Emehr Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Never dreamed I'd ever be in the 8-bit forum but here goes. I just scored an Atari 400 at a Goodwill this weekend (with the box and power supply!) and finally had a chance to test it last night. It fires up nice and the memo pad comes up. There's one issue, though. I noticed a rattly noise inside when I would tilt the unit this way and that so I opened it up to see what the fuss was about and noticed the speaker was just floating around inside. It was still hooked up but I can't tell where it's supposed to mount! I don't see any plastic tabs or grills or anything that say "The speaker belongs here". Any tips on that would be much appreciated. And I can't start a "newbie" thread without asking the typical newbie question: what are some of the better games to keep an eye out for this system? I understand the Atari 8-bits are essentially the same as a 5200 (of which I also have, but my library is minuscule) and I have an idea of what's out there but otherwise I'm completely new to the Atari 8-bit scene. I've checked out the atarimania site and did some lookin' but I'd love to hear some opinions. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 don't worry about the speaker being lose, they are supposed to just sit between the pegs at the bottom r/h side of the lower case half. I would say that if you only have 16k then it is best to stick to carts. My faves over the years have been: Asteroids - love 4 player mode Miner 2049'er Centipede Squish'em Donkey Kong River Raid Deluxe Invaders (Roklan) Atari invaders Pole Position Pac Man Robotron 2084 - fantastic if toy can get a copy with the 2 joystick holder, B+C had them recently H.E.R.O Dig Dug, the later 5200 release Joust Popeye Blue Max Choplifter Fort Apocalypse Frogger Missile Command Track and Field If you want to invest, then an upgrade to 48k and a disc drive or sio2pc/sio2sd would open a lot of doors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urchlay Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 A few more carts to add to the list: Defender Millipede Star Raiders In fact, Star Raiders was so amazing back when I first saw it, it convinced me (and my parents) I had to have an Atari computer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 The speaker is only used in a few games/apps so no worries if it doesnt work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 400's rock!!! Ummm... Wizard of Wor, Gorf, can't remember if Archon works on a stock 400. Definately Star Raiders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urchlay Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 The speaker is only used in a few games/apps so no worries if it doesnt work. True. In fact the first ever Atari hardware mod I did was to remove the internal speaker from my 400, 'cause I got tired of hearing keyclicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emehr Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 Thanks for all of the feedback! I can't wait to dig into this machine. I'll definitely have to play around with programming it, too. That's a given . The box says it has 16K of RAM. What's the prescribed method for upgrading to 48K? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+David_P Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Can't find it with Best or Myatari (B&C Computervisions) but there was an Atari 48K board for the 400. Best is still offering a 32K board for $25.00 - see http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/800.htm, item #CB101377. Brad sometimes has items in stock not listed on the site; it's probably worth an email. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 the 48k boards are very hard to find, maybe evilbay is the best source, I know that best and B+C are out of stock. There is a thread somewhere on how to make your own upgrade using a 16k board. link to 48k upgrade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hornpipe2 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I second the SIO2PC! You can build it yourself if you're handy with a soldering iron and it's very easy (about 5-10 components). They're also reasonably cheap to purchase ready-made if you'd rather go that route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleman jack Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 (edited) B & C Computervisions and Video 61 have a bunch of cartridges that will work on 16K machines. If you call the stores they should be able to tell you what will work and what won't. Or look on their webpages which have info telling some of the requirements to run certain games. Also, there's Andrew Krieg's "Cartridge List for Classic Atari 800/XL/XE Computers" at the address my.execpc.com/~krieg/links/8bit.carts. The list tells the requirements to run many of the carts. Edited April 11, 2008 by littleman jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osbo Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 SIO2PC!! You wont regret it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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