CH Products GameCard 3 Automatic Version 1.6 Oct./1994 The GameCard 3 Automatic is the most advanced gamecard available. It will provide correct timing for your computer without the need for switches or jumpers. Together with the setup program CHJOY3.EXE, the card determines the speed of the I/O bus of your computer and adjusts to generate the optimum timing signals. The memory on the card is volatile... that is, it goes away when power is turned off. It must be reprogrammed any time the power is turned on. The JINSTALL program will make this function automatic by changing the AUTOEXEC.BAT file to include CHJOY3 in the start up configuration. Once you have run JINSTALL you don't need to run it again unless you have removed CHJOY3.EXE from your hard drive or from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. - The GAMECARD 3 AUTOMATIC and the GAMECARD 3 AUTOMATIC MCA share the same software. There is only one file that the MCA version uses that the ISA version does not (@63b3.ADF). Both gamecards have the diskette that reads: GAMECARD III AUTOMATIC/MCA - HARDWARE INSTALLATION Install the GameCard 3 Automatic in any available 8 or 16 bit slot in your computer, following the instructions that came with the computer. DO NOT plug the card into a memory expansion slot or a 32-bit only slot (most 32-bit slots are not 32-bit only and will work just fine). Please read the manual for the GameCard III Automatic and review the literature that came with your computer before installing the card. The only decision you need to make about the GameCard 3 is whether or not you plan to use a three-axis joystick (a joystick with a throttle) such as the CH Products FLIGHTSTICK, FLIGHTSTICK PRO, VIRTUAL PILOT or VIRTUAL PILOT PRO as your A-joystick with a 2nd joystick as the B-joystick. In this unlikely case, to prevent the third axis of your A-joystick from interfering with your B-joystick, you can remove the two jumpers located behind the connector for joystick A on the Gamecard 3 Automatic. If you remove the jumpers on the Gamecard 3 Auto, you will not be able to use the third axis (the throttle control) on the joysticks mentioned above. - Micro Channel (PS/2) Users Micro Channel card installation on MCA (Micro Channel Architecture) machines will require you to boot using the backup copy of the Reference Diskette, which came with your PS/2 computer. Unless the Reference information is stored on your hard drive as is true for some newer PS/2 models, you must use a backup copy of your Reference Diskette since the original is write protected. Put the backup Reference Diskette in your floppy drive and start your computer. Select 'Copy an Option Diskette' and then 'Set Configuration' and then 'View Configuration'. Using the arrow keys to pan down your system configuration, you should see the GameCard 3 Automatic in the expansion slot you installed it in. Press 'Esc' to back out of the configuration menu and 'Esc' again should bring up a message to restart your computer. Just follow the directions on the screen. - On MCA machines you may select the programming level with 'Change Configuration' if you want to force a particular programming value for the card. We suggest you let the configuration default to "Automatic" and run JINSTALL after you have overcome all the MCA installation stuff. Get some experience with the programming levels, so you can later go back to the reference diskette and use "Change Configuration" to have the card initialized to the programming level you like. If you do this, remove the call to CHJOY3 from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file or the card will be reprogrammed when you boot up. Thought this method works, we recommend using the autoexec.bat method for users that are unfamiliar with their Reference Diskette procedures. - IBM PS/2 Model 55SX users... The tan plastic cover on the back of the 55SX was designed so that it covers up part of the "A" joystick connector. You must use the "A" connector for most games. That is why we provide the black joystick port extender with MCA Gamecards. It extends the port out past the case to allow you to plug in your joystick. If you do not have an IBM PS/2 Model 55SX then you probably do not need to use the extender. - Dell Computer users... To survive a direct hit, Dell put a steel bar in the back of some of its older cases which may keep you from connecting to the "B" joystick connector. The only solution we know of to allow two joystick opreration is to use a "Y" cable in the "A" connector. Unfortunately, Y-cables do not allow the throttle on the FLIGHTSTICK, FLIGHTSTICK PRO, VIRTUAL PILOT or VIRTUAL PILOT PRO to operate. CH Products sells the Y-CABLE (PN: 300-003) and the X-CABLE (300-006), the X-CABLE is a fully loaded 10-foot extension cable. - GREEN PC USERS If your computer is considered a "GREEN PC" which means your computer has a CPU power saving mode. In most cases, the power saving mode will actually change your CPU speed (your computers brain speed) to a slower rate at times when it does not detect much action. This will cause the joystick to go crazy since the process of reading the joystick position is totally timing dependant. Turn off all GREEN PC or Power Saving modes in the computer. See your computer documentation or call your computer dealer/manufacturer for assistance. - INSTALLATION SOFTWARE You will need at least 34K available on disk to store the CHJOY3.EXE software. The installation program on this disk, JINSTALL.BAT, will copy the CHJOY3.EXE program to the root directory of your boot disk and add a line to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that CHJOY3 is run automatically when your computer is started. To perform the installation: Put the CH Products disk in the "A: or B:" drive. If you have a hard disk, at C:\> type: A:JINSTALL C: or B:JINSTALL C: If you do not have a hard disk, put the disk you use to boot your computer in the "B:" drive (make sure the write protect tape is removed) and then type: A:JINSTALL B: -( MORE )- - JINSTALL may be run as often as you like. It will remove an old reference to CHJOY3 from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file if one exists before adding a new one. You may start JINSTALL from the command line with force programming levels if you wish. The command C:\>A:JINSTALL C: 18 will result in "CHJOY3 18" in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and will force the card to be programmed to level 18. Likewise, C:\>A:JINSTALL C: 150 will program the card for 150 K joysticks (see 150 K POT JOYSTICKS below). JINSTALL will copy the file CHJOY3.EXE to the root directory of the disk of you choice, most likely the root directory of your C: drive (C:\), as well as put a call to CHJOY3 in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file of that drive and that is all it does. All other files remain on the original floppy diskette that came with the GAMECARD 3 AUTOMATIC. If you want to copy any other files to your hard drive then you must do so yourself. For example, to copy the centering test JCENTER, with the Gamecard 3 diskette in Drive A: and the computer at C:\>, type: copy a:\JCENTER.EXE - PROGRAMMING LEVELS The progamming level of the GAMECARD 3 AUTOMATIC is displayed when CHJOY3 is run (every time you boot your computer). The programming levels fit into a range of values between 0 and 31. Level 0 is the least sensitive setting for the card and 31 is the most sensitive setting for the card. A very slow computer (4.77 MHz) will set to the most sensitive setting (31). Where as, a very fast computer (100+ MHz) will set to the least sensitive setting (0). These programming levels are necessary because a fast computer samples the gameport more often then a slow computer can. Therefore, an adjustment to the gameport is required to get accurate results from the joystick. Most computers will set to levels between 0 and 31, depending on the speed of the computer and what is running in the system. -(MORE)- - Many factors can effect the programming level setting, mostly TSR's and memory managers, but anything that is running in the system can effect the programming level. The more you have in your system and the more tasks your system must perform, the slower the system gets. The numbers that show up inside the JCENTER test program (TEST from JMENU) represent the relative position of the joystick. The ideal joystick axis numbers are usually between 80-120, with the joystick in its center position. This is where most games can easilly calibrate to and work with the joystick. CHJOY3 attempts to estimate the rate/speed at which your computer will sample the gameport and adjust the GAMECARD 3 AUTOMATIC so that the numbers, being read form the joystick, fit into this 80-120 range. - PROGRAMMING THE CARD The GameCard 3 Automatic can be reprogrammed at any time by typing CHJOY3 at the C:\>. You will probably want to reprogram it if you change processor speeds. For example, if you have a two speed computer and change from "turbo" mode to a slower speed before running a game, after you change speeds run CHJOY3 to match the card to the new speed of the computer. Note that this may not be required with most software. Try it both ways and see if there is a difference. If at c:\> you type: CHJOY3 then the card will be programmed for the automatic programming value. If at c:\> you type: CHJOY3 15 then the card will be programmed to a programming value of 15. -( MORE )- - You can force a particular programming value when manually running CHJOY3. Simply type the programming value you want after the program name. For example, to set a programming value of 23, you would at c:\> type: CHJOY3 23. You can also change the autoexec.bat file to force a certain value using JINSTALL. If you start the program with C:\>A:JINSTALL C: 23 then the autoexec.bat file will be changed to force a programming value of 23 on computer startup. - 150 K POT JOYSTICKS A special case is provided for use with 150K pot joysticks. If you want to use automatic programming values, but adjust the value for 150K pot joysticks, type CHJOY3 150. The programs on this disk normally expect the standard value joystick (100K). To see the result of this special case, exit to DOS, type CHJOY3 150, then run JCENTER. If stick center values within the 80-120 range are obtained, you may wish to change the autoexec.bat file to use this form rather than a particular programming value. - Problems: GAMECARD IS NOT INSTALLED The "NOT INSTALLED" message from CHJOY3 (assuming that the card is actually installed) requires detective work. The problem is that the CHJOY3 program can not read the unique signals from the GAMECARD 3 AUTOMATIC. This is most often due to interference from another game port. You can have only one enabled/active gamecard in your computer. Look for a gameport on a multi-I/O card, sound card, etc., then figure out how to disable it. Disabling is usually done with jumper settings on the conflicting card and some cards disable through software. For sound card and IO card gameport disabling you must consult the respective documentation for each card. CH Products can not assist you in this since every card is different and their are 100's of different manufactures. If you still have problems, contact the store that put your computer together or technical support for the card you are having the conflict with. -(MORE)- - Tape backup cards, scanner cards and CD-ROM cards, are sometimes set-up to use I/O starting at Hex 200, and must be moved to another location to avoid interference. You may want to try removing all cards that your computer will run without and then test by running CHJOY3. If the problem clears up, put the cards back in one at a time until the offending card is determined. Then you may need to consult with your dealer or the card manufacturer. All gamecards use the same I/O address (Hex 201). You must solve the problem, eliminate the I/O address conflict, to get any brand of gamecard to work on your computer. The Gamecard address is fixed and unchangeable, because the games all look for the joystick at Hex 201. So, even if you were able to change the address of the gamecard, the joystick would still not work because the games would not see it. - OTHER SOFTWARE ON THIS DISK (JMENU) When the JINSTALL program finishes, it will run a menu of selections for testing your GameCard 3 Automatic and centering your joystick, examining various programming values for the card, testing your computer's BIOS joystick routines, or setting the automatic programming value. You may run this program from the CH Products disk by typing JMENU. - (JCENTER) The Joystick Test and Centering program on this disk, JCENTER.EXE, is also a useful program to copy to your boot disk. It provides a quick means for setting the trim tabs to center your joystick. It has two levels of sensitivity. Once your joystick is centered, small changes in the trim settings can be made to recenter the joystick without making the large trim changes called for in the program instructions. To recenter your joystick, run JCENTER and move the joystick to all four corners of the grid. This gives the program a reading of the maximum and minimum values so it can calculate the center value. Then release the joystick, press the spacebar to change to the magnified scale, and adjust the trims to center the cursor in the grid. Stir the stick to all four corners again to make sure the maximum and minimum values did not change, repeating the trim adjustment as necessary. - JOYSTICK CALIBRATION JCENTER is only a centering test for adjusting electical center on the joystick. It does not tell the computer anything and it does not save a center or a calibration for the joystick. All calibration is done in the game or simulation being used, so remember to select joystick for your controller and follow any joystick calibration inside the game. - (VALUE) The VALUE.EXE program lets you see the result of setting program values other than the automatic value. The programming range is from zero to 31. The ideal centered joystick count is 100, with the goal being a centered value of 80 to 120. If your joystick does not have standard value (100 K ohm) potentiometers, the automatic value will produce a count outside the normal 80-120 range. When you press the ESC key to exit VALUE, if you have selected a programming value (other than the automatic value) you will be asked if you want to always use this new value. If you answer yes, VALUE will change the autoexec.bat file for you. Make sure that your computer is running in the normal speed (Turbo, Slow, Fast, etc.) when you select an alternate programming value. - (BIOS) The BIOS program lets you see what counts are calculated by the firmware which operates your computer. A large number of computers have a bug in the section of the BIOS which provides joystick services. Even when it works, the counts returned by the BIOS firmware are very different from one computer type to another. For these reasons, most programs which use joysticks provide their own software internally to read the joysticks. If your BIOS does not work, a few older games which use the BIOS and GWBASIC will not run with a joystick. A BIOS replacement program TSR15.COM can be used. See below. - (TSR15.COM) TSR15 is a Terminate and Stay Resident program which intercepts program calls to the computer's bios for joystick data. If a game uses the computer's BIOS for joystick data, and there is a fault in those routines, the game will not work. TSR15 replaces the bios routines. Run the BIOS test. If your computer fails this bios test, exit to dos and load the TSR15 program. Then run the BIOS program again and notice the difference. TSR15 will remain loaded and ready for use until the computer is rebooted. -(MORE)- - NOTE: Even if you do not pass the BIOS test on this diskette, you probably do not need to use the TSR15 patch. Only some older (pre 89') and some shareware games use the BIOS for joystick information. All new games have there own joystick routines written into them. Loading TSR15 with newer games will only waste precious memory (RAM). -( MORE )- - If you decide to use TSR15, you may find it most convenient to load it every time you boot your computer. To do this, edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and put "TSR15" in just after the "CHJOY3" command which is already there. You may also simply run TSR15 from the command line. Like any program, you must have it available to run it. I suggest you copy it to your C:\UTIL directory if you have a hard disk. Also, like most TSR programs, if you run it more than one time it will mindlessly load another copy and take up more memory. Once is enough each time you boot the computer. TSR15 uses 528 bytes of memory. It traps INT 15, AH=84. It can not be removed without rebooting. - (DONE) When you type Q to quit JMENU, a colorful message is shown before going to DOS. If you hit Enter twice after the "Q" this screen will only last one second. You may also press ESC to exit from the menu. (JM and AUTOX) These two programs are used by batch files and do not do anything useful unless they are run in context. If you copy JINSTALL.BAT and JMENU.BAT to another disk, you must bring everything else along. (@63B3.ADF) This is the adapter description file for PS/2 installation of the MCA version of the GameCard 3. It is found and copied to the backup reference diskette during MCA installation. It is not used unless you have MCA. - TECHNICAL SUPPORT We have included the trouble shooting for the problems we most often see. Ninety percent of problems with gamecards are caused by another card in the system, usually another gamecard/gameport. Make sure that all other gamecards/gameports have been disabled. If you continue to have problems and require Technical Support, please do the following: <1> Be in front of your computer, with it ON and at a DOS prompt. This means you must exit Windows or any DOS shell program you may have. <2> Have the GAMECARD 3 AUTOMATIC diskette handy so the technician can walk through some tests with you, if necessary. <3> Know the name of the joystick you are trying to use and have it attached to the "A" port of the GAMECARD 3 AUTOMATIC. <4> Call CH Products at (619) 598-2518 and ask for Technical Support. * Or you can reach us on one of the Online services listed next. * - We would like to know what you found to be good and bad about the GameCard 3 Automatic, the instruction manual and the software. After you have used this product, send us a postcard and let us know where improvements can be made. Thank you from CH Products 970 Park Center Drive Vista, CA 92083 (619) 598-2518 8:00 to 4:00 Pacific, Mon.-Fri. 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