Just dug my old Atari 400 out of my parents attic.

[Witchboard]

It's been up there for about 20 years now. Tested working, which kind of suprised me. We cleaned it up and my father is going to give it to my 4 year old son for Christmas. I figured this would be good considering it's a cartridge system as he wouldn't be able to properly handle discs of the more recent consoles.

 

Anyway, I'm looking at expanding the game library and was having trouble remember compatibilities between carts. Is any cartridge advertised 400/800/LX/XE backward compatible to my 400? I just didn't want to start purchasing non-compatible cartridges.

 

Also, I have an Atari 410 cassette deck with one game (Galaxy) and was wondering if it's possible to re-write the tape somehow. I haven't tested it yet, but have a suspicion that the heat in the attic has damaged the tape. Thanks.

[tjlazer]

Your 400 probably has 16k, but some have 8k. I would stick with the brown labeled Atari carts for now, then you can get the early carts from other manufacturers. Stay away from the gray XE style carts as those require 48K or 64K.

[UNIXcoffee928]

A Procedure that is useful for any tape which has been stored for a great length of time.

 

Read & understand all of the following steps before starting:

 

1. Hand-wind the tape (with your index finger fingernail in the right sprocket hole), start by slowly wiggling (not actually winding, just jiggling your finger, to free the tape in case it is stuck to itself., then wind it 10 rotations, counterclockwise, going slowly, and monitoring it for smooth winding.

 

2. If there is pull, or the smooth flow is retarded in any way, STOP. Squeeze the face-plates of side A&B with thumb & index finger, repeatedly, working your way around the spool (on the wound side). This will even out the tape on the spool, reducing unwanted lateral movement across the tape read head. Repeat step one.

 

Once you have verified that the tape runs smoothly by hand, and the media is not stuck to itself, fast forward it to the end in a tape player. Take it out, squeeze the face plates as described above, wind by hand until tight. Reinsert, rewind. Remove. Squeeze the face plates, wind by hand until tight.

 

The tape should be all set for use. Be sure the temperature of the tape has normalized from the attic, if it is cold in there.

 

This applies to all cassettes, data, or music. Following these steps will greatly enhance the probability of the cassette working properly. If you have audio cassettes that have a sound frequency dropout, do the above procedure, and the tape will go back to normal.

 

 

Good luck!

[Witchboard]

Your 400 probably has 16k, but some have 8k. I would stick with the brown labeled Atari carts for now, then you can get the early carts from other manufacturers. Stay away from the gray XE style carts as those require 48K or 64K.

My father says that he upgraded it way back when. However, I'm not sure what he upgraded it to. Is there anything I can do to verify this? Thanks.

 

A Procedure that is useful for any tape which has been stored for a great length of time.

Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a shot.

[Forrest]

All the Atari 400 computers I've seen had 16K. To check the amount of free memory, insert the Atari Basic cartridge and type ? FRE(0)

 

If it says 37903 (going from memory) then it was upgraded to 48K

 

All cartridges except those labeled XL/XE will work on a stock 16K Atari 400

[Witchboard]

All the Atari 400 computers I've seen had 16K. To check the amount of free memory, insert the Atari Basic cartridge and type ? FRE(0)

 

If it says 37903 (going from memory) then it was upgraded to 48K

 

All cartridges except those labeled XL/XE will work on a stock 16K Atari 400

Awesome. It reported 37902. I guess it's been upgraded to 48K, which would mean I could support some of the XL/XE carts? How do you know if a specific XL/XE cartridge requires 48K or 64K?

 

UNIXcoffee928... I'm still hand winding that tape.

[ataridano]

I'm not sure of your level of technical expertise or how much time/money you want to put into this system, but if I were you (and please someone correct me if I'm wrong) I would look into buying a few flash cartridges from AtariMax and getting a PC set up with APE and the proper cable to connect the two systems. You could then download games and write them to cartridge for your son to use.... if it'snot something he likes or doesn't work with on a 400, download another and re-program it.

[javiero]

All the Atari 400 computers I've seen had 16K. To check the amount of free memory, insert the Atari Basic cartridge and type ? FRE(0)

 

If it says 37903 (going from memory) then it was upgraded to 48K

 

All cartridges except those labeled XL/XE will work on a stock 16K Atari 400

Awesome. It reported 37902. I guess it's been upgraded to 48K, which would mean I could support some of the XL/XE carts? How do you know if a specific XL/XE cartridge requires 48K or 64K?

 

UNIXcoffee928... I'm still hand winding that tape.

 

No, carts labeled xe game system won't work on the 400 or the 800, anyway there are tons of brown carts around.

Edited November 23, 2007 by javiero

[Witchboard]

I'm not sure of your level of technical expertise or how much time/money you want to put into this system, but if I were you (and please someone correct me if I'm wrong) I would look into buying a few flash cartridges from AtariMax and getting a PC set up with APE and the proper cable to connect the two systems. You could then download games and write them to cartridge for your son to use.... if it'snot something he likes or doesn't work with on a 400, download another and re-program it.

I'm pretty proficient technically speakig. My primary hobby is coin-op games. I have a lot of the tools that may be needed to repair these cartridges if need be. Are you talking about the Hollex cartridge? I was looking into that, but also noticed I would require a drive or sio2pc interface in order to get the data to the cartridge, which I have niether. I may go this route if I can get a good deal on them.

 

No, carts labeled xe game system won't work on the 400 or the 800, anyway there are tons of brown carts around.

Is this due to the memory requirement or the 400 just doesn't have the internal components to support the games? This is another question I had about the Hollex. If it is just a limitation of memory and the Hollex increases that by 16K, which would increase total system memory to 64K, would I be able to play games intended for the XE systems?

 

I really appreciate the help guys.

[mimo]

I'm not sure of your level of technical expertise or how much time/money you want to put into this system, but if I were you (and please someone correct me if I'm wrong) I would look into buying a few flash cartridges from AtariMax and getting a PC set up with APE and the proper cable to connect the two systems. You could then download games and write them to cartridge for your son to use.... if it'snot something he likes or doesn't work with on a 400, download another and re-program it.

I'm pretty proficient technically speakig. My primary hobby is coin-op games. I have a lot of the tools that may be needed to repair these cartridges if need be. Are you talking about the Hollex cartridge? I was looking into that, but also noticed I would require a drive or sio2pc interface in order to get the data to the cartridge, which I have niether. I may go this route if I can get a good deal on them.

 

No, carts labeled xe game system won't work on the 400 or the 800, anyway there are tons of brown carts around.

Is this due to the memory requirement or the 400 just doesn't have the internal components to support the games? This is another question I had about the Hollex. If it is just a limitation of memory and the Hollex increases that by 16K, which would increase total system memory to 64K, would I be able to play games intended for the XE systems?

 

I really appreciate the help guys.

 

The problem is with the way that the XL and XE bank switch the 64k plus, the 400/800 just cant do that.

I would go for the Maxflash cart over the Hollex cart, you get them, and the SIO2PC fromAtarimax

the owner Steve (Classics) is a member of these forums and goes the extra mile with his product support. There are dedicated forums for the maxflash cart, link on the Atarimax site.

You will need your 400 to be at least 48k to use the Maxflash carts though

[UNIXcoffee928]

You're welcome. I probably should add that one to the restoration tips section, for the benefit of everyone.

 

Tell us how the tape load goes.

 

 

L8R

[Witchboard]

The problem is with the way that the XL and XE bank switch the 64k plus, the 400/800 just cant do that.

I would go for the Maxflash cart over the Hollex cart, you get them, and the SIO2PC fromAtarimax

the owner Steve (Classics) is a member of these forums and goes the extra mile with his product support. There are dedicated forums for the maxflash cart, link on the Atarimax site.

You will need your 400 to be at least 48k to use the Maxflash carts though

Thanks for the info. I'll check them out and see if I need to go that route. It may be best to spend the money up front instead of wishing I had after purchasing my 10th cartridge and regretting what I could have had for the same money.

 

Tell us how the tape load goes.

I think I found out the first issue with storing these systems in an attic for 20 years. I think the belts in the 410 are dry rotted. I can hear the motor spinning, but nothing is moving. I'll probably have to crack it open and see what's going on. Is there a source for replacement belts?

[ataridano]

I think I found out the first issue with storing these systems in an attic for 20 years. I think the belts in the 410 are dry rotted. I can hear the motor spinning, but nothing is moving. I'll probably have to crack it open and see what's going on. Is there a source for replacement belts?

 

Our local electronics store has a whole isle of belts, of all types and sizes. I don't know where you'd look on the 'net but I'm sure there are sources for that sort of thing... it's a common failure of all types of tape decks.

[Urchlay]

I think I found out the first issue with storing these systems in an attic for 20 years. I think the belts in the 410 are dry rotted. I can hear the motor spinning, but nothing is moving. I'll probably have to crack it open and see what's going on. Is there a source for replacement belts?

 

410 belts are pretty much guaranteed to be bad if the drive is stored for a couple of years... long before the belt dry-rots, it gets a permanent kink in it.

 

See this thread: http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=105976

[walter_J64bit]

He might better off with a new XC12 tape drive they at a good price after all fixing the 410 might not worth the his time. I know all the 410's I've tried to work with never worked

Edited November 24, 2007 by walter_J64bit

[Witchboard]

Our local electronics store consists of Radio Shack, which is more of a cell phone store than electronic components anymore. Thanks for the link. I should have searched before. I'll hit up a few sites and see what's available. I'm going to be putting in a Jameco order soon, so it would be nice if they carried it, but that would be too convenient.

 

I have more time than money at the moment, so I can always try repairing first and replacing if met with agonizing failure.

[Forrest]

The 400/800 have a different operating system and memory bank switching is different than the XL/XE. The primary reason for upgrading the memory in the 400 was so it can run larger disk based programs - and it was quite a bit cheaper than buying an 800 back in the early 80's.

 

I wouldn't spend any time/effort trying to fix the Atari cassette/drive - they were somewhat flakey even when they were brand new! You should be able to locate the corresponding disk version of the program for free or very little money nowdays.

[Witchboard]

The 400/800 have a different operating system and memory bank switching is different than the XL/XE. The primary reason for upgrading the memory in the 400 was so it can run larger disk based programs - and it was quite a bit cheaper than buying an 800 back in the early 80's.

 

I wouldn't spend any time/effort trying to fix the Atari cassette/drive - they were somewhat flakey even when they were brand new! You should be able to locate the corresponding disk version of the program for free or very little money nowdays.

 

Thanks Forrest. I'll keep an eye out for it. Problem is, I don't have a disk drive. I'm mainly just fixing it up for sentimental reasons. I don't expect my son to play Galaxy anytime soon.

[WizWor]

Problem is, I don't have a disk drive. I'm mainly just fixing it up for sentimental reasons. I don't expect my son to play Galaxy anytime soon.

You are a perfect candidate for MaxFlash + SIO2PC + APE. Total cost for a cart, the cable, and APE = $140. You can check with Steve about support for the 400. I was not sure if I wanted to go this way. I exchanged a couple emails with Steve and he sold me a MaxFlash with games preloaded so I could see how things work. They work well and I came back for the rest of the package and another cart.

 

The cart stays in my XEGS and people can flip the switch navigate the menu to a game and start playing -- no disks, no tapes, no loading APE. Not much more durable in this world than an Atart and a Cart. Good luck!

[tjlazer]

Problem is, I don't have a disk drive. I'm mainly just fixing it up for sentimental reasons. I don't expect my son to play Galaxy anytime soon.

You are a perfect candidate for MaxFlash + SIO2PC + APE. Total cost for a cart, the cable, and APE = $140. You can check with Steve about support for the 400. I was not sure if I wanted to go this way. I exchanged a couple emails with Steve and he sold me a MaxFlash with games preloaded so I could see how things work. They work well and I came back for the rest of the package and another cart.

 

The cart stays in my XEGS and people can flip the switch navigate the menu to a game and start playing -- no disks, no tapes, no loading APE. Not much more durable in this world than an Atart and a Cart. Good luck!

 

Actually I think the Atari 400/800 do not work very well with the Atarimax Flash carts. I could never get any to work in my Atari 800 with 48K. I think some did but most did not? Steve?

[mimo]

I never got a maxflash to work on a 400 either (tried 3 different 48K 400's)

[Shawn Jefferson]

Some of the maxflash cart loaders use the RAM under the ROM, which the Atari 400/800 does not have. Definitely anything that puts a whole disk based game on the cart will not work. Using EXE/XEX/COM games should work I think. The MakeMenu program lets you put cartridge images (8k for sure, maybe 16k ?) into the menu as well-these may work on the 400/800 with the maxflash cart.

 

Your best bet for using a flashcart is definitely an XL/XE model. Actually, I would say you should be using one of those anyway for the best experience (aesthetic taste notwithstanding.)

[geezer]

Just for the record, I've used several maxflash 1mb cartridges on a 400 with the Atari 48k upgrade. A few games, Atari Basic, Ice-t(800 version), and that 80col terminal to run the ATR-8000 in cp/m mode all worked fine. On the other hand I never tried programming a maxflash on the 400.

[WizWor]

Your best bet for using a flashcart is definitely an XL/XE model. Actually, I would say you should be using one of those anyway for the best experience (aesthetic taste notwithstanding.)

I agree, Shawn. I have a bunch of Ataris, but my everyday machine is an XEGS. In fact, I have a couple of these -- each having a MaxFlash cart in the cart slot at all times.

 

Here is a decent deal on a BIN XEGS guaranteed to work from a rep'd seller...

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=260187277497

[Witchboard]

I think this has gone a little beyond the scope of what I was planning on. I was just wanting to play some more games on my old 400 with my son. I'm not wanting to invest in another Atari system. If the MaxFlash won't work with my 400, it's not that big a deal. I'll just have to keep my eye out for some two player games on ebay that we can play together. Thanks everybody!