Got a 600XL!

[Sega Dude]

Today I got an Atari 600XL today from Craigslist for just $10. I came with a bunch of stuff including the original manuals, 3 game carts (Pole Position, Centipede and E.T. Phone Home) , a 1010 tape drive with miscellaneous tapes, all needed cables and more. Since I don't have an Atari switchbox, I tried it with a Sega Auto RF Adapter. It works but the picture was extremely staticy. I also tried my NES RF adapter, which was better, but it was still staticy. At least I could see what's on the screen. I think the problem is with the RF switches. Haven't tested the 1010 tape drive yet, but I;m sure it works. This is not the first 80s computer I've ever gotten. I also have a Commodore 128 I've owned for about 7 years now. However, this is my first Atari home computer.

[+Roydea6]

Tin RCA connectors cause some of the Static. Get an RCA video cable and a TV DVD VHS cable adapter to RCA fitting and It will clear up a lot..

 

 

The Atari age store has the adapters here..

 

http://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=42

Edited November 17, 2014 by rdea6

[Simba7]

Wow. I still have a 1010. I would suggest doing a few upgrades, like a 1050 and a memory upgrade.

 

Other than that, congrats!

[Paul Westphal]

Or put an Svideo mod or composite mod in it. The 64k upgrade is a snap too.

[MAC-42]

You got all that for $10? Man...you have my unending envy. My 600XL is right here on my desk, beside my Mac. It's a good and faithful servant. Very nice haul you've got there!

 

The 600XL is infinitely easy to upgrade to 64k of RAM, as Paul says. I upgraded mine, and I barely know which end of a soldering iron to hold. There I highly recommend it.

[ryanmercer]

Welcome to the club!!!

[Level42]

Welcome. Now mod that thing ;)

[ryanmercer]

I'd personally just get a decent monitor. I play on a PVM-14N1U I bought off of Tempest this summer but I also have three Commodore 1702's I picked up this summer too that almost display as beautiful as the PVM.

 

Shipped I didn't pay more than 70$ for any of them, get you a monitor that likes it as is then some sort of SIO device or a MyIDE-II and your 10$ atari + 150-200$ more = a very very happy user.

Edited November 17, 2014 by ryanmercer

[Paul Westphal]

I can send you a pic of the ram mod if you need...easy peasy.

[tep392]

You got all that for $10? Man...you have my unending envy.

Mine too. Living in Chicago, I never see any good deals on Craigslist. Just resellers asking crazy prices.

[Jinks]

Wow. I like my 600xl as well.. But I paid 16x more than yours for mine.

[Level42]

Agree with Paul, theRAM mod is a must and so easy...

[Sega Dude]

I can send you a pic of the ram mod if you need...easy peasy.

 

Sure, that would be great.

[Paul Westphal]

Send me a mail from my site : www.eightbitfix.com, and I will shoot one over with brief instructions.

[Sega Dude]

Unfortunately, it seems I was wrong about the 1010. I made a separate thread about it here.

[Sega Dude]

Sorry for the double post, but I wanted to let you all know I found the switch box I used with my 2600 before the power connector broke. I tried it with the insanely long RF cable I got with the 600XL and the picture is crystal clear, no static at all. Now I can actually my 600XL since I can see what's on the screen, unlike when I was using my NES or Sega RF switches.

[MoreBITS]

Sweet! The floppy cable alone is worth what you paid.

[crans]

I'll give ya $11 for it. Nice score I could only hope and dream for something at that price.

[Atari-Collector]

Great buy! Nice upgrade from the Commie OK, I never cared for Commodore but I still like seeing them preserved these days also.

 

I got my 600XL last winter for $12 plus shipping, just the computer itself with the memory upgrade and original manuals.

 

For the TV switch you could try some contact clear on it (do it well away for the Atari itself and left it all dry because that stuff can attack plastic)

or get an RCA to F type connector adapter that's what I use. I use to sell them on ebay but there was so little profit in it it wasn't worth the drive to the post office.

 

I ended up add AV outputs on it, not hard and cheap if you can make it yourself, like $1 worth of parts..

[kogden]

Rather than an internal RAM upgrade, I just slapped a RAM 320XL on the back of my current 600XL. If you can find someone willing to part with theirs, it's probably the most painless RAM upgrade available for 600XL and gives you 64K base and 256K extended RAM.