Mechanicjay Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 I have my original 810 drive, the 800 was lost to moisture about 10 years ago, but I recently acquired another I have my Dad's original heavy wood-grained 6 switch 2600 I have my original NES I got for my 7th Birthday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bandit Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 I have my original 800 and 800xl , sold my 400 when I bought my 800. as for drives, have a few but iam sure none are the ones I bought, have a few other things also 1020, touch tablet, ect I bought and have kept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idavis Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Add me to the list of original equipment owners. Still have my original 800, 810 and 1050 drives and my 410 is around as well. All of my boxes of disks have been kept as well. I don't throw anything out, and still drag it all out ocasionally just to make sure it all still works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobus Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 I still have my original 400 & 410 from 1982, but the problem is at one point during a move, all my 400's got mixed up and now I can't figure out which it is. I know it's not the CITA one or the 16K model, but there are still a few to choose from! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClausB Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 It must be the third or fourth one in this post, right? http://atariage.com/forums/topic/176199-calling-all-400s/?do=findComment&comment=2194711 I still have my original 400 & 410 from 1982, but the problem is at one point during a move, all my 400's got mixed up and now I can't figure out which it is. I know it's not the CITA one or the 16K model, but there are still a few to choose from! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozar Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Still have my original 800XL upgraded with the ICD Rambo upgrade and my 1050 with the US Doubler. Don't use the 1050, but the XL is my daily driver. Celebrating 30 years this Christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eegad Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 I still have all of my original computers....a 400, then an 800xl, then an 800xl with rambo upgrade. They all still work. Ialso have a friends 800 that he gave me back circa 1995 or so. I still have the boxes/manuals for my first 800xl; and the box for the 400 may still be in my parents attic. I got four 1050 drives through the 80s, 2 upgraded with USDoublers in them....still have them and they still work. I think I still have the boxes/manuals for 2 of them. But that's probably about it - about 10 years ago when I moved, I threw away modems, cassette drives, PR Connection, a printer and some other assorted odds and ends. Every few years I'll set up an 800xl and a couple disk drives and play some games on a rainy winter weekend, but I figured I'd never use the cassettes, printer, modems, etc. Last time I set up one of my real Atari's and played the games, I was kind of amazed that these floppies/drives still work fine after 25-30 years! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Don't be amazed one frakking bit! I have billions of Apple II disks dating back from 1978 which are quite functional. I even took the time this past summer to look at the raw analog signal coming off the disk r/w head and their shapes and amplitudes were just like new. All this low density media, if reasonably well-cared for, has great longevity. There is no reason this would not apply to Atari 810 disks either. Perhaps even more so for they are even lower density at 90KB vs.140KB. I believe a lot of that hogwash about floppies going bad was just that, hogwash. Hogwash and some PR to get you to buy into the latest and greatest. I always thought disks would have a much longer life than what was being preached at the time. And I have data on floppies that seems to be outliving more contemporary storage devices. But no matter how robust, classic or contemporary, backups are the order of the day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 (edited) You would be surprised... I will never forget it... Not a single day that goes by... Edited October 6, 2014 by Faicuai 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telengard Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Very cool. I still have my receipt from White House Computer for my 130XE purchase. I sadly do not have the XE anymore as I traded it in towards a 520 ST, purchased @ Lyco and still have the receipt. Regrettably sold the ST too. Wish I knew now what I didn't know then. You would be surprised... IMG_0037-A800XL-web.jpg I will never forget it... Not a single day that goes by... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 You would be surprised... IMG_0037-A800XL-web.jpg I will never forget it... Not a single day that goes by... What was the game for $14.50? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 (edited) What was the game for $14.50? ...We were kids... we were so excited to get our hands on the XLs... especially coming out of a 400 (what I did not fully grasped by then is that 16bit computing was already taking off!!!) However, the "64 Kbytes", the dedicated monitor port, the awesome ALPS keyboard (as I found later), the "Help" key :-) and the PBI expansion-bus more than made up for... buying the exact same 8bit CPU/GPU/Sound/IO combo (!)... 8-) The INDUS was for me... love at first sight, best / finest drive I've ever seen / used on the 8bit series, even today (I own the 1050). The tape-recorder was for my cousin... as well as the tapes! 8-) As for the game, I think it was AstroChase on disk (almost sure, but can't remember with 100% clarity). I will ask my cousin, this weekend... From all that gear... well, my cousin ended up blowing my Indus (almost a decade later or so, from Invoice). We could not afford / reach the technical means to repair it (I lost my beautiful Indus). However, the 800XL survived... It was well packed (original boxes and wrapping, which I still have), but my closet ended up being a total magnet for humidity. After finally getting back at it, a couple of years ago, I noticed substantial corrosion on the shields, as well as the contact-tracks on the mother-board. However, it was blessed with a fully-socketed MoBo, best-in-class ALPS keyboard and good quality passives (components). Nevertheless, that is today my 800XL (unit #1), now fully restored (MoBo contacts, reseated ICs, new shields, sVideo enabled, new CPU, and Ultimate / SIDE-enabled). I bought a second 800XL (unit #2), which I chased for months (it is IDENTICAL, same generation, same manufacturing, same machining / plastics, same MoBo, etc., delta of 7K in Serial#), in much better original shape than mine, though. Loaded it with a new Antic, Ultimate + Side-II, and performing like a charm, day in, day out... ...But the jewel (and this is where my collection ends complete and fulfilled), is my wonderful 800, which is the machine that I always wanted... and could never have. This one came in absolutely / freaking immaculate condition (I just don't know how it could be preserved to such impressive extent). The MoBo virgin, shiny and clean, everywhere... The inner shields on the RF and power-unit, just beautiful as it came out of the store/shop. It also came with a special carrying case (also uber-hard to find), and it now sports an Incognito-upgrade, which makes it *the* 8bit to have (now with THREE internal expansion slots free, plus a dedicated PBI connector in the expansion bay, as bonus!) Just a bit of story. Lots of love for these toys... not just part of dear / sweet memories... but also integral to my formation, as well. Edited October 7, 2014 by Faicuai 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caterpiggle Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 I still have the only 1 original Atari 800XL PAL and it does works great in PAL Sony Monitor ! and few tapes does not survives due corruption data ! Those tapes that my parent brought games in nearby Cape Town, South Africa. As for 800XL PAL , my parent brought it at Singapore. Those tapes has no label of the company , only the titles , that's it. I will post the photo's a few tapes in 1 day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD6502 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 I still <have> my first 130 XE, even though it got fried in the 90's by a bad PSU. Fortunately I already had replacement XE and an XL I got from a guy who had upgraded(?) to a Tandy 1000. Pretty much everything else I bought new I still have, and still works, including the box the XE came in, Indus GT w/carrying case, Newell 1meg, Blackbox! (everything Bob Puff! sold had an exclamation point to highlight how fantastically great! it was), not sure if the 10 meg Miniscribe and Adaptec 4004 it came with were new, but I still use them. Also assorted joysticks, Panasonic printer, trackball and assorted floppy and cartidge software. Oh, and not Atari, but still 8-bit - TRS 80-I. Been awhile since I set it up, but it was still working then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kogden Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Fortunately I already had replacement XE and an XL I got from a guy who had upgraded(?) to a Tandy 1000. That's like upgrading from a nice Mustang to a supercharged Yugo with a JATO bottle duct taped to the roof. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 I have many assorted Atari computers from the 8-bit to ST to Falcon (with a TT on the way) that I acquired over the years on e-bay... but for all the computers I have laying around, last week I finally got around to fixing my old 256k Rambo 800xl that was actually MINE back in the day (there was dad's in his den which is still there at the house, but I'm talking about the one I got that got to stay in my room). I can honestly tell you that in the room I'm sitting in now I have a working 1200xl and 3 other working 800xl's, not including my old girl.... and nothing compared to me getting those ram chips in the mail, replacing the old d-rams and firing her up again and listening to the sweet sound of that self test. Nearly 25 years sitting in the closet waiting for that repair. I've spent nearly two decades fixing PC's for people and I can honestly say I never felt so great fixing a computer in my life. It was an easy fix, but for a moment I was a teenager again.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wood_jl Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Yes, my original 48K 400, 192K 800, and Quarter-Meg 800XL. Also my original TI-59. I had sold my beloved SR-56 (my first programmable) and earlier calculators but have replaced them from eBay. I distinctly remember reading about this in BYTE magazine (at the local Atari dealer), and how great it was that (1) Atari computers got another RARE mentioning, and (2) what a 256K Atari meant, at that time. BRAVO!!!! Can't believe the original guy behind the story is here! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClausB Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Thanks! I was pretty thrilled to get in BYTE. I have the editor to thank. He brought my effort up to BYTE's high standard. A bummer was the long lead time, and the 130XE came out, so I had to revise the design from 32K banks to 16K and send out fliers to all who wrote. It's posted here somewhere. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caterpiggle Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Hello ClausB, I need your help to identity the name of company who made those "unique" tape. I know it is Zaxxon BUT who made them ? My parent brought those unique tape near Cape Town, South Africa. It was about 1985 and it was at the big mall there. Yes, I have a few more titles somewhere in my house but right now, I can't find them yet. Just 1 for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClausB Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Sorry, no idea. Sorry also to help take the thread off topic. Back on topic: I still have my original 410, BASIC, Assembler/Editor, and Star Raiders. All my disk drives I got second hand though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClausB Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Oh, and my original ATR8000 too, with two drives. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caterpiggle Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 The reason why I ask you a question. Because you are the co-author "Business is War" of all the history of Atari (Everything) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caterpiggle Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Guide me how to remove my off topic above ? I don't know how to remove it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knimrod Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I think one of my Atari 800s is the original I bought used from an MSU professor back in 80 or 81.. Not sure though. I have a 400 also from around the same time. I think I sold Claus my "Happy" 810 disk drive way back when but still have a 1050 disk drive. Lastly, I still have my Sinclair ZX80 from when they first came out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClausB Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 No, I'm not co-author of that book. Yes, the Happy 810 made me very happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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