Tech Tips
COLDSTART IN BASIC
The following three shorties from Fred Olivas appeared in recent issues
of the Santa Barbara Atari Computer Enthusiasts newsletter. You may have
seen these tips before, but they are worth repeating.
Whenever you want to simulate a cold-start (reboot the disk) in your own BASIC programs, use this statement:
X=USR(52487)
COLDSTART FROM RESET
If you would like your computer to reboot when [RESET] is pressed,
use one of the following in your BASIC program:
X=USR(61783) or POKE 580,1
NO QUESTION?
If you would like an INPUT statement not to give the annoying "?" try
this:
100? "ENTER NAME: ";:INPUT #16,N$
DRIVE SPEED CHECK
If you are experiencing disk errors, your disk drive may not be operating at the correct speed. Atari disk drives normally run at about 288 RPM. If yours varies by more than three RPM from this figure, you should have your disk drive adjusted. The following program is a shortened version of one we have seen credited to the July 1985 newsletter of the San Diego Computer Enthusiasts.
10 DR=l:DIM DR$(6):DR$="D1:* *"
20 XIO 3,#2,4,0,DR$:POKE 764,255
30 ? CHR$(125);"INSERT DISK IN DRIVE ";CHR$(48+DR)
40? " AND PRESS ANY KEY..."
50 IF PEEK(764)= 255 THEN 50
60 ? :? "PRESS [RESET] TO END
70 FOR I=1536 TO 1627:READ D:POKE I,D
80 NEXT I:POKE 1537,DR:GRAPHICS 2+16
90 X=USR(1536)
100 SP = PEEK(1662) + PEEK(1663) * 256
110 SP=INT(24*3600/SP+0.5)
120 POSITION 0,5:? *6,SP:GOTO 90
200 DATA 169,0,141,l,3,141,11,3,169,82,141,2,3,169,62,141,5,3,32,83,228,169,0,
141,4,3,141,128,6,141
210 DATA l0,3,141,129,6,141,130,6,133,20,133,19,133,18,32,83,228,166,20,138,
237,128,6,142,128,6,16,2,105,255
220 DATA 174,129,6,201,18,48,l,232,232,138,201,24,16,6,142,129,6,76,44,6,165,
19,141,127,6,165,20,141,126,6,104,96
ROM AND BASIC TEST
Some of us are still confused as to which versions of the graphics
chip, ROM chip and BASIC are in our computer. The following program sent in by
James Keho of Glendale, Arizona will end the confusion.
100 DIM R$(1),B$(1)
115 POKE 53278,0:GRAPHICS 18
120 POKE 53248,0:POSITION 1,3:? #6;"THIS ATARI HAS THE:"
125 POSITION 4,5:? #6;CHR$(71-PEEK(53252));"TIA CHIP"
130 IF PEEK(58383)=0 THEN 150
140 R$="A":GOTO 180
150 R$="B"
180 ? #6;" OS ROM VER. ";R$
190 P=PEEK(43234):IF P=162 THEN B$="A"
200 IF P=96 THEN B$="B"
210 IF P=234 THEN B$="C"
220 ? #6;" BASIC VER. ";B$
230 GOTO 230
FILE READER
Here's a routine that will allow you to read disk files without having
to TRAP the end-of-file error. It was sent in by David Tallent of Stone
Mountain, Georgia.
100 DIM A$(1000):CHAN=3
110 OPEN #CHAN,4,0, "D:FILENAME.TXT"
120 INPUT #CHAN,A$:PRINT A$
130 IF PEEK(835+CHAN * 16)<>3 THEN 120
140 CLOSE #CHAN:END
This routine should work for all text files except one opened for a
directory. The variable A$ should be DiMmed big enough to hold any amount
of text in your file between carriage returns. CHAN is set equal to whatever
channel you wish to use.
If you have a Tech Tip that you would like to share with other readers, send it along to Antic Tech Tips, 544 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94107 You might get your name in print. We always welcome very short programs that demonstrate the Atari's powers, simple hardware modifications, or useful macros for popular software
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