1010 woes :(

[Ross PK]

Well, my 1010 arrived today, I hooked it up to the computer but most games fail on it.

 

*EDIT*

 

I think it is actually playing too fast and that's what the problem is. It does sound as though it's playing the tapes slightly faster comparing it with the XC12, and the counter and the bit that turns round in the player are definatley going faster than how they are in the XC12.

 

Does anyone know what could've caused it too have sped up? Does anyone know how I could slow it down again?

 

Also, you can see part of the belt when the door is open and it looks as if it's slacking while it's playing.

Edited March 8, 2008 by Ross PK

[puppetmark]

Well, my 1010 arrived today, I hooked it up to the computer but most games fail on it.

 

I did think it was playing the tapes more faster than what it should be doing since the sound sounded more high pitched. But by playing a music tape in my XC12 and then comparing it to how it plays in the 1010 I've realised that it doesn't seem to be playing the tapes too fast at all, just that the sound quality is really crap and tinny compared to the XC12.

 

The way I remember the way games sounding when they were loading on my 1010 when I was a kid, was a lot more like the way they sound on my XC12, not the 1010 that I've now got.

 

Maybe the heads need cleaning? Maybe the wire that connects it too the computer is at fault?

 

The wire isn't original, it's made by 'Chelco' and you've really gotta push it into the socket to make it fit, both on the 1010 and 800XL.

 

I guess I should try a tape head cleaner and pick up an original lead on ebay when one turns up.

 

What are your thoughts on this? Could there be any other cause?

 

 

Go here and look for the articles titled "Tape Topics" Antic did a series of articles discussing how to keep the tape players working from 1982 to 84. Some of it is for the 410 but it will apply to your 1010 too. There is even a specific article on the 1010.

 

http://www.atarimagazines.com/index/?mag=antic

[Ross PK]

Thanks.

[Defender II]

Chelco cables are "original." Just one of the manufacturers of the plugs.

[Ross PK]

Post deleted. I've edited the first post instead.

Edited March 8, 2008 by Ross PK

[Ross PK]

Well, my 1010 arrived today, I hooked it up to the computer but most games fail on it.

 

I did think it was playing the tapes more faster than what it should be doing since the sound sounded more high pitched. But by playing a music tape in my XC12 and then comparing it to how it plays in the 1010 I've realised that it doesn't seem to be playing the tapes too fast at all, just that the sound quality is really crap and tinny compared to the XC12.

 

The way I remember the way games sounding when they were loading on my 1010 when I was a kid, was a lot more like the way they sound on my XC12, not the 1010 that I've now got.

 

Maybe the heads need cleaning? Maybe the wire that connects it too the computer is at fault?

 

The wire isn't original, it's made by 'Chelco' and you've really gotta push it into the socket to make it fit, both on the 1010 and 800XL.

 

I guess I should try a tape head cleaner and pick up an original lead on ebay when one turns up.

 

What are your thoughts on this? Could there be any other cause?

 

 

Go here and look for the articles titled "Tape Topics" Antic did a series of articles discussing how to keep the tape players working from 1982 to 84. Some of it is for the 410 but it will apply to your 1010 too. There is even a specific article on the 1010.

 

http://www.atarimagazines.com/index/?mag=antic

 

I've had a quick look through them but none of them seem to be covering the problem that I have.

[puppetmark]

I've had a quick look through them but none of them seem to be covering the problem that I have.

 

I think the problem is the play head. I would try to clean the head with rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol and the alignment procedure and if that does not help then you probably have to replace the head.

[Ross PK]

Here's some more information that might be of use.

 

Whenever I load a game that loads quickly/has a short amount of tape, it always works. And whenever I load any other game, it will load for about the first 5 mins but then fails.

[Ross PK]

Could someone with an XC12 and a 1010 do me a really big favour?

 

Could you daisy chain the XC12 to the 1010 so you can see them both playing at the same time, and see if the 1010 plays a bit fatser than the XC12?

 

I'd like to know whether the slighty higher speed is normal or not.

 

I really want to get it working and would like to try and narrow things down.

 

Thanks.

Edited March 9, 2008 by Ross PK

[JayoK]

Could someone with an XC12 and a 1010 do me a really big favour?

 

Could you daisy chain the XC12 to the 1010 so you can see them both playing at the same time, and see if the 1010 plays a bit fatser than the XC12?

 

I'd like to know whether the slighty higher speed is normal or not.

 

I really want to get it working and would like to try and narrow things down.

 

Thanks.

 

Don't have a 1010 only an XC12 but both mechs should produce the same result. The tape drives have a Variable Resister that controls the speed of the motor. I would try adjusting this. The lead-in header of the tape for a BLOAD, CLOAD are used for the Atari to adjust to the differences in speed of the Tape Decks but it can only do so much. Find that VR!

[Ross PK]

Here's an update.

 

Okay, now I'm really not sure if it is playing the tapes too fast, as once a tape is inside the machine and I press play it seems to be at a normal speed, and the tape counter goes slower.

 

For the first time a long loading tape (around ten minutes) actually loaded before, which was surprising, and a short tape which I expected to load failed after around 2 minutes.

 

Also, I've tried loading the same tape several times to see if the load fails in exactly the same place, but it doesn't, the failure can be out as much as about 2 minutes.

 

So I don't think the play speed and the balance of the reels (one becoming heavier and one becoming lighter as the tape loads which may effect the speed even more) has anything to do with it since the load failure seems to be more random than I thought.

 

So it seems more like it must be either that the head needs cleaning with something better than a damp Q-tip, the head is out of alignment, it needs a new head, or the wire connecting it to the computer is a little faulty (it does sound a little crackley).

 

 

Could someone with an XC12 and a 1010 do me a really big favour?

 

Could you daisy chain the XC12 to the 1010 so you can see them both playing at the same time, and see if the 1010 plays a bit fatser than the XC12?

 

I'd like to know whether the slighty higher speed is normal or not.

 

I really want to get it working and would like to try and narrow things down.

 

Thanks.

 

Don't have a 1010 only an XC12 but both mechs should produce the same result. The tape drives have a Variable Resister that controls the speed of the motor. I would try adjusting this. The lead-in header of the tape for a BLOAD, CLOAD are used for the Atari to adjust to the differences in speed of the Tape Decks but it can only do so much. Find that VR!

 

Thanks, Jayok. Would turning the variable resistor anti clockwise slow it down?

 

Also what does VR mean?

Edited March 9, 2008 by Ross PK

[mimo]

VR=variable resistor.

 

Could be the sio cable, my theory is that the chelco ones are not as good as others.

Also, have you cleaned the head with alcohol? I used some after shave last time worked a treat

[Ross PK]

VR=variable resistor.

 

Ah, can't believe I didn't notice that.

 

Could be the sio cable, my theory is that the chelco ones are not as good as others.

Also, have you cleaned the head with alcohol? I used some after shave last time worked a treat

 

Yup, the Chelco cable was really crackley at first, I messed about with it for a bit, I unscrewed it and checked the wires were connected properly, and used a bit of WD40 on the contacts to clean them, and it seems a lot better now, but it still slightly crackles. I can't really see how a cable could go bad though, there was one exposed wire and it looked like it was touching the metal foil on the inside of the main cable, but I'm sure it's supposed to be like that.

 

So aftershave really works and is safe?

 

So, I guess I could just dip a Q tip into some aftershave? Should I spend a long time cleaning the head?

Edited March 9, 2008 by Ross PK

[mimo]

well I am sure that some people may say not to use aftershave, but it was a tip given to me by a Sony engineer.

Just a quick wipe over should be enough.

for your info, the only sio cable that will not work with my sio2pc is a chelco one, even though it all tests out perfectly fine

[Ross PK]

That's strange.

 

Oh well, I guess the next step is to clean the head with some aftershave, if that doesn't work I'll wait for a non Chelco SIO to show up on ebay, if that doesn't work I'll try aligning the head or the VR as a last resort, since I'm worried I may make it worse and not be able to get it back to how it was originally.

Edited March 9, 2008 by Ross PK

[MEtalGuy66]

And if none of that works, take it outside and get a hammer and make one of those "smash up" videos with it to put on YouTube..

 

[puppetmark]

That's strange.

 

Oh well, I guess the next step is to clean the head with some aftershave, if that doesn't work I'll wait for a non Chelco SIO to show up on ebay, if that doesn't work I'll try aligning the head or the VR as a last resort, since I'm worried I may make it worse and not be able to get it back to how it was originally.

 

I commend you for sticking with it. I suspect too many Atari devices get thrown away without any effort to repair them. I would use rubbing alcohol instead of aftershave but I suspect it would work about the same.

 

If you have the correct test tape, aligning the heads shouldn't be too tough However, I would suggest marking where you start with a sharpie or a little paint so if you have trouble you can always go back to where you began. I would do the same with the VR.

 

I will also mention that you might want to replace the drive belts, even before you try to align the head. If the tape plays at hte wrong speed it can affect the the alignment. I think it is always better to know that the mechanics are correct before trying to tweak something. I have fixed several tape drives over the years and after 10+ years of usage they almost always need belts. Even new Atari drives that have sat in packaging usually need new belts. There are two belts in the 1010. One for the drive mech and one for the counter. You don't have to get Atari made belts, any place that cells audio repair parts should be able to match up the sizes. I know some people use rubber bands to replace the belts and I know that can work, but trust me, they won't last!

 

IMHO, the only way to have a correctly working 1010 in this day and age is to replace the belts and then clean and align the head.

[Ross PK]

I commend you for sticking with it. I suspect too many Atari devices get thrown away without any effort to repair them. I would use rubbing alcohol instead of aftershave but I suspect it would work about the same.

 

Yeah, I'd much rather save a piece of A8 hardware from the dump, if I can do, plus it looks in really nice condition and I only recently paid £10 for it.

 

If you have the correct test tape, aligning the heads shouldn't be too tough However, I would suggest marking where you start with a sharpie or a little paint so if you have trouble you can always go back to where you began. I would do the same with the VR.

 

The thing with this though, which I forgot, is according to Antic, you have to take off the aluminium strip. I don't really like the idea of that. But I guess if this is really the last resort, then I might as well do.

Edited March 10, 2008 by Ross PK

[puppetmark]

I commend you for sticking with it. I suspect too many Atari devices get thrown away without any effort to repair them. I would use rubbing alcohol instead of aftershave but I suspect it would work about the same.

 

Yeah, I'd much rather save a piece of A8 hardware from the dump, if I can do, plus it looks in really nice condition and I only recently paid £10 for it.

 

If you have the correct test tape, aligning the heads shouldn't be too tough However, I would suggest marking where you start with a sharpie or a little paint so if you have trouble you can always go back to where you began. I would do the same with the VR.

 

The thing with this though, which I forgot, is according to Antic, you have to take off the aluminium strip. I don't really like the idea of that. But I guess if this is really the last resort, then I might as well do.

 

I know, I remember thinking about that too when I first read the article. I have been able to remove them by heating them up carefully and slowly with a heat gun on a LOW heat settings. A hair dryer might work but I have never tried that. Then I use a razor blade, slide it under the edge and work my way around it a few times till it comes loose and peel it up evenly. The trick is no resist bending it, once it is bent it is bent forever. It seems to work about 75% of the time.

 

If you have another broken 1010 you could keep the top shell just for alignment purposes. peel off the strip and use that top half when you need to align a 1010. Maybe someone here from the UK has a dead one.

[JayoK]

Question? If you CSAVE something with this 1010 can you CLOAD it with the same 1010? If you can then it's head-alignment or speed, not necessarily SIO cables, etc. Would narrow the search. I assume you are just testing commercially produced tape (which would have the correct speed, etc)

[Ross PK]

Question? If you CSAVE something with this 1010 can you CLOAD it with the same 1010? If you can then it's head-alignment or speed, not necessarily SIO cables, etc. Would narrow the search. I assume you are just testing commercially produced tape (which would have the correct speed, etc)

 

Yeah, it's just been commercially produced tape up to now.

 

I've never thought of CSAVEing something and the CLOADing it to see if it works, that's a good idea. I guess to do a true test I'd have to program in something that'll take a long while to load, like around 10 minutes.

 

Or then again, I guess it doesn't need to be a working program, I could just do loads of line numbers filled up with random key pressings.

 

As for head cleaning that has now been done, I realised that the CD cleaner that I have can be used for tape heads, so I used some of that, the 1010 still doesn't load most of the time though.

Edited March 10, 2008 by Ross PK

[highendsystems]

Ahhhh, that boxy thing! I used-up my original 1010,

yep, I used her up (nearly wore it out, but functional).

I did everything I could with it as far as 'actual - recordable

data storage/read/write/and even re-write....'

 

What amazes me most is that the mechanizm did hold up,

but the buttons (yep, all of them) were so broke that I had

a special tool which I used to manupulate the initiators....

and continued to work long enough for me to get a 1050

and swap/backup everything! Though busted and used,

it did back-up all tape data.... I really don't know where

it or my prized tapes are since the theft, but I do have this -->

 

 

<pic for 1010>