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Gunstar

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Posts posted by Gunstar

  1. Posted · Edited by Gunstar

    @gilsalukiYes, indeed. Though I'm not a true Oklahoman (assuming the nod was directed at me), I just moved here five years ago. I was born in Texas and have lived coast to coast.

     

    My longest stints were 13 years in the Chicago area during my formative years, and about the same in Texas, and in between the two, about a decade in Wisconsin total (first half for college), with a two year break in the middle that I lived in Huntington Beach SoCal. Oklahoma will end up being the longest, assuming I live long enough to make it so, it's where I'm retiring (if and when I retire) on family land I inherited.

    • Like 1

  2. Posted · Edited by Gunstar

    47 minutes ago, nowy80 said:

    I prepare all the dust covers myself. I make them for devices that I have in my collection. I do not have a 1020 plotter. I cannot guarantee that the 1010 cover will fit. Of course, I can prepare three 1050 covers and two 1010 covers with embroidery according to your guidelines. There is no problem to make the purchase via PayPal. It only needs 5 days to process the order. I do everything myself. I will also send photos of the covers made after personalized embroidery.I send the package monitored and traceable. I am sending the tracking number after shipment. Please contact me via email: [email protected]

    OK, I will contact you via e-mail soon.

     

    The 1020, without a paper roll installed and it's cover on top, has the same dimensions as the 1010. I think it will fit the printer, with the cover, but it will not hang down properly in the back, which I am willing to accept. I won't hold you liable for not fitting the 1020 correctly. I'll work with it.

     

    I see in your forum signature that you also own a CA-2001 floppy drive. Will you be making a cover to fit it? (which will also fit Indus GT drives and several other brands) If you plan to make a cover for the CA-2001, I'll buy three of them too.

    • Like 1

  3. Posted · Edited by Gunstar

    @nowy80

     

    Though I have a 1200X, I am very interested in the covers for the 1010 and 1050. I also would like a cover for my 1020 plotter and I think a 1010 cover would work fine for me (so no need to design one for the 1020 on my account), even with the extra paper roll cover on top, but maybe I could order two 1010 covers and you could embroider one of them with "1020" instead of "1010?"

     

    I would be interested in three 1050 covers, but only two of them with the "1050" embroidering, and the third with only the "ATARI" and Fuji symbol; it will cover my CA-2001 drive and 1030 modem, that are stacked, nicely. If this is all possible, that would be 5 dust covers total I'd like.

     

    But, is it also possible to purchase them from you outside of eBay? I don't believe my eBay account is valid anymore and I can't use it anymore anyway, as I refused to give them my personal bank information to deal through them, and make the switch from Paypal to direct withdrawal & deposit to my bank account. I prefer using Paypal or a credit card directly for buying online, with their protections and isolation from my other finances, and keep my bank account isolated from my on-line shopping. So eBay is no longer an option for me. 20 years of perfect, upstanding membership and reputation down the drain. I stopped selling through them several years ago anyway because of their ridiculous fees.

    • Like 1

  6. Posted · Edited by Gunstar

    I'm very excited for this release, especially if it has the option to PAUSE. I can't make it past level 2 on the ABBUC version because my hands need a rest! I look forward to the new levels and enemies, but I'll need a PAUSE option to ever see most if I can't make it past level 2 because my thumbs and wrists need a break and a stretching.

     

    In my youth and twenties I could stand at the 1941/42 arcade cabinet all day smashing the buttons and stick with my ultra-quick reflexes, fast enough to create my own rapid fire. In my 30's and 40's I could sit on my ass in my mancave for hours with the help of hardware/software rapid fire options to give my thumbs a rest ("It's not the years, it's the milage"-Indiana Jones). In my 50's even rapid fire can't keep me playing for hours and hours, only a pause button and 10 minute breaks every 5 minutes!😩

    • Like 1

  8. Posted

    That sounds very cool. But I bet a much better one could be programmed today, using the latest programming techniques that have been discovered/learned over the decades. Maybe some screen savers like this could be made for the Incognito to replace the boring "INCOGNITO" screen saver it has now.

    • Like 1

  9. Posted · Edited by Gunstar

    I still have fair enough reflexes for gaming, for now, but due to early stage arthritis I have to pause and give my hands a break every 5 minutes with heavy-action games like shooters. I still haven't made it beyond level 2 of the fantastic new shooter 'Last Squadron' because it doesn't have a PAUSE. I'm hoping the final release version with a PAUSE will happen soon so I can enjoy the game more. I  still see perfectly fine, for now, on a monitor screen with my reading glasses, and without glasses when I have a system hooked up to my projector, especially now that I have a 120" screen for it. I foresee myself using a large projection screen more and more as I get older and my eyesight gets worse, at least until I get around to getting Lasic(?) surgery at some point, but a $2 pair of reading glasses works a lot better for my budget right now, and if I had to pay thousands for eye surgery that's thousands I don't get to spend on my hobby.

     

    But like you @Mclaneinc , I don't see many more purchases for my Atari's beyond software, I also have pretty much everything I want now. Only a Rapidus and VBXE purchases for my 1200XL and DIY Fujinet and internal 3.5" floppy drive that I already have all components needed for both. I already have the components for further DIY upgrades I'm doing on the 800 too. After that hardware purchases will be limited to maintenance and replacement. But, I still have big spending plans for materials for future electronic projects that I will be experimenting, designing and creating that will be using my massively upgraded and modified Atari's in integral ways. I need to buy all the materials and components now, for projects I might wait until semi-retirement/retirement to even start, while I'm physically still able to work and make disposable income that I won't have in retirement (which will only occur if I'm forced too physically, otherwise, owning my own business, I'll continue to work, at least part-time, and only be semi-retired until the day I die)

    • Like 1

  11. Posted · Edited by Gunstar

    2 minutes ago, bfollowell said:

     

    That's when I'll finish all those Scott Adams and Infocom text adventures I never got around to finishing!

     

    That's it for me too. I have a 1001 uses and ideas for my Atari's far beyond just gaming, so when I can no longer game due to reflexes or arthritis, I'll just use them more for things that don't require fast reflexes. I already do.

    • Like 1

  12. Posted · Edited by Gunstar

    I too, foresee more time with my hobby as I get older.

     

    As to the 1400XL, If I can't get one for less than $200, I have ZERO interest since I've already upgraded my 1200XL into a better machine than the 1400XL. And I appreciate it more than a 1400XL worth $100,000 (or whatever) since I did it myself and put the time and love into it, and since I purchase vintage stuff for using and not investment (I'll leave what it's all worth and cashing in to my relatives after I'm gone) and I plan to use until the day I die, or go blind, or my hands stop working fro arthritis, or both. I'm not sure I'm interested in a 1400XL for even less than $200.

     

    I actually prefer having a custom 1200XL I can take pride in for making it what it is myself.  I don't even care if my 1200XL would be worth more or less than a stock one these days since I'm not in it for the money. I already own a "poor man's 1400XL+++" (maybe I should just call it a 1500XL at this point) as far as I'm concerned. A stock 1400XL wouldn't even be enough for me these days, and I couldn't mod and upgrade it to my liking because they are "museum pieces," so again, I prefer what I already have and appreciate it far more.

     

    I'd rather have any Atari XL fully upgraded with today's latest upgrades than a 1400XL. As to owning something like a 1400XL because it's so rare, or a one-of-a-kind, again, I am more proud of owning my one-of-a-kind custom 1200XL (now re-dubbed 1200XLr "r" for revised/re-imagined) because I did it.

    20210424_090405.jpg

    • Like 4

  13. Posted

    8 hours ago, gollumer said:

    I don't think it was that the NES software was aimed at a younger audience, it was that it had new and original games. Atari was stuck in the rut of trying to bring arcade titles into the home, and with each new game system (5200, 7800, XEGS), they mostly touted yet-another-remake of arcade titles like Asteroids, Missile Command, and Centipede. People were tired of seeing a slightly different version of the same old software. Nintendo had Super Mario Bros., an original platformer that was not a home version of an arcade game (it was a home *sequel* to an arcade game), and Atari had nothing like it.

    I was working in retail when the Atari 7800 was on the shelves next to the NES. Nobody cared about the 7800. Over and over and over I'd hear some version of "but mom, I'm sick of playing missile command...I want something NEW! I want Super Mario Bros!" It really was their killer app.

    Exactly. The same old games remade slightly better. While I already owned a 130XE by the time Atari Corp. re-rolled out the 7800, I would have bought one immediately if it had new, original games. I saw the line-up of the same old classics, and they were only slightly better, if at all, to the 400/800/XL/XE originals. The only games that came out before '89 for the 7800 that I cared about was Commando, and Desert Falcon and Tower Toppler, that I was even interested in because they weren't on the A8 at the time. But not enough for me to buy a 7800.

     

    Then the XEGS came out, and it was mostly the same old stuff I could already get or had for the 130XE, just on cartridge instead of disk, and then some slightly better remakes of the same-old-same-old and Atari didn't even mention that they were made slightly better (Chrystal Castles, Mario Bros.,). I bought the trickle of new games to the 8-bit line, like Desert Falcon, Into the Eagles Nest, Thunderfox and a few others.

     

    Then it wasn't until '89, and after, that Atari finally started releasing more recent arcade games for the 7800 like Xenophobe and Ikari Warriors, and that's when I finally bought a 7800. Even then I only ever got about a dozen games for it as I already had most of it's library on the XE. I was always disappointed with Atari always re-hashing games. I had and loved them all for the 130XE, so why buy them again for the 7800 or cartridge versions from the XEGS line-up? In the end, there were some great original games that were finally released for the 7800 in the early '90's but still far too little and so late, after the nails in the coffin of the 7800 were already being hammered in, that what was the point? They should have spent the time and money on the Lynx which was finally a system that got more new original and later arcade releases right away instead of re-runs.

  14. Posted · Edited by Gunstar

    6 hours ago, DavidMil said:

    THAT is a very interesting Thread.  I have two Stack Pole and two Hi Tek 800's.  One has a RAMBO card, one has 288K of RAM and two are modified to use external self amplified speakers.

    But all have sticking keys.  This would be a wonderful fix for my Stack Pole keyboards!

     

    David 

    I think you mean Axlon card? Rambo was the memory upgrade for the XL line, not the 800...unless there is some Rambo card I never heard of for the 800, in which case, do tell...

  15. Posted · Edited by Gunstar

    5 hours ago, Rybags said:

     

    - 2600 was a cash cow even after a long time obsolete.

     

    Yes, but as was done, and is still done by console manufacturers today: two supported consoles; one the cheaper last-gen for those on a budget and the new tech for those who want to be on the leading edge of gaming. As was done with the advent of the 5200 and the 7800 and the XEGS later on. They would have still made all the 2600 monies from that market, plus preempted or stolen sales from Intellivision and later Colecovision. The VCS would have been the support monies needed to ensure the 400GS could be released and time to establish itself. Which was basically how it worked for the 400/800 computer line anyway, they just never established themselves at the forefront of the market and the 2600 was left as the Atari only cash-cow for far too long, until it was too late. It even remained a cash-cow for Atari Corp. while they ramped up the new computer lines, with the 2600jr. that sold over a million units with no advertising (at a $50 price point) in '84/85, combined with 800XL sales to keep them afloat until the new products were released. I think Atari would have been better off, by the time of Jack, to put all money and development used for the XE line into establishing the 7800 and just keep the XL line as-is, with further cost-reducing measures taken in it's replacement the XE, continue to sell and support the XL line, but focus on and push the 7800 and ST lines to compete with the new generation of consoles and computers for '85, and in doing so, stop at least the NES juggernaut from becoming the juggernaut, and strong sales of the 7800 from a roll-out in '84 could have bolstered market positioning of the ST line with the new Macintosh and Amiga computers. This all, of course, in light of the Amiga going to Commodore instead of Atari's new flagship gaming console (with the 2600 compatible 7800 still there as the low-cost alternative and forget the 2500jr all together since the 7800 was also a 2600 already). The 7800 should have been the $50 budget console relying on 2600/7800 games for a profit even if they had to lose money on the 7800 console to make it the budget alternative and then bring out an ST console in '87 instead of the XEGS as the by then, under-powered answer to the NES, again, preempting the Sega Genesis and the 16-bit generation in at least '87 like the Amiga console could have been in '85.

     

    But I believe the real underlying issue and where it all started to go wrong, as it all did happen, and never should have, was Bushnell selling Atari to the corporate monsters for funding to release the 400/800, And Atari then becoming a short-sited corporate monstrosity constantly playing catch-up as it did, instead of being an industry leader in innovation that it was under Nolan. Even if it meant the 400GS and 800 releases had to be delayed until '80 while the VCS continued to grow in sales opening the door for Bushnell's Atari computer and console line releases. This also would have allowed time for FCC rules to relax and the actual 400GS and 800 computer could have been much less expensive at their releases.

  16. Posted · Edited by Gunstar

    The late 70's were a totally different era and market for both computers and video consoles. The 800 was designed as an expandable computer in light of the computers it was set to compete against, namely the Apple II. It was superior and much cheaper than the competition when it was released, before even the Vic-20 and TI 99/4(a) and long before the changing home market that the C64 started. Atari couldn't create a big enough market share in business, education and for the wealthy up against the Apple II and so they switched to the new home computer market with the 800 and 1200XL and then the C64 came along for half the price and Atari was playing catch-up and never did. The 400, on the other hand, I feel was a mistake marketing it as a low-end home computer as it was before there was any real home computer market.

     

    The 800 should have remained as it was, competing with the Apple II and the rest, but Atari made the mistake of keeping it a closed system. The 400 should have been released with the 800 as only a game console to replace the VCS and it should have been designed from the start as an un-expandable one-board system just like the VCS and the later 5200. That would have saved far more in the cost than not including a keyboard, which they could have still done, just as the Odyssey 2 hand a membrane keyboard and other contemporaries had keypads on the console or controllers. To keep costs lower, they could have also introduced it without a keyboard, but have it as an add-on like the VCS's Graduate was to have been, not focusing on it as a selling point or marketing ploy; sell it as a video game system but include a catalog showing it's expansion possibilities into an entry-level computer and educational machine. Do the same with the 410 and all the educational software, other game consoles had educational software coming out for them too. But still, focusing it in the market as a pure gaming console like the VCS before.

     

    And if even more cost-reduction were necessary to compete with the Intellivision, then yeah, only include 4K ram instead of 8K or 16K. Star Raiders could have been adapted, they did it for the VCS with only 128 bytes didn't they? Rely on rom not ram, The 7800 only had 4K ram and relied on larger rom cartridges. They could have taken the Intellivision by the horns and already be prepared with an established console by the time the Colecovision was released. Then, use the 400 one-board console as the basis, and expand it, for a much cheaper 64K home computer to replace the 800 either prior too, or at the same time as the C64 at a similar price-point.

    • Like 2

  17. Posted

    I spent a couple of weeks attempting to convert an image that I just couldn't get to my liking, and for something easy for a change, I decided to convert this image of Chris Crawford having fun while programming 'Eastern Front: 1941.'

     

    It occurred to me that this image might have already been converted with Rasta, but I couldn't find it in my searches. So I'm sorry if this is a repeat.

     

    Chris Crawford 1941. 9 colors (yes I know there are only 8 shades of B/W-there's one pinkish-purple pixel that invaded;)).

     

     

    ChrisCrawford1941.png

    ChrisCrawford1941.xex

    • Like 4
    • Haha 4

  18. Posted

    15 hours ago, Faicuai said:

    And Stackpole (GREEN plungers), at end of 800 life-cycle.

     

    My 1983 (Made-in-USA) 800 comes with them, they have a super smooth and silky feel, requiring very minimal pressure and vertical travel for key-contact, especially if compared to my 1980 CTIA HiTek white-plungers (but quite sturdy) keyboard, which require more pressure and vertical travel. You tend to hit the latter harder for this simple reason.

    Cool. I don't think I ever knew green plunger Stackpole's existed. Now I'm jealous of your keyboard and I want one, I won't be holding my breathe to find one though, and for a reasonable price. I really like my HiTek, but I have noticed needing to apply more pressure and the longer travel distance compared to my 1200XL Mitsumi keyboard which is still my favorite, But also my HiTek has the broken corner syndrome from the old, brittle white plunger plastic. Even ones I replaced last year, unbroken replacements, at least half have developed at least one cracked corner again.

     

    But I'm not about to pay $100+ for a yellow plunger Stackpole from a dealer with it's reputation and a disclaimer that the keyboard will most like come with cracked plungers or they will pretty much immediately crack with use.

     

    Besides, the HiTek keyboard works fine, so far, and all keys return to their proper position, and the key caps don't pop lose during use, but I'm sure a few would fall out if I turned it over. I could look for a Mitusmi 800 keyboard, which I'm sure I'd love, but I like the idea of having a mechanical keyboard on my 800. I just don't know how long it will be before I do start having problems with the plungers.

  20. Posted · Edited by Gunstar

    If all that is known from the auction is "what you see is what you get," then maybe @Faicuai thinks he scored big as that hole and what is coming out of it could add up to a bit-3 or other 80-column card (or something special) inside? What port (or custom I/O?) is the other wire that wraps around to the side plug into? Is that going to the monitor port?

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1

  21. Posted · Edited by Gunstar

    800 keyboard manufacturers were Stackpole (yellow plungers). Hi-Tek (white plungers) and then Mitsumi like the 1200XL and some other XL's in later 800's. Mine is an early 800 that came with a CIA and top-cover levers, cased OS & ram cards, and a Hi-Tek keyboard. So I think Hi-Tek are the earliest.

    • Like 1

  23. Posted

    On 4/18/2021 at 3:14 PM, Mark Simonson said:

    Thanks, @Gunstar! FYI, the Bushnell portrait was done in Gr. 10 using just nine colors. Photo was shot off the screen of a 10" Panasonic Quintrix, which I used as a monitor at the time.

    I thought that might be the mode used, what confused me, that I *think* I've figured out now, is you drew the picture in a horizontal orientation and then the final photo was re-oriented vertically for the magazine page? Very good in any case.

  24. Posted · Edited by Gunstar

    On 4/9/2021 at 4:40 PM, gilsaluki said:

    I am blown away at the detail of N.B.!  Great work.  I am sure Matt (Gunstar) would love it too.  

    I am just reading the thread now. I've been busy lately and not enough time if at all, to go through too many threads at once. And I do like the portrait of N.B. I am very impressed. I'm not sure what graphic mode it's done in or number of onscreen colors allowed as it's hard to say how much cropping/zooming was done to fit the page. I'm guessing 9-color GTIA mode from 256 palette. It's hard to tell for sure from the video, which I skipped ahead to where the image was shown. I look forward to watching the entire video later.

     

    But a warm welcome from me, to you, @Mark Simonson, I still have to read your entire first post and all the replies fully, I've only skimmed so far. I'm turning 53 this year and the first computers I used were Apple II's in Jr. High/High school and my first was a Timex/Sinclair 1000 (ZX81). I bought my first Atari 8-bit in '85 at the age of 17. I don't know if technically I'm the end of the boomers or an early GenXer, but I was in high school before I got my first computer. As a kid, for me, it was Pong and then the Atari VCS and Odyssey 2 that I dreamed of having and my parents refused to buy me. My older brother bought Pong and later the 2600 for cheap during the video game crash and that's about when I got my first T/S 1000 too. I got the Tramiel 130XE that I had for 17+ years before selling it in favor of a 1200XL with Rambo and a 48K 800. Though the 800's not the same one, those are the models I own today, both heavily upgraded and modded today.

  25. Posted · Edited by Gunstar

    Anyone can do a better job, easily from home, making cart labels, manuals and packaging, unfortunately. And I've been very bold in the past, declaring my dissatisfaction of his packaging of games he publishes. I have made my own to replace his and they are far superior.

     

    That being said, he is a great guy and I've been a loyal customer since the late '80's or early 90's. He gave me a discounted price on Secretum Labyrinth when I mentioned in our conversation that I would be doing a review for it and it's prequel in Excel Magazine (issue #4, IIRC). My last order from him, around last summer, I purchased several inexpensively priced 3' SIO cables from him which are originals, for $10 each, when everyone else is charging $20+ for them. I also purchased a fantastic Kraft Starmaster controller from him, in the same order for $12 (IIRC) and when the package arrived, he had sent me a second Starmaster for free! He's always very pleasant, and likes to chat. He also has free delivery for orders over $50, IIRC. Great guy, don't hesitate to purchase, even the games he publishes are mostly great games, just poor packaging.

    • Like 1
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