What's the latest Atari related thing(s) you've bought on ebay?

[TGB1718]

1 hour ago, xrbrevin said:

heres what i just got off ebay!

the poor thing - maimed for life.. and now ive got a return to do - everyone's a loser *sigh*

Such a shame people don't package these items properly, when I bought my 800XL I mailed the chap

as soon as I won the item off Ebay and asked him to pack it really well and also keep the PSU away

from the XL, I was lucky the chap knew what he was doing and it arrived really well packed and

totally intact

 

[mimo]

1 hour ago, xrbrevin said:

heres what i just got off ebay!

the poor thing - maimed for life.. and now ive got a return to do - everyone's a loser *sigh*

Oh FFS!

[marauder666]

Got a 5200 and a few carts a few weeks ago.  Asked seller not to include the PSU.  All arrived intact after its transatlantic journey.

[scelbi8h]

An Atari 800

 

[xrbrevin]

8 hours ago, mimo said:

Oh FFS!

fortunately it worked, albeit noisily. it is the version that has the extra circuit board on top which is nice.

i dont hold out much hope sourcing replacement casings but i fished out all the broken bits and there is enough to rebuild all cavities. it will look a bit 'crazy-paving' up close tho

just need to agree on a partial refund before i go any further..

Edited December 6, 2021 by xrbrevin

[Beeblebrox]

11 hours ago, xrbrevin said:

fortunately it worked, albeit noisily. it is the version that has the extra circuit board on top which is nice.

i dont hold out much hope sourcing replacement casings but i fished out all the broken bits and there is enough to rebuild all cavities. it will look a bit 'crazy-paving' up close tho

just need to agree on a partial refund before i go any further..

@xrbrevin Sorry to see the state of it. Amazed it works!

 

You should be able to get a partial or possibly a full refund. The seller may well to be able to also claim off the courier/postal company (Royal mail was it?) if it was covered. 

 

Good luck with the fix - It infuriates me that some Ebay sellers don't have the simple common sense, (or indeed respect for the buyer), to package these things properly. They last 30-40 years then get destroyed overnight because of carelessness and at times plain stupidity!   Why not stick it in a catapult and fire it over!!  Grrrrrr!!! 

 

I have requested of every seller for every A8 and peripheral device I've bought this year that at a minimum they fully insure the package, be very mindful of using adequate packaging and also to take special consideration for heavy PSUs moving about.

 

Thankfully I've only had 2 x issues (so far) - one being an inadequately packaged 1050 drive which resulted in a crack in the top of the casing. I got a partial refund from Royal Mail thankfully, (as I'd arranged the collection my end that time around). Seller was most un-cooperative which didn't help.

 

The second was pariticularly enraging and totally avoidable - my first 800 A8 purchase - which after politely specifically requesting it be properly/heavily packaged internally, with the addition of "Fragile", "This way up" and "Do not drop" signage - and this being acknowleged by the seller too - still promptly arrived where:

 

- Nothing whatsoever was written on the box by way of signage  - again despite having requested it! 

- Worse - the 800 itself was pretty much loose in the box with a layer of card over it and one thinly draped/wraparound layer of pathetic bubblewrap. It actually slided in the box from side to side - WTF! 

- Power supply was in separate smaller box next to the 800 but still moved around! I was amazed it didn't do more damage!

 

Result - 2 x keys had fallen out and were knocking around the box - and the space bar was busted. I am amazed the case stayed intact TBH.

 

Thankfully the 2 x loose keys easily popped back in but spacebar required fixing - I've since managaged to find a solution, fixed it recently, and have a nicely running 800 with the Incognito upgrade I installed.

 

I reported it to the seller and never had a reply. Of course I could have rated them in feedback on Ebay accordingly, but TBH I didn't want to invite a negative feedback for myself as I have flawless ratings at present and want it to stay that way.

 

So - upshot is - I really don't care if I come across to sellers as rather demanding in terms of my packaging requests, etc - If it results in my A8s arriving in one piece it is totally worth it.

 

Worth pointing out most of my Ebay A8 related purchases have been very pleasant and the majority of sellers have been very friendly, communicative and accomodating. 

 

Edited December 7, 2021 by Beeblebrox

[xrbrevin]

1 hour ago, Beeblebrox said:

Good luck with the fix

cheers!

i know the older hardware is heavier due to the then RF shielding laws and the plastic mouldings were not as forgiving. as a result they are less durable in transit! it explains why the first courier didnt even attempt delivery - probably heard the rattling within and had a 'brown-trousers' moment..!

 

im happy its the MPI mech model and that it also has the grass-valley upgrade tho. i forgot how wide they are as well as tall ?

 

i have a spare 1050 top cover - the logo strip is a bit fatigued but should polish up. pm me if you want it you can just pay postage ?

 

im having a blitz on disk drives at the mo. i diagnosed my Indus GT back to life - zero sensor failure, added HyperXF ROM to my XF551, identified incorrect components in the head amp circuit on my LDW S2000 (encouraging) and now i have an 810 case to do reconstructive surgery!

Edited December 7, 2021 by xrbrevin

[Beeblebrox]

@xrbrevin 

"i have a spare 1050 top cover - the logo strip is a bit fatigued but should polish up. pm me if you want it you can just pay postage ?"

 

........that's incredibly generous of you - I'll PM you in a mo. thanks

 

You are probably right re the courier brickin it heh heh!

 

How are you going to tackle fixing the crazy paving then?

 

 

[Beeblebrox]

Well - it's arrived!!   23kg of 90's CRT known as the B&O MX4000! Not in bad condition.

 

 

In the end as the Ebay seller advertised as collection only (I liaised with them before I bid to say I wasn't able to), I found a reasonable courier via Shiply and got it picked up at the weekend.  (Honestly some of the quotes from Shiply for picking it up hit over £300!!!)

 

(Pic from Tinternet btw as tricky to take pic currently where TV is in Situ)

 

Got the actual TV itself for a bargain. It didn't come a stand or the all important remote control, and ironically I ended up paying a little more for the remote than the TV itself.

 

The remote is probably the heaviest TV remote I've ever owned, being - all metal. You could honestly use it as a weapon heh heh!! (Professor Plum, in the Library, with the B&O TV remote!) 

 

Despite the money spent I kinda see it as an investment as these models seem quite sought after. I've not had a CRT TV since probably 2000.

 

Anyway after a few personal moments of "stoopid", bothering other AA forum members and reading some info on the T'internet because I wasn't getting the S-video signal - the penny finally dropped and I worked it out! Doh!

 

I have also managed to get a sample of the very good audio through the TV's hightly rated speakers, albeit it a mono source. (Taking the audio via the Hercules workshop double shielded S-video cable which has a built in mono RCA jack). It's going into an RCA audio jack to SCART converter cable I had from my Atari Jaguar days. I'll need to properly hook it up so it can take the left and right stereo directly from my Stereo enhanced 800XL.)

 

I am pretty impressed with the picture, with blacks being really dark, although it does appear that you can only tweak the brightness, colour saturation, and contrast. I realise it's an old school CRT but I thought there might be other picture settings available given this was top end BITD with highly tube tech. It does raise expectations. There doesn't appear to be a sharpness option for example. (Perhaps that wouldn't make much difference anyways). I'll Google some more and have access to the manual online too.

 

The other good news is - despite the size and weight, owing to the relatively slimline design of this 22" beast, especially at the rear, it actually fits on my desk alongside many other screens, (PC, laptop and A8)! I just hope my makeshift desk can take the weight heh heh!

Overall - having only had it up and running for less than an hour so far - I am impressed. Sound - albeit currently a mono source - is very good. Image wise certainly Rastaconverted images are looking good. Just wish there were more picture tweak settings available. I am not able to overdrive - (if that is a thing heh heh) - the colour saturation for example, like I can do on my little 10" Panasonic TX-G10 CRT. (The latter also has a sharpness option too).

 

A few pics - where as you'll appreciate trying to replicate older displays on new mobile digital cameras, (old CRT fresh rate, colours etc) won't 100% accurately reflect what I am actually seeing. For example in the spiderman and Geisha pics it's making the reds appear stronger, whereas in reality they aren't quite as vibrant - but not far off):

 

         

 

    

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2021 by Beeblebrox

[+orpheuswaking]

56 minutes ago, Beeblebrox said:

@xrbrevin 

"i have a spare 1050 top cover - the logo strip is a bit fatigued but should polish up. pm me if you want it you can just pay postage ?"

 

........that's incredibly generous of you - I'll PM you in a mo. thanks

 

 

Confirm they are a match first... There are at least two different case tops as I found out when trying to make one good drive out of three bad ones. 

[TGB1718]

2 hours ago, Beeblebrox said:

Well - it's arrived!!   23kg of 90's CRT known as the B&O MX4000! Not in bad condition.

I love B&O, I had a 28" Stereo model many years ago, wish I still had it, the Audio was superb so was the picture,

one of the funny things was it had several Audio inputs and the manual said you could feed your HiFi unit into the TV

for better quality Audio, when using that mode, you could turn the CRT off

 

Congratz your going to just love it.

[Beeblebrox]

27 minutes ago, TGB1718 said:

I love B&O, I had a 28" Stereo model many years ago, wish I still had it, the Audio was superb so was the picture,

one of the funny things was it had several Audio inputs and the manual said you could feed your HiFi unit into the TV

for better quality Audio, when using that mode, you could turn the CRT off

 

Congratz your going to just love it.

@TGB1718  Thanks - it does look and feel a quality bit of kit. I'll be getting to grips with the manual for sure, and testing the audio once I sort my stereo connection. 

 

Interestingly I can not see actual audio in sockets as such - audio goes via the Scart AV2 socket and everything else appears to be proprietry B&O connectors for connecting motorised stands and other B&O tech on the back, with a headphone out socket on the front. Somewhere the Powerlink external speakers are plugged in, but this also I've read is a proprietry B&O connector. 

 

I can see I'll have to read up some more to get to grips with it. 

 

 

 

 

[Beeblebrox]

Damn the sound is good!! - even on a mono right only input from my Stereo 800XL! I managed to get it to work off the latter. I only have the one RCA coupler so have ordered a set. Stereo input here we come.

 

Just been playing some PDMs off my SIDE3. 

[+slx]

12 hours ago, Beeblebrox said:

Well - it's arrived!!   23kg of 90's CRT known as the B&O MX4000! Not in bad condition.

 

Got the actual TV itself for a bargain. It didn't come a stand or the all important remote control, and ironically I ended up paying a little more for the remote than the TV itself.

 

The remote is probably the heaviest TV remote I've ever owned, being - all metal. You could honestly use it as a weapon heh heh!! (Professor Plum, in the Library, with the B&O TV remote!) 

 

Despite the money spent I kinda see it as an investment as these models seem quite sought after. I've not had a CRT TV since probably 2000.

They seem to get rarer indeed but over here the price range is quite wide. I got mine for a bargain in local driving distance with an older remote that's a pain to use and pretty unintuitive. You spent well on the right remote. Those B&O guys obviously took pride in making things different by not using a "source" button. I saw a few more at bargain prices but they are just too bulky to keep as spares, so I'll enjoy it while it lasts. 

 

For home computer applications the motorized stand isn't that great. I thought it would be nice to have the TV turn towards the sofa when playing from there, but it adds a lot of height compared to the "wire" stand on yours. 

 

Have fun!

[TGB1718]

I also bought the B&O VCR, it could only be used with a B&O TV, you programmed the VCR through the TV,

it used a fully loaded SCART to communicate from the TV to the VCR, quite ingressive for the day

[mimo]

My parents had the whole B&O system back in the early 90s, TV, VCR, Amp, CD player.......
Stunning system in it's day, I was really sad when they cleared it all out for a new Sony LCD TV/DVD/Surround system

 

[_The Doctor__]

Tandy/Radio Shack had some interesting and surprisingly good equipment from time to time... then they went the SONY route, followed that with other name brands, and cell phones... almost all of the stores died off as a result because the had to carry XYZ of those brands... so a pile of crap products and one or two good products... soon people revolted against the junk... SONY has a cult following, however, except for a very few items, they really are not the bees knees. Some of the stuff from Pioneer and such were good as well but again there was a mix. When doing rebranding or having specialty versions made, these companies were able to pick and choose exactly what would be on the shelf as well as what was in the item to a degree, feature wise or even material. When that stopped it was no longer special or as hearty. Why bother going to these stores when you can go anywhere for the lowest common denominator sold everywhere for far less... a real shame too.

[TGB1718]

45 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

Tandy/Radio Shack had some interesting and surprisingly good equipment from time to time.

The monitor I used on my 800/130XE and later ST I got from Tandy because at the time a 21" TV with

composite input was difficult to get and Tandy was the only place I could easily get one, was a nice piece of kit.

 

I've still got a box of component that I got for peanuts when Tandy shut down and was selling all their stock off.

[Beeblebrox]

11 hours ago, slx said:

They seem to get rarer indeed but over here the price range is quite wide. I got mine for a bargain in local driving distance with an older remote that's a pain to use and pretty unintuitive. You spent well on the right remote. Those B&O guys obviously took pride in making things different by not using a "source" button. I saw a few more at bargain prices but they are just too bulky to keep as spares, so I'll enjoy it while it lasts. 

 

For home computer applications the motorized stand isn't that great. I thought it would be nice to have the TV turn towards the sofa when playing from there, but it adds a lot of height compared to the "wire" stand on yours. 

 

Have fun!

 

@slx Thanks - yup I did a lot of research to make sure it was the best one. Bit of a mindfield with the model names and compatability and function. Ebay listings can also be misleading or lack info, so the photos help. 

 

This particular model was selling here in the UK on average for £65-85. I managed to get it for £45 incl postage. (Incidentally the TV itself actually cost me £40, and Shiply courier £60, so all in £145 - which I am happy with). 

 

Yup I just have it resting on my makeshift desk. No way this is gonna go anywhere else - least of all a wall - and ya right - I don't really need a motorised stand).

 

I managed to research the Service mode and menu access codes and can potentially tweak some more display settings - may or may not bother. 

 

The speaker sound is amazing as I mentioned earlier - and I've not even got Stereo hooked up yet!! Weekend is gonna be fun - gonna be playing my PDM stereo conversion of TANK (Theme tune to Cowboy Bebop) A LOT methinks!!

Edited December 8, 2021 by Beeblebrox

[TGB1718]

I'm undecided, should I buy this all new design of CF card for my SIDE 2 ?

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384560238609?hash=item5989939011:g:ko4AAOSwa6Jgwwma

[blacka013]

It may certainly brighten things up for you???

[Jacques]

Finally got some time to take care of US-imported Indus GT, equip it with SRAM Charger and replace lubricant, so it works more quiet ?

 

 

Happy! 

[Dinadan67]

2 hours ago, Jacques said:

Happy! 

Nice. Does the SRAM-Charge provide a track-buffer like the Happy-Enhancement for the 1050 or is it only useful for running CP/M on the Z80?

[Jacques]

39 minutes ago, Dinadan67 said:

Nice. Does the SRAM-Charge provide a track-buffer like the Happy-Enhancement for the 1050 or is it only useful for running CP/M on the Z80?

Thank you. 

Yes, but track-buffering is only available when using DOS 2.35's Super Synchromesh or Indus.sys driver under SpartaDOS X. Still a nice feature. 

[+slx]

21 hours ago, Jacques said:

Finally got some time to take care of US-imported Indus GT, equip it with SRAM Charger and replace lubricant, so it works more quiet ?

 

What lubricant did you use?