Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mandrill!gatech!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!bbn!uwmcsd1!marque!uunet!mcvax!unido!tub!tmpmbx!netmbx!hase From: hase@netmbx.UUCP (Hartmut Semken) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: mega woes, continued Message-ID: <1972@netmbx.UUCP> Date: 24 Jun 88 16:01:28 GMT References: <[gw.scri.fsu.edu].B16E2EA0.00914A12.PETCHER> Reply-To: hase@netmbx.UUCP (Hartmut Semken) Organization: netmbx Public Access Unix, Berlin Lines: 51 In article <[gw.scri.fsu.edu].B16E2EA0.00914A12.PETCHER> PETCHER@FSU.BITNET writes: >Now that I have recieved my replacement mega2 and have been working with it for >awhile, I have discovered that it also has problems. For one, my disk drive >has the famed media change problem - whenever I take out a write enabled disk >and replace it with a second write enabled disk, the disk drive doesn't >recognize the media change! This was reported previously on the net to be a Maybe the drive has a "media changed" output on Pin 2. A Diode (4148) from Pin 2 to the write-protected pin could fix it (?). >problem of a certain batch of Chinon drives used by third party vendors, but I >did not expect to find it in the 'off-the-shelf' mega! As it turns out, I may >also have other problems with the blitter (see, my letter on Uniterm vs. the >blitter). Although the final analysis is not yet in, I have certainly had some Hm, this seems to be a well known bug in the Bitter. Here in Germany we have a little Program around, fixing the problem. Maybe I'll post it here. I've never tried it, because I have no Blitter; in fact, I have one but do not know how to connect it to my 520 ST+ (I get no cirurit drawings of the Mega...). >newer, the main point is this: > > *** flame on *** > >IF ATARI IS NOT ABLE TO PRODUCE STABLE HARDWARE, NO MATTER HOW THEY MARKET >THEIR EQUIPMENT THEY WILL NEVER MAKE IT IN THE BUSINESS MARKET. > > *** flame off *** Do not flame Atari for the unstable Blitter. This is a problem, the semiconductor company (General Instruments?) has (the Blitter seems to be too complicated for their machines 8-). But *flame* *them* for using cheap sockets and circurit boards (and noisy fans). Flame them for their circurit design (unbuffered outputs of the soundchip to Centronics). No, wait!! Stop flaming them! They could start making the hardware more stable; this would put me out of buisiness (I'm fixing "broken" STs...8-) >Don't get me wrong. I do like my Atari, and intend to do what it takes to get >a workable system. It is still the best micro on the market for my purposes Me too. I like it, but some day the fixes will be more expensive than another ("real") machine. >Perhaps I am the victim of a wild fluctuation of statistics that occurred in >the vicinity of Tallahassee and my experience is far from usual. I certainly >hope so for Atari's sake. Perhaps You are a victim of temperature. The power supply of the mega seems to be the same as the one of the SH205. I got rid of it (and built one myself) and my harddisk problems were gone! hase -- Hartmut Semken, Lupsteiner Weg 67, 1000 Berlin 37 hase@netmbx.UUCP High on a rocky promontory sat an Electric Monk on a bored horse. (D. Adams)