[Ham-Mac] Re: AEA MacRATT with FAX for PK-232, PK-88 and PK-87.

Sat, 13 Dec 2003 14:58:14 +0000

Hello Dick,

		I checked yesterday, I have two boxes here, one is version 2  
(although it has the lower of the 2 serial numbers). There is a service  
bulletin included which clearly is titled "Using MACRATT V.2 with the  
PK-232MBX (Date is Feb 1990). The manual is Copyright 1991.

The other box which has the higher serial number has a preliminary  
User's Manual and date 06/89 on the manual which I guess makes it an  
earlier version.

I'm trying to think back, at that time I was an agent for AEA and other  
Packet Radio suppliers and had a lot of software for the PK232 and KAM  
etc, in fact I found a box full of software for just about every make  
of computer that was in use up till about 1990! I recall I did buy  
MacRATT and upgrade it, though I only had a Mac emulator running on an  
Atari ST at the time, it later when the Mac LC came out that I bought  
my first real Mac.

I don't own a PK232... I never did, I just sold them for a while back  
in those crazy 80's. All my radio packet/multimode hardware went ages  
ago, when the soundcard software took off for digital modes.

I can't even load the software because my existing Macs have no floppy  
drives and the software is on 800K floppies that you can't even read  
with an external USB floppy drive. However I may pop down to my  
Mother-in-law who has an old LC475 of mine and I can at least make an  
archive and copy the software to 1.44MB DOS format floppies which I can  
then pop in the PC and copy across the network to the Mac.

So if anyone is looking for version 2.1 of MacRATT with manual and even  
registration card in original box, but no serial cable, get in touch  
and we can do a deal;-)

73 David

On 13 Dec 2003, at 2:08 pm, Richard Kriss wrote:

> David,
>
> MacRATT version 2.1 is in my opinion the best Packet and RTTY software  
> ever
> done for the Mac and the PK-232.  It is old and no longer supported  
> but is
> still the best and let me work the ARRL RTTY-DXCC.  I logged 5X1X on
> 12/12/03 in RTTY using MacRATT.
>
> The latest version is MacRATT 2.1 with a splash screen saying it was  
> done by
> Stephen S. Fine on 9/30/90 (Yes 1990).  Do not confuse MacRATT version  
> 2.1
> with version III.  There was some bad blood between Steve Fine and AEA  
> so
> they contracted with Kevin Krueger, N0IOS for MacRATT III. It is a  
> different
> program and is still supported and used today.  I prefer the user  
> interface
> of the older version and never changed to version III.  I will  
> continue to
> use version 2.1 until something better is available.  MacRATT is one  
> of the
> best software purchased I have made.  I started with Steve's shareware
> version (that may have been called MACIT or something like that),  then
> purchased the fully released MacRATT version that he sold to AEA,  
> including
> the only version 2.1 update.
>
> If you have a PK-232, hang on to old MacRATT version 2.1 and the  
> manual. If
> you need some help getting it to run, send me an email with your  
> questions.
>
> FYI, I run MacRAT 2.1 on this Mac G4 with OSX 10.3 in Classic mode via  
> a
> Keyspan Serial to USB adapter.  BTW, the Keyspan is the only adapter I  
> found
> that really works.
>
> AEA went broke and TimeWave took over support of their products but  
> did not
> obtain the rights to the Mac software version 2 or III.  I assume  
> Steve Fine
> still owns version 2 and Kevin Krueger, N0IOS, maintains and supports  
> his
> product.
>
> I have tried to contact Steve Fine to obtain the source code for the
> orphaned MacRATT 2.1 to be able to update it for OSX and he has not
> responded.
>
> Try it you will really like MacRATT 2.1.
>
> 73 de Dick, AA5VU
>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: David Anderson GM4JJJ <[email protected]>
>> Subject: [Ham-Mac] AEA MacRATT with FAX for PK-232, PK-88 and PK-87.
>>
>> When searching through my loft this morning for something that I have
>> mislaid, the story of my life, I stumbled across two boxes with
>> original AEA MacRATT software (S/N 434 and 441) and manuals for the  
>> AEA
>> PK232. Software is on floppy disc (remember them?).
>
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>
>
73
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David Anderson, GM4JJJ         E-mail: [email protected]

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