              Dr. T Sysex - A MIDI Data Dump Utility 

                            Version 2
        For use with Dr. T's Keyboard Controlled Sequencer
                          or MIDIEX.TTP 

                          By Jim Johnson  

As anyone who has read my work probably knows,  I have a very soft  
spot in my heart for Dr. T's KCS, and since I started using the ST  
version,  I've been almost completely happy with it.  The one weak  
point,  I've  felt,  has been the lack of a good (or even  a  bad)  
system exclusive dump feature.  While the KCS can send sysex  data  
with the single byte event type,  sysex data cannot be recorded  -  
it can only be typed in by hand.  Ugh.  (At least, that used to be 
the case - after I wrote version 1 of this program,  Dr.  T  added 
the  ability to record dumps of up to 5K bytes.  This  program  is 
necessary for dumps that are larger than that limit.) 

Enter  Dr.  T  Sysex.  This little program simply  records  system  
exclusive dumps as they are sent to the Atari,  and then  converts  
them to a .SEQ (single sequence) file for use by the KCS.  Version 
2 of the program optionally saves files in MIDIEX format,  for use 
either with MIDIEX.TTP on the ST (enclosed in this archive, author 
unknown) or with similar programs on other computers. 

The  program was written in Megamax C,  and conforms to  the  file  
format  for .SEQ files as shown in the KCS Programmer's  Reference  
Guide,  which  can be obtained direct from Dr.  T's for a  nominal  
charge.  Normal MIDI data such as note messages,  clocks,  and the  
like  are stripped out before the file is saved,  so the  sequence  
contains  only valid sysex data.  If a message is made up of  more 
than one sysex message, a short delay is inserted between messages 
in the sequence file only.   

To save a sysex dump,   you must be able to initiate  a sysex dump 
from the front panel of your synthesizer.   This means  Casio  and 
many  Roland  instruments which require handshaking   won't   work 
with  this  program.  The other limitation is that dumps  must  be  
less than 32K bytes long.  Most data dumps should fit within  this  
limit;   I   may   increase  this and rerelease  the   program  at  
some later date.  

After  you  double  click on DRTSYSEX.PRG and  pay  homage  to  my  
programming  skills by reading the title alert  box,  the  program  
will indicate that it is ready to receive a MIDI data dump.  After  
you start the dump and the synthesizer or drum machine has stopped  
sending data,  click on OK if you're sure everything is that  way,  
or REDO if you think you might have blown the dump. At this point, 
you can select the output file type - either a .SEQ file,  for use 
with the KCS, or a .MDX file, for use with MIDIEX.TTP. After this, 
a file select  box will appear; name the file, and you're done.

You might need to disable SEND MIDI CLOCK on the KCS when  sending 
sysex  dumps.  Theoretically,  MIDI clocks shouldn't screw  up   a  
sysex message, but they do on my ESQ1 - so why risk confusing  the 
synth  needlessly,  hmm?  (This might also be tempo dependent -  I  
haven't checked, though.)

I have found no problems with this program,  but you might. Please  
report any bugs to me on PAN,  GEnie, or Compuserve - I'm JAMOS on  
the first two and 70461,10 on Compuserve.

Happy Dumping! 

Jim Johnson
