Listen "ANTIC Interview 222 - Richard Watts, Macrotronics"
Episode Synopsis
Richard Watts, Macrotronics Richard Watts was a programmer at Macrotronics, a company that was primarily focused on the RM-1000 radio modem, hardware that connected amateur radio receivers to personal computers. The company also created Morse Code Tutor, programmed by Richard, which was published by Atari Program Exchange and first appeared in winter 1982-1983 APX catalog. Morse Code Tutor cost $22.95 and was APX catalog number 20092. Macrotronics did contract work for APX as well, including fixes to Caverns of Mars prior to its release. The company also released a parallel print interface, which allowed a parallel printer to be connected to the Atari 400 and 800 through joystick ports 3 and 4, eliminating the need for an Atari 850 interface. This interview took place on July 28, 2016. "You couldn't afford any of the inefficiencies of a higher-level language. Basically what you're writing is a software UART, so that you're taking the signal, and you're detecting a dit from a dah, you're looking at the spacing of all of that and you're trying to ignore noise." Morse Code Tutor in the winter 1982-1983 APX catalog California Historial Radio Society: http://www.californiahistoricalradio.com
More episodes of the podcast ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast
ANTIC Episode 122 - Atypical Kay
28/10/2025
ANTIC Episode 121 - Dongle Disaster
24/09/2025
ANTIC Episode 120 - AI Non Grata
28/08/2025
ANTIC Episode 119 - Special Guest Joe Decuir
30/07/2025
ANTIC Episode 118 - Trigger Warning
30/06/2025
ANTIC Episode 117 - A Kiss on the Forehead
07/06/2025
ANTIC Episode 116 - AI-Generated Nonsense
30/04/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.