1200XL Rev.B OS / FSM

[Ricky Spanish]

13 minutes ago, DrVenkman said:

I'm sure a few people have over the years, but there are even better solutions than that these days: Ultimate 1MB adds 4 OS slots, 4 8X "BASIC" (or other 8K cart) slots; PBI interface and support for cart-based IDE hard drives; and built in SpartaDOS X. Then there's the Atarimax 32-in-1 board which gives 32 different OS slots.

Great for some.. but I feel it takes too much away from the 1200 'soul' if you will. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Ricky Spanish

[+mytek]

40 minutes ago, Ricky Spanish said:

Absolutely ! Great design, great keyboard, no built-in basic, side mount cartridge, & 2 ROM slots ! <- surprised somebody wiser than me hasn't attempted a custom 16Kx2 OS. 

I did...

And it had four 8K language slots as well through re-assignment of the function keys. However it was a very complicated upgrade and would have been much easier with a U1MB. Although it was a fun project for me

 

You can read about it here: https://ataribits.weebly.com/blog/category/multislot-1200xl

 

EDIT: I forgot to mention that it automatically fixes any Reset issues, since the TKII-PB1200 board also controls system reset and simply extends it by a fraction of a second.

[DrVenkman]

3 minutes ago, Ricky Spanish said:

but I feel it takes too much away from the 1200 'soul' if you will. 

What "soul" is that? The "soul" of an 8-bit computer is the OS/kernel ROM. A 1200XL-specific switchable OS like you suggest would merely flip between Rev10 and Rev11 OS's, something you can actually do with either of the solutions I suggested.  

[Ricky Spanish]

21 minutes ago, mytek said:

I did...

I would love to try that !!

[+mytek]

6 minutes ago, Ricky Spanish said:

I would love to try that !!

I never planned to release the TKII-PB1200 due to the complexity of the install. It was just something I wanted to do for myself as a one off, although I did eventually create two such systems, donating one to the SLCC as a loaner unit.

[+x=usr(1536)]

3 hours ago, Ricky Spanish said:

Great for some.. but I feel it takes too much away from the 1200 'soul' if you will. 

One thing in relation to that: consider that having multiple OSes and languages on board, building and enabling the PBI, integrating HDD interfaces, and RAM upgrades were all back-in-the-day modifications.  It's being done these days with a lot more flexibility (and quality control) on single boards due to advances in technology, but ultimately the modern upgrades are just carrying on the tradition of extending and improving the machine's capabilities.

 

IMHO, things like this don't change the feel or soul of the machine any more or less than upgrading from a cassette drive to a floppy drive to a hard disk.  If anything, they show how good the basic architecture has been since first hitting the market in 1979.

[+hunmanik]

11 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

Anyway, both versions of the Tech Tip were published several months after the Rev. 11 ROMs were released in Dec., 1982. 

I think 1982-12-23 should be considered the date when Rev.B was completed, not its release date.

 

So the chronology looks like:

 

1982-10-26 Rev.A completed

1982-12-23 Rev.B completed

1983-03      1200XL released to consumers.  All units with Rev.A on board.  A few early units apparently with Rev.A OS EPROMs instead of the production Rev.A OS ROMs.

1983-07-12 Tech Tip 18 comes out, telling authorized service centers to replace any failed EPROMs with the production OS ROMs.  (I think there were only Rev.A OS ROMs available so far.)

1983-07      1200XL production ended.

1983-09-29 Tech Tip 18A comes out, telling authorized service centers that the guidance from TT18 regarding Rev.A OS EPROMs is still valid, except now the replacement is Rev.B OS ROMs.  Plus new guidance: if someone complains about System Reset not working as expected, whether they have the Rev.A OS EPROMs or the production Rev.A OS ROMs, respond by installing the new Rev.B OS ROMs.

 

I suggest the release date for Rev.B may have coincided with the release of Tech Tip 18A, around 1983-09-29.

 

I will update the FAQ with references to TT18A where XL OS Rev.B is mentioned.

[+x=usr(1536)]

22 minutes ago, hunmanik said:

I think 1982-12-23 should be considered the date when Rev.B was completed, not its release date.

 

So the chronology looks like:

 

1982-10-26 Rev.A completed

1982-12-23 Rev.B completed

1983-03      1200XL released to consumers.  All units with Rev.A on board.  A few early units apparently with Rev.A OS EPROMs instead of the production Rev.A OS ROMs.

1983-07-12 Tech Tip 18 comes out, telling authorized service centers to replace any failed EPROMs with the production OS ROMs.  (I think there were only Rev.A OS ROMs available so far.)

1983-07      1200XL production ended.

1983-09-29 Tech Tip 18A comes out, telling authorized service centers that the guidance from TT18 regarding Rev.A OS EPROMs is still valid, except now the replacement is Rev.B OS ROMs.  Plus new guidance: if someone complains about System Reset not working as expected, whether they have the Rev.A OS EPROMs or the production Rev.A OS ROMs, respond by installing the new Rev.B OS ROMs.

 

I suggest the release date for Rev.B may have coincided with the release of Tech Tip 18A, around 1983-09-29.

 

I will update the FAQ with references to TT18A where XL OS Rev.B is mentioned.

 

Short of finding internal documentation from Atari, this is probably about as accurate as it gets - and I mean that in the good way.  Thank you!

[Ricky Spanish]

See.. getting closer to 'what it actually was'.

 

the truth is out there...