+DrVenkman Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 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/ 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 It has been quite a fascinating series of posts/photos in the "Atari Museum" FB page today. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 Now I don't feel so bad about the first prototype 1088XEL boards. Thanks for sharing, it was cool to see this . 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam242 Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 A thing of beauty... love the Apple soft tote case! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClausB Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 So what's that 48-pin chip there? Wow that's a lot of board mods. The 600XL was Atari's 5th 8-bit model, right? You'd think they could get it right by then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClausB Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 (edited) For the noobs around here: if you liked that prototype, then you'll like this preproduction 800: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/122471-atari-800-engineering-serial-26 Edited March 4, 2018 by ClausB 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 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. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caterpiggle Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 (edited) 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 March 4, 2018 by Caterpiggle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 They're 4416 DRams (4 bits x 16k) so yes, 64K as opposed to production 600XL that has just 2 of them. For easier reference, the motherboad pic: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClausB Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 64K. So was this also a prototype for the 800XL? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+kheller2 Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 I believe they are 16k chips. And maybe the large 48 pin guy is the mini 2600 chip, eluded to on the Atari History site. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 (edited) 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 March 5, 2018 by Level42 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 (edited) 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: Edited March 5, 2018 by Rybags Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 (edited) 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 March 5, 2018 by _The Doctor__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 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* 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+kheller2 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 For those not following along on FB. This is indeed the "sweet 8" of the "sweet 16" line 1/20/83 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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