atarisparrow Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Hi, I am not sure if this is the right place to post this so please let me know if I need to redirect this. I have what I believe could be quite an unusual find, an Atari Sparrow in working condition- pictures attached- sorry about the poor quality. There's no name badge on the front and it's been sitting in a box for a while so needs a bit of a clean. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of it working, I got too excited when I realised it worked and forgot all about it. If it's something that is unusual I will work on getting some photos! I have no cables or power source for it. I'd like to sell it and I was after a general opinion on how much something like this would be worth? And if anyone had any advice as to what the best platform to sell something like this would be. I know next to nothing about computers but I will do my best to answer any questions!Cheers. Link to photos here- http://imgur.com/a/4W3aT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junosix Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 (edited) What part of the world is the Sparrow in? Guessing US based on the keyboard layout? EDIT - but 50Hz PSU on the label! Edited July 11, 2014 by Junosix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarisparrow Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 I'm in the UK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixdownita Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 (edited) http://atariage.com/forums/topic/212866-atari-sparrow-prototype/ Try evilBay, you may get lucky! Let it simmer a little for 300 or 400 US$ or equivalent and see what happens. Edited July 12, 2014 by phoenixdownita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junosix Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Where abouts in the UK? I've just emailed someone to make them aware of this, if he's not up for it then I'm kind of tempted to make an offer. I'll let the thought rattle around in my head for a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarisparrow Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Hey Junosix I'm in Wiltshire. Thanks for the advice phoenixdownita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXG/MNX Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Hi, I am not sure if this is the right place to post this so please let me know if I need to redirect this. I have what I believe could be quite an unusual find, an Atari Sparrow in working condition- pictures attached- sorry about the poor quality. There's no name badge on the front and it's been sitting in a box for a while so needs a bit of a clean. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of it working, I got too excited when I realised it worked and forgot all about it. If it's something that is unusual I will work on getting some photos! I have no cables or power source for it. I'd like to sell it and I was after a general opinion on how much something like this would be worth? And if anyone had any advice as to what the best platform to sell something like this would be. I know next to nothing about computers but I will do my best to answer any questions! Cheers. Link to photos here- http://imgur.com/a/4W3aT Hi, How much do you want for it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlazer Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 (edited) Doesn't it have a built in Power supply? Is it 220v? -- EDIT, I see in the pic if does have a built in PS and it's 220V! -- I would see about getting a proper badge for it from B&C Computer visions! Edited July 13, 2014 by tjlazer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junosix Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Been toying with the idea of making a sporting offer but I'm just not sure I can give it a good enough home, practically speaking the Sparrow isn't 100% the same as a Falcon so effectively in real-world use it would be similar to having a Mega STE in an ST case. I just don't think it would be fair to use such a rare beast for that kind of thing. I would reckon you could probably start the bidding at about £200 and have people fight over it, there are a few Sparrow units out there but I don't think all of them are in working order. Any idea what size RAM it has? If it doesn't end up going then I'll keep my mind open to the idea of having it though because I hate the idea of it being totally unloved, or - even worse - tossed in a skip because it's taking up space. So let me know, I'm in Plymouth so only a couple of hours away. Out of interest, are you able to say how you managed to come by it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junosix Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) Incidentally I think there were three versions of the badge for the prototypes that were known as FX-1 (see http://atariage.com/forums/topic/120147-atari-sparrow-prototype-name-badges/) but I think some of the units were given to developers without a badge (meaning that I think yours never had a badge, rather than that it has fallen off somewhere down the line). I'd say leave it as it is, but if you do feel the need to stick a badge on it then the mid-grey badge (the one in the middle of the photo in the post I linked to) is the one to stick on it if you can find one. EDIT - or the bottom one perhaps. The case on yours seems a bit lighter in colour than some of the other Sparrows. But to be honest it's probably best to leave as-is. Edited July 14, 2014 by Junosix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarisparrow Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Hi TXG/MNX I'm not really sure, I was hoping for a general idea! Hi again Junosix thanks for all the advice. I have no idea what the RAM is, sorry. I'm going to put it on eBay I think, I'll make sure to post the link back here. It definitely won't get thrown in a skip so no worries there. I'm not to fussed about getting a badge for it- good tip though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlazer Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 You say it's working and were excited about it but you don't have a power cable for it and can't even seem to find out how much RAM it has? Not very good for any potential buyers. My advice, clean it up, plug it in, take lots of pics of it running and run SYSINFO on it, you can easily (more easily than any other retro computer in the world! Try that with an Amiga lol) copy it to a PC 720k disk and run it on the system. To see what TOS version it has and how much RAM, etc. Grab the program here: https://sites.google.com/site/stessential/system-tools/sysinfo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarisparrow Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Hi tjlazer, I had to go to a computer museum to find a power cable for it and it's not super convenient to go back (especially since I'm not planning on donating the unit to them..) It's not something I can do at home without paying for cables etc which I don't really want to do- but thanks for all the information anyway. Now listed on eBay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=141349473267 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junosix Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 (edited) Power lead is a standard PC kettle type plug, even if it can be shown to power up the LED on the front that would be useful. Edited July 16, 2014 by Junosix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeun Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Your auction and first post make the claim that the Sparrow is "working" but what does that mean by your definition? Did you check it with a monitor, or does "working" mean the LED came on? The auction would get you a lot more interest (and money) if you posted photos of it working, as well as photos of the inside. (and either the computer or monitor you're posting from probably has the same power cord needed). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 The whole story just sounds a bit unbelievable. If the seller isn't aware that the power cord is a bog standard PC cord, how would said seller figure out the Sparrow's monitor connection? And if it hasn't been hooked to a monitor, how can the claim of "working" be substantiated? It looks like the same monitor port as on the Falcon so I guess that is possible, but again, cannot figure out the power cord? I believe he/she owns this thing, but I am not convinced they have ever turned it on. Just sell it as untested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlazer Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 (edited) The power cable is a world wide standad PC plug, you can get one anywhere for 1 dollar or euro or free. The power supply is built in the unit! Not really displaying any kind of confdence here for purchasing a rare and expensive item. Suggest you do some basic research and basic testing of unit before trying to sell it. Good luck. Edited July 16, 2014 by tjlazer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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