Further adventures in Atariland

[Bee]

This is the tale of 3 Atari 130XEs.  My father passed away last year just before Christmas.  In his things were several computers, but he and I spent the most time with the Atari 8 Bit computers.  To connect with that I have gotten back into using my Atari collection. 

 

 

This is about 3 of the 5 I'm running.

 

My personal 130XE now named after a friend I used to program on the Atari with, "Andy".   Andy has a bad Bad Bank 1 Memory and fails to boot goes directly to testing and fails the Ram test.  My second 130XE is my Fathers'  Called "DAD" and it boots and runs well but had a bad Q  key.  I have swapped the keyboard out from Andy to DAD.   DAD is not a 100% functional 130XE , checks out on all tests.  Andy is in bad shape but can be fixed.  The 3rd 130XE is called "Ester" she was Andys' girlfriend.   Ester is where I need help.   Ester was acquired in a bulk purchase of Atari equipment 10 years + back.  Ester will boot to Basic.  Ester will boot form a Sdrive-Max.  Ester will not react to the Option key.  Typing DOS goes to testing but will not start as it will not see the Start key.  If I try the Cartridge I get Random characters or a black scree or a partial load that hangs before getting to Sparta Dos Prompt.  In Basic all the keyboard seems to work sans the Help/Start/Option keys.  Ester is less than Digital in performance.  Cashing at a state of Maybe often? 

 

Anyone have any thoughts here?  BTW they are all NTSC if it makes a difference. 

 

Thx

Edited December 25, 2019 by Bee

[Bee]

More information on Ester.  Left in test mode Ester launched all tests on it's own.  If I put some carts in crooked they might work.  I've never opened Ester but it looks like my next step.  Ester looks to pass all tests but still has key issues.  I will swap the keyboard from Andy to gain some more control.

Edited December 25, 2019 by Bee

[Bee]

More facts on Ester, I suspect a problem with the cartridge port at the board.   I was thinking I would open up Ester and find a world of fur balls maybe.  This was true of other systems back in the day.   To my surprise Ester was exceedingly clean and found the CPU socketed.  I have tried lifting and reseating the 6502.  Same results.  I may try reheating the solder joints at the cartridge joints and the CPU socket.  Any other thoughts before I do?

 

Rev 5 Mainboard - 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by Bee

[Bee]

Andy is a Rev 3 board - 

 

From what I've seen in researching notoriously the 6th chip in the first bank goes on these.

 

 

 

I bought one of these - https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=232

 

Wondering if I should socket or just piggy back this on the 6502.

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by Bee

[Bee]

I just backspaced out of a post i jus wrote on this and now have rewritten - darn it.  I did more investigation and found Ester has had the Extended port replaced.  Testing with a know working keyboard Ester still will not see the Start key.  I found damage to the replaced extended port and a slight bend in the bottom shield, I think at some point a prior owner stepped on Ester.  

 

I'm now thinking of breaking down the chips form this board as a donor for a 1088XL build, possibly trying to use the memory on Andy.  The other possibility is 8bit signage in Basic.

 

 

[Mclaneinc]

From a work POV I'd say amalgamate Andy and Ester for parts towards 1088XL as Dad is a worker..Obviously that means a lot of desoldering which isn't fun but at least the chances are you will have all the parts needed between them.

 

As for individual diagnosis, I'll leave that to the pro's.. 

[foft]

The console keys (start,select,option) are handled by gtia. I guess you could measure the pins on gtia to see if the press changes the voltage on pins 12-15. If the voltage changes and print peek(53279) does not change then I’d suspect a bad gtia. 

[Bee]

I will test out Gita - Thank you for that input, this is very helpful.  Where we are at - I ordered a new 130XE Mainboard for Andy - I feel I can get Andy up and running pretty easily but want to stuff his case with a new board for now.  I prefer the 130XE over the other designs as a workstation.  That said I have "Muke" this is the EXGS and it is solid and very clean with a PS2 adaptor.  Muke was one of Andys' friends.   Andy was an Artist and if I can find the right disk in Ataripaint I have pictures of all of these characters.  The Last is my original Atari 800XL "B*" it runs as good as the day it came out of the box with one minor upgrade.  An original Transkey.  I feel I'm gaining ground.

 

Thx

[Gunstar]

On 12/25/2019 at 3:23 PM, Bee said:

 My father passed away last year just before Christmas. 

I am sorry to hear that. My father also passed away just before Christmas, though in 2010. The loss really hits me bad still, this time of year. I can sympathize. Though we didn't have too many common interests to share, I wish there had been.

[Bee]

I'm sorry for your loss.  It is an unpleasant experience that in time everyone in someway experiences.  My Grandmother was very explicit that she would have to go someday to make room for the younger people in the world.  It is a tough step in growing.  It is also difficult to realize there is more growing up to do even at this age.

Edited December 27, 2019 by Bee

[Bee]

The Rabbit Hole deepens, in a good way.  I was looking for a 1020 plotter I have in storage.  I found in a corner behind it my fathers 800XL, 2 1050 floppy drives, and a 822 printer.   All of his floppy disks too.  

 

 

[Bee]

So that last post - I fat fingered 822 - it's a 820 Printer -  Basically my Brother in Law boxed up my Dads stuff and put it in a storage space.  I had gotten my fathers 130XE earlier.  But the stuff in the storage unit is pure gold.  I found I have a 1040ST with a SM124, but I'm about the A8 right now.  Here is my active-ish A8 collection.  Unnamed is in transit so untested and the upgrades pending it actually showing up.  The X on Ester and Andy denote they have problems.  I will shortly have 3 maybe 4 running 130XEs.  Anyone is Socal that wants to help diagnose Andy and Ester I'm down to drive.  My Atari tech from the old days is no more.  I have a patch for Andy that I think will get the lower 64k running.  The trouble is Best sells the 130XE replacement mainboard populated for $79, the quick fix chip was less then $30 but how far do you go on a fix over replacement.  In the end Ester is headed for scrap, but I bought a MMU to swap out to see if that fixes the odd cart issues.  I may just use Ester for Socket practice.  Muke, DAD,MOM & B* are all 100% functional.  Are there people here that would be interested in parts like Esters' Mainboard if I end up just tossing it in the corner?  I'm out of space and should down size anything not in use.  That is are there those wanting to fix these parts up if I offer them as donation ware?   

 

Thanks for following along

 

[ivop]

Sweet how you have named all your computers after friends and family! I have never named my Atari computers, but all my networked machines have names. All within the same theme. Perhaps with #FujiNet I will finally name my Ataris

 

Edited December 28, 2019 by ivop

[E474]

Hi,

 

   Rather than scrapping anything, you might just want to put it back in storage and consider it a potential source of spare parts. If you really want to get rid of it, at least offer it up (clearly described) on eBay or similar, with a very low start price so someone else can at least make use of it. The only exception being an "Ingot" power supply, which you might want to check for/dispose of before you go any further.

 

    You might also want to get hold of a SysCheck 2 card, you have a lot of 8-bit kit and it provides a lot of functionality, and is a good investment for dealing with any future problems that might arise.

 

   There is an easy fix to swap upper and lower ram banks on a 130XE, you only need to work on a couple of resistors, just search the forums, it has been written about before. 

 

    If you've found your late father's software collection, you might want to check to see if there is anything unique in there - I think you can search Atari Mania for rare items. Did he use anything like SynFile+ for organising it? Although it can be a bit tedious, you might want to convert the (unprotected) disks to ATR images, at least then you're much less likely to lose any programs due to disks going bad.

 

   Hope you have fun with your 8-bit kit!

 

   

[Bee]

Hi Moonsweeper,

 

It's a matter of space left to have "Stuff" - George Carlin had a skit on a place for my Stuff.

 

So there was a old Atari 800XL storage box.  Or so I thought.

Dad had a backup 800XL sealed in an air tight bag - NIB, It has a new Electronics/Styrofoam smell.  I has no yellowing as it has been Air free in a light tight box.  It is a sight to see.   So 1 more 800XL in the collection, and when I picked up the box there was a original Atari 400 under it.  

 

I have spent the day testing things and spend a few minutes playing some games.  It's funny how much comes back from such a visit to the past.

 

Thx

[Bee]

Moonsweeper,

 

Where can I get a SysCheck 2 card?  After watching a video of FJC using one, I thought about it. I saw a thread where a version of it was sold out it seemed.  I would love to get my hands on one.

 

Thanks

[Roydea6]

53 minutes ago, Bee said:

I would love to get my hands on one.

 

Just who the hell is Moonsweeper,??  Get your labels correct ..

 

[Mclaneinc]

58 minutes ago, Bee said:

Moonsweeper,

 

Where can I get a SysCheck 2 card?  After watching a video of FJC using one, I thought about it. I saw a thread where a version of it was sold out it seemed.  I would love to get my hands on one.

 

Thanks

Oops...Moonsweeper is a token name based on forum usage, the real user name is at the top...

 

@tf_hh is the guy for the syscheck, download the pdf in his sig and it shows current levels of stock..Brilliant add on, got mine a little while back..Really handy..

[Bee]

Thanks - Roydea6.  I was confused what the extra nick names were from.

 

Mclaneinc - Many thanks I will be going for a SysCheck 2 after the batch of parts I just ordered show up.  I also need to get one of Gavins drives.  Without your explanation I'd been lost on Roydea6s comment.

 

Now I know.  I appreciate the direction from both of you.  

 

This is a test @Mclaneinc 

 

Thx

[Mclaneinc]

The test worked

 

As with 99.9% of folks on here, here to help...

[Bee]

OK - new parts arrived but not all is as it should be.  I really need that Syscheck 2.  A drop in replacement came for Andy and Andy 2.0 is up and running.  I used Esters keyboard on Andy and it works 100%  so this tells me their are definite issues with Esters Mainboard.  The MMU I ordered didn't show up so that will have to be back burner for now.  I will see if I can get Andy 1.0 Mainboard running agin.  I got a NOS XEP 80 but it is not paying well with any of my monitors.  More on that as I research more.  Now I have a production 130 and a workstation 130 I will be able to develop some apps. 

 

All for now

 

Thank you

[Bee]

So I have a happy XEP80 set up now with an Apple 2c Monitor.  I wrote a batch file in Sparta Dos to load the XEP80.sys.  I can boot headless on the 40 Column side and type "-X" & Magically the XEP80 springs to life.

 

 

Getting farther down the road.

 

Thank you

 

Edited January 1, 2020 by Bee

[+Allan]

Don't forget to try the new Silent Butler 80 with your XEP-80.

 

 

 

[+Stephen]

29 minutes ago, Bee said:

So I have a happy XEP80 set up now with an Apple 2c Monitor.  I wrote a batch file in Sparta Dos to load the XEP80.sys.  I can boot headless on the 40 Column side and type "-X" & Magically the XEP80 springs to life.

 

 

Getting farther down the road.

 

Thank you

 

There's multiple different ways you can get the XEP.SYS driver to autoload.  You can modify the config,sys file to automatically call the bat file for you.  Better yet, if you want multiple configs, each of which can launch different things for you, create a folder on your SDX boot drive named SPARTA.DOS and place configs in there.  You get a menu to choose, but it remembers the latest selection and will auto choose it for you if no keys are pressed.

[Bee]

Moving right along -

 

I now have a USB cart and New 400 USB keyboard - 

 

Will need to make a driver for this.  Things are really coming together. 

 

Thank you