svenski

Wow, what a small world. One out of only 50 carts gets caught up in a train wreck and scrapped by UPS. Freaky.

Are you talking about the cable that goes from the Genesis to the TV?

The 600XL *still* looks like a lard ass sat on an 800XL and squashed it.

LMAO

Could anyone point me to a program that will convert Atari SAP file audio to midi and also, if possible, mp3... Thanks in advance.

I can't believe people are getting so wound up over which has the better sound chip, the Atari or the C64. From personal experience , back when I played Atari and C64 versions of UK released tape games side by side the C64 had the egde when it came to sprites, the Atari had the edge when it came to sound. Oh dear, perhaps I wound people up some more...

MULE cart number 13 HAS ENTERED THE BUILDING!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah! Off to play now, may be gone some time, gonna get me one of those spacesuits so I don't have to take toilet breaks.......

I think it is an ego thing. A couple of people get in a bidding war and they just lose all common sense and just keep outbidding each other for the sake of it. It is easy to get sucked in. Never seem to get these people when I offer something. Some people are plain dumb and will bid stupid money ($80 for an unboxed Atari 800XL with zilch extra) but when it comes to a rare piece of hardware or software they haven't got a clue.

You can pick up the 1064 64k upgrade new for around $20, just plugs straight in the back. I'm presuming it works with the 800XL as well, anyone tried it?

You might also want to try with all four dip switches down. The Rana has four although you've described 5. You might be running the drive set permanently to one density type. All four should be down to run the drive as drive 1

This means that the Rana drive has had a problem, run a diagnostic on the disk and decided part of it is corrupt.

From the Atari Historical Society page, right under the "Atari 8000" pic "Just joking, thanks to Karl Morris (Karl is the the AHS UK contact) for his creativity" I've got one of these in my attic somewhere.

No problem, I'll put it all into html and put online and let you know the URL. You are right with regard to diagnostic tests , this is quite complex to write about which is why I didn't put them here but there isn't anything on the tests that would help apart from to confirm a faulty disk.

The Rana 1000 is density smart. It will check the disk and automatically selects the right 'format' -e.g. density, running speed etc based on the disk you've put in. On the back of the drive *all four* dip switches should be down if it is being used as a single drive. FRONT OF DRIVE: Below is list of switches and error codes. They aren't true switches, press down on each one. You can check the drive ID by pressing down "unit ID" on the front whilst the drive is turned on. It will then display the drive number on the 2 digit LED display. Track Switch - press once for continuous display of the track the drive is reading. Push another pad to turn feature off. Error Switch - push this pad to see a continuous display of error codes in the 2 digit LED display. If no error display will read 00, 40 or 80. Another number indicates a problem. Here are the common codes: 01 - no disk , door open 04 - hardware fault - drive faulty 08 - faulty disk 0C - disk and hardware fault 10 - faulty disk 14 - hardware and possible disk fault 18 - faulty disk 1C - hardware fault 41 - drive door open 4C - hardware fault 48 - faulty disk detected during write protect diagnostics 44 - hardware fault 81 - door open or disk not formatted properly during write operation 84 - hardware fault 90 - faulty disk 94 - hardware fault and possible faulty disk 98 - faulty disk 9C - hardware fault during write operation C0 - disk write protected during write operation I've not gone into detail with the hardware fault errors as if you are getting these as shown above, then your drive needs medical attention. You have to give Rana credit , not only will the drive tell you that it is faulty, it will also (at the same time) tell you if the inserted disk is likely to be faulty at the same time. Density - press for a continuous display of current density drive is operiating in. LO/H1/H2 . H2 is double density 256 x 18 sectors, 176K bytes of storage. Hope this helps.

Oh shit, I just ordered a printer from Toronto.

Karateka on the 7800 has to be the worst game I've ever played. It stinks. Why did it even get published?

Being both a seller and a buyer, the PayPal complaint system sucks. One thing you can do is file for mail fraud with the USPS if the seller is in the US. This is a biggie and will get their attention even if you just suggest it. Failing that, small claims court. As Mendon mentioned, if you paid by credit card, then that is always a recourse although many are altering terms and conditions to get around paying out for ebay and paypal purchases gone bad. I've not heard of paypal not giving money back if no funds in the sellers account. In theory they will debit the account, and then use reasonable means to get the seller to upload funds to restore the balance to zero. After that they go via debt recovery.

Atariuser.com is looking at the possibility of running a show for the Atari 8-bit and VCS in 2004. We're looking for people who would like to volunteer and become part of the event planning team. Experience isn't essential but obviously if you have experience in organising events you'd be ideal. If there are any potential exhibitors out there who would like to help and also have a firm interest in taking part please get in touch. Ideally it will be an event combining commercial exhibitors plus the chance for enthusiasts to buy/sell trade , do some gaming and drink some beer. We'd welcome participants from all over the world. The UK has been left behind somewhat when it comes to usergroups and big meetings so this is a fantastic opportunity to turn things around. Initial idea is for an Atari 8-bit and VCS (2600/7800) show. Comments, ideas, suggestions, most welcome.

You need to get both. The 800XL is a great machine, is still my all time fave machine simply because of the design and reliability. The 1200XL is sexy. Compatability isn't that big an issue, remember the 1200 was the first of the XL line so it was the system that made the jump to the new OS. People forgot about the OS problems when Atari launched the 600 and 800XL and dumped huge numbers on the market. As you have a 130XE , I'd go first for the 1200XL, then get the 800XL later. Having said that, the 800XLs are cheap as chips, even on ebay. If you don't have a drive yet, look out for an XL and 1050 drive bundle, you'll save on shipping and people don't pay much (stateside) for them.

Real men do it with an Atari 1200XL

Ooooooooh man, they look great. Can't believe I am participating directly in a piece of Atari history in the making

On the 1200XL it is the HELP key that puts into diagnostics. It may turn on with memo pad. If it does, it is a case of call your nearest Atari service center...but they closed many years ago . Turned on without a cartridge or loaded drive connected then depending on the ROM your 1200XL has it will boot into a black screen with a multi color (scrolling alternating colors) ATARI on screen. If left it will then go into the normal attract mode where background and border colors alternate.

What we use when restoring 1200XL's is a combination of stuff. Ideally you need to remove the upper part of the case, and then separate it from the keyboard. You can easily clean between the keys with a slightly damp cloth. For the case we use normal polish, WD40 and plain old elbow grease with water and a scrubbing brush for the cream, rough plastic. WD40 removes crayon, ink, pen and helps with scuff marks. Make sure you don't use too much. If the case has yellowed then you will not be able to do too much with it apart from get rid of surface grime. I have heard of people putting yellowed plastics in a bowl of watered down bleach but it is not something I'd suggest. Another way to get rid of yellowing is to scrape off the top layer of yellowed plastic, again a drastic measure and not one I would suggest. Finally, best way to avoid yellowing in future is keep your Atari away from direct light. Before everyone starts posting with technical expert like solutions and how our techniques are wrong, baah humbug. They work for us.

Nukey, Thanks for the info re Defender. It is appreciated. Looks like I was confusing it with choplifter Now I'm off to play Command & Conquer Generals on my 2600.

Does someone have instructions for Omnitrend's Universe? Anyone? I have it but no idea what to do with it..... apart from the disk swapping. Basically any game that involves a lot of disk swapping would be cool on a cartridge, Alternate Reality , Infocom titles etc. I remember playing "Ace of Aces" on tape, that was a bitch, 1 hour to load, then 30 minutes wait everytime you wanted to do something.