How did you get your first Atari computer?

[bfollowell]

 

 

I just realized how cold that sounded...

I mean, of course my parents helped me in all the ways a good parent helps their children. They supported me, fed and clothed me, I had a roof over my head. I may have wanted a lot more than I got, but I certainly had more than I needed, and most of what I wanted, if not all. They just didn't shell out any money towards my extravagant 1982 $585 purchase. I had to raise that myself. My Dad had helped me go in halves with a neighbor to raise my own small tobacco crop the year before, at 15, thinking I'd use the proceeds to buy my first car, but I wound up buying my Atari 800 instead. I used my paychecks from McDonald's, my first real, non-farm related job to buy my first car. Nothing says central Kentucky more than using the proceeds from a tobacco crop to your first computer!

 

So, rather than take up off-topic space in the Atari 50th Anniversary Collection thread, I decided to start another here, related to strange tales of how we first got our beloved Atari computers.

 

So, now that everyone knows I used my proceeds from pushing a horribly addictive, cancer causing drug to buy my first computer, what are some of your guys' stories? Any more sordid tales out there?

 

[TGB1718]

I had a 2600, but when I decided I wanted a computer I started looking what was available, I nearly

bought an Acorn Atom (I believe the forerunner of the BBC Micro in the UK), it had a disk drive but

just didn't quite "do it" for me, I spotted an Atari is a shop window, it was an 800 with 32KB Memory

and a 410 cassette, I just fell in love with the design and the deal was done.

 

I think I paid about £450 for it and to this day I still think I made the best choice. I bought it

early in 1982 and still have the machine today, still working (not the 410 though  )

[Dinadan67]

I got my first job at McDonald's during high school and one of the things i bought from my paychecks was an 800XL with 1050 disk drive.

Edited November 22, 2022 by Dinadan67

[zzip]

Got one for Christmas in 83 (I think?)   It was a lowly 600XL.   My family was hard-hit by the early 80s recession so we couldn't expect much more than that.   Right after Christmas a mall store (EB?) was clearing out old 410 tape recorders for $30, so I was in business writing my old games and saving my work to tape.

 

 Soon after I had a paper route and used my money for upgrades.   And this was around the time Jack sold off the XL line so I got a 1050 for cheap and replaced the 600XL with an 800XL.

[Vyvyan B.]

My uncle called me up about six months ago and told me that he had a "pile of computer crap" in his basement that I could have for free if I took it all away. I figured, who doesn't like free crap, right? So I get over there and it's literally an entire corner of his basement full of Atari 8-bit stuff! 3 800s (one with a Bit3 card), 3 boxed 400s, 4 800xls, 2 boxed 600xls, 2 1200xl (one boxed) like 6 810s, 8 1050s, working guts for another 400 and 800, an unused Indus GT in it's original case and a bunch of old floppies. Way, wayyy too much stuff. Six months later and I still have not gone through it all. So that was my introduction to the Atari 8-bit world.

Edited November 22, 2022 by Vyvyan B.
spelling

[Mclaneinc]

1 hour ago, bfollowell said:

 

So, now that everyone knows I used my proceeds from pushing a horribly addictive, cancer causing drug to buy my first computer, what are some of your guys' stories? Any more sordid tales out there?

Nothing wrong with initiative and business acumen...Well done that man...

 

As for my sorry tale, been told so many times, no need to bore people..

[Mclaneinc]

21 minutes ago, Vyvyan B. said:

My uncle called me up about six months ago and told me that he had a "pile of computer crap" in his basement that I could have for free if I took it all away. I figured, who doesn't like free crap, right? So I get over there and it's literally an entire corner of his basement full of Atari 8-bit stuff! 3 800s (one with a Bit3 card), 3 boxed 400s, 4 800xls, 2 boxed 600xls, 2 1200xl (one boxed) like 6 810s, 8 1050s, working guts for another 400 and 800, an unused Indus GT in it's original case and a bunch of old floppies. Way, wayyy too much stuff. Six months later and I still have not gone through it all. So that was my introduction to the Atari 8-bit world.

Blimey, you struck a pot of gold..Mind you, I've had 2 big donations of stuff over the years (and loads of smaller ones, thank you all), nothing in that league but very nice indeed..

[Paul Westphal]

Our first Sears 2600 was broken out  of the box Christmas day. I think it was a long week before we got back there and exchanged it. Not a good start. Later in life, I wanted an 800XL, so I saved up my babysitting and lawnmowing money and eventually got one. I Eventually picked up a 1050 from a local guy and thus began my cracked gaming experience. 

[Vyvyan B.]

6 minutes ago, Mclaneinc said:

Blimey, you struck a pot of gold..

He also threw in an IBM 5150 with the CGA monitor. It took me like 4 trips to get it all moved out. 😁

[Mrshoujo]

Mom bought our 1st 2600 at Service Merchandise in 1978 and for 2 years we had only 2 games: Combat and Space Invaders. Eventually we got more. My father bought me my 1st 800XL from Kmart in 1984? Methinks. I say 1st because I had to take it back and get it replaced when it wouldn't go to BASIC... It had sustained some "abuse." Have had the same computer since.

 

Mom bought our 2nd 2600 in 1983, a Vader model. We didn't deserve it but she liked the games, too.

[Mclaneinc]

Wow, bumper crop, when my old friend Bob died and left me the contents of his flat I had to do many a trip to get all the stuff I wanted, there was even some Atari gear in there..

 

Thanks Bob..

 

Anyway, always noce to hear of people getting unexpected windfalls..

[+DarkLord]

As far as the 8bit line goes, I guess I was way late to the party. In 1982, the

local Magic Mart in Paintsville, KY was closing down. A friend of mine and I

went to see if there were any "going out of business" deals to be had. In the

electronics section, they had several computers on sale, including an 800XL

and a Commodore C64. I was very new to computers, as was my friend so

we had a sales person demonstrate a little bit for us. We watched as he

loaded games into both and it was obvious the C64 was quite a bit slower

in the loading process. The games he demo'ed (I don't recall which ones)

looked and sounded about the same on both systems, for the limited amount

of time we saw them. We both thought the 800XL looked a lot cooler. There

was also about the same amount of software for both systems in the store

at that time.

 

Obviously, I chose the 800XL and got it for $99.00. I returned the next week

and picked up a 1050 drive for the same price. Shortly after that, I picked up

a color monitor that worked with the 800XL from a local K-Mart and I was good

to go.

 

Thus, my Atari arc was set for life...  

 

[Flyindrew]

I got a brand new Atari 130 XE with 1050 disk drive and Panasonic KXP 1091 printer and a cartridge of "Typo Attack" the second week of August in 1985 for my 13th birthday. It was the best gift I ever got and still use it to this day. I still remember coming home from sports camp, listening to Twisted Sister on a boom box while trying to figure out DOS 3 while playing pirated versions of Ballblazer, Micro League Baseball and Decathlon"  on floppy disk. As the machine has been a significant part of my life for the past 37 years, I want it to be buried with me when I croak. lol

 

 Ps:That was also a great summer as far as movies, music and if you were a WWF wrestling fan

Edited November 22, 2022 by Flyindrew

[+videofx]

I was studying in the UK and after I completed my studies, I cam back to the US. My best friend Steve said he would put me up since I had little cash and no place to stay and of course no job!

 

So later that night we were talking about jobs and what was I qualified to do. So I told my friend how I used Atari computers in the UK and I could use my skills to find a job. Well the next day, I came back to his house after looking for work and what did I find? On the kitchen table was a brand new Atari 800 with 2 Atari 810 disk drives!!!!! He said it was a gift to help me get started and the rest of course is history

[+Spaced Cowboy]

We weren't that well off (dad was a docker in Liverpool, UK; mum was a part-time travel agent amongst other jobs). A friend of mine had an Atari 400 at school, and he sometimes took pictures of the screen (a literal screen-shot!) and brought them to show.

 

In my childish ignorance of how well this would have gone down, I spent the best part of a year talking about how awesome this computer was, and how much better it was than the ZX81 (kit form) and b&w dial-tuned TV they'd managed to somehow find the money for the last Christmas¹... Dixons came to their rescue, and decided to have a sell-off sale on their Atari stock. You could get an 800XL + 1050 for £99 just before Xmas. Between 2 birthdays + 2 Christmas presents (for me and my brother), as well as other relatives chiming in, we got that package. Instead of a multitude of smaller presents under the tree, there was just the one box. It was awesome.

 

Many (many!) paper-rounds later, I managed to trade in the b&w TV for a colour version from a second-hand shop - still a portable but it was so much better in colour

 

Hence began my love affair with the XL. 

 

----

1: Slightly interesting story here, in the ZX81 manual, once you'd soldered all the parts to the PCB, it led you through switching it on and typing in the first program. The entire family gathered around to watch me type in (the below was exactly what they asked you to type)

 

PRINT 1 + 1 = 2

 

... which of course printed '1'. My father sighed in disgust, said "I knew it, you've buggered it" and walked out the room. It took quite a while to explain logical true to him (something we'd covered in computer-studies at school,  so I actually expected to see what came up...

 

[+ZuluGula]

I was growing up in eastern Europe Poland, the country back than was under communist regime. We had a chains of stores called Pewex which sold western goods for US dollars (official currency in Poland was called Złoty). They had all kinds of western goods not available anywhere else. Color TVs, VHS and CD players, boomboxes, jeans clothes, cosmetics and 8-bit Atari computers. I remember going there after school (around 6th grade) steering at the Atari for weeks. Back than, there was a place in my city that had Atari computers on which we could play games after paying for a certain period of time. This is how I got to know Atari, basically I didn't know much about any other brand. Around that time 65XE was priced I think $149 amd after couple of months it went down to $129. It was still couple month salary for average worker. I had grandmother that migrated to the USA for work. I asked her for money and she gave me enough to buy 65XE and XC12. In exchange, she asked me to write to her a letters, one for every dollar. I end up sending like three letters, I was never good writing tham. One year later I got a CA 2001 floppy drive. About three years after that, I sold everything to buy Amiga 500. Back than I was blown away by Amiga, but now I wish I kept the original hardware, especially the CA 2001.

[deffroe]

Kays catalogue and mother(dad as well but mainly mum) 800XL and 1010 in time for Christmas 1985.

Never told mum but I knew before the big day that I was getting it, the lady in our street that 'ran' the catalogue's son and I were friends and he showed me it earlier in December.

That pack only came with Pole Position but one of my sisters had saved up to buy Bruce Lee as a prezzie for me too...that was a very pleasant surprise.

 

Phil

[bfollowell]

2 hours ago, Vyvyan B. said:

My uncle called me up about six months ago and told me that he had a "pile of computer crap" in his basement that I could have for free if I took it all away. I figured, who doesn't like free crap, right? So I get over there and it's literally an entire corner of his basement full of Atari 8-bit stuff! 3 800s (one with a Bit3 card), 3 boxed 400s, 4 800xls, 2 boxed 600xls, 2 1200xl (one boxed) like 6 810s, 8 1050s, working guts for another 400 and 800, an unused Indus GT in it's original case and a bunch of old floppies. Way, wayyy too much stuff. Six months later and I still have not gone through it all. So that was my introduction to the Atari 8-bit world.

 

Not exactly what I had in mind, but a good tale nonetheless. I look forward to hearing all about what you find in your treasure trove!

 

[zzip]

There was a contest on the radio where the first person who called in and correctly pronounced "GTIA" would win a brand new 1400XL, so I picked up the phone and dialed (damn rotary phone took forever)  The DJ answered and I yelled "G'SHAAA!!!!" into the phone.   Next thing I remember, my father was driving me over to the radio station to pick up my prize.    I brought it home, hooked it up, reached back for the power switch....

 

And my alarm went off,  I woke up, it was all a dream

 

 

Edited November 22, 2022 by zzip

[_The Doctor__]

Every kind of odd job I could find for the first one I had to purchase for myself. You name it, manual labor, push a cart, load a cart into a car, Lawn work, construction, electronic repair... literally every d*mn penny one could find on a sidewalk, street... for the first one that was personally purchased... since that's the question, as provided for or given to do not qualify.

Edited November 22, 2022 by _The Doctor__

[marauder666]

Christmas 1983, got my 800 and 410.  Sold my VCS and all games to lessen the price shock on my mum and dad.  I'd only had the VCS since Christmas 1981.

 

Around 1985 I bought myself a 1050.  Then a ST for college work in 1987/88.  Then another "Atari" in 1990 when I was working, it just happened to have a C= badge on it.

 

[+bf2k+]

I always thought it was 1981, but now I know it was 1982 because my first computer was a C=64.  When I got it home, it would not sync with my brand new Zenith color TV so nothing but garbage on the screen even though the computer worked fine.  I took it back to the store and the sales guy said "Why don't you look at this Atari 800?"  This turned out to be the smartest thing any computer salesman ever said to me...

 

Needless to say it was more expensive than the C=64 but I took it home with a 410 recorder and that is how my home computer journey began...  I was 27.

[ClausB]

In the fall of 1980 I went to New Dimensions in Computing in East Lansing to get the next BYTE magazine. I was in the market for a low end micro. There was a crowd standing around their 800 watching someone play Star Raiders. I snuck a peek and instantly decided it's Atari for me! The salesman explained that the 400 is nearly as capable so I waited for a sale. In December it was down to $600 for the Educator package. I tried to deal with them to trade the Educator cart and tapes for BASIC and Star Raiders but they declined. Over winter break I tried the same at a toy store in Grand Rapids and they agreed. Joy of joys! My parents contributed as a gift and gave me their old B&W TV to go with it.

 

Back in East Lansing I apologized to the salesman who had become my friend. He understood and said the owners were strict that way. I did buy a 32K RAM upgrade from them. That summer he quit and recommended me for the job. I tried it and gave lots of demos but the owners still wouldn't deal and all but one of my customers went elsewhere. Within a year the shop closed.

[Justin Payne]

I had a 2600 and used to go up to a little store that carried those games. In the back they had an 800 on display and they would charge you like $8 to use it for 5 minutes. Too funny. In any case, they had Star Raiders on it and I immediately fell in love with it but the 800 in 1982 was about $900ish. So, I started to look for cheaper alternatives but I didn't like the membrane of the 400 and wasn't much into the graphics of the Vic20. I'd go up to Radio Shack and play on the CoCo and play Canyon Climber but their joysticks were terrible. Eventually I tried bargaining with my parents. I had a little Honda 50 at the time and so I sold that for $350 but that was, obviously, only a portion. I'm sure I sold my soul at some point because I got it for Xmas with the Star Raiders cartridge. I did help my dad out a lot with work around his house so maybe this was payment. Who knows but it worked out for me well because it's paid my bills for most of my employment life. 

 

[+slx]

In practice I got an 800/810 combo for Christmas in 1982, in theory it was dad’s office equipment (to study the feasibility of computers). No one except me even wanted to use it but I suppose the taxman paid half of it this way (and eventually I did support the PCs my dad bought a couple of years later). 
 

It came without games, joysticks etc. which I had to buy with pocket money (which I did not have to work for but kids working for money wasn’t even allowed here except as an apprentice). Most of the posters above certainly had a much harder time getting their Ataris.