Urchlay

It sounds like you're not far behind me in the Great Atari Restoration... here's what I've found out so far: I've got a Maxflash MyIDE. It's amazing... From what I know of the SIO2IDE, it runs at standard SIO speed (19200bps, or maybe "turbo" 38400/57600 speed?). The MyIDE is lightning fast. It's also a "plug and play" solution, if you get the package that comes with a Transcend flash IDE module preloaded with MyDOS. You literally take it out of the box it comes in and plug it into your XL, and now you've got built-in MyDOS, 64 megs of flash-based "hard disk" storage, and 128K of flash-based cartridge ROM (which you can fill with cartridge images, then choose which one to run at boot time). The only downside of the MyIDE, at least of the cartridge version, is that you can't use it with software that uses the RAM underneath the OS ROM (such as SpartaDos 2 and up), because it loads a patched OS into that RAM. Definitely. I don't know about the 800XL, but on the 1200XL I had to do a Clearpic mod to get decent video at all (I use a Commodore 1702, so it's not the monitor's fault). It was definitely worth the effort: the picture is *that* much better. The 800XL video might be better than the 1200XL, so you might get by with the one-wire chroma mod, but s-video vs. composite is still noticeably nicer looking. If your primary interest is gaming, 64K is generally enough... very few games will take advantage of any extra RAM. If you're wanting to do telecommunications (get your Atari on the 'net, or call BBSes), you probably want 128K so you can run Ice-T. Also, it seems like almost all demos being written these days require extra RAM. I wimped out and sent my 1200XL off to be upgraded to 256K, rather than doing it myself. I'm really not so great at soldering... Internal SIO2PC is nice. Even if you're not going to use it with APE or SIO2PC software, it's effectively an internal serial port. Internal MyIDE is also nice, and it's probably your best (only?) option for adding an internal CF slot. You don't really need 32 OSes, but you do need at least the 800XL and 800 revision B OS... there's a good bit of 800-only software that won't run on an XL. You could load the Translator disk instead, but it's annoying. Also, if you're using an SIO2PC, the Warp OS that comes with the 32-in-1 will give you fast (57600bps?) SIO operation with APE/SIO2PC/AtariSIO all the time, not just when you're running a DOS that supports it. Also also, if you have a MyIDE, the restriction about software that uses the RAM under the OS should go away (the MyIDE patched OS is one of the 32 OSes that you get). I don't know whether this will make the MyIDE work with SpartaDOS or not, though... There's also a "reverse BASIC" XL OS included, which boots with BASIC disabled by default (you hold down Option to enable BASIC, if you need it). For me, the 32-in-1 is useful because I've got a 1200XL... its OS is different enough from the standard XL/XE OS that it's not compatible with all software (though I don't know what the differences are). With the 32-in-1, I'll be able to have the 1200XL masquerade as an 800 or an 800XL.

If you've cleaned and demagnetized, and your tapes still won't load... Either that, or you check with a scope and a "test tone" tape. You can ruin a tape just by trying to play it with a dirty or magnetized head, but a misaligned head won't actually damage the tape unless you're recording.. and even then, the tape isn't physically damaged, it's just unreadable on a properly-aligned deck, and might need bulk-erasing before you can record over it. If you do align your head, and if you get it "just right", you can paint over the alignment screw with clear nail polish to glue it in place. Later on, if you have to adjust it again, you can easily break the dried nail polish with a screwdriver, but it requires enough effort that the screw won't turn by itself even if you bump or drop the unit. Just be careful not to get nail polish on any of the plastic bits! You used to be able to get them at Radio Shack pretty cheap. Still might be able to, if there's one near you that carries anything besides cel phones...

Super Breakout supports 8 players (4 sets of paddles), on the 400/800. Jumpman supports 4 players, but only needs one joystick (everyone uses the same one), so you can play it 4-player on the XL/XE, too.

Are the levels from the tape version identical to the disk version? (I didn't even know it came on tape, until I saw this thread...)

When you're using the USB adaptor, where does the Transcend get its power from? Separate connection, or from the IDE connector itself? I've got a Transcend plugged into a MyIDE cart, but I've never attempted to plug it into a PC (instead I copy files to it via SIO2PC).

Have you tried playing it with a trakball and the keyboard? It's got to be easier than joystick and keyboard... I always played Wolfenstein with 2 joysticks and 2 players (one moves and shoots, the other aims and throws grenades).

I might prefer the ball handle too, if I had ever been able to find one Does the ball version still have the fire button on top of the stick? If so, do you actually use it? Seems like it'd be hard to use, if you hold the ball with the standard "clutch" grip. I've got one Wico Command Control with a "flight" handle. It looks like it should have a trigger on the front, but it doesn't (still has the standard white button on top). Unfortunately the stick is loose, and rotates freely, which I don't know how to fix... the guy that sold it to me thought it might be a combo joystick/paddle, but I think he was just joking (it isn't).

Orr-guh-niize? What's that?

Silly forum software ate your URL... the path got turned into "f-zx-81s-homebrew-rel...lity-91052.html". which can't be right (404 not found). Correct URL seems to be http://forums.qj.net/f-zx-81s-homebrew-rel...lity-91052.html ...but it requires you to register at the site. Could you possibly just post the archive here in this thread?

Floppies and floppy drives used to be a lot more reliable, back when people used to depend on them... of course, any Atari floppy drive you find might be 20 years old, so not as reliable as when it was new. I don't blame you for not wanting to mess with them. However... if you wanted to be able to download disk-based games from the 'net and play them on your XEGS, you could get an SIO2PC cable. The games would be stored on your PC (or Mac) hard drive, and the PC would pretend to be an Atari floppy drive. Well, the games I played in my youth were almost all disk-based, so I'd be missing a lot with a cart-only system... but if carts were what you had back then, it makes sense for you to stick with them now. No cabling to mess with, no waiting for it to load, just plug & play. Of course, downloading is a lot cheaper than buying carts and paying shipping...

You planning to get an SIO2PC cable and/or disk drive, or just going to stick with carts? Either way: Jumpman Junior, Ball Blazer, Blue Max, Donkey Kong, Defender, Super Breakout... all available on cart or disk. If you're doing disks or disk images, Jumpman is even better than Jumpman Jr IMO. I also like the cart versions of Qix and Centipede, though there are better versions available on disk (newer versions, ported from the 5200). A lot of people like Miner 2049er, though I was never a big fan. Boulder Dash. There's at least one cart version of this. There are about 80 or 100 versions of this on disk (same game, all different levels, mostly unofficial). I gave someone a CD with an emulator and all the Boulder Dash versions I could find for Xmas, and she said it was the best present ever Lode Runner. Not sure if it comes on cart or not. Missile Command (which comes built in to the XEGS)... Pitfall II... Gyruss... the list goes on. Montezuma's Revenge! (but it's only available on disk)

Wico Command Control (but only if you've got big hands)

I don't have a Competition Pro or a 2600 Jr, but I've had the same effect happen on 4- and 6-switch 2600s. It seems to be specific combinations of console and joystick that cause it: Joystick A and Console A might show interference, and Joystick B and Console B do the same... but Joystick A with Console B might be just fine (and/or Joystick B with Console A). I haven't made a study of it or anything, but it seems to happen more often with the Wico Command Control sticks than the Atari ones (that might just be because I use the Wicos more, though). My (not very educated) guess is that the wires in the joystick cable are acting as RF antennas. One thing you can try is to use the other TV channel (2 or 3, whichever you're not using now). Sometimes this helps, sometimes it doesn't. You could also do a composite or s-video output mod, which will stop the interference cold. These days I do all my 2600 gaming on a 7800, which has never had this problem...

Good one!

Well, that's why I was asking about the serial mouse (the USB was more of a blue-sky idea). Pretty much everyone has some sort of serial interface (850, PR connection, etc) for their Atari, so for all I knew, the serial mouse might have been a good idea

Hm, I remember modding my Atari trakball to use as an ST mouse, back when I had an ST. Wish I'd known how to make the right button work, back then.

I still find IBM model M keyboards at thrift stores for under $5 on a fairly regular basis. Also, sometimes I find older Dell and HP keyboards, which I don't like so much, but lots of people do (some of the HP keyboards have a feel that's not too different from the Atari keyboards). I have a dual 2GHz G5 Mac that I use with a 1992 model IBM PS/2 keyboard, via PS/2 to USB convertor. It works great, but I had to find some software for OS X to let me map the Alt key to the Apple Command key (oddly, OSX can't do this on its own, at least not the version I have). If I were any good with hardware, I might try to come up with a way to use a 1200XL keyboard with a PC... but it's missing enough keys that it'd be kind of annoying to use.

I know there's not really such a thing, but... if I were thinking of writing a game that can use a mouse, what type(s) of mouse would I need to support? I know of the ST mouse, and there used to be a thing called the Rat, and I suppose there's no reason you couldn't hook a PC serial mouse to your 850... and I suppose the MicroUSB project supports USB mice (or will, if it doesn't yet). What do people actually have, though?

Does Ball Blazer count? It's basically future soccer... I wish there was an A8 version of Pigskin, it's about the only arcade sports game I like (medieval barbarian football, with swords, axes, and Elvis sightings).

I wish the industry hadn't moved away from keyboards with springs... I have plenty of good keyboards from the 1980s/90s still (IBM Model M's), but every time I have to use someone else's keyboard, I might as well not know how to touch type. My fingers can't feel the key mechanism activating, and if I barely touch the key next to the one I'm trying to press (I have big fingers), both keys get typed... Even the XEGS keyboard, springless piece of junk that it is, offers a little more resistance than the garbage keyboards that come with new PCs these days...

I probably am going to hang on to it... I'm not really the "collector of rarities" type (most of my games are loose, and I buy them to play them), but it's good to have at least a few rare-ish or unusual things to show off sometimes. I think I picked it up as part of a big load... someone must have either been desperate for money, or totally sick of collecting, and unloaded a bunch of stuff... I got a quite few R4's and a couple of R5's as part of the same deal... nothing really *rare*, but it's kind of rare to find that many uncommon carts at the same shop for $2 apiece. Unfortunately the place has moved even farther away since then Hm, how does something like that get to be less rare? Does someone uncover a crate of them in a musty old warehouse, or a bunch of people decide at the same time to get rid of them... or was it really never that rare to start with, and someone finally figured it out? Sir Lancelot seems like it might be one of the better Xonox titles (a better game than Tomarc or Chuck Norris), but that's based on playing it for just a couple of minutes. I should play it some more...

I was pretty surprised all right... they wanted $40, I talked them down to $30. In that case I made out like a bandit, I got it for $2. The label says SIR LANCEL, with maybe half of the O, and none of the T. Before I got the Lancelot cart, I didn't even know there was such a thing as a Xonox single-ender.

I wish they were on the keyboard instead of the console... ...though I understand why they're not (supposedly, the keyboard is optional). Did Atari ever actually sell the XEGS without the keyboard, as a plain console? I've never seen one without the keyboard, but it must be said that I wasn't really paying attention back when the XEGS was being made...

How about the single-ender versions? I've got a loose single-ender Sir Lancelot with a crappy-looking label, not likely worth anything in the shape it's in... and I've got a boxed (not complete) single-ender Tomarc that I paid too much for (didn't buy for rarity, I bought it because I made a 60-mile drive and it was the only thing I found that I didn't already have, and I wanted to get *something* that trip).

OK, I had some trouble earlier, which turned out to be caused by excessive solder, causing cold joints... got some desoldering braid (believe it or not, from the Rat Shack in the mall), removed all the built-up messy globs of solder, and started over... and got it right this time. To anyone doing this mod (the one at http://sog.com/atarimods/1200xl-vm.html ): I was unable to get a decent composite signal from it, and the s-video signal was OK, but had vertical lines in it. After some expert help from people who actually know what they're doing, I found that removing R24 fixed the s-video picture (at the expense of making the composite output not work at all any more). Probably the Supervideo 2.1 or Clearpic 2002 mods are better (or at least provide usable composite output), but I'm happy with what I've got now, and it's probably the simplest one for somebody without much soldering experience or access to lots of parts (I used resistors scavenged from old 1970s telecom boards, and re-used the cap from C116 as the new C62). Well, happy until I want to play a game that uses artifacting (but I have an XEGS I could use for that).