Hooking up an old Atari 400

[Gradualore]

I have two old Atari 400's from my childhood. The last time I tried to hook them up, I remember them turning on (little red diode) but I couldn't figure out how to hook up the old rf switch box to a modern TV. My guess is that these are not designed for modern TVs. I found this on amazon:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028MXOF6?ie=UTF8&tag=atariage&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0028MXOF6

 

If my Atari powers on, is it most likely that the system still works and I just need one of the above?

 

In addition...does anybody do Atari 400 homebrew?

[bandit]

Yes that will work, if your 400 light comes on, chances are your 400 is working as well if it worked when you put it away.

 

 

I have two old Atari 400's from my childhood. The last time I tried to hook them up, I remember them turning on (little red diode) but I couldn't figure out how to hook up the old rf switch box to a modern TV. My guess is that these are not designed for modern TVs. I found this on amazon:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028MXOF6?ie=UTF8&tag=atariage&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0028MXOF6

 

If my Atari powers on, is it most likely that the system still works and I just need one of the above?

 

In addition...does anybody do Atari 400 homebrew?

[Bryan]

1. Yes, the 400 hooks up to the RF input of a TV and appears on 2 or 3 (or is it 3 or 4?). Most other Atari models can be connected with Audio/Video connections and have a better picture. The adapter you linked to should work fine in place of a switchbox.

 

2. Yes. The 400 should run most Atari 8-bit homebrew games that only require 16K (unless your 400 is upgraded). Some homebrew games require 64K or higher and an XL or XE series machine is required to run them.

 

In other words, you can use a 400, but it's not the most compatible choice.

[qix_maniac]

I have two old Atari 400's from my childhood. The last time I tried to hook them up, I remember them turning on (little red diode) but I couldn't figure out how to hook up the old rf switch box to a modern TV. My guess is that these are not designed for modern TVs. I found this on amazon:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028MXOF6?ie=UTF8&tag=atariage&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0028MXOF6

 

If my Atari powers on, is it most likely that the system still works and I just need one of the above?

 

In addition...does anybody do Atari 400 homebrew?

 

yes you can buy one of these RF adapters on ebay for like .50 cents plus shipping.

[doctorclu]

I have two old Atari 400's from my childhood. The last time I tried to hook them up, I remember them turning on (little red diode) but I couldn't figure out how to hook up the old rf switch box to a modern TV.

 

Hey welcome! I have an Atari 400 as well, and found that there are some LCD monitors out there that had RF modulators built in. In some ways, the LCD screens that had RF input verses the new digital might be fairly cheap in some areas now.

 

Here is a video I made where I demonstrate something, and while not the direct topic, I used a Atari 400 connected to a LCD that had a RF modulator.

 

[Gradualore]

Alright, this evening I got out both 400's (I don't have an RF connector yet). Both power on and the red light glows. However, only one of them makes that little computerized "beep" sound for every keystroke you enter. Is that cause for concern if one of them doesn't make that sound? I remember hearing it when I was a kid, so that's gotta be a good sign if one of them does it.

 

As for the signal---I had written these systems off as not working some months ago, because I tried to use the switch box that was in the box with the Atari (I probably did something completely hair brained like plug the atari's tv connector into the yellow auxilliary video port or something...ask my wife, I can be pretty retarded sometimes). However, looking at the box now with my wiser eyes I see the only thing that goes out to the tv itself is those prongs---which modern Tv's don't have. I've ordered one of those rf connectors....here's hoping at least one of these works!!

Edited January 7, 2011 by Gradualore

[Bryan]

With no cartridges they should both click (MEMO PAD mode). Another test is to turn them on while pressing START. They should both make a 1-second beep noise (boot from cassette mode).

[Gradualore]

Bryan, thanks for the tip. I immediately went to check both Ataris using the test you mentioned. The one that made the keyboard clicky sound also makes the boot from cassette sound (though, I don't know that it was quite 1 second long?). I remember what that sounds like now from using the cassette deck as a kid! The second Atari 400 (which I don't remember there being 2 from when I was a kid, it is kind of a mystery. My parents and elder sisters don't remember either!), does not make either sound, yet the red light glows. Also, the keyboard on the second one has a sort of "sunken in" texture and makes sticky sounds when you press a key. I wonder if the second one was in a hostile environment and got extremely dried out? One of them was in an attic for more than 20 years, I'm not sure where the other one had been all that time. The one that worked had been in the attic, in a sturdy plastic bin, the one that does not work (or at least, makes no sound---I won't know if it works at all til I get that connector) was in its original cardboard box.

Edited January 7, 2011 by Gradualore

[akator]

Bryan, thanks for the tip. I immediately went to check both Ataris using the test you mentioned. The one that made the keyboard clicky sound also makes the boot from cassette sound (though, I don't know that it was quite 1 second long?). I remember what that sounds like now from using the cassette deck as a kid! The second Atari 400 (which I don't remember there being 2 from when I was a kid, it is kind of a mystery. My parents and elder sisters don't remember either!), does not make either sound, yet the red light glows. Also, the keyboard on the second one has a sort of "sunken in" texture and makes sticky sounds when you press a key. I wonder if the second one was in a hostile environment and got extremely dried out? One of them was in an attic for more than 20 years, I'm not sure where the other one had been all that time. The one that worked had been in the attic, in a sturdy plastic bin, the one that does not work (or at least, makes no sound---I won't know if it works at all til I get that connector) was in its original cardboard box.

 

I suspect that the non-working one was your original Atari 400. You mentioned that you have siblings, combine them with a soda in 198x and imagine the consequences. No one was willing to tell you that your beloved computer died, so your parents replaced it the same way they would a goldfish. "No son, it wasn't dead, it was just sick. Look, it's alive now. Isn't everything better?" The original 400 was kept hidden somewhere but eventually ended up in the same storage box as the working replacement unit.

 

Then again, I have an active imagination. Regardless, at least you have 1 possibly working 400