TheEditor Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 (edited) I have a oppurtunity to buy the following for today for about a hundred bucks. 130xe, working with power supply 810, working with all cables Rana 1000, working with all cables 850, working with all cables 800, working but no RAM, with all cables Paddles, working Wico Red Bat Handle joystick, working I have no use for some of the gear. I am thinking it is worth the price just to sell off some of it. Thoughts? Good deal? Edited December 26, 2014 by TheEditor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam242 Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 You could break up that lot for more than a hundred bucks... I'd grab it if it were local to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 I would buy it and redistribute it just to get good gear back into the community. I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but I feel like I have a certain sense of responsibility to help ensure that as much of this history is preserved and cared for as possible. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricortes Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Good start on a base of equipment to start trading. For instance, trade the 800 to someone with a spare ram board in exchange for a 1050. It all depends on what system you want to end up with. Most modern would be something like and expanded 130XE with SIO2SD or something similar. Most rare would be the 800 with the Rana. Most classic would be 800 with 810. Keep everything and... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 An 800, good but no ram? What happened to the ram? 810? Someone (collector) might buy that. 850, paddles, etc. essentially of extremely limited value. The 130XE and Rana together might be worth the $100. Most Rana's are functionally single density only. They had good electronics, but mostly poor mechs. IMO overall, it's a dubious opportunity, but having said that, if you put several of the items on eBay, you can come out ok. -Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Westphal Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 But it NOW. I have 800 ram should you need some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEditor Posted December 26, 2014 Author Share Posted December 26, 2014 Well, it turns out the guy didnt know what he had, he thought the 810 was something that had RAM in it and thought it was an 800. Everything works and also got a tons of disks. The 810 in missing the back panel label where the connectors are and the Rana is missing the from label where the buttons are but other than that it all works. I also eneded up with a pair of atari joysticks. I am considering selling working 810 with cables working RANA with cables working 850 with cables including a parallel cable to centroics working Atari joysticks I also have two 400's wiith power supplies, RAM upgrades and real keyboards that I need to test and see if they are working. If so they may be for sale also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobus Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 I'm interested in the 810 - where (in the world) are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbking67 Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 Why do you say that Ranas are pretty much single density? I think the ones i used seemed to work okay in DD. Most Rana's are functionally single density only. They had good electronics, but mostly poor mechs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEditor Posted December 27, 2014 Author Share Posted December 27, 2014 I'm interested in the 810 - where (in the world) are you? Eastern USA, Maryland to be precise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMartian Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 Why do you say that Ranas are pretty much single density? I think the ones i used seemed to work okay in DD. There are a number of firmware bugs in the various versions of the Rana ROMs I've looked at... If I ever get the 6502 version of the rom working well with US, I'll get that out and it seems to work great now SD / ED / DD... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Both Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 What about the 850 ? Still free? and how much? Stefan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 Why do you say that Ranas are pretty much single density? I think the ones i used seemed to work okay in DD. I've had at least a dozen Rana drives. Maybe 50% were reliable in DD. Ones with "pull-down" mechs are more reliable than the "lever" type. SD -- great, but DD is a challenge, especially from more than one drive. No track-zero sensor, and that might be a factor. So what I'm saying (and I think it is very good advice) if you buy a 30-year old Rana that is"working" don't count on DD. -Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEditor Posted December 27, 2014 Author Share Posted December 27, 2014 Further investigation of the RANA drive I found the whole key thing on the front is missing. I called the seller to attempt to locate it so I can so final tests on the drive. If nothing else it appears it may be good for parts. The 810 works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEditor Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 I spoke with the guy I bought the gear from and he is going to look for the RANA button bar as it is missing on the drive, but the drive appears to function without it. Anyone know where I can get a replacement? On a second note. I have and SIO2PC device I built which works on my 800 but on my 130XE it boots and then the keyboard is locked up. Anyone have thoughts on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbking67 Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I spoke with the guy I bought the gear from and he is going to look for the RANA button bar as it is missing on the drive, but the drive appears to function without it. Anyone know where I can get a replacement? On a second note. I have and SIO2PC device I built which works on my 800 but on my 130XE it boots and then the keyboard is locked up. Anyone have thoughts on this? On the off-chance that you are a new 130XE user... are you holding down OPTION as you turn it on? This disables the BASIC ROM. Does the 130XE pass the self-test? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEditor Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) Not a new 130Xe user as I had one back in the day. I did some extensive testing with my 130Xe and my 800 and determined the following: SIO2PC to 800, works fine all the time using RI, CTS or DTR SIO2PC to 130xe, boots with any disk using RI, CTS or DTR but keyboard is locked up once booted even into just DOS 2.0 SIO2BT to 130xe, works fine all the time. The SIO2PC device I am using is one I built with an Arduino and the fact that it works perfectly on the 800 without issues is strange to say the least. The SIO2BT device has only been tested on the 130xe as I do not have a way to burn a new ROM for the 800, yet. 130xe passes all self tests and works great with everything I have booted otherwise. Edited December 29, 2014 by TheEditor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Which SIO2PC device (USB, Com port, etc.) and software are you using? PC/Windows, MS-Dos, or? -Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEditor Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 Using thhe SIO2PC (via USB as COM3) I built with my Arduino running ASPEqt or Atari810 under Windows. Runs prefectly with the 800, only has issues with the 130XE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) Using thhe SIO2PC (via USB as COM3) I built with my Arduino running ASPEqt or Atari810 under Windows. Runs prefectly with the 800, only has issues with the 130XE. I would try swapping the PIA on that 130XE with another one known to work with a SIO2PC (that means desoldering/soldering however). I had occasions where a particular PIA didn't work with SIO2PC (and even stopped working with a SIO2PC after a while), with symptoms like keyboard lock-ups, timing errors, but worked fine with regular Atari drives. I believe the reason is the electrical properties of an SIO2PC being different from an Atari drive, and some PIA chips that may have had different tolerances or those tolerances changing over time. If that doesn't fix the problem the second place I would look is the Pokey chip. Edited December 29, 2014 by atari8warez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbking67 Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Could it be the SIO speed? I know some 130XE computers need some caps removed from the SIO port to use higher speeds (even for something like a US Doubler). So maybe setting the SIO speed lower on the device would help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEditor Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 I have the SIO2PC set at the 1x speed. I ahve the SIO2BT working on the same 130XE so it is odd the SIO2PC is not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 I'd be interested in the 810 also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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