[no subject]

3.1 How much is it worth?

How much do you want to pay?  I saw one go for $50 US
not too long ago (in '93).  They had a sugg. retail
price of $445 when they were last sold back in 1988.
With the development of software emulators and good serial
transfer programs I would have to imagine they're only
valuable as a curiosity these days.

4. What do I need to run a TrackStar?

You need a PC or clone with a free 8bit ISA slot, a 360K
5.25" floppy drive, and a MGA, CGA, or Composite monitor.
The 8bit slot must allow for a full length card and the
motherboard under the front extension of the card must be
clear to within 3mm of the surface (the card extends down-
ward).  

4.1 What do I need for a floppy drive?

The TrackStar can use either a PC compatible 360K 5.25"
PC compatible floppy drive or an Apple Disk II (Unidisks
may work, but this has not been verified).  If you're
using a PC floppy, the drive should be a TEAC for the most
reliable operation.  Other brands will also work, but may 
not be as reliable and some will not work at all.

4.2 What operating systems will it work with?

Seems to work well with MS DOS from v3.2 to v6.22.  Later
versions require a setver entry set to 3.3.  Will also
work with OS/2 2.x in DOS mode.  Doesn't seem to work
with Windows 95 even in DOS mode.

5. What did the TrackStar originally come with?

Well, the 128 came with:

1 5.25" driver disk
1 manual
1 video cable
1 disk cable
1 keyboard overlay
1 resistor pack

5.1 What's the latest driver version?

For the 128 it appears to be v6.2.3.  I assume the
other models use a different driver scheme but I've
only seen my 128 and 2 others.

6. I just got a Trackstar board with no accessories...

It would seem you're not alone.  You'll also be missing
the manual, RGB monitor cable, and PC disk interface 
cable.  You don't need the RGB cable if you're going
to use the a composite monitor and you don't need the
PC disk interface cable if you're going to use an Apple
drive.

NEW: I have tried for two years to get permission from
Diamond Multimedia to distribute TrackStar software and
documentation to people who need it.  Since I have now
been told by them that they did not make the TrackStar
I've made the software and docs available by FTP at
140.142.225.27 in /pub/trackstar.  The files for the
are:

TS128.621.zip           TrackStar 128 drivers v6.2.1
TS128.622.zip           TrackStar 128 drivers v6.2.2
TS128.623.zip           TrackStar 128 drivers v6.2.3
TS128.overlay.zip       TrackStar 128 keyboard overlay
TS128.manual.zip        TrackStar 128 manual for in .pdf
TS.faq                  This FAQ

7. Pinout Diagrams 
RGB Cable

The RBG cable is 9pin D male to 8pin female block
connector.  The connections:

    1 2 3 4 5        87654321      1 -> 1   5 -> 3
    ' ' ' ' '       ]oooooooo[     2 -> 2   6 -> 6
     ' ' ' '         '      '      3 -> 4   7 -> 8
     6 7 8 9                       4 -> 5   8 -> G

-End of FAQ-


Posted on Csa2 by me@here.com .