jcrubin Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 (edited) Ive been lurking here a few years, This year I setup my 800, which I had since I was a kid. Sakata Monitor with Composite video (RF tested though and it works) 800 full memory expansion Indus GT drive 835 Modem 850 IO Box Like always I brought up the components on a VARIAC over 24 hours, Required a retracing on keyboard connection membrane. A few suspect components replaced. Everything works like new. Ordered an SIO2PC. Though all of my floppies are still good. Can connect to my linux server over my rotary switch at 300 baud. J Edited May 10, 2015 by jcrubin 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrubin Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morelenmir Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 That is a really nice machine you've put together there - I am especially jealous of that Indus drive!!! I'm personally really in to floppy drives for some reason. I always wanted one as a kiddie, but didn't actually get a 1050 until very late so they have a real mystique for me I think. The Indus Drives in particular are very much the rolls-royces of what you could get for the A8's in my opinion. I've just this past week been starting to get my own 800xl running again after over 20 years storage in a cold and damp house. It is not currently a pretty sight I can tell you! I've been reading up and asking questions about the various mods available over at Lotharek's shop like the 'Ultimate1MB' and 'VBXE' and so on. I think if I can get them fitted properly that will be an awesome retro rig with some cool modern ease-of-use. Its odd you should mention re-tracing the keyboard membrane on you machine. Earlier today I had to cannibalize my old machines in order to assemble one where the keyboard worked. Sadly the best 'clicky' example had a trace that must have corroded over time as the 'Systems Reset' and other function keys were non-responsive and the power lamp did not light. After a good bit of cleaning and persuasion through exercising the keys I finally managed to get one board where everything worked. Some of them were really stubborn though and I couldn't discover a non-destructive way to get at the contacts and give them a proper de-tarnish. I may have to keep at that to ensure a lasting fix. Are you planning on adding any of the modern mods like perhaps an 'Incognito' board to give you 1MB along with many other perks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fujidude Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I always lked the physical characteristics of the 800 best over all the other A8s. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morelenmir Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I always lked the physical characteristics of the 800 best over all the other A8s. Its a real classic and jcrubin's here is in absolutely tip-top condition - generally I'm not sure if I like the 800 best or the 1200XL, but the former has the fascinating strangeness of the second cartridge slot going for it. I believe it also has one of the best keyboards of any computer, ever. If only the various 1400XL's had made it in to real production! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 nice collection of kit you have there. you'll find the sio2pc(USB) a valuable addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizaptimus Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Absolutely gorgeous setup man, super jealous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilsaluki Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Love it. Keep the 8-bits flying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilsaluki Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Absolutely gorgeous setup man, super jealous! Good to see someone else in OKC liking Atari. I have been 'using' since 1983. Still love all the Ataris. My wife, not so much. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrubin Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 That is a really nice machine you've put together there - I am especially jealous of that Indus drive!!! I'm personally really in to floppy drives for some reason. I always wanted one as a kiddie, but didn't actually get a 1050 until very late so they have a real mystique for me I think. The Indus Drives in particular are very much the rolls-royces of what you could get for the A8's in my opinion. I've just this past week been starting to get my own 800xl running again after over 20 years storage in a cold and damp house. It is not currently a pretty sight I can tell you! I've been reading up and asking questions about the various mods available over at Lotharek's shop like the 'Ultimate1MB' and 'VBXE' and so on. I think if I can get them fitted properly that will be an awesome retro rig with some cool modern ease-of-use. Its odd you should mention re-tracing the keyboard membrane on you machine. Earlier today I had to cannibalize my old machines in order to assemble one where the keyboard worked. Sadly the best 'clicky' example had a trace that must have corroded over time as the 'Systems Reset' and other function keys were non-responsive and the power lamp did not light. After a good bit of cleaning and persuasion through exercising the keys I finally managed to get one board where everything worked. Some of them were really stubborn though and I couldn't discover a non-destructive way to get at the contacts and give them a proper de-tarnish. I may have to keep at that to ensure a lasting fix. Are you planning on adding any of the modern mods like perhaps an 'Incognito' board to give you 1MB along with many other perks? The 800 had a really crappy connection from the keyboard end connector to the computer. I use silver trace to rewrite the connections, clean up with toothpicks and reconnect. The membrane itself stands up to the test of time. Ill tell you that "damp" (be it slightly) is not the enemy of old computers, i think dry excessive heat is. All of mine came out of storage after over 20 years with no big issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrubin Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 Good to see someone else in OKC liking Atari. I have been 'using' since 1983. Still love all the Ataris. My wife, not so much. OKC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 OKC? Oklahoma City, Oklahoma USA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrubin Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 nice collection of kit you have there. you'll find the sio2pc(USB) a valuable addition. So my SIo2PC arrived today. I managed to find a pre-compiled version of AspeQT for Ubuntu. My computer sees the device and I can see that the indication lights on the SIO2PC blink when there is data going through. But the Atari won't see the computer. I even tried directly connecting the SIO2PC to the Atari SIO port and nothing will come up. also tried XEX file, got no love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Z Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 So my SIo2PC arrived today. I managed to find a pre-compiled version of AspeQT for Ubuntu. My computer sees the device and I can see that the indication lights on the SIO2PC blink when there is data going through. But the Atari won't see the computer. I even tried directly connecting the SIO2PC to the Atari SIO port and nothing will come up. also tried XEX file, got no love. you probably have the settings in aspeqt wrong? maybe the wrong serial port, or the wrong handshaking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrubin Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 Video posted. SIO2PC running on Ubuntu 14.10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv_QMy28wu8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrubin Posted May 14, 2015 Author Share Posted May 14, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu1p6zGYdto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozar Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu1p6zGYdto You hit A for enhanced density, which gives you a 130K disk instead of hitting Y to format it which should have given you a DD disk since you set it as a DD disk. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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