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600XL Prototype from Warner's NY Labs - Amazing Internal Pics


DrVenkman

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You have to go visit the Demon Facebook, and you may need to be a member of Curt and Marty's "Atari Museum" group there, but these internal photos of the engineering prototype are pure crack for a hardware junkie:

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/105586892805903/permalink/1784253018272607/

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Good stuff. There does seem a bit of mystery as to some of the components.

 

The large chips from left to right (not counting the one almost totally obscured by the RF modulator breadboard):

 

1. PIA

2. Probably BASIC on EPROM, "D2764, F2365480S, © Intel '81"

3. Probably the OS on EPROM, "D27128, ????, © ????"

4. ANTIC - CO12296D-01 (also has Antic scribed into it)

5. CPU - CO14806 barely legible

6. unknown - C?-8305 48 pin unknown IC (could it be a CGIA though it's docs mention the part # CO20577) - likely that the obscured chip is GTIA, what other chip would you want near the RF modulator?

7. unlabelled, near the keyboard ribbon. Would have to be Pokey.

 

Interesting that they used a ceramic package CPU. I would have thought they'd have millions of Sallys lying around at this point. Or maybe it's some sort of modified version?

 

The 48 pin beast - could it be some sort of FPGA? There seems a near total lack of minor ICs normally associated with memory select logic. So maybe it's a Freddie prototype?

Also note - they're using a 14 MHz main crystal which is also present in Freddie equipped machines.

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Wow .. what a mess. It looks like nightmare designs inside. 64K ram instead of standard 16K ? Missing TV and switch at the back. wow ... again. It has big blue capacitors. Why ? Problems with electronic flowing ? Or difficultly to control electronic flow ? It seems don't have power source to plug at the back ? Ever tested on the monitor and see what it is like ? Same as full production on the display "READY" ? I see there are serial #5 in prototype stage. I know you said, FIRST. Just puzzle me ....

Edited by Caterpiggle
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IMHO this isn't a 600XL proto but a 600 proto like this:

 

http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8bits/1200xl/600_proto/600proto.html

 

It has the same chip set-up....and the LIZ NY clearly indicates in this direction.

 

The "fun" thing about it was that it was to be 2600 compatible....

 

 

EDIT....mmm the case clearly says 600XL....so.... I think that 600 (without XL) story never meaning to have been the 600XL is not entirely true after all....

 

IMHO I would have loved the chips to be set-up like this....better for modding ;)

Edited by Level42
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One big difference I can see is there's no PBI. Re the obscured chip under the RF mod mentioned earlier, it is GTIA as confirmed in other photos.

 

That 48 pin job IMO has to be a Freddie workalike since there's so few minor ICs on the board. Whether some sort of mini 2600 is also present, who knows?

I found one hit on a Google search of "L1A0130" which mentions it being an ASIC but there's no datasheet and various other searches using LIA030 get no results.

 

What is needed is some forensic work, though it looks like these are the only full PCB bottom photos:

 

post-7804-0-83019400-1520213884_thumb.jpg

post-7804-0-74911700-1520213900_thumb.jpg

Edited by Rybags
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pretty sure Tim will be posting more on this, whatever notes he digs up etc.. on facebook. I don't do facebook anymore so... keep an eye out for some scribblings on notepads a re post of modifications made, wiring changes etc. would shed some light on the guesses.

Edited by _The Doctor__
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pretty sure Tim will be posting more on this, whatever notes he digs up etc.. on facebook. I don't do facebook anymore so... keep an eye out for some scribblings on notepads a re post of modifications made, wiring changes etc. would shed some light on the guesses.

 

I understand completely. I didn't (and still don't) want to take the guy's photos and post them here without his consent, so I'll just let folks know if he's posting more stuff and generally what it's about.

 

On the issue of the Demon Facebook, all I can say is as much as we all decry the downsides, many of the retrocomputing groups and pages are a treasure trove of information and knowledge, and a great way to rub digital elbows and get info from some real pioneers and experts in their fields. *shrug*

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