Atari 8-bit... 30 Years old?

[ApolloBoy]

This prototype is dated January, 1979 but has parts dated 1978. It also has the yellow-brown rainbow logo.

 

I also have an Atari 400 w/some parts © 1978. But it has a GTIA chip in it-- perhaps put in later on by someone. When was the GTIA introduced?

 

The GTIA was introduced around late 1981. What you wanna look for is a datecode on the chip (for example, "8219" for the 19th week of 1982), not a copyright year.

[atariksi]

This prototype is dated January, 1979 but has parts dated 1978. It also has the yellow-brown rainbow logo.

 

I also have an Atari 400 w/some parts © 1978. But it has a GTIA chip in it-- perhaps put in later on by someone. When was the GTIA introduced?

 

The GTIA was introduced around late 1981. What you wanna look for is a datecode on the chip (for example, "8219" for the 19th week of 1982), not a copyright year.

 

Sorry to bring up this topic again but I guess 32nd year is just as valid to consider as 30th since powers of two are prevalent in the computer world as are decimal numbers.

 

I have my doubts that GTIA was that late. My Atari 800 was from 1980 and had the GTIA in it. And the chips that I have seen in Atari 400s and 800s all have © 1979. Perhaps, they were too lazy to change the © stamp, but at least it doesn't change the fact that units with GTIA appeared earlier.

[Retro Rogue]

Sorry to bring up this topic again but I guess 32nd year is just as valid to consider as 30th since powers of two are prevalent in the computer world as are decimal numbers.

 

I have my doubts that GTIA was that late. My Atari 800 was from 1980 and had the GTIA in it. And the chips that I have seen in Atari 400s and 800s all have © 1979. Perhaps, they were too lazy to change the © stamp, but at least it doesn't change the fact that units with GTIA appeared earlier.

 

Is this your computer you've owned since 1980? Many were retrofitted with GTIA's at Atari Serivce Centers.

[a8isa1]

This prototype is dated January, 1979 but has parts dated 1978. It also has the yellow-brown rainbow logo.

 

I also have an Atari 400 w/some parts © 1978. But it has a GTIA chip in it-- perhaps put in later on by someone. When was the GTIA introduced?

 

The GTIA was introduced around late 1981. What you wanna look for is a datecode on the chip (for example, "8219" for the 19th week of 1982), not a copyright year.

 

Sorry to bring up this topic again but I guess 32nd year is just as valid to consider as 30th since powers of two are prevalent in the computer world as are decimal numbers.

 

I have my doubts that GTIA was that late. My Atari 800 was from 1980 and had the GTIA in it. And the chips that I have seen in Atari 400s and 800s all have © 1979. Perhaps, they were too lazy to change the © stamp, but at least it doesn't change the fact that units with GTIA appeared earlier.

I purchased my 800 in 1980 as well.

 

It was equipped with CTIA and OS A. A friend upgraded both at the same time for me. I still have all the old chips.

 

- Steve Sheppard

[atariksi]

Sorry to bring up this topic again but I guess 32nd year is just as valid to consider as 30th since powers of two are prevalent in the computer world as are decimal numbers.

 

I have my doubts that GTIA was that late. My Atari 800 was from 1980 and had the GTIA in it. And the chips that I have seen in Atari 400s and 800s all have © 1979. Perhaps, they were too lazy to change the © stamp, but at least it doesn't change the fact that units with GTIA appeared earlier.

 

Is this your computer you've owned since 1980? Many were retrofitted with GTIA's at Atari Serivce Centers.

 

I never had my machine (Atari 800) sent to the service center. It came with GTIA already installed and 48K when I bought it for around $900.

[atariksi]

This prototype is dated January, 1979 but has parts dated 1978. It also has the yellow-brown rainbow logo.

 

I also have an Atari 400 w/some parts © 1978. But it has a GTIA chip in it-- perhaps put in later on by someone. When was the GTIA introduced?

 

The GTIA was introduced around late 1981. What you wanna look for is a datecode on the chip (for example, "8219" for the 19th week of 1982), not a copyright year.

 

Sorry to bring up this topic again but I guess 32nd year is just as valid to consider as 30th since powers of two are prevalent in the computer world as are decimal numbers.

 

I have my doubts that GTIA was that late. My Atari 800 was from 1980 and had the GTIA in it. And the chips that I have seen in Atari 400s and 800s all have © 1979. Perhaps, they were too lazy to change the © stamp, but at least it doesn't change the fact that units with GTIA appeared earlier.

I purchased my 800 in 1980 as well.

 

It was equipped with CTIA and OS A. A friend upgraded both at the same time for me. I still have all the old chips.

 

- Steve Sheppard

 

You still have the CTIA chip? That's now a rare chip.

[Retro Rogue]

[quote name='atariksi' date='Tue Mar 9, 2010 9:56 PM' timestamp='1268189819'

I never had my machine (Atari 800) sent to the service center. It came with GTIA already installed and 48K when I bought it for around $900.

 

That didn't answer the question though. When did you buy it and are you the original owner?

[+Stephen]

I purchased my 800 in 1980 as well.

 

It was equipped with CTIA and OS A. A friend upgraded both at the same time for me. I still have all the old chips.

 

- Steve Sheppard

 

You still have the CTIA chip? That's now a rare chip.

No doubt - I have never seen one (the chip or a machine with one installed).

[Mclaneinc]

Hell, I feel so damn old now, the Atari has been part of my life from it's very beginning which must be 30yrs or more. It's been fun, paid the bills, given me some fantastic experiences and allowed me to meet and sell to some of the some of the Atari legends.

 

Great times, shame I can't relive them time and time again

[atariksi]

That didn't answer the question though. When did you buy it and are you the original owner?

 

I did state (before you asked) that it was Atari from 1980.

 

The second question can be taken in various ways-- I bought it new from a legitimate Atari distributor so I guess I'm a legitimate owner in one sense. I guess Atari is the original owner in another sense since the distributor may not have been obligated to keep what he doesn't sell. Then again, the ingredients to make the Atari aren't Atari's-- they come from nature-- so mother nature is the original owner in that sense. Then again, some believe mother nature is under the guidance of some Supreme Being so I guess He is the original owner. I stole it from Him and claimed it to be mine.

[atariksi]

I purchased my 800 in 1980 as well.

 

It was equipped with CTIA and OS A. A friend upgraded both at the same time for me. I still have all the old chips.

 

- Steve Sheppard

 

You still have the CTIA chip? That's now a rare chip.

No doubt - I have never seen one (the chip or a machine with one installed).

 

Even GTIA had some revisions as I noticed when swapping those chips between A5200 and Atari 8-bit.

[+hunmanik]

Antic mag (October 1982) could've been wrong, but someone there was very certain about when GTIA started appearing:

 

GTIA Upgrade

The GTIA (General Television Interface Adaptor) chip offers enhanced graphics capabilities over the CTIA chip, which was the original graphics chip used in the 400 and 800 computers. The GTIA offers 12 different graphics modes, 16 colors, and 16 intensities. The GTIA is fully compatible with software written for the CTIA since it has a superset of the CTIA's capabilities. The CTIA was the standard chip with all 400 and 800 computers manufactured prior to November, 1981.

Atari's Regional Service Centets will perform this upgrade on outofwarranty-units for $62.52 ($22.52 in parts, $40.00 Iabor).

http://www.atarimaga...available.html

 

 

Edited March 11, 2010 by hunmanik

[urborg]

Atari 400/800 was brought to market in 1979. So 8-bit Atari computers, had his 30-th birthday in 2009. We celebrate it on Poznań Game Arena - the biggest computer fare in Poland. We have own stand, when people could play on real Atari hardware, and there was also a birthday cake. You can read more about it here:

 

http://www.atarionline.pl/v01/index.phtml?subaction=showfull&id=1255910358&archive=&start_from=80&ucat=1&ct=nowinki

[atariksi]

Antic mag (October 1982) could've been wrong, but someone there was very certain about when GTIA started appearing:

 

GTIA Upgrade

The GTIA (General Television Interface Adaptor) chip offers enhanced graphics capabilities over the CTIA chip, which was the original graphics chip used in the 400 and 800 computers. The GTIA offers 12 different graphics modes, 16 colors, and 16 intensities. The GTIA is fully compatible with software written for the CTIA since it has a superset of the CTIA's capabilities. The CTIA was the standard chip with all 400 and 800 computers manufactured prior to November, 1981.

Atari's Regional Service Centets will perform this upgrade on outofwarranty-units for $62.52 ($22.52 in parts, $40.00 Iabor).

http://www.atarimaga...available.html

 

There's articles that GTIA came in 1981 and some say 1982, but they are talking about some "official" release and doesn't rule out units appearing with GTIA before "official" release and that's what I was trying to point out with evidence of unit(s) coming before. In college, they gave our class new AT&T keyboards along that weren't yet released, but if they worked we could keep them along with the standard keyboards.

[+hunmanik]

Antic mag (October 1982) could've been wrong, but someone there was very certain about when GTIA started appearing:

 

GTIA Upgrade

The GTIA (General Television Interface Adaptor) chip offers enhanced graphics capabilities over the CTIA chip, which was the original graphics chip used in the 400 and 800 computers. The GTIA offers 12 different graphics modes, 16 colors, and 16 intensities. The GTIA is fully compatible with software written for the CTIA since it has a superset of the CTIA's capabilities. The CTIA was the standard chip with all 400 and 800 computers manufactured prior to November, 1981.

Atari's Regional Service Centets will perform this upgrade on outofwarranty-units for $62.52 ($22.52 in parts, $40.00 Iabor).

http://www.atarimaga...available.html

 

There's articles that GTIA came in 1981 and some say 1982, but they are talking about some "official" release and doesn't rule out units appearing with GTIA before "official" release and that's what I was trying to point out with evidence of unit(s) coming before.  In college, they gave our class new AT&T keyboards along that weren't yet released, but if they worked we could keep them along with the standard keyboards.

Ok, I can see that.  Taken literally, Antic was saying that CTIA was "standard" through Oct 1981.  That doesn't rule out that some 400/800 may have been manufactured with GTIA before the cutoff date of November 1981.  It could have been more of a gradual transition.

 

In fact, my family purchased our original 800 right around this very time period.  I remember feeling lucky that ours turned out to have GTIA.  I should check again exactly when we got it...