U009@CCIW.BITNET (11/17/89)
>Subject: Blitz! Floppy Backup available (Advertisement) > >BLITZ is a revolutionary new back-up system for the Atari ST computer. >BLITZ uses ONLY a special cable and software to back-up your software at I built up the cable illustrated in the original posting and thought I would send off to the company mentioned for the software, $2.00 and you can't go wrong, right? Then on a hunch, I called up a local, major BBS (Canada Remote Systems, if you must know) and found 2 (yes TWO) versions of the software in the utilities area. One is obviously the initial version and the other is an enhanced, Turbo version. First, here are some tidbits from the .DOC and .TXT files in the archives: " " THE HAPPY KILLER " BLITZ COPIER " " " Are you ready for a $22.00 copier that will copy as good, or in most " cases better, than a $150.00 cart? Yes?? Well then, Blitz is The wiring diagram also appeared as a drawing file suitable for printing with PICSW7: " ....That's it! Just print out the BLITZ.PC3 or BLITZ.IMG file and you'll " see how to hook up the printer plug into the drive cables. " and... "=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "=-=-= =-=-= "=-=-= INTRODUCING =-=-= "=-=-= =-=-= "=-=-= DUPLI-TWIX BLITZ ST DISK DUPLICATOR =-=-= "=-=-= =-=-= "=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= " "(The following product was introduced and demonstrated at the "WAACE DC AtariFest, October 7-8, 1989.) " "Are you tired of running ProCopy or ACopy on your latest $39 or "$59 program or game only to find that you can't make a backup of and... "Magic Media Research in conjuction with 1st STOP Computer Systems "Ltd is gearing up for production and distribution of the fastest, "most reasonably priced disk duplicator for the Atari ST available "anywhere! " " What does it do? " cccccccccccccccc "It copies disks. Fast. Copy protection and all. It even copies "some disks that the Discovery cartridges have trouble with. Our "Discovery cart took 15 minutes and 40 tries to back up our "Populous disk. It took DupliTwix less than half a minute! Our "Discovery cart wouldn't back up our Batman disk at all. Dupli- "Twix did it in less time than it takes the ST to format a disk! " "Sorry, but you can't put Mac ROMs into DupliTwix (OK, Dave?). Well, it does what it says... I backed up my copies of Populous and Bloodwych in 25 seconds each. And they booted immediately. To be honest, Populous duped with the first? version of the program but Bloodwych wouldn't, so I used the Turbo mode on it. That worked fine (and was faster too). Populous was tried on the Turbo mode and it too worked fine. One minor hitch with the turbo software: it takes a long time to exit back to the desktop. The disk directory windows re-open quickly but no files are drawn into them for quite a while. I thought it had crashed. I am running a .5 MB 520 with a Supra 20 hard drive. It's not much of a problem, though, because you usually want to disconnect the drive and reboot to check the backup anyway. I took a good look and there appears to be no licencing or restrictions on re-distribution, so the software could be uploaded. I would check on any local BBS's first, also GEnie or C'serve. I will go back to my archives and read the suggestion about submissions on the BITNET side and follow up. In the meantime, If you are seriously in need, I could E-mail a UUEncoded file to you (too many requests might clog us up, though... one hop to the main nodes is only 2400 baud). If you are asking for the file, please indicate if you would be willing to re-mail for me if I send you a net name and address. PS the original posting showed a 36 pin plug for the printer output port. It is a 25 pin plug but the pins are numbered correctly... pins 26 - 36 don't exist. The listing of interconnections is right, the assignment of colors to the plug given is numbered right but positioned wrong. The drawing file in the archive is correct. Regards, Stu Beal, VE3MWM, (U009@CCIW.BITNET), National Water Research Institute, Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
dsmall@well.UUCP (David Small) (12/10/89)
The basenote contains info about the BLITZ disk copier cable. This is essentially an analog copier. The "read-data" wire coming from drive "A" is connected directly to the "write-data" wire coming from drive B -- hence, whatever magnetic flux shows up on the track gets plopped onto the destination drive. This makes for a powerful copier indeed. I used to *sell* a copier extremely like this, called the L.E. Systems FDC system, back in '82 or so, for the Atari 8-bit. With 8 drives (1 master, 7 slaves) it would produce 7 exact copies of a very copy protected disk in around 17 seconds. I will attest that thousands of 8-bit disks from Synapse, Broderbund, Origin Systems, Paradise Software, Epyx, and others I can't recall 7 years later were produced on this system, and were very reliable. It finally went away during the big slump of the 8 bits. Now, I'm supposed to be anti-pirate, right? Why do I like this system? Bit-shift. See, when you write disks, if I've had it explained to me correctly, you're writing a bunch of small bar magnets on the disk. If the bits are north south south north, those two bits repel each other, and physically move away. Similarly, north south north south attract, and move closer. This makes them move away from the "window" that the data seperator uses to determine if a bit is there or not. As I understand it, "write precompensation" is the science of moving repelling bits closer together at write-time so they end up, after repelling, where they should be, and more or less the same for attracting bits. Now, when you analog copy, the bits start drifting, since there is no write precomp. My personal experience with both single and double density disks (heh! and even Commodore 64) is that you have no problems on first generation clones. Second generation, the innermost tracks, where things are the hairiest, start to glitch, and third generation is hopeless. Hence, this is a backup device that works best when you put a master disk in the "from" drive. It doesn't work at all well when copying a copy, in my experience. That tends to step on the copy-of-copy-of-copy piracy. (Sure, it doesn't affect BBS's, but that's another issue). The other nice thing about BLITZ is its simplicity. I have looked over the docs and it looks like 20 minutes with a soldering iron, nothing hard. Parts are a DB-25 connector from Radio Shack and a disk cable from your local Atari dealer (or Best Electronics). There does not seem to be a copyright on the supplied software. Thus, your major cost is the download. Even ST-World is offering the documentation on its monthly shareware disk. BLITZ copied, with no problems, literally every copy protected disk I own. I know people who use it for a formatter! (I don't recommend that, as it's a second-generation copy w/o verify). It is extremely fast. Technically, the big problem is syncing up index pulses. On both drives, they have to occur at the same time. If you just copy, you'll likely have a sector end up straddling the index pulse, and the 1772 automatically generates a CRC error if it sees an IP in the sector (bug in the chip, WD says). Thus the BLITZ has to get the drives spinning together, which is a matter of toggling the MOTORON line on and off at high speed to slow one drive until they sync. Doubtlessly the DB-25 printer port is used to supply both the index inputs and output motoron, drive select, step, and so on. It is also probably helpful if drive B runs slightly more slowly than A:, so A:'s track "finishes" at index pulse before drive B, just a little. That was the case for the L.E. copier. I understand an outfit in Las Vegas is already advertising and selling BLITZ cables and software, pre-made, ready to run. I know several people in Denver who have built them and they work, plus those on GEnie. Now, if we could just make pirate BBS copies of programs degenerate each time they're copied ... <wistful sigh>. I hope this information about BLITZ is of interest. -- thanks, Dave / Gadgets
paulm@ccicpg.UUCP (tmp Paul Moreau usenet acct) (12/11/89)
In article <14889@well.UUCP>, dsmall@well.UUCP (David Small) writes: [ .... ] > your local Atari dealer (or Best Electronics). There does not seem to be a > copyright on the supplied software. > > Thus, your major cost is the download. Even ST-World is offering > the documentation on its monthly shareware disk. > [ .... ] > -- thanks, Dave / Gadgets Does anyone know where I can find a copy of the BLITZ software? I've checked my local BBS's and it's not on any of them. If somebody could please EMAIL me a copy I'd greatly apreciate it. Thanx in advance, Paul Moreau. --- .===========================================================. | UUCP: ...ccicpg!dl2!paulm | Paul L. Moreau | | or ...ccicpg!dl1!paulm | Diagnostics Software Eng. | | or ...ccicpg!paulm | Irvine, California | `==========================================================='
Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com (12/12/89)
Dave Small sez... >I hope this information about BLITZ is of interest. >-- thanks, Dave / Gadgets Geez, Dave.. you're one of the few members of our little Atari world whose info is *always* of interest..! You've managed, in one short message, to clear up a lot of the mystery about how the BLITZ system works... much more so than all of the other messages I've read, anywhere else about it..! I still remember the night you demonstrated your Z-80 based parallel bus disk drive for the 8-bit Atari at a MACE meeting... hard drive speed from a floppy..! In short.. *anything* you want to write is of interest..! BobR
scott@cs.odu.edu (Scott Yelich) (12/14/89)
> > Does anyone know where I can find a copy of the BLITZ software? > I've checked my local BBS's and it's not on any of them. > If somebody could please EMAIL me a copy I'd greatly apreciate it. You may ftp it from xanth.cs.odu.edu -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott D. Yelich scott@cs.odu.edu [128.82.8.1] After he pushed me off the cliff, he asked me, as I fell, ``Why'd you jump?'' -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
dsmall@well.UUCP (David Small) (12/19/89)
The basenote asks where to get the Blitz cable docs (which are PD, I think.) They are available on both the GEnie and CIS networks, and probably interminable BBS's. They're a bit long to uuencode and post here, though. Also, an outfit in Las Vegas, Nevada is selling the complete unit for a reasonable price. There are starting to be ads for it in mags like ST-World and ST-Informer. In looking, I couldn't find one, but my office is in a Christmas Mess. It's there alright. Software First, a little north of Bay Area, reports that there is nothing in their store that it cannot copy. That's not surprising, given that's it's just passing on pulses from drive to drive without analyzing them. I know people who mass-format disks with this utility, although I personally do not, as it takes 18 sec/side. I'm thoroughly impressed with it -- and that it doesn't make third and later generation copies, which to me legitimizes it as a backup tool. Software First reports no other copy program can copy everything they have, including Copy II ST, etc, and even the Option Board, which is extremely powerful. So, if you know someone on GEnie or CIS ... -- thanks, Dave / Gadgets
scott@cs.odu.edu (Scott Yelich) (12/19/89)
In article <15093@well.UUCP> dsmall@well.UUCP (David Small) writes: > The basenote asks where to get the Blitz cable docs (which are PD, I think.) > They are available on both the GEnie and CIS networks, and probably > interminable BBS's. They're a bit long to uuencode and post here, though. ftp xanth.cs.odu.edu > So, if you know someone on GEnie or CIS ... or if you have ftp access... REMEMBER: ZIP files are self extracting archives.... :) -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott D. Yelich scott@cs.odu.edu [128.82.8.1] After he pushed me off the cliff, he asked me, as I fell, ``Why'd you jump?'' -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
paulm@ccicpg.UUCP (tmp Paul Moreau usenet acct) (12/20/89)
In article <SCOTT.89Dec19103442@offa.cs.odu.edu>, scott@cs.odu.edu (Scott Yelich) writes: [ ... ] > > They are available on both the GEnie and CIS networks, and probably > > interminable BBS's. They're a bit long to uuencode and post here, though. > > ftp xanth.cs.odu.edu > > > So, if you know someone on GEnie or CIS ... > > or if you have ftp access... > > REMEMBER: ZIP files are self extracting archives.... :) > -- [ .... ] If it is legal, could someone PLEASE post the Blitz software in the binaries group or somewhere? I don't have access to GEnie nor do I know anyone who does. I also can't ftp from here. I've built the cables and am now just awaiting code. Many many many thanx in advance! --- .===========================================================. | ### ####### ### | N O R T H | /==============\ | | ### ### ### | A M E R I C A |< An STC Company >| | ### ####### ####### | (was CCI) | \==============/ | |-----------------------------------------------------------| | UUCP: ...ccicpg!dl2!paulm | Paul L. Moreau | | or ...ccicpg!dl1!paulm | Diagnostics Software Eng. | | or ...ccicpg!paulm | Irvine, California | `==========================================================='
Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com (12/25/89)
Dave Small notes, about the BLITZ cable instructions... >They are available on both the GEnie and CIS networks, and probably >interminable BBS's. They're a bit long to uuencode and post here, though. ... > So, if you know someone on GEnie or CIS ... Or... you can E-Mail me, and I can tell you how to order this month's ARC utility disk from MACE, the Michigan Atari Computer Enthusiasts, which has both the original BLITZ documents including text and DEGAS pic of the cable, and the BLITZ-II (Turbo-BLITZ) software... Or... check your local user group... BobR
scott@cs.odu.edu (Scott Yelich) (12/29/89)
> Or... you can E-Mail me, and I can tell you how to order this month's > ARC utility disk from MACE, the Michigan Atari Computer Enthusiasts, > which has both the original BLITZ documents including text and DEGAS pic > of the cable, and the BLITZ-II (Turbo-BLITZ) software... > Or... check your local user group... one last time... just to clear up some points. I have two versions up for anonymous FTP from xanth.cs.odu.edu. One version is a zip, the other is a compressed and tarred directory of the files AFTER they have been unzipped. I used a UNIX unzip since I didnt have unzip for the ST. Although I THOUGHT .zip files were self extracting archives. Nevertheless, there are two versions for FTP. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott D. Yelich scott@cs.odu.edu [128.82.8.1] After he pushed me off the cliff, he asked me, as I fell, ``Why'd you jump?'' -----------------------------------------------------------------------------