RevengeOfYar Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Hey guys, so I just picked up an Atari 130xe with about a dozen cartridge games for $20. Problem is--there's no power supply, video cable, or any other accessories, so I have no idea if it works or not. I've heard the xe's are not as reliable as the older ones such as the 800xl--is that true? Is it worth spending $35 on a power supply for it to find out? I assume I can use an rca-coax adapter to plug it into a regular TV? Is there anything else I need? I have Atari 2600 joysticks of course. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox-1 / mnx Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 You need to obtain a power supply, no matter what. I'd think the reason of buying it is to use it. Spending $35 on a power supply isn't worth it if you ask me because you can get those much cheaper. I mean, it's just 5VDC you need which is an overly common voltage. Check the forums. There's a lot of info about power supplies. Too much to mention in a single post. Connecting the coax to a regular TV will do but it's the lowest quality of video output the XL's/XE's have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 (edited) https://www.ebay.com/itm/XL-XE-Power-Supply-AC-Adapter-1-5A-Tested-Atari-Ver-3/140966936256?hash=item20d248bec0:g:LoYAAMXQya1Q4zp- https://www.ebay.com/itm/AV-A-V-Audio-Video-TV-Cable-for-Atari-Computer-600XL-800-800XL-130XE-65XE-NEW/311883289519?hash=item489db153af:g:M-kAAOSwW6BaCOxL there you go, save a considerable amount on these Edited June 4, 2018 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Lotharek sells brand new universal A8 power supplies on his site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevengeOfYar Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 (edited) Thanks for the replies and the links. Yes, the idea is to use it of course. But, I could get a more reliable model if that makes the most sense (hopefully tested/including power supply). Most of the cartridges are 400/800XL. Yes I will get a monitor cable but RF will be fine for testing purposes. Would you say there is at least a 50/50 shot that it works? Or am I better off getting a more reliable model like an 800XL? Edited June 4, 2018 by RevengeOfYar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMenard Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Thanks for the replies and the links. Yes, the idea is to use it of course. But, I could get a more reliable model if that makes the most sense (hopefully tested/including power supply). Most of the cartridges are 400/800XL. Yes I will get a monitor cable but RF will be fine for testing purposes. Would you say there is at least a 50/50 shot that it works? Or am I better off getting a more reliable model like an 800XL? 130XE is reliable. Been using mine for the past 10 years and the only trouble I ever had with was oxydation on the keyboard ribon cable which a simple pull out, re insert corrected. The only plus that I see for the XL line is the placement of the cart port on top instead of in the back and matching colors with the accessories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlazer Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Common fault on the 130XE is the ram, thru tend to die. Easy job if you know how to solder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 i dont think the xe range are any less reliable, they had lower production costs and thus feel a bit 'cheaper' some 800xe models in eastern europe are reported to have dodgy GTIA chips but there is a low cost fix available Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 I use an 800xl power supply with my 130xe. Never had an issues with that combo. I'm sorry I never originally grew up owning or knowing anyone with an Atari computer back in the day. Seems there was and is so much they could do and I've not much of an attachment honestly because of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 https://www.ebay.com/itm/XL-XE-Power-Supply-AC-Adapter-1-5A-Tested-Atari-Ver-3/140966936256?hash=item20d248bec0:g:LoYAAMXQya1Q4zp- Never use an ingot power supply... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 (edited) Never use an ingot power supply... except in the instances where they've been tested by someone reliable - like myatari (aka B&C Computer Visions) - who we all know have been in the atari community a long time. Edited June 4, 2018 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox-1 / mnx Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Tested or not, it's the way they brake down. Most power supplies just stop functioning when it fails. The ingots, however, start to output a higher voltage without warning, which will eventually destroy your XL/XE. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred_M Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 If people are living in Europe, I still have a good supply of original and tested power supplies. Ingot and others https://www.rewindgames.eu/opencart/index.php?route=product/search&search=power%20supply 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevengeOfYar Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 So I finally decided to buy a rebuildable power supply from Best Electronics. Powered the 130XE on, and I get the RAM/ROM test screen whether a cartridge is inserted or not. Over half of the sectors show up red, and less than half are green. Does this mean most of the RAM is bad? I have zero experience soldering. Desoldering chips doesn't really sound like a good starter project to me. Is there anyone out there who services systems like this, or am I better off looking for another system or drop-in board? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarland Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 Try a local electronics repair shop? They have the tools and skills to replace the RAM. You'll probably need to supply the RAM chips. Yes there are people here who can do it too. The XE's are good but not as good as XLs in this regard. You got a good deal if all the chips work. Does the sound test work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 Do you have an Atari group local to your area? If you are lucky enough to have a vibrant retro-gaming community in your area, they can usually direct you to a person that can help with this sort of fix. The 130XE is probably a bit less reliable than the other 8-bits, but the main problem is that they didn't use sockets at all. If it breaks, you must get the soldering station out. Good luck! It's definitely worth fixing. Great system. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 The XE range used cost-saving techniques and one of these was to use MT RAM chips. RickR is right - no chips are socketed and the XE PCBs are quite fragile when worked on with a soldering iron - they can lift tracks easier than other boards. Not a great choice to learn on if youve never desoldered before!... What country are you in? Maybe someone local can sort it for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1050 Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 Over half of the sectors show up red, and less than half are green. Does this mean most of the RAM is bad? No, it just means something is wrong somewhere. Most of RAM may be fine and something else is making it do this. The test is not a good one to go by especially if you were thinking that one red square equates to a specific chip as it certainly does not. Even a range of squares or chips do not correlate either. We guess correctly by what we've seen before that reminds of a past fix mostly. Almost a blind guess. The test is more an entertainment device then, only somewhat useful in an experts hands and I don't think I quite qualify. It could be a very smart move to get another in the hopes of success this 2nd time. And that gives you spare chips to fix this one with. Which is the most powerful way to fix these if only they were all socketed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NISMOPC Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 Going thru several XE's to bring them back to life, they all needed memory swapped out. I solder in sockets and replaced memory on 65's and 130's whenever red blocks occurred. That fixed the issue on all of them. Not saying your's is the same issue, but memory is cheap and so are sockets. It's been a good to start for me every time. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 My 130xe once gave me about half of the blocks in red during a RAM test after a few years of it being in the closet. Odd thing was that when I ran the test again, it passed with everything in the green and as far as I know, it continues to still pass that ram test to this day. So yeah, I'm not sure how reliable the onboard tests really are given what mine did once. But that is just it..only once has it done this and I've never really experienced any issues that I can recall when playing games on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geister Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 (edited) You could narrow down which chips are bad by turning the computer on and feeling the chips. Any really hot ram chips are likely bad. I saw a guy mist alcohol over his ram chips and the ones that dried out instantly were all bad. You can put a new ram chip over the top of a suspected bad chip and see if the problems go away. Just bend the legs inward a bit and line them up with the old chip so you get good contact. if you don't want to buy a de-soldering station, get a small pair of side cutters made for snipping legs off components and cut the legs off the old chip close to the plastic package. Then, use a small pair of needle-nose pliers and your soldering iron to pull the old legs out of the holes. After you remove all the legs, some solder wick and fresh flux will help get the holes cleared. Then you can install sockets to make replacing rams easy. Edited July 31, 2018 by Geister 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 https://www.ebay.com/itm/XL-XE-Power-Supply-AC-Adapter-1-5A-Tested-Atari-Ver-3/140966936256?hash=item20d248bec0:g:LoYAAMXQya1Q4zp- https://www.ebay.com/itm/AV-A-V-Audio-Video-TV-Cable-for-Atari-Computer-600XL-800-800XL-130XE-65XE-NEW/311883289519?hash=item489db153af:g:M-kAAOSwW6BaCOxL there you go, save a considerable amount on these I wouldn't buy an INGOT ever.... they are time bombs no matter who the seller is! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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