BigE Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Hi All, Just an introductory note and a quick question if I may. My name is Eric and I am from Burnley in the sunny United Kingdom. I am just getting into Atari computers after spending most of my youth going through the commodore and Sinclair range of computers. I have just been given an Atari 400 computer in excellent condition apart from the fact it didn't work. This has now been sorted and it is in complete working order, another old machine saved. My problem is I was advised to buy an SIO2SD Disk Drive Emulator for it, however I cannot get it to work on my machine. I have since been told that it will not work on a Basic spec Atari 400 with only 16k RAM. Opinions on this are varied. Can anyone in this forum give me a definitive answer to this question. Will the SIO2SD work with an unexpanded Atari 400? If not I need to start looking for an 800XL, so far these look hard to find at the right price. Hope someone can help. Have a nice day. Eric UK 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 24 minutes ago, BigE said: Hi All, Just an introductory note and a quick question if I may. My name is Eric and I am from Burnley in the sunny United Kingdom. I am just getting into Atari computers after spending most of my youth going through the commodore and Sinclair range of computers. I have just been given an Atari 400 computer in excellent condition apart from the fact it didn't work. This has now been sorted and it is in complete working order, another old machine saved. My problem is I was advised to buy an SIO2SD Disk Drive Emulator for it, however I cannot get it to work on my machine. I have since been told that it will not work on a Basic spec Atari 400 with only 16k RAM. Opinions on this are varied. Can anyone in this forum give me a definitive answer to this question. Will the SIO2SD work with an unexpanded Atari 400? If not I need to start looking for an 800XL, so far these look hard to find at the right price. Hope someone can help. Have a nice day. Eric UK WELCOME!!! Congrats for owning among the finest 8-bit platforms ever designed and mass-produced... The 400 comes with a complete chipset (same as upper models), but a bit low in memory. SDrive loader (sames as in SDrive-NUXX drive) does NOT seem work on 16 KB (I just verified on my 800/Incognito, in Colleen mode, and brought down to 16KB for testing). When setting ram to 32KBytes, it does work! So I would guess you would need a 400 with a minimum of 32 Kbytes for SDrive loader to work! If you would like to proceed with the 400, there is a SUPERB set of upgrades, designed and produced right here. One is a "super color" card, that enables a substantially upgraded video output for the 400, and another is a GREAT RAM expansion board that will provide up to 52 KB of linear-ram space, just as the 800 / Incognito. Both from the same designer, I believe. Just search them with Forum's search function (e.g. "400 RAM Expansion", "400 Color card", etc.) Enjoy! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 (edited) Forum member @tf_hh Edited August 14, 2019 by flashjazzcat 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 welcomes! in addition to the SIO2SD, there are: several cartridges that allow loading games from compact flash/SDcard (AVGcart, SIDE2, UnoCart, UltimateCart, The!cart, MyIDE2) SIO2PC (USB) that allows your PC to act as an emulated disk drive to load games from PC (and thus the internet) sdrive2 - compact version of SIO2SD SDrive MAX - touchscreen drive emulator device that plugs into the SIO port these might be better options for your 400. the only limitation i am aware of is if a cartridge is too tall and prevents the 400 door from closing then the computer wont power on. if you havent seen it already, lotharek's site is an interesting read: https://lotharek.pl/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 It is true that most disk-based software requires more than 16KB to run. Upgrading the machine to 48KB will allow 'most' software to run, but maybe not some software designed specifically for the XL/XE. As FJC already suggested, tf_hh in Germany has made some great easy-to-install upgrades available for the 400 to make it just as good or better than the other models (save the keyboard, but it has it's own charm ), including a 48KB (or even 52KB) RAM upgrade "48/52 KB RAM-Card" , as well as a board that gives full composite & s-video output "Super Color CPU Card". His projects link is here: http://www.van-radecke.de/STUFF/tfhh_HW_info.pdf 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manterola Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 I just to add that the sio2pc and sio2sd (other disk drive emulators) are compatible with the 400. It is just that most software disk software requires more than 16kb to run. Do your sio2sd should run, and what I mean by that is that you should hear the sio typical noises of a disk booting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erichenneke Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 1 hour ago, flashjazzcat said: Forum member @tf_hh I second the tf_hh memory upgrade. Super simple to Install, no permanent modification required, and it thinks it is an 800 now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geister Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 The 400 should be usable with the CF carts. You just need to defeat the cart door interlock (push it down and jam it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 7 hours ago, Geister said: You just need to defeat the cart door interlock chewing gum, blu-tac, earwax etc... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 4 hours ago, xrbrevin said: chewing gum, blu-tac, earwax etc... ? Dirty boy!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 (edited) Hi BigE, As you are new to the Atari range the notion of doing upgrades etc might seem a tad extreme, for this reason I'd say to get a 800XL or 130XE, the XL will be fine but a little bit of extra ram is ok but not really used by most games so an XE is just a nice bonus having 128K or ram onboard. Obviously you could get your machine upgraded to 48K with people like Flashjazzcat being not too far from you who is a maestro of the Atari. There's only one other I'd recommend an 800XL for and that is overall compatibility with software, the Atari range comes with translator disks to patch software that needs the older OS as in the 400 / 800 range while the 800XL offers the extra memory for certain ways disks have been packed to run on so you have the best of both worlds. I know some of that might be clear as mud but once you get used to the Atari it all becomes clear and simple. Welcome to the forum from someone 'Dan Safth' Down South.. Edited August 15, 2019 by Mclaneinc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMontezuma Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 (edited) One more thing recommended for Atari 400 is a SIO Hub/Switch (with external power supply) from Lotharek. This way you may select a game on SIO2SD / SDRIVE-MAX / SIO2BT, etc. (powered from the hub) and powering on the Atari will trigger loading a game. Edited August 16, 2019 by TheMontezuma 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle22 Posted August 17, 2019 Share Posted August 17, 2019 The Ultimate SD cart is nice. You can run small games on it with 16K, but some new games may require more RAM. I have a Toshiba FlashAir (that has WiFi) in mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarland Posted August 17, 2019 Share Posted August 17, 2019 (edited) Welcome to the A8 platform!! I think getting an XL or XE machine is much easier and straightforward. If you are okay using RF video on the 400, then the 48/52KB upgrade from tf_hh is a good option, too. Since you know the 400 works the RAM upgrade is more straightforward. The upgrade does require opening up the computer fully, some soldering, pulling a small chip and replacing the existing RAM card. Just be extremely careful with the cart door. The door easy to break if you leave it open while flipping the computer upside down. Another option you might consider is starting out with old carts and/or modern multicarts like The!Cart or AVGcart. Many cart games are 16K or less. Just know that many great games require more RAM and so a 16K machine is limited. Edited August 17, 2019 by Sugarland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyy Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 (edited) On 8/14/2019 at 7:27 PM, Geister said: The 400 should be usable with the CF carts. You just need to defeat the cart door interlock (push it down and jam it). Edited January 9, 2020 by scottyy wrong person Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyy Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 On 8/14/2019 at 7:27 PM, Geister said: The 400 should be usable with the CF carts. You just need to defeat the cart door interlock (push it down and jam it). i shaved down the top of the SD card to make the door close... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 9 minutes ago, scottyy said: i shaved down the top of the SD card to make the door close... nice one, dont trim the atari - trim the card! ? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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