stede Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 I was a Commodore 64 baby growing up and now I want to try the Atari 8-bit line. Obviously everyone I knew just loved the A8s and became very professional programmers. Other then Ebays, can someone share with me online stores or other places to buy 8-bit equipment. Especially floppy drives that I rarely see on E-bays? Also, I was thinking about getting the 65xe or the XE Game system. Are they good choices? Thanks for everyones help! Stede Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 I was a Commodore 64 baby growing up and now I want to try the Atari 8-bit line. Obviously everyone I knew just loved the A8s and became very professional programmers. I think you'll find the Atari a very different animal. The combinations of things that can be done with the hardware are exponentially higher, but there are some trade offs in terms of color and resolution. The Atari OS is much friendlier, and more expandable. Other then Ebays, can someone share with me online stores or other places to buy 8-bit equipment. Especially floppy drives that I rarely see on E-bays? Places like B&C & Best Electronics (check the links section) sell new & used equipment, but ebay is probably the easiest place to find a low price. Also, I was thinking about getting the 65xe or the XE Game system. Are they good choices? A 65XE or XEGS are both good choices (although I find the XE keyboard too mushy). My machine of choice is the 800XL (it's just built sturdier), but the XL's video quality is poor (fuzzy) unless some simple modifications are done. Once modified, it looks great on a 1702 or S-Video TV. 1050's are good disk drives to have, but XF551's are much more versatile if you can find one. Here are the most common choices: 130XE (most factory RAM - 128K) 65XE (64K) 800XL (64) 600XL (16K, no monitor output) 1200XL (64K, low production, more elaborate model with some OS quirks) 800 (48K, still a good choice, but upgrades are limited) 400 (16K, membrane keyboard) Drives: 810 (big, noisy, low denisty, tank: will outlast all of us) 1050 ('enhanced' density drive, very common, can be upgraded to double) XF551 (True double density and double sided - supports all formats) Also, there are 3rd party drives aplenty. Indus, Rana, Trak, Percom, and more! Most support true double density in response to Atari's 1.5 density 1050 model. Hope this helps... -Bry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A2600 Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Try my friend Mike over at www.collectorscardsandgames.com He has great prices on atari 8-bits and software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendon Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Very nice and informative post, Bryede! Good job. Mendon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 Very nice and informative post, Bryede! Good job. Mendon Why... Thank you!! -Bry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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