New XEGS owner

[haightc]

So I picked up a XEGS randomly last week with the thought of playing classic games.

I made the mistake of looking at some youtube videos of what can be done of the machines and now I have a little of "I want that".

I persured the newbie pinned section but many of the links are substantially out of date.

There seems to be a lot of upgrade options in theory.

The idea of accelerator sounds nice, flight simulator is pretty much unplayable but I don't reallly care about this that much.

VXBE looks great as I good get 80 column video and try RGB out, plus the bonus of some extra features.

There is some neat looking homebrew so getting an SD/flash cart option would be nice, plus I don't really want to get a floppy disk drive.

 

Looks like there some additional options from previous forum topic for flash carts and RAM upgrades.

[gilsaluki]

Congrats on the XEGS. It is one of my favs. I actually love the layout, and the pastel colored button. The power up button and the cart slot are right up top, easy. Love the detachable keyboard. I have used mine for years of great service. I do all things with mine, not just gaming, but it excels at that. I do use floppies, but that is because I have used them since the 80s. I also use the cassettes, some will not load now. All that is not necessary now with the "new" tech, SD Drives and such. I have those devices, but I keep simple...I don't use them much. Get the must have cart games first, then branch out.

[+mytek]

I like the XEGS for all of the reasons that gilsaluki pointed out, and because it is one of the easiest systems to plug a PS2 keyboard into.

 

TK-II-XEGS-S - PS2 to XEGS plug-in keyboard adapter

Hope you get lots of enjoyment out of your new XEGS

 

- Michael

[+mytek]

Oh I almost forgot. My favorite reason for liking the XEGS is that once you remove the RF shield, you have the maximum headroom available inside the case for all kinds of upgrades to fit. Even a 1200XL isn't this spacious because of its sloping case and keyboard. The only pain is that everything is soldered, no sockets what so ever. But at least the PCB seems to be built out of good stuff and never gives me any grief when desoldering chips and replacing with shiny new machine pin IC sockets.

 

- Michael

[Centurion]

Welcome to the awesome world of Atari Home Computers! I personally love using 5.25" diskettes and have had decent luck with new old stock floppies.

 

Using a "new" tech device alongside physical diskettes can open up a lot of possibilities with these systems . I own a 1050 disk drive along with an Atarimax MyIDE-II and SIO2PC from Lothartek and can run just about anything with some work on my 800XL.

 

I'd follow Gilsaluki's suggestion on researching your must-own carts, then branching out. Just the cart based software alone on the A8's is pretty awesome, but delving into the richer disk based software is where it's at.

[suspicious_milk]

I have a 130XE, 65XE, and two XEGS's. Though I'm usually not a fan of 80's trends/fashions I love the look of the machine which is so 80's you could puke.

Look for 4 16MB images; and get an SIO2SD. You will then have instant access to pretty much every game that it'll run - on 16MB "floppies".

 

Honestly, the number ONE upgrade for any Atari 8 bit should be something for clearer video. A superb picture will give you much more enjoyment than any accelerator or RAM upgrades. An accelerator will give you very little (a game or two? some developer options) and a RAM upgrade will give a few games and some developer options (these offer some exclusive demo's as well). A stock XEGS can already play ~98% of every game out there for the 800 series. A video upgrade will make all of these better. S-Video and a good monitor will go long way.

 

Another nice upgrade for any XE series is replacing the keyboard cups (best electronics). It cannot be overstated how much nicer the keys feel; and its a cheap purchase that requires little to no skill to install. A Neo-Geo controller extension cable also works with the XEGS keyboard and can improve your desk setup.

[sanny]

A Neo-Geo controller extension cable also works with the XEGS keyboard and can improve your desk setup.

 

Can you give more information about this? Although I don't have an XEGS, I very much like the Neo-Geo controllers. Can they be adapted for the 8-bit?

[suspicious_milk]

 

Can you give more information about this? Although I don't have an XEGS, I very much like the Neo-Geo controllers. Can they be adapted for the 8-bit?

Never have seen (much less used) a Neo-Geo. The extension cables for their controllers, however, can be used with the XEGS keyboard, which has a *really* short cable.

[sanny]

For the record, a Neo-Geo is cool :-)

 

Ok, I misread your post. I thought you were connecting a Neo-Geo controller to the Atari. But apparently you're just using a Neo-Geo extension cable (didn't know that something like this exists) to connect the keyboard to the XEGS.

[kiwilove]

Here's something available in New Zealand for NZ$2300 - what looks like Mame running in a coin-op cabinet with 645 games with 2 arcade quality joysticks with 6 buttons - for StreetFighter II. They didn't list Neo Geo games but the older classics.

 

http://www.harveynorman.co.nz/gaming/gaming-consoles/spacies-retro-arcade-machine.html

 

Sounds ideal for someone who can't build their own though it's rather pricey.

 

Harvey

[haightc]

The keyboard works okay enough for now, I would image upgrading the the cups would be nice since it does feel a little sluggish. extension might be good. Right now I just have the keyboard slide into the console but again as I start using it more an extension cable may come in handy.

 

One of my friends in high school had an Atari 800 and I remember playing M.U.L.E. was a lot of fun. I would like to get some of the games I played to death on my Tandy 1000 if their available. Ghostbusters, Mickey's Space Adventure, Alley Cat and Tapper on this system if possible. I know Carmen Sandiago and Oregon Trail didn't make it to Atari 8-bit. I believe Atari got one Mickey adventure game, Mikey's Great Outdoors or something the like. Ghostbusters I I think came out on tape and I think the others were disk games.

 

There is a local video game shop that have a titles for everything but Atari 8-bit. There was a floppy disk drive but it didn't have a price tag and looked pretty beat up. Floppy drives are pretty monstrous and I haven't seem a good source for original Atari floppy games.

 

Are there other video upgrade boards beyond the VXBE? I thought I have seen a Svideo upgrade board although my PVM only takes RGB and composite.

[Neo-Rio]

I was a bit confused at first on which modern mods would be best to kit out an XEGS.

 

First thing to buy would be an SIO2SD. Put the entire game collection onto an SD card.

After that, the ultimate 1MB board would be my second choice.... primarily for the memory upgrade, but also for access to the older OS-B roms for compatibility with older games that haven't been fixed.

Third thing would be a flash cart, for you know... Space Harrier, and other large cart ROMs.

 

That combination will get you able to play anything from the Atari 8-bit back catalogue.

 

A non-essential but very nice inclusion would be the best-electronics best-touch caps. Makes the XEGS a lot of fun to type on.

 

It's tricky to get the 1MB upgrade board mounted inside the XEGS because of the darned shield.

It's possible though, but there's quite some hacking involved. I made a thread on the fun I had with achieving that.

And yes, all the chips aren't socketed. Lots of fun desoldering chips and inserting sockets with all the risk involved.

Edited August 26, 2016 by Neo-Rio

[+mytek]

If you have no plans to use the RF video output ever, then leaving the shield in is purely optional. However taking it out will give you all kinds of room to work with, and makes adding in other future upgrades a cinch. I run my without the shield, but then I only use the composite video or S-Video coming out of Bryan's UAV board. In fact I also removed the RF modulator long ago to free up room for my S-Video connection using the existing hole where the RF connection had been. Makes for a clean installation.

 

- Michael

[haightc]

No need for an RF adapter.

 

So with the TK-II-Stereo Board, does audio only go through the 3.5mm jack? Also do both the ps2 keyboard and atari keyboard work similtatiously? What would be the use of the second PS2 port, is there software that would take advantage of a PS2 mouse. Lotherek's stereo upgrade seems to have a disable switch, is there any reason functionally to disable the stereo option. As both options appear to make the onboard output useless.

 

Looks like it's going to be awhile before Bryan's UAV board is going to be an option again. For me the benefit would just be slightly better composite out that the XEGS stock based on the pictures I have seen.

 

In another post I read if you have the VBXE is actually adds 256K that can be access by some cards. What card/carts can make use of the 256k? Can the SiDE 2 use it so you load ATRs? The SiDE 2 looks cool, but major hold up is needing U1MB to boot ATR files.

 

On that topic there seems to be some other ram upgrades, it looks like another forum member is producing a 4mb upgrade that has an upgrade processor but looks like it's missing an RTC and doesn't yet work with devices that look for the U1MB. Is this correct? Also is there any good ram upgrades that would be worth looking out for?

 

Regarding Lotharek products is there a US supplier? Just the 20$ shipping on everything really adds to the cost, plus I prefer to buy from US suppliers when possible.

[phoenixdownita]

...

 

It's tricky to get the 1MB upgrade board mounted inside the XEGS because of the darned shield.

...

Actually I found it not to be too problematic, the ICD connectors had to have the plastic retainer removed and the cable presses a little on the shield but other than that it wasn't an hassle. I believe the new 2014 version with angled connector may be easier but still, I actually feared much worse.

[+mytek]

So with the TK-II-Stereo Board, does audio only go through the 3.5mm jack?

 

Yes stereo audio is provided through the 3.5 mm jack and also via a header on the connector interface board (for connection to either an internal amplifier or possibility RCA style jacks if desired). The original audio provided on the rear panel of the XEGS is still functional with this upgrade, essentially being the 'left' channel component of the stereo output.

 

Also do both the ps2 keyboard and atari keyboard work similtatiously?

 

Yes they do.

 

What would be the use of the second PS2 port, is there software that would take advantage of a PS2 mouse.

 

The 2nd PS2 port is now usable as of firmware version 1.6F for having two PS2 keyboards simultaneously connected to your A8. Possible use would be as a remote terminal by utilizing a combination of PS2 and Composite Video extension cables leading into another room. No matter which connector interface board is used (either single or dual PS2 connector) this functionality is present (the single connector version requires a special 'Y' cable). As for using one of the PS2 ports for a mouse, that was explored in the early versions of the TK-II firmware, but later abandoned in favor of a 2nd keyboard instead when the mouse failed to live up to expectations. True mouse support is best when using either an ST mouse or some kind of PS2/mouse adapter via the joystick connection on your A8.

 

 

Lotherek's stereo upgrade seems to have a disable switch, is there any reason functionally to disable the stereo option. As both options appear to make the onboard output useless.

 

The TK-II-STEREO board also has a disable stereo option (terminal J3-3 'MO' = mono when grounded), although in this case it provides not only that function, but also switches the Pokey audio outputs to always provide sound on both channels even when in 'mono' mode. Essentially it provides the functionality of Lotharek's U-Switch accessory. As to the 2nd part of your question, neither the Lotharek or the TK-II-STEREO board interfere with the stock audio output. It also provides a means of preventing the 2nd Pokey from getting addressed by the A8 in the event that a 2nd pokey chip is not installed, which would be useful if only the PS2 keyboard function is initially desired and stereo will be added at a later date.

 

Lotharek's U-Switch

Not Required for the TK-II-Stereo board which has the function built-in.

Hopefully that brings you up to speed

 

- Michael

Edited August 30, 2016 by mytekcontrols

[sl0re]

I'd start with one of the SD card readers. So you can download programs on your PC, put them on the card, then read them on the atari.