joeatari

My order is in! Thank you!

I have a GBS-8219.

I have a VBXE on one of my systems, but it looks a bit fuzzy and "noisy", probably due to the RGB to VGA converter that I use. Also, I can never get the screen size set exactly right so that some lines aren't larger than others in text mode and etc. The Sophia 2 has amazing clarity, and even though I am running in 16X9, everything still looks "right" to me. It is quite impressive. I would especially love to see a version of "The Last Word" that would support the Sophia 2. I would also love to see Sophia 2 specific demos in case any of the "wizards" here are thinking about showing off what is different than stock hardware.

Are there any demos or software specific to the Sophia 2?

This didn't take long. Just as you would expect, I followed the traces with an OHM meter and ran a jumper wire to the "dead" location. I'm not really sure why they are dead, because the traces look just fine. The top white wire fixed the "E" and the bottom blue wire fixed "A S D." The other wires were applied to the keyboard by a previous owner. Another 8-bit Atari saved. This makes eight for me in 2023. Happy New Year everyone!

Nice! I appreciate this. The switches are not the problem in this case, but I certainly learned something!

I checked with a working keyboard (the mylar version) and it works just fine with the motherboard in question. It is definitely a problem with this particular mechanical keyboard.

I swapped the 4051s (great idea) but unfortunately no change. I checked all the ribbon cable contacts for continuity from end to end and that checks out. Tomorrow I'll pull and try a working keyboard from another XL to rule out problems on the motherboard. Eric: This keyboard does not have the mylar membrane sheet. It is just a circuit board with the key switches attached. I'm hoping I can find what may be broken in the circuit and add jumper wires to fix the problem, but it is a lot of traces to follow and check.

I have a 600XL with an AWC 100001 mechanical keyboard that I am trying to repair. I have cleaned everything and re-flowed solder to the connectors. I re-seated the 4051 chips. Everything now works with the exception of the A S D E keys. I'm so close! In researching this I have noticed others placing some jumper wires to repair these. I'm not experienced with this. Any hints on what is the best way to trouble shoot this keyboard? The traces look like they are in good shape. I don't see any physical damage. I have used a jumper wire to check to make sure it is not the key switches. These keys do not work when jumpered, but the others do, so I do not think it is the switches. Thanks!

Thank you for the photos and info! I ended up trying a different motherboard and I'm not having the issues anymore. If I decide to add more upgrades it will be great to have this, and I'm sure others will also appreciate it.

Can anyone attach a photo of a good Extension Select (EXT EXTSEL) pick off point on the 600XL board for this upgrade (or list the connection point)? This is the Lotharek 64Kb v3 upgrade. I'm having some strange instability (it seems that the computer is "typing" characters, but the keyboard is not beeping and I don't seem to have any keyboard issues). At this point I only have CAS inhibit connected. Connecting Extension Select is suggested in the instructions, but since the MMU is removed I don't know where to connect it. Perhaps this is not the problem at all, but I would still like to know where to connect it. Thanks!

Did you finish this project and also hook up EXT_SEL once you received the 64 SRAM module? I'm in the middle of the exact same project, and would like to also find the EXT_SEL location for 600XL.

The issue seems to be something with my 130XE, which is stock. I just hooked it up to my 800XL with Ultimate 1MB. I disabled SpartaDOS and the PBI BIOS and the Fujinet worked perfectly right off the bat. Thanks!

It is formatted FAT-32. It is 4GB. I'm going to try a different card this evening and I'll post a photo if I still have the problem. I can't get past the initial screen with the Fujinet logo and the progress bar. Thanks!

Okay, I have this beautiful new FujiNet from Lotharek, but all I can get out of it is a progress bar. What am I doing wrong? I can't get past the screen that has the FujiNet logo. I have tried different various firmware. No matter what I try, I get the boot screen only. I have formatted the SD card in both Mac and Windows. Help me use my beautiful new hardware 😀. I know it is going to work eventually. I'm sure I'm just screwing something up as usual. Thanks!

I would like two.

This is great! I must have at least three of these (I hope!)

I'm sure the printouts will fade. I'll have to try it for awhile. Fortunately I shuffle things around a lot, so I think this will probably work if I don't get too frustrated with this little 822 beast. I also have an 820 to work on.

I tried an O ring on each side, then center but the best result was on the left side. As you said the paper is wiggling a bit so I have have to pull the paper tight while printing to get it to print straight. Probably more experimentation is in order, but it is feeding and printing which is really more than I expected when I started working on it.😀 This printer looks ancient and a little worse for the wear! The stepper motor seemed bound up at first. It helped a lot to loosen the mounting screws on the stepper motor so that it could move a little, which made the paper feed much easier. I've wanted one of these forever because it does not require ink or ribbon. I want to use it to print the contents of all of my Atari and other hobby boxes and tape the printout to the boxes so that when the contents change I have not written on the box. I haven't created a database of spare parts, so this helps that problem just a little. A bit of a silly project, but I love to put my Atari hardware to good use.

I tried a #6 1/4 X 7/15 X 3/32 (BG) O ring. (This is the part number from true value hardware: 02-1450P), and it is advancing the paper now. It is still "rocking back and forth" a bit so the lines are crooked unless I pull on the paper to keep it taught. It doesn't seem to be missing anything else, but I supposed something else could be missing. I tried two O rings, one on each side, but it only seems to work if it is on the very left side (when facing the front of the printer). I didn't want to take it apart again, so I just moved both O rings over to the left, and it did seem to give it a little more traction. I discovered that it advances the paper much easier if the screws on the stepper motor are a bit loose so the motor can move around a bit. Yes, that is super glue on the part that connects the roller to the stepper motor. I'll probably try the tubing solution, but it is holding just fine for now.

Does anyone know the size of the O ring in the photo? Is there supposed to be more than one on the roller or just that one? Thanks!

I'm trying to bring an 822 printer back to life. It is printing, but not advancing the paper. It appears that whatever is supposed to "pinch" the paper is missing. Can someone take a photo of that area of the printer? It has debris of what looks like an O ring. Are there supposed to be multiple O rings on the roller that advances the paper? The stepper motor seems to function, but it looks like I need to glue the paper advance roller so that the stepper motor will actually turn it. Right now it is completely loose and turns in the plastic part. Thanks!

Thanks for the input everyone! I was using both monitors at the same time. I'm not going to be able to get back to this for a bit because of work obligations, but I'll give your suggestions a try as soon as I can and post some photos. I have the Ultimate 1 MB installed. No other upgrades at this point. I also have a 130XE with Ultimate 1MB, VBXE, P COVOX, Simple Stereo, but unfortunately a lot of my things were in storage for about three years and the 130XE did not work after taking it out of storage (no video). I'll have try to repair that one if I can. You can see that computer and read about it here: 130XE Upgrade

I'm installing a VBXE (XL version) in my 800XL. The VBXE RGB output seems to be working correctly, but the stock monitor jack is now producing black and white output. The CRT photo looks a bit blue, but it is actually a white background. Have I missed something?

When I removed C109 and added the 2.2 uf capacitor, my printer still behaved the same (not starting or continually advancing the paper). When I removed the 2.2 uf capacitor described in the fix (C109 is also still removed), the printer starts up normally and the paper advance button works properly. I need to test the printing function now.