Gunstar Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 (edited) I think the best way to know for sure if this fits a 1200XL (other than trying it) is to measure the width of this cartridge, and then compare that to the measured width of one that does fit. I would do that, but presently and for the next few days I am away from my Atari's. To this day it astounds me that this is still an issue. Maybe what needs to happen is to create a dimensional drawing of the 'ideal' cartridge size that will fit all, and then create a topic such as 'Atari 8-Bit Cartridge Dimensional Specifications' inclusive of this dimensional drawing. That drawing should also have dimensional tolerances clearly defined. BTW, that is a fantastic looking cartridge you've designed - Michael The 1200XL is designed to take cartridges the width of original 400/800 style Atari brand cartridges with some clearance.All cartridges made by Atari from the 800 to the XEGS are made the right size to fit the 1200XL. The problem is with 3rd party cartridges. Apparently Atari didn't bother to test 3rd party cartridges on the 1200XL or maybe they even did it on purpose. Only the width is an issue, the 1200XL's cartridge slot is plenty thick/tall. If it's that size or smaller it will fit. If it is wider it may not fit. I solved the problem myself permanently by using a Dremmel tool with a conical grind stone and shaved off half the width of the cartridge slot walls. Cartridges like the Super SDX cart by Dropcheck and my Gorf cartridge that did not fit before fit now, easily. I figured that was easier that worrying if a new cartridge would fit or destroying cartridge cases to make them fit. I don't have any cartridges using C64 cases, but I suspect they would work now too. All other Atari 8-bits have larger cartridge slots. Edited January 8, 2017 by Gunstar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COREi64 Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Here are a couple more Atari Ultimate cases that I've printed up for people. The one on the left is the light blue, and the one on the right is the natural/transparent filament. And here's a Natural/Transparent cartridge shell COREi64 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COREi64 Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 how hard is it to press the reset button without pressuring the cartridge? I found it very easy to press the reset button without pressuring the cartridge. Others might light to comment on their experiences. COREi64 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultrasteve Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 Could be interested in one of these, but need to compare my board, unless you can tell me if the one you used was from the run that santosp did in April of last year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COREi64 Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Could be interested in one of these, but need to compare my board, unless you can tell me if the one you used was from the run that santosp did in April of last year? I don't know when it was run. It was loaned to me by retango (the guy that started this thread). Here are photos of the board that this cartridge is based on: Hope this helps. COREi64 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultrasteve Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Thanks COREi64 - mine is a different layout, so I'll have to stick with butchering an XE cart to make a shall for mine! Thanks for the pics - very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 (edited) Here are a couple more Atari Ultimate cases that I've printed up for people. The one on the left is the light blue, and the one on the right is the natural/transparent filament. And here's a Natural/Transparent cartridge shell COREi64 Transparent?!? I quote from the movie 'The Princess Bride'..."I don't think that word means what you think it means." I think President Obama has the same issue, he said his government would be transparent and it was about as "transparent" as that cartridge case! What that cartridge actually is, is TRANSLUCENT. Edited January 13, 2017 by Gunstar 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COREi64 Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Transparent?!? I quote from the movie 'The Princess Bride'..."I don't think that word means what you think it means." The "transparent" is printed with transparent filament. If you look at how FDM printing works, it lays down the plastic in layers, which diminishes the effect of the transparency as each layer is built on the next. So is it transparent like glass or acrylic... Nope, never could be. But is it printed with transparent filament... yes it is. Transparent 3D printed cases also disperse the light from internal light sources (ie: power/activity lights) very nicely giving the board cartridge an interesting glow effect. I guess what I'm saying is the definition of transparent as it relates to FDM printing isn't the same as the dictionary definition. I guess it would be more suitably defined as translucent... But the filament I use is still called "Transparent". COREi64 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 (edited) The "transparent" is printed with transparent filament. If you look at how FDM printing works, it lays down the plastic in layers, which diminishes the effect of the transparency as each layer is built on the next. So is it transparent like glass or acrylic... Nope, never could be. But is it printed with transparent filament... yes it is. Transparent 3D printed cases also disperse the light from internal light sources (ie: power/activity lights) very nicely giving the board cartridge an interesting glow effect. I guess what I'm saying is the definition of transparent as it relates to FDM printing isn't the same as the dictionary definition. I guess it would be more suitably defined as translucent... But the filament I use is still called "Transparent". COREi64 Yes, it's translucent, not transparent.Calling it transparent is just false, and if the filament is called transparent, it's miss named/described. Any filament color may be transparent in one layer, but the end result is anything but. I guess Obama must use the same definition of the word as the filament makers, who both seem to be creating their own definition. Edited January 13, 2017 by Gunstar 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COREi64 Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Yes, it's translucent, not transparent.Calling it transparent is just false, and if the filament is called transparent, it's miss named/described. Any filament color may be transparent in one layer, but the end result is anything but. I guess Obama must use the same definition of the word as the filament makers, who both seem to be creating their own definition. I guess we're on the same page. I too agree it's translucent, however, that's not what they call it, and I didn't define it. You are incorrect however in that not every filament is transparent in one layer. For the most part only translucent/transparent filaments are. Everything else, unless you're superman, isn't transparent on the first layer. In summary, then let's call it translucent and be done with it. COREi64 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 (edited) I guess we're on the same page. I too agree it's translucent, however, that's not what they call it, and I didn't define it. You are incorrect however in that not every filament is transparent in one layer. For the most part only translucent/transparent filaments are. Everything else, unless you're superman, isn't transparent on the first layer. In summary, then let's call it translucent and be done with it. COREi64 It's all good, I was just joking around about it anyway (in my first post about it), not holding your feet to the fire. Edited January 13, 2017 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COREi64 Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Awesome. You're right however, I should have called it translucent from the start regardless of what the filament spool said. Agreed, all good! COREi64 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 (edited) What kind of allen wrench do I need for those screws? Or are they torx? They are tiny! --ok, They need a T6 torx if anyone else was wondering. Edited January 19, 2017 by Frankie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 It will not fit in my 1200xl. It's too thick. It comes in a just a bit over 22 mm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COREi64 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 It will not fit in my 1200xl. It's too thick. It comes in a just a bit over 22 mm Is that the only issue, that it's too thick? If that's the only issue, then I could perhaps revise the model such that it would fit your 1200. If it were thinner, do you think it'd fit? What's the maximum thickness it can be to fit your machine? Thomas COREi64 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Is that the only issue, that it's too thick? If that's the only issue, then I could perhaps revise the model such that it would fit your 1200. If it were thinner, do you think it'd fit? What's the maximum thickness it can be to fit your machine? Thomas COREi64 It appears to only be the thickness. 21.3 mm is a good fit. The width should be ok. I shaved the sides of my cart port to fit wider carts so I don't have an original to check, but the width of your cart and original brown atari cart are the same at 65.5 mm. Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COREi64 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 It appears to only be the thickness. 21.3 mm is a good fit. The width should be ok. I shaved the sides of my cart port to fit wider carts so I don't have an original to check, but the width of your cart and original brown atari cart are the same at 65.5 mm. Frank Is there anyone you know, or anyone reading, that could measure the port opening of an un-altered Atari 1200? I'd like to make the adjustment on the cartridge so that it would fit a standard, unaltered Atari 1200 cartridge port. So I take it then, you never adjusted the port opening for thickness, just width? Is that correct? If that's the case, then I just need to know the width of an unaltered Atari 1200 cartridge port opening. Once I have that, then if you'd like Frankie, I'd be happy to send you a replacement that will fit your machine. Thomas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gargoyle Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 the width of the port is exactly 67mm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Is there anyone you know, or anyone reading, that could measure the port opening of an un-altered Atari 1200? I'd like to make the adjustment on the cartridge so that it would fit a standard, unaltered Atari 1200 cartridge port. So I take it then, you never adjusted the port opening for thickness, just width? Is that correct? If that's the case, then I just need to know the width of an unaltered Atari 1200 cartridge port opening. Once I have that, then if you'd like Frankie, I'd be happy to send you a replacement that will fit your machine. Thomas That's correct, I only adjusted for width, not thickness. A replacement sounds like a great idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COREi64 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 the width of the port is exactly 67mm. Thank-you for that measurement! Thomas COREi64 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gargoyle Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Thank-you for that measurement! Thomas COREi64 No problem, I opened the case for better access to take the measurement so it is pretty accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COREi64 Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 No problem, I opened the case for better access to take the measurement so it is pretty accurate. Could I ask you one more thing? How much of the cartridge goes into the 1200? (measurement from the bottom of the cartridge up)? Reason I ask, is that I may need to only shave off the sides from the bottom part of the cartridge due to the placement of the screws that hold the case halves together near the top. They're really close to the edge. Thanks Thomas COREi64 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gargoyle Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Hmm, i'll need to open the case again for that, i'll get back to you as soon as i can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gargoyle Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Ok...., 29mm of the cartridge goes into the port 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COREi64 Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Super, thanks for that! Ok, I've revised the model, reducing the overall cartridge height by 2.5mm So what I've got is a cartridge that's 21mm thick, and 65mm wide Based on what you're seeing there, does that sound about right? Thanks, Thomas 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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