arc compression package for portfolio lzexe91.lzh 42 compress but still run portfolio executables lzhe.com 5 uncompressed lzh compression program for portfolio lzhe.doc 6 uncompressed doc file for lzhe lzhe100.lzh 6 lzh compression package for portfolio pk361.exe 128 pkstuff package for atari portfolio (self extracting?) Portfolio/Bootstrap: Index 0 Verbose file list (this file) bootst10.lzh 168 do file-transfers between Sun and Pofo bootst11.lzh 168 version 1.1 of above pf-bootstrap-v1.0a.tar.Z 184 version 1.0a of pf bootstrap (.tar.Z) pf-bootstrap-v1.1a.tar.Z 184 version 1.1a of pf bootstrap (.tar.Z) Portfolio/Demos: Index 0 Verbose list of files in this directory (this file) pf_demo.lzh 6 ??? atari portfolio demo ??? pim.lzh 1 symbolic link -> applications/pim.lzh port_art.lzh 12 demo program distributed with Borland's Turbo Pascal portprgs.lzh 11 ??? miscillaneous programs for pofo ??? psi.lzh 3 ??? zdemo2.com 1 symbolic link -> languages/zbasic/zdemo2.com Portfolio/Games: Index 0 Verbose list of files in this archive (this file) blkbst.lzh 2 Block Buster for the atari st (needs PBasic) cmpndium.arc 15 Compendium of games (Chess/Solitare/Chin Check, etc.) digdec.lzh 6 card trick program dozen.lzh 3 ??? merlin.lzh 5 ??? othello.lzh 5 othello runs on portfolio (set the screen to static) pchess.lzh 26 play chess against the Portfolio phoenix.lzh 7 Phoenix, some sort of space shoot 'em up game. sherlock.lzh 26 mystery adventure game simon.lzh 5 Simon sez type copycat game spin.exe 5 Number Puzzle tetrad.lzh 12 tetris game for the portfolio tron.lzh 3 tron cycle game vader.lzh 3 space invaders (needs PBasic) Portfolio/Graphics: Index 0 Verbose list of files in this directory (this file) logos.lzh 2 custom screen display at start-up pgsh21.lzh 7 fast graphics demo pix.lzh 5 Graphics pix demonstration sketch.lzh 5 Sketch program for the Portfolio pbasic: pbas21.lzh 43 PBasic version 2.1 pbas30.lzh 65 PBasic version 3.0 pbas40.lzh 112 PBasic version 4.0 pbas41.lzh 112 PBasic version 4.1 pbas45.lzh 176 PBasic version 4.5 pbas491.lzh 216 Latest hot off the press PBasic version 4.91!!! pbasprgs.lzh 4 Assorted basic programs zbasic: zbasic.hlp 33 help file for pofo version of zbasic zbasic.lzh 29 Compact basic product that runs on the Portfolio zdemo2.com 54 demo of zbasic zpfnotes.txt 2 notes of portfolio version of zbasic zrun321.lzh 28 run zbasic files without interpreter zxamples.lzh 26 example zbasic files Portfolio/Languages: Index 0 Verbose list of files in this directory (this file) bxd26.lzh 25 debugger, duns on the portfolio min4th25.lzh 15 VERY minimum version of FORTH pbasic/ 1 directory for pbasic files (see below) tbasic.lzh 31 Tiny BASIC, this basic doesn't know string functions. vtlisp.lzh 17 Very Tiny LISP from AI Expert xlisp.lzh 176 experimental version of lisp and support files zbasic/ 1 directory for zbasic files (see below) pbasic: pbas21.lzh 43 PBasic version 2.1 pbas30.lzh 65 PBasic version 3.0 pbas40.lzh 112 PBasic version 4.0 pbas41.lzh 112 PBasic version 4.1 pbas45.lzh 176 PBasic version 4.5 pbas491.lzh 216 Latest hot off the press PBasic version 4.91!!! pbasprgs.lzh 4 Assorted basic programs zbasic: zbasic.hlp 33 help file for pofo version of zbasic zbasic.lzh 29 Compact basic product that runs on the Portfolio zdemo2.com 54 demo of zbasic zpfnotes.txt 2 notes of portfolio version of zbasic zrun321.lzh 28 run zbasic files without interpreter zxamples.lzh 26 example zbasic files Portfolio/Sound: Index 0 Verbose list of files in this directory (this file) ptone.lzh 7 Generate tones via file or keyboard yankee.lzh 10 Music for the portfolio Portfolio/Support: Index 0 Verbose list of files in this directory (this file) addres.sit 14 Mac Hypercard stack allows imp/exp (requires StuffIt) ag2por.lzh 3 Lotus Agenda macros - export agenda data to pofo buckets.lzh 21 database program - calculates number of BINs required flash.lzh 1 symbolic link to -> utilities/flash.lzh pcrd11.lzh 30 Win 3.0 cardfile <-> pofo address (needs vbrun100.lzh) porttost.lzh 1 symbolic link to -> telecomm/porttost.lzh prtcrd.lzh 29 Convert address ADR files to Win 3.0 Cardfile CRD files stfoli.lzh 46 Parallel file transer vbrun100.lzh 176 Win 3.0 Visual Basic Runtime wpcal.lzh 37 Convert WordPerfect Cal to DRY Portfolio/Telecomm: Index 0 Verbose list of files in this directory (this file) acom11.lzh 16 Terminal program dial.lzh 2 Xterm dialer ft.com 11 Parallel module file transfer program pfboot.lzh 1 symbolic link to -> utilities/pfboot.lzh port8bit.lzh 3 Tech doc describing pofo to Atari 8 bit connecting porttost.lzh 5 GET Xterm on the Portfolio without files transfer quick.lzh 7 Input cheques in the field and upload to Quicken later slave.lzh 18 Host program (Pofo to any terminal supporting X-Modem) xterm2.lzh 5 Term program, includes XMODEM file transfer capability Portfolio/Text: Index 0 Verbose list of files in this directory (this file) dkusdocs.lzh 7 english docs to replace some deutch docs in archive newport.lzh 5 Tech Overview of Portfolio accessories newsfile.lzh 5 portadd text file portadd.lzh 21 more portadd text files porthelp.lzh 10 excellent help files portnews.txt 16 text file about pofo uses, etc. prttxt.lzh 6 Textfile Create HOT KEYS on the Pofo using ANSI.SYS tips.lzh 3 Hints by Sjoerd Spoelstra Portfolio/Utilities: Index 0 Verbose list of files in this directory acdpw2.lzh 5 Password protect your data files addres.lzh 6 Address file viewer almboost.lzh 3 Louder alarm-tone, saves batteries by turning off attr.lzh 2 Set/reset file attributes (hidden etc) backup.lzh 1 backup of autoexec.bat and config.sys files bat2ex13.lzh 40 compile batch files, output runs on Portfolio batchio.lzh 4 Very handy batchfiles by Sjoerd battst.lzh 6 Battery tester for Portfolio bm2.lzh 4 Battery reminder program cbase.lzh 21 Create scripts to collect data in the field cc3.lzh 2 Metric conversion (requires BASIC) ced.com 7 Remembers DOS cmds, recall using cursor keys. (?.DOM) clock.lzh 5 Large Portfolio clock dbfread.lzh 8 Suitable for DBase III and clones like clipper did.lzh 1 ??? dosedi.com 2 DOS command line editor, remembers last few commands dosedit.lzh 5 Powerful program that recalls previous DOS commands drysk.lzh 4 Diary files to sidekick filelist.bat 1 Batch shows directory of system (1) flash.lzh 16 BSE Flashcard drivers for connecting HD to Portfolio fm.com 8 Atari Files Manager fs.exe 3 Small flight simulator, Not much on graphics but fun grep.lzh 16 Text search program hdir.lzh 4 Horizontal directory listfg.com 3 displays fragmented files noclick.com 1 ??? turn off keyclick ??? ohm.lzh 5 Convert color codes of resistors password.lzh 2 Password Protection Utility for Portfolio pdd2menu.lzh 14 Driver for Radio Shack Portable disk drive pf60by10.lzh 11 change screen to 60 col by 10 lines pfbackup.lzh 3 Backup utility pfboot.lzh 40 Serial interface program to load terminal pfcalc.lzh 9 Programmers calculator utility for Atari Portfolio pfclock.lzh 9 Screen filling clock program by Paralax portutil.lzh 15 Setup files for the Portfolio ptool.lzh 22 set of excellent Portfolio utilities rg.lzh 5 Various tools, collected by Richard Gigengack sdir24.lzh 3 utility to sort directories sdl.lzh 4 directory utility show314.lzh 23 shows information about the running DOS and hardware sm.com 1 Change screen mode from dos prompt of batch file snatch.lzh 14 Grab PC screen shots and run them on the Portfolio spb.lzh 11 Removes unneeded lines and REM's from PBasic progams srch.lzh 10 Search diary and address files for a string strip.lzh 10 Strips carriage returns from ASCII files textco.lzh 37 Remove returns from text files except end of paragraphs timezn.lzh 1 Reset system clock when you are in different time zones uncrash.com 1 Resets crashed programs using [FN]-B updt107.com 2 Latest update utils.lzh 5 additional utilities for pofo vdel.com 1 Prompts y/n before any delete file operation wcx.lzh 2 Word Count utility /* end of Portfolio directory */ --------------------------------- *** Opening the LCD display on PF It's much easier to (carefully) remove the plastic cover from the LCD screen (the one with the PORTFOLIO logo) with a knife. Start from the side opposite the speaker and lift the cover to the other side. It's no problem to put it back into place later because it's self-adhesive. Just make sure not to bend it to prevent damage. After that you just have to remove the screws and (carefully) split the halfs of the display with a flat screwdriver. If you've done it once you'll see how it works. Not a big deal. Now you can remove the display board with the cable. This job should be finished in about five minutes. ----------------------------------- *** Another FTP place for Portfolio From ann@ifn.ing.tu-bs.de Fri Aug 18 10:11:26 1995 I am a new owner of a Portfolio. I found the archive at nic.switch.ch and I have few programs originating from the amateur packet radio net. Ulrich Ann (DL2HBX) Internet: ann@ifn.ing.tu-bs.de -------------------------------------- *** Programming: LOAD.COM or LOAD.EXE 1. Fundamentals There are bulit-in applications on Portfolio that can be evoked form DOS by APP/x command, where x is the application required. But the APP command does not enable to open specific file in a required application. You can only evoke the application with the last file edited. There is a way to solve the problem by using a "buffer filling" programs like FAKE.COM or KIM.COM. But it is not nice and not very quick. That is why the LOAD command file should be made for Portfolio. 2. Syntax LOAD app [file_name] [/s] app - required application: a - Address book e - Editor d - Diary w - Worksheet file_name - name of the file to be loaded into the application - whole path is also allowed (D:\TEXTS\DATA\LETTER.TXT) - it is optional, if not given, the last edited file will be used - the extention is optional too. If you open the Editor, filename LETTER will be assumed to be LETTER.TXT /s - switches for example: /f0 - no frame [F5-key] in aplication /f1 - turn on the frame in app. /s[dir] - search for file in drive,directory and subdirectories Example: LOAD w budget95 /sD:\MONEY /f0 - will serch for file BUDGET95.WKS in directory D:\MONEY and the subdirectories. After finding the file the application will be opened without the frame. If the file is not found, the load will open a new file with the given file_name. 3. Technique In directory C:\SYSTEM, there is a file PERMDATA.DAT which stores in itself the info about the files used in the applications. If you change the file definition in PERMDATA.DAT the aplication will be opened with the new definition. There are also other infomation stored in PERMDATA.DAT (e.g. the last frame [F5] status) and these may be modified too. 4. Required know-how The definition of the file PERMADATA.DAT is described in the HPD 202 Portfolio Technical Guide (in English). You can order the HPD 202 from Portfolio Club, Czech Republic. The only problem maybe how to start the built-in from a running file. But there must be some way. 5. Realization and Support If you decide to make the LOAD file, please let me know. If you do not want to order the HPD 202, I can send you FREE copy of the pages about the PERMDATA.DAT file. If you need any help or support, you can e-mail, mail or phone me. After realization, I suggest to allow the software together with the source code be freed for public use. LOAD command is something that is missing very much on Portfolio 6. ADDRESS Here is the address to get the support for the LOAD development: Jan Sedlak - Portfolio Sarajevska 29 CZ 120 00 Praha 2 the Czech Republic - Europe tel./modem + 42 2 691 11 63 fax + 42 2 29 51 86 e-mail sedlakj@dec59.ruk.cuni.cz ********************************************** This issue was published on September 4, 1995. ********************************************** Special greetings to: Don Messerli - for his soft and graphics BJ Gleason - for PBASIC and tons of other things S. Spoelstra - for his BASIC, and others S. Kaechele - for his hardware W.T. Holl - greetings to all PF fans in Germany Martin & Milan Hrdlicka - the authors of new graphic BIOS Dave Steward - although Re:Port is dead, you live and to other PF friends who support us