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I just picked up an 8-bit haul, including a 400 with some possible issues. It boots to Memo Pad, but refuses to boot from the 1050. I've confirmed the 1050 is working by testing it on an 800XL. Just getting back into 8-bits, so my memory is pretty rusty. Is there anything different I need to do to get the 400 to boot from floppy? If not, is there a particular area on the 400 I should start looking at?

I found it very confusing a few days ago, when I received a PM from someone at AF, yet couldn't access the site. Thanks for mentioning OpenDNS. Added it to my DNS list on the router, and can access the site again without issue. (edit): Oh, bugger...now all I get is a 404 error.

Another vote here for just adding a usb connector to your original xbox controller. You can even splice into the cable rather than cutting it if you want to also retain the original connector. I cut my cable, since my xbox is only used for XBMC, not gaming, and I only needed a 3-foot cable, not the 8-feet or however long the stock cable is. You'll need drivers on the PC, available Here. It's problematic installing in Vista/7, but a workaround is Here.

I bought a DS Lite for emulation, but I found that the Atari 8 and 16-bit emulators just struggled too much on the DS's slow processor. The 2600 emulation is good, but it's been so long I can't remember if I was using Stella or...was there another one? But it's fantastic for emulating older Nintendo products. NES, SNES, GB, GBA emus all work fantastic, as does the Sega Genesis emulator. In the end, I found myself playing actual DS games more than emulators, so I'm happy with what I've got. I keep watching how the Pandora handheld progresses, but between the DS and my netbook, I'm pretty well covered.

I'm sorry...if we're talking about bad business decisions, Atari reigns undisputed king amongst these rank amateurs of ineptitude. Welcome to the real world.

Thanks for another update, Phaeron! There's so few emulators still in active development. You're injecting some excitement back into the emu scene. I've noticed Altirra crashes when using an atr of mydos 4.5d (error message and registers below). This is using Altirra 1.7. Haven't tried it with previous versions. Can't remember where I d/led this atr, but it worked with Atari800win. I though it might be the file size, as it's a 180k file, yet Altirra works flawlessly with the 1.0MB game compilation atr files I have. Reporting it only for curiosity, as a 90K atr of mydos 4.5(no version letter) works properly. One quick question: what can I use to edit/convert the raw audio .pcm files? Audacity and WinAmp scoffed at the file. MYDOS45D.ATR

Utah Saints "Something Good" video, there's an ST onstage at around the 2:23 mark:

SOLD. Thanks to all interested.

Selling my STe testing rig. Features are: TOS 2.06 US Popsel/Pera IDE interface (and driver disk) 10 GB IDE hard drive containing 4 Atari partitions Eiffel interface to use PC PS/2 keyboard and mouse (version does not have joystick ports) 2 GB Compact Flash and CF to IDE adapter 4 MB RAM The CF Card is formatted to 3 partitions, but isn't booting. Might be the card I'm using, apparently they're finicky. You can boot from floppy, then the CF is accessible. The hard drive is fully bootable from any partition, selectable on boot. Motherboard is cased in a 1040 case, with STe port cutouts. No keyboard is included. IDE interface is soldered to motherboard. The Eiffel can be unplugged and is mounted above the RF output. The hard drive currently sits where the keyboard was but isn't mounted. Hard drive and CF must be used separately. Can't have both installed at the same time. Both run from internal power. It's not a pretty looking case with the keyboard missing, but it's fully functional. Asking $100 USD plus shipping from Canada. Please reach me at iraymond (at) mailworks.org

It worked out well for me: I still had the files from the previous torrent in the download directory of my server. When I started this larger torrent, it found the previously downloaded PDFs, since the folder was named the same, and didn't try to download the ones I already had. Didn't need to select/deselect files or any other fussing. Still seeding, but looks like no one's currently downloading. Thanks again to all contributing to this project. I only had one 8-bit book left (which is already on the list) so this has been a great nostalgic trip.

You can contact Chris directly yourself, if interested in getting the older full version : http://www.chrislam.co.uk/

Phaeron, thanks for your work on this! Just to note, I hadn't tried Altirra until recently, and searching for it on Google the main page is this one, which led me to incorrectly believe 1.0 was the latest version. Might want to change that page so it links to the 'real' one, so others late to the party like myself get the current version.

Yep. Genuine Atari monochrome display. I've got the exact same one in my basement.

Thanks so much, ThumpNugget! As an aside, for those interested in setting up a dedicated Torrent machine using Ubuntu Linux, I used the setup guide here: http://jonpeck.blogspot.com/2006/11/how-to-configure-80-fileserver-in-45.html ...with the exception that I used the current version of Ubuntu, rather than the older version cited when the article was written. I've had my server running for several years now on a scavenged Pentium III, and it sure beats having to leave my main computer tied up downloading a large torrent. I also use it like the article's author to stream media to an xbox and TV. Setting it up is also a great way to learn some Linux.

Huh... I was using the LLE Kernel. First time I'd used Altirra, so I copied my roms into its directory after a quick glance at the readme and didn't realize it had its own built-ins. I didn't change any of the default settings before opening and booting the Alt. Reality disk image. The Altirra version is 1.0, freshly downloaded. I'd suggest trashing Altirra's preferences, but I can't seem to figure out just where the program stores them.

Your image loads into the city abduction sequence when I test it (using both Atari800win and Altirra). Did you press any keys on the Heist intro screen that might have caused it to skip the intro? I didn't touch anything and let it boot on its own.

Something like this? http://students.mimuw.edu.pl/~tk197881/a8cas/index.html#intro Wav2cas will read cassettes into a PC using the PC's built-in audio hardware, and can also write CAS images from emulators back to tape. Have not tried this myself, just used some light google-fu to find it.

The Mega/MegaSTe/TT keyboard pinout is here: http://pinouts.ru/Inputs/atari_mega_keyb_pinout.shtml On the ST motherboard, the pinout is: *** 1 Ground 2 Key (no pin) 3 4 +5V (?) 5 +5V 6 TX 7 RX 8 *** this is officially best guess, from the only scribbled notes I can find at the moment. If anyone's got the confirmed pinout, I'll edit this to the correct version.

I chose to stick with 32-bit when I upgraded to windows 7. At the time, I was happy enough that all my emulators still worked under 7. Problem is, a lot of emulators just aren't being updated now. Atari800Win Plus, Project Tempest, Project 64...these haven't been updated in about 5 years, so I'm not expecting to see 64-bit versions of them anytime soon. There's always the possibility the emulators will work under 32-bit mode in 64-bit Windows, but running an emulator under emulation sounds like a surefire way to break the universe.

I've fixed a half-dozen LCD monitors or so, and the majority of them simply by swapping out the capacitors with good ones. They don't always show a bulge, etc. when going bad. The 470uF is common. You can bump up from 25V to 30V rating, for a little extra headroom. I'm not familiar with the Viewsonics, but the Benq monitors also suffered from bad connections that ruined a pair of transistors: http://www.electronicrepairguide.com/benq-t705-lcd-monitor-repair.html Best of luck with it! Sometimes it's not the caps, and I've been left scratching my head... but when you get a (nearly) free LCD from a dumpster it's a great feeling.

Just worth noting I had the same problem with an xbox I picked up as a spare in case my XBMC xbox dies. Same lights flashing, etc. Turns out the DVD drive had a sticking door, from several years of tobacco and dust buildup on the rails (yuck!). Cleaned it up and gave it a bit of silicone-based grease, and the drive works fine. Moral of the story...don't throw out the 'bad' drive, it might just need a cleaning.

Yep, agreed. They took a lot of punishment, and you could take the runner sleeve off the stick and stick it to your forehead. I picked up a CX-40 and the USB adapter that Raphnet sells. Much better than a gamepad for the old games under emulation, IMHO. I've owned a few other sticks over the years, and my favorite is still the Kraft. Nice and accurate and easy on the wrist.

Don't worry about the capacitors. The only type using a liquid are electrolytic (the 'can'-shaped ones), and they use an electrolytic fluid, not a dielectric like PCB. The closest you'll likely come to PCBs in the home are in the capacitors of old florescent light ballasts. The floppies are mainly PVC and mylar. I've never read of there being any toxic components used in them.

Weird. No problems with version 4.0 on Windows 7 here. I have had config problems with Atari800win in the past, on XP or 2000 (can't remember which), and my solution back then was to trash the entire folder and install a fresh copy. I did notice that under the View menu, there's an option for Palette. You're able to browse to the Atari800Win folder in which there are several palette files. Not sure what if that's your culprit, and I didn't try these in case I messed up my own install, but you've got nothing to lose by trying .

I've had good luck with mine. I had to build an adapter in order to program PIC microcontrollers, but it's been capable for those and programming TOS roms for my STs. USB is used for +5V power, and I've had no problems with that. If you're having trouble connecting it to parallel port, try changing the printer port settings in your PC's bios (I think mine had to be set to EPP). And if you're using USB for power, connect it directly to the PC - don't go through a hub, or branch off a keyboard, etc. I was disappointed it wouldn't program GAL chips, but if your programming needs aren't beyond the light hobbyist level, the Willem is a bargain.