Incognito Atari 800 step by step pictorial install tutorial/guide including ATR swap button mod

Entry posted by Beeblebrox December 9, 2021

1,102 views

Having now completed my 2nd Incognito upgrade in an Atari 800, and having done so with the help of the excellent install videos Flashjazzcat (FJC) created, I felt a detailed step by step pictorial guide to compliment it was in order.

Firstly I highly recommend you watch FJC's aforementioned videos and of course you can do the install simply guided by them, (I did, as have countless others).

FJC's videos can be found here, alongside many other informative videos related to all things Atari 8-bit, (and occasionally cat! :grin: ):

Part 1:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vduEeKiMcWA&t=1s

Part 2:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNXDEm-E3pc&t=0s

Also once installed here are FJC's guides to flashing the firmware, partitioning the Compact Flash (CF) card with FAT and also APT, and a general guide to what Incognito can do:

Here is link to FJC's website for the following:

Incognito main page including firmware download and user manual with firmware flashing steps (pages 10 and 11 in the manual):https://atari8.co.uk/firmware/incognito
"What can Incognito do video" which also has a guide to partitioning:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAma2d_QQIE
Here is an older video with and indepth guide to using Fdisk for creating partitions

However in terms of a written step by step guide, whilst there are a couple out there, (here in particular), which are very helpful, I found as a newbie to the Atari 800 architecture and with the obstacles I subsequently came across during my 2 x installs, I felt a more detailed written guide was needed. Plus a picture by picture guide alongside the written is so much easier to follow then text only, or text with the occasional picture (IMHO) (I am definitely a visual learner).

You can find the guide here:Incognito install step by step guide ver 5 final.pdf

EDIT: ver 5 uploaded with some typo fixes and additional infos plus new additional image on one page.

Please note: I initially created it in segments over a period of days in my Gmail. I then converted the segments to PDFs and merged them. I found the formatting went a little out of whack and I've since patched bits and added to it, hence you will find it's got a few formatting quirks, but it's totally readable and makes sense. (I really could do with a full Adobe acrobat PDF version on my laptop but it costs a fortune to buy a license. And of course a lot of the free editors online aren't in reality free naturally! )

So what does my guide do?

For me what I personally did over both of my Incognito installs was ensure that I was using the same wiring colour and order schemes as those used in FJC's videos - both for clarity and peace of mind. Therefore the guide reflects this - which means less confusion given the colour scheme for the P5 6 x pin header that comes with the Incognito itself is usually completely different/random. It also reduces possible wiring errors.
It therefore details how to create your own P5 header to replace the one supplied. It is also sometimes needed anyway as the connector for the P5 supplied is on occasion (frustratingly), different and as FJC points out in his video, means it won't fit alongside the P6 connector easily when plugged into the Incognito header pins, because of their close proximity.
It shows how to create the aforementioned P6 3 x pin header including the coupler element FJC introduced into the cable for easy detachment. (FYI the P6 cable is used if you want to have the ATR light emitter mod swap button/HDD/power lights functionality)
It shows from start to finish all the steps from disassembling the 800, making the P5 and P6 cabling, installing the upgrade, modding the power button light emitter to make an ATR swap button, HDD activity light, power light,; and putting it all back together - with detailed annotated pictures.
It lists all the tools parts needed.
Has handy hints, tips, observations and warnings - some which I picked up from FJC's videos as well as some of my own.

I hope some find it useful. It is aimed at those who aren't familiar with the 800's hardware architecture and haven't done the Incognito install or the light emitter ATR swap button mod before. As I mention in the guide itself, I would definitely use it to compliment FJCs video install guides and would recommend you read it through first before you start the install process, (especially as you'll need to preorder parts and possibly tools).