OldSchoolRetroGamer Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 First I want to make it clear, I am not a programmer at all, just a game player and fool around with various programs. Do I need an floppy drive for my 800XL? Or are most of the titles on cartridge? Is it worth it and if so which floppy drives are for the 800XL? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookt Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 There are some games which were only originally published on disk, the two Alternate Reality titles spring to mind as obvious examples so you may miss out on some good games if you go cart only. That said these days there are a lot of other ways to play these games on real hardware. The easiest and probably most popular is SIO2PC which when used with something like APE for windows, connects your Atari 8bit to a PC and gives you virtual floppy drives. This allows you to mount floppy images and boot from them as though they were real drives. See AtariMax for info. Steve at AtariMax also sells flash carts which can be loaded up with games but I believe you need the SIO2PC to transfer flash images to the Atari. Other solutions include SIO2USB which is an Atari to USB memory stick interface, SIO2SD which is much the same except it uses SD memory cards and the SDrive which is a much simpler project. The SIO2USB is offered as a pre-built product the others are sometimes to be found for sale ready made but are more often self build. As for real drives Atari produced three 5.25 inch floppy units, the 810, the 1050 and the XF551. I own all 3 and use 1050's most often. Why? Well I have a few of them, they're pretty reliable and they match my 800XL (which is my primary machine). XF551's are scarce and expensive and the 810, although a reliable drive only works at the lower single density which means you get less on a disk. There were a number of 3rd party drives too but we didn't see many of them in Europe so I'm unfamiliar with most of them. I'd recommend going down the SIO2PC route if you have some kind of PC or laptop near the Atari. If not and you want to play with real floppies look for a 1050. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I agree, if your PC is close enough to your Atari set up, go for SIO2PC. If you really have the urge to use floppys then a 1050 would be your best bet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sl0re Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 First I want to make it clear, I am not a programmer at all, just a game player and fool around with various programs. Do I need an floppy drive for my 800XL?Or are most of the titles on cartridge? Is it worth it and if so which floppy drives are for the 800XL? Sometimes it is hard to 'do things' without some kind of media. Be it a floppy, sio2pc, or a working sio2ide with an CF card (instead of a hard drive). As in, how do you get the games to your computer (and/or flash cart) without it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 (edited) First I want to make it clear, I am not a programmer at all, just a game player and fool around with various programs. Do I need an floppy drive for my 800XL?Or are most of the titles on cartridge? Is it worth it and if so which floppy drives are for the 800XL? You don't really need a floppy drive, but you need some type of storage/transfer device. More than likely, most of the software that you would use will be in the form of ATR disk images. There are lots of carts; there are many times as many images. How will you get them from the internet or CD-Rom to your Atari? The best solution (bar none) is APE, but that means that you need a PC (or with added/different software, a Mac) near your Atari. So some folks prefer not to be "tethered" to a PC and they prefer something like SIO2SD ($) or SIO2USB ($$$). I think that both of these are functionally inferior to the PC/APE solution, but that's just an opinion. If you opt for an APE USB interface, then pretty much any fairly modern desktop or laptop will do. If you have older equipment, then the serial port interface is cheaper and works just as well. Check out the Atarimax pages: www.atarimax.com As to what kind of floppy: 1st choice 1050; 2nd choice Indus. -Larry Edited January 31, 2009 by Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApolloBoy Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I'd also like to second the SIO2PC. Best. 8-bit. Accessory. Ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wolfe Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 ... (or with added/different software, a Mac) ... Larry, how the heck can I use my Mac to serve up floppy images to my 800XL? It does not have the required serial port... do tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookt Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) Larry, how the heck can I use my Mac to serve up floppy images to my 800XL? It does not have the required serial port... do tell. Use the "correct" serial to USB adaptor and SIO2PC or possibly the AtariMax USB version of SIO2PC. Of the two I have a serial to USB adaptor with a wrong chipset which almost works I've never tried the USB SIO2PC - can anyone confirm it works with SIO2OSX ? There is more info on the SIO2OSX page. Edited February 3, 2009 by spookt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 ... (or with added/different software, a Mac) ... Larry, how the heck can I use my Mac to serve up floppy images to my 800XL? It does not have the required serial port... do tell. I'm not a Mac guy, but IIRC, there were screen shots posted of APE running on a Mac under "Soft Windows" or whatever it is called. Presume it was a USB interface. (?) Sorry I can't be more specific, but I'm pretty sure that is what I saw -- I was really impressed when I saw the screen shots. And yes, SIO2SX is another possibility. -Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookt Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Hmm, I never thought of running APE on Windows. I wonder if it was Parallels or a dual boot with Windows installed. Interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wolfe Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Larry, how the heck can I use my Mac to serve up floppy images to my 800XL? It does not have the required serial port... do tell. Use the "correct" serial to USB adaptor and SIO2PC or possibly the AtariMax USB version of SIO2PC. Of the two I have a serial to USB adaptor with a wrong chipset which almost works I've never tried the USB SIO2PC - can anyone confirm it works with SIO2OSX ? There is more info on the SIO2OSX page. Ok, I've definitely been contemplating getting the USB version of SIO2PC but what about the software? I have Virtual PC so I guess I could do it that way as others have suggested here. I don't know of any native OS X software that works like APE does, do you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookt Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Larry, how the heck can I use my Mac to serve up floppy images to my 800XL? It does not have the required serial port... do tell. Use the "correct" serial to USB adaptor and SIO2PC or possibly the AtariMax USB version of SIO2PC. Of the two I have a serial to USB adaptor with a wrong chipset which almost works I've never tried the USB SIO2PC - can anyone confirm it works with SIO2OSX ? There is more info on the SIO2OSX page. Ok, I've definitely been contemplating getting the USB version of SIO2PC but what about the software? I have Virtual PC so I guess I could do it that way as others have suggested here. I don't know of any native OS X software that works like APE does, do you? Well, there is SIO2OSX as I mentioned above There is more info on the SIO2OSX page. Sure it's not quite as functional as Ape but it does what I use Ape for most often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wolfe Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) @spookt: than you for re-iterating, the "osx" detail of your response was lost on me the first time, thanks!! update: wow, this is great news. checking out http://www.atarimac.com/ how did I miss this all these years? Edited February 3, 2009 by Mark_Wolfe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookt Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 @spookt: than you for re-iterating, the "osx" detail of your response was lost on me the first time, thanks!! No worries I must point out that since my USB to serial adapter apparently has the wrong chipset I haven't been able to play with it fully. It would be great to find out if the AtariMax USB version of the SIO2PC interface works with it. It seems you need a USB to serial cable with an FDDI chipset otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wolfe Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 @spookt: than you for re-iterating, the "osx" detail of your response was lost on me the first time, thanks!! No worries I must point out that since my USB to serial adapter apparently has the wrong chipset I haven't been able to play with it fully. It would be great to find out if the AtariMax USB version of the SIO2PC interface works with it. It seems you need a USB to serial cable with an FDDI chipset otherwise. I was going to spend $50-$60 on the USB version of SIO2PC but I think I am just going to get this USB/Serial adapter as is suggested on the atarimac website: http://www.usbgear.com/USBG-232MINI.html only $20 and from what they say over at atarimac, is tested and working on a Mac. wooohoo... ordering now actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wolfe Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) hold the phones, after a quick look on ebay, I found an even cheaper alternative: ebay alternative seller's store - Make sure it says Mac compatible. only $7, free shipping. see the fine print where it says mac compatible. hopefully this also means "atari compatible" and for the cheap price, it is worth a shot ordering now!! edit: just ordered it, cost me $6.33 total, shipping included. I will try it out and report back here in a new thread for Mac/Atari users. the shipper claims to be in the US so it shouldn't take too long to arrive and I will test it right away using ISO2OSX and report back. If someone can answer spookt's question regarding compatibility of the usb version of atarimax's IOS2PC with a Mac, that would be very good information to pass on. Edited February 3, 2009 by Mark_Wolfe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 @spookt: than you for re-iterating, the "osx" detail of your response was lost on me the first time, thanks!! No worries I must point out that since my USB to serial adapter apparently has the wrong chipset I haven't been able to play with it fully. It would be great to find out if the AtariMax USB version of the SIO2PC interface works with it. It seems you need a USB to serial cable with an FDDI chipset otherwise. I was going to spend $50-$60 on the USB version of SIO2PC but I think I am just going to get this USB/Serial adapter as is suggested on the atarimac website: http://www.usbgear.com/USBG-232MINI.html only $20 and from what they say over at atarimac, is tested and working on a Mac. wooohoo... ordering now actually. not sure about that, does it work with all modes apesystem/prosystem. To serve computer as well as peripherals such as drives etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wolfe Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 (edited) Ok, the $6 USB serial port I ordered from ebay came today and after a lot of searching on the driver disk I found the mac osx driver and loaded up SIO2OSX and it WORKED! damn thing worked I also tried running APE under Virtual PC, it saw the port but it was not working very well, and ultimately I could not load a mounted disk image. does anyone know if SIO2OSX is limited without registration? It seems slower than APE running on my PC laptop and when I go to the pref panel the speed listed as the highest is not the speed it runs at I will post a new thread about it all, and where to get one next week. Edited February 7, 2009 by Mark_Wolfe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirage Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 That's interesting news. I was trying to decide which version of SIO2PC to get, the serial with an adapter, or the USB one. I want to be able to use it with either Windows or my Mac, so in any case, USB is the way to go. Please post more as you work with it more to let us know how it's working out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wolfe Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 That's interesting news. I was trying to decide which version of SIO2PC to get, the serial with an adapter, or the USB one. I want to be able to use it with either Windows or my Mac, so in any case, USB is the way to go. Please post more as you work with it more to let us know how it's working out for you. I will do that within the next few days and I will test it with the PC too. stay tuned... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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