Keneg

Thanks, those are great links.

Wow, I need to make a list. Thanks for the suggestions. Also, th3 tip on Questron is very good. I would have become very frustrated. I worked on the color setting today. They look good now. I am setting it up on a desk with an older Windows 10 computer. The TV I am using has VGA input, so I hope to,be able to switch back and forth to feed the Atari disk images. Once that is done I will be ready to play.

I’ve downloaded Questron, Phantasie, and Phantasie II. Those should let me get a feel for how they play. Also, I don’t think I ever played them on the Commodore, so,they are new to me. Has anyone thought about porting the others over. I know the routines for video and sound would need re-written, but both are 6502s, so should be doable.

Great, thanks for the answers. Those should keep me busy for a while.

I am looking for good games I can download and use on my 800XL. I am not an arcade person. For the Commodore, there were games like The Bards Tale, Wizardry, and the SSI Gold Box games. I know about Alternate Reality and Phantasie, but not how to get them. I dont have a physical drive to use disks, even if I could find any that still work. All I have, for now, is an SIO2PC-USB. The 800XL is stock, just 64k.

Thanks for the reply. I am thinking about buying the sys-check. I need to decide if I really want to get into these machines or not. If I decide to go all,in, I will buy a sys-check and a unocart. I think that would allow me to run just about any Atari 8 bit software out there.

Thanks for the reply. I actually like the 800XL better anyway because of the composite video. I may decide to try the 64k upgrade for the 600XL someday. I just haven’t done a lot of soldering in years. I wish the 320k upgrade was still available. That would be perfect. I really don’t understand why so many upgrades are internal instead of using the expansion port.

I finally received my SOI2PC-USB from Poland. It took me a while to get it working using my Windows 10 laptop. When I finally got it going on my 600XL, DOS2.5 would crash the machine. I switched to my 800XL and got it working. Can it work on a 16k machine? If so, which DOS can I use? It took me a long while to figure out creating and using a new image. I finally figured out I had to set a DOS type and then format it in DOS. I was then able to save a BASIC program. I understand there are problems with th3 BASIC built into the XLs. Is there a good BASIC with a compiler I can download?

I don’t have small enough screw driver to go through the bottom, slot is bigger from the top. Now my only remaining issue is that the sound isn’t very long and has static that gets louder the brighter the screen is. I need to know which pot on the RF to adjust for that.

Today I decided to adjust the color on the 600XL because the memory check was showing something closer to blue than green. I used setcolor in immediate mode to cycle through the palette while I had the top case loose so I could get to the pot. It took a couple of times through the palette, but I think they are correct to now. The memory test screen definitely shows green when rom and ram tests good. It is difficult to see much difference between the 3 blues though. I guess that is normal.

That is it! I managed to adjust the pot back and forth a few times and it is working for now. I may need to take the shield off and tighten it if it keeps acting up. Once that was working, I decided to try to fix the keyboard again. I realized I cleaned the mylar, but not the contacts by the function keys. I cleaned the contacts and bent them up gently. The keyboard now works also. I have another 5v 2a power supply on order to make another one. Then both machines should be OK.

More progress. I swapped the 800XL keyboard into the 600XL and it now works great. The 800XL May jus need some chips reset. It works better as it warms up and sometimes when it is acting up I can sort of thump it onto the desk and the colors will be fine for a while. The only concern I have with the 600XL is static in the audio. The 800 XL has much clearer sound, even using RF. I am wondering if the pot on the RF module needs adjustment, but I don’t know which one is the audio offset.

I actually made some progress with both computers today. I got in the 5v, 2a power supply. The 600XL was coming up with a black screen if the keyboard was plugged in. With the new supply, it boots, the colors are right, but the main keyboard keys don’t work. On the 800XL, it now shows all of the ram, but the screen colors jump around. I didn’t know about the difference in the memory test if you run it out of BASIC, but I am doing cold boots with option key held down. Good information to have. The new power supply’s wires are only 22 gauge. Could that still be the problem? Seems really small to me and could be acting as a high resistance. On the 600XL, the voltage is 5.17 switch off and 5.00 switch on. I didn’t think to try to check the voltage with a key pressed down. I don’t have the 800XL apart to check voltages.

Today I got my Star Raiders cartridge. I plugged it in even though I don’t have a joystick. It worked, but just before I was going to shut off the computer, there must hav3 been a lightning hit nearby. The power was out for a second or two. Now the 800xl won’t boot with the cartridge in and the ram test only shows 40 blocks instead of 48. The screen color seems a little off also. Obviously I need to get and use a surge suppressor. Is this likely just one or more fried ram chips or something else? To be clear, th3 ram test doesn’t show red blocks for the missing 8k, it pauses for a few seconds at 40k and then rechecks the roms. Also, what ram chips would I need? I know they are different than the 4164s in the 600XL.

I found the spring today! I emptied the filter of my bag less vacuum and vacuumed the area. Found the spring in the filter. The computer now works great! Once I get my parents s to build a modern power supply, I will have two good Ataris.

The built in keyboard test seems to work fine when selected by itself. Just not when run as part of all tests. I was able to verify all the keys on both computers once I figured that out.

It’s been a while, but I do know some basic electronics. I have an SIO2USB and USB ordered. I will order a couple of the power adapters now. Thanks for the help. I did fix the keyboard of the 600Xl, mostly. Here is what I posted about that. It turns out that is was the keyboard mylar. Near the power light there are two contacts. They were black. Cleaned them and reassembled the keyboard. It works! If only I hadn’t lost one of the springs. So the help key doesn’t work. All other keys work fine. So does anyone know where I can get one of these springs? I need the steel one that is used for the right side keys. The rest of the keys use copper or brass springs. One note. On both the 600 and 800XL, entering the keyboard test from “All Tests” does not work right. I have to select it separately. Then all keys, except “Help” work fine.

It turns out that is was the keyboard mylar. Near the power light there are two contacts. They were black. Cleaned them and reassembled the keyboard. It works! If only I hadnt lost one of the springs. So the help key doesnt work. All other keys work fine. So does anyone know where I can get one of these springs? I need the steel one that is used for the right side keys. The rest of the keys use copper or brass springs. One note. On both the 600 and 800XL, entering the keyboard test from All Tests does not work right. I have to select it separately. Then all keys, except Help work fine.

OK, thanks for the reply. I was looking at the SIO2USB mostly because it is low cost and I have some spare laptops that could be used with it. Just to check before I buy. There are 5v 2a power supplies available on Amazon and eBay. It looks like I could just cut the cord off of my defective supply and the plug from the new supply and splice the wires. Just have to get the polarity right. Is that what you are suggesting?

Yes, that is correct. When I bought the 600XL that turned out to be an 800XL I thought I had a PAL 600XL until I looked at the sticker on th3 bottom. I think you can convert them, but I don’t know how involved that is.

The one that is now working wasn’t before. I suspect this indicates a problem with the cable or connector as it gave black screens with two computers when it wasn’t working. Suddenly it is working again today. I will probably buy a couple from Best Electronics. I am trying to decide between buying the keyboard mylar from them or, for slightly more, the entire keyboard. I tried in a couple of example BASIC programs today. The keyboard takes a bit of getting used to, but the programs worked fine. The 800XL passed all self tests. I also need to decide on a storage option. I am aware of the SIO2SD and SIO2USB. Are there other options. I don’t think I want to mess with a real floppy drive.

Interesting update. I checked voltages today. The power supply I got with the 600XL that turned out to an 800XL tested at 3.9 volts. So I didn’t bother turning on the computer. I switched to the power supply that came with the 609XL and it tested at 5.16 volts. When I turned on the computer to check the voltage with it running, to my dismay, it powered on to basic! Since I had the keyboard off, I tried shorting pins at the connector and got characters on the screen. Fantastic! So then I tried the 800XL with the good supply. It works great, both RF and composite. Once I figured out that the red wire is video and not sound. So I have a working 800XL and a repairable 600XL. What I was beginning to think was a huge waist of money now looks like a bargain. So, I know I can buy parts from Best Electronics. Is this my best option for a power supply? I’m thinking I should buy two and not rely on the one that seems to be working now.

I now have two Atari computers. The 600XL that I was trying to get th3 keyboard working on and then I quit working altogether. I tried buying another off eBay. It was advertised as a 600XL, but turns out to be an 800XL. That would be great if it worked. The weird thing is that they both display the same symptoms. With one power supply, I get colors flashing across the screen and a hum from the sound. Using th3 other power supply, I get top half of screen black and the bottom very snowy, mostly white. I have a multimeter and a logic probe. I figure the first step is to check power supply voltages. Then what next? Is the test cartridge sold by Best Electronics any good?

I got in the 4051s today. Changed them and now it won’t even boot to basic. Put the old chips back in. Still no go just a screen black on top and mostly white on bottom. It may be beyond what I can diagnose and fix now. Sigh.

Because the keys that are not controlled by Pokey work, I am inclined to rule that out. I should get the 4051 chips soon. If that doesn’t fix it, I will unplug the keyboard and use a short piece of wire to simulate key presses. That should let me determine if the computer circuitry is OK. I will only look at the keyboard once I am sure the rest is OK.