[Vic 20 disk games original releases?]

On 11/28/2022 at 1:40 PM, Mayhem said:

Yes, but not very many. I own one Vic20 game on disk from the 80s (by ALA Software) and I've seen at least one other published by them on disk too.

What is the title of this game, and also what type of packaging is it in?

[Vic 20 disk games original releases?]

I'm just wondering if any Vic 20 games were originally released on disk? I've never seen any, although the 1541 disk drive was certainly available for the Vic 20 pretty much from day 1, so long before the C64 was launched and which certainly did have original disk game releases.

 

Does anyone know of any Vic 20 games originally released on disk?

[Prototype Commodore Vic 20 cartridges?]

3 hours ago, Mayhem said:

Some of the last production of certain carts were blank shells with paper labels glued to them. Seems legit to me but not a proto.

Are you suggesting it's actually the other way around then?

[Prototype Commodore Vic 20 cartridges?]

A friend of mine gave me this recently, because apparently it didn't work. I cleaned the pins and *bing*, it did work. So I'll be giving it back to them 😊

 

But I've never seen a Vic 20 cartridge quite like this before - a printed paper label on the usual aluminium front of early Commodore cartridges on the Vic 20, but nothing printed on the aluminium itself. A little look inside shows an unusual looking ROM chip, not the standard black ones as in every other Vic cartridge I've seen. And of course a brown case - no part numbers or 'Made in ....' tag moulded into it though.

 

The game seems just like any other version of Mole Attack I've seen, but I haven't done any byte for byte comparison though.

 

So my question is - is this some kind of pre-production demo or review version of a Commodore cartridge? Has anyone seen anything similar before?

 

 

 

[Was it worth it upgrading to a 128 from a C64?]

My friend was a game programmer back in the day, and he 'upgraded' to the C128 because he swore the keyboard was better. Still used it as a C64 tho!

[Atari 400 - no sign of life - black screen]

It made very little difference sadly. I replaced the Astec modulator with a newer one, just as an experiment, and there was a slight improvement - but I think I'll go the composite mod at some point in the future if I'm going to keep using it.

[Atari 400 - no sign of life - black screen]

Well holy Donkey Kong - it works! That was really quite a nerve wracking experience, putting the connectors back together. Yeah, I know it's old, but - so fragile? Well phew anyway.

 

Thanks a whole stack for your help there Dragonstomper - really appreciate it.

 

So I'm not sure what fixed it exactly - but I cleaned the contacts (95% alcohol), pressed down on the chips a little (one of which clicked), and that was it really. Now to reassemble the thing properly. More nerve wracking coming up.

 

I can't tell you much about that RAM board - it would have been done back when I was more interested in playing with Star Wars toys and reading comics, and getting to school on time. But I'll bet it wasn't cheap for sure.

 

The picture is snowy as expected - but pretty badly so. Was it always that bad?

 

 

Donkey Kong lives on. Now I'm thinking AV mod .. the picture is dreadful!

 

[Atari 400 - no sign of life - black screen]

Pic 1. The RAM board contacts were clean, but the CPU ones very dirty - as you can see.

 

 

 

This is the RAM board. Do the chips look normal? As in standard 16k setup?

 

 

 

The reverse side of the RAM board, with 4 wires connecting to an IC board on the motherboard

 

 

 

And the yellow / green pair of wires connecting to the underside of the cartridge connector.

 

 

Lastly, what looks like an engineers label stating, possibly, that the machine is 48k? The label is a little cryptic - I'm assuming A400 is Atari 400, and 7/84 the date? Has anyone seen this before?

 

[Atari 400 - no sign of life - black screen]

Absolute top notch - thanks so much for the step by step instructions, really appreciated. I'm very impressed by the overall help offered on this website! You do it a great credit.

 

So, I carefully followed them. I had to laugh a little at step 2 - that was what had me stumped earlier. That cartridge door ...

 

I'm going to attach some pics (as promised, pics fans), but there seems to be something maybe a little unusual about the RAM board. It has soldered wires going to another IC on the board, and to the underside of the cartridge connector. Is this normal? The underside of the chassis has a red label saying '16k RAM', but also a hand written label saying '48k'. Inside there's what looks like an engineers label stating 'A400 48k' - could it have been upgraded? Pics to follow.

[Atari 400 - no sign of life - black screen]

but in the case of the 400, it requires significant disassembly.

 

You're absolutely right there - I'm a bit stumped already trying to carefully open the thing up. I have the bottom chassis off, but can't seem to get further ... any advice on how to disassemble the thing?

[Atari 400 - no sign of life - black screen]

Hello folks

 

I recently had a 'dead' Atari 800, which I posted here, and thanks to your help I got working.

 

Now it's the turn of the Atari 400.. I could have sworn this worked, albeit many years ago I guess. When I power on I get just a black screen.

 

Is there a step thru diagnosis I could follow to find the fault? I get the feeling this will be something at chip level and not as easy as my 800, but any pointers / help greatly appreciated. Detailed photos will follow for those interested

[Atari 800 - no sign of life]

I dont have any language carts unfortunately.. but Donkey Kong comes up just fine ?

It may not be normal behaviour, but to be honest Im fine with that just now. I got the machine working after a deep 35 year hibernation, I can play the cartridge games I have, and I can type lots of little notes to myself in memo pad. Until I need to do anything else Ill park it and not take anymore of your time. Besides, I have a 7800 to fix now..

Thanks for all your help!

[Atari 800 - no sign of life]

Hopefully this could be my last post on Atari 800 whoas

The keyboard was not responding (other than function keys) so I spent time desoldering, cleaning, and re sitting the connector. Still no.

Then I discovered pressing break brought it to life .. suddenly every key working.

Is this normal behaviour? I really cant remember .. but pressing break seems to put it into memo pad mode, and if I remember right there is no basic interpreter built in - that comes on cart.

[Atari 800 - no sign of life]

Actually I am going to solder that switch, its quite problematic.

Are they always so loose? The machine just flicks off and on unless I push down quite hard on the lid.

[Atari 800 - no sign of life]

 

Or install a SPST 'bypass' switch.

Sorry I'm not quite with you .. are you suggesting ways to fix my keyboard problem? I don't really know what any of that means - being of course tech unsavvy as I am ..

[Atari 800 - no sign of life]

Maybe 81 then, or even 82 - my memory isnt so great I know it was before my dad got a Vic 20, which I *think* was 1982.

 

Depressingly (no pun intended) the keyboard isnt working .. might have to post another question does anyone know why an Atari 800 keyboard might stop working?

[Atari 800 - no sign of life]

 

I listened to a podcast once where a former Atari employee explained how they religiously followed all the FCC requirements regarding shielding and radiation. Apple and Commodore just did whatever they wanted and ignored the FCC.

I heard something similar - or that they were threatened with trouble if they did not over shield the thing .. something like that. So the response was some engineer designing that huge metal block that we see inside the 800, and which probably accounts for about 1/3 of the total weight! Yes Commodores shielding was thin - or even just silver card - but it seems like the reason has been explained here already.

 

I guess Atari were paying the price for being at the cutting edge, and regulatory response to the 'unknown effects of having a computer in your house, especially near children or the elderly' was OTT!

[Atari 800 - no sign of life]

Wow still has the original plastic enclosed modules. This must be from around 1980-81?

I think this particular one was bought in 1980 - but internally it says Copyright 1979 - or just 79 in some places.

 

Thats a good couple of years before the Commodore 64. Shame Atari didnt get the slicker and much smaller form factor right earlier on, 800xl style. This Atari 800 is bulky and weighs a ton! Or 4 kilos to be exact.

[Atari 800 - no sign of life]

The plunger that pushes this switch down

 

 

 

.. pushed down normally by the lid

 

 

So push that switch down, put Donkey Kong cartridge in, and bingo. One nicely working Atari 800!

 

[Atari 800 - no sign of life]

Here's the CPU cartridge / module

 

 

 

And something hidden away, deep inside .. note the 'W' Warner Bros logo on the left

 

 

 

.. and the now 'not so mysterious' Morse Code transmitter

 

[Atari 800 - no sign of life]

No photo then it didn't happen .

 

Sorry - didn't think! Bit rude hey?

 

Here's the beast -

[Atari 800 - no sign of life]

Ok - silly me. The procedure is - morse code like switch down (i.e. lid down), and then power on. LED's are red!

 

Thanks everyone for the pointers.

[Atari 800 - no sign of life]

Is the top cover firmly in the closed position?

No, it wasn't, but I see what you mean. I was wondering what that morse code like switch was inside - it's a power switch!

 

Sadly - still no LED. But thanks for pointing that one out.

[Atari 800 - no sign of life]

Yeah that's what I'm doing, right now I knew the RAM and OS was on a cartridge, but didn't realise the CPU was too! Pretty cool - I like it. Good modular approach for upgrading/updating pretty much everything.

 

But sadly no joy yet .. no LED when switched on. I'm thinking the next move might be reflowing a whole load of solder, unless anyone can suggest something else?

[Atari 800 - no sign of life]

Hi. Hope this is posted in correct place.

 

I have an Atari 800, been stored away for years in a safe dry place. I've just tried powering it up - using the power supply that came with it - and no sign of life .. no LED's even. I've tested the supply with a multimeter and it seems good, and I've tried another psu of the same spec. Is there a trouble shooting guide at all for the Atari 800? I've searched and can only find bits and pieces, or would anyone know of common or typical problems that I could try before I do the stupid thing and open it up and start messing?

 

Thanks for anything!