Atari 1010 Program Recorder not working

[Sega Dude]

I recently got a 600XL, with a 1010 Program Recorder, among other things (more on that here). I finally got around to trying the 1010 today and unfortunately it doesn't seem to work.I hooked it up following the instructions in the original manual. The light on the front is lit and I can hear the motor running, but the reels don't seem to move, rather there is a tape inserted or not. What could be causing this? Is this a common problem? Is it fixable or is the 1010 shot? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Edited November 19, 2014 by Sega Dude

[Roydea6]

Drive belt rotted away ,, but fixable search the forum for information on how to do this..

[firestorm]

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/196478-atari-1010-program-recorder/

 

See my pictures of Atari 1010

[tep392]

Here's another good reference. There seems to be a couple different manufacturers for the drive mechanism.

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/226758-atari-1010-belt-sizes-drive-and-counter-anyone/?hl=%2B1010&do=findComment&comment=3024996

[Sega Dude]

Well I opened it up and sure enough, one belt is snapped and part of it was stuck on the housing of one of the connectors. I found replacement belts on MCM Electronics as per this post, but MCM wants $7.99 to ship the two belts, which is ridiculous.

[tjlazer]

Just because you paid $10 for the whole lot doesn't mean paying eight dollars for the belt is ridiculous! That's a reasonable price to get it up and running. It's all part of the experience, fix it and have fun!

Edited November 20, 2014 by tjlazer

[_The Doctor__]

Well I opened it up and sure enough, one belt is snapped and part of it was stuck on the housing of one of the connectors. I found replacement belts on MCM Electronics as per this post, but MCM wants $7.99 to ship the two belts, which is ridiculous.

Wow, that's just the shipping cost? What would the total be?

[Sega Dude]

Wow, that's just the shipping cost? What would the total be?

The two belts are $1.40 each, so the total with shipping is $10.79. Anyone think a rubber band would work, at least for a temporary fix?

[_The Doctor__]

wow, you would think they would just ship em regular mail. the belts can easily fit in an envelope and cause no problem with sorting or delivery.

[Bryan]

The two belts are $1.40 each, so the total with shipping is $10.79. Anyone think a rubber band would work, at least for a temporary fix?

People have used rubber bands in a pinch but they are generally too elastic for reliable operation.

[SIO2]

Is the 1010 capable of reliable operation? I bought mine new. I wouldn't say it was ever reliable.

 

If you have not experienced tape drives and really want to, great. Then you will understand how those of us who only had tape drives suffered back in the day.

 

I gutted my 1010 and used it to house an SIO2SD. 1010 makes a great shell for the SIO2SD. I mounted it so that I can see the LCD through the cassette door.

[SIO2]

You may also want to read this: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/210630-atari-cassette/

[Sega Dude]

Well, I found a rubber band that works. The reels spin and I can now rewind and advance tapes, which I couldn't do before, but nothing seems to happen when press play. I type CLOAD and press play when the computer beeps, but nothing happens. No activity on the 1010 and the computer doesn't seem to acknowledge that I pressed play.

 

(This was actually taken today 11/20/2014, but the date on the camera is wrong) This is how I put the rubber band on. The metal piece that's supposed to be over the big middle wheel?, that can be seen in the fourth picture from the bottom of this post, is clearly missing, I didn't take it off, it was like this when I opened it. This unit may have been worked on before. The other belt is still intact, as you can see by this picture.

[Bryan]

Press a key after pressing play. The sequence is:

 

Type CLOAD [return]

Computer Beeps to tell you to press PLAY

Press PLAY and then any key

Computer turns motor on.

[_The Doctor__]

take the twists out of the rubber band... that will help it stay on

[tjlazer]

Press START while turning on the Atari then when you hear the beep, press play. Then ebter

[ryanmercer]

I gutted my 1010 and used it to house an SIO2SD. 1010 makes a great shell for the SIO2SD. I mounted it so that I can see the LCD through the cassette door.

 

I have one that was un-opened till I opened it... I've another tha isn't... guess I know what project just got added to the list (although my sio2pc)

[Sega Dude]

Now that I know what I'm doing,the tape plays, but I've yet to successfully load anything. I've tried to load my States and Capitals cassette, since it's the only original cassette I have. I put the tape in, make sure it's rewound, type CLOAD, press play, then enter. The tape starts loading, but it never loads. Mostly because the rubber band keeps falling off, it's really irritating. It might be to small. Anyway, when the rubber band doesn't fall off, I've gotten errors like 138 and 140, but mostly 140. I haven't tried saving a program, just loading. When the tape is loading, I do here the "digital, computer type noise" the instruction sheet describes.

[gilsaluki]

Don't use are rubber band, bad for the motor. Look online for cassette player belts. All the experts say not to use rubber bands to sub for the right sized belts. I found 410 belts online (and on Ebay). They may have the 1010 belts as well. Some sites even demo how to measure for the right size of belt. Anyway, research the Data Cassette basics by reading Carl Evan's Tangle Angles in the early Antic Magazines Online. His articles are very informative.

[gilsaluki]

Rubber band may cause the motor speed to wobble, thus your Error codes 138 and 140. I have 30 year old cassettes and they load. There are adjustments that can be made, but get the correct belt first, then refer to Carl Evans Tangle Angles for adjustments.

[+Stephen]

A rubber band will never work! Get the correct belt, and I'm sure the tapes will be fine.

[_The Doctor__]

The rubber band can help insure the tape player eats the tape, thereby making the tape rare... thereby commanding higher ebay price and 'collector' frenzy. belts are easy to find and get... they still use them in cd and blueray player as well as toys, robots, cleaners etc. I am certain you can find what you need for a good price... not everyone charges ridiculous shipping prices.

[Sega Dude]

Well that's the end of that. I snapped the play button so it's now useless. The button is still on there, but I don't think it will work anymore. The good news is I seemed to successfully save a program to a cassette after the button snapped, I didn't get any errors. But I couldn't even try to load it for obvious reasons. Thanks to everyone for all your help.

[gilsaluki]

Awwww. The broken Brown button (which activates the internal buttons. That happened to me years ago. Never fear. I took a flat-headed nail, no you did not read that incorrectly. Heated it up on the stove till it was red hot, then pushed it through the Brown button surface until it met the internal button/actuating surface. It will have to go into the plastic Brown button at an angle. I noted how far the nail stuck out of the brown button, removed the nail from the brown button (now with a melted hole remaining), then trimmed that amount off the bottom of the nail. Then reinserted it back into the brown button, and Wha La. Works for the past 25 years, no problems. It's worth a try, the worst you can do is have a melted hole in the brown button surface. No harm, no fowl. Try it.

[gilsaluki]

The brown Play Buttons (and all the buttons) plastic may be brittle with time (heat, weather, etc). I am VERY gentle with them when I actuate them. I stand up and gently EJECT or press the buttons. Best may have replacement buttons (but with terrible shipping prices for such small items). Keep at it, I like cassette games. I have had many good years with my 1010s.