Archiving Copy-Protected 8-bit Software

[mkelsey@spam.eecs.wsu.edu]

I have several original games that I'd like to get archived, however,
some of them use eccentric schemes, e.g. synchronized tracks and
quarter tracks.  

	Airheart (quarter track at $1B.25)
	Serpentine (loads of quarter tracks)
	Karateka (quarter track at $02.25)

Is there a program that will successfully image a copy-protected
disk maintaining all original data?  I prefer to keep my duplicates
as original as possible, but I'm not against patching my programs
for archival purposes when the original routine can be "fooled,"
e.g. Dazzle Draw and Print Shop and Print Shop Companion.

I know of SST (Saltinen's Super Transcopy) but I also I know it was
a hack into EDD v2 or v3 and I only have my documentation from EDD
v4.9.  Is there any resource that can tell me how to program the
registers in EDD v2 and v3 such that SST would obey as nicely as
Copy II+ 6.5?  If SST can do precisely what I need, I'd prefer to
use it as opposed to writing my own archival program.

On that note:
Will SST preserve synchronized tracks, track length, programmable
header (fixed), and quarter/half tracks?

If not, then I would need to begin writing my own bit of software
for handling such schemes.

This moves to another point, understanding how certain copy-protection
schemes are "read."

I realize that synchronized tracks could be preserved by maintaining
a SYNC timer and using the first sector header from track $00 as
a reference.  That wouldn't be as difficult.  Keeping the critical
timing would be challenging.

Determining track length could either be handled manually in a
nibble editor but could also be handled by "knowing" a track length
to range between $1600 and $2000 bytes and searching for data
repetition.  In essence, this isn't much of a problem either.

What I find confusing is how to "move" the disk arm to a quarter-track
position.  I know where the quarter tracks rest on my copy-protected
software as I have programmed Copy II+ with PARM entries, but I wouldn't
have a clue how to move the disk arm just a quarter track.  Central Point
described the quarter track procedure as "slightly" off center from
the actual quarter track, but how do I move the disk arm to a quarter
track position when every a single increment of the four registers
moves one half track?  Am I to guess that I just use access the first
two registers?

Lastly, Copy II+ 8.2  and later seem to be able to detect "bit slips"
in the ever-so-common $E7 data fields.  EDD V3 also appears to have
this ability as well and displays the number of sync bits visually
per each byte, but I am wondering how the nibble copiers can detect
these bits when a "proper" routine ignores the zero bits and waits
until another valid byte is read.  I understand how the $E7 sync 
field copy-protection works and have a simple means to bypass this
without patching any code, but I'd like to understand the disk 
hardware from where Beneath Apple ProDOS left off.

Thanks!

-- 
	-/\/\ichael-

replyto: mkelsey at eecs.wsu.edu