Curt Vendel Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 After 35 Years... The Schematics for the Atari 1450XLD "TONG" have finally been discovered and made available to the community. The Atari 1450XLD page on Atari Musuem has been updated: http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8BITS/XL/1450xld/1450xld.html The larger set of the 1983 1450XL schematics will also be scanned and posted hopefully by the weekend. 1400XL schematics (nice clean scans, not the very dark hard to read ones that Best used to sell) will be going up soon as well. Also on the 1450XLD page are the schematics to the Atari Parallel Disk drive controller... More 1090XL stuff coming soon as well... 17 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 Very cool, Curt, thanks for sharing! How many 1400XL/1450XLDs are actually out there? Man, it would have been so damn cool if these systems had actually seen the light of day, as well as the 1090XL... ..Al 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 (edited) Awesome!! Thank you Curt!!!! I just have one question.... Since the 1090 was never released, why does the CO61636 PSU always say it works on the 1027 and 1090? Why not add the 1400 and 1450XLD to the list as well? Just curious.... Edited June 25, 2019 by scotty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 4 minutes ago, scotty said: Why not add the 1400 and 1450XLD to the list as well? Just curious.... They use a completely different PSU... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 It sure would be nice to have some 24" x 36" prints made for framing and hanging in my 8-Bit Attic. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+kheller2 Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 3 hours ago, Curt Vendel said: After 35 Years... The Schematics for the Atari 1450XLD "TONG" have finally been discovered and made available to the community. The Atari 1450XLD page on Atari Musuem has been updated: http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8BITS/XL/1450xld/1450xld.html So that's what the 48 pin socket is for... CGIA! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 always a fascinating read Curt, please keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 The tech docs are fascinating, especially this one: http://www.atarimuseum.com/ahs_archives/archives/pdf/computers/8bits/1450docs.pdf Well, damn. Engineering was clearly being stretched pretty thin: "3600" is the 7800 game console, then under development in conjunction with GCC, along with its own (costly to develop!) MARIA custom 48-pin graphics/sprite engine. Wouldn't it be great to find the other, oh, 145 or so missing sets of pilot plastics? And the remaining 20 + boards unaccounted for? SO MUCH GOOD STUFF HERE! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 Unfortunately this stuff tends to get scrapped when a project gets cancelled. And unless someone raids the dumpster in time, it disappears forever. I know this first hand from a place I used to work for that threw perfectly good and very expensive stuff away to use as a tax write-off. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 12 minutes ago, mytek said: Unfortunately this stuff tends to get scrapped when a project gets cancelled. And unless someone raids the dumpster in time, it disappears forever. I know this first hand from a place I used to work for that threw perfectly good and very expensive stuff away to use as a tax write-off. Yep, I know. Just day dreaming. There are further notes in that same document beyond the ones I quoted about the pilot plastics and boards. They were actually in-hand at Atari at some point in early 1984. *sigh* 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 Don't stop dreaming... dreaming is good ? . 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 (edited) fyi, the other 125 boards for initial run were done as well. Edited June 28, 2019 by _The Doctor__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarland Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 Awesome. Thank you Curt!!! I love this new attention for these unrealeased machines. RS232 port > 300b modem 80colums > voice synthesizer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+kheller2 Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 Small update... Curt has release the 800XLK schematics which use the Keri/CGIA chip with Freddie. http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8BITS/XL/800xl/800XLK/index.html The 800XL/600XL schematics are also at the museum, and hopefully soon the XLF schematics. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfollowell Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 This was my dream computer growing up, well, at least until I went to college and the STs came out. I'll get my dream 8-bit later this year, after I finish my 1088XEL assembly project. Still, it would be awesome to have a 1400XL or 1450XLD in an authentic looking case! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarland Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 On 11/5/2019 at 10:57 AM, kheller2 said: Small update... Curt has release the 800XLK schematics which use the Keri/CGIA chip with Freddie. http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8BITS/XL/800xl/800XLK/index.html The 800XL/600XL schematics are also at the museum, and hopefully soon the XLF schematics. Thank you!! A little bit curious as to why Keri was not used for the XE line. They did use Freddie so why not? Speculating from here on. Maybe there were problems with it. Also the June '83 timing of Keri says that it would easily have been ready for the 14xxXL machines being developed in spring of '84, if it worked.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+kheller2 Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 It is unknown at this time why Keri wasn't used (or even if it was completely finished). One could speculate that Atari, CORP had a massive handful of the legacy chips, so why not unload them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted November 8, 2019 Author Share Posted November 8, 2019 On 11/5/2019 at 10:57 AM, kheller2 said: Small update... Curt has release the 800XLK schematics which use the Keri/CGIA chip with Freddie. http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8BITS/XL/800xl/800XLK/index.html The 800XL/600XL schematics are also at the museum, and hopefully soon the XLF schematics. A lot more to come.... trying to put up a few things every week... Little work going toward many times at once: proto research, XL scans, XM work, super-secret "other" project that I'm not saying shit about because I've been putting in a little time here and there over past few years on it and I don't want a repeat of the stress like the XM again... I'll pull back the curtain once the XM's are all gone and I've spent the time I want getting next things ready. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted November 8, 2019 Author Share Posted November 8, 2019 On 11/6/2019 at 7:11 PM, kheller2 said: It is unknown at this time why Keri wasn't used (or even if it was completely finished). One could speculate that Atari, CORP had a massive handful of the legacy chips, so why not unload them. Money got dangerously tight for Corp in Oct 84 and all of the original "New" XL work was scraped. They were planning a lot of very cool new systems, also they had planned to originally retain the "XL" name on the line. Once I'm done with all of the updates on the XL section of my site, I'll be working on a complete rebuild of the XE section and the information I've uncovered from July 84-Jan 85 is amazing... One thing I will say, those who like their XE's are going to be very miffed when they see how shortchanged they were with what was eventually delivered. Oct 84 changed everything. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor_x Posted November 10, 2019 Share Posted November 10, 2019 On 6/27/2019 at 7:08 PM, mytek said: Unfortunately this stuff tends to get scrapped when a project gets cancelled. And unless someone raids the dumpster in time, it disappears forever. I know this first hand from a place I used to work for that threw perfectly good and very expensive stuff away to use as a tax write-off. Necro reply - but I bet Atari dumpsters were some of the most raided next to telco CO's... probably more about people seeking passwords or manuals for mini/micros's but i bet a lot of that plastic left the dumpsters... only to be left in parents attics after coke, heroin, booze deaths, head on collisions and so many more things that take our lives in such a hurry.... sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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