Ian, found the intro you lost, reworded it a bit
Kind of jumped into the site rather rudely and just began posing
As I can't seem to post or write about anything less than a page or two, will keep this short and sweet [smilie=greencolorz4_pdt_07.gif]
If you don't like to read, just read this.
Hi. I'm just happy to be here after all the years!
Rustynutt came to me one day taking apart an old motorcycle. A very corroded bolt broke off, leaving me with a "rustynutt" in my hand.
The two "T's" come from nut already being used on hotmail, thus "rustynutt".
I am an Atari user, and am completely insane.
If you like torture, read on.
So here is the novel, if interested.
After an Army stint in 1975 at 18, and lots of experience with my uncle learning machining and metal working, started out in machine shops quickly taking interest in programming for Numerical Control machining equipment. Eventually managed to program longhand right from drawings via keypad, as opposed to punching paper tapes on flex writers. In a way it resembles assembly language, but control of the machine axis is more embedded as opposed to directly programming registers on a computer. Learned to automate functions and develop routines long before more advanced controllers actually included them as "canned" cycles, then later graphical menus making programming for those machines much easier for users.
On a memorable night in 1980, a coworker invited me over to see his mom's new TRS 80 Model III she used for accounting. Never before set behind a computer, stayed up until sunlight playing Zork, which is still an adventure embedded inside to this day. Think afterwords picked up a C64, remember loading programs from cassette tape. Mind is pretty fuzzy between HS and workforce, some JC courses in chemistry, videography, forestry technology, philosophy, anthropology (saw Mary Leakey and son Richard display the fossil fragments of Lucy in 1976). Honestly think it was a combination of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Illusions, Castaneda's Tales of Power, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and metaphysics which finally did me in those years.
In 1987, mom and I walked into a Federated (Fred Rated) to choose between a 1040ST ($1094.00) and Amiga 500. Don't remember at the time what swayed the choice, maybe it was the Time Works Desktop Publisher package she purchased along with me to inventory her 1000+ Avon bottle collection. Have had Atari Computers in the house ever since.
Not an experienced programmer, little experience with assembly, some basic. Heck, have trouble installed a full MiNT package.
Was a single parent since son turned three in 1986. He was raised on Atari. We at one time or another have or have had everything badged or made third party for Atari, sans some very obscure German hardware. Been on Genie, CompuServe forums, comp.sys.atari.st (don't hold that against me!), and BBS'ed everywhere. Remember when Steve Cohen announced the Barracuda in one of the RT forums and met Steve at one of the Sacramento Atari shows, and actually saw the Barracuda, we walked out to his car and pulled it from the trunk. Real Atari secret stuff! Don't have a copper phone line now, so BBS activity has been zilch, lot of good memories. Also have demoralized Peter Sinclap with the best of them (inside quip).
The past 20 years have acquired experience in CAD CAM environments, IR technologies, clean room operations, hydraulic systems, energetics, motion systems, the past 10 years troubling shooting and repair of hydraulic servo control amplifiers, analog electronics, just enough to get into trouble with a CT60. Basically a machinist-engineering-physical science-electronic-quality assurance-systems engineering-drafting-video/documentation technician. At least that's what the government underpaid me to do, until retiring this month.
With more time available, looking out to the future when getting out and about is much harder, want to build on experience with TOS and Clone based hardware functions, acquire more test equipment, build up a reserve of Atari specific hardware and obsolete chips to pass this hobby down to the son when he gets old and slow as well. Hobbying with the Atari platform was slow after 2004, pretty much came to a stop in 2006 while "courting" my wife in The Netherlands. Bouncing back and fourth on whom was going to move where, ( position being there are more Atarin's in Europe), she immigrated to the U.S in 2009 where we were married. Another factor, and don't know how you overseas deal with it, is the Euro/Pound. At 30 to 50% over the dollar, it's a crazy vacation there. Holland was a first trip outside the U.S., and expected the streets to second hand stores to be lined with gold and full of discarded Atari Falcons. Such was not the case [smilie=greencolorz4_pdt_05.gif]
Some current (and not so current) projects in no specific order:
Since 2003, have been studying the how the 68060 is implementation on a 68040 system. I'm not very bright.
Have read and re-read data sheets for years now. Have tested everything but what is right, with the test base so far an Afterburner.
Around 2006 purchased a Milan 040, sans the 060 adapter card. Have spent time on hack versions for the Afterburner using Apple accelerator cards and bread boards to adapt the 060 CPU. There is a large unknown, even if an adapter is correctly done that an 060 will boot on the Afterburner. With what was learned, am moving back to the Milan and focus efforts there. Once an 060 adapter is working on the Milan, the Afterburner is next in line for testing. Within 2 months hope to have the PCB's finished to test on the Milan. No more jumping 50 wires on a board. Hope to ping Rudolph's brain about how the CT60 handles the IPL signals within it's logic. Uwe ran the signals through a multiplexer controlled by the reset signal. Getting close.
Complete installation of at least one CT60 (and CT63). Purchased these around 2003 or 04, however am very happy with the Afterburner/Expose/Nova/Nemesis setup, so they have sat all this time. The shining light to this story is dml came back to the scene
If a machine does not run Apex Media and function with Expose, then what's the use? Doug can fix anything, and make it better too! [smilie=greencolorz4_pdt_01.gif] Have been buying up older Extron analog RGB video encoders, and keeping with tradition, expand the working tape and DVD video recording systems on the bench. Apex and Expose will be one of two center pieces, with a P4 and ATI AIW 9800 NTSC/PAL capture cards and converting software for the big jobs. With the Extron units, will be able to capture RGB from most any source direct into the Expose, bypassing the troublesome splitter. When the CatBox first came out for the Jaguar, son tried this with excellent results.
Aside from the Afterburner (Wizztronics case) Falcon, sold a beloved Mighty Sonic and spare NOVA adapter last year. Thinking now it was a mistake, but then again a chance for other Falcon users to enjoy the "experience". The old Mighty Sonic main board was stripped, all solders reworked back to stock, dipped in a ultrasonic tank of liquid Freon and stored this past year. This week started to installed the CT60, and did something very careless. Let some smoke escape, taking a few days to find the hole and put new smoke back in. Have a couple of caps and diodes left to replace, was going to do that tonight, but decided this needed to be wrote to bog down the message board first.
Have a third Falcon just picked up. Have sold three nice stock ones the past three years to avoid temptation taking them down in the hopes they stay that way, or giving a new user a chance at the hobby without having to second guess what they have. Last one out the door was a beautiful machine, with only a Wizztronics memory card and Cubase Audio 16 w/ dongles. The guy was a musician, and had wanted a Falcon set up forever he said, so feel good about it. Anyway, this latest "third" Falcon looked a bit used on the outside, and was curious as to what was under the cover. Very nice shape, all shielding in place, motherboard looked new, not even a clock buffer mod, missing the hard disk. Digging a bit more, could see a card on the expansion pins. Turned out to be a GE Soft Eagle Sonic 030, as well as a Falcon Wing memory card. First thought was to attempt to overclock the 030, install a buffer, overclock the DSP.....put a Wizztronics memory card in with 16mb, a Toshiba 2.5" and closed it up. Proud of myself!
Also have enough connectors and IC's to install an SVHS out from the MC1377P on the Falcon for 10 units. Just need to finish assembly.
Reading up on the DSP56303 pondering over a 100MHz DSP for the Falcon. Object code compatible with the DSP56000, as is the package but pin-outs are different. A bit beyond my understanding now, thought is a small DSP PCB would fit nicely between the CT60 and SuperVidel. Haven't looked yet to see if the expansion bus has the necessary I/O's, if the DSP56K can be disabled as the 030 is on the Falcon, or if Rodolph "allows" it
He doesn't like components mounted atop the CT60 from what I can tell, other than the SuperVidel. My use would be increased DSP processing for Apex, JPEG DSP loader improvement and the few other graphical applications that utilize it. Maybe the CT60 can match or top the processing speed of the DSP, but if Apex cannot be modified to run native on the CT60, the upgrade makes sense to me. While Apex may get patched to run on the CT60, think it would take a huge effort to rewrite the DSP utilization within the application. Then dml has done some pretty fantastic coding.
Want to find or machine a PLCC to PGA for the 68882, or build a daughter card to go with the Eagle Sonic on the expansion bus. No sense wasting that much trace runs.
Why can't ST RAM be hardware mapped to the expansion bus and located there? The bus bar could be used as a handle to carry the Falcon.
Mysteries of the Universe.
Oh yea, have a 5 1/4" floppy disk set of Digital Research's GEM. Ran it on a Sperry years ago. Can we do anything with that? [smilie=greencolorz4_pdt_01.gif]
1040STf's
Mega ST4
Mega STE4
Jag's
Falcon's
Milan
Afterburners
Wizztronics Rack & stuff
CT60's
PAK 020
Expose's
SCSI Ethernet
DEKA's
Link
5 1/4" ST floppy
Unopened boxes
Some Mac CPU's
Cat's name Lars (Maine Coon) after Lars Larson famous Swedish Motocross racer.
Two dogs, Tipper (Lab/Bloodhound and Highway (Belgium Sheppard/Chow)
Some rabbits, snakes, and cool Hawks.
A Thrift Store Apple Performa 466 030 33MHz that is just dying to be hacked.
Then there is vintage motocross, but that's a slightly longer introduction.
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I like many other people appreciate the good things of the present and the past! 
