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Hello, Recently mentionned by @DarkLord in several topics, I have recreated the PCB of a serial port upgrade named RSVE. https://github.com/sporniket/atari-st-mod-serial-port-upgrade-rsve The gerbers and schematics are available in the release : https://github.com/sporniket/atari-st-mod-serial-port-upgrade-rsve/releases/tag/v1.0.0 The latest pages of the original thread at exxosforum shows the various attempts to convince BBS Express to works with the accelerated port. The github repository also contains the original archive that include the JED file and its source, to program the GAL16V8. (I also have reformated the original documentation to be nicely viewable on github) : https://github.com/sporniket/atari-st-mod-serial-port-upgrade-rsve/tree/main/reference/rsve

I purchased the Ultimate 1MB Upgrade recently and have been having a lot of fun with it. One thing I really wanted to do was take advantage of all that extra memory. I had written some programs that copied sectors from one disk to another and because of Atari's limited memory, they had to make several passes in order to copy an entire disk. So I went back and rewrote my sector copiers, allowing them to use bank switched memory to do the copy. Now when they run, they suck an entire single or double density into memory before beginning to write out the copy. It only takes one pass. It is so cool to watch it run. Both programs will automatically detect the density of the drives. Both programs will now also automatically detect and copy an Atari 2.5 disk. SECTCOPY will copy all 1040 sectors. SECTVTOC will copy only used sectors. It is no longer necessary to insert a double density drive in drive 1 before you load the sector copy programs. You can now boot from a single density drive with Sector Copy on it and run it. Then insert a double density source drive and press START. The program will detect the density of the source disk and copy it correctly. Both programs will also automatically detect how much memory you have in your Atari. If you 320 Rambo, 576 CompyShop or a full 1 MB of RAM, the programs will detect and use it. If you have STOCK memory installed, it will also be detected. IMPORTANT: These programs were written for the Ultimate 1 MB upgrade. Atari 130XE machines also have extended memory but these programs should not be used on an Atari 130XE. The memory on these machines is handled differently. Have fun! I've attached an ATR with the programs. They are: SECTCOPY - This will copy all 720 sectors from one disk to another. SECTVTOC - This will examine the VTOC and only copy used sectors from one disk to another. I hope someone has some fun with these. SC130XE.atr Sectcopy.atr

About 2016 Forum user named "Byte Knight" was upgrading colecovisin Flashback unite to what he called The Ultimate" Is there anyone out there who knows if this person is still doing this and knows hoe to get in touch with him. This information would be greatly appreciated.

I recently got a beige non-QI TI-99/4a system with a speech synth and several cartridges, including Extended BASIC and Editor Assembler. The joysticks I have are worn out and don't work. I was able to revive the Mitsumi mylar keyboard. I don't have a PEB or memory expansion or disk drive. I'd like to do some BASIC and assembler coding on the system, as well as play some games. What should I be looking for? Stuff I'm considering to do or purchase... - Cassette cable and recorder - Atari joystick adapter interface - Is there a preferred model? Most that I see don't have any kind of case on them. - Memory expansion - What is the go to for adding more memory to this system? - Disk drive, or disk drive emulator - I have a Gotek drive in my Amiga. My Coco has an SDC cartridge. My Atari connects to my Windows PC to retrieve files. How can I emulate a disk drive on the TI-99/4a? - I'm currently connected to a TV using a component video cable. Are there any video upgrades for the TI-99/4a to use VGA, component or HDMI? - I have an MX-80 parallel printer. Can I connect this to the TI-99/4a? Is it worth the hassle? - Is there an assembler/editor that works on a TI system without a disk drive? How about without the 32K expansion? I've done some searching online, and checked out some of the online vendors and eBay. Most of the info I find is outdated and I'm not sure which of the upgrades are good for a system today. Any and all info is appreciated!

Both of the CX24 Proline joysticks that came with my 7800 years ago started showing signs of failure a few months back. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I ended up with two sticks that were in varying degrees of being on their last legs. Some quick testing with the multimeter later, it was apparent that the joystick wiring was fine, but the PCBs had gone the way of all flesh. Anyway, I ordered a pair of CB103154 CX24 upgraded PCB replacement sets from Best Electronics. They arrived today and I installed them this evening; the following are notes from the installation, otherwise known as 'lessons I learned from doing this the hard way on the first joystick'. Tools: Philips screwdriver, long tweezers, Vise-Grips. Pretty much all of the work is going to be done inside the upper half of the casing. Remove the lower screw on the back of the joystick first, then the upper. Be sure to hold the case together as you do this. Separate the case halves carefully so that the fire buttons don't go springing off into never-never land. RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO IMMEDIATELY REMOVE THE PCBs AFTER CRACKING THE CASE OPEN. NO NO NO NO NO DON'T DO IT BAD BAD BAD. Now go ahead and replace the fire button PCBs one at a time to avoid confusing which one is the left button and which one is the right button. Don't pull the joystick PCB out completely to remove the wiring; do it with the PCB in-situ. This helps with avoiding the really fun time you'll have later with recreating the braid they were twisted into to route them correctly if you should happen to untwist it, and also leaves the terminals routed to where they need to be anyway. Separating the joystick from the shaft: grab the ball end of the shaft with a pair of Vise-Grips, doing your best to not crush it. Twist the Vise-Grips and joystick knob back and forth in opposite directions until you feel the joystick start to free up from the shaft and begin to twist easily. Now pull them apart, putting the pulling force on the joystick knob, not the Vise-Grips. Pride yourself on avoiding making double entendres involving all of the equipment (fnarr!) mentioned in the previous step. Swap out the joystick PCB. Reinstall the joystick, but don't put the knob back on yet. Making sure that you're not pinching any wiring (the long tweezers come in handy here), reassemble the two halves of the casing. The fire buttons can be fiddly to keep in place during this process. Go play with your rejuvenated stick to make sure it works properly. If it does, you can put the knob back: just slide it over the shaft until it feels like it won't go any further, then give it a good press straight down through the shaft. You'll know for sure when it's in there all the way, and it'll be ready for hours and hours of fun.

As anyone who has an Atari 600XL knows it only came with 16k. Good enough to run game cartridges but nothing else. Atari's solution was this little device that attached to the BUS adapter on the back. the Atari 1064. These are rather impossible to get a hold of these days (in fact I had a hard time just finding a picture) so the current procedure to up the memory is adding the memory internally. There are several ways of doing this, lotharek.pl/ has a nifty little chip that just installs under the 6502. Easy and not all that expensive (except the shipping). Another way which is harder is to install the 64k chips and slightly modify the motherboard. No easy here. Bending up pins off chips and soldering wires to them. The pathway of the true geek (who doesn't have much money as this cost only $7.00 shipped). Legal: I am not a professional but have had years of experience with computers. Still, use these instructions at your own peril. I assume no responsibility. STEP 1.) Put on a stax of wax (or MP3 player) with your favorite music. Mine is Episodes 1-6 of Star Wars by John Williams. I made it to Episode 3 before I had finished. Step 2.) Everything else. My tools; screwdriver, needle nose pliers, chip puller, small wire cutters, wire stripper, helping hand and solder station. My pile of notes and pictures: Now the Atari 600XL has 4 bolts holding the back cover along the edges. unscrew these and gentle remove the top since the top is attached to the motherboard via the, very delicate, keyboard cable. If you still have the metal shielding over the motherboard remove it via the bolts along the edge. I had previously removed mine and stored it. I, personally, find no reason to have it on the motherboard but it's up to you if you want to return the shield after the installation. Now disconnect the keyboard ribbon cable. The keyboard cable is attached to an edge card that is slotted into the motherboard. GENTLY rock the edge card out of the socket pulling on the edge card NOT THE RIBBON till the edge card comes loose. On to the main attraction, the motherboard and the chips. First is to remove the 2 x 16k chips and replace with the 2 new 64k chips. Chip location is U12 and U11. The location is noted on my note of the chip locations. NOTE: use a chip puller to keep from damaging the chips or the socket in removal. Here is a picture of one of the 16k chips is still in the clutches of the puller. Below is my map of the motherboard. I have marked the location of the chips on the map. See where the RAM chips are that need to be replaced. And another note: I got lucky in that all my chips were socket-ed. Yours may not in which case you will have to de-solder each chip. Unless you are a pro I would go with lotharek.pl/ solution (mentioned above) which is much easier. Desoldering a chip, unless you know what you are doing, always runs the risk of frying it. Now you can test the 600XL. The memory will still show as 16k (if you hook up the keyboard which I didn't) as you haven't setup the matrix yet. But you will be able to see if maybe you have a bad chip before you go further. Now comes the time that tries men's souls, pulling the support chips and soldering wires on the legs. The below map shows the location of the chips to pull and the wires to solder. I started with pulling up U5. This chip you bend up pin 3 (see mark) and solder on a wire to it. First thing is to prepare the wire by brazing the end and putting the shrink wrap on. below picture. This and next picture you see where I bent up pin 3 that I had pre-marked on the chip before pulling the chip. I pre-marked the pins on all the chips before I pulled them so that I would have no confusion of which pin is which compared to the picture. Also note the slight kink bend I put in the chip leg. this is to ensure the leg, which is much too long, doesn't accidentally touch the other chip when installed. I also cleaned the leg with alcohol to be sure to get a good solder. This is after I soldered on the wire and wrapped the leg in shrink wrap. When soldering the leg be sure to work as fast as possible. Too much heat on the chip can fry it. If you have a problem soldering on the wire take a break and let the chip cool before you try again. Oh, I forgot to take a picture of this but I held the chip with in the jaws of the helping hand to steady the solder. Next, carefully, reinsert the chip back into the socket. be sure all pins are in the slot except the one that is bent with the wire attached. Here is U5 and U6 both done. On U6 you bend up pin 10 and attach the wire just like the previous one. Now solder the two wires to the motherboard. U5 goes to the leftmost-C location (see above map) and U6 goes to the rightmost-J location. I just put a dot of solder on the spots then soldered on the wires into that dot. be careful NOT to let the solder bleed over into the other solder point or on one the traces on the board. on to the next and final chip mod modding the chip U16 pin8 (above picture. finished product, yes getting ahead of myself but picture of step went bad). Same as the other two, bend out straight. I this case no need for kink. Now the wire from U16 goes to resistor R36. Clip or un-solder the one end of the resistor. This is the end you solder/attach to the wire from U16. I clipped the resistor in the the below picture then bent it straight and soldered the wire to it (again see above picture of finished process). This is a picture of the resistor that U16 is being soldered to. Now it's ready to close up and test. Attach the keyboard back by putting the slotted connector back into it's slot, gently. Close up the 600XL and screw back in the 4 screws. Attach a power a sully and monitor cable and run ?FRE(0) which should now show 37902 and run the built in memory self test. You are all done. Rejoice and be glad as your 600XL now has as much memory as it's snotty big brother the 800XL. That is, if you didn't screw anything up.

SuperBlitz with throttle control This enhanced military sim now let's you control the illusion! Featuring an improved Martial soundtrack, lighting strikes and Anti Aircraft missile systems. SuperBlitz is a rewrite of my 80's SuperBlitz port of Blitz that was sold on Disk and Tape and later a magazine type-in, the full history is in this thread: 10 Line Blitz is a new Atari game for the SuperCharger with many enhancements over 9 Line Blitz! ? Features: Algorithmic Music Composition - Changing musical scores and sound Fx, interactive and computer generated during gameplay. Ramping Difficulty - Game starts out easier to play than 9 line Blitz Optical Illusion - Optical illusion effect which vanishes as difficulty ramps! Advanced Play - BW switch Read hardware recommended and a classic Television, if using an emulator make sure to turn off phosphor effects and merge frames! BASIC just like you remember it back in the day! - This game was written in vintage BASIC using 10 lines of 120 characters or less: 0 data city 5,9,6,9,7,6,7,5,9,5,5,5,5,6,6,7,5,8,5,8,7,5,8,8,5,5,6,6,7,5,7,8,9,8,8,7,8,9,5,6,8,5,9,6,6,7,5,7,5,5,8,5 1 if g=0 then for j=0 to 9:player1(j)=189:player0(j)=pl(j):rowcolors(j)=178:next j else goto3:data pl 0,224,127,231,252 2 for j=20 to 71:k=j-20:k=city(k):for i=k to 9:vwpixel(j,i,on):next i,j:player0y=96:player0x=84:y=11:g=1:COLUP1=99 3 if f<player0y/52 and SWCHB|247=255 then f=f+1:goto 9 else AUDC1=7:AUDF1=BITIndex/5:AUDV1=BITIndex:f=0:rem Theme Music 4 COLUBK=0:AUDV0=0:scrollvirtualworldtoggle=1:BITIndex=BITIndex+1:missile0x=missile0x+2:data P 192,128,0 5 if joy0fire=1 and y>8 then AUDF0=12:AUDC0=9:SUSTAINFORFRAMES=15:x=BITIndex+9:i=96-player0y:i=i/10:y=1+i:remPlayahTune 6 if y<10 then vwpixel(x,y,bindplayer1):COLUP1=M(y):y=y+1:data M 99,84,180,164,50,68,196,148,244,84,36,9:rem Do Rainbow 7 if y<10 and vwpixel(x,y,poll)>0 then vwpixel(x,y,flip):player1x=0:player1y=0:AUDC0=y:y=21:AUDF0=4:AUDV0=15:rem Hit! 8 if BITIndex>71 then BITIndex=0:player0y=player0y-2 else missile1x=missile1x+1:missile1y=missile1y+3:rem 10LINEBLITZ 9 if CXP0FB>126 or player0y=0 then CXCLR=0:g=0:for i=0 to255:AUDF0=i:AUDV0=i:COLUBK=$34:next else missile0y=missile0y+2 The BASIC compiler for the SuperCharger is available free on my site here Have Fun! EDIT New version: 10LINEBLITZ II Waves and Mission What's new? rem --- 10LINEBLITZ II - Waves and Missions rem --- Insignia on your Plane is revealed after you complete your Night Mission! rem --- Multiple Waves over differently colored Sky's and Cities rem --- More optical illusions: Some color combinations create unreal artifacting such as textured bricks - complete several rounds and describe what you encounter! rem --- note: Classic hardware and a CRT required to experience artifacting textures and additional illusions rem --- unique features rem --- Each Wave achieved keeps it's colors in Attract mode rem --- Unlimited continues to complete the Missions until powering off SuperBlitz Throttle Control: SUPERBLITZ.bin 10LINEBLITZII (code in post 7) 10LINEBLITZII.bin Original version of 10LINEBLITZ: 10LINEBLITZ.bin

Here's the link to Lotharek's website hawking a limited production of Incognito boards.: https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=275 The boards are going for about 90 bucks American and worth every cent. I just bought two and it hurts to spend the money, but I gotta have em'. Hope this doesn't step on the folks who are getting my 512k ram board, but since mine is practically free I figure you'll want em. Best, ** TNM **

I picked up an 800XL in fantastic condition and added an Antonia CPU/RAM upgrade. Sold it to a friend of mine, and then ended up getting it back :-) It has pretty fuzzy video though. According to this post: https://atariage.com/forums/topic/198754-current-best-s-video-picture-improvement-mod-for-800xl/ I'm going to I'm skipping step 2, as no banding is present; it's just REALLY fuzzy and currently s-video outputs black and white only. My soldering skill are improving, and I've a shiny new solder station arriving on my day off. I guess I could easily do this with just schematics, but ... It would be greatly appreciated if someone has pics of these simple finished steps (I like pictorial verification, because I'm pretty new at this stuff still). Any other advice on what to do while I'm in there? Besides the Antonia, all my other work has been on XE models. I put a UAV in my 130XE and if this doesn't work out, I'll probably buy another for the 800XL. Thanks, Thomas

I've seen some topics on upgrading the RAM in a 600XL, and by that, I'm assuming it turns the computer into an 800XL. Since I am using my 600XL for gaming, is there any point in doing so? Will games run faster / better on an 800XL than they would on a 600XL?

BEWARE: I have not tested this but, it is so simple and I can see no reason for it not to work. If you have already installed this 32K console SRAM mod, then it won't take much more work to fully populate the RAM space at >8000 to >83FF. That would give you 1024 bytes instead of just 256. It seems to me that disconnecting the CS* from the 6810s and moving that signal over to pin 4 of U504 C2 (first remove the +5VDC from it) should be all that is necessary. I see two possibilities for doing this. I think this might be the easier of the two but, you may find other possibilities that I didn't consider. The signal could be removed from the 6810s by cutting the trace coming from pin 8 of U507. Run a jumper from pin 8 of U507 to pin 4 of U504 C2. Do not forget to remove the 5VDC from pin 4 prior to connecting this jumper, though. Cutting this trace at this point cuts off the connection to U606, pin 12. In all likelihood, you would want to reestablish the connection from U507, pin 8 to pin 12 of U606. This would be required, if you have the defeat switch installed, so the Scratch Pad memory would still be fast memory when the switch is in bypass mode. The 2nd solution I came up with was to pull or cut the CS* pin on BOTH 6810s. Then run a jumper from the hole that is left under pin 11 to U504 C2-4 (again, remove the 5VDC from it first). This doesn't break the connection to pin 12, U606, so nothing more should have to be done. Alternatively, you could remove both 6810s from the board since they will not be used anymore. I intend to leave them in, possibly to be used as a small buffer for another idea with which I have been toying. I made up schematics for what I call the Clulow-Guion 32K upgrade, and I am attaching them to this post. They are intended as an addendum to "Hardware Manual for the Texas Instruments 99/4A Home Computer" by Michael L. Bunyard. The largest difference between the CG32K and the BC32K is the CG32K can be switched back and forth between 0 wait states and the normal 4 wait states using a toggle switch. I don't think you can hot swap it, though I can't offer first hand test results. Even though I am going to use this as a basis for the 1st stage of my own design, I do not intend to use a toggle switch to bypass the zero wait state in mine, so chances are that I never will test a hot swap of this particular mod. I want to be able to hot swap mine via software, and perhaps a mechanical push button. Instructions for the three current Ballmann-based mods are found here: http://www.mainbyte.com/ti99/16bit32k/32kconsole.html Please let me know if you think I'm in error with the schematics or the modification I've suggested. If you try it and it works, please let me know. If it doesn't work... well, that's your fault for trusting me. Clulow-Guion_32K.upgrade.tar.gz

So I've got myself a new, or to me at least, Atari 800XL PAL (Manf. Taiwan) version that seems pretty much untouched. I've just built an SIO2PI, and SIO2Arduino to start getting software on to it but with regards to memory and video upgrades I'm a bit lost with all of the options mentioned in the forums. Firstly with the video. I've got an s-video to VGA converter which I want to use, and I've seen a lot of recommendations to go the way of UAV but as I understand Bryan's got a lot going on these days and won't be producing more boards until next year at the earliest. I took a quick look at the s-video modifications thread which started in 2009 but it's really hard to figure out what the latest suggestions/methods are in this thread with a number of changes made in the last few years. Unfortunately Sophia is out of price range for me at the moment, especially with shipping and import taxes where I'm located. What are the options for improving the video signal these days? Homebrew/DIY preferred over trying to get boards into the country. Secondly, I'd like to upgrade the memory a little. Again, U1MB seems to be the go for solution these days but though the board is only $80 I'm looking at another $100 on shipping and customs fees. Looking at the stuff I want to do, 256K would be sufficient but I've no idea if there's any highly compatible, reasonably straight forward upgrades currently available, or again homebrew/DIY. Soldering is not an issue so not necessarily needing plug-in solutions. Anyway, great to be accepted into the community; the last one I was part of was the FaST club in the UK back in the 90's but feel more at home with my 800XL on my desk. Any help or advice on getting started also gladly accepted.

Hey there guys and gals. When I took an interest in getting a Retro-Bit Power Stick for my NES last month I did some searching around for reviews of it online, but all I could find were YouTube video reviews done by popular YouTubers who were sent the controller by Retro-Bit for review. Unfortunately none of the people doing the reviews were very knowledgable about what makes a good arcade stick and I got the distinct impression that they didn't spend more than 10 minutes or so using the controller before doing their review. With that in mind, I'd like to provide an honest and unpaid review of this controller so that others who might be interested in purchasing one will have a good idea of what to expect from it. After the review there will be a detailed upgrade guide for installing real arcade parts in the controller and some final thoughts on the upgraded controller as well. Let's get started! The Review Aesthetically speaking Retro-Bit did an outstanding job on their Power Stick. The casing looks just like the original NES Advantage arcade stick that it's design was based off of, minus the turbo fire and slow motion buttons that is. The gray color of the housing matches the gray of official NES controllers flawlessly, as does the red color of the buttons and text and the black color of the joystick and borders around the buttons. The whole thing just looks great, and the housing feels very solid as well. At 6 feet in length the controller's cord is a little shorter than the original NES controller cord, which was around 8 feet, but it gets the job done and the plug on the end of the cord fits quite securely in the NES's controller port. When you pick it up though is when this controller starts to leave a bit to be desired. The first thing that those familiar with the original NES Advantage will notice is that the Retro-Bit Power Stick is very light weight, and it doesn't take long to figure out why. The original NES Advantage had a solid steel plate for the bottom panel, whereas the plate on the bottom of the Retro-Bit Power Stick is just a sheet of plastic. Fortunately the rubber feet on the bottom of the controller work extremely well, much better than the rubber feet on the original NES Advantage actually, so the controller will not slide around on a table during use. When sitting in your lap it does feel rather light, but on any flat surface it's rock solid. Moving on to the joystick and buttons, that's where the main issues with this controller reside. The joystick is a clone of the highly regarded Sanwa JLF microswitched arcade joystick, but unfortunately it's not one of the better clones. The joystick that comes installed in the Retro-Bit Power Stick feels quite stiff and will likely give the user some wrist cramps after 10 or 15 minutes of pushing it around. It comes with a square gate installed in the restrictor plate, which isn't very ideal for playing Pac-Man and similar games that rely primarily on the cardinal directions (up, down, left, & right) but it gets the job done for most games. The buttons, which are generic 30mm microswitched buttons, fare a bit better. They do require quite a bit more force to press down and activate than premium arcade buttons like Sanwa and Seimitsu but they're not bad either, at least for the first few days. After a week or so of use the buttons began to get stuck down from time to time and the joystick wasn't always responding to inputs, but I can't say I'm terribly surprised. Those familiar with real arcade components will be able to tell after just a few seconds of use that they joystick and buttons are just cheap imitations of real Sanwa and Seimitsu arcade parts, but that's actually not problem for me since this joystick was designed to be upgradable with real arcade parts and I purchased it with the intent to do just that. So, let's get to the upgrading! Upgrade Process For this upgrade I'll be going through the installation of a Sanwa JLF-TP-8Y-SK arcade joystick with an octagon gate and two Seimitsu PS-14-G arcade pushbuttons, though any 30mm size snap-in arcade button should work just as well. I'll also be swapping out the original joystick balltop for a slightly more nicely cast Sanwa brand balltop, though that step is completely optional and the original balltop is just fine if you don't mind the casting lines on it. To get this upgrade started the first thing we need to do is remove the 6 screws from the plastic plate on the underside of the joystick, so get a small phillips head screwdriver ready. Unfortunately only 1 screw is visible when you flip the controller over. To find the others you'll have to poke through the white quality control sticker and peel off the 4 rubber feet. Don't worry though, those feet have some seriously sticky glue on them and will stick back on very securely once we're done. With the rubber feet and screws removed, we can set them aside and take a peek inside the little beast. Now that we have the controller opened up you'll find it's a lot simpler inside than you may have imagined. Just one PCB, a couple snap-in style buttons with quick-disconnect leads running to them, and a Sanwa JLF clone joystick with one simple connector attaching it to the PCB. You can also see what I meant when I said that the joystick had a square gate in the restrictor plate by taking a look at the square cutout in the plate around the base of the joystick shaft. This square shaped gate makes it easy to reliably move the joystick in the diagonal directions, but not so easy to move the joystick up, down, left, or right precisely. That said, let's start by replacing the joystick. First, insert a flathead screwdriver into the screw on the bottom of the joystick shaft to keep it in place while unscrewing the ball from the top of the joystick. With the balltop now removed, to take the joystick itself out simply pull the connector off the left side and unscrew the two screws securing the joystick to the housing. Now we can take a look at stock joystick compared to a real Sanwa JLF joystick. You'll notice that they're very similar in design, however the stock joystick has a different plastic shaft cover with no dustwasher, and the stock joystick has a slightly taller shaft as well. If you're fond of the taller joystick shaft and it's proprietary shaft cover it's easy enough to remove the joystick shaft from the stock stick and install it in the Sanwa JLF stick, but I prefer the lower profile of the Sanwa joystick (which is much closer in size to the original NES Advantage joystick) so we'll be sticking with the regular Sanwa JLF parts for this upgrade. Before we install the Sanwa JLF joystick though we should take a minute to swap out the JLF's default square gate for an octagon shaped gate that will be much better suited to playing classic NES games with. To do this just flip over the JLF joystick and press the 4 circled tabs inward to pop the restrictor plate off. With the restrictor plate removed now it's time to take the square gate insert out of the middle of the plate, which can be done by gently pressing upward on the insert from the underside of the plate while turing the two tabs on top counterclockwise. To install the octagon gate insert in the restrictor plate just reverse the process, sliding the octagon gate insert into the top of the restrictor plate and pushing down gently while turing the gate clockwise until it clicks in place. With the gate insert swap completed, snap the restrictor plate back on the bottom of the JLF joystick and we can move on to installing the completed joystick in the controller. Now that we have an octagon shaped gate on our joystick it will make it much easier to precisely move the joystick in all 8 directions, since there is now a cutout for the joystick's shaft to come to rest in for every direction rather than just the 4 diagonal directions. To complete the joystick installation just place the Sanwa JLF's plastic shaft cover and dustwasher over the metal shaft on top of joystick then insert the joystick assembly into the controller's housing the same way you removed the original joystick, placing it over the two screw posts in the housing then reconnecting the joystick cable from the PCB and securing the joystick to the housing with the two screws. Once that's done just screw the original balltop (or a custom one of your choosing) onto the top of the joystick's shaft and tighten it down via the flathead screw on the bottom of the joystick shaft, then you're done with the joystick installation. The last thing on our upgrade to-do list is swapping out the stock buttons for a couple real arcade 30mm snap-in buttons, so start by removing the 4 quick-disconnect connectors from the terminals on the bottom of the buttons. Don't worry about which terminal the black and red connectors were attached to, there's no polarity on these type of buttons so it doesn't matter which terminal the black or red wire is connected to. Next, squeeze the tabs on the sides of the buttons to pop them out through the top of the housing. Now that we've got the original buttons out, let's install the new Seimitsu PS-14-G buttons on the left. Just slide in the new buttons from the top the same way you removed the original buttons and... hey! What the heck!? They don't fit! They're standard 30mm snap-in style arcade buttons so there's no reason they shouldn't fit, but there's no way they're going to fit. The holes are about 1.5mm too small to fit the buttons and no amount of force will get them in there. What did the instruction manual say about upgrading the buttons again? Easily replace the joystick and buttons huh? Well, there's no way these new buttons are going to fit so let's e-mail Retro-Bit and see what they have to say about the matter. To their credit, it only took the representative from Retro-Bit a couple hours to reply to my question. Alright, so they want you to use Sanwa brand buttons and some sanding may be required to get a perfect fit. For the time being I put the original buttons back in the controller's housing then placed an order for a couple Sanwa OBSF 30mm Snap-In Buttons from my preferred arcade parts supplier FocusAttack.com, and about 4 days later they arrived in the mail. Alright, lets try this again... Nope, Sanwa buttons don't fit either. Alright, I guess it's time to do some sanding! For this I'll be using a couple small metal hobby files though sandpaper would work just fine as well if you don't have any hobby files, it'll just be a little slower. I decided to start with the B button hole, slowly and carefully filing away material from the inner rim of the hole. File off a little material, test the button to see if it fits, file a little more, test fit again, and so on. You can always take more off but it's a son of a gun to put it back on if you take too much off. After 3 or 4 minutes of filing and testing... Success! Out of curiosity I decided to try the the Seimitsu buttons that I had originally purchased for this controller as well, and sure enough they fit too now... ...though I think I like the color and shape of the new Sanwa buttons a little better so I'll be sticking with them for this controller project. To give you an idea of how much material I had to remove to make the buttons fit, here's a view of the button holes from the top and the bottom. The B button hole has been filed out at this point but the A button has not. Keep in mind that the B button hole is on the left when viewed from the top but on the right when viewed from the bottom. With the B button hole widened just enough to accommodate a 30mm snap-in arcade button, both the Sanwa and Seimitsu buttons snap in rock solid secure with no wobble or side to side movement at all. And don't worry if the filing work doesn't look perfectly even, the rims on the top of the buttons will cover up any imperfections along the edges of the button holes. As long as the new buttons fit securely that's what matters. That said, I did a little filing on the A button hole as well and would you look at that! Alright, now that the new buttons are snapped in securely just connect the quick-disconnect connectors from the controller's PCB to the terminals on the bottom of the buttons, once again remembering that it doesn't matter which terminal the red or black wire connects to since there's no polarity to worry about here. Now the final step is just putting the big plastic plate back on the bottom of the controller, but I quickly discovered that this controller's button problems weren't over just yet! As it turns out, both the Sanwa and Seimitsu 30mm arcade buttons are a little too tall to close up the controller with the plate on the bottom once they're installed. Fortunately, there's a fairly simple solution to this... By carefully bending the terminals on the bottom of the buttons down towards the front of the joystick at about a 30° angle you can reduce the height of the buttons enough to close up the controller without any problems. Alternately, if you'd rather not mess with trying to bend the terminals on the buttons for fear of breaking them there are low profile arcade buttons such as the Seimitsu PS-15 buttons that are short enough to fit in the Retro-Bit Power Stick's housing without having to bend the terminals on the bottom, I just didn't have any on hand and didn't feel like ordering yet another set of buttons for this controller so I went the bendy route. With that, just put the plate back on the bottom of the controller, screw the 6 screws back down, stick the rubber feet back on (and they should still be plenty sticky enough to stay in place, mine were even after removing and re-installing them 4 times over the course of this project) and you're finally done! Final Thoughts So, after all that work what do I think of the Retro-Bit NES Power Stick? In short, it's the best darn NES arcade stick I've ever had the pleasure of using and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone willing to get their hand dirty doing the modding work. For a very affordable $52 ($25 for the Retro-Bit Power Stick and $27 for the Sanwa JLF Joystick, octagon gate, and Sanwa OBSF 30mm buttons) you get a controller that is leaps and bounds ahead of the original NES Advantage arcade stick in terms of parts quality and precision control. That's crazy affordable for an arcade stick with real arcade parts in it, as all my other arcade sticks with real arcade parts in them set me back a bare minimum of $150 to $200, and there's just no comparison between how well this upgraded Retro-Bit Power Stick controls and the original NES Advantage. The counterpoint to all this praise is that in it's stock form the Retro-Bit Power Stick is actually a fair bit worse than the original NES Advantage in the control department, so if you're not comfortable with doing the modding work on it then I'd suggest spending $25 or $30 and investing in a used NES Advantage instead. With the modding work to install real arcade parts done the Retro-Bit Power Stick is an absolute beast of a controller and likely the best option there is for a readily available NES arcade stick, but without the real arcade parts it leaves a lot to be desired. Lastly, if there was any feedback I could give to the designers at Retro-Bit for improving the Power Stick it would be to swap out the plastic plate on the bottom of the controller for a steel plate like the original NES Advantage had to give the controller some extra weight and enlarge the button holes just a tiny bit so that real 30mm arcade buttons fit without having to file or sand out the button holes. Other than that I think it's a wonderful project for NES enthusiasts who don't mind doing a little modding and I would love to see a 6-button Sega Genesis Power Stick produced some day. As it currently stands there are no Sega Genesis arcade sticks available that can be easily modified with real arcade parts, and there are certainly plenty of games on the system that could benefit from such a controller. Having now completed the modding work I'm really thrilled with my Retro-Bit Power Stick and I may very well save up to buy and mod a second one at some point, because I can't think of a better way to enjoy Smash T.V. on the NES than with two of these beauties. Until then, best wishes and happy gaming to you and yours.

I added an article to BallyAlley.com called A Power Transformer Substitution for the Bally/Astrocade Computer System by Michael Matte (MCM Design). Michael wrote this article in April of 2018. If your original Bally power supply fails, and you have experience in electronics, then these detailed instructions with schematics and picture explain how to build a substitute power transformer. You can read the article in various formats, here: http://www.ballyalley.com/faqs/faqs.html#AstrocadePowerTransformerSubstitution Here is an example of the finished power supply (more pictures are included in the article): Thanks to Michael for writing this article. Enjoy! Adam

Select all the different memory configurations for machines you own (multiple selections possible). Include any plug-and-play devices used to boost memory too. I've probably missed a few esoteric upgrades. If you don't see yours, just pick the next lower amount on the list. I know there are upgrades far above 1088K, but memory above 1088K is pretty meaningless at this point -- other than bragging rights. If you have something that isn't mentioned and you want to talk (or brag) about it, go ahead and post. You can also post about your specific memory upgrade type if you like (i.e. Rambo 256K, etc.).

So I was puting away my 2600 when an idea hit me, what if there was an advanced passthrough cartridge almost like the sega 32x. Here's a list of features it could include. -Built in bios -Extra 64k ram -Cartridge pull out protector (If you pull out a cartridge, it will reboot to the bois) -Sid chip (so we can finally have better music in our games) -Upgradeable -Dpc+ and Superchip compatible I would love to do this myself but I'm not very good with electronics nor do I have the budget to do it. XD

What are the different models that I could best buy? 400 - 8k of 16k machine and can be upgraded by adding extra memory in the slots of the machine. This was marketed as a gaming machine which it's design to an extend shows as it's a light weight 800. 800 - 8k to 48k machine and can be upgraded by adding extra memory in the slots of the machine. 600XL - 16k, easy to upgrade (if socketed) by popping in new ram chips and soldering a couple/few wires, depending on the method. 800XL - 64k, the most common - almost ALL software will work on a 64k XL...some 1990s (and onwards) demos and games require more ram. almost ALL Taiwan 800XLs are soldered - which makes upgrading harder. 50% of Hong Kong 800XLs have socketed ram. 1200XL - 64k, the easiest to upgrade, but easier to buy in the USA than europe. most ICs are socketed which makes installing a 256k wizztronics clone, Ultimate 1mb or the newer Antonia 4mb upgrades much easier. almost all 1200XLs will need a clear pic, UAV or similar upgarde to make video reasonable. 65XE - 64k, an XL with ST styling - many do not have the ECI port. 130XE - again, an XL with ST styling, but with 128k ram. 800XE - 64k, eastern european crossover from XL to XE range - some (about 30%) of these have a buggy GTIA chip, but if you strike lucky you get a nice "XL" with freddie chip and ECI. XEGS - 64k, a consolized 65xe. Why upgrade RAM? To either gain access to 130XE library and to more modern demo's, games, etc. Different RAM standards and why do they matter? Plain and simple comparability as some RAM upgrades have different memory adresses, which means some software might not run or not run correctly under a different standard. Can and is it worth it to upgrade my RAM by filling out empty RAM spots on the motherboard on my 65xe or 800xe? Yes, if you have those slots and if you don't want to go all out on the RAM or keep your machine like it was during the machines production life. Watch out for the faulty GTIA's though. You can check for those buy typing in : 10 GR. 9:D=1:FOR X=0 TO 79 20 COLOR C:C=C+D:IF C=15 OR C=0 THEN D=-D 30 PLOT X,0:DR. X,191 40 NEXT X 50 G. 50 And you should end up with something looking like this: or using my own computers as an example: http://imgur.com/gallery/bAOr0 This is how you can upgrade: Which RAM upgrade kits are still available? (mainly available for 800XL and later models, unless noted otherwise) Ultimate 1MB http://lotharek.pl/product.php?pid=67 ​wizztronics 256K http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/wizztronics%202_256.htm Rambo XL 256k https://www.bitsofthepast.com/?product=reimaged-rambo-xl-adapter 512k SRAM-Extension by Mega-hz: http://mega-hz.de/Angebote/512K/512k.html Due to some upgrades going through production runs of batches and than going out of production until another is announced these might not be available at the time of reading (You could always try and message the creator if they are available still or in the future): 512k SRAM-Extension by tf_hh: Write tf_hh a pm here on AtariAge Syscheck II by tf_hh: Write tf_hh a pm here on AtariAge (only works on 64k machines and higher) Ctirad 576XE http://atariage.com/forums/topic/232856-ram320xe576-order-thread/?hl=%20ctirad (No soldering required, up to 576k of RAM and please not "up to" as it requires you atari be on 128k of RAM before slotting it in to get that amount, otherwise you won't get 576k) Incognito Don't know where it is available (only for the 800) Antonia 4MB http://atariage.com/forums/topic/249405-new-4mb-ram-expansion/?hl=%20antonia (I assume there is a newer location that sells them that I'm not aware of) (please note, the Antonia has 2 different versions one for the XL line and the other for the XE line) (Please note I've excluded older upgrades and self build upgrades, like this, for simplicity reasons, otherwise this would become a very long list. But as wizztronic or Rambo diy build are most common; the chips needed for that are require a 41256. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/122470-ram-upgrade-applications/page-2?do=findComment&comment=1481893) If you have information to add, rectify or remove, please comment so I can change it. Resources: http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-episode-39-i-need-more-memoryFrom 1:05 Nir Dary talks about RAM upgrades which is a similar to this post. Great podcast overal but that segment is good if you want to know about memory upgrades without this wall of text.

What current and available ways are there to 1. upgrade the memory on an 800 2. upgrade the OS on the 800 I know the incognito would be best.. but its not available.. so not an option. What other options are there? James

I just wanted to know if anyone has built an actual PCB replacement for the CX52 joysticks. Seems like that would be a better route to go than adding gold contacts to the various revisions of the Flex circuits. Sure, it would probably make it a wiring mess like the Colecovision standard controllers but I'd speculate it would still be doable and reliable...

I've been working on a new upgrade that can be installed in any A8, 5200, & even the 2600. I know there's a million upgrades out there, but the good ones are mostly based on tweaks to the original Atari circuit, and the bad ones are haphazardly designed. 1st, the real problems with the Atari circuit(s): The video circuits in most A8's are not sufficiently decoupled from the digital noise in the system. Video power and ground are often shared with very noisy components like DRAM and this causes vertical bars to appear in the picture. For example, you can often see the refresh cycles on the left side of the screen. Crude DACs like the one made from the CD4050 have no ability to reject power supply noise and will superimpose it on the picture. No tweaking of the video buffers will remove it. Atari actually put components in some XLs to blur the image in an attempt to clear up the lines. That's not to say the buffers didn't need tweaking. They frequently deviated from the 75-ohm impedance standard that that meant the picture quality could be unreliable (shadows, smearing & ghosting), especially with longer cables. At video speeds, you only get maximum transfer when everything is the right impedance. In addition, some of the chroma circuits produced highly distorted sine-waves which contributed to noise in the image. So to solve these problems, my board: 1. Has an on-board regulator to create a clean video power source. 2. Has a 3-channel video amplifier designed for 75 ohm loads. 3. Has a pixel re-clocking circuit to remove skew and better align the 4 luminance signals into a perfect pixel edge. 4. Has a carefully designed chroma-shaping circuit. In addition, there's an adjustable pot on the board which controls the phase between the chroma and luma signals. A nice side-effect of this that you can change the artifact colors. There's also a jumper to invert the chroma which swaps the positions of the artifact colors. The board plugs into the CD4050 socket for easy installation on most machines. It can be used in place of the original circuit or along side it. I'm working on the final board layout and I hope to have them available in the AtariAge store early next year. Here are some pictures of the prototype. Any patterns in the picture are due to the camera picking up the CRT mask, but you'll notice the absence of vertical bars (I'll try to get better pictures...). One of the pictures is taken off my LCD (and even the LCD is hard to photograph). The split screen pictures show the effect of artifact tuning. The board is currently installed in a very noisy 130XE. I'll try to get some before pictures. I'm calling it UAV for Ultimate Atari Video. More to come!

First the good news... I found some time to install my PS/2 Keyboard adapter in the TI today. I drilled a few holes... ...mounted the connector... I think it looks pretty nice... ... so I closed it all up and admired the view... And now the bad news... #1) It will not work when the both keyboards are plugged in, so I have to run without the original keyboard hooked up. #2) And the depressing one... not all the keys are functioning. At this point I'm not sure what it is, and I'm not going to screw with it for a few days. Any ideas?

4Mb memory upgrade for the Atari ST series of computers Can be used in the following systems:- Atari STE Atari STFM Atari STF Atari MEGA Atari TT memory expansions Marpet Memory Upgrade kits These SIMMS will slot into your Atari STE computers without any modification to the hardware or soldering etc. Other Atari ST systems (not STE) do vary and you'll need additional hardware, such as the Marpet Memory Upgrade Kit, when using these SIMMS on the Atari STFM, STF machines. PRICE: £15.00 PLUS P&P P&P UK = £2.90 P&P Europe = £3.90 P&P World of the World = £4.90

There is a 130XE on eBay listed to have a 'Best Heavy Upgrade" and has a toggle switch in the upper left corner of the top of the console. Seller has no idea what it is. I looked on the Best site and found nothing like that. Any ideas?

FOR SALE: ATARI ST 520 STFM WITH 2.5MB MARPET MEMORY UPGRADE COMPUTER RETRO CONSOLE SYSTEM REFURBISHED TESTED CLEANED Fully refurbished and tested. Please look at the large pictures at the bottom. This Atari has been stripped down and thoroughly cleaned inside and out. No cracks to the case and, considering its age, this Atari is in superb condition! A few minor scratches to the top of the case which can be seen in the pictures, and underneath the Atari which is also visible in the pictures below. The Atari comes with a RF aerial cable (on request) and power cable (on request). Fully tested with an external floppy drive, monochrome and colour monitor, hard drive, printer and RF output to ensure all ports are operational. Technical details:- TOS v1.02 GEM v0.13 AES v1.20 Marpet 2.5Mb memory upgrade kit installed giving a total of 2.5Mb of memory Ideal for Cubase, games and other MIDI applications Minimal yellowing - see pictures below Manufactured 22/04/1987 The floppy drive head has been cleaned and reads, writes and formats floppy disks reliably. The joystick and mouse ports have been re-soldered. Sometimes these develop dry or broken solder joints, or develop intermittent faults over the years due to mice and joysticks being connected and removed . The memory has been tested with a 100 pass hardware memory read and write test. The Atari has been running for 24 hours to ensure to ensure there are no overheating issues. This Atari has a Marpet Memory Upgrade installed with a 2.5Mb memory upgrade to the system. What's included in this auction Atari STFM computer RF aerial cable (on request) 13A to IEC power cable (on request) Price: £55.00 + P&P P&P to UK is £12.50 P&P to Europe is £25.00

I resolved at the beginning of this year to get caught up on a number of Aquarius projects this summer, and I think I'm going to begin by dusting off an idea that I had previously put on the shelf ... an inexpensive 32K RAM module: As you may know, 32K is the largest amount of (flat) RAM that you can add to the Aquarius without using the space reserved for cartridge software. Mattel's original 32K module was big and bulky and was produced only in very limited quantities, but it's now possible to create a much more efficient version of this module using SRAM. I designed my first prototypes around the same time I was designing the Aquaricart, and I built a few more for collectors who wanted them, but I decided against making it into a product at the time because I thought it would be a better value to integrate that extra RAM into my enhanced Mini Expander design instead. But the new Mini Expander is going to take a lot longer to finish than I planned, and in the meantime, I've heard from several people who already own the original Mini Expander and wouldn't necessarily want to buy another one just for the extra RAM. So, I thought there would be value in offering a standalone 32K RAM module, particularly for programmers who need the extra RAM for their projects, or those who are interested in playing the many Aquarius cassette games which required expanded RAM. I've begun the layout for the new boards, and I hope to have them finished and manufactured by the end of next month. The cost per module will be just under $30, not including shipping, so I hope it will be an affordable and easy upgrade for anyone who owns an Aquarius. I'll post updates, including ordering information, as they become available.