SIDE3 cartridge and Atari 800XLF

[TGB1718]

9 hours ago, Yannil said:

The first one is an apple phone charger plug and I cannot read the output values apart from 5V. Could it just need more power to run all the upgrades together

One thing I've noticed with Apple chargers is they make the text microscopic so you need a good magnifying

glass to try and read the output values.

 

Probably like most people here I have built up quite a collection of Phone chargers (and other types of charger),

what I do is label the voltage/current on each one so I know what I'm dealing with.

I have some black chargers with very dark small writing, I really don't know what manufacturers are thinking.

[TZJB]

19 hours ago, flashjazzcat said:

There's a link to the thread in the description of this video:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/185028-found-an-issue-on-instability-effects-on-a-800-xl-with-freddie/

 

 

Thanks @flashjazzcat that is the link for the TF_HH article that I couldn't find.

[TZJB]

59 minutes ago, TGB1718 said:

One thing I've noticed with Apple chargers is they make the text microscopic so you need a good magnifying

glass to try and read the output values.

 

Probably like most people here I have built up quite a collection of Phone chargers (and other types of charger),

what I do is label the voltage/current on each one so I know what I'm dealing with.

I have some black chargers with very dark small writing, I really don't know what manufacturers are thinking.

They are thinking that you don't need to know...

 

One thing to bear in mind with higher rated USB chargers is that they negotiate with the device to find out what it can support, then defaults to a lower value if it can't negotiate. Some can even support 9-12V under negotiation for rapid charging.

 

For Atari computers I have avoided USB and gone down the line of a seperate 5V plug-in adapter. The Raspberry Pi adaptors seem good value at the moment and you will need a 7 pin DIN plug but beware the minimum order value at CPC for free delivery.

 

https://cpc.farnell.com/w/search/prl/results?brand=raspberry-pi&st=5v psu&sort=P_PRICE

 

https://cpc.farnell.com/rean/nys323g/din-plug-7-pin/dp/AV11173?st=7 pin din plug

 

 

[TGB1718]

50 minutes ago, TZJB said:

Some can even support 9-12V under negotiation for rapid charging.

That sounds like a recipe for disaster.☠️

 

Call me old school, but I still use the standard "Atari brick" power supplies for all my beloved 8 bits (except 800 of course, but still use standard Atari PSU)

 

If I had to use a modern PSU, then it would be a Raspberry Pi PSU, I have some of those I use for other things and they appear to be rock solid

[TZJB]

36 minutes ago, TGB1718 said:

That sounds like a recipe for disaster.☠️

 

Call me old school, but I still use the standard "Atari brick" power supplies for all my beloved 8 bits (except 800 of course, but still use standard Atari PSU)

 

If I had to use a modern PSU, then it would be a Raspberry Pi PSU, I have some of those I use for other things and they appear to be rock solid

 

Yes, one reason to avoid USB. I have a number of Atari brick PSU's that came as standard with every Atari 8 bit computer. Made in UK without a mains plug! They all work and supply 5.2-5.3V 7.5VA

 

I have turned to switched-mode just because it sits in the mains socket and takes up no room...

Edited May 2, 2023 by TZJB

[Yannil]

I’ve tried a 5V 2A PS and an original Atari power supply, and it worked up to a fashion. But it’s not right. Also tried plugging the PS directly into the wall socket. Still hangs up, I get a lot of interference lines on the screen. Sometimes it reads the SD card, sometimes it doesn’t. Often I get a grey screen of nothing when I turn on the computer. It won’t boot to the loader when I press L on start up.
I’ve had enough, I’ve decided the cart is faulty and I have sent it back for a replacement. 

I’ll let you know how the replacement goes when I get it. 

[_The Doctor__]

Freddie capacitor as well as other fixes like 5 volt rail capacitor near the upgrades and 74ls swapped for 74F chip... all should be checked for and implemented. the 4050 chip should remain in when folks do video cards and upgrades and the reset line fix used in the 1200XL (chip and cap) all combine to make the Atari rock solid with even the most problematic upgrades. The complete list of fixes and how they are applied to each machine should be concisely documented and stickied to the top of every Atari forum!

Edited May 3, 2023 by _The Doctor__

[TZJB]

18 hours ago, Yannil said:

I’ve tried a 5V 2A PS and an original Atari power supply, and it worked up to a fashion. But it’s not right. Also tried plugging the PS directly into the wall socket. Still hangs up, I get a lot of interference lines on the screen. Sometimes it reads the SD card, sometimes it doesn’t. Often I get a grey screen of nothing when I turn on the computer. It won’t boot to the loader when I press L on start up.
I’ve had enough, I’ve decided the cart is faulty and I have sent it back for a replacement. 

I’ll let you know how the replacement goes when I get it. 

 

I thought that you previously stated that the SIDE3 cart worked on an old 800XL disproving that the SIDE3 cart has the problem?

 

On my 800XLF the L3 inductor has been shorted out in the factory to supply Freddie with more voltage too, so you may have to short out your 800XLF L3, together with the addition of the Freddie 0.1uF capacitor across it's pin 40 5V and pin 20 GND.

 

I don't think it's me but there seems to be an obvious mistake in the diagram below with Freddie where VSS and VCC have reversed polarity, but the capacitor won't be polarised anyway.

 

[Beeblebrox]

49 minutes ago, TZJB said:

 

I thought that you previously stated that the SIDE3 cart worked on an old 800XL disproving that the SIDE3 cart has the problem?

On 5/2/2023 at 12:09 AM, Yannil said:

now I know for a fact that a SIDE3 cartridge does run on this machine.

So another SIDE3 cart works on the XLF as confirmed above, and the SIDE3 cart in question owned by the OP was tested on a stock 800XL and worked. It appears the OP's own SIDE3 cart just won't play ball on the XLF, (despite another SIDE3 cart having confirmed working on the XLF).

 

So either something is quirky/part faulty with the OP's SIDE3 cart itself, or something has happened to the XLF since it was last used with another SIDE3 cart successfully, or there is another factor with the OP's setup.

 

EDIT: one thought - the OP ran the XLF on a 5V 1amp (or less) Apple USB plug adapter for a while, before realising they needed more juice. Possible dumb question but could using a 1amp source have damaged/caused any issues to the XLF's components as a result that has rendered using a SIDE3 cart an issue now?

Edited May 4, 2023 by Beeblebrox

[TGB1718]

1 hour ago, TZJB said:

I don't think it's me but there seems to be an obvious mistake in the diagram below with Freddie where VSS and VCC

Those diagrams by Jerzy Sobola are known to have many discrepancies, I don't trust them completely.