Smokeless Joe

How? I tried to send a pm but it said he can't receive them.

Oop! I wasn't going to discover that for a long time and then I'd wonder what happened. Thanks for the tip!

Concerning an audio mod for a 400: I found this from http://atariage.com/forums/gallery/image/4451-img-2806jpg/. Many thanks to oracle_jedi for the idea! You can simply tap an audio line from the left side of R160 (the side furthest from the cartridge slot). It worked for me! I wrapped a wire around the left lead of R160, ran it to an RCA plug, plugged it into the audio of my monitor and BOOM! UAV with audio on an Atari 400. Soon, I hope to make this permanent and attach everything to a 5-pin DIN plug and mount that on case. It'll be a lot nicer to use a regular S-video cable than the spaghetti arrangement I have now.

Sure, the little triangular parts of the cage that form the attachments for the power board look like good candidates for notching. Any recommendations for a saw that can it through aluminum?

Oo! I like this idea. Would I still use a drill, only change the location of the hole to an edge, or can you recommend a better notching tool?

I finally got my dream 400 (functional, relatively clean, stock) and have been hitting it with the upgrades. The UAV is very pretty and the TransKey-II sure makes typing easier when the nostalgia of the membrane keyboard wears off. But that Faraday cage is a beast. I'm sure it did its job blocking RF signals back in the day, but it's also really effective at blocking any cables I want to pass outside the plastic. Has anyone tried to drill holes in a 400's Faraday cage? I'm thinking of using a 1/2" (~13mm) HSS drill bit. I'm hoping I won't have to invest in a cobalt steel bit, but that cage looks like it means business. -Joe

Oops, almost forgot the picture. Putting the stickers on the keyboard was less impressive than I thought it'd be. It's still fun, though!

Woo! I successfully tested the TransKey-II on an Atari 400! It's not a full installation yet because I don't know where to hook up the function key wires (I'll figure it out eventually), but it sure beats the membrane keyboard. I'll probably have to drill a hole or two in the faraday cage to run the keyboard cable out. Hmm... It's a little loose because the pins of 40-pin DIP socket I used on the board itself barely reach the POKEY socket. But that's a minor problem. PS/2 keyboard on a 400! Woo! -Joe

Woo! I just installed the UAV in an Atari 400 and it's bee-yoo-tiful! I only installed the board, not the sound mod. Sound mod is next. I'm thinking of using BillC's method where I don't keep the RF output (remove R164, C177, C178, R162, use the pad for R164 connected to C183 for the audio source). No point in having the RF there, really. Anyone tried it yet? -Joe

Strange, FJC's new BIOS helps a lot. The system will still sometimes give a blank screen when Help+Reset is pressed (maybe 1/10 of the time) but trying Help+Rest again or cycling the power brings it back with no loss of NVRAM content. There's still something screwy with this 1200XL and its relationship to the U1MB with a SIDE2 cart, but it's practically functional, which is a lot better that it was. Qualified hooray!

I finally found the time and courage to try the 100pF capacitor fix. I almost works without error. With just the (cap fixed) U1MB, I can hit Help+Reset all day and I never lose NVRAM contents. But if I put my SIDE2 cart in, about 1/5 of the time I'll get a goofy screen like one of the below: If I power down at this point, I usually won't lose NVRAM contents. Although, now that I think about it, I'm using an older version of FJC's alt BIOS. Lemme try upgrading and see if that helps. Hmm...

I'm preparing to install one of Bryan's miraculous UAV boards in a 400. Clearly, I won't need the RF module any more. Is there anything I should know before removing it? I've removed one from an 800XL and two from 1200XLs so I have a pretty good idea of the mechanics of the process. I'm wondering if I can just jank it out or if anything needs to be rewired.

PM sent! Woo!

I paid on Tuesday and they arrived today (Friday). Pretty quick! I didn't order much else, so that probably helped.

I'm getting pretty excited for the arrival of the Rapidus accelerator. I plan to put it in a 1200XL, which means I need to do the EXTSEL mod, part of Bob Wooleys PBI mod. I found the instructions at http://retrobits.net/atari/pbi.shtml I'm amazed anyone can conceive of such a thing, much less create it. But Im really concrete sequential, so reading technical instructions in paragraph form without pictures makes me cry. I tried to break down the instructions in a linear format with a couple pictures. I think I understand most of it, but Id like to make sure Im right before I continue. -EXTSEL Mod for 1200XL Parts Needed: one 74HC08 IC 1. Bend up all the pins on the new 74HC08 IC except pins 7 and 14. 2. Cut off pins 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13. 3. Pull U17 (a 74LS08) and place the new 74HC08 on top of it so that all the pins line up. 4. Solder the two devices together at pin 7 and pin 14. Plug the pair back into U17. You should have pins 1, 2 and 3 of the new 74HC08 bent away from the 74LS08 such that wires can be soldered to them. So far so good! 6. Looking at the BOTTOM of the board, cut the trace that runs from pin 16 of U14 to The Pad about 1 inch above pin 14 of U11. Cut the horizontal trace on the bottom of the board, not the vertical trace from the pad down to pin 1 of U11. 7. Solder a wire from pin 3 of the new 74HC08 to The Pad. This is where I lose it. Here are pictures of the back of my 1200XL motherboard at U14 and U11. Do I have the right Pad? Do I have the right traces? Whats all this about pin 1 of U11? 8. Solder a wire from pin 1 of the new 74HC08 to pin 16 of U14. 9. The last wire from pin 2 of the new 74HC08 needs to connect thru a 2.7K resistor to +5 volts. 9a. If you have done the CLEARPIC mod, pull C117, just above Q16 and solder a wire from pin 2 of the new 74HC08 to the old collector pad of Q16 (bottom pad of the transistor). 9b. If you have not done the CLEARPIC upgrade, solder a 2.7K resistor from pin 2 of the 74HC08 to + 5 volts. Either way, pin 2 of the 74HC08 that you added is now the -EXTSEL line (pin 2 on the PBI connector) that you were missing. What do you think, sirs?

I got my mylars from Best today. They work great and are real pretty too! I am very pleased with the result. There's a little tab of padding on the back that goes across the interface fingers. I think it helps press the contacts of the mylar and the PCB together. Hooray for new parts for the 1200XL!

I just received the 48K expansion form Best. Still looking for a 400 to put it in! Thanks, -Joe

Does anyone know what the third lead on that big capacitor is for? It looks like it goes nowhere. Maybe just for structural support?

PM sent! I'd very much like to see some pictures of the system.

So it's actually installed and working, at least a little? Do you have an install procedure for the 1200XL you could share? I'm still waiting for my Rapidus but I'd like to be prepared. Where did you make the connections? Thanks!

This is most excellent news! I was going to try this fix, until I realized that I stole the 1uH inductor out of the problem 1200XL to fix the 1200XL that didn't have the problem (but had blown the inductor). Now I have a dozen 1uH inductors on their way.

Short story: I would very much like to get a clean, stock Atari 400. Please send pictures and your asking price. Long story: I told this same story when looking for keyboard upgrades, but I think it's applicable to this post too. The Atari 400 was my very first computer. I got it for Christmas, probably around 1981. It provided much entertainment and education, but I was always frustrated by its limitations, namely, 16K RAM and the membrane keyboard. I cursed these limitations until around 1985 when I got an 800XL on clearance at Sears. I never looked back at the 400 and have no idea what happened to it. My parents probably threw it away, or at best, gave it to Goodwill. Of course, now I am looking back. I'm both nostalgic for my first computer and guilty for how I cursed and forgot it. My goal: To get a 400 and really treat it right; to trick it out and give it the love and attention it deserves. I have a 48k upgrade on order from Best Electronics. I scored an unused 1st generation 410 a few months ago. I'm in the process of restoring an 810 that's ugly but mechanically won't quit. I got a spare one of Bryan's wonderful UAV upgrades. I've successfully assembled a TransKey-II for those times when the membrane keyboard won't cut it. If a 400 Incognito ever comes out I'll snap one up. I mostly want it to be clean and working. I'd prefer to do the upgrades myself. This 400 will be in a loving home! Thanks! -Joe

Ooo, I am conflicted about this. I only have one U1MB and it's working great in one 1200xl (but not the other) so I'm reluctant to scroo with it. On the other hand, it would be the cause of much celebration if it worked, and I would buy Hias many drinks of his choice.

I see that one of my 1200XLs, even before the alt BIOS was installed. I never did get it working.

As soon as I get a 400 (don't know when that might be) I'm going to try to install the TransKey-II board in it. I had good luck with the TKII on my 1200XL. I used to really curse the membrane keyboard on the 400 I had as a kid, but now I think it'd be fun to keep it as a backup and use the TKII for input.