Atari AspeQt-2K26

The Modern Atari 8-bit Serial Peripheral Emulator

Built for 2026 and beyond | Powered by Qt 6

Project Overview

AspeQt-2K26 is a modernized fork of the classic AspeQT/RespeQt emulator. It emulates Atari SIO peripherals (Disk Drives, Printers, etc.) when connected to an Atari 8-bit computer (400/800/XL/XE) via an SIO2PC cable.

This version migrates the codebase to Qt 6, fixing critical stability issues and introducing high-performance networking and hardware-level emulation for modern operating systems.

🚀 What's New in AspeQt-2K26

1. Full Qt 6 Native Port

• Modern Framework: Fully ported to the Qt 6 framework for enhanced stability and long-term support.
• High-DPI Support: Optimized UI for modern monitors and 4K displays.

2. Client TNFS Support

• Cloud Storage: Direct support for mounting disk images from TNFS servers (like 13leader.net) without needing local files.
• Dynamic Browsing: Integrated TNFS browser with thread-safe download progress tracking.

3. Native W: and Y: Drivers

• W: (Network Device): A native SIO implementation of the Network Streaming Device. Supports HTTP and FTP (via system curl) for downloading data directly to the Atari. Includes EOL translation between Unix (LF) and ATASCII (EOL).
• Y: (Clipboard Device): Bridges the Atari to your modern OS clipboard. Use OPEN #1,4,0,"Y:" to read the PC clipboard or OPEN #1,8,0,"Y:" to write to it.

4. Legacy Modem Bridge (RS232 to TCP)

• Hayes Emulation: Bridges a secondary PC serial port to the Internet, allowing you to use a physical Atari 850 Interface, P:R: Connection, or R-Verter to access modern BBSes.
• BBS Phonebook: Integrated XML phonebook support for quick dialing.
• Macros & Automation: Built-in Macro support (Auto-User/Auto-Pass) to speed up BBS logins using ESC-U and ESC-P.

5. Native 850 R: Device Emulation (Virtual Modem)

• Hardware-Free Telecommunications: A kernel-bypass, SIO-level emulation of the Atari 850 Interface Module. It intercepts SIO Poll ($40) and Stream ($58) commands, allowing the Atari to connect directly to Telnet and SSH hosts without physical RS-232 hardware.
• Smart Protocols: Features native SSH authentication (Linux boxes) and raw Telnet parsing (Retro BBSes), mapping standard AT commands directly to TCP/IP sockets.
• Dynamic Baud Rates: Automatically handles the Atari's 19200 baud SIO initialization and dynamically down-shifts to 9600 baud for concurrent stream mode (highly recommended for Ice-T and BobTerm).
• 💻 HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY: This feature fully supports both standard USB SIO2PC adapters (FTDI) and direct Raspberry Pi raw UART connections.
• FT-232 / USB Adapter Note: If using a USB adapter, ensure it has the CTS pin connected to the Atari's COMMAND line. Depending on how your specific FTDI chip was configured at the factory, you may need to toggle the "Invert CTS Logic" setting in AspeQt's options for it to communicate properly.
• Documentation: Please refer to the Hardware Documentation for USB SIO2PC wiring, CTS configuration, and Raspberry Pi SIO-to-GPIO setup.

🕒 Time Synchronization (Real-Time Clock)

AspeQt-2k26 features built-in support for the ApeTime protocol, allowing your Atari to synchronize its clock with your PC automatically.

• Recommended Method: Use a standard ApeTime-compatible driver like ATIME.SYS on SpartaDOS X.
• Legacy Support: The aspecl client is included for backward compatibility with older setups.

Support & Community

Support and inquiries can be made on our BBS or via our GitHub issues page. We love talking Atari!

• Telnet: telnet 13leader.net 8023
• Web: http://13leader.net

Building from Source

Requirements:

• CMake 3.16+
• Qt 6.x Development Libraries (qt6-base-dev, libqt6network6, etc.)
• libgpiod C++ v2 bindings (Required on Linux for R: Device interrupts)
• C++17 Compiler

Debian/Ubuntu/Raspberry Pi OS Dependencies: ```bash sudo apt update sudo apt install build-essential cmake qt6-base-dev qt6-base-private-dev libqt6gui6 libqt6widgets6 libqt6network6 libgpiod-dev libgpiodcxx-dev