What all came with a copy of Atari BASIC?

[T.A.P.]

What all came with it originally, if I wanted to cobble together a 'complete' copy today?

Did it have a box? Was it packed in with the computer? What does the manual look like? 

Edited March 12, 2023 by T.A.P.

[_The Doctor__]

Depends on purchase method, Atari distributors sold it a few different ways.

Normally the stand alone BOX was the box, stabilizing card, cartridge, Warner Registration Card. and depending on pack out Book.

The 'collector' class probably will debate the finer points and run down all the deliver methods and includes/excludes. Who offered what etc etc. Dust bunnies and fuzz type. BITD odd ball pricing $7.00 and up depending on who when where. 9.99, 19.99 27.00 and so on. etc etc.

Edited March 12, 2023 by _The Doctor__

[TGB1718]

Mine came in a box with the manual, so the box was A4 size, it was included with the 800 and 410 cassette as a package.

May still have the BASIC manual 🙄

[Geister]

Mine came in the Programmer kit which had the cartridge and two books.  I think it was a programmer's guide and a reference manual.

[T.A.P.]

What does the manual look like?

 

I have been having trouble finding pictures. I have seen some loose leaf things, but I have also seen one that looked like a giant book, so I am just confused on what I am supposed to be looking for.

[_The Doctor__]

@T.A.P.

there is more. other countries also

Edited March 12, 2023 by _The Doctor__

[TGB1718]

I found mine, the first is the front cover

 

The second is the first page, even though it says Atari 400, this came with my 800

 

 

Then further in is the BASIC reference manual

 

 

Standard Atari 3 ring binder

[_The Doctor__]

There was an Inside Atari BASIC book, as well as two or more invitation to programming booklets and tapes. Atari published pack in type stuff. Hope the above pictures and the noted items help you rustle enough stuff up.

 

KX7099 The BASIC Tutor I (Inside Atari BASIC book,Invitation to Programming 2&3)

 

CX482 The Educator -BOX

(410, BASIC cart., States & Capitals cassette)

 

CX483 The Programmer -BOX

(BASIC, BASIC Ref. Manual, BASIC Self-Teaching Guide)

 

CO60992 Inside Atari BASIC

 

CO15307 BASIC Reference Manual

 

CO14385 Atari BASIC Self-teaching Guide

 

and more... if others would like to find and contribute I can't recall exactly all but there is indeed more to be shown and archived.

Edited March 12, 2023 by _The Doctor__

[adam242]

3 hours ago, _The Doctor__ said:

 

Atari CO61570.

 

I remember this one being a pack-in with my 600XL (which of course had BASIC built in) I had as a kid.

Edited March 13, 2023 by adam242

[T.A.P.]

Thanks for all the pictures! Sounds like I'm going to have my work cut out for me if I want to make a 'complete' copy.

[T.A.P.]

What all came with the Rev C version?

[Jetboot Jack]

In the UK there was no retail packing for revision C that I saw - all the copies I sold were supplied loose.

 

Revision A was the only one I ever saw/sold boxed separate from a computer was the programmer kit, the 400/800 had the cart in the box with the manual(s) cellophane wrapped.

 

sTeVE

Edited March 13, 2023 by Jetboot Jack

[TGB1718]

For the XL/XE series, as it was built in all you got was a manual, I don't have the XL series, but the 65XE and 130XE

were the same format as this, you had a system book and the latter 2/3rds of it was purely BASIC

 

 

[Jetboot Jack]

2 hours ago, TGB1718 said:

For the XL/XE series, as it was built in all you got was a manual, I don't have the XL series, but the 65XE and 130XE

were the same format as this, you had a system book and the latter 2/3rds of it was purely BASIC

 

 

Yes REV B was not sold AFAIK as a cart.

 

But the Rev C cart was sold separately for older systems - no manual included that I ever saw...

Edited March 13, 2023 by Jetboot Jack

[+x=usr(1536)]

On 3/12/2023 at 10:59 AM, T.A.P. said:

What all came with it originally, if I wanted to cobble together a 'complete' copy today?

An XL or XE-series computer if Rev. B or Rev. C.  For Rev. A, a 400, 800, or 1200XL.

 

6 hours ago, Jetboot Jack said:

In the UK there was no retail packing for revision C that I saw - all the copies I sold were supplied loose.

I'll second this.  Mail-ordered Rev. C ROMs from Atari UK and they were sent to me loose.

 

Some folks in our user group had got ahold of Rev. C BASIC cartridges, but those were generally raided for their ROMs, which would subsequently be transplanted into Rev. B machines.

 

Hours of fun were had loaning the cartridges out to people once the now-surplus Rev. B ROMs had been moved over to them 

[T.A.P.]

nevermind, just saw the answer. 

 

So a Rev C cart would not have come with a manual, just to confirm?

Edited March 13, 2023 by T.A.P.

[_The Doctor__]

This Cartridge came w/ this book

and registration card and so on...

[+MrFish]

My copy of Atari BASIC came in this box

 

 

 

...with one of these manuals (I forget which one)

 

 

 

...and one of these accessories (false teeth, I think)

 

 

[Jetboot Jack]

10 hours ago, _The Doctor__ said:

This Cartridge came w/ this book

and registration card and so on...

I never saw one in a Rev C retail packaging in the UK like that - although I started selling Atari in 1984, I did not see any revision C supplied in the UK prior to Atari Corp.

 

So for me that book I saw with hardware in 1983 systems (600XL or 800XL) with revision B - but not with Atari Corp releases or the  Rev C carts (which were special order from Atari) or the separate chips...

 

Is there a photo of a retail box with those items in it anywhere?

 

sTeVE

Edited March 14, 2023 by Jetboot Jack

[_The Doctor__]

1985 USA cartridge and manual. The printed dates on the Cartridge and manual will show an earlier date maybe. The Book has updated information added to the original info of earlier BASIC book. As with all things, old Atari employees or the children will have more than likely mentioned this kind of thing on AA in passing. You can probably still buy a re united Cart and Manual from the remaining Atari vendors today. Atari liked to use what they had, that's why the Brown shell had a silver label, the book was going to be used with the XL releases, 1200XL etc. but it ended up being used for REV C Silver Cart sales. Mine came from Hess's department store and my buddy bought his at Clover's stores (formerly strawbridge and clovers). You will find some quibbling about the book per usual on AA because that's what's done. Next up will be the three silver label variants, one without lines, the print on it and dates, etc etc etc. Rinse repeat.

 

Cart and manual together used to be $24.xx plus shipping for mail order which was around 2 dollars give or take maybe 3, or you could buy it in store. Atari would sell direct to you for without manual for $14.95 plus $2.50 shipping for the cart, slightly less for just the chip if you didn't mind waiting times involved.

Edited March 14, 2023 by _The Doctor__

[_The Doctor__]

None of all of this discussion matters if he doesn't have a silver cart anyway. Maybe he needs to do the test for if he's got REV A B or C.

PRINT PEEK(43234)

VALUE / VERSION
162 / A
96 / B
234 / C

 

keeping things in the spirit of what happens.

so at least 2 cars, one of which was fan made

Edited March 14, 2023 by _The Doctor__

[T.A.P.]

I have a both the brown label BASIC and one Silver label cartridges.

 

I figure I might as well try to complete the Silver one, since it is the newest (and has less extras than the Brown one to make it complete).

 

I see a couple listings online for the Silver cart with that later reference manual, but the prices are way more than I'd like to pay at the moment.

[Jetboot Jack]

1 hour ago, T.A.P. said:

I have a both the brown label BASIC and one Silver label cartridges.

 

I figure I might as well try to complete the Silver one, since it is the newest (and has less extras than the Brown one to make it complete).

 

I see a couple listings online for the Silver cart with that later reference manual, but the prices are way more than I'd like to pay at the moment.

With retail boxes?

 

sTeVE

[T.A.P.]

I would love to have a retail box for each version, if they had a box.

 

Although I thought Rev C didn't have a box?

 

The only ones I am seeing of Rev C (the silver label one) don't have boxes.

Edited March 14, 2023 by T.A.P.

[Zolaerla]

On 3/13/2023 at 3:36 PM, MrFish said:

My copy of Atari BASIC came in this box

 

Nice try, Mr. Fish. Everybody knows Comic Sans didn't exist back in the 80s, since it was released in 1994. =)~