guiltl3ss Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Greetings everyone! I just found an Atari 600xl at my local goodwill that is cib and looks like it has never been used. I just started getting I to Atari things so I grabbed it, but I don't know much about it. What kind of things can I do with this machine? Should I be aware of Anything? I look forward to playing with it. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC-42 Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Well I don't know it personally, but I do know that its 16k (most likely) of RAM can be upgraded to 64k by the user if you're into poking and prodding around inside these things. As I recall from what I've heard, it's not too taxing if you know which end of the soldering iron not to grab. And I believe that there are upgrades that can take it past the 64k limit, too. Storage is of course a potential problem. I don't have a real drive for my Atari XEGS--takes up space I don't even have for the XEGS!--but instead use a device called SIO2PC, which lets you plug your Atari computer's SIO port in on one end and your PC USB port on the other and, with some software, lets the Atari see the PC as storage media. Lets you load disk images, print, and do telnet BBSing, too. There are of course a number of other solutions for storage, depending on your needs. Check out Atarimax and investigate some of the offerings. (There are others out there, too, but I've done a bit of business with Atarimax this past year.) And how did you find that at a goodwill? I never see that sort of thing around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guiltl3ss Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Awesome thanks for the info! I got very lucky yesterday. I saw it and almost died...I can't wait to play with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Time to start collecting A8 cartridges. They'll work just fine on the 600XL. It think it's the nicest looking A8 machine. Tiny and sleek. As per my avatar, make sure to get Star Raiders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guiltl3ss Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 I'll have to do that, thanks! Yet another atari system to collect for! Very excited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 From all atari 8bit computers the 600xl is my favorite machine. I upgraded mine to 576kb and i added a second OS and realtime clock to it. I also replaced the keyboard. This is a real workhorse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zylon Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Greetings everyone! I just found an Atari 600xl at my local goodwill that is cib and looks like it has never been used. I just started getting I to Atari things so I grabbed it, but I don't know much about it. What kind of things can I do with this machine? Should I be aware of Anything? I look forward to playing with it. Thanks! The 600xl is my A8 of choice. I use stock carts and the Atari memory expansion module to get up to 64k. Over 90% of games will run on that. Another great item would be a flashcart setup. Most games can be downloaded for free. That's great as some can be rather pricey and a great way to "try before you buy". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookt Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Love the 600XL - it was my 1st Atari 8 bit. I upgraded from a Sinclair ZX81 so the difference was mind blowing! I can still remember playing Pole Position on the COLOUR TV downstairs on Christmas morning. Colour! Did I mention it was in colour? And sound too! I still have my original 600XL but it has been somewhat beefed up with an Ultimate 1Mb expansion and Stereo Pokey amongst other things. Still in use to this day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guiltl3ss Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 What kind of things can one do with it? What should I get for it besides memory? Thanks again for the replies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 What kind of things can one do with it? What should I get for it besides memory? Thanks again for the replies! I would recommend some type of video upgrade, composite and s-video have better signal quality the the standard RF outout. Here's one example, there are several others: http://www.atariarchives.org/cfn/12/02/0087.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zylon Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I would recommend some type of video upgrade, composite and s-video have better signal quality the the standard RF outout. Here's one example, there are several others: http://www.atariarchives.org/cfn/12/02/0087.php Another thing I'd add about the video, is that (at least on mine) I get far better picture with using ROM's on the Maxflash carts than with original carts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russg Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 (edited) What kind of things can one do with it? What should I get for it besides memory? Thanks again for the replies! Apparently, you can run 8K and 16K carts on it, stock. But if you want to run 1000s of games you can get off the internet, that run from a disk drive, you need to upgrade the RAM. It is a very cheap and easy upgrade to make to 64K. With 64K, you can run 99.9% of whatever is available. If you get a little serious, you need a DOS. The 16K 600XL will not run DOS. With DOS, you can load and save games, and you can program in BASIC and SAVE your programs You also need a PC SIO2PC device to emulate a disk drive, you can make one for less than $20 or buy a nice one for about $50. If you didn't get a composite video cable, you need that, unless you use a RF cable and a old timey TV. With a SIO2PC (or APE) interface to your USB PC port, you need disk images, called ATRs, which you can get off internet free. Edited February 26, 2014 by russg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russg Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Apparently, you can run 8K and 16K carts on it, stock. But if you want to run 1000s of games you can get off the internet, that run from a disk drive, you need to upgrade the RAM. It is a very cheap and easy upgrade to make to 64K. With 64K, you can run 99.9% of whatever is available. If you get a little serious, you need a DOS. The 16K 600XL will not run DOS. With DOS, you can load and save games, and you can program in BASIC and SAVE your programs You also need a PC SIO2PC device to emulate a disk drive, you can make one for less than $20 or buy a nice one for about $50. If you didn't get a composite video cable, you need that, unless you use a RF cable and a old timey TV. With a SIO2PC (or APE) interface to your USB PC port, you need disk images, called ATRs, which you can get off internet free. I'm wrong about the composite cable. 600XL, stock, NTSC, only has RF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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