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cbmeeks

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Posts posted by cbmeeks

  3. Posted

    OK, so I have an Atari 520 STfm that I *think* works.

     

    I also have a couple of 1040 STF motherboards. So I thought it would be a brilliant idea to take the 520 motherboard out of its case and put the 1040 motherboard in.

     

    I quickly Googled the power requirements and it looks like the built in PSU should provide enough.

     

    Plus, everything physically fits perfectly.

     

    Then, like a dummy, I realized that the 1040 STF does not have an RF modulator (the "m" in the 520STFM).

     

    I don't have an Atari monitor. Only a few composite TV's.

     

    I don't know enough about ST's to know how easy/hard it would be to make a cable for the monitor port and (perhaps?) convert the video signal to S-Video or composite.

     

    Should I just try and find an expensive Atari ST monitor on eBay? Don't really like that option seeing how even composite monitors are getting harder to find.

     

    Or, should I just put the 520 motherboard back in and try to get it to work?

     

    I can post pics if needed.

    Thanks!

  4. Posted

    Just got a new (to me) Atari 1200XL off eBay. Been a long time since I've been on this forum, btw!. :-)

     

    Anyway, I plug it in and all I get is the Atari logo with the color bars. None of the keys do anything. Including the reset.

     

    I plug in Pac Man, plug in a joystick and Pac Man plays wonderfully. All of my games work but I can only play the ones that accept fire button as start.

     

    I haven't opened it up yet to see if it's something stupid like being unplugged.

     

    But I don't know as much about Atari (despite owning 2 400's, 600XL, 800XL, etc...lol).

     

    Any clues?

     

    Thanks!

  9. Posted

    MAN! For those following my restoration project (here) will find out that I've been halted.

     

    I've lost one of those friggin' RUBBER DOMES! You know, the one that goes in the keyboard. I thought I was careful when I pulled those out but I must have lost one. I've checked to make sure none are stacked inside each other. UGH.

     

    Not sure what to do. I really don't want any dead keys. Not even a dead shift key. I've looked at all of the broken keyboard I have around here (TI994/a, Mac SE, etc) but they all use spring loaded keys.

     

    Any suggestions? I can't even find a broken ST on eBay.

     

    Thanks

  10. Posted

    Well, THANKS for the compliments! lol

     

    The ugly green table is used for just about anything...painting, beating things with a hammer, etc. It's steel, free and ugly...great work table.

     

    The mower is a piece of crap I thought I could fix...but I'm getting rid of it soon. The spare tire is my wife's....women seem to think spare tires are better served by being left in the driveway. lol

     

    They were wet when I took those pics. I wanted to get a quick picture before the sun set.

     

    And actually, the rest of my house actually looks quite nice...you just saw the ugliest part. lol

     

    :-P

  11. Posted

    The paint job is looking pretty good!

     

    I couldn't find Krylon so I went with Rust-oleum Taupe for plastics.

     

    Taupe is probably about a 85-95% match of the original. I will know more after it's fully dried.

     

    A preview is below.

     

    3017363774_37b35cf4fd.jpg

    3017364096_2cb98af2c3.jpg

     

    Follow the results here:

    Progress here

     

    There you will find more pics of the insides too. It took me a while to figure out that the PSU is attached to the bottom of the case and two of the screws do NOT go all the way through the bottom. LOL

     

    Comments welcomed.

  12. Posted

    That's an AWESOME link. Thanks.

     

    I have about 4 keys on the ST that is a little yellowed. On the side. I may not go through the trouble for just those keys. You can't hardly see it.

     

    The case, is pretty bad on the left side as you can see.

     

    I am headed out now to see if I can get some Krylon from Wal-mart. I won't be able to match the original but I should be able to find something that looks good.

     

    I will upload some more pics soon. I have a bunch more pics of the entire dis-assembly process. Including removing all of the rubber domes from the keyboard!!

     

    Tonight, I am sticking all of the plastic in the dishwasher to remove the little dust that I can't get to. Then, I will let it dry for a few days and take it outside to paint (weather permitting).

     

    I will keep everyone posted.

  13. Posted

    The Atari 400 is a very under-rated system. The keyboard really isn't that bad if you use it as a game machine (ie, pressing the occasional key for menus, typing your name in games, etc).

     

    I love the look of it.

     

    After I finish my ST restoration, I am going to start on my other 400. The one that actually works! lol

     

    (the one pictured works for about 5 minutes then locks up).

     

    Thanks!

  15. Posted

    I am currently in the mood to restore my Atari 520 STfm.

     

    Here is a pic:

     

    3013326088_94bf1b29b8.jpg

     

    More pics here: My Atari 520 STfm

     

    Notice the terrible yellowing...

     

    I'm going to pick up some paint soon and see if I can make it look better. Anyone have suggestions on the color? Please, no fire engine red....I would like to restore it to the original color if possible. Plus, I can't paint the keys so the color would have to provide a nice match or contrast to the key color.

     

    Comments welcomed!

     

    cbmeeks

  16. Posted

    More updates.

     

    3013310030_b81ecc961f.jpg

    3013309712_4656f1eb44.jpg

     

    It's cleaned up quite nicely.

     

    For all of my Atari 400 pics, go here: My Atari 400

     

    Also, stay tuned...I have ANOTHER Atari 400 is looks really bad but plays nice. I'm going to restore it and post details. But first, I am going to paint and restore my Atari 520 STfm.

     

    Comments welcomed!

  24. Posted

    Looks like the store is still down. :-(

     

    I found the temp store and was looking at the carts to make 16k games for the A8. Why only 16k? Where there any 32k-64k game carts?

     

    Looking at the pinouts, it looks like there are only 12 address lines (4k). But I see a "~S4 Chip Select--$8000 to $9FFF" and a "~S5 Chip Select--$A000 to $BFFF".

     

    So does that really mean you are limited to 16k and you have to bank switch from the two 4k banks?

     

    Also, any advice on how a budding amateur electrical engineer could learn how to create my own carts for the Atari?

     

    Thanks for any suggestions.

     

    cbmeeks

  25. Posted · Edited by cbmeeks

    This is soooo cool!

     

    I mean, that a person can still make a little money GIVING away a game and SELLING the same game on cartridge. By my calculations, that's over $600 USD (minus expenses of course).

     

    Granted, not enough to retire on but not a bad deal for something he probably enjoyed doing.

     

    Good job!

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