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Loading Cassette for 400/800 on 800XL


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Of course, the problem could be a multitude of issues.

 

Tape is original 16K Data East Zaxxon...from 1983. :) Man I'd really like that iron on T-Shirt offer but I digress...

 

Says for 400/800 on box.

 

SIO cable is new, power supply for 1010 drive is 1.0AMP, 9VAC output. Tpower deal off Ebay...

 

800XL Power supply is 12W USB cable from brewing academy.

 

Tape will load sometimes but get incomplete 'Zaxxon' on loading screen, and then just dumps to built in hardware test.

 

Tried holding both OPTION and/or START for load but no dice.

 

Guesses? Suggestions?

 

 

 

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Has the 1010 been restored? Nearly all cassette decks from that era have failed over time due to rotted drive belts - the rubber gets soft, sags and in some cases totally falls apart. I've got three 410's and a 1010 and all of them have bad belts. If your 1010 has not had the drive belts replaced, that's probably at least part of the issue.

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Are the play heads on the tape deck clean? If not, then it's a good idea to clean them with q-tips and rubbing alcohol, as dirty tape heads can hinder the tape decks ability to read the data off the cassette. It's also a good idea to crack open the tape deck and check if the drive belt is stretched.

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Hmmm, there are some tapes that do require the older 400/800 OS (OS-A or OS-B), maybe your version of Zaxxon is one of them ?!? Try to find an Old-Os or Translator that can also boot tapes and check it out.

 

Some old programs (or early versions of some programs) also had copy protection and therefore would not work if there was RAM at a place where there should not be any (e.g. $C000-CFFF), so when the XL computers appeared these programs did not work anymore thanks to that copy protection (the XL's, except 600XL, did have RAM under the OS and some copy protections did not like this and were assuming some hacker/cracker tool, like Omnimon and others). Many of these programs were released in newer/updated versions, but maybe you still have one of the older versions ? The Datasoft tape version of Zaxxon e.g. checks for the presence of a disk drive, it will load to the very end but simply present a blank screen then (the manual mentions to switch off the disk drive when loading the tape)...

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Doubt its had the belts done but I did clean the heads with 91%.

 

Got a partial load so I think its just passing bad data.

 

Zaxxon splash comes up sometimes but its garbled different most times so Im guessing belts are loose therefore bad tape speed.

 

Im also wondering about the 1amp adapter as the spec I read had it at 1.3 for the original.

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its worth cleaning the whole tape path with alcohol - pinch roller et al

if youve tried all the non-invasive options, its possible your head is out of alignment. the procedure is straightforward and no special tools are required. i had to do it to one of mine:

 

zero the tape counter and attempt a load. make a note of the counter number when the load fails.

make a small turn on the tape head adjustment screw and re-attempt the load procedure.

if the load fails sooner/earlier then the adjustment was in the wrong direction. turn the screw back and also a bit further.

re-attempt the load and note the counter number where the load fails - it should have got further. if it has not then alignment is not the issue, turn the screw back to its initial position.

if it has then turn the screw further in the same direction, note the counter and repeat the process until the alignment is reliable/satisfactory and the game loads in.

 

if i recall correctly, zaxxon loads at between 110 and 120?

always use start & option on the 800XL unless the game requires basic. when the XLs came out, so many games were already in circulation for the 400/800. the game instructions had no reference to option being pressed because 400/800 didnt need it - users just physically removed the basic cart instead. this befuddled me for a short while as a kid - until i read the XL computer instructions! (hehe)

 

best of luck

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Doubt its had the belts done but I did clean the heads with 91%.

I also doubted that once. Tape would load half way, then load would be aborted.

Only when I changed the belts on my 1010 and XC12, I could load the tape successfully.

Someone on the forum sells them (can't remember his name at the moment).

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somewhere on the forum this is sold or the info for that is located is becoming the bane of my existence because I can almost never find the things any more, an atari parts and things sticky would solve some of this... where parts and or spec for parts and various places that have serviced the needs over time could be listed once and only once... that would be useful I'd think, but I of course could be wrong. I like salad do you like salad, when it's a musical that is... :)

Edited by _The Doctor__
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You misread, I said I doubt it had been done. I looked inside and it looked pretty loose.

 

There's an Ebay seller but he mentions countries of manufacture and mine's Japan which isn't listed so I need to contact.

Indeed, you are corect. But I can tell, the belt are worth it, if you still want to use a tape.

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Hi,

 

I stopped doing belts a,while back as demand was virtually zero. After this they sprung up in ebay for sale by others, so there should he some there.

 

I can always get more but only if there's a general need in the community these days.

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Hi,

 

I stopped doing belts a,while back as demand was virtually zero. After this they sprung up in ebay for sale by others, so there should he some there.

 

I can always get more but only if there's a general need in the community these days.

 

Yep, would be interested in 1010 Japan belts and XC-11 belts, since they are hard(er) to find at ebay...

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Ok, if folks want to list their wants over the next week or so, I can get some in.

 

I can accomodate:

 

1010 Japan

1010 hong Kong

410 kit (few, ff & play)

XC121

 

I don't know what's in a xc11, and I don't generally do counter belts.

 

MK

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Ill take a Japan 1010. The eBay guy said he wasnt sure hed ever seen one. Must have been N America to get the version I guess. He didnt have any.

 

I presume the cost is similar to his. :)

 

Mainly at this point to complete the Will it Boot? YouTube video I started for Zaxxon. :)

 

Heck a Zaxxon T shirt costs as much as a tape drive on EBay...

Edited by @RealActorRob
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