Timothy Kline Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Good evening, everyone! I received an 850 interface as part of a rather significant Atari lot recently. Actually, two 850s came as part of the lot. However, this 850 has an unexpected port with a switch next to it, opposite the stock printer port at the other end. Not something I've ever seen, and although I could probably open the 850 to see where it fits into the scheme of things, I'm hoping someone here has seen something like this before and could identify not only the port-- but also what the switch is intended to accomplish. Thank you, in advance! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+kheller2 Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 Open It up 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Kline Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 Open It up lol, I thought as much. Actually, I found another mystery switch, this one installed on the rear of one of the Atari 800s that came with the lot-- so now I have TWO open surgeries to perform this weekend. --Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Kline Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 My initial suspicion is confirmed in that it's a 2nd parallel port installed by the previous owner. I'm not clear on what purpose the switch does, unless it's to activate that second printer port? I'm posting pics to get feedback from anyone who might know...? [in the mainboard picture, the orange and yellow are the points of interest from what I can make out.] Thanks, in advance! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentarian Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 Probably to use as a A/B switch for two printers. If so, it would eliminate the need for one of those metal switchboxes (with dial) and extra printer cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Kline Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 Probably to use as a A/B switch for two printers. If so, it would eliminate the need for one of those metal switchboxes (with dial) and extra printer cable. That make sense, actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Kline Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 Part 2... This is integrated with an Atari 810 drive from the same lot as the modified 850 interface. The first pic is the facing, with the big square red button. And then, Pic 1 and Pic 1b are my attempts to photograph the modification, which is mounted into the left side of the lower case. Wiring 0 - 3 are the places where-- starting from the red button-- the mod attaches to the 810. Since this is the first time I've never explored an 810, I have no clues. A Happy? An Archiver? If additional pictures are needed, I'll happily provide them. Thank you for all of the help!! ^_^ --Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 LOL, I've used that same switch in the same position on my Archiver 810's for the write enable for the flip side. Yours look like a speed control for writing bad sectors at a lower RPM. You'd have to remove the metal cage from the side board to see if it's hiding a Happy or Archiver mod... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Kline Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 Does this help? There is no printing on the underside of the board. --Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+kheller2 Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 That last picture, that shows the power caps, it looks like there is a solder joint or a metal blob between the 7905 pins. That don't look safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Kline Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 (edited) That last picture, that shows the power caps, it looks like there is a solder joint or a metal blob between the 7905 pins. That don't look safe. Just checked, and it's the fault of the auto-focus as I tried taking a close shot whilst trying to hold the board AND an iPhone 6 plus with an extended battery, lol. Here's from a different angle. There is some sort of cellophane (?) shrinkwrap around it which I hopes appears better in this shot. Everything looks fine, actually. But boy, glad you said that so I'd at least check. I haven't power this thing on yet. O.o --Tim Edited June 17, 2016 by Timothy Kline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 That little board is just a IC used as a coupler to control the relay. it's just for the RPM toggle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Kline Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 That little board is just a IC used as a coupler to control the relay. it's just for the RPM toggle... Did you hear that sound? That was my hopes crashing to the depths of resignation after anticipating that I'd landed an 810 Happy or a Duplicator... O.o Well drats. LOL --Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 Did you hear that sound? That was my hopes crashing to the depths of resignation after anticipating that I'd landed an 810 Happy or a Duplicator... O.o Well drats. LOL --Tim You'd have to remove the metal cage from the side board to see if it's hiding a Happy or Archiver mod... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Kline Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 You'd have to remove the metal cage from the side board to see if it's hiding a Happy or Archiver mod... Oh yeah, I forgot I was going to do that. O.o I guess that 2:30am wake-up isn't doing me well at 4:30pm in the afternoon, lol... --Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Kline Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 You'd have to remove the metal cage from the side board to see if it's hiding a Happy or Archiver mod... I'm definitely not seeing anything that screams MOD here... --Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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