adamf Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Hi, just bought an Atari 5200 and I need the soundcard but don't know what it looks like. Could anyone tell me which part it is? I'm trying to connect it to a modified keyboard to make a retro atari sound. Thanks, guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Hi, just bought an Atari 5200 and I need the soundcard but don't know what it looks like. Could anyone tell me which part it is? I'm trying to connect it to a modified keyboard to make a retro atari sound. Thanks, guys! Sound card? There is no sound card for the 5200. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 It's a single IC (Pokey), and could be interfaced with different hardware reasonably easily. But you'd be way better off preserving the 5200 and just buying the chip as a seperate part from someone like Best Electronics. Pretty sure too that since it's clocked at various speeds in arcade machines that you could probably run it at any speed from 800 KHz to around 1.9 MHz, although the base clock will influence the frequencies generated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamf Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 It's a single IC (Pokey), and could be interfaced with different hardware reasonably easily. But you'd be way better off preserving the 5200 and just buying the chip as a seperate part from someone like Best Electronics. Pretty sure too that since it's clocked at various speeds in arcade machines that you could probably run it at any speed from 800 KHz to around 1.9 MHz, although the base clock will influence the frequencies generated. Thanks, I don't know a lot about this topic, could you recommend any pieces of equipment that would connect to the chip to make music? I have a midi keyboard but I hardly think this will work. Also, you say to buy the POKEY chip seperately, why is this? Is it just to preserve the Atari system because I only really need the chip, not bothered about playing it again. Thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Heck, I've got Pokey's laying around if you want to trade a 5200 for just the chip. Here's an idea. Download RMT for the PC: http://raster.infos.cz/atari/rmt/rmt.htm This is a music composing package that emulates Pokey (allowing you to hear your songs without any additional hardware). This will allow you to mess around with creating songs that can also be saved and played on a real Atari computer (800/XL/XE) if you wish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 It's a tall order from my perspective, if my assumption about what you're trying to do is correct. Are you trying to make a synthesizer out of a 5200 like the Synthcart does for the 2600? The "sound card" for the 5200 is just a built in chip. To use it within the 5200, I'd say the best bet would be to figure out the best way to interface your keyboard and write software to put on a cartridge. What sort of interface does your keyboard support? MIDI? Or is it a total custom job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamf Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 It's a tall order from my perspective, if my assumption about what you're trying to do is correct. Are you trying to make a synthesizer out of a 5200 like the Synthcart does for the 2600? The "sound card" for the 5200 is just a built in chip. To use it within the 5200, I'd say the best bet would be to figure out the best way to interface your keyboard and write software to put on a cartridge. What sort of interface does your keyboard support? MIDI? Or is it a total custom job? My keyboard uses a MIDI interface. I'm basically trying to replicate the sound of an Atari 5200 and record the sounds on to my PC through the MIDI keyboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 (edited) I don't know if anyone has made anything for standalone Pokey use like there is for SID. Would be a fun project and Pokey is able to handle the MIDI serial format. Basically, you'd have a 6502, a ROM and 2 (or more) Pokeys on a little PCB. EDIT: Oh, and a little RAM. Edited July 28, 2008 by Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 On a side note (get it! He he), Atari was planning a musical keyboard for the 5200 but it never happened. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZylonBane Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 (edited) Thanks, I don't know a lot about this topic, could you recommend any pieces of equipment that would connect to the chip to make music? A television set and a game cartridge? "The music... is IN the computer!?" Edited July 28, 2008 by ZylonBane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKE5200 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 This would be cool if a 5200 could handle a Guitar. Play Guitar Hero on the 5200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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