Atari 410 Datasette Problem

[gzsfrk]

Hello AA'ers!

 

While digging through my parents storage barn a couple weekends ago, I was delighted to find my old Atari 400 computer, complete with the 410 program recorder (cassette), some cartridges, and the cassette tapes onto which I recorded many a LOGO program I wrote back in the day. The AC adapter was nowhere to be found, but thankfully AA member nopaybob came through for me with a great deal on a replacement. So I get the AC adapter, clean everything up, plug it all in, and sure enough--the old boy fired right up, booting me into that old familiar Pacman screen. So having verified that the 400 itself was working, I turned my attention to seeing if I could load some of my old LOGO programs from cassette. I hook up the 410, pop in the LOGO cartridge, insert one of my cassettes, then attempt to rewind it. But nothing; just some humming.

 

Okay, no big deal; probably just the old drive belt slipping. So I take it apart, and sure enough--the belt is loose and crusty. So I fashion a replacement out of a heavy duty rubber band, pop it on, and give it a test. Now we're in business; rewinds and fast-forwards like a champ. So I figure I'm now ready to try loading some LOGO programs. Hook the 410 back up to the 400, power up the system, and come to the LOGO welcome screen. Now to try and load!

 

LOAD "C:

 

I hear the brrroooonnnnggg sound and see that the system is waiting on me, so I hit the Play button on the 410. But nothing. The tape isn't moving at all. There's no humming coming from the 410, and the screen isn't prompting me to do anything.

 

So after that, I was stuck and couldn't figure out what to try next. Is there something I'm forgetting that I needed to do? Or maybe there's something mechanical within the drive that I need to check? Granted, it's been almost 30 years since I've done this, so I may well have forgotten something. Or, worst case scenario, I'm hoping it's a common mechanical issue that I can fix.

 

So do any of you AA gurus have any guidance for me? I can take pictures if needed, but as it sits right now, everything on the inside (aside from the makeshift drive belt which seems to be working perfectly) appears to be just like it came from the factory.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

- m@

[Nukey Shay]

You have to press ENTER on the keyboard to start it up. AFAIK, Atari computers do not "detect" that you've actually pressed play or record on the 410 and it's ready to go.

[gzsfrk]

You have to press ENTER on the keyboard to start it up. AFAIK, Atari computers do not "detect" that you've actually pressed play or record on the 410 and it's ready to go.

 

So let me see if I understand this correctly. I typed in:

 

LOAD "C:

 

Then hit ENTER. Then I press PLAY on the 410, then I press ENTER again? And that will send a signal to the 410 that it needs to start reading the tape? Because as I mentioned, when I press the PLAY button now, it's not spinning at all.

 

Thanks for the reply!

 

- m@

[gzsfrk]

Hey, it worked! Thanks a lot, man. Can't believe I didn't try that. But as soon as I hit ENTER after the noise and pressing the PLAY button, it started reading the tape right away. Awesome!

 

Thanks again!