Kyle22 Posted August 9, 2019 Share Posted August 9, 2019 I guess we must wait and see what happens. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted August 9, 2019 Share Posted August 9, 2019 (edited) The Atari 800 lives in a pretty thick Faraday cage... there must be zillion reasons why! since the triangular flux capacitor has mercury spinning around in it's tube and we need 1.21 gigawatts passing thru it to charge the Deloreans' plating, is it any wonder that Einey would be glad to meet Copernicus when we finally travel back in time and eventually end up in the future.... That's all I'm saying, -Doc B. aka The Doctor. Edited August 9, 2019 by _The Doctor__ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted August 9, 2019 Share Posted August 9, 2019 Indeed. Elon has raised billions in seed capital over 15 years plus billions more in customer payments for payload launches. Unless every billionaire VC angel investor and satellite operations company is wrong, there’s no shortcuts through physics. Sorry. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted August 9, 2019 Author Share Posted August 9, 2019 We will now return you to our regularly scheduled program... Status Report The 1088XLD V1.1 production version has been deemed ready to go to the board manufacturer, of which a small sample run will be made for final test. Assuming no problems are discovered in that sample board, the next step will be to gear up for production and take orders via the Brewing Academy website. This broadcast is about to go live . 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted August 15, 2019 Author Share Posted August 15, 2019 My desk... Looks pretty real. Too bad it wasn't . 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MacRorie Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 8 minutes ago, mytek said: My desk... Looks pretty real. Too bad it wasn't . NICE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 2 hours ago, mytek said: My desk... Looks pretty real. Too bad it wasn't . While we're going for the vintage look, but changing things slightly, perhaps I could request a better photo for the user (hmm - who could that be) ? In other good news, I now have a working keyboard in my 1088XLD. I think I am down to chasing one last issue. Missiles seem to all be stuck on, reading FF for each. Oddly, I think I am the only one who built a PAL 1088XEL and had terrible issues with PM/G as well. I will dig out the test program I wrote for it, as well as firing up SysInfo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 3 hours ago, Stephen said: While we're going for the vintage look, but changing things slightly, perhaps I could request a better photo for the user (hmm - who could that be) ? Yes I'm curious... who are you suggesting? 3 hours ago, Stephen said: In other good news, I now have a working keyboard in my 1088XLD. I think I am down to chasing one last issue. Missiles seem to all be stuck on, reading FF for each. Oddly, I think I am the only one who built a PAL 1088XEL and had terrible issues with PM/G as well. I will dig out the test program I wrote for it, as well as firing up SysInfo. Not to make you feel bad, but I've built two XLD systems (the original alpha prototype and the more recent beta release) and they both are working quite well in PAL mode (as well as NTSC), and both have been updated with the latest U1MB BIOS, not that it would make a difference. Maybe you have a flakey GTIA, have you tried another? Or swapping the one in the XLD for the one in your XEL (also might try Antic as well). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 33 minutes ago, mytek said: Yes I'm curious... who are you suggesting? Not to make you feel bad, but I've built two XLD systems (the original alpha prototype and the more recent beta release) and they both are working quite well in PAL mode (as well as NTSC), and both have been updated with the latest U1MB BIOS, not that it would make a difference. Maybe you have a flakey GTIA, have you tried another? Or swapping the one in the XLD for the one in your XEL (also might try Antic as well). time for the pictures so comparison can be made to help folks find mistakes and issues :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 34 minutes ago, mytek said: Yes I'm curious... who are you suggesting? Me of course - I'm a child of the 70s. Can do the long hippie hair or the 70s feather 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 36 minutes ago, mytek said: Not to make you feel bad, but I've built two XLD systems (the original alpha prototype and the more recent beta release) and they both are working quite well in PAL mode (as well as NTSC), and both have been updated with the latest U1MB BIOS, not that it would make a difference. Maybe you have a flakey GTIA, have you tried another? Or swapping the one in the XLD for the one in your XEL (also might try Antic as well). I am sure the issue is mine - same as the 1088XEL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 54 minutes ago, Stephen said: Me of course - I'm a child of the 70s. Can do the long hippie hair or the 70s feather Yes if we wanted it to represent someone less than 10 years old. On the other hand this is what I looked like at the end of 1973 just before my 18th birthday... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 27 minutes ago, mytek said: Yes if we wanted it to represent someone less than 10 years old. On the other hand this is what I looked like at the end of 1973 just before my 18th birthday... Well, in 1973 I would have been -2. I think that after seeing this, you deserve to be the cover dude. You just have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 I still had that hair in 1979, and it certainly did capture the trend around that time period. Wow -2, you're younger than I thought . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 Crikey... I was barely more than a glint in the milkman's eye at that time. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MacRorie Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 On 8/9/2019 at 7:53 AM, mytek said: We will now return you to our regularly scheduled program... Status Report The 1088XLD V1.1 production version has been deemed ready to go to the board manufacturer, of which a small sample run will be made for final test. Assuming no problems are discovered in that sample board, the next step will be to gear up for production and take orders via the Brewing Academy website. This broadcast is about to go live . As you may have noticed, I have not made the huge announcement that I usually do. I will do a big push on Monday. For now, it is live and ready to go: 1088XLD Ready and Waiting for your orders! You should also meet BoB! 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebiguy Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 15 minutes ago, MacRorie said: As you may have noticed, I have not made the huge announcement that I usually do. I will do a big push on Monday. For now, it is live and ready to go: 1088XLD Ready and Waiting for your orders! You should also meet BoB! I see that only assembled units are sold. Whatever good reasons are behind this decision, this is a no go for me. Let me explain my reasons: The pleasure for me is to build the unit and assemble the parts. I don’t need to buy another Atari fully built as if I was an end user. But the price is really a show stopper. Having built a 1088XEL, I know that the price of this 1088XLD is right one (no doubt). But in a DIY project you buy things month after month so the price is dispatched at moment when you can afford it. And I guess that in your sales model, european people is out because when you add the shipping and the custom taxes, you add at leat 30% to 40% of the price (taxes are based on both the initial price + the shipping). So it makes a unit very expensive. I understand that the target is really end user and not the initial 1088XEL owners. In one way, it lets people with no soldering skills get this jewel. But with the 1088XEL, there was the choice (build or buy). With the 1088XLD, there is no choice. Well, I am disappointed but, anyway, I wish you success with this unit and again many thanks to Mytek to bring us all these creations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply_Graham Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 (edited) Fantastic Achievment Although I'm a little sad as I love actually building the circuits up as well, and would have loved to build myself; same as the XEL, there for me is no achievement in buying something thats built (Well maybe a laptop). besides I've already worked out and ordered the components including a pair of S3's (ones in the XEL now). currently building an XEGS from scratch I hope that the board will be available in the future.. Just seen reply above, I must concur that for us in Europe the costs are a little silly, although I will alway point out that MacRorie will always help the best he can. Edited August 16, 2019 by Simply_Graham Previous post by ebiguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookt Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 14 minutes ago, ebiguy said: I see that only assembled units are sold. Whatever good reasons are behind this decision, this is a no go for me. Let me explain my reasons: The pleasure for me is to build the unit and assemble the parts. I don’t need to buy another Atari fully built as if I was an end user. But the price is really a show stopper. Having built a 1088XEL, I know that the price of this 1088XLD is right one (no doubt). But in a DIY project you buy things month after month so the price is dispatched at moment when you can afford it. And I guess that in your sales model, european people is out because when you add the shipping and the custom taxes, you add at leat 30% to 40% of the price (taxes are based on both the initial price + the shipping). So it makes a unit very expensive. I understand that the target is really end user and not the initial 1088XEL owners. In one way, it lets people with no soldering skills get this jewel. But with the 1088XEL, there was the choice (build or buy). With the 1088XLD, there is no choice. Well, I am disappointed but, anyway, I wish you success with this unit and again many thanks to Mytek to bring us all these creations. I couldn't agree more. I too am bitterly disappointed that only assembled units are being sold. Having followed the updates and the beta builder's progress for over a year I had this slated as my winter project this year and was eagerly looking forward to getting started. My reasons for preferring a self build option are much the same as those above. I already have Atari 8 bit machines here that do almost everything the 1050XLD will do. Sure it's cool and has some interesting features, but I don't need a 1050XLD to enjoy my 8bits. The pleasure for me in this project would be building it myself and brining it to life and what I'd learn along the way. Plus I already have some parts on hand here and the $700 price tag (which I'm sure is fair given component cost and time spent to build and test) is just way, way too much. It's nearly £600 GBP before shipping and there's no way on earth I can justify that in one hit for a retro project. Building it myself I could use components I already have (VBXE / Spare U1mb / 1050 case / etc) and spread the cost of the rest over several months. I hope that the board design and related files etc might be made available at some point to allow a self build versions to be realised and wish the project every success in its current form. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 1 hour ago, MacRorie said: You should also meet BoB! BoB appears to be shy. Show yourself BoB, don't hide behind that "No Image" placeholder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentarian Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 16 hours ago, mytek said: My desk... Looks pretty real. Too bad it wasn't . I can't wait to get a poster of this and hang in my office. Now all we need is the 1088XLD box! ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 3 hours ago, MacRorie said: As you may have noticed, I have not made the huge announcement that I usually do. I will do a big push on Monday. For now, it is live and ready to go: 1088XLD Ready and Waiting for your orders! You should also meet BoB! Wow!!! Its really happening. Nice presentation . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MacRorie Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 5 hours ago, Mr Robot said: BoB appears to be shy. Show yourself BoB, don't hide behind that "No Image" placeholder. BoB is there. He’s a bit un-cased at the moment (iun-clothed?!?!), but he is definitely there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MacRorie Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 Folks, First, I am glad that people are very engaged with the XLD project. MyTek and The Beta Test group have put many hours into the project and we are constantly working on making new and exciting products for both the 1088XEL and 1088XLD. Second, during the course of the beta builds, a number of conversations were had about how to release the XLD. This build is even more involved than the XEL and requires an even greater need for an adept hand in building them. As such, I was thinking that producing only assembled units would be a good option. Moreover, my experience with providing DIY kits on the XEL told me that I spend about the same amount of time assembling kits as I did assembling fully built units (I label and group-bag each component, put all into an orderly fashion and make sure that light documentation is included). Third, even with all of this, the XEL is a medium-difficulty build. The XLD is—in a lot of ways—even more difficult. Additionally, options/accessories are being developed for the XLD that would just not be possible to release as a DIY kit. Fourth, my price on the XLD, assembled, is much less than a comparable XEL. I have done my level best to make them as affordable as possible and still adhere to my motto of making sure that every product I make is always available for a stable price point. I have gone out of my way to make sure that shipping overseas is as affordable as possible. Sure, a couple of hiccups with the website have surfaced, but no one has ever paid anything but what USPS or UPS or DHL charges me and the cost of the shipping materials. If you believe it is a hardship, I am always willing to try to help. Just remember, I have to pay the rent as well! Finally, in discussion with the Beta group, bare boards will be released to the public with a BoM with the caveat that any one who purchases them does it with the expectation that they have the necessary skills to troubleshoot the board as well as the physical dexterity to build it. Bare boards will NOT include a printed manual. The initial run of Blue and Red are just that, initial production test runs. Once they are gone (I only have 15 of each available), the regular run will be black. There are three boards in a complete build, so they will be more expensive than the XEL. I will, as always, have the more esoteric parts for the build available for sale. Also, unless MyTek decides otherwise, Gerbers or Board files will not be released. I think MyTek’s schematic release is fairly extensive. I hope this assuages some concerns and just a reminder, you can always ask me a question. I am more than happy to answer either privately or publicly and will always listen to concerns. -MacRorie 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 I can certainly attest to the complexity in this. Poor Michael surely must be tired of my constant issues - he has the patience of a saint! I'm down to diagnosing one last issue on mine and I can finally case it. There is absolutely no way that I would offer to build these for anybody, so I am grateful for MacRorie offering these. For a while, there was talk that only the beta boards would exist and that would be the end of it. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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