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Introduction
ACE-80 is a software-generated eighty column display device for Atari computers. It uses Atari's
video hardware to display eighty remarkably legible characters across the screen. A
monochrome monitor provides the Clearest display, but ACE-80 is usable with color monitors
and quality B&W and color TVs. ACE-80 provides an economical alternative to eighty column
boards, which are available only for the Atari 8OO.
ACE-80 automatically installs itself in the Atari operating system in place of the E: and S:
devices, the standard forty column screen editor and display. It uses about 12K of RAM when
active but gives up that RAM when other screen modes are used. The cartridge itself does not
displace any RAM.
ACE-80 comes in two versions. ACE-8OXL is a left cartridge that works in all Atari computers
(400/600XL/800/B800XL/1200XL/130XE] with at least 48K RAM. It can work with BASIC if BASIC
is built into the machine (60OXL/800XL/130XE models). The right cartridge version, ACE-8O, is
only for the Atari 800. It allows BASIC to be available in the left slot.
Getting Started
When the computer powers up with ACE-8O installed, it immediately displays its title and waits
for a key to be pressed, providing you a chance to adjust the screen to your liking. The
[START]
and
[SELECT]
buttons, along with the
[SHIFT]
key, make the following adjustments:
•
[START]
varies the brightness of the displayed characters.
•
[SELECT]
varies the brightness of the background.
•
[SHIFT]
-
[SELECT]
varies the background color. Use this to increase the readability of
color displays.
•
[SHIFT]
-
[START]
changes the cursor from flashing to steady or invisible.
When you've adjusted the display, press any key to boot the disk. The eighty-column display
remains active. It differs in minor ways from the standard screen editor. The maximum logical
line length is eighty characters, so you cannot edit a line of more than eighty characters. To do
so, you must return to the forty-column mode.
In BASIC,
GRAPHICS 16
or
OPEN #6,12,0,"S:"
reverts to 40 columns. To return to
80 columns, either
GRAPHICS 0
,
OPEN #6,28,0,"S:"
or
OPEN #1,12,0,"E:"
can be used.
