ISO an XF521 (XE prototype) 5.25" floppy drive

[wiualum04]

I'm in search of one of these but I know I'm going to be hard pressed because there were only a handful ever produced. However, I'm willing to give it a shot and would pony up some cash if someone had such a beast. Thanks!

 

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[+Nezgar]

Do you mean the XF551 5.25" Double Sided Double Density (360K) drive? If so, they were fully produced and distributed. You can still buy one brand new in box from Best Electronics.

 

Now hang on.. Interesting.... I've never heard of this until today, but I just googled it and found mention of it in the Atari 8-Bit FAQ. and a picture!

 

The XF521 disk drive was announced by Atari in January 1985 at the Winter CES in Las Vegas. A 5.25" floppy disk drive in an XE-styled case, the XF521 was to be a feature-equivalent and gradual replacement for the Atari 1050. The XF521 never shipped, and no more than a handful may exist."

 

So... probably single sided, SD and enhanced/1050 density, who knows about double density.

[tjlazer]

Just Looks like a repackaged 1050 drive in the matching XE styling

[Bryan]

When Jack bought Atari from Warner, they had several drive designs in the works. The one they ultimately went with was originally called the 1050CR (cost-reduced) which used a PC-style integrated mech and an 8048 controller. It looks like they considered a face-lift for the old 1050 as well. I wonder if those Tandon-style single-sided bare mechs were getting harder to source by 1985, as Tandon was having financial problems and the whole industry was shifting toward servicing the PC market.

[MrFish]

It's the drive that's shown on the back of 130XE boxes (maybe 65XE too) -- along with several other protos that never came to market (XC1411 Monitor & XTM201 Printer).

 

Here's a closeup from an XEGS box showing it too:

 

Edited July 6, 2017 by MrFish

[MrFish]

Here's a 130XE box back closeup:

 

 

[+Nezgar]

Wow, never noticed that before!

[MrFish]

Here's a closer shot:

 

 

 

 

[wiualum04]

That's the one! I did manage to find me one of the XC-1411's. It's coming in the mail tomorrow.

 

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[wiualum04]

Some pics of it...

 

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[MrFish]

Some pics of it...

 

Amazing! First time I've ever seen one in someone's possession.

 

I'd love to see some clearer pics and see it running once you get it.

[wiualum04]

 

Amazing! First time I've ever seen one in someone's possession.

 

I'd love to see some clearer pics and see it running once you get it.

Once I get it set up, I'll post some pics up!!!

 

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[Bryan]

That is awesome. So it's a big Goldstar SC1224?

[MrFish]

Once I get it set up, I'll post some pics up!!!

 

Great... good luck on the 521; I've never seen one of those in possession either. A user on here (bob1200XL) sold a boxed XF351 fairly recently on Ebay, and I've seen a few of them in possession of collectors before too, but never a 521.

 

[Mathy]

Hello MrFish

 

A user on here (bob1200XL) sold a boxed XF351 fairly recently on Ebay...

 

Are you sure that it was an original Atari XF351? Bob W. turned XF551's into XF351's before Bob P. did.

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

[+kheller2]

Hello MrFish

 

 

Are you sure that it was an original Atari XF351? Bob W. turned XF551's into XF351's before Bob P. did.

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

 

 

Yes

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/231674-xf351-for-sale-on-ebay/?p=3110089

[MrFish]

Are you sure that it was an original Atari XF351? Bob W. turned XF551's into XF351's before Bob P. did.

 

Hi Mathy,

 

I said "boxed"... did you think he was converting boxes too?

 

Anyway, I don't think his converted XF551's are the same as an XF351. From what I remember there were some differences in how the drive operates (don't have time find the comments where he talks about it right now, but you can read it and see).

 

MF

Edited July 8, 2017 by MrFish

[+Philsan]

Jeremy, as written in Facebook, it would be nice if you'll make beautiful photos of this rare monitor.
There are no good photos of it on the web and they would be important for Atari history.

[+DrVenkman]

Even more, I want to see it working!

[Mathy]

Hello guys

 

Oops, looks like my memory has been playing tricks on me again. Too much stress....

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

[wiualum04]

Jeremy, as written in Facebook, it would be nice if you'll make beautiful photos of this rare monitor.

There are no good photos of it on the web and they would be important for Atari history.

 

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[MrFish]

[XC1411 Pictures]

 

Nice! Thanks for sharing, but too bad it doesn't seem to be working. I'm guessing you probably knew this before hand.

 

Well, the guts aren't where the majority of the value is anyway, and maybe it's something that an be repaired.

[Caterpiggle]

Hello Wiualum04,

 

Did you tested your 130XE on another monitor ? Be sure, your 130XE working. Did you re-adjusting all knobs at the back of this Prototype XC1411 Monitor ?

[wiualum04]

 

Nice! Thanks for sharing, but too bad it doesn't seem to be working. I'm guessing you probably knew this before hand.

 

Well, the guts aren't where the majority of the value is anyway, and maybe it's something that an be repaired.

It actually gets a picture but part of the screen is masked/darkened by the black line on the middle-left side of the screen. The sound works great...but the picture is somewhat garbled. I just need to find someone who can look at it and fix it to get the screen working 100%.

 

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[wiualum04]

Hello Wiualum04,

 

Did you tested your 130XE on another monitor ? Be sure, your 130XE working. Did you re-adjusting all knobs at the back of this Prototype XC1411 Monitor ?

I did. I got Karateka up and running but part of the screen remains dark with a line down the middle, making it unusable for now. The sound is working just fine.

 

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