FAQs for all Atarians

[David Etheridge]

And for the newer members of the Atari community (hi there guys and gals! ) here's a link to essential ST software, from those fab folks on the Atari forum (no, not this one, the other one ):

http://bbs.datavase.info/ST_essential/

Midi stuff is in the Music Production Tools section, but there's basically all you need to get (and keep) up and running.
There's more about the list and a great discussion here:

http://www.atari-forum.com./viewtopic.php?f=14&t=16525
Best wishes,
Dave.

[David Etheridge]

And thanks to the guys on the Atari Music Network, here are two links to Atari docs
Just the thing for finding out more about our favourite computers!

http://dev-docs.atariforge.org/
ftp://ftp.datavase.info/atari/DOCS/

Best wishes,
Dave.

[David Etheridge]

Here's a link to a free download of the Atari version of Symbolic Composer (V.2.0.1).
This runs in conjunction with Dr.T's KCS:
http://web.archive.org/web/20050116110142/www.mracpublishing.com/download/SymbolicComposer2.0.1Atari.zip

and should provide fun for KCS fans!

Best wishes,
Dave

[David Etheridge]

Hi folks,
well for the first time in a VERY long time, I've had a problem with my Atari STE
It started hanging up and then finally refused to even load from the desktop. You know the thing -you click on an icon, and absolutely sod all happens
After switching off and waiting for a few minutes (that guarantees that the memory is definitely completely cleared, and you'd be surprised at how often that can clear the odd glitch) the same thing happened again...and again.
It appears that the File Selector has thrown a wobbly.
Now I could be in a real tizz, biting the carpet, thinking of a PC (NO!!!), but I didn't.
I simply swopped my recalcitrant STE with a spare one (I have 4 -well you never know) and I'm back up and running in a trice.
I'll be sending the offender to Barrie fairly soon for an MOT and an oil change.
Moral: now's the time (if you haven't already done so) to invest in a spare Atari ST(E) for those File Selector moments. There's loads of them cheap on Ebay and you never know.....

Best wishes,
Dave (not having a fit, not having to reinstall everything, and not suffering downtime)

[muzines]

I tried to boot up my old STE the other day - the floppy drive has gone all weak and won't read floppies, and my old Atari hard drive (which I was hoping to copy some files off of) doesn't spin up...

[David Etheridge]

Hi Desmond,
you could try one of those floppy drive cleaners (a disk with a mild abrasive and/or cleaning fluid such as isopropyl alcolhol), but your best bet is to see about a replacement floppy drive.
As regards your HD, Barrie is the man who can advise and fix all your problems -he can also retrieve and archive files if you need this.
01925-823334, as usual.

Best wishes,
Dave.

[muzines]

you could try one of those floppy drive cleaners (a disk with a mild abrasive and/or cleaning fluid such as isopropyl alcolhol), but your best bet is to see about a replacement floppy drive.

In my minor googling around I saw that a common problem on aged Atari's is the floppy drive belt wearing out or corroding, so it might just be that...

As regards your HD, Barrie is the man who can advise and fix all your problems -he can also retrieve and archive files if you need this.

Thanks - I need to find out whether it's the drive itself that doesn't work or whether it's just not being powered up by the case electronics (it's a System Solutions MiniS drive). The case electronics do power up the fan so that part is working anyway.

As far as I know it's a standard IDE drive so I'm going to see whether it spins up in a PC. If it doesn't then it's probably beyond recovery...

[Neo-Classical Guitar Man]

I have three 4160STE and starting to get uncomfortable with the amount of stuff I have acquired, plus the usual grief from the women folk over this! Anyway I have decided that having a few is a wise idea.......so they shall remain!.....For the time being anyway!

NCGM

[David Etheridge]

Hi folks,
latest news from Martin Tarenskeen is a bugfix for his YS Editor Program, now on v.2.76.
The is THE editing prog for all 4 op FM instruments from Yamaha:
DX100, DX27, DX27S, DX21, DX11, WT11, TX81Z,
YS100, YS200, B200, TQ5, DS55, and V50 are supported by YSEDITOR PLUS.
(But V50 users are adviced to use the special YSEDITOR V50 version)

FB01 is supported by special YSEDITOR FB01 verion.

Go here for all the gen:
http://www.home.zonnet.nl/m.tarenskeen/yseditor.htm
or:
http://atari.martintarenskeen.nl/

(and you thought that no-one was STILL developing editors? How wrong might you be... )

Best wishes,

Dave.

[David Etheridge]

Hi folks,
here's the latest news about ACP (Atari Coldfire Project) FireBee, the next generation in Atari compatible computers. The folks working on it are developing USB connectivity in Freemint.
You can see all the details here:
http://acp.atari.org/

Fascinating stuff -any takers?

Best wishes,
Dave.

[Mathias ACP]

Hi folks,
here's the latest news about ACP (Atari Coldfire Project) FireBee, the next generation in Atari compatible computers. The folks working on it are developing USB connectivity in Freemint.
You can see all the details here:
http://acp.atari.org/

Fascinating stuff

Thanks David, for the hint to our project. "The folks" have even to report some exclusive sound issues regarding the FireBee.

Sound hardware is integrated, the big tasks are done already. Internal sound driver (falcon compatible) and AC'97 are done mainly. Recording works well. MP3 playback with Aniplayer is possible with only 22 % (!) CPU load (without a DSP - the 56001 is not finished recently).

The YM2149 works well (also out over AC'97 - and Falcon compatible), and first applications were tested successfully (no MIDI was tested right now), without any errors are for example; "MIDI Arpeggiator" a mini analogue-style MIDI sequencer, "Snippit Synth" a software-based sound synthesizer, "Squash it!" a sample processor, "Sound Chip Synth" (MiniMOO) a real-time synthesizer, "Soundigit" an AIF/WAV HD-Recorder/Player/Editor, or the well known "Aniplayer".

Thats important for me, because I like you to know we are not doing "only" a FreeMiNT machine. Many users demand as well a well working TOS computer. So FireTOS (A for ColdFire Processors adapted Falcon 4.04 TOS) gets ongoing several improvements. We are highly aware, that audio tasks are still a big part of "Atari-Computing". Thats why we are for example glad that we got the Soundpool owner on board as advisor as well.

[David Etheridge]

Hi again folks,
here a link I've just found to another floppy drive emulator using SD cards:
http://hxc2001.free.fr/floppy_drive_emulator/index.html

You'll notice that the range is available for a wide variety of supposedly obsolete computers (including Atari of course ) but also a wide range of floppies fitted to synths and samplers.
Scroll down through the list to see if your fave vintage synth is there.
(Apologies to NCGM if I'm posting info he's already placed here, 'cos I haven't checked and I know that he is our resident expert of this kind of gear )

Best wishes,
Dave.

[Neo-Classical Guitar Man]

Haha! I bought one of these interfaces via Ebay early last year, but not used it yet. I will be upgrading the firmware before I do, as at the time I asked the maker to write a file browser for the ST and two weeks later it was in the new firmware to download! This was later carried over into the Amstrad CPC which I also own, so the maker definitely listens to his buyers.

There is also someone else who has made an interface, that can backup any disk even if faulty I think! KryoFlux web page

More info

KryoFlux and HxC Floppy Emulator in action together with EMU Emulator 1 keyboard

HxC Floppy Emulator SD version with EMU Emulator 1 & 2

NCGM

[David Etheridge]

Hi gang,
another new year and we're still humming along as ever!
I don't know how I missed this link -another U.K. Atari site who offer info and some products for Ataris:
http://st-freakz.co.uk/index.html

Enjoy!

Best wishes,
Dave.

[Neo-Classical Guitar Man]

Yeah he is a good guy with a good track record and he responds to emails quickly too.

NCGM

[David Etheridge]

Atari in 2012.
Hi folks,
It’s been a while since I last looked through the Atari scene, and as I found that quite a few of the sites mentioned previously have gone to the great website in the sky, I thought it might be a suitable time to update this FAQ with the current state of the Atari scene in 2012.

First of all, there’s still plenty going on here:

http://www.atari-forum.com/ the most active Atari forum on the net, covering hard and software, pro apps, games, MIDI and much more. The members here have an unrivalled range of knowledge and expertise.
http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php/ -a smaller, but still active forum on all aspects of Atari usage.
https://sites.google.com/site/stessential/ -a collection of Essential software for the Atari user, as discussed on Atari-forum.com

http://tamw.atari-users.net/ The late Tim Conrardy’s famous MIDI site, with articles and downloads on Atari progs and libraries.
ftp://ftp.pigwa.net/stuff/collections/atari_forever/www-magazines/MyAtari.net/32/astudio.htm -the My Atari mag site showing the article describing Tim’s MIDI studio.
http://www.atarimusic.net/ A site originally set up as a replacement in case Tim’s Atari MIDI world was taken down (it hasn’t as yet) and has become much more, featuring progs, articles, discussion and archives, plus much more
http://www.notator.org/index.html

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/atari-midi/ currently with 1216 members as of today, recent discussions have included integrating your ST back into your MIDI setup, amongst much more
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atari-midi-archives/ excellent and essential archive for all MIDI users -over 800 members as of early 2012

http://gem.win.co.nz/hall/ -The famous Atari Launchpad. Not updated for many years now, but still with many links to extant sites
http://info-coach.fr/atari/links.php -a particularly useful site, including progs, apps and ftp sites. May be a little out of date, as are many Atari sites these days!
http://www.1632systems.co.uk/Templates/Links.htm - a slightly smaller collection of links.

http://www.notator.org/ The Notator users site and discussion forum, still humming along nicely!

Stockists and repairs:
http://www.keychange.co.uk/ The irrepressible Barrie, who keep us all running!
http://st-freakz.co.uk/index.html Highly regarded by users.
http://www.1632systems.co.uk/ another good source of bits and bobs.
http://myatari.net/ -the last resting place of MyAtari magazine. Many useful MIDI articles in there.

Some software sites for upgrading your ST:
http://www.seimet.de/atari/en/hddriver.html
http://rainer-seitel.onlinehome.de/bigdos.html
http://dev-docs.atariforge.org/ -Atari document archive

FTP collections and software downloads:
ftp://ftp.iem.at/pub/ATARI/
http://www-ftp.lip6.fr/ftp/pub/atari/Music/
http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/atari/
http://www.datavase.info/FTPserver/
http://www.jaapan.de/en/uptodate.php?page=multi_midi
http://atari.la-belle-aurore.com/sequencers.html-rather moribund and no updates since 2009.
http://users.telenet.be/tos4ever/atari/prg-ind3.htm -the ultimate TOS software index.
http://www.8bitchip.info/atari/ -useful stuff on hard drives and TOS chips amongst much more.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/backroom/MIDI.HTM -Backroom boys Atari MIDI software: a small collection.

And that’s all for now folks!

Unless you know different, of course.......

Best wishes,
Dave

[Neo-Classical Guitar Man]

Thanks Dave! I'll add some more if and when I think of them.

NCGM

[David Etheridge]

Hi folks,
here's another essential site for all Atarians: the Atari-forum WIKI:
http://www.atari-forum.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

Look under the Applications section for essential stuff: copiers, antivirus progs, HD drivers galore and CD-ROM drivers. Most of them are free!

Enjoy!

Best wishes,
Dave

[Neo-Classical Guitar Man]

I wish I could contribute here without incurring the wrath of the SOS staff, e.g. by posting links to non-free software, even though most of it is long gone and forgotten about even by the authors

[David Etheridge]

Hi folks,
It's been a while....

Just to let you know that there's a new Facebook group for Atarians.
Search in Facebook for Atari ST musicians network
https://www.facebook.com/groups/atarist/

and join 576 others already on there.

Best wishes,

Dave.

[Eazy360]

Hi folks,
It's been a while....

Just to let you know that there's a new Facebook group for Atarians.
Search in Facebook for Atari ST musicians network
https://www.facebook.com/groups/atarist/

and join 576 others already on there.

Best wishes,

Dave.

You my brother are fresh! Thanks for the Facebook link.

[alexpop]

Atari in 2012.
Hi folks,
It’s been a while since I last looked through the Atari scene, and as I found that quite a few of the sites mentioned previously have gone to the great website in the sky, I thought it might be a suitable time to update this FAQ with the current state of the Atari scene in 2012.

First of all, there’s still plenty going on here:

http://www.atari-forum.com/ the most active Atari forum on the net, covering hard and software, pro apps, games, MIDI and much more. The members here have an unrivalled range of knowledge and expertise.
http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php/ -a smaller, but still active forum on all aspects of Atari usage.
https://sites.google.com/site/stessential/ -a collection of Essential software for the Atari user, as discussed on Atari-forum.com

http://tamw.atari-users.net/ The late Tim Conrardy’s famous MIDI site, with articles and downloads on Atari progs and libraries.
ftp://ftp.pigwa.net/stuff/collections/atari_forever/www-magazines/MyAtari.net/32/astudio.htm -the My Atari mag site showing the article describing Tim’s MIDI studio.
http://www.atarimusic.net/ A site originally set up as a replacement in case Tim’s Atari MIDI world was taken down (it hasn’t as yet) and has become much more, featuring progs, articles, discussion and archives, plus much more
http://www.notator.org/index.html

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/atari-midi/ currently with 1216 members as of today, recent discussions have included integrating your ST back into your MIDI setup, amongst much more
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atari-midi-archives/ excellent and essential archive for all MIDI users -over 800 members as of early 2012

http://gem.win.co.nz/hall/ -The famous Atari Launchpad. Not updated for many years now, but still with many links to extant sites
http://info-coach.fr/atari/links.php -a particularly useful site, including progs, apps and ftp sites. May be a little out of date, as are many Atari sites these days!
http://www.1632systems.co.uk/Templates/Links.htm - a slightly smaller collection of links.

http://www.notator.org/ The Notator users site and discussion forum, still humming along nicely!

Stockists and repairs:
http://www.keychange.co.uk/ The irrepressible Barrie, who keep us all running!
http://st-freakz.co.uk/index.html Highly regarded by users.
http://www.1632systems.co.uk/ another good source of bits and bobs.
http://myatari.net/ -the last resting place of MyAtari magazine. Many useful MIDI articles in there.

Some software sites for upgrading your ST:
http://www.seimet.de/atari/en/hddriver.html
http://rainer-seitel.onlinehome.de/bigdos.html
http://dev-docs.atariforge.org/ -Atari document archive

FTP collections and software downloads:
ftp://ftp.iem.at/pub/ATARI/
http://www-ftp.lip6.fr/ftp/pub/atari/Music/
http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/atari/
http://www.datavase.info/FTPserver/
http://www.jaapan.de/en/uptodate.php?page=multi_midi
http://atari.la-belle-aurore.com/sequencers.html-rather moribund and no updates since 2009.
http://users.telenet.be/tos4ever/atari/prg-ind3.htm -the ultimate TOS software index.
http://www.8bitchip.info/atari/ -useful stuff on hard drives and TOS chips amongst much more.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/backroom/MIDI.HTM -Backroom boys Atari MIDI software: a small collection.

And that’s all for now folks!

Unless you know different, of course.......

Best wishes,
Dave

Hi David.
Enjoy all your informative posts.
Pity about yahoo groups Atari ( was a member there myself). What Atari / Notator sites are they in 2020( not interested in gaming per se).
And Atari stockists/repair places in 2020?

[David Etheridge]

Hi Alex,
you're correct, I must get on with another update on Atari sources. Suffice to say that many listed in the 2012 survey are unfortunately now no longer with us.
However, it's all happening at the Atari ST Musicians page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/atarist/
990 members as of today!
And Tim;s Atari MIDIworld is still going here: http://tamw.exxoshost.co.uk/

That'll keep you going for a bit and you'll be made welcome over on FB!

Best wishes,
Dave

[alexpop]

Hi Alex,
you're correct, I must get on with another update on Atari sources. Suffice to say that many listed in the 2012 survey are unfortunately now no longer with us.
However, it's all happening at the Atari ST Musicians page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/atarist/
990 members as of today!
And Tim;s Atari MIDIworld is still going here: http://tamw.exxoshost.co.uk/

That'll keep you going for a bit and you'll be made welcome over on FB!

Best wishes,
Dave

Hi David,

Facebook. That’s a option I guess.

My first Atari STe I got in late 1980’s, had it for a couple of years. Due to moving sold it. Jump cut .. 30 years later you could get Atari’s for song( cheap) least in 2008/2009. Of course present day the prices have gone up.

Thx for info!!

Best wishes,
Alex