SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 SIO2PC Serial Interface By Atari8Warez Ray Ataergin Toronto, Ontario Owner’s Manual / Installation Guide Version 1.06 1|Page Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 3 AVAILABLE VERSIONS................................................................................................................................ 4 1. Internal Installation ....................................................................................................................... 4 2. External with a built-in SIO cable .................................................................................................. 4 3. External with a built-in SIO cable and enclosure .......................................................................... 4 BOARD CONFIGURATION .............................................................................................................................. 5 SIO CABLE CONNECTION ....................................................................................................................... 5 SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION (AspeQt v0.8.8) ............................................................................................. 7 INTERNAL INSTALLATION .............................................................................................................................. 9 SKILLS and TOOLS REQUIRED for the installation ............................................................................... 11 TOOLS NEEDED.................................................................................................................................... 11 INSTALLATION STEPS .......................................................................................................................... 12 SERVICE and WARRANTY ............................................................................................................................ 19 CONTACT ME............................................................................................................................................... 19 2|Page Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 INTRODUCTION My SIO2PC board is an interface device that connects your compatible ATARI computer to a PC with an available RS232 (DB9) port. Used with peripheral emulator software it enables your ATARI to see the PC as a big storage (disk) device. This way you can boot your ATARI directly from the PC without the need of an actual Atari disk drive, store your Atari files on the PC, and many other tasks depending on the features of the PC software used. The board is compatible with AspeQt v0.8.8, Atari810 1.4d, APE for Windows 3.0.6, APE for DOS v1.18, and the original SIO2PC v4.21 (by Nick Kennedy). I should immediately point out that if you use APE for DOS or the original SIO2PC software, you must boot your PC into either a version of DOS, or into the Command Line mode of a DOS based Windows (such as Win95/98), they will not run properly under the GUI/Command Box of any other NT based version of Windows. AspeQt, Atari810 and APE for Windows will run under Windows NT/XP/Vista/Win7 Also, most of the current laptops and some desktops do not come with an RS232 port but instead incorporate USB ports for serial communication. In this case you will need to use a USBSerial Adaptor cable to connect the SIO2PC to the PC. My serial SIO2PC board is only guaranteed to work at maximum SIO speeds reliably with a quality USB-Serial adaptor cable such as those powered by an FTDI chip and AspeQt is the only APE software recommended. For a desktop without a built-in RS232 port you have the option of adding a legacy serial port card which will allow successful connection of my SIO2PC interface in most cases; however I cannot suggest a brand or guarantee compatibility with a particular brand. These cards are readily available from many computer retailers and from eBay. (Your motherboard must have an available legacy slot to accommodate the add-on card) 3|Page Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 My SIO2PC interface is a quality built device assembled on a prototyping board. Each one is hand built with outmost attention to detail and by using quality components for a long and trouble free operation. I test each and every one thoroughly to make sure that they perform according to the specs before they are released for sale. I use a prototyping board to keep the cost down and savings high for you, but I do not compromise quality for price. The board will perform every bit as good as any professionally produced SIO2PC. The board comes with a lifetime warranty against material and workmanship defects (Please see the Service & Warranty section at the end of this document) AVAILABLE VERSIONS Our SIO2PC interface gives you many options for installation/use. 1. Internal Installation: As illustrated on the cover page of this document my SIO2PC is designed to be fitted inside the cabinet of an ATARI 800XL, 65/130XE, and the XEGS system. The basic board comes with an optional 5 wire flat ribbon cable that needs to be soldered to the appropriate pins of the SIO port on the ATARI. The other end of the cable is connected to the board via an included 5 connector terminal block. You will also need a straight through serial cable for the connection to the PC. Those cables are readily available from many computer retailers. One inexpensive source for those cables may be your local second hand store or eBay, if you don’t already have one lying around the house. Internal Installation requires some soldering and cutting skills. 2. External with a built-in SIO cable: This one is similar to the internal version with the exception of an SIO cable already connected to the 5 connector terminal block. You neither need to cut an existing SIO cable nor to purchase a new one (which may be hard to locate these days). You just need a straight through serial cable for the connection to the PC. 3. External with a built-in SIO cable and enclosure: If you don’t like to have all the electronics of your interface exposed (increasing the chance of a mishap) this is the configuration to choose. It comes enclosed in an ABS case ready to be plugged into your ATARI. It also includes a Power/Activity LED and a toggle switch for easy RI/DSR selection. You just need a straight through serial cable for the connection to the PC. 4|Page Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 BOARD CONFIGURATION All versions of my SIO2PC interface (except the internal mount) require the same simple set-up procedure before you can start using them. The board is pre-configured to use the DSR (Data Set Ready) pin of the DB9 port for handshaking between the Atari and the PC, through the use of a 3 pin jumper block. Some software (like APE for Windows/DOS) allows you to choose which DB9 pin to use. In this case you can simply configure the software to use DSR or configure your SIO2PC board to use RI (Ring Indicator). The choice is yours. On other software (like the original SIO2PC) there is no setting to allow you specify which pin to use. SIO2PC v4.21 uses RI by default. In this case change the jumper to use RI. To change the pre-configured setting on the board, simply remove the jumper cap from pins 12 (DSR) of the 3 pin header and re-insert it to the pins 2-3 (RI) of the same. If you bought an external board with an enclosure, simply flip the toggle switch up for DSR and down for RI. Please note that your board may not look exactly the same as the illustration, however jumper settings do not vary from version to version. SIO CABLE CONNECTION if you purchased the terminal block version, follow these steps to connect a cut ATARI SIO cable to the interface: Take a look at the photo above to see how to insert the wires of the cut ATARI SIO cable into the connectors of the terminal block. Note that the color of wires in an ATARI SIO cable may differ from cable to cable, however the standard Molex Connector colors are: Orange: SIO-3, Black: SIO-4, Green: SIO-5, Purple: SIO-7, and Blue: SIO-10 5|Page Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 We suggest that you double check your cable to verify that the colors do match the SIO pins on your ATARI computer; a malfunction/damage may result by inserting wrong wires into the terminal block. If you purchased your interface with an enclosure but without an Atari SIO cable, you will need to disassemble the enclosure to insert SIO wires into the terminal block. When re-assembling the box, first insert the DB9 end of the board into it’s opening with an angle, then ease the rest of the board gently into the box paying attention for a proper fit. Damage caused during disassembly/re-assembly of the interface is not covered by your warranty. See below for an illustration of the ATARI SIO Connector pin-outs (looking from behind the computer): Your device is tested prior to shipment and was in perfect working order when shipped. Some visual imperfections on the case and the assembly are normal as these devices are hand built and assembled, however functionality and the quality of the components is in no way compromised. If you take care of your device it will serve you for a long time with no problems. 6|Page Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION (AspeQt v0.8.8) Follow these simple steps to start using your interface with AspeQt v0.8.8 (steps are similar for other software): 1. Connect the SIO end of the interface to your Atari or to one of your Atari peripherals (disk drive, printer, 850 etc.). Make sure that the interface is at the end of the SIO daisychain as the last connected SIO device. 2. Make sure none of the physical disk drives attached to your Atari is configured as drive1. (See your disk drive manual for information on changing the drive number). The Atari boots only from drive-1 and in this case your SIO2PC board will act as your drive-1. If there is more than one drive configured as drive-1 in your daisy chain, problems will arise. 3. Connect the DB9 end of your SIO2PC interface to your PC using a straight through serial cable. Make note of the serial port you are using, i.e. COM1, COM2 etc. (If you purchased my external interface without an enclosure, and with a female DB9 connector, you can skip using a serial cable and insert the interface directly into the male DB9 port of your PC, you may need to remove the retainer nuts from one of the DB9 connectors for a proper fit). 4. With your ATARI turned off, start AspeQt. Once you’re on the AspeQt main window, click “Tools/Options”, 5. Under “Standard serial port backend options”, enter the COM port name to which your SIO2PC interface is connected, select “DSR” (or “RI” if you re-configured your board) for handshake method. 6. Select the “High Speed mode baud rate” from the drop down menu, or check the “Use non-standard speeds” checkbox to enter a “High speed mode POKEY divisor” for a custom baud rate. Note that SpartaDOS X v4.xx supports down to POKEY Divisor 3, and HIASSOFT’s High-Speed OS supports all the way down to POKEY Divisor 0 for maximum SIO Speeds. 7. Click Save to close the AspeQt Options Window and save your settings. You’re now ready to load a bootable disk image. Click to Number-1 emulated drive’s “Mount a Disk Image” button and select an .atr file to load into drive-1. 7|Page Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 This must be a bootable disk image file (a bootable Game, Application, or DOS disk image such as Atari DOS, SpartaDos etc...) 8. Now turn your Atari ON and it should start booting from emulated drive-1. 9. Congratulations, if everything went as expected your Atari should now be up and running. 10. If your Atari does not boot as expected, go through all of the above steps once again to double check that you haven’t missed anything, that your serial cable is connected to the correct COM port, then turn the ATARI OFF and back ON after waiting for about 10 seconds. If you still have trouble booting then you’ll have to isolate the source of the trouble. If you still cannot resolve the issue, refer to my SERVICE AND WARRANTY section at the end of the User Manual. 8|Page Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 INTERNAL INSTALLATION If you purchased your SIO2PC Interface for internal installation please follow the following steps to install it into your Atari computer. The steps and photos provided in this guide is for installation into an Atari 130XE, you may also be able to install this board into other ATARI models; however the board was designed to fit into a 65/130XE, and compatibility is only guaranteed with those computers. Installation into an 800XL is possible, with the board installed vertically rather than horizontally. (Atari 1200XL lacks the +5V power on pin # 10 of the SIO port, serial SIO2PC is designed to draw it’s power from this pin and therefore is not compatible with a stock 1200XL regardless of space requirements inside the cabinet. Having said that, if the space requirements are met, there is an easy fix for this problem; Find resistor R63, IIRC, towards the back of the PCB in the center, just to the right of transistor Q3 in the vicinity of the SIO port and replace that resistor with a jumper wire. You will now have +5v on SIO pin 10). The SIO2PC board dimensions are 1 6/8” (45mm) x 1 6/8” (45mm), so please make sure you have enough clearance and space for the board and for mounting the DB9 serial connector on the side or back wall of the cabinet before attempting to install it. If space is an issue, then I suggest you use the “External Version” of the board that comes with an SIO cable. Also note that the SIO2PC board shown on the photos may not look exactly the same as the one you received. This is due to the differences between different versions of the board, however the board dimensions are the same for all versions, only components and/or component positioning on the board may be different, so available space requirements are the same across different versions of the board. 9|Page Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 Below are some suggested/potential installation locations for an 800XL and XEGS (note that these are only suggestions, double-check the measurements before installation): Atari 800XL: 1. Suggested mounting location (vertically) 2. Potential mounting location (horizontally) Atari XEGS: 1. Suggested mounting location (horizontally) 10 | P a g e Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 SKILLS and TOOLS REQUIRED for the installation You will need some basic soldering and cutting skills to install this board. If you’re in doubt I suggest you get the help of a professional or somebody who has the required skills. Unless you use the services of a certified electronics professional you must accept the possibility and the responsibility of damaging the board and/or your computer, and release me from any liability whatsoever arising from such damage. I will not be able to issue a credit for the boards damaged during installation as they will not be covered by the warranty that’s included with the purchase of the board. TOOLS NEEDED a small Phillips screwdriver, a low wattage soldering iron (30 to 45 Watts) suitable for electronic circuit soldering, some resin core solder, a stamp pad, a coping saw or a Dremel tool for cutting a hole on the housing of the Atari for the DB9 connector, a drill and drill bits, a drafting lead pencil, a small piece of cardboard to isolate the solder side of the board from the metallic shield that covers the ATARI motherboard. 11 | P a g e Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 INSTALLATION STEPS 1. Remove the four screws from the bottom of the XE cabinet, 2. Lift the upper section of the cabinet to expose the metallic shield that covers the PCB board, 3. Carefully remove the flat keyboard ribbon from the keyboard connector, put the keyboard aside , 4. If you have a male DB9 connector on the interface then carefully grab the SIO2PC board from its edges, remove the two retainer hex nuts from the DB9 connector, and lightly press the connector against the stamp pad making sure you have ink all around the outer edge of the connector. 5. Point the DB9 end of the board towards the back of the cabinet (from inside, to the right of the SIO connector) making sure the right edge of the board fits flush with the side of the cabinet and is over the inside groove. I want to make an impression of the DB9 connector on the cabinet back wall. Push the board towards the back of the cabinet to make the impression. Do not press too hard and do not touch any of the electronic parts that are on the board. You may have to try this a few times to get a good 12 | P a g e Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 impression as the plastic material of the housing is rather hard. You can erase an imperfect impression with a piece of paper towel dampened with a bit of windows cleaning solution and try again. If you have a female DB9 connector you need to have a template made for a DB9 opening and use the template to draw an impression of the opening on the case. 6. The next step is to cut out the opening, to do this you may want to set the ATARI’s motherboard aside by removing the Phillips screws (around the edges of the PCB board) that are holding the motherboard against the bottom part of the housing. Now you have just the bottom part of the housing to work with. You can cut the opening using a coping saw. First you must drill a hole large enough inside the impression you made on the wall of the cabinet, then you must remove the blade from the coping saw and then pass it through the hole that has been drilled. The blade is then fitted to the coping saw frame. The saw can then be used in the normal way, cutting the opening by following the outer edges of the impression made. (Cut the opening slightly larger for a comfortable fit). Once you have the opening cut-out, try fitting the DB9 end of the board through the hole. It must fit comfortably without having to press hard. If you own a Dremel Tool cutting of the hole will be faster and easier. 7. While holding the board against the back wall, take a drafting pencil like the one shown on the picture, and extend the tip enough to reach the back wall of the cabinet through each retainer nut hole of the DB9 connector, and mark the holes for drilling. Drill the holes with the appropriate size drill bit. Refit the DB9 connector to the opening and install the retainer nuts from the outside of the back wall of the cabinet. Tighten them enough to hold the whole interface snug against the cabinet wall. 13 | P a g e Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 8. You must end up with something looking like this (with the exception of the metal frame I have behind the hex nuts. If you’d like to add a frame similar to the one shown on the picture, you can use a mounting bracket from an old PC serial port connector like this. You will need to do some measuring, cutting, filing and drilling to fit the bracket properly. I will not go into the details on how to do that here in this document as it is not necessary for the proper installation of my SIO2PC interface. Also, using a metal frame may adversely affect the ability of the female connector of the serial cable to make perfect contact with the male connector pins of the board due to added thickness, so use your best judgment here, or get it done by a professional). Also note that I have the Atari motherboard and the shield re-installed in this picture; however you will need to postpone reinstalling those pieces until after the wire soldering steps are completed. Here’s another view of the interface looking from above, again you will not have the motherboard and the shield re-installed at this stage of the installation. 14 | P a g e Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 9. Now, take your serial cable and insert one end into the DB9 male connector on the SIO2PC interface. It should go all the way in, if it doesn’t you may not have a good connection. If your cable has thumbscrews make sure that they will not prevent the connector from going all the way-in, if they do, you may need to remove them or simply not tighten them. 10. Note that if your board came with a terminal block, and you purchased the optional 5 wire flat ribbon cable skip to step 12. Otherwise take the 9 wire flat ribbon cable that came with your board and look at the picture on the left to identify loose wires at the end of the cable. 15 | P a g e Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 Now look at the following photo to identify and match the solid wires of the SIO connector in your Atari to the lose wires on the flat ribbon cable. Solder each wire as shown on the picture. Note that solid, curved Atari SIO connector wires 7, 5 and 3 are in the front row while 10 and 4 are on the back row. 11. The next step is to connect the flat ribbon cable to the board. Take a look at the photo on the left to determine how to insert the plugged end. Simply align number 1 pin of the header with the number 1 hole on the plug (the hole with the small arrow head pointing down). 16 | P a g e Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 12. If you have the terminal block version, follow these steps: Take a look at the following photo to determine how to insert the wires of the 5 wire flat ribbon cable into the connectors of the terminal block. The first wire has a red stripe or a red marking identifying wire number 1. I suggest you use that wire for SIO-5. Then solder the other end of the cable to your ATARI’s SIO port as shown of the following photo. 17 | P a g e Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 13. Finally, Re-install the motherboard and, slide a small piece of cardboard under the SIO2PC to prevent possible contact of the solder side with the metal shield of the Atari’s motherboard. You may want to use a small amount of glue to fix the cardboard to the metal shield. Congratulations. You are done with the installation. You can now re-install the keyboard and the upper section of the Atari’s cabinet and tighten the 4 screws you removed at the beginning of this installation. 14. Finally follow the steps in BOARD CONFIGURATION and SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION sections to start using your SIO2PC. 18 | P a g e Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez SIO2PC SERIAL INTERFACE OWNER’S MANUAL VERSION 1.06 SERVICE and WARRANTY SIO2PC boards purchased with an enclosure, toggle switch and a built-in SIO Cable come with a Lifetime Warranty against defects in material and workmanship. Bare boards or boards with an enclosure but without an attached SIO Cable don’t come with a warranty, but include a 1/2 hour free tech support (as detailed below). The warranty does not cover damage caused by misuse/neglect, disassembling/reassembling of the enclosure and only valid when a product failed due to defects in material or workmanship. Please keep your proof of purchase for your warranty claims. For free support check the Contact Me section below. If you have a problem with the product and I find that the cause of the problem is my interface, I will replace or repair it at my expense. CONTACT ME You can reach me through one of the several ways below: Email: Website: Facebook: Twitter: eBay ID: [email protected] www.atari8warez.com atari8warez atari8warez esellbuy The full, most recent User/Installation Manual for Atari8Warez SIO2PC interface can be downloaded from http://atari8warez.com/SIO2PCManual.pdf. 19 | P a g e Copyright© 2007-2014 Atari8Warez
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