Muzz73

Yes, I had them set to different ID #'s when they were daisy-chained, but had both set to drive #1 when they were hooked up individually. Ugh. I'll try my other cables, too.

After pulling my 1050 and 810 put of storage (they were in there for a few years), neither of them work! I tried both my 800 and my 800XL, two different SIO cables, daisy-chained and individually, but all I get is "BOOT ERROR!". Have any of you seen this before? Am I missing something? I still have a few more SIO cables I can try, but I thought I'd put the word out, just in case. Thanks in advance!

Being a Commodore guy for several years, I got into the A8 line out of sheer curiosity. All those years of everybody squibbling and the "mycomputerisbetterthanyourcomputer" nonsense made me want to own one of everything (C=64, A8, Apple ][, etc.) so that I could appreciate them all, each in their own way... and I still do!

Yes, I suppose I'll need to get another 1200XL at some point. I found one at a thrift store, bought it and loved it (my first 8-bit Atari), but an Atari collector friend in France REALLY liked it, so I donated it to his collection when he came out to visit back in 1998. I think it had a fairly low serial #, too (if we were reading it right). I liked the fact that it still used a simple PSU like the 400/800 line, had a side-mounted cartridge port and, well, being that it was my first A8, it was just special.

I'd love to get one of each of the most common A8's. I have an 800, an 800XL and a 600XL, so that puts me halfway there. I need a 400, a 65XE and a 130XE. I may be coming into a 400 soon and one can still get new XE's from B&C and Best, so I hope to get there, someday.

I can't remember the brand of microdrive that I have (I remember it being a common name, though), but it's a 3GB CF form factor. It's the same one that I use in my 800XL's MyIDE2, so I am hoping that it works well with the Incognito. I'll let you all know how it goes (whenever I can get this thing installed). Colleen is also going to get a POKEY stereo board once the Incognito is up and running.

Ah, yes... I have an Incognito and am waiting very patiently to have it installed... I am a fool when it comes to soldering and don't want to ruin anything. I also have a brand new 3GB microdrive waiting to marry up to it, as soon as everything is installed. I'm really looking forward to it!

An update to all: it looks like we have a few broken wires, which is minor. Again, I'll keep you all informed as things change.

The affair that I shall call simply "A8" began years ago, with the mistress known as 1200XL. It continued with the maidens 800XL and 600XL, and lasted for several glorious years. Then along came Colleen, also known as "800". She hasn't been in my life for long, but she has had an effect on me unlike any other. Whether it's late nights playing Qix or Star Raiders together, or my senseless noodling about, in repeated (failed) attempts at learning Atari BASIC, she always seems more than happy to suit my needs at the proverbial drop of a hat. I introduced her to my wife, who seemed to approve, or at least wasn't bothered by her presence. Our future together seems quite promising, and I am a very lucky man. OK, in all seriousness - yes, I came into an Atari 800 a few months ago and there's something about it that makes me like it so much more than my 800XL or my 600XL (I donated the 1200XL to a collector friend years ago). In browsing these forums, I see that there are many others who prefer the 800 to the others as well. What is it you like best about it? The keyboard? The styling of the case? The fact that it's built like a tank? Opinions, please.

Thank you both for the helpful information. It seems that my Atari 800 was built sometime between Nov. 1st and Nov. 7th of 1981... I was in the 2nd grade (8 years old). How cool!

Hey, all... I was about to tear my 800 apart (for upgrading and preventative maintenance) and took a good gander at the serial #. This is what I saw: On the back and bottom of the machine, there are labels marked "SERIAL NO.", then below it, we have " G 16K 441 7498". On the bottom, I see "ATARI / 441" stamped into the plastic. Further down, there is another label with "G 175 AW202007 - 16 10/26 L40 P" on it. Does anyone out there know what these mean? Is there some sort of hidden meaning, like where it was made and/or when? I just thought it would be kind of neat to find out some history on this machine from before I got it. It's pretty obvious that this was originally a 16K model, but apart from that, I have no clue. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Bravo! You will not be disappointed. The A500 is a cool machine, but my heart will always be 8-bits wide...

Bad news... we hooked the Falcon up and got no picture on the screen. He's having someone look at it now. If anyone might still be interested, please watch for updates and PM me accordingly. I'm sorry this is not going the way we had all planned. Thanks!

I used to have a flat 128 that had the 64K upgrade done by the previous owner. I found it handy in a few of the functions in the Servant 128 chip, too (I can't remember which, though).

Sorry about that... the album defaulted to private. It's now public and should be open to everyone. If it's not, please let me know.

OK, here are some pics of the system NOT hooked up (we'll be doing that on Sunday, so we can get photos of it running). https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1057260260951282&set=a.1057260240951284.1073741831.100000019541825&type=3&theater https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1057260277617947&set=a.1057260240951284.1073741831.100000019541825&type=3&theater https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1057260270951281&set=a.1057260240951284.1073741831.100000019541825&type=3&theater https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1057260347617940&set=a.1057260240951284.1073741831.100000019541825&type=3&theater https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1057260350951273&set=a.1057260240951284.1073741831.100000019541825&type=3&theater https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1057260370951271&set=a.1057260240951284.1073741831.100000019541825&type=3&theater https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1057260434284598&set=a.1057260240951284.1073741831.100000019541825&type=3&theater https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1057260427617932&set=a.1057260240951284.1073741831.100000019541825&type=3&theater More pics this weekend...

Greetings, all... Just a quick update; we will try to have photos next weekend. My friend acquired this Falcon in a trade and knows nothing about it. He (apparently) needs my help in hooking it up, and he's a 2.5 hour drive from me, so it is less than convenient for either of us. I appreciate your patience and will post pics as soon as I have some (again, hopefully next weekend). Many thanks!

Greetings, all... Just a quick update; we will try to have photos next weekend. My friend acquired this Falcon in a trade and knows nothing about it. He (apparently) needs my help in hooking it up, and he's a 2.5 hour drive from me, so it is less than convenient for either of us. I appreciate your patience and will post pics as soon as I have some (again, hopefully next weekend). Many thanks!

That's awesome! Thanks for sharing this!

Wonderful! I have been planning on grabbing another console or two as backups and wanted to make sure I knew what to look for. This has been very helpful. Thank you all!

Hello, all... I have only come into TI hardware in the last couple of years (though I always liked them) and only have black & silver consoles, myself. I have this question... Are all beige consoles the cost reduced revision? If not, how do we tell them apart? I've also heard that the cost reduced models have less circuitry and run cooler. Is this true? Thanks in advance!

Nice! But you forgot... "In a world without walls and fences, who needs Windows and Gates?"

Those are all nice systems! I have a couple of black & silver consoles that look like they've been rolled down a hill and hit by a truck, but they still work (my son ran off with my only decent-looking one)! I also have a Panasonic microcassette recorder and a 32" Trinitron that pair up to them nicely...

OK... I have asked my friend to provide pics (inside, outside, on and off) and specs. He's hoping to have that stuff ready perhaps this weekend. I seem to remember hearing that it was a CT60 machine @ 66MHz(?), but I don't remember how much RAM, size of the HDD, or if any other tweaks that have been done to it. It has a MegaSTE/TT030 keyboard. I'll post more as soon as I get it.

He's not into it. He acquired it for his "Computer Museum" that he will be setting up in his house, so he'd rather have one that looks stock, as opposed to this one, which looks like a PC.