old atari users

[Fox-1 / mnx]

After some fiddling with other systems (P2000T/ZX81/Acorn/Vic20/C64/...) I got my first real computer (130XE w. 1010) in 1985 at the age of 001111.

[OldAtarian]

I was 9 years old when the VCS was released and can even remember when dedicated Pong consoles were still new on store shelves. Didn't get my own until the Vader was released, though.

[svenski]

Well I'm the same age as Atari itself

[sven86]

I was born the same year the VCS came out (77). My first Atari was the classic 800XL.

Edited October 8, 2010 by sven86

[Mclaneinc]

Born 1961, seen them all, had them all, lost them all, wish I could do it all again (perhaps not the losing bit tho).

[Heaven/TQA]

born 1971, got my 800XL around 85/86, when Slayer released Reign in Blood...

[eegad]

45 years old. Got my first Atari computer, a lowly 400 with a "program recorder" in July of 1982. Upgraded to an 800XL in 1984 (I think). Did a 256k upgrade on it a couple years later, and used it with four USDoubler-upgraded 1050's. Continued using that setup for several years until I finally retired it and bought a Mac in 1993. After 15 years being away from all things Atari, I got nostalgic two years ago and dug out my old 800XL (and 2600 system). Have had them both set-up in the basement since then to play games on once or twice a week (and I must say that I was shocked to find that EVERY old disk that I tried booted up just fine....I was expecting a high percentage of them to have become unreadable over the years!)

[+DarkLord]

What demo is the "animated lightning strike!"?

 

Wow - sorry for the late reply, but I just found this in this thread.

 

Umm, not really a demo - it was just an animated lightning strike that

went across the screen. Not sure, but I believe it was a type-in listing

from some of the docs that came with my 800XL.

 

HTHs.

[themrfreeze]

I'm 41. We got our first Atari, a 2600, in 1980. In 1983, I bought myself a Commodore Vic 20 for $82 from K-Mart with my 8th grade graduation money. In 1984, I bought my first Atari computer, a 600XL, for $149 at Kiddie City. From '84-'87, I went from the 600XL, to an 800, then an 800XL, 65XE, and finally to a 130XE. Went from a 1010 tape drive to an Indus GT floppy. Had a bunch of different printers. These were they years when I SERIOUSLY got into computers, and have lots of fond memories of those days.

 

When I started college in '87, I got a 520ST so I could do "serious" work, but also still had 8-bits to hack on. Had the fortune of working for Bob Puff over at CSS from '88 until '92 or so. Around '92, I switched to the Mac, and was a major Machead until ~2 years ago. I finally got fed up with Apple's increasingly big brother attitude, and switched to Linux. Though it can be a little frustrating at times, the freedom and lack of corporate BS with Linux is a breath of fresh air. Kinda reminds me of what computing used to be like when I was a younger man.

 

Oh, and I still have an 800 and a few other vintage systems set up in the spare bedroom for when I get nostalgic.

[Faicuai]

God, I wish I was 12 again (!)

 

Greetings to everyone, I am new around here...

 

As for me, I'm 40, and it all started circa 1982-1983, with an Atari 400 (which I will always and entirely owe to my parents, wherever they are now). I already had the VCS-2600, but that was a gaming platform.

 

From the Atari 400 (with which I could never feel satisfied, but inmensely fascinated), I moved to an 800xl+Indus GT in 1984, then quickly to the 1040ST, being that one my last Atari platform before entering the PC-arena (with a 486 DX-33 Gateway 2000). Today, I extensively use the PC+Windows platform for pretty much everything I can think of.

 

I still have my originally bought 800xl NTSC, which is a Rev.C, fully-socketed MoBo... but sadly, there were two (2) things that I have regreted to this day: a) not getting the machine that I truly and always wanted (the classic, Jay-Miner 800 version), and b) being able to truly program and have fun with its potential (I was learning English, very little tech. documentation in my country, I was pretty young, etc.)

 

There has not been A SINGLE day that the Pokey's sweet, mellow "chip-sound" and that creamy "Ready" blue-screen does not come back to me. They will always be dear to me, as well as the envelope of such beatiful memories (my parents, my childhood, Christmas, the amazement of discovering new programs, Star Raiders, you name it...)

 

Atari was (and is) and INTEGRAL component of my development and evolution... The image of Star Raiders running on the A400/A800 and projected through a video-beam of the era, has been a decades'-length impression that I have only been able to reproduce, today, on my Bravia KDL-52W3000, in combination with Altirra (calibrated to NTSC color output). I do not recall feeling this again, since my early Atari days... except for, maybe, my twin PlayStation3 setup running Grand Turismo five on my 52" Bravia.

 

Three days ago, I finally got a rare, unique A800 (the old one), which (to my amazement) was incredibly well preserved, and came in a special cushioned carrying case (with a huge Atari logo outside, and a 1975 label on it). Virtually no signs of usage, especially inside. After all these years, it is finally mine, and, this time, I will master it.

 

 

Cheers to everyone, and enjoy!

[20ohm20]

Born in 1970 - first computer was a Commodore 64 that I got for Christmas in '83. Didn't own another Atari product, except for a 2600, until 2002 when I was given (for free!) a 520ST. Since then I've acquired two 400's, an 800 and an 800XL.

[stevem00]

I was a writer fresh out of college in 1982. I'd stopped using typewriters entirely by 1980, relieved to have discovered typesetting in troff on UNIX at UC Santa Cruz. By then, I had grown tired of re-typing 500 words for every ten I wanted to change. When I left UCSC, I couldn't bear the thought of returning to the typewriter. Coincidentally, a friend showed me his Atari 800. The 40-column display seemed toylike after the vt100 terminals I'd been using in college, but it was cheaper than the Apple II. By 1983 I was working at a UNIX house and went back to troff, using the Atari for games. Eventually I gave it away to a relative because I had no time for games anymore. Fast forward to the late 90s when I discovered Atari emulators (briefly). Now at 51, it occurred to me that I've been building computers for more than twenty years and I never once saw the inside of an Atari 800. For the time being, I'm taking on refurbishing 800s as a hobby.

[Kylev]

Hi there,

 

Seems I missed this thread the first few times around. I am 49 and I bought my first Atari in 1982 (I think) from a department store clearance shop. It was an Atari 800XL. When I first brought it home, I didn't even have a recorder to save programs on to so I left the machine up and running just so that I could type in programs from a magazine.

 

I still have that 800XL (currently in storage at my parent's house). It has been upgraded to 256k with a Newell memory upgrade. I am currently using another 800XL that kindly given to me by bob1200xl. When the 800XL was my main machine, I wrote some rudimentary programs and played every logic puzzle game I could get my hands on until I bought Alternate Reality- The City. Spent days playing that module trying to get a character built up. Never made it past level 10. I also used it for basic record keeping using SynCalc, SynFile+, and AtariWriter(cartridge). Nowadays it is mostly used for simple gaming, though I have a mind to try my hand at programming again in the near future.

 

Russ

[stevem00]

God, I wish I was 12 again (!)

 

Greetings to everyone, I am new around here...

 

As for me, I'm 40, and it all started circa 1982-1983, with an Atari 400 (which I will always and entirely owe to my parents, wherever they are now). I already had the VCS-2600, but that was a gaming platform.

 

From the Atari 400 (with which I could never feel satisfied, but inmensely fascinated), I moved to an 800xl+Indus GT in 1984, then quickly to the 1040ST, being that one my last Atari platform before entering the PC-arena (with a 486 DX-33 Gateway 2000). Today, I extensively use the PC+Windows platform for pretty much everything I can think of.

 

I still have my originally bought 800xl NTSC, which is a Rev.C, fully-socketed MoBo... but sadly, there were two (2) things that I have regreted to this day: a) not getting the machine that I truly and always wanted (the classic, Jay-Miner 800 version), and b) being able to truly program and have fun with its potential (I was learning English, very little tech. documentation in my country, I was pretty young, etc.)

 

There has not been A SINGLE day that the Pokey's sweet, mellow "chip-sound" and that creamy "Ready" blue-screen does not come back to me. They will always be dear to me, as well as the envelope of such beatiful memories (my parents, my childhood, Christmas, the amazement of discovering new programs, Star Raiders, you name it...)

 

Atari was (and is) and INTEGRAL component of my development and evolution... The image of Star Raiders running on the A400/A800 and projected through a video-beam of the era, has been a decades'-length impression that I have only been able to reproduce, today, on my Bravia KDL-52W3000, in combination with Altirra (calibrated to NTSC color output). I do not recall feeling this again, since my early Atari days... except for, maybe, my twin PlayStation3 setup running Grand Turismo five on my 52" Bravia.

 

Three days ago, I finally got a rare, unique A800 (the old one), which (to my amazement) was incredibly well preserved, and came in a special cushioned carrying case (with a huge Atari logo outside, and a 1975 label on it). Virtually no signs of usage, especially inside. After all these years, it is finally mine, and, this time, I will master it.

 

 

Cheers to everyone, and enjoy!

 

Did you get the A800 on eBay from a seller named birdlegs?

 

stevem

[dafivehole]

God, I wish I was 12 again (!)

 

Greetings to everyone, I am new around here...

 

As for me, I'm 40, and it all started circa 1982-1983, with an Atari 400 (which I will always and entirely owe to my parents, wherever they are now). I already had the VCS-2600, but that was a gaming platform.

 

From the Atari 400 (with which I could never feel satisfied, but inmensely fascinated), I moved to an 800xl+Indus GT in 1984, then quickly to the 1040ST, being that one my last Atari platform before entering the PC-arena (with a 486 DX-33 Gateway 2000). Today, I extensively use the PC+Windows platform for pretty much everything I can think of.

 

I still have my originally bought 800xl NTSC, which is a Rev.C, fully-socketed MoBo... but sadly, there were two (2) things that I have regreted to this day: a) not getting the machine that I truly and always wanted (the classic, Jay-Miner 800 version), and b) being able to truly program and have fun with its potential (I was learning English, very little tech. documentation in my country, I was pretty young, etc.)

 

There has not been A SINGLE day that the Pokey's sweet, mellow "chip-sound" and that creamy "Ready" blue-screen does not come back to me. They will always be dear to me, as well as the envelope of such beatiful memories (my parents, my childhood, Christmas, the amazement of discovering new programs, Star Raiders, you name it...)

 

Atari was (and is) and INTEGRAL component of my development and evolution... The image of Star Raiders running on the A400/A800 and projected through a video-beam of the era, has been a decades'-length impression that I have only been able to reproduce, today, on my Bravia KDL-52W3000, in combination with Altirra (calibrated to NTSC color output). I do not recall feeling this again, since my early Atari days... except for, maybe, my twin PlayStation3 setup running Grand Turismo five on my 52" Bravia.

 

Three days ago, I finally got a rare, unique A800 (the old one), which (to my amazement) was incredibly well preserved, and came in a special cushioned carrying case (with a huge Atari logo outside, and a 1975 label on it). Virtually no signs of usage, especially inside. After all these years, it is finally mine, and, this time, I will master it.

 

 

Cheers to everyone, and enjoy!

 

Did you get the A800 on eBay from a seller named birdlegs?

 

stevem

 

 

That's exactly what I was thinking

[littleman jack]

Just saw this thread. I'm 41 and have been playing Atari since 1978. Got my first 800 the year they came out. As someone else said, I wanted a 2600 but my parents would not go for a video game machine. I thought they would get me a 400, but they surprised my brother and I with an 800. Eventually it did replace the typewriter for school papers, but we mostly used it for games late at night once our parents were asleep. Good times then and now. I took a break from games for awhile in the 90s, but got back into the Atari in 2002. Happy to have this web site and community.

[BillC]

Just saw this thread. I'm 41 and have been playing Atari since 1978. Got my first 800 the year they came out. As someone else said, I wanted a 2600 but my parents would not go for a video game machine. I thought they would get me a 400, but they surprised my brother and I with an 800. Eventually it did replace the typewriter for school papers, but we mostly used it for games late at night once our parents were asleep. Good times then and now. I took a break from games for awhile in the 90s, but got back into the Atari in 2002. Happy to have this web site and community.

You wouldn't have been playing with an 800 in 1978, the 400/800 weren't released until late 1979.

[Faicuai]

 

 

Did you get the A800 on eBay from a seller named birdlegs?

 

stevem

 

...You got it!.... The item was held by her son, a devoted and enthusiast collector. His Atari800 unit turned out to be a jewel, and beautifully preserved (I was shocked to see the completely dust/lint/oxidation-free state of every piece inside. All printed circuit-boards were immaculate, shiny, with their classical deep-saturated greenish color. The RF shield as shiny and clean as it could ever be, the heat-shield around the AC-to-DC stage completely black-matte and clean/smooth, no signs of chassis intrusion (all screws were evenly tight, with clean/smooth heads), keyboard virtually unused and fully operational... I believe the special carrying/inside-foam case that came with it (and loaded with 1050, joysticks, NEW power-supplies, Cartridges, cables, etc.) helped preserve it very effectively. The big/classy blue case is a jewel on its own.

 

Restoration of external case only took 1.5 hours of sun-exposure with 40-vol Cream Developer (constantly re-applying to protect plastic surface). There was mild yellowing, and the case came out still with a glossy, smooth texture and gorgeous beige/creamy color (not bleached-out and dry as a lot of garbage I have seen around, as well as in Ebay, which you can tell from MILES apart that it has been sent to the nearest laundry dept.).

 

Test-burned it with several pieces of code, and after continuous hours, eventually found one bad Mostek 4116N-3GP, which was quickly replaced, re-burned again, and has been fully operational since then. Pretty much a piece of cake.

 

This one is a real keeper. It even makes look the Commodore 64 disposable, in comparison. :-)

 

Cheers!

Edited April 9, 2011 by Faicuai

[littleman jack]

Just saw this thread. I'm 41 and have been playing Atari since 1978. Got my first 800 the year they came out. As someone else said, I wanted a 2600 but my parents would not go for a video game machine. I thought they would get me a 400, but they surprised my brother and I with an 800. Eventually it did replace the typewriter for school papers, but we mostly used it for games late at night once our parents were asleep. Good times then and now. I took a break from games for awhile in the 90s, but got back into the Atari in 2002. Happy to have this web site and community.

You wouldn't have been playing with an 800 in 1978, the 400/800 weren't released until late 1979.

 

True, we were playing Atari on our friend's and cousin's 2600s in 1978. We got the 800 in late 1979 (December to be exact). It didn't come with 48k at that time. We had to upgrade it later. I remember getting the upgrades and plugging them in the top. And eventually we got an 810, a small interface box (can't remember the name/number) and a printer. I still play Atari by playing 2600, 5200, 7800, 800, 400, and through emulation. When I say "play Atari", I mean any Atari games, excluding arcade machines. Sorry for the confusion.