Warner Communications Atari PLATOTERM User manual

TABLE OF CONTENTS
HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL ................................................ ii
I. GENERAL DESCRIPTION ...................................................... 1
II. OPERATION ....................................................................... 2
III. USER CONTROLS .............................................................. 6
IV. AN EXAMPLE SESSION .................................................... 10
A. EXAMPLE SETUP .............................................................. 22
i

HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL
The PLATOTERM Manual has been structured for two levels of users.
The new user will find PLATOTERM explained in well-defined termi-
nology and step by step instruction, while the experienced user will
find what they need to use PLATOTERM to access PLATO on-line
services quickly and efficiently.
For both levels, explanations are followed by graphics wherever pos-
sible. The intention is to present the material in the clearest, most
concise way possible for users at each level.
ii

I.GENERAL DESCRIPTION
PLATOTERM is a cartridge which provides the software necessary to
send and receive data to PLATO services located on remote comput-
ers, connected via the Internet. To connect the ATARI® computer to
the Internet, an Internet MODEM is required, which simultaneously
connects the ATARI® to the Internet, and appears to the ATARI® like
a MODEM. A wide variety of devices can be used to perform this
function, and the chapter on MODEM set-up will provide examples
of what can be used, and how to connect it all together.
PLATO services provide not only textual information, but also graph-
ical information, and the ability to point and click on textual and
graphical elements on-screen. PLATOTERM interprets the informa-
tion received from the MODEM and presents it on your ATARI®
screen, while simultaneously gathering any and all input from your
ATARI® keyboard and pointing device; sending it back to the PLATO
system for further processing and interaction.
In addition to the ATARI® keyboard, you may also use a joystick,
touch tablet, TRAK-Ball, or mouse to act as a pointer device. When
you receive a copy of PLATOTERM, the desired touch device is pre-
programmed into the ROM inside your cartridge.
PLATOTERM supports any serial device that provides an "R:" to the
operating system. This includes the ATARI® 850™, ICD® P:R: Con-
nection™, and R-Verter interface. To facilitate this, the cartridge will
load any disk operating system from the first disk drive, allowing any
"R:" handler desired to be loaded.
1

II.OPERATION
This cartridge runs on any ATARI® 400™, ATARI® 800™, ATARI®
600XL™, ATARI® 800XL™, ATARI® 1200XL™, ATARI® 1400XL™,
ATARI® 1450XLD™, ATARI® 65XE™, ATARI® 130XE™, ATARI®
800XE™, ATARI® XE Game System™, or compatible system.
To use, insert the cartridge into your computer. For ATARI® 800™
systems, use the LEFT CARTRIDGE slot. Be sure the POWER ON/OFF
switch on the console is turned on. The ATARI® 400™ and ATARI®
800™ consoles automatically shut off whenever the cartridge door is
lifted. This prevents damage to the computer and the cartridge. If you
need a special disk handler (such as for R-Verter or another interface
that provides an "R:" handler), then turn on the disk drive, and insert a
bootable DOS disk containing the desired handler, before powering
on the computer.
This version of PLATOTERM is set to the following terminal parame-
ters:
• 1200 baud
• no parity
• 8 data bits
• 1 stop bit
2

OPERATION
Important
If your MODEM is set to different communication parame-
ters, be sure to set your MODEM configuration parameters
in the appropriate setup program, before launching PLA-
TOTERM.
Use the following procedure to connect to a PLATO™ service:
1. If an ATARI® 810™, ATARI® 1050™, ATARI® XF-551, or com-
patible drive is attached, insert a DOS diskette with an appropriate
"R:" handler in the drive. The ATARI® MASTER DISKETTE II con-
tains such a handler, which will automatically load, when booted
3

OPERATION
2. Switch the ATARI® 850™ Interface Module (or compatible device)
power to ON.
3. Switch your MODEM power to ON.
4. Switch the ATARI® computer power to ON. Wait for 1200 Baud.
Terminal Ready. to appear.
4

OPERATION
5. Enter any commands you need, before you dial, such as ATB2, if
running APE, or AT&K0&C1 if using TCPSER.
6. Enter your MODEM's command to dial, such as ATDTIRATA.ON-
LINE:8005. Wait for the connect message.
7. Follow the prompts to log on to the system.
8. Use the system.
9. When done. Press SHIFT-CONTROL-S, twice, to log off.
10.Send any commands to your modem, to hang up, such as +++ATH
RETURN
11.If desired, press SELECT-X to exit the cartridge, to DOS.
5

III.USER CONTROLS
PLATOTERM's controls are very simple to use. There are three main
keys which alter the operation of the program:
KEYS FUNCTION
SELECT T Selects TTY mode. All incoming data is simply dis-
played as ASCII text, with no parsing of incoming
information, All keys are also sent as ASCII keys.
The program, by default starts in this mode. This
can be used if you are in PLATO mode, and need
to send a command to your MODEM.
SELECT P Selects PLATO mode. All incoming data is inter-
preted as PLATO data. This can be used if you
are already connected to the PLATO service when
PLATOTERM starts.
SELECT X Exits PLATOTERM. If the computer was booted
from the disk drive, it will return to DOS. Other-
wise, the computer will default to either the MEMO
PAD mode for the ATARI® 400™ and ATARI®
800™ systems, to the ATARI® logo display for the
ATARI® 1200XL™ system, or to the SELF TEST for
all other compatible computers.
PLATOTERM maps the keys from the PLATO system into appropriate
keys on the ATARI® console keyboard, as shown in the following
diagram:
6

USER CONTROLS
The CTRL key is used to press the special PLATO keys, described
below:
PLATO Key ATARI® KEY
ANS CTRL A
BACK CTRL B
SHIFT-BACK CTRL +
COPY CTRL C
SHIFT-COPY CTRL -
DATA CTRL D
SHIFT-DATA CTRL *
EDIT CTRL E
SHIFT-EDIT SHIFT CTRL E
FONT CTRL F
DIVIDE CTRL G
HELP CTRL H
SHIFT-HELP SHIFT CTRL H
7

USER CONTROLS
PLATO Key ATARI® KEY
LAB CTRL L
SHIFT-LAB CTRL =
SUPER CTRL P
SHIFT-SUPER SHIFT CTRL P
SQUARE CTRL Q
ACCESS SHIFT CTRL Q
STOP CTRL S
SHIFT STOP SHIFT CTRL S
TERM CTRL T
MULTIPLY CTRL X
SUB CTRL Y
SHIFT-SUB SHIFT CTRL Y
∩SHIFT CTRL G
∪SHIFT CTRL 9
In addition to the PLATO control keys above, you can type the fol-
lowing additional characters by pressing SHIFT CTRL Q, which sends
the ACCESS key, followed by the desired key below.
SYMBOL ACCESS SYMBOL ACCESS
αAlow tilde :
βB↕,
¸C≠=
8

USER CONTROLS
SYMBOL ACCESS SYMBOL ACCESS
δDöY
´E←SHIFT A
æG↓SHIFT X
øH→SHIFT D
åJ↑SHIFT W
äK©SHIFT C
λL◆SHIFT F
μMÆSHIFT G
~NØSHIFT H
˚OÅSHIFT J
πPÄSHIFT K
`QBOX SHIFT O
ρRÖSHIFT Y
σS≤SHIFT <
ΘT≥SHIFT >
¨U{SHIFT [
ˇV}SHIFT ]
ωWCROSS CTRL X
^X≡SHIFT )
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9

IV.AN EXAMPLE SESSION
The following procedure shows an example session with IRATA.ON-
LINE, a PLATO service for retro-computing users. It assumes that:
• Your ATARI® computer is set up.
• Your ATARI® 850™ Interface Module (or compatible) is connected
to your ATARI® computer.
• Your WIFI modem is connected to SERIAL INTERFACE PORT 1 (or
other appropriate port) on your ATARI® 850™ Interface Module
(or compatible)
Your WIFI MODEM must also be configured with the following con-
nection parameters:
• 1200 baud
• 8 data bits
• 1 stop bit
• no parity
Important
PLATOTERM always runs with the aforementioned parame-
ters. You must change your MODEM parameters to match
the above using its configuration tools, before running PLA-
TOTERM.
10

AN EXAMPLE SESSION
1. Turn on your ATARI® 850™ Interface Module, or compatible.
2. Turn on your WIFI MODEM, if needed.
3. Insert the PLATOTERM cartridge into the appropriate cartridge slot
in your ATARI® computer console, and close the cartridge door,
if needed.
4. If you need to use a "R:" handler loaded from a DOS disk:
a. Power on your disk drive.
b. Insert your DOS disk into the drive, and close the door.
5. Power on your ATARI® computer console. Wait for the PLA-
TOTERM READY prompt.
11

AN EXAMPLE SESSION
6. Type the following to dial IRATA.ONLINE:
ATDTIRATA.ONLINE:8005
7. After a short moment, you should see something similar to the fol-
lowing:
Connecting to host - please wait ...
Connected
WELCOME TO THE NOS SOFTWARE SYSTEM
COPYRIGHT CONTROL DATA SYSTEMS INC. 1994.
91/01/04. 21.42.16. TE22
NOS CYBIS SYSTEM - CYBDEV. 1. NOS 2.8.7...
8. After a few short moments, you should see the IRATA.ONLINE
sign-on screen:
12

AN EXAMPLE SESSION
9. Type guest and press RETURN in response to the prompt for user
name.
10.Type guest and press RETURN in response to the prompt for group.
11.Once the main menu has finished drawing, press C to navigate to
the Games menu. Alternately, you can use your joystick, or oth-
er pointing device to move the pointer over the menu entry for
Games, and press a device button to select it.
13

AN EXAMPLE SESSION
12.Once the games menu has finished drawing, press F to select the
Checkers game. The description for Checkers will appear.
14

AN EXAMPLE SESSION
13.Press CTRL D. This sends the DATA key to the PLATO host, and
starts the game.
15

AN EXAMPLE SESSION
14.Press RETURN, which sends NEXT to the PLATO host, to start the
game.
16

AN EXAMPLE SESSION
15.Press 1 to start the game with you playing first.
17