A8CAS - software for reading/writing Atari 8-bit cassettes

• Main page
  • About
  • Contact
  • Download
  • Example tapes
• News (2015.12.10)
• Features
  • liba8cas
  • a8cas-tools
  • Atari800 patch
  • To do
• Links
• CAS format
• HEX format
• FSK format
• Raw files
• Turbo tapes
• Programming Interface

News

2015.12.10 - Released OS X build of a8cas-tools 1.3.1 and liba8cas 1.5.0.

The package containing a8cas-tools and liba8cas for OS X is now available. Note that due to lack of access to a Macintosh system, I will not be able to help with any installation or usage issues specific to this package - it is provided as is without any support.

2015.05.27 - Released liba8cas 1.5.0 and the Atari800 patch 1.2.2.

The new version of liba8cas adds implementation of the A8CAS_write_bytes, A8CAS_read_bytes and A8CAS_read_signals to FSK and Audio formats, which means that loading and saving of WAV files with SIO patch now works!

Atari800 was updated with the newest changes from the official emulator repository, along with a few minor bugfixes in tape loading/saving.

A new Windows package of a8cas-tools 1.3.1 has been published, updated with the newest version of liba8cas.

2013.04.21 - Re-uploaded a8cas-tools 1.3.1.

During yesterday's uploading some files have been mixed up and the 1.3.1 release of a8cas-tools didn't reach the file server. This is now fixed - please get a8cas-tools 1.3.1 here.

2013.04.20 - Released liba8cas 1.4.0, a8cas-tools 1.3.1 and the atari800 patch 1.2.1.

This is a bugfix release, fixing some random crashes. The A8CAS version of Atari800 has been updated with the newest changes from the official emulator repository.

2011.10.03 - Released liba8cas 1.3.1.

This release fixes a bug with "pwml" chunks not being properly decoded when reading from CAS turbo images. The Win32 archives of a8cas-tools and atari800-a8cas have been updated with the new version of the library.

2011.09.24 - Released liba8cas 1.3.0, a8cas-tools 1.3.0, and the Atari800 patch 1.2.0.

The release of the new version of the Atari800 was put on hold because of one nasty and difficult bug in POKEY emulation, which breaks compatibility with some existing disk images (more precisely, the 4 Epyx releases of Lucasfilm games). Not wanting to hold the relase any longer, I have decided to postpone fixing of this bug and release the new version as-is. If a certain disk doesn't work with this version of Atari800, try the standard version instead.

Most significant changes:

• Abandoned the CMake build system in favor of the GNU build system.
• Added support for loading from CAS/HEX images with new Turbo blocks, as supported by FUJI's a8cas-util.pl. See description of the CAS format for details.
• Added regulation of amout of crosstalk between the tape's data and audio tracks in Atari800.
• Added support for two new adjustable parameters in liba8cas: A8CAS_PARAM_SILENCE_LEVEL and A8CAS_PARAM_CROSSTALK_VOLUME.
• Various little bugfixes.

2011.04.16 - New Windows binaries uploaded.

New Windows binaries for liba8cas 1.2.0 and a8cas-tools 1.2.0 have been uploaded. There were reports about a8cas-tools not working on some Windows 7/64bit systems; the new binaries should fix these issues. Functionality has not changed, however - Windows users for whom a8cas-tools previously worked correctly, will not benefit anything from downloading the new binaries.

2010.04.29 - The A8CAS project has been moved to SourceForge.

2010.04.18 - Released liba8cas 1.2.0, a8cas-tools 1.2.0, and the Atari800 patch 1.1.1.

With this release, the project's build system has been migrated to CMake, which makes compilation faster and easier. Other changes:

• Slightly updated the HEX format: block lengths are no longer stored as the second values in "data" and "fsk " rows. The values were not really needed.
• The distinction between "normal" 0x55 55 blocks and non-standard (header-less) blocks has been removed in the library API (and in options of a8cas-convert). For details, see NEWS files in the source archives.
• The Atari800 patch has been updated to the newest emulator's source from CVS. Otherwise it's unchanged.
• A few bugs have been fixed.

2010.04.09 - Released liba8cas 1.1.0, a8cas-tools 1.1.0, and the Atari800 patch 1.1.0.

This release is inspired by discovery of an interesting copy-protected tape, Miecze Valdgira 2. This tape contains blocks that change their baudrate mid-way. Correctly reading this tape required major rewrite of the CAS/HEX encoding routines.

Additionally, liba8cas and a8cas-convert now support several adjustable parameters. These allow the user to fine-tune internal settings of WAV->CAS/HEX conversion process. Introduction of this feature was needed because it became impossible to have one universal setting that works with all kinds of tapes (Miecze Valdgira 2 is an inspiration again).

2010.03.01 - First stable release - liba8cas 1.0.0, a8cas-tools 1.0.0, and the Atari800 patch 1.0.0.

This release adds support for loading from/saving to "raw" files - that is, files containing any data. This makes it possible to, for example, convert an Atari BASIC file to tape using a8cas-convert.

In Atari800, autobooting from cassette images in all supported formats is now possible.

At last, all features of the "standard" Atari800 are included in the patched Atari800. Additionally, the library interface has matured enough to mark it as stable. Therefore it is a perfect moment to leave the beta stage.

2010.02.20 - Released liba8cas 0.5.0, a8cas-tools 0.2.2, and the Atari800 patch 0.4.0.

Changes include:

• New interface functions in liba8cas - it is now possible to read/write single signals as well as whole bytes
• Added adjustable "error tolerance" parameter for loading of turbo tapes
• Fixed a bug in turbo loading, which caused loading to fail on WAV tapes containing strict square-wave signal
• In Atari800, added support for loading and saving tapes with SIO patch active
• Various small bugfixes

2010.02.10 - Added a few Atari Super Turbo tapes.

2010.01.21 - Released liba8cas 0.4.0, a8cas-tools 0.2.1, and the Atari800 patch 0.3.0.

This update adds support for loading Atari Super Turbo tapes; also several bugs are fixed.

2010.01.11 - Released liba8cas version 0.3.0, a8cas-tools 0.2.0 and the Atari800 patch 0.2.0.

The changes are: fixed a bug in liba8cas that could cause an infinite loop in rare circumstances; libpopt is no longer need to build a8cas-tools.

At last, the Windows versions are available for download.

2010.01.10 - Released liba8cas version 0.2.1.

This fixes a bug that caused very short blocks of data (< 26 bytes) to be not recognised properly, or completely ignored when placed on the very end of the tape.

2010.01.10 - Released Atari800 patch version 0.1.2.

This fixes a bug that caused loading of tapes to stop working properly after about 25 minutes from starting the emulator.

2010.01.09 - Released liba8cas version 0.2.0, and Atari800 patch version 0.1.1.

The new feature in liba8cas is support for Turbo 2600 records. Turbo 2600 is a system for reading and writing tapes with baudrates up to 2600. It was created around 1985 by "Zakład Elektroniczny SZOK" from Świebodzin, Poland.

the Atari800 patch has been updated to properly load Turbo 2600 tapes with speeds of 2600 baud.

2010.01.09 - Added a curious tape of Kissin' Kousins to the Examples section.

2010.01.07 - Initial release 0.1.0

The first version of the a8cas library, tools, and the patch for Atari800, have been released. Most features that are planned, are already working. Have fun!