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Not sure if that was directed at me or not. The name is Byron, but Bob is far from the worst I've ever had to answer to! I use my rework station for any and all general desoldering. It just works much better and faster and it's much easier to use than a soldering iron, at least for me. I recently used it to remove every chip and old style socket on my partially socketed 800XL, so that I could replace the old sockets with better quality sockets and socket the chips that weren't. I may have been able to do all that with a soldering iron, but the thought of it makes me shudder.

Looking at the specs, I'm sure it will be overkill. It will definitely do the job I think. What sort of switch comes with a Mega/Mega STE? Is there any need for a DP switch? Would a SPST work, or is the extra circuit control actually needed in a Mega? I have absolutely no experience whatsoever with Mega/Mega STEs. I would think, assuming that it will fit your case, or that you're comfortable with modifying your case to get it to fit, that it should work well enough.

A UAV (Ultimate Atari Video) upgrade would help restore the missing signals for your XL and improve your basic video output immensely. The output doesn't begin to compare to the Sophia 2 or a VBXE upgrade, but it's quite a bit cheaper than either of those, and it's probably the best, cheapest video upgrade that you can do for your XL. You basic output will never look better.

Something else that helped me was a cheap, relatively speaking, hot air rework station. It made all the difference in the world for me.

I used this same exact PSU when converting my U.K. 1040STE to a U.S. model. With the exception of changing from the nomenclature from CH1, 2 & 3 to V1, 2 & 3 between pages 2 and 5, the documentation couldn't be easier to understand. The incoming and outgoing pinouts are on page five of the pdf documentation. Just double-check those with a meter to make certain they're giving you the voltage outputs you're expecting and you should be good, at least with the PSU. I'm not sure that PSU will provide the juice you may need for a Mega STE with an internal HD, etc., but it powers my 1040STE with minimal internal, unpowered upgrades quite easily. It doesn't look like @Umberto told you, but you really should have ordered 3 of these as well: PSU connector These would have made things quite a bit easier to wire it in. Good luck!

Yeah, he was just rambling on a week or two ago about some other game, demanding that some 5200 port be made, or maybe it was wanting a 5200 title ported to the 8-bit, I forget. The point is that he rambles on, demanding this and that, for days, then seems to come to his senses and realize how ridiculous he's being, sort of apologize and stop, only to start a few days later with some new but similar topic. I think the guy has some serious issues. I get sick of seeing his posts but, at the same time, I can't help myself. I see him getting started and I go pop some popcorn and get ready for the show to start.

The next logical step in the progression that was never realized! 10400

Yeah, I've looked. I didn't see a whole lot that I was all that interested in other than Squadrons. I would've been interested in Offworld Trading Company but they don't have the Gold Edition available yet. I would've also been interest in The Outer Worlds, but the Non-Mandatory Corporate-Sponsored Bundle is way too expensive still, even on sale and with the coupon. I have too many games in my "to play" list to worry about buying something too early. I typically buy my games during a Steam/EA/Epic/GOG Summer/Winter sale after titles are one to two years old and are heavily discounted I get pretty good deals. Squadrons was really way too new to be one of my typical purchases, but it was just too good a deal to pass up. I'm just not seeing many more of those at the moment. I'll keep my eye out though.

Yeah, I've both free games so far, and have reminder set every day to get the others. Used my $10 coupon and picked up Star Wars: Squadrons for $14.97!

Perfect! Thanks manterola!

Yeah, but Brad's behavior has become more and more erratic over the years, and he is a complete nightmare to deal with anymore. Add in a $20 minimum order, and he's definitely not the person to go to for screws. Besides, his web page shows sold out on almost all screw sets. Like I said in the original post, I have absolutely no interest in buying original screws from some Atari provider. I just want to know the sizes, thread type, etc. so that I can get replacement screws from wherever. Thanks anyway!

I'm well on the way to repairing and restoring the 600XL I bought last month. Everything is working well except for the keyboard, which I'm hopeful that a good mylar cleaning will rectify. However, it came in with no case or motherboard/shield screws. Has anyone ever determined the sizes for these so that I can source them from one of my regular hardware suppliers? I'm am not the least bit interested in trying to locate "real" Atari case screws. Reasonable replacements will suit just fine. Thanks.

Sorry, I replied to the wrong thread!

I have to admit, I am completely ignorant of the C64. I've never owned or used one, though I had some friends in college that owned them. All that being said, I wanted to load some old games and see what I'd missed by never owning a C64. I downloaded an archive of disk images and VICE and started. I loaded some disk images using VICE and they loaded right up and I was playing games within seconds. I didn't "do" anything. No setup, no weird settings adjustments. Nothing. I just installed VICE, double-clicked on some images, and they loaded. I fail to understand what the OP could be doing, or not doing, that could possibly make C64 emulation so hard, at least very basic emulation like I was trying to do.

Well, I've had partial success. So, so far, it looks like this 600XL came with no ANTIC chip, a defective keyboard, and a faulty 4051 chip in position U23. Now I just need to disassemble, clean, and troubleshoot the keyboard, to see if I can revive it. Before too long, I'll need to order a UAV, a monitor port, an ANTIC chip and some 4051s. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the keyboard going again.

Yeah, that is strange, but I have two unrelated keyboard issues in one computer. One, a mostly dead keyboard, and two, some other motherboard-side keyboard issue. What are the odds?

I really don't see how it could possibly be anything to do with the keyboard ribbon cable, or anything to do with the keyboard itself at all. Like I've said a couple of times, this is a known good, perfectly working keyboard from another computer, that was checked before and after trying it in this problem 600XL. It fails in the same way every single time in this particular 600XL, and consistently works perfectly in a known good machine. I only installed this keyboard in this 600XL to try and narrow down initial keyboard issues when I first powered on the 600XL and could get almost no keys to work. Further investigation has confirmed the original keyboard that came with this 600XL definitely has issues and will need more troubleshooting of it's own. However, in addition to coming with a bad keyboard, this 600XL is also having keyboard issues when using a good keyboard with it. Now, whether this is a connector issue, keyboard connector issue, POKEY issue, or some completely different issue has yet to be determined. Hopefully, I'll get some time for a little more in-depth troubleshooting this week, in between work and Grandpa time. I think I'm going to start by moving the 4051 chips from my suspect machine to a good one to see if the problem moves. Hopefully, that'll help me narrow this issue down a little bit. I'll check out the sockets and look for any evidence of problems there, as well as checking out the pins on the chips. Thanks for the advice guys! I'll post back here with what I find, if anything.

A little more information. I did try that original defective keyboard with a known good 800XL. It acts the same. No key functions except for Reset, Select, Option, Start, and Help. So, I decided to try swapping in a known good Pokey chip from known good 800XL. When I install the new Pokey, the 600XL won't boot. The TV gets a signal, but only displays a black screen. There's no life, no sound, nothing from the 600XL. It goes back to booting, but with the wacky keyboard shenanigans as before with a good keyboard. Are there any different Pokeys? Aren't they all pretty much interchangeable?

I'm assuming you meant with the original keyboard that is mostly dead? I may give that a try after I check it out in another working machine. As far as the keyboard where only half the keys are working, it is a good keyboard. There's really no issue with it. The issue appears to be with the computer itself. I'm going to try swapping the Pokey chip out tomorrow too and see how that affects things.

When you say those pins, you mean pounds on the Pokey chip? I think that's the most likely issue. There's nothing wrong with the keyboard mylar or the keyboard PCB, at least the one I used to check out the 600XL. It's a fully functioning keyboard, except when in this 600XL. Or did I misunderstand what you meant?

I started the thread about whether to keep the modulator in a 600XL that I'd purchased, assuming I was able to get it running, and therefore deem it worthy of installing a UAV and a monitor port. For what it's worth, I've decided to keep the modulator intact and only remove the channel selector switch to install the monitor port. I finally received the RCA Male to F-Type Female Adapter I'd ordered and was able to check out my 600XL. It came in without an Antic chip, but when I put in one from another machine, it boots up just fine. The keyboard is a completely different issue. I don't seem to get any input from any of the keys except for Reset, Select, Option, Start, and Help, and they all stick when you press them and have to be pried up ever so slightly with a small screwdriver or something along those lines. So, basic operation looks good, but it has keyboard issues that need to be worked out. I took a little break after typing this and investigated a little further and the mystery deepens. First of all, the keyboard appears to be all but dead. I do get a red power LED on it, and Reset, Select, Option, Start, and Help all work, but I get absolutely nothing from any of the other keys; not a single one. Here's where it gets strange. So, I pull out a known good keyboard; one that I verified before and after hooking it up on this 600XL. When using that keyboard, only about half of the keys seem to work. I've listed the non-working keys below. Again, I want to emphasize that this is a good keyboard. I verified every key works perfectly before and after checking it out on this 600XL. What I need to do, but haven't yet, and probably won't tonight, is check out the flakey keyboard that came with this machine in another working machine. So, I haven't really investigated any keyboard issues before. Is it POKEY or the PIA that controls keyboard input? Sound seems good, at least in the basic built-in self-tests, so I don't suspect the POKEY, but there are definitely keyboard issues that are caused by the computer itself and not the keyboard. Any ideas? Thanks. - Byron Non-Working Keys 7 8 9 0 < > BS BR TAB Q W E R T Y A S D F G H CAPS N M , . / INVERSE SPACE

Well, I finally received the RCA Male to F-Type Female Adaptor and was able to check out my 600XL. It came in without an Antic chip, but when I put in one from another machine, it boots up just fine. Now, the keyboard is a completely different issue. I don't seem to get any input from any of the keys except for Reset, Select, Option, Start, and Help, and they all stick when you press them and have to be pried up ever so slightly with a small screwdriver or something along those lines. So, basic operation looks good, but keyboard issues that need to be worked out. It shouldn't be too bad, I don't think.

I didn't think many of the emulators/controllers worked well for 5200 games. I thought it had something to do with the 5200 having those crappy analog non-centering controllers.

OK, I'm not trying slam you or anything, but why in the world would you come to the RespeQt SIO2PC Software sub-forum, something your issue has absolutely nothing to do with, and tack your question onto the end of a completely unrelated thread, in hopes of getting help on your issue? I may be able to help you some, but I'm not all that familiar with the SDrive-MAX, and this definitely isn't the forum or the thread for it regardless. Go back to the main Atari 8-Bit Computers forum and start your own thread with an appropriate description for your issue and I'm certain you will get no end of help, and probably fairly quickly. Good luck!

I guess there's always that one person... And I'm the same way. If I get burnt by something or someone, I'm done. I have to admit though, after all the reviews I've read and watched and all the research I've done, which was extensive, you're the only person that I've come across that's had anything even remotely bad to say about them, their products, or their service. I'm sorry that you had issues with them, but I'm undaunted, at least so far.