- REPRINT
- PORTLAND ATARI CLUB
- SEPTEMBER 1985
- AUTHOR: MIKE FULTON
- SUBHEADINGS & GRAPHICS ADDED BY ATARI BASICS
PAC Editor’s Note: This review is from the July 1985 issue of OrnJuce, the official newsletter of the Atari Computer Association of Orange County.)
When I got my Atari 130XE, I wanted to get an Omnimon/Omniview for it as soon as possible. For those who don’t know, Omnimon is a resident machine monitor, an extremely valuable tool if you do Assembly language programming. Omniview gives you an 80-column display by drawing the characters in graphics mode 8. They come on read only memory (ROM) chips which are installed permanently in your computer, where they are always available to you. Well, I’ve not yet got the Omnimon, but I recently got the Omniview XE, from Cal Com and CDY Consulting. My thanks to Roger Hillman from Cal Com (714 994-2678) for the opportunity to review the Omniview XE.
Omniview XE generates an 80-column display via software instead of hardware. This can be used with almost everything that uses a standard 40-column display, such as BASIC, BASIC XL, BASIC XE, Mac/65, and so on. There are even specially modified versions of the Letter Perfect word processor and the Data Perfect database manager program which work with Omniview XE to give you an 80-column display. No spreadsheet yet, but I’m still hoping!
There are several ways to get into 80-columns, and all are quite easy to use. The easiest way is to just type a Control-A, and then hit the Reset key, but this can’t work with programs that are not reset-proof. However, if you can’t get around that problem, then you probably can’t use the program in 80-columns anyway. You can even change the screen colors by pressing Start-Reset. This way you can get the best combination on the display you are using.
In all respects, the 80-column feature of Omniview XE seems to work identically with the Omniview enhancement for my Omnimon in my 800, except for being able to get to 80-columns with the Control-A/Reset key press. It might be my imagination, but it seems as though Omniview XE prints a bit faster than the Omniview in my Atari 800, so perhaps the routines have been improved a bit.
The 80-column display is hard to read if you are using a normal color television, so if you will use it often, I recommend that you use a monochrome or high quality color monitor. If you opt for the color monitor, if it’s possible, use the separated chroma and luminance outputs instead of the composite output, as it will give a sharper picture. A good black and white television is also quite acceptable.
Besides the 80-column display, Omniview XE also has built-in Ramdisk handlers which take the extra 64K of an Atari 130XE and fools DOS into thinking that it is a disk drive. The real trick here is that you don’t have to use only a certain DOS to use this. You can use Dos XL, or Smartdos, or MYDOS, or whatever you want. The Ramdisk handlers can be used with virtually any DOS whatsoever.
The usual way of activating the Ramdisk handlers is to press the key of the drive number that you want the Ramdisk to be and hit Start-Reset. If you want the Ramdisk to be drive four, then you type a 4, then hit Start-Reset.
One drawback to using the Ramdisk handlers is that after you activate them, you still have to format the Ramdisk using DOS. When you do this, instead of showing that the Ramdisk has 499 free sectors, it shows 707 free sectors. Unless you are careful, you could get disk errors when trying to write to non-existent Ramdisk sectors. I’m working on a program that will initialize the handlers and format the Ramdisk, and then change the Ramdisk VTOC so that it shows only 499 free sectors.
Once installed, the Ramdisk operates extremely fast. For those people with only one disk drive who do a lot of programming, the speed and convenience of the Ramdisk is reason enough to buy the Omniview XE. Even if you have more than one drive, the extra speed of a Ramdisk makes life much easier.
Another feature of Omniview XE is Newell’s Fastchip. The Fastchip is a replacement for the floating point ROM in the Atari, and is considerably faster with most routines. This means that even good old Atari BASIC gets speed up, since it uses the floating point routines for almost everything, including figuring line numbers. Programs written in BASIC that have a lot of GOTO and GOSUB statements, or For/Next loops, will be speeded up quite noticeably. For some functions, the Fastchip routines are almost four times faster than the regular Atari floating point routines! Combined with BASIC XE, a 130XE with the Fastchip can give an IBM PC with its BASIC a run for the money!
The last, although certainly not least, feature of Omniview XE is the OCS operating system. As you probably know, the XE and XL series computer use a different operating system program than the old 400/800 series. A few programmers took short cuts that they shouldn’t have, using entry points into routines that were not guaranteed not to change, and as a result, some programs that work fine on the 400/800 won’t work on an XL and XE.
Atari’s solution to this is the Translator disk. This disk loads the old 400/800 operating system into an XL or XE. This works, but has a lot of problems. For example, you have to run it every time before using an incompatible program, which is time consuming. Also, it does not work properly with some programs because the reset key does not work the same, and so on.
Cal Com’s solution to the problem is a bit different. Instead of a disk that needs to be loaded every time, they have included the OCS operating system on the same chip as the Omniview XE. This operating system is far closer to the original 400/800 operating system, and will allow you to run incompatible software without first booting the Translator disk. The various entry points were kept the same as the 400/800 operating system, even the ones that some programs illegally used. So far, out of all the programs I’ve tried, I’ve seen only one program that will not work with the OCS, and that’s the new SpartaDos Construction Set. Some programs which can use the extra memory under the operating system may be fooled into thinking that your 130XE is an 800, however. PaperClip can use the memory under the operating system, but when using the OCS, it thinks it’s on an 800.
At any rate, you don’t have to give up the original operating system in your 130XE. You can, when you install it, wire a switch on the chip socket which holds the Omniview XE. This provides you with a choice of operating systems at the flip of a switch. One way, you have the OCS, with Ramdisk handlers, Fast chip, 80-column display, and compatibility with older programs, and the other way you can have the regular 130XE operating system.
Another feature the OCS has is the ability to copy the operating system from ROM (Read Only Memory) into RAM (Random Access Memory). This way, even the programs (like Electronic Arts) that check for ROM at the $C000 part of memory will run. This also gives you an extra 4K of memory at the $C000 range, but no Omniview, since it is in the $C000 range of ROM. The extra memory can be used by programs like VisiCalc, or SynFile+, or even to store routines and data for BASIC programs.
One other feature of the OCS that I particularly like is this: instead of holding down the Option key during power-up to get rid of the built-in BASIC, you hold down the Option key to get the built-in BASIC! Since I don’t usually use the built-in BASIC, this is much more convenient. Another nice touch is that in order to stop the screen from scrolling, instead of Control-1, you now can use the Help key! While this is a bit hard to get used to at first, in time you may find it to be much easier.
ATR-8000 owners will be glad to know that there is a built-in terminal emulator for using with CP/M. You first get into 80-column mode, then just hit Start-Select-Option all together, hold them down, and hit any key on the keyboard. Your drives will reset and the ATRMON header will appear. Type in “B” (return) and you will be in CP/M before you know it! There are other nice features of ATRMON which are described in the documentation.
Because of all the extra features that had to be crammed into a small 16K area, something had to be left behind. However, I don’t think too many people will cry when I tell you that something was the cassette handler. In order to be able to have extras like the ATRMON and Ramdisk handlers, space had to be made somewhere. I don’t think that too many people will miss this.
The installation is explained fairly well. The 130XE is very uncluttered inside to begin with, so getting to where you install the chip is easy. However, the chips in the XE series are soldered in place instead of being in sockets, so I suggest that you get the Omniview XE installed when you buy it. That way, you are spared any headaches. One thing that the installation instructions don’t mention is how to hook up the switch to allow you to choose between operating systems, but this will be added to the documentation soon. Bear in mind, this kind of modification to your computer will void the warranty, regardless of who installs it. You may want to wait until the warranty expires to make the addition.
The documentation clearly describes how to use the various features of the Omniview XE and OCS. There are instructions for modifying various versions of Data and Letter Perfect to make them work with Omniview XE, but this should be done by someone who knows how to use a sector editor. One thing I’d like to see added, however, is a list of legal entry points into routines for setting up the Ramdisk, and doing various things in the 80-column mode.
All in all, with a price of only $59.95, the Omniview XE with the OCS operating system and the Fast chip is nothing short of a bargain. The features are all very easy to access. The compatibility with older programs that you can alone is worth the price. Personally, I found it a pain to have to boot the translator disk every time I wanted to use an incompatible program with the XE. Now, I just flip a switch! Actually, even that isn’t usually necessary, since it is almost always set to the Omniview XE and OCS in the first place! Also, after using one for so long, I don’t think I could function without an 80-column word processor. Omniview XE lets me use the same version of Letter Perfect on both computers, not to mention Data Perfect. I hope that more commercial software will start taking advantage of the Omniview XE. It would be nice to see an 80-column SynCalc or SynFile+ that could also use the extra memory! Or perhaps a new version of Letter Perfect that can use the extra memory might appear.
PHOTO CREDITS:
Motherboard with chips by philipj
Omniview XL/XE Manual on Internet Archive
Diagram created by ChatGPT for Atari Basics
Piggyback chips (3 photos) by hueyjones70