Got a HUGE Lot of Atari 8 BIT Stuff Tested and need some help!

[+bf2k+]

3 minutes ago, zincmann said:

And I am guessing I do not need to have basic cart in 800 then to run games from disk.

 

You only need it if you are trying to run BASIC games...

[zincmann]

4 minutes ago, bf2k+ said:

You only need it if you are trying to run BASIC games...

So thats interesting.  Since the Commodore 64 had basic built in all games are essentially basic games (Assume aside from cartridges)?  So then most games on Atari SHOULD or should not be basic games? Like the common ones, i.e Dig Dug, Buck Rogers, The Eidelon etc.  Sorry just questioning that now too.

 

[+bf2k+]

1 minute ago, zincmann said:

So thats interesting.  Since the Commodore 64 had basic built in all games are essentially basic games (Assume aside from cartridges)?  So then most games on Atari SHOULD or should not be basic games? Like the common ones, i.e Dig Dug, Buck Rogers, The Eidelon etc.  Sorry just questioning that now too.

 

I would say that most of the common commercial games are NOT basic games on the Atari, but there are literally hundreds of games from magazines and such and even some commercial games that are written in BASIC.  Many disk games on the Atari require you to hold down the option key on your 800XL or 130XE in order to boot them.

[zincmann]

1 minute ago, bf2k+ said:

I would say that most of the common commercial games are NOT basic games on the Atari, but there are literally hundreds of games from magazines and such and even some commercial games that are written in BASIC.  Many disk games on the Atari require you to hold down the option key on your 800XL or 130XE in order to boot them.

OK thanks I am learning and appreciate all the information.

[_The Doctor__]

also ,  never plug in a commodore supply to an Atari,

never have a supply plugged into the wall while plugging into a drive etc... you can blow a fuse... which is about the only thing that goes bad in the ac supplies...

 

so connect to the computer and peripherals then plug into the wall... reverse the process to take items out of your set up.

[Mclaneinc]

 

Normally if it's game that needs BASIC it will say so, so boot with OPTION held unless it fails to work. Just to add to the info, almost all games will work on the XL series as Atari kindly made a Translator disk for ganes that required an old OS like the on one an 800 (OSB) or early series computers with OSA. There are also many games that use the 64K so won't work on an unmodified 800.  Hence, many people use an 800XL and modify it for more memory etc etc.

 

Some people like the 130XE, but a lot do not like the spongy keyboard.

[+kheller2]

2 hours ago, zincmann said:

Yes sorry I meant Disk Drive (should have been clearer).  And I am guessing I do not need to have basic cart in 800 then to run games from disk.  So just turning on the Atari 800 with a disk drive on and operational as well as the correct density disk for the drive type should "theoretically" boot properly? Since its Friday I will have more time this evening and this weekend to tinker and report back.

 

Order:

Turn on floppy drive device (make sure it is set to drive #1 - the little slider switches in the back next to SIO ports, Atari drives can be numbered 1-4 in stock form)

Insert floppy, close door.  [never power on 810s with a floppy in the drive.. EVER]

Poweron Computer (if its XL/XE, typically you hold down Option to disable the built in BASIC ROM)

System should boot...if it's a bootable disk.

You should hard the Atari FART noise and then beeps.  If you get a boot error, pay attention if it's a fast scrolling one or slow one.  Pay attention to the drive head as well.

[zincmann]

So here is the switch mod in the 1050 Disk Drive.  Looks like the brown connector was not connected not sure if it should be and that green circuit board does not belong on that black capacitor I am guessing.  Any idea what I have here?  

[zincmann]

28 minutes ago, kheller2 said:

Order:

Turn on floppy drive device (make sure it is set to drive #1 - the little slider switches in the back next to SIO ports, Atari drives can be numbered 1-4 in stock form)

Insert floppy, close door.  [never power on 810s with a floppy in the drive.. EVER]

Poweron Computer (if its XL/XE, typically you hold down Option to disable the built in BASIC ROM)

System should boot...if it's a bootable disk.

You should hard the Atari FART noise and then beeps.  If you get a boot error, pay attention if it's a fast scrolling one or slow one.  Pay attention to the drive head as well.

Thanks for the tips I have a lot of reading here to do but will be putting things through their paces again this weekend armed with this new knowledge.  I will report back of course.

[zincmann]

Also This Atari 810 Drive has several holes drilled in the side with the markings in the picture.  I am guessing something to do with speed adjustment as I read that these drives did not have a speed control built in? Also this dial controller looks foreign as well?

 

 

[StickJock]

4 hours ago, Mrshoujo said:

The drives, aside from cleaning and lube, might need new belts and speed adjustment. 300 rpm or close enough! Just need to locate the adjustment pot on the board in case you need to do that.

Atari 810 & 1050 floppy drives should be set to 288 RPM.

 

[+kheller2]

Those look like drive modifications.  Perhaps a Happy is in there on the 810.  The 1050, J11 is the photo sensor to see if a disk is write protected.  I'm not sure about the other board there.  You'll need to pop the shield cage off the 1050 chips to see anything more.

 

[xrbrevin]

looks like it might have been used for duplicating protected disks

[cwilbar]

Regarding floppy drives....  when testing these, you want to ensure you have a clean head, clean and lubricated guide rails (for the head assembly), and make sure that all the rotating bits rotate well.  I find from years of sitting they get 'stiff'.  Things don't want to rotate well, etc.  A bit of cleaning and lubricating will usually bring back a drive that was properly maintained.

 

I use 99% alcohol for cleaning, and I use a white lithium grease for the rails (needs very little).  For the spindle bearings, disk clamp? bearing, etc I'll dissasemble partially or fully and add oil between the hub and shield of the bearings (a drop or two of a quality machine oil (i.e. sewing machine oil)).  Then I'll work the oil in, it will soften any old grease in the bearing and get everything moving again (most of the time).

 

Any mechanical drag due to old grease/etc will cause issues as it will affect the speed and consistency of speed of the disk's rotation.

 

Also, check your diskettes.... look for signs of mold (sometimes looks like little 'organic' line/patterns on the magnetic media.  This will pollute the head and resulting in read/write issues, necessitating a head cleaning (best done carefully by hand with alcohol than a cleaning diskette).

 

You can clean the disks to recover them, but while diagnosing the hardware, if you find any of these, put them aside for now.  You can move mold from one disk, the head/pad, and then onto another disk, etc.

 

regarding the 800 keyboards.  the mechanical switch ones sometimes have a situation where some keys won't work.... sometimes just repeatedly pressing and releaseing the key rapidly for 20-30 times can bring them back to life.  Other times they'll need more help.  On the ones that use a circuit layout on mylar, sometimes you need to diassemble and clean the contact points, and where that terminates as well.  Other times, they need more help and are easier to replace than fix. 

 

I'm on the lookout for an 800 case/shell, so if you end up with a dead one you don't recover, keep me in mine, and PM me (I had one arrived smashed from poor packing and the resulting respect that modern package delivery companies give their packages ? (honestly the issue was much more on the shipper than the carrier ? ))

 

Good luck with your hoard !

 

[zincmann]

35 minutes ago, cwilbar said:

Regarding floppy drives....  when testing these, you want to ensure you have a clean head, clean and lubricated guide rails (for the head assembly), and make sure that all the rotating bits rotate well.  I find from years of sitting they get 'stiff'.  Things don't want to rotate well, etc.  A bit of cleaning and lubricating will usually bring back a drive that was properly maintained.

 

I use 99% alcohol for cleaning, and I use a white lithium grease for the rails (needs very little).  For the spindle bearings, disk clamp? bearing, etc I'll dissasemble partially or fully and add oil between the hub and shield of the bearings (a drop or two of a quality machine oil (i.e. sewing machine oil)).  Then I'll work the oil in, it will soften any old grease in the bearing and get everything moving again (most of the time).

 

Any mechanical drag due to old grease/etc will cause issues as it will affect the speed and consistency of speed of the disk's rotation.

 

Also, check your diskettes.... look for signs of mold (sometimes looks like little 'organic' line/patterns on the magnetic media.  This will pollute the head and resulting in read/write issues, necessitating a head cleaning (best done carefully by hand with alcohol than a cleaning diskette).

 

You can clean the disks to recover them, but while diagnosing the hardware, if you find any of these, put them aside for now.  You can move mold from one disk, the head/pad, and then onto another disk, etc.

 

regarding the 800 keyboards.  the mechanical switch ones sometimes have a situation where some keys won't work.... sometimes just repeatedly pressing and releaseing the key rapidly for 20-30 times can bring them back to life.  Other times they'll need more help.  On the ones that use a circuit layout on mylar, sometimes you need to diassemble and clean the contact points, and where that terminates as well.  Other times, they need more help and are easier to replace than fix. 

 

I'm on the lookout for an 800 case/shell, so if you end up with a dead one you don't recover, keep me in mine, and PM me (I had one arrived smashed from poor packing and the resulting respect that modern package delivery companies give their packages ? (honestly the issue was much more on the shipper than the carrier ? ))

 

Good luck with your hoard !

 

Thanks will do, my goal is to fix the second one since it is complete in box and sell it as such.  Appreciate all the feedback!!

[zincmann]

OK so with some additional testing with a single sided disk I have both 1050 drives working, the in box 810 working the Indus gt working but the two loose 810s are still throwing a boot error like maybe every 10 secs

[Mrshoujo]

On 1/28/2022 at 10:08 AM, zincmann said:

I do assume that the boot process is the same no matter what 8 bit computer / drive combination I am using i.e.  Sorry for these questions I grew up with Commodore and never had Atari computers so trying to learn the ropes.

 

Atari 800 + 810 DD + POwer and Option Key = Autoboot?

 

Atari 800 + 1050 DD + Power and Option Key = Autoboot?

 

Atari 130xe + 810 DD + Power and Option Key = Auto Boot?

 

Atari XEGS + 1050 DD + Power and Option Key = Auto Boot?

 

Atari 800XL + 810 DD + Power and Option Key = Auto Boot?

 

And so on and so forth

Option key is for disabling built in BASIC. All Atari 8-bits will try booting anything first before going to BASIC. After loading a DOS, then R: handlers will get loaded off 850 or PR Connection, but is usually triggered by an AUTORUN.SYS. Oddities in this process include modems like the 1030 which has a built in terminal program sent down the SIO. I've seen this work once and rarely again. Most people use other terminal software.

 

The first test I would do for XL / XE is nothing hooked up, power on and see if READY comes up. Then power on with disk drive with Atari DOS with DUP and Option held down. That's basic functionality at least. Good luck!

[zincmann]

SO an update after a weekend marathon of some additional cleaning and testing:

 

Atari 800 has a Mitsumi Keyboard so I would need to repaint the contacts on the mylar - Going to sell "As-Is" as it does boot games but you cannot use the keyboard but still complete in box.

 

Atari 810 Drives, down to 1 that is having a boot error, I did end up greasing (with White lithium) and one works where as it did not before.

 

Everything else works as it should.  I am keeping one Atari 800, One 1050 and one 810 Drive and a 1010 Tape which I must have done an oopsie on, as it was sort of working when I first took it apart to replace the play button but when plugging it back in seemingly I get the red power light but nothing is moving on the mechanism when I press a button.

 

Ill continue to sort through the disks looking for anything that could be of value to the community

[xrbrevin]

tape deck wont play unless it gets a signal from the computer - power the computer on with start held down, then press any key to start tape the player

[irich2]

On 1/28/2022 at 6:59 AM, zincmann said:

Got it thanks for the suggestion.  I might just buy a pre-built one of good quality, yes I could do it myself but with all the projects I have sometimes the easier route is a quality one. Any suggestions there?

Yes.

 

For the XL/XE computers (except 1200XL): https://www.vintagecomputercenter.com/product/atari-8-bit-hq-power-supply

And for the 400/800/1200XL computers and 810/1050 disk drives: https://www.vintagecomputercenter.com/product/atari-400-800-1200xl-1050-ac-adapter

 

[+bf2k+]

3 hours ago, zincmann said:

Ill continue to sort through the disks looking for anything that could be of value to the community

See if you have a copy of FoReM XL.

[zincmann]

16 hours ago, bf2k+ said:

See if you have a copy of FoReM XL.

Will do.  I have been going through the disks in my spare time.

[zincmann]

18 hours ago, xrbrevin said:

tape deck wont play unless it gets a signal from the computer - power the computer on with start held down, then press any key to start tape the player

Ok but it should still work with FF or Rewind which those are not working either but I will hook it to a computer this evening when I am down in the workshop.  

[xrbrevin]

youre right, belt traction and pulley sticktion can cause FF & rew issues