atarian1

Nice editing. You forgot the paste the other part: You will receive: Atari 2600 system Like I said, the description is confusing because it didn't state what it really is - a Sears Telegames System. Why doesn't the seller state it for what it really is? Anyway, it looks like everyone got their money back and all, so no one really lost anything. I hope the seller (and anyone else selling a Sears Telegames System) notes my suggestions in Post #37 to better inform their bidders of what they are really bidding on.

I'm going against the tide here, so... I think the wording and description was confusing. The way it's worded "Atari 2600 - Sears System..." makes it sound like it is an Atari 2600 system. It sounds like you bought this Atari 2600 from Sears, so the buyer may not realize it's a Sears product. Even with the bolded "Sears brand Atari 2600 System", I think it's easy to miss the "Sears brand" part if one doesn't realized that there was such a thing called the Sears Telegames system. The real nail on the head to me though was the list under "You will receive:" It clearly says "Atari 2600 system". Not "Sears Telegames system" which is what you should have stated. That stands out much more than the bolded text above. The way it is read is "You will receive: Atari 2600 system". A newbie could not tell from the picture if it is a Sears or Atari unit, or know the difference. Next time, do the following: The title should say "Sears Telegames System - Atari 2600 compatible console". Replace the "Sears brand Atari 2600" with "Sears Telegames System - Atari 2600 compatible console". Under "You will receive", state what it really is - a "Sears Telegames System". I think eBay ruled correctly here. (for once...) Anybody who knows anything about 2600 consoles can tell that is a Sears model by the woodgrain color. Besides, pop in a 2600 cart and see if works. Guess what? It does! The auction listing was clear and ebay's decision is proof that they are staffed by morons... But not everyone knows everything about 2600 consoles. Just because you are an expert doesn't mean everyone else is. If one is not clear as in this description, there will be confusion...and frustration. Again, it clearly says "You will receive: Atari 2600 system" - NOT a Sears system. Some people are picky about which 2600 they have. Again, just because you don't care doesn't mean others don't care either. Just look around here! Some people want the 6-switch, heavy sixer, junior, etc. Look at label variations. Would you like it if an auction showed a different label variation than what is in the description? I don't think so. However, it's still the same game. When writing an auction description, one should be write it as if an Atari newbie (i.e. the general public) is reading it. In this case, it was confusing because the description switches between "Sears" and "Atari" several times. I can't see how anyone with decent English skills can call this a well written description.

I'm going against the tide here, so... I think the wording and description was confusing. The way it's worded "Atari 2600 - Sears System..." makes it sound like it is an Atari 2600 system. It sounds like you bought this Atari 2600 from Sears, so the buyer may not realize it's a Sears product. Even with the bolded "Sears brand Atari 2600 System", I think it's easy to miss the "Sears brand" part if one doesn't realized that there was such a thing called the Sears Telegames system. The real nail on the head to me though was the list under "You will receive:" It clearly says "Atari 2600 system". Not "Sears Telegames system" which is what you should have stated. That stands out much more than the bolded text above. The way it is read is "You will receive: Atari 2600 system". A newbie could not tell from the picture if it is a Sears or Atari unit, or know the difference. Next time, do the following: The title should say "Sears Telegames System - Atari 2600 compatible console". Replace the "Sears brand Atari 2600" with "Sears Telegames System - Atari 2600 compatible console". Under "You will receive", state what it really is - a "Sears Telegames System". I think eBay ruled correctly here. (for once...)

Just wanted to drop a note for anyone wanting the stay at the Tropicana where CGE is held. I just reserved my room today, so there should still be rooms available. You need to call the 1-888 reservations number with the CGE code in order to book the room at the special rate. As others have said above, the rest of the hotel is booked, but NOT for CGE guests. So, please help CGE pay for the show expenses by staying at the Tropicana. Thanks.

To me, the obvious ones are the: RAM upgrade (the stuff in front) TOS switcher (the left side stuff connected to a switch in back) I don't know what the 9-pin port is connected to. It could be a CGA/EGA/VGA output port? It looks like it since it looks like the wires are connected to the monitor connector pins. The RCA jack is audio out since it's connected to pin 1 of the monitor port which is audio out.

Yep. Any Hayes compatible modem will do. Since modems are so cheap these days, I recommend getting a good name brand modem. I highly recommend Hayes, Supra, and Practical Peripherals.I remember using my Supra 56k modem with my MegaST and Falcon in the last days of BBSing in the late 90s. The modem will drop down in speed if the computer can't handle it. Therefore, my MegaST would max out at 19200 baud, but my Falcon would take advantage of the 57600 baud or faster if it could. Yeah, those were the days.

You need to get a TV/game switchbox first and hook it up to your TV. Then you plug the RCA cable between the 1040ST and the switchbox. You cannot hook up the 1040ST RF output directly into the composite input of your TV.

I don't think it's that expensive compared to other similar devices, right? The Ultrasatan was more expensive at around US$120. I mean, how much were you expecting to pay? $30? Come on, do we have to go through Econ 101 again? You know, small orders=higher prices.

As I said in another thread, I am definitely going!

AtariAge is going to be at CGE?! I am SO there! Albert, you better bring LOTS of homebrews as I'm going to be catching up on my "to buy" list!!

I agree with BuyAtari, Mirage and the seller here on the shipping aspect. I don't think it's rude just asking for additional money for the shipping difference. You could have just ignored her but instead, you started to become a insult-fest with the second paragraph in your original response. This happened to me once. Yes, I DID place the item in the box with styrofoam protection and used the shipping calculator to display the shipping cost in my auction description. I don't know how it happened, but when the auction ended, the shipping came up $2.70 more. I asked the buyer if she could pay the difference, and she did. No big deal. You should have just mentioned the dirty system/non-working carts instead in your negative feedback remarks. That is more appropriate in this case.

Wow. That sounds great! How did you hook it up? Did you build a cable from the RGB monitor port to the VGA port? (ie connect red to red, green to green, horizontal sync to horizontal sync, etc) I don't understand the SCART-VGA cable you are planning to build. Where does that fall in this maze of adapters?

What? Where could you get a 4MB machine in Fall 1987 for under $2500? Nowhere! It was a great deal for those who needed the extra memory such as desktop publishing and music applications.

The above reminds me of people hating T2K because it didn't have texture mapping. FYI, it doesn't need texture mapping. The gourand shading effect is MUCH better. I don't know where you were, but I remember people were amazed at T2K when I was "demonstrating" (ie playing it! ) on the Jag kiosks at the many retailers who had them. T2K the same as a Capcom/Konami game? HAHAHA! You have GOT to be kidding me! How many more run/jump/shoot platform games can we take from those companies? They just produced more shovelware with different graphics and sound. Compared to the other games available at the time, T2K was VERY unique and different. It did have elements of other popular games at the time (power-ups, bonuses, etc) but that's were the similarities end. The excellent updated graphics, frantic fast-paced action and a raving techno soundtrack really set this game apart from other games at the time. That's why many people were attracted to it. Obviously, you weren't, but you're in the minority here...

That is an issue. For games, the OS doesn't matter too much, as most game (all I've seen) are OS independent on the Amiga. But ROM version is an issue, as is hardware platform. Most people get an Amiga 500, which will play 90%+ of the games. I don't know of any games that "require" a higher ROM version, but there are many that require a lower ROM version (1.3 covers most of the games). So, if you want an updated ROM for your OS (which you probably would IF you want to use it for something other than games), you'll want a kickstart switcher. Either hardware or software. Now, the Amiga 1200 includes AGA and there are some games that require that. But the AGA chipset does break a few games. Luckily some smart engineer thought of it. When booting the Amiga 1200, you can hold down both mouse buttons and you get a boot menu screen where you can choose the old (non-AGA) chipset and disable some caching features, select PAL/NTSC, etc... If you combine that with a boot disk that boots the 1.3 ROM, you can run almost every game. But it's a few steps. There's a program called WHDLoad that makes this even easier IF you have some extra memory for your 1200. Basically, you can run the game with any of those settings (including telling it to run that game with the 1.3 ROM) and it runs the game from a HD. My Amiga 1200 doesn't have any extra RAM tho, so I'm not using it. (Actually, you can use it on some games without the extra RAM, I got one to work, but you really need the extra RAM to get that to work.) So, if you want most games, you should get an Amiga 500 with 1.3 ROM. If you want virtually all games, you can get a 1200. And a 1200 with a HD and RAM and WHDLoad will get almost all games much more easily. I can see why this is confusing to people. I have to admit, I was looking into getting an Atari 800 (always liked the look of them), but started reading about some games might need more memory than it can provide. People saying I needed something like the 130XE or XEGS, but would they play all the old games? Slowed me down just enough that something else shiny attracted my eye and I don't have one yet... I'll get back to doing research on that later. But I can see where that whole issue is very confusing for people. I've not looked at it with the ST. I know it has different TOS versions and configs, but I'm not sure how that affects game compatibility. I was given a 520STf, and that's when I found out that some STs didn't support composite/TV out (not an STfm). That was pretty frustrating. It's just sitting in a closet. Yeah, I could get a cable and hook it up to my VGA monitor, but that's hires only, and not most of the games... Oh well.. desiv Wow. More drivel and false information from bored Amiga fanboys. I guess I should not be surprised now. First of all, if you want to run every ST game out there, you get TOS 1.0. If you have a later version of TOS, you can use SELTOS.PRG to load up a TOS 1.0 image file. You can also go the hardware route and get a TOS switcher so that you can have multiple versions of TOS in your machine at a flick of a switch. There are hacks of this on the net.

Yeah, I know. I guess the Amiga fanboys here are tired of their Amigas and have boost their low self-esteem and egos by making up stuff about the ST to entertain themselves. Sad...

Nice change of subject. It's not "crippled" if you actually give it a try, but it's obvious that you won't give it a try.

Very well put JamesD. There's no doubt Atarian is seriously biased towards the ST and that's fine, but not at the expense of constant regurgitating of obvious misinformation. BTW: I recently acquired a 520ST w/ a near worthless 354 single sided disk drive and e-mailed him for some advice on how to proceed with this. Figured since he's "Mr. ST", he'd have a nice starter kit he could sell. Maybe still does and just hasn't gotten around to answering since yesterday, BUT.... damn, I gotta tell you... out of the box, this ST system is hardly resembles a computer at all. You can't do JACK with it as it sits. And I keep hearing people talk about the Amiga 1000 costing so much and being buggy. That's simply BS. At the end of 1986, my used 512kb A1000 (from a legitimate computer reseller with a store) w/ OS 1.1 and 1.2 cost me less than $400. The machine comes with a superior composite output circuit too, so hooking it to a standard TV or monitor at the time was no big deal. RGB was crisper, but I was on a MAJOR budget back then. Ahem, anyway... even the earliest AmigaOS was sooooo much more feature laden than what I'm seeing built into this TOS thing. Seriously, this is only the second time in my life I've ever buggered with an ST, but what am I missing here? Are there some GEM/TOS disks I'm missing? Have you seen the Preferences section of this machine? You can change maybe three aspects of the computer. Literally. I'm still laughing out loud about the 360kb DD. I know why my pleas haven't been answered by anyone yet here... it's cause they DON'T want yet another user to learn that the ST is a shell (pun intended) of a computer comparatively. lol Okay, just kidding here guys - no need to flame. But honestly, what I've got sitting before me (even the 1224's screen is tiny) seems like a total joke of a computer system. I either need to upgrade the OS or it's just gonna sit all boxed up. Can I get a frickin' DS/DD disk drive for this thing under $30?!? I always did like reading the computer mags of the day... comparing the ST, Mac and Amiga. ST was always rated under the Amiga, but was still considered a "good value", until the late 80's when it was clear it was totally dead that is. Again, not sure where Atarian is getting his "facts" about Amiga not picking up steam until the 500. Totally untrue. Amiga was already full steam ahead. The 500 was released as an ST killer and it worked - immediately. Growing up in Chicagoland, I couldn't tell you there were ANY dealers of ST stuff and I was quite computer savvy back then. Only time I ever saw an ST in real life was at an Amiga/PC store. They used a 1040 (I think) as their POS/cash register! (point of sale). Not kidding. I think it had the "hi-res" b/w monitor too. Ironic, but cool I thought that they'd use an ST like that. One thing I like about the ST so far, is how FAST it boots up. Then again, if you stripped AmigaOS down to what I'm seeing here, I'm sure we'd have an apples/apples comparison BTW: the ST ONLY boots fast *IF* there is a disk inside the drive. If you turn on the computer with no disk, the thing takes FOREVER to boot. What's up with that? And why is there a Disk A and Disk B icon for a single sided drive? Weird. So far, as an Amiga guy, my experience in dealing with an ST is much like stepping out of a Cadillac and crawling into a Cavalier. lol BTW: none of this stuff came with manuals, but what would you say boxed examples that are in mint or near mint condition would be worth? 520ST SF354 SC1224 ...by my estimations, I think I'm sitting on about $30-$40 worth of stuff here (yeah, what a crock). Know what a similar Amiga 1000 setup goes for? Try $200-$300. So, this may neither be here nor there, but MOST people when asked what's "better", will look at it strictly from a monetary point of view. I'd still like to do *something* semi productive with an ST though. Would like a little more "hands on" before ditching completely or relegating to the classic computer museum. lol You know why I don't help Amiga fanboys like you? it's because of your attitude. Why should I help you (Amiga fanboy) when everything you say is accompanied by a snide remark about the ST? It's like trying to help out a bully while still putting you down every time you help the idiot. How would you feel? I have seen your Amiga fanboy attitude all along this thread, so why should I waste my time trying to help you if you're just going to put down the ST and us users with your snide remarks every time we try to help? You say you're trying to give the ST a chance by buying one. Bulls**t, you're nothing but a poser. I see your attitude and I know you're not even going to give the ST a chance even if I do help you since I can see your Amiga fanboyism is as thick as mud. Next time you wonder why no one wants to help you in anything, try looking in the mirror for once, and THINK, for once about why people won't help you. Now, I know most Amiga people I have met are not like the ones in this thread, because I can tell you, REAL Amiga enthusiasts are embarrassed to be associated with "fellow" Amiga enthusiasts on this thread. I would be too.

First things first - Get some Double Sided-Double Density (DSDD) floppy disks! Using High Density (DSHD) floppies as DSDD will not work and is unreliable. Here's a source for DSDD floppy disks. Seems reasonably priced. You can find them on ebay too if you want to go that route. What you describe when you are looking at the floppy drive sounds right to me. It's looking for a readable floppy disk, but it can't find anything, so it keeps trying, and trying, and trying, etc. Get some DSDD disks first and them post your results...

What a bunch of bull! People were definitely using the ST to control robots, doing science projects, and even controlled sophisticated (and expensive - $100K+) machinery. Magazine articles were full of these projects. In fact, some enterprising people even turned them into kits and sold them. If the ST is lacking the hardware support to do this, then how is it even possible they were even made? They were sold and advertised in the magazines all the time. Looking at your fanboyism, I'm going to guess that your response to this post will be "They're all lies!" like other anti-ST fanboys (ie [email protected]#$%^&*@6). This post clearly shows you don't know squat about the ST.

I'm a bit confused about this... I mean, my Mega ST boots off a 4 gig SCSI drive. My STacy boots off a 2 gig SD card... I'm not sure what you are trying to say here. Clarify? Thanks! BTW, hadn't seen it mentioned - can the 8bits use CDROMs? I mean as in burn them, make audio CD's all that stuff. Thanks again. I wrote what's my point in the paragraph you haven't quoted. In the part quoted I even explain what I mean by "autobootable", but still you seem to have confused it with "bootable". I admit that this might have been obscure, so: bootable = booted by routines predefined in the OS, autobootable = booted by own routines, added externally to the OS at power-up via some sort of predefined expansion mechanism. You may also want to know that I myself owned a Falcon030 for about 14 years and coded something on it in assembly and C, so I basically know, how the ST system works (even internally). Ok, to clarify (separate points for convenience and clarity): 1. The point is better universality of the XL/XE expansion bus over ST DMA Port. 2. ST boots off a harddisk? Sure, because BIOS contains predefined routines to boot off a harddisk (XL/XE doesn't, yet it boots off a harddisk!). 3. But, can you use the DMA port to connect to the ST an automatically initializing (= autobooting) device, for which the ST BIOS does not contain predefined routines? An IDE drive, for example? Not unless your controller is a separate computer which emulates SCSI commands which BIOS issues to the DMA port. More generally: the external device must conform to the behaviour expected by the BIOS, and you can't modify the BIOS' behaviour without modifying the TOS ROMs. At the other hand, on XL/XE this is not an issue, because it is the device itself which defines routines to handle itself, and the XL/XE "BIOS" works at the abstraction level that makes it (the "BIOS") hardware-independent. You can connect anything without a need to emulate anything. 4. Another example: can you attach a graphics card via the port and hope that the BIOS will initialize it so that you don't need to load a driver from the AUTO? So that you wouldn't wait looking at blank screen until the driver loads? I guess you can't. There is no mechanism on the ST that would allow you to attach plug-and-play cards without hacks (like these on the cart port). Yet on XL/XE it is possible to initialize an external device so that it becomes a part of the system BEFORE it goes to boot disks, or even to open the screen console. Conclusion (not to be taken separately from the rest of the post): XL/XE is a more open architecture than ST, both hardware-wise (connectors) and, even more, software-wise (plug-and-play mechanism, known as Parallel Bus Interface, absent in ST). So in this point XL/XE seems better than ST, eventhough it is older and therefore inferior in gfx and processing power. Yes, it is possible to connect an IDE drive to the DMA port without modifying TOS. Just make sure the hard disk driver supports it (available free or commercially available. The Supercharger allowed an external graphics card plugged into it which connected to the DMA port.

I would like a copy. Thanks.

No problem. You're only just correcting some misinformation. It's just too bad that MEtalGuy66's insecurity and immaturity continues to turn these once moderate threads into insulting, name-calling quagmires such as Post #128 in this thread. - "A bald or gray haired old man" (I'm not)

I got an Atari 800 as my first computer and enjoyed it until I got my MegaST. I prefer the ST over the 8-bit mainly because I love music too. I got tired of listening to computer music with only 4 (or 3 in the ST's case) voices, simple square wave type sounds and scratchy samples. MIDI allowed me to go beyond that limitation and the ST had the best MIDI software that I tried. It also got me through high school, college (including senior thesis), and helped get me jobs by making sharp copies of resumes and cover letters. I did some gaming too, but not as much as I stopped pirating software when I bought the ST after seeing how stealing destroyed the 8-bit market. I learned my lesson. I could not buy all the games that I wanted so I had to be picky. I still play games on both systems and both have different style of games too, so it's a tough choice for me to choose one over the other in terms of games. Basically, the ST could do everything and was my main machine for 10 years. How many people can stick with one machine for 10 years? 1987-1997. I actually got a Falcon in 1995, but I left it at home, so I would have a machine at home (I lived at school on weekdays, but came home on weekends). Also, I loved the ST case. Dove gray with matching parallelogram vent ports and function keys. Classy!

First, please keep your very immature comments to yourself. Second, I don't think so. The original can't be matched, and it would be unfair to compare the two considering the different hardware in the 2 computer lines. However, I got to say, the programmers did a pretty darn good job on the XL/XE version too. Nice!