Deteacher Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 After years of wishing, I finally made the decision to grab an 800xl. I always thought I would be content with playing on emulators. It was nice for a while, but I reached a point where it just wasn't enough. I wanted that authentic experience back. Being that there was nothing in the Delaware area, my only choice was to start watching eBay and hopefully snag something for cheap. Since most of them were going for more than I wanted to spend (especially when including shipping) I figured I would have little to no luck in acquiring the precious. Lo and behold, a listing caught my attention. It was for an untested, as-is, no returns 800xl. The price was right, the shipping was low. I figured I would gamble on this one, since if it didn't work when I got it, I'm sure I could get the help I needed right here at AA. So, I started bidding and I won. Shipping included, I snagged it for under $50. About a week later, it arrives. The box is torn and beat. I open it up and my heart immediately sank. The console looked like it had been dragged through the mud and the smell of burnt electronics was rather prominent: Leaving nothing to chance, I took her apart, gave her a nice bath. I cleaned every inch of the casing, the keys. I inspected the boards and chips. The inside actually looked pretty clean. So, I hooked her up, threw the switch and...it works! Started the memory test and held my breath. Every chip passed. Keyboard works great! All is good! I'm very happy I rolled the dice on this. She will have a much better life with me than she did in her last home, that's for sure! Now, to get my hands on a MyIDE II cart. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miker Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 OK, so what's next? Just bought big bag of popcorn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted September 7, 2015 Author Share Posted September 7, 2015 What's next is I'm gonna play the heck out of this thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russg Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 (edited) What's next is I'm gonna play the heck out of this thing. make sure you don't have the 'ingot' power brick. C061982 'The White Brick' (Upper left) 1.5A very reliable, rare C061982 'The Black Brick' (Lower Left) 1.5A very reliable, rare C061982 'The Ingot' (Center Top) 1.5A if this PS fails it can damage the computer. Not recommended for unattended operations C061982 'The Box' (Top Right) 1.5A very reliable, recommended for XL/XE computers C70042-011 'The Mini' (Bottom Center) 1A shipped with most XEGS systems, use the 'Logo' for continuous 1A operations C70042-01 'The Logo' (Bottom Right) 1A very reliable Edited September 7, 2015 by russg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Westphal Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 The ebay crappies usually have 1 or more things wrong with them. The keyboards are usually it. Everything else can be repaired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted September 7, 2015 Author Share Posted September 7, 2015 (edited) Unfortunately, I have the ingot. I'll look into replacing it soon. Thanks for the info! Edited September 7, 2015 by Deteacher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fujidude Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 If it were me, I would look into getting a PC power supply and encasing it somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 If it were me, I would look into getting a PC power supply and encasing it somehow. I did something like that 20 years ago. Had two XF551 drive enclosures, put a 3.5" mech in the top and left the bottom stock except added Bob Puff's dual drive upgrade. Bolted both together and then put a very small PC power supply in the top enclosure with the 3.5" drive. Installed an IEC panel mount power receptacle in one of the empty SIO ports and then had a 5 vdc 7pin din power cord hanging out for connection to the computer. So no power bricks needed, and my complete dual drive computer system was easily transported. Wish I still had it - Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fujidude Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 What's great about using PC style supplies, is that it is very easy to source bolt in replacements. Also, they offer ample current for anything your Atari stuff might need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russg Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Unfortunately, I have the ingot. I'll look into replacing it soon. Thanks for the info! I wish some more knowledge person could comment on the ingot. It says 'unattended' operation, meaning, I guess use to run a BBS or just leaving it plugged in all the time. I've never heard of a damage from it, just the warning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 I'm assuming it means you need to be around to pull the plug out as soon as you notice smoke coming out of the Atari. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 I wish some more knowledge person could comment on the ingot. It says 'unattended' operation, meaning, I guess use to run a BBS or just leaving it plugged in all the time. I've never heard of a damage from it, just the warning. Or when the machine craps out in the middle of a game and goes black. I've lost a 130XE from an Ingot power supply while in use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fujidude Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Best advice is to not use an ingot at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 I still have a few in my collection, I will use them on a 800XL in a pinch but never on an XE machine. Eventually I'll likely reuse the DIN cables and toss the bricks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Is there anything particular about the 800/1200 XL power supplies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Is there anything particular about the 800/1200 XL power supplies? Yes - they are 9VAC, while the later XL/XE power supplies are 5VDC. The old machines have the AC to DC conversion inside the computer. Early supplies were 15VA, and later ones doubled that to 31VA. I think the 31VA ones always came with the 1050 drives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 I still have a few in my collection, I will use them on a 800XL in a pinch but never on an XE machine. Eventually I'll likely reuse the DIN cables and toss the bricks. I got nothing but Ingots in my collection of (retired) PSUs. Every machine I bought while building up my collection which came with a PSU came with an Ingot. I eventually built a couple of PSUs from 2A phone chargers. I guess Ingots were pretty ubiquitous in the UK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted September 8, 2015 Author Share Posted September 8, 2015 OK, sounds like the ingot is the work of the devil. I guess I'll have to look into a replacement PS. I'll use the ingot until a new one arrives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Opps it has been ingoto all the way here.. Someone should post a schematic with pictures etc on making a power supply so I can make one b4 I smoke my Atari/burn my house down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fujidude Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 OK, sounds like the ingot is the work of the devil. I guess I'll have to look into a replacement PS. I'll use the ingot until a new one arrives. That's probably reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Z Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Opps it has been ingoto all the way here.. Someone should post a schematic with pictures etc on making a power supply so I can make one b4 I smoke my Atari/burn my house down. well, you don't really have to build a PSU, you just buy one with the proper voltage output and attach a DIN 7 to it. 5VDC and 2A min. should be plenty for a stock A8, and good enough for most modded machines. I just made one for someone the other day out of one of these: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12889 I'm not sure, but *maybe* if you break the case of the ingot open, you can get the molding of the cord out and transplant the ingots cord onto that new power supply (which is closed with a screw, and can be taken apart). Otherwise, you can just chop the cord off the ingot, and splice it onto the new supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fujidude Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 I don't think I would trust a $5 2 amp supply. The guts probably make the ingot look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Z Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 I don't think I would trust a $5 2 amp supply. The guts probably make the ingot look good. What else are you going to use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fujidude Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 What else are you going to use? I hear ya. It can be tough to source quality. If something costs too little, it is likely not made with quality parts. Yet, just because something costs more doesn't mean it is made with good parts. If you can find UL listed products that is one way to get some peace of mind. Also, a cheap item could be good, if the cost savings come from cheap labor but the parts are still decent. All this makes it hard to tell. I myself use some cheaper wall warts for things like Raspberry Pis and such. But then, if a RPi gets smoked, I can easily buy another one and for not a lot of cheddar. When it comes to expensive gear, I only use quality stuff. If I still had any, I would treat gear that might be hard to find (like vintage 8-bit computing gear) the same way. For my computers I use this product. It has pure sine wave output at a good price, plus I can manage it with a server, and have it auto shutdown my VMWare type 1 hypervisor. For my HiFi/AV rack, I use one of these. If I had vintage Atari gear still, or the like, I would probably build a build a case to house a standard AT or ATX PC power supply and mount jacks on the case that I could hook my equipment up to to. That would work for 12 or 5 volt DC stuff. I would have to research a bit to see the best way to make 9VAC happen or other values. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLund1 Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 make sure you don't have the 'ingot' power brick. C061982 'The White Brick' (Upper left) 1.5A very reliable, rare C061982 'The Black Brick' (Lower Left) 1.5A very reliable, rare C061982 'The Ingot' (Center Top) 1.5A if this PS fails it can damage the computer. Not recommended for unattended operations C061982 'The Box' (Top Right) 1.5A very reliable, recommended for XL/XE computers C70042-011 'The Mini' (Bottom Center) 1A shipped with most XEGS systems, use the 'Logo' for continuous 1A operations C70042-01 'The Logo' (Bottom Right) 1A very reliable Is this true for USA as well as Europe PSU's? Also is there a similar list for all the other Atari peripherals? Deteacher I would suggest getting a 1050 to go with the 800XL. That would ginve you the best 'old school' experiance.!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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