Flash Memory Cards for Atari Portfolio

Flash Memory Cards for Atari Portfolio

Large Capacity

The FMAP flash memory cards were created by OPTROL Inc., fir in a Portfolio memory card slot like a 128K RAM card and have 8 to 32 times the file storage capacity. The one Meg card has enough capacity to hold over 500 pages of double spaced text, several spread sheets, or over 10 000 addresses .

Data Security

Over ten year data retention without any batteries or any other power source. data bits are retained as static charges on electrodes encased in a nearly perfect insulator. This is essentially the same mechanism as that used in EPROM. Unlike EPROM, flash memory can be erased (flashed) and rewritten electrically while still plugged into the Portfolio. The flash memory cards data is also safe from magnetic fields that can corrupt data on ordinary magnetic storage media. A small loose magnet in a briefcase can destroy data on a magnetic disk but will have no effect on these flash memory cards.

Plug In and Use

Insert the card inside the memory card slot and turn on the Portfolio. The card boots the Portfolio (after CTRL-ALT-DEL) and loads the driver software from the card to make the flash memory capacity act like disk drive D:. You can write to and read from it.

Software Driver With FlashClean (TM)

As modified files are written back to the flash memory, they cannot simply overwrite their old sector locations because the old sectors have not yet been erased. The modified files is written info fresh sectors and the sectors previously occupied are marked "used". When the supply of fresh sector gets low, the user can activate the Flash Clean (TM) part of the driver software which erases the used sectors and makes them fresh again. Flash Clean (TM) saves the active file sectors, flash erases one entire memory block at a time, and replaces the active sectors in their proper locations among the newly erased sectors in the block. The result is fresh memory containing only valid file sectors and newly erased sectors fresh for reuse. Cleaning can easily be done when you finish for the day by typing CLEAN. The Portfolio will run the Flash Clean routine and then shut off automatically. Cleaning takes 2 to 5 minutes per megabyte.

Low Power

The cards add only about 3% to the load on the Portfolio's batteries when it is turned on and no load when the Portfolio is turned off. The card can safely be inserted inside Portfolio continuously.

File Transfer

The file transfer between the Portfolio and a desktop PC is very convenient using the memory card and the FolioLink 95 that can mount the Flash Card as another drive letter on your PC system.

Compatible

The flash memory cards work well with the bare Portfolio or the Portfolio enhanced by accessories such as the Serial Interface, Parallel interface, FolioDrive disk unit and others. Ordinary RAM cards can be used interchangeably with the flash memory cards to increase file handling flexibility. The File Manager program automatically recognizes the D: drive, or you can use the more sophisticated FolioMan.

Price

OPTROL 1 MB RAM Card

OPTROL 2 MB RAM Card

OPTROL 4 MB

How to order the cards ...

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