Bill Lange

Can someone add a link to the ATRs with the software for this contraption. Bill

I got this off the internet. Let me see if I can contact the website owner and get a better scan. Bill

Here is an Axlon Andy schematic. It would be fun to recreate an Axlon Andy using the existing software and an Arduino as the brains. Bill

Any other takers for some holiday cheer? The rules are simply this, send me you name, address, t-shirts size via PM. Also include a list of three items that you would be interested in receiving (optional) and a list of three items that you have available (again optional). I'll try to match up the requests if possible. NO BASIC cartridges! I'll also try to match up geographical areas. If you are willing to ship internationally, let me know specifically. I'm willing to ship internationally. The suggested value is $25 - $30 USD (new or old). This is a great chance to move some of your excess Atari gear or anything classic gaming related. I'll see how many PMs I get by Sunday Nov 30th and then exchange names/address. Once you receive a recipient, please try to ship by December 13th. Any questions? Suggestions? Bill

Pete, For the Atari 400, I would suggest the following: Star Raiders - The classic game from the 400/800 era Pac-man - Easily recognizable and easy to play Eastern Front (1941) - Another classic from the early 400/800 though a bit more obscure - the people who come to VCF might find this interesting Bill

Thanks for sharing this. I have not see these before. Bill

I'm surprised as well. I would think most of us have duplicates of books or software or hardware or other Atari 8-bit related items that we wouldn't mind sending off to see what kind of goodies we'd get back. Most people on the KLOV seem happy with what they get. Folks there usually take a picture of the loot they get and post it. Bill

It looks like it went for $350 ...

I see that this item sold. Did anyone here pick it up?

Anyone interested in participating in an Atari 8-Bit Secret Santa gift exchange with a cap of about $30 or so? I participate on the KLOV boards and it can be fun. If there is enough interest, I'd be happy to run it. If we have at least 20 people interested by 8pm Eastern Time (UTC -05:00) Monday Nov 24th, I leave follow up instructions. If you are interested let me know. Regards, Bill

I purchased a couple of sets of these Atari 8-Bit keyboard stickers for use on a PC keyboard when using an Atari emulator. The stickers are available from 4Keyboard.com. I haven't had the time to stick them on a keyboard yet. I'm looking forward to trying them out. A few years ago, some company manufactured these Atari 400 like PC/USB keyboards: Here is a blog post from 2011 with more info about these keyboards. I would have loved to get one of these. I think it was a very small manufacturing run as they sold out fairly quickly. It would be nice to see something like this that could be used when using an Atari emulator. Bill

Some that I listen to No Quarter - Arcade video games reviewed. Old games usually played on Mame. The Retroist Gameroom Junkies - Gameroom, pinball and arcade video game related podcast. Started out as more video game related, now tends to be more pinball related YDNK - You Don't Know Flack. Rob O'Hara's podcast. Can be about anything really. Floppy Days - Classic computer podcast

I second that! With a handful of great podcasts, its like back in the day, waiting for the next issue of Antic, Analog or Compute! to show up in the mailbox to get some great Atari content. Regards, Bill

I think you are right. I was able to load the atr file via SIO2PC and run The Newsroom on a physical 130XE successfully.

Does anyone use The Newsroom by Springboard on Altirra? Attached are the .atr files that I have, but no matter what options I choose, I always end up with a message "insert the newsroom program disk ..." See attached screenshot. The .atr files that I have are also attached. The instructions for The Newsroom are available on Atarimania. Regards, Bill SpringboardTheNewsroomAtari.zip

Here is another Atari display cabinet on eBay. This one is for Atari Video Games. It looks beat to hell! Only $1000.00. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1980s-Atari-Video-Game-cabinet-Original-Display-Case-71-x-49-/181569987277?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a466a22cd

There is an Axlon Andy Robot listed on eBay for $400.00. I see these listed once or twice a year. I'm interested to see what it goes for. http://www.ebay.com/itm/371187506840?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Regards, Bill

Who had an ATR8000 back in the day? Who has one today? I had one. It replaced my Atari 850 on my desk. I used it to hook up my Hayes 300 Smartmodem, my Gemini 10X printer and a couple of double-sided quad-density drive. I still have a dozen or so quad-density diskettes that I can no longer read. I also used the ATR8000 as a printer buffer. I think it had either 16K or 64K, I can't remember. I sold the ATR8000 and the drives off in the late 80s or early 90s. I'd like to get a replacement, but I never see them on eBay. Anyone have any idea how many of these units were manufactured? Regards, Bill

Great podcast guys! In episode 16 at around 1:34:23, Victor Marlin asked about a joystick controller with multiple buttons. For new software, another solution would be to to create a Joystick Controller/Keyboard Controller hybrid that uses two joystick ports. The controller would have one wire coming out of it, but two connectors at the end. You could use two of these controllers on the Atari 400/800 since they have four joystick ports. The other models could only use one. Think of it as an Nintendo type controller with a few more buttons. In your software, you can write a handler to map the buttons to anything you wanted. I think it would probably handle multiple key presses at the same time for even more functionality. Bill

I just finished reading "Sorcerers & Soldiers - Computer Wargames, Fantasies and Adventures" by Brian Murphy published by Creative Computing Press in 1984. ISBN 0-916688-79-8. I had not heard of this title before. I picked it up on Amazon Marketplace recently for a few dollars. This 226 page paperback book covers, as its title states, computer war games, fantasy role playing games and adventure games. I would say that it's introduction, 17 chapters and three appendices break down to about 75% war games, 20% role playing games and 5% adventures. The author favors the Apple II as a computer war gaming platform based on (in his opinion) the plethora of fine quality war games available on that system. Though by 1984, I believe that most of the games he discussed were available on multiple platforms. In the fantasy gaming section, he spends most of his time discussing Wizardry and Ultima 1-3. There is also a chapter on Chris Crawford's Excalibur. This was quick read. It covered some games that I had heard of and some games that I had not heard of. I really enjoyed the sections on war gaming even though, back in the day, I played more role playing games and text adventures. BL

I've recently picked up a couple of collections on Craigslist here in NJ. I'll add a list of available stuff to my signature as well as a list of stuff I'd be interested in trading for. Bill

Hey Pete, I see you signed up for exhibiting at VCF East 10! Nice. What was the cost to exhibit? How big of a space did you get? Regards, Bill

You can buy individual key caps from Best Electronics as well.

I took a PTO day on the Friday this year to attend a couple of the talks/presentations. I think there were two tracks. I went to talks on monitor repair, oscilloscope usage and something else that I can't quite remember right now. Two of the talks were outside in a tent and it was a cold, drizzly day. The sound sound system could have been ALOT better. I don't think that the demonstration rooms were open on Fri, just on Sat and Sun. Fri was reserved for the talks. -BL

I asked about the dates and got the following response: Thanks for catching that mistake. It is fixed now: the event is definitely Friday * through * Sunday, not "and". We're just beginning to organize the details for this event, so please stay tuned... - Evan Koblentz VCF East Producer So it is Friday through Sunday just like last year. I thought displaying an SIO2PC setup would be a good idea since you would not have to bring any diskettes or cartridges to keep an eye on. Bill