mn4Atari

Hi All,

Way cool forum, takes me back and glad to see there are still fans out there!

Sadly I am in a situation where I need some space, may need to move, and could use a few bucks. Therefore I am selling a collection of Atari computer items and am looking for help if y'all don't mind assisting someone in selling their collection instead of offering technical support. It's a sad day but I am hoping that my loss will be someone's (collector/user) gain. I hope that posting this information in the forum is acceptable - apologies and help with that as well is appreciated if not

That said I have 2 operational computers, the 800XL and the 130XE. This started as a simple test project that ended up spanning days of testing and over 100 pictures taken and 6 pages of notes. I am not an Atari expert but have been building computers for years. That said, my tests were basic and intuitive – will the computers start and boot things as I understand they should work and following the instructions where included. Some things, like the floppy drives that don’t seem to boot correctly (2/4) may be repairable, but I have not wanted to spend more time attempting that as I am trying to recover space and simply want to sell these things to someone who might find them of interest and value. I have had them for well over 2 decades and see them as collectibles – but that’s in the eye of the beholder I suppose

The items were bestowed on me about 2001 from a neighbor who begrudgingly was getting rid of these things as his wife wanted him to make space for her workshop. They were the original owners and I am the next so as I understand all of this stuff has had only two owners, each from a non-smoking household. Many of the items are so well cared for they are packaged in the original box and some software items are unopened in the original packaging!

As stated I have 6 pages of notes and considering I don't know if this posting is acceptable I won't make this message long but here is some further brief info, that I see is evolving into paragraphs so here goes ..........

Besides the 2 computers and 4 floppy drives I have cartridge games and applications such as Miner and Pilot Programming and Artist. One game called Jumping Junior is broken but seems to be repairable. I have boxes of floppy discs such as Hard Hat Mack (tested OK), Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (tested OK), Lode Runner (tested OK), Master of the Lamps (tested OK), Micky Mouse in the Great Outdoors (games boots OK, but got corrupted when loading the game) in the original packaging. A real gem is the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it works, is in reasonable condition and I think that I have all the accessories that were originally associated with the game based on the insert in the original packaging. I found a little package of what looks to be a lens cleaner in box. This does not appear to be part of the original package but its unclear. Being a fan, and knowing that one should always carry a towel, I wonder if this was to be part of the package – if nothing else from the previous owner. I also have cool software titles that do not have original packaging such as Packman, Nibbler, Space Eggs, Darts and Tile (single disc) which have been tested and played. There are other numerous titles that I have not tested, such as Frogger, Space Shuttle and Hazard Run, I have an assembled picture of these. This includes the Nautilus, Ulysses and Wizard of War games I think are of questionable function. See the picture for reference and to get an idea of how many.

Another cool thing about the cache of stuff I have is the Antic Magazine software. This looks like it was a monthly publication and in each month one received a floppy disc that may have had games or productivity software. I have tested Antic’s Sir Galahad and the Holy Grail game as functional. I know for sure I have the following discs and have found and organized the associated Antic Magazine issue for the included disc. These have not been tested and sold as is. Issues include:  3/85, 8/85 – 5/86, 7/86, 10/86 – 12/87, 1/88 – 12/88, 1/89 – 10/89, 12/89:1/90 – 7/90.

Some of the discs are in the original packaging and some in the original cellophane wrapping! Most are lose in a disc caddy – see the picture for more information. The discs on the right hand side (Screen Plot through Colourspace) are the ones still in the wrapping.

To wrap up I have joysticks, paddles, tape drives, (2) 1020 printers (one printer looks virtually unused with extra paper rolls and spindle, the other powers on but carriage is stuck) and other goodies. Really pages of test info and itemizations. So I am going to wrap this up but hope to hear from someone (even if only a moderator to say I've made a no-no) to help guide me in the best course to sell these things. I am willing to bet I will be told to part things out as my best option, but I have hundreds of things (depending ?) that are potentially sell-able like that so I am hoping I can find someone who will go for a consolidated package or packages based on subject (eg. hardware vs software).

Thanks and most appreciated to you all for your input!