A few good cards picked up

- 1983 Donruss Lee Smith (Cubs) - HoF

- 1993 Topps Ryne Sandberg - All Star Card (Cubs) - HoF

- 1989 Donruss Carlton Fisk (White Sox) -  HoF

- 1987 Dwight Goodwin (Mets) - 

Rock/Mineral/Crystal mining in Kentucky again

We went Rock/Mineral/Crystal mining a couple times more in Kentucky again.  We found lots of sea fossil again like various plant and shells, but this time we also found coral.  Below are a few pieces that we found.

Yes, we had found some coral before, but this time we found a lot of coral fossils, and some types we don't normally find. These larger ugly red rocks are coral fossilized with calcite, quartz, and iron.  Looks ugly until you shine UV on it.  The Calcite becomes excited and glows neon red.  Another type of coral fossil we had not found in a while is the horned coral.

More and more dice.

 My dice collection has really become quite large now.  It is one of those things I don't have to try that hard to acquire as people like buying me dice.   The interesting thing about collecting dice and collecting crystals is that the two hobbies have collided.  Collided that I need my own storage for dice made out of crystals/rock/minerals.  This weekend I gained 9 more sets.  All because I publicly stated I thought it would be great if more would manufacture dice made from crystals. Of course many told me that was a horrible idea.... but, really nobody in their right mind would actually use them in a game.

The main takeaway though is that the price has really gone down and the manufacturing processes has become more streamline. 

So this weekend I got dice made out of the following:

- 2 sets of Lapis Lazuli

- Rhodolite

- Lepidolite

- Moss Agate (much different than my other Agate dice)

- Strawberry Quartz

- Tiger Eye (my favorite)

- Dragon Blood

- Blood Stone

Ya gotta admit that Dragon Blood and Blood Store are perfect for making dice from.

So what I think I'm going to do is make a video of all my crystal/mineral based dice and post soon.

Now that I have the 400

 Now that I have the Atari THE400 mini, overall I am pleased with it.  Playing Time Pilot allows me to tweak the game that Altirra was not to get the best experience for my monitor.  The fact that it keeps the setting separate for each game is awesome and remember when you go back to each game.

The CX-stick was a little frustrating for me playing Donkey Kong. Mostly with the use of ladders. But possibly a me issue.  With Altirra, I was playing using the keyboard.  On the other hand I play a lot of Berzerk on the 2600 with the standard CX Joystick.  Again, the stick did not give me the same play. The Atari computer line Berzerk appears to be a much better version of the game than the 2600 (which is great), but if I'm having trouble aiming my shots, it is a little frustrating.  With those complaints out of the way the CX-stick makes a great control device for navigating the system

I tried to use the PlayStation Mini USB controller, but did not have much luck.  I also tried to use the Hyperkin Trooper 2 Premium USB joystick, also not much luck.

I noticed that this is running Linux with a nice shell that allows you to run the 6502 Atari platform.  I think if we give it enough time, the community will find great ways to make the most out of this device.

One day after the order opening and my serial # is 2369

Atari THE400 mini secrets

1 - There are more than 25 games installed

2 - more hardware secret with controllers

So how many easter eggs will people find?  How long till this is completely hacked?

By the way, tomorrow is opening day!

Ranking Atari Arcade ports - Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong for 2600 receives 3.5 out of 5 stars

Only two levels of the four were included as only a 4k cartridge was made by Coleco. 

The game has primitive graphics and the system was capable of better graphics.  Really, I can let most of the graphics slide, but the Donkey Kong ape is given no effort at all. 

Despite the horribly drawn ape, the game play does stay fairly true.  The game feels like Donkey Kong.

Several unofficial modern versions of 2600 Donkey Kong have show what this game could have been - and it is a whole lot more than this.  But expectations were much lower for the 2600 when this was released.

Donkey Kong was not made for the Atari 5200  

Donkey Kong for the Atari 8-bit systems receives 4 out of 5 stars

The 8 bit version of Donkey Kong is a huge improvement over the 2600.  The game looks very much more like the arcade version and this has all 4 level screens.  Many more details are added from the arcade version.  Noticeable is the fact that there is one less of the platform girder beams (6 instead of 7) and Donkey Kong is on the right side instead of the left - even the 2600 got those two details correct.

On the other hand, the sound is really good and there are the cut scenes.  This version tries to stay true in many ways.

Donkey Kong for the Atari 7800 receives 4 out of 5 stars

This version adds all the visual details the Atari 8-bit couldn't like the barrel detail as they roll down ladders and characters that most closely resemble the arcade.  Also has the same amount of girder beams as the arcade version.  So why does the 7800 only get 4 out of 5 stars also?  There are only 3 level screens instead of 4 and the sound is sub par to other versions.   

Conclusion.  All three games are great and a lot of fun, but I would rather play the Atari 8-bit or 7800 over the 2600.

In 2018, Playsoft re-released Donkey Kong for the 8-bit Atari computers.  This version improved the graphics greatly - I think making this the one to get for the 8-bit and helping edge out the 7800 version.

[Image credit indieretronews.com]

 

Archibald Gibson

FDB ID 000073

Name = Archibald Gibson
  Sex = M
  Birth = -- --- 1763
  Death = -- --- 1855
  Note: died at age 92 on his farm in Wilson TN

Marriages:
Archibald Gibson and
   Frances "Fanny" [Moseley Gibson] Eddings married
   on 30 Nov 1823 at
   --, Wilson, TN

Children:
Name =  George E Gibson
  Sex = M
  Birth = 16 Feb 1824
  Death = 29 Jun 1904
  
Name =  Joseph Carroll Gibson
  Sex = M
  Birth = 22 Feb 1815
  Death = 09 Aug 1862
  
Name =  Unknown Gibson
  Sex = F
  
Name =  Unknown Gibson
  Sex = F

At the geek store

Finally picked myself up a keypad for Atari Systems.  I have been wanting one of these for some time. $10 felt like a fair price for one in good condition.  I was also looking at an Atari 800.  Didn't get it as I could not get a view of the mother board and was not sure what year and batch it was made.  Likely the $200 asking price was fair, but hard to justify.

I did manage to get this phot from the board from underneath 

 

Diamond GOS 3.0 for Atari 8bit MOS 6502

 Yesterday, downloaded Diamond GOS 1.0, today trying out Diamond GOS 3.0 for Atari 8bit MOS

Diamond GOS Desktop for Atari 8bit Computers

This was an incredible option for software that was geared for the upper capable Atari MOS 8-bit line.  This came out in 1989, but I'm running this for the first time in my life :) We will see if this will run on the new Atari "THE400" mini coming out this month.

 

Virtual keyboard on Atari's THE400 mini

I was very curious after reading the online manual that is currently shared on atari.com about a virtual keyboard for the Atari THE400 mini. To activate the virtual keyboard, the Home and Menu buttons are to be pressed at the same time. To my surprise someone was able to provide a screenshot of this functionality. I believe this person is either a hardware tester for Retro Games or he is an employee for Retro Games.


I love the fact the the virtual keyboard is Atari 400 themed.

Also on this screenshoot, you can see one the high-res frame/border/bezel that is provided with the Atari THE400 mini.

Bill Mounce's Blog

I'm just going to promote another blog today.

https://www.billmounce.com/blogs

Always great information here. I highly recommend. That's all, carry on :)

More information concerning the CX-Stick

This just came out, a diagram of the new CX-Stick for the Atari THE400 mini.

What is powering "THE400"?

What is powering "The400" mini? Atari's website (https://atari.com/products/atari-400-mini-1) has the new Atari "The400" mini computer having an "Allwinner H3" CPU. This is something I don't think most are familiar with.

Allwinner H3 is actually an ARM platform that features an ARM Quad-Core Cortex-A7 CPU and an ARM Mali400 MP2 GPU.

Lets break that down:

CPU
-  ARM Cortex-A7 Quad-Core that runs at 1.296 GHz
   Has a 64-bit load-store path
   Also has 128-bit AMBA 4 AXI buses

-  512KB L2-Cache (shared between four cores)
   This Integrated L2 cache is designed for low power
   32 KB (Instruction) / 32KiB (Data) L1-Cache per core
 
-  Large Physical Address Extensions (LPAE) 1TB


GPU
  ARM Mali400 MP2 600 Mhz
  Featuring 1 vertex shader (GP) and 2 fragment shaders (PP).
  Complies with OpenGL ES 2.0

What this makes me wonder is how powerful is this setup and will someone be able to hack this to also run software Atari ST computers. What about running Linux? What all can this little box do?

The new USB CXstick

Here is the configuration of all the buttons that are on the new joystick for the Atari The400 mini computer. This comes with the computer and can be purchased seperately on Atari.com or Amazon.

That looks to me like 8 buttons total on one joystick. When I do recieve the hardware, I will try and test serveral non atari and very different USB contolers on the 400 mini.

All 25 of the games - Atari's THE400 mini

The internet has been trying to piece this together for a while, now there are many sources that believe these are the 25 games that will be bundled with The400 mini by Atari and Retro Games.

Here’s the list of 25 games:

Airball

Asteroids

Basketball

Battlezone

Berzerk

Boulder Dash

Bristles

Capture the Flag

Centipede

Crystal Castles

Elektraglide

Encounter!

Flip and Flop

Henry’s House

Hover Bovver

Lee (aka, Bruce Lee)

M.U.L.E.

Millipede

Miner 2049er

Missile Command

O’Riley’s Mine

Star Raiders II

The Seven Cities of Gold

Wavy Navy

Yoomp!

ComSIPL has a "working" XMPP to SIP gateway server now

 

This new server "xmpp_s" allows XMPP (Jabber clients) to send messages to SIP clients.  Below is a screenshot of a Pidgin Jabber client logging on and registering to the xmpp_s gateway.

ComSIPL fix

I just released COMSIPL 0.8.8 that squashes the really annoying subscription update bug for client presence. I was really making the check more complicated than need be. The fix was reducing this if statement check to this:

  if (strcmp(watcher_dn[loop], watcher_dn[numOfWatchers])==0 && 
      strcmp(watching_dn[loop],watching_dn[numOfWatchers])==0 &&   
      strcmp(watcher_ip[loop], watcher_ip[numOfWatchers])==0 ){

The logic finds the previous subscription(s), but does not step on the current subscription that was just written, then marking the matching row values:

watcher's DN

watching DN

watcher's client ID

watcher's tag

watcher's IP
as "expired"

There is still a lot to do with Presence and expanding the functionality to fit more clients. Also want to clean up the admin interface a lot more.

Atari post in threes

I'm making an Atari resouce and Fanboy page: http://mrgibson.com/atari/
The page will likely have history, technical, and programming information for the Atari MOS computers and gamimg systems.

Atari computers

I find it interesting that Atari started in 1979 ahead of the technical game and ended the computer making business in 1993 - technically ahead of the game, but nobody cared because Intel/IBM compatible computers were where it was at. Of course Atari was making top of the line Intel/IBM computers, but nobody noticed - or cared.

Here is Atari's computer manufacturing [timeline].  

The last of the ST computer, Atari Falcon030, was by far the most capable.   Separating the computer from the 'ST' name was not enough and Atari as a computer manufacture was not being taken serious. 

Just some thoughts.

Atari Mini

Yes, I have already prepaid for the new Atari "THE400 mini". I did so as soon as I could. Why would I be so eager to purchase this little tiny device (other than I have become an Atari everything fanboy)? First and formost, The 400 mini will run software created for all of the Atari MOS 6502 computers with all the formats. Let me list the Atari devices out that his will run the software for:

Atari 400 and 800

Atari 5200

Atari 1200XL, 600XL, and 800XL

Atari 65XE, 130XE, adn 800XE

Atari XEGS

What does the 400 mini look like? It looks like the original Atari 400 from 1979.

Original 1979 Atari 400	New 2024 Atari THE400 mini

What are the hardware specs for the Atari mini?

H3 CPU

RAM 256MB; FLASH: 128MB

5 USB ports for game controlers, drives, keyboards, and what ever else.

HDMI output
Unlike many other mini consoles, this one makes it easy to run your own atari software via USB.

Don't own any Atari software, 25 games are included...like

Berzerk

Boulder Dash

Capture the Flag

Lee

Millipede

Miner 2049er

Missile Command

M.U.L.E

Star Raiders II

Yoomp!

Battle Zone

Air Ball

Crystal Castles

Elektra Glide

Henry's House

Seven Cities of Gold

Yep, we only know of 16 of the 25 games so far. Since the Atari MOS 6502 8-bit CPU systems are really good gaming systems - This mini also includes a CX-40 like USB joystick. I hear that is of good quality. They are also touting that many other USB controllers work too.

A table I have compiled.

I compiled a mineral table that is a little different than anything I have found on the web.  

Hopefully someone will find this useful:

http://mrgibson.com/rock_spar_min/Catalog_Note.php?view=0

The table is arranged by Mohl's hardness scale.   Note:  I do realize it is still far from complete and formulas can be made better .

differentiating purple Amethyst and purple Fluorite.

Sometimes rough purple fluorite and quartz Amethyst look a lot a like.  I have pieces that visually, it is very hard tell the difference. In fact, sometimes identifying the mineral and its core is quite challenging and near impossible for some individuals in the market looking to purchase the stones.  Especially if the Fluorite or Quartz Amethyst is not showing the natural cleavage or have not been cut and/or polished into shapes.  For example, both can be the same color with the same variance in lightness/darkness of color. But the two minerals are very different. Fluorite's chemical formula is CaF2, meaning the mineral is composed of Fluorine and Calcium in equal amounts. Quartz's chemical formula is SiO2.

If cut and polished into shapes though, differences may become even harder to tell visually.

Quartz and fluorite also naturally glows under ultraviolet (UV) light. UV light will only show they are real crystals, not specify which type they are.  So, if you’re questioning the authenticity of your crystal, stick it under a blacklight. The electrons in the crystals will naturally react to the UV light, giving off a fluorescent glow. If there’s no glow, the crystal is most likely fake.

Note:  different crystal of the same type will glow at different UV spectrums.  In fact, one crystal may glow one color at one UV spectrum and glow a different color at another.

How do you test Fluorite and Quartz?

In general, both can be tested by checking: 

• luster/shine
• how soluble with water
• hardness

What are the differences?

Is crystal shiny or dull? Raw, untreated Fluorite is dull, but can be polished to a shine. Quartz is a naturally shiny.  But Fluorite can be easily shined.

Does the crystal dissolve in water? Fluorite will dissolve very slowly in water, but it can be submerged for a small amount of time. At room temperatures quartz is practically insoluble in water and the dissolution process in water is extremely slow, so there is no need to worry about quartz crystals being damaged by repeated cleaning.

Does the crystal scratch easily? Fluorite is a soft crystal, so it scratches easily. Quartz is much harder than Fluorite. The surface of real fluorite has a lot of tiny scratches due to its low hardness. It has a hardness rating of 4 on the Mohs hardness scale - Fluorite easily fractures. Amethyst rates a 7 on the Mohs scale and has good toughness.  Amethyst should be able to scratch metals and glass.