TheDrewster

Just checked the versions of all the ROM carts, they all come up as NTSC Rev B. I've fiddled with the cartridges in the HCD console but still can't get the poor thing to boot. This is all I get:

In the handful of 800 carts I got, I do in fact, have a BASIC cartridge. What should I do?

Hello everyone, just joined the forum and I don't dabble in vintage computers a whole lot, but my interest in Atari's early computers stem from my familiarity with Atari's coin op games of the 80s as I collect/repair arcade and pinball machines. Anywhoo, I found a huge stack of Atari 800 goodies at California Extreme this past weekend and the gentleman I bought it all from didn't seem to know (or care?) too much about these units. I got them all at a killer price and he also included a ton of 2600 goodies as well. I'll be the first to admit that I do not know a whole heck of a lot about Atari 800's. But when I was unloading my truck after returning home, some strange details about these consoles began to catch my eye. So here's what I have. I have three 800 systems: • The bottom unit looks to be a standard issue Atari 800, nothing crazy or different about it. This unit boots up and appears to work without issue. • The top left unit has no badging, serials, labels, or anything identifying the console whatsoever, and not even the ROM/RAM carts have casings. There is also zero adhesive residue to suggest the badging was there at any point in it's life. The screws are also flat-head instead of phillips, which I thought was also interesting. This unit also boots up and works. But what fascinates me is the fact that there is a full set of peripherals with this same blank badging and flathead screws, suggesting they may all have came from the same place? I don't know. • The top right unit has all the characteristics of a normal unit, but with one huge exception. There is a badge on the lower right corner that states "ATARI H.C.D ENG. LAB S/N - 1339". This unit comes up with either a black screen or scrolling red garbage, so it doesn't seem to work at the moment. There are only 3 slots filled on this unit, with one uncased card being what looks like a card full of 4116 RAM but made by "Intec Peripherals" and not Atari. Being the newbie that I am to this world of vintage Atari computing, can anyone shed some light or possibilities as to what these consoles are and if they are of any significance beyond normal 800 units?