scm2000 Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 What was Atari thinking... lets put in a speaker that self destructs? I'm just saying this because I have speakers much older than this one that are in perfect working condition. Also have working speakers from the 80's.. Oh well. They build solid electronics though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 something moist got to it and it rotted. I have so many foam suspended speakers from the 90's that fell apart far sooner 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scm2000 Posted May 31 Author Share Posted May 31 3 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said: something moist got to it and it rotted. I have so many foam suspended speakers from the 90's that fell apart far sooner ah.. yes. theres evidence of a liquid spill in the area of the tab key, if im right the speaker is on that side. but also when i openned the shipping box there was a hint of mold/mildew smell, so it also was kept in a high humidity area like a basement. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DavidMil2 Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 On 5/30/2024 at 9:09 PM, scm2000 said: What was Atari thinking... lets put in a speaker that self destructs? I'm just saying this because I have speakers much older than this one that are in perfect working condition. Also have working speakers from the 80's.. Oh well. They build solid electronics though. What was Atari thinking?... Cheap! DavidMil2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGB1718 Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 2 hours ago, DavidMil2 said: What was Atari thinking?... Cheap! Maybe with later models, but the 800, nothing cheap about it , it's like a tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geister Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 What were they thinking. This doesn't happen to Commodore speakers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 (edited) You're drawing the conclusion that the speakers were cheaply made because the cone is broken in an 800 which arrived smashed to pieces? Conversely, the speakers in every 400 and 800 I've had through my hands have been more or less intact, which seems fairly good going for forty-five year old equipment. The speaker sits upside down on two little protruding brackets, IIRC, so a heavy impact has probably punched a hole clean through it. Edited June 3 by flashjazzcat 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 Can't say I've read of anyone else here having this occur. In any case, it's not made by Atari anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geister Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 Yep, those were commodity parts probably bought from a multitude of vendors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reifsnyderb Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 2 hours ago, Rybags said: Can't say I've read of anyone else here having this occur. In any case, it's not made by Atari anyway. I had a 400 or 800 with a bad speaker. To me, it's a non-issue and long fixed by replacing the speaker. The big issue is the computer is over 40 years old and it still works. 🙂 I have some much more modern computers that didn't last anywhere near that long. Also, the 400/800 speaker was for the key click. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 How long do you expect a speaker with a paper cone to last? The speaker probably cost $2 new, and you can buy them today for $2 new on Amazon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 20 hours ago, reifsnyderb said: I had a 400 or 800 with a bad speaker. To me, it's a non-issue and long fixed by replacing the speaker. The big issue is the computer is over 40 years old and it still works. 🙂 I have some much more modern computers that didn't last anywhere near that long. Also, the 400/800 speaker was for the key click. lol and beeper gtia music/pseudo stereo atmospheric noises and sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havok69 Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 Just replace it with something better... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beeblebrox Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 On 6/4/2024 at 5:47 AM, Forrest said: How long do you expect a speaker with a paper cone to last? The speaker probably cost $2 new, and you can buy them today for $2 new on Amazon Oddly I've seen many many 800s and 400s, and out of all of them, only 1 had a degraded speaker like this. All of the other 40+old ones I've seen in them are fine. So I think it's almost purely down to the environment it is stored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DavidMil2 Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 I'll bet I've bought a dozen from Best over the years. Those speakers were never intended to last 40 years. Especially if they were stored in a garage, an attic, or a basement! I have used model train speakers from hobby shops too. DavidMil2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scm2000 Posted June 14 Author Share Posted June 14 Well I more recently took apart a non-working Atari 800 and found it had a perfectly good speaker in it. So I'll go with the original thought that it got wet at some point and rotted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scm2000 Posted June 14 Author Share Posted June 14 On 6/3/2024 at 8:31 AM, flashjazzcat said: You're drawing the conclusion that the speakers were cheaply made because the cone is broken in an 800 which arrived smashed to pieces? Conversely, the speakers in every 400 and 800 I've had through my hands have been more or less intact, which seems fairly good going for forty-five year old equipment. The speaker sits upside down on two little protruding brackets, IIRC, so a heavy impact has probably punched a hole clean through it. There were no speaker cone remnants in the case, or shipping box.. this damage occurred long ago. Yes I got another Atari 800 more recently and it's speaker was fine, considering there was evidence of a liquid spill on that side of the case I'll go with it got wet and rotted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 4 minutes ago, scm2000 said: There were no speaker cone remnants in the case, or shipping box.. this damage occurred long ago. Yes I got another Atari 800 more recently and it's speaker was fine, considering there was evidence of a liquid spill on that side of the case I'll go with it got wet and rotted. I see. I thought he original premise was that the speakers were of low quality and fell apart of their own volition, but if it 'rotted away' after seeing water at some point, I suppose the lesson there would be don't get your speaker cone wet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scm2000 Posted June 14 Author Share Posted June 14 5 minutes ago, flashjazzcat said: I see. I thought he original premise was that the speakers were of low quality and fell apart of their own volition, but if it 'rotted away' after seeing water at some point, I suppose the lesson there would be don't get your speaker cone wet. You weren't wrong though.. I did post originally thinking about the quality of the speaker, but someone answered saying it looked like rot, then I remembered there was evidence of a spill in the bottom case on that side, and put 2 and 2 together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 (edited) How is the patient coming along, BTW (the shattered case)? EDIT: Oh - I see you replaced the case. Good. Edited June 14 by flashjazzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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