800xl Wouldn't Power On (Electronics Newb): SOLVED.

[MrFSL]

My first post - so before I begin, I think this community is just awesome! Thank you all very much for your contributions.

 

So a few weeks ago I decided I simply had to have the old 800XL back again. (My original one went into the bin when I was of at University.) I decided to buy locally so I could inspect the hardware and found an 800XL, a bunch of original documentation, a 1050, and a handful of carts and disks. Running this old equipment really hit a soft spot for me. I brought it home, ran all the internal tests, tested everything else out, showed my kids what computers used to be like, and pretty much played with everything for 3 or 4 days. I disconnected everything from the family television and moved it into my office and then the computer would not power on. No power light, nothing. Extremely disappointed I turned to the Internet for advice. I did not find steps to fix my problem so I thought I would put the details here for the next person.

 

It seemed that everywhere I searched for this specific problem I found three pieces of advice: 1. Make sure you don't have the "Ingot" power supply, 2. Make sure that the power supply is giving you 5V on all the appropriate pins, 3. You probably have bad RAM. I did not have an "Ingot", I was showing 5V on all the pins, and bad RAM made no sense to me. I took everything to a friend of mine who does electronics for a living. He explained that the power supply really should be tested under load. He popped the top of the case, connected the power supply, monitored on the actual pins for the power connector inside the board, and watched the amperage drop. The issue was the power supply, even though it measured 5V. We chopped up the PS (thought about repairing it but would have had to crack the plastic somehow) and made added a usb connector to one end. My phone charger was added later and I was back in business. --- I hope this helps the next guy doing the same searches I was doing. 

 

I got my 800XL for Christmas back in '84. All I knew of BASIC at the time was the few lines of sample code included in the manual. From these examples (and a bunch of trial and error) I kindled a real love for this computer. My family was broke but a wealthier family member purchased the computer for us along with the IndusGT disk drive and the 1027 printer. (I didn't know how lucky we were.) In the end this system sparked the excitement around computers that lasted until today where I work as an IT Architect. When I got this replacement box it really hit me. I don't care if it just decorates the office desk, or if I mod the thing 20 times. I am just very glad I own it and that I found like minded people.

 

Cheers.

 

[mimo]

Welcome back, now get modding ?

[MrFSL]

LOL!

 

I just bought a video cable from 8-bit classics, and AV2HDMI from amazon, and an SDrive-MAX from The Brewing Academy.

 

I've watched a million youtube videos (mostly all members here) and have compiled a wish list of different mods. I have an Atari bookmarks folder filled with resources. I even made sure I was purchasing a socketed board. 

 

Point is, all the above came from this forum. This was the reason I bought the computer; neh, had to buy this computer. I think its fantastic.

 

Right now I am leaning most towards having those things I could not attain or afford when I was a kid (modems, hard drives, multiple disk drives, a copy of AtariDOS 2.5  .) .... Perhaps I will get that s-video working.... very exciting!

[+Nezgar]

10 hours ago, MrFSL said:

Right now I am leaning most towards having those things I could not attain or afford when I was a kid (modems, hard drives, multiple disk drives, a copy of AtariDOS 2.5  .) .... Perhaps I will get that s-video working.... very exciting!

Teehee, this is a very dangerous road to go down financially, exactly as I have been doing, heh. One thing I've learned is that the things you spend years looking for, and finally find and "pay the price" for - inevitably, some short time later, you'll come across another for less. (or free  )

 

Although having a few "rare" things has come in quite handy to trade for other "rare" things...

 

But I think one of the most fun things about the Atari 8-bits is the electronics tinkering and modding.. Most of the upgrades are within the realm of things that existed back in the day, and its a great incentive to improve soldering skills and such as the mods will increase the usability for your own enjoyment of the machines, and their eventual resale value if you choose to sell.