130xe broken, and advantage of xf551

[kuifje76]

I got myself last week a 65xe, 130xe, 3 800xl, 3 1050, and a xf551, 2 1020-> 1 boxed, and a xc11.

Most of the keyboardkeys don't work. Is the keyboard from a 65xe the same, or is it easy to fix? a common problem.....?

And second,

I've got now 4 drives, 3 1050 and 1 xf551,

 

1 1050 I got from my uncle, and he says it's a happy drive..... it has a switch extra on it for copying he says.

 

2 a normal 1050, not upgraded drive, at least not faster or any mods on the outside,

 

3 a 1050 which is superfast, I dunno what's with it, looks normal from the outside.

 

4 a xf551 which loads as fast as the fast 1050.

 

I also got a lot of disks with it.

 

All the disks seem to load with the normal 1050. Why should I keep the xf551, and the fast 1050, or is it just the speed?

And if all the disks load with the 1050, it's not made with the xf551, because it has the capability to put more on a disk? Is this correct?

 

The value, what's a good working 1050 worth, and a xf551?

I also have 2 1020 plotters (working), 1 I want to sell, is there a rarityguide, because maybe I paid to much.

Everything works except the 130xe keyboard....

 

I paid €115 for all....

[+davidcalgary29]

I got myself last week a 65xe, 130xe, 3 800xl, 3 1050, and a xf551, 2 1020-> 1 boxed, and a xc11.

Most of the keyboardkeys don't work. Is the keyboard from a 65xe the same, or is it easy to fix? a common problem.....?

 

Keyboard deterioration seems to be a common complaint with the XE series of computers. I suggest that you carefully clean all of the keys, contacts, and make sure that the mylar underlay isn't torn or unsocketed.

 

And second,

I've got now 4 drives, 3 1050 and 1 xf551,

 

1 1050 I got from my uncle, and he says it's a happy drive..... it has a switch extra on it for copying he says.

 

2 a normal 1050, not upgraded drive, at least not faster or any mods on the outside,

 

3 a 1050 which is superfast, I dunno what's with it, looks normal from the outside.

 

4 a xf551 which loads as fast as the fast 1050.

 

I also got a lot of disks with it.

 

All the disks seem to load with the normal 1050. Why should I keep the xf551, and the fast 1050, or is it just the speed?

 

The XF551 is a true dual-density drive...the only one ever released by Atari. It's also quite rare, and commands relatively high prices by collectors. It's a keeper, though, as it's relatively easy to upgrade this drive to 3.5" format.

 

The value, what's a good working 1050 worth, and a xf551?

I also have 2 1020 plotters (working), 1 I want to sell, is there a rarityguide, because maybe I paid to much.

 

In North America:

 

1050: @ $10-$15

1020: @ $20, if all colour pens are included

XF551: $50+

[doncleth]

It's a keeper, though, as it's relatively easy to upgrade this drive to 3.5" format.  

 

@davidcalgary29:

 

Do you know where I can find a tutorial how to upgrade an XF551 to a 3.5" drive? Thanks.

[+davidcalgary29]

It's a keeper, though, as it's relatively easy to upgrade this drive to 3.5" format.  

 

@davidcalgary29:

 

Do you know where I can find a tutorial how to upgrade an XF551 to a 3.5" drive? Thanks.

 

I know I've seen something more detailed than this floating around, but can't seem to find it. Perhaps one of our hardware hackers can help?

 

For the record, there are several third-party kits available to mod the XF551 into a 3.5" or dual 5.25/3.5" monster. CSS is reportedly still in business, but I haven't been able to reach them in several months by telephone.

[jaybird3rd]

I know I've seen something more detailed than this floating around, but can't seem to find it. Perhaps one of our hardware hackers can help?

 

For the record, there are several third-party kits available to mod the XF551 into a 3.5" or dual 5.25/3.5" monster. CSS is reportedly still in business, but I haven't been able to reach them in several months by telephone.

 

You may be thinking of Bob Woolley's upgrade. There is an article about it here which goes into some detail.

 

Has anyone out there done this modification successfully? I've been trying it for a few days now with no luck. I dumped the original XF551 ROM, I made the modifications to it that are described in the article, and I found a 720K drive mech (from an old Tandy drive) and installed it in my XF551, but I don't get anything but "Error 144" when I try to format diskettes in MyDOS.