cbmeeks Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 I have an Ultimate II+ for my C64. And, honestly, it's overkill for what I need. So what do we have along those lines for my Atari 800? The primary goal would be to play games and use Fast BASIC. I don't want to spend a lot if I can help it. Also, I have lots of building/soldering experience, ROM programmers, etc. So if I could "cheap out", I would be OK with that too. ? Thanks for any suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 I think, only UNO Cart will fit 800. You can also get a floppy emulator like SIO2SD or SDrive-MAX which you can make yourself for about $20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbmeeks Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 I also have an 800XL if that makes a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamm Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) 12 minutes ago, cbmeeks said: I also have an 800XL if that makes a difference. The main issue with the 800 is that the closing lid makes it so that many/most flash carts can't physically fit in the machine. Beyond that, the older OS revision and memory capacity makes some software incompatible. So, yes, you'll have more options if you use the 800XL. The pinned "Topic for newbies" thread has a section that lists the currently popular flash cart options. If you opt for an SIO device (a flash-based disk emulator as apposed to a cart emulator), you'll avoid the 800's physical cart restrictions. Edited March 3, 2020 by jamm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) For the 800, specifically? Don't look any further (Ultimate/SD): You should be aware, however, that it is not a free ride, altogether. There are some operational issues to consider. However, I am planning to soon release a set of "Control Extensions" (CX) for Ultimate/SD that will allow it to co-exist much more productively with native OS and Atari DOS, DOS XL and (especially) SDX, from where you are now capable of hot-plugging and deep-booting any ROM, while also being able turning-off the cart, without ever leaving your command prompt, and without disrupting an OS-driven normal boot-up sequence. Cheers! Edited March 3, 2020 by Faicuai 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+videofx Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 2 hours ago, cbmeeks said: I have an Ultimate II+ for my C64. And, honestly, it's overkill for what I need. So what do we have along those lines for my Atari 800? The primary goal would be to play games and use Fast BASIC. I don't want to spend a lot if I can help it. Also, I have lots of building/soldering experience, ROM programmers, etc. So if I could "cheap out", I would be OK with that too. ? Thanks for any suggestions. I love my Ultimate I highly recommend it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoatofCar Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 Unless you really want a cartridge, I would personally recommend an SDrive-MAX, as it's the best solution for ATR files, which are going to give you the widest availability of games. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 2 hours ago, ZuluGula said: I think, only UNO Cart will fit 800. You can also get a floppy emulator like SIO2SD or SDrive-MAX which you can make yourself for about $20. I am reasonably sure that the UNO software is incompatible with a stock 400/800. The Ultimate Cart should run fine but may give you trouble in shutting the cartridge door. This is only a minor inconvenience though and easy to remedy. I own both a SIO2SD and a SDrive-MAX and recommend them both. You will need to get the alternate 800-specific "Sio2SD.xex" file to use the SIO2SD onscreen menu on the 800 though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 (edited) 32 minutes ago, SS said: I am reasonably sure that the UNO software is incompatible with a stock 400/800. The Ultimate Cart should run fine but may give you trouble in shutting the cartridge door. This is only a minor inconvenience though and easy to remedy. I own both a SIO2SD and a SDrive-MAX and recommend them both. You will need to get the alternate 800-specific "Sio2SD.xex" file to use the SIO2SD onscreen menu on the 800 though. Ultimate/SD cart provides full clearance under (unshielded) cartride-bay door. At least the Euro-version (which is the one I got, and showed above). Zero clearance problems, and fits snuggly / tight on its "silo". But again, my top-door is unshielded (from factory). Edited March 4, 2020 by Faicuai 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pazuzu72 Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 On 3/4/2020 at 12:43 AM, Faicuai said: You should be aware, however, that it is not a free ride, altogether. There are some operational issues to consider. However, I am planning to soon release a set of "Control Extensions" (CX) for Ultimate/SD that will allow it to co-exist much more productively with native OS and Atari DOS, DOS XL and (especially) SDX, from where you are now capable of hot-plugging and deep-booting any ROM, while also being able turning-off the cart, without ever leaving your command prompt, and without disrupting an OS-driven normal boot-up sequence. Cheers! Hi, what you say is very interesting. Could you better explain the potential of your upgrade and if you will release the firmware freely? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FULS Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Here is another good comparison chart, made by JAC! https://www.wudsn.com/index.php/productions-atari800/tools/thecart 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 @FULS, where are your computer eyes graphics disks hiding? I can seem to locate them, thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 23 hours ago, pazuzu72 said: Hi, what you say is very interesting. Could you better explain the potential of your upgrade and if you will release the firmware freely? Yes, it will be a public release (including source-code in Assembly), as well as utility set (pre-compiled executables) to drive the cart from SDX or any other DOS. In short, the cart will be operating in "Library" mode (which is the mode everyone knows) and "Session" mode (which will be under local machine's session / environment control, which it currently does not support. And upgrades will be easy as pie, for everyone, because no USB-Blaster will be needed. It all happens with existing upgrade facilities (new "Boot" rom dropped at root of SD card). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pazuzu72 Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 1 hour ago, Faicuai said: Yes, it will be a public release (including source-code in Assembly), as well as utility set (pre-compiled executables) to drive the cart from SDX or any other DOS. In short, the cart will be operating in "Library" mode (which is the mode everyone knows) and "Session" mode (which will be under local machine's session / environment control, which it currently does not support. And upgrades will be easy as pie, for everyone, because no USB-Blaster will be needed. It all happens with existing upgrade facilities (new "Boot" rom dropped at root of SD card). Congratulations. According to what everyone said, it was very difficult to develop new firmware. I can not wait. For too long this beautiful cartridge has been without updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 On 4/1/2020 at 8:34 PM, pazuzu72 said: Congratulations. According to what everyone said, it was very difficult to develop new firmware. I can not wait. For too long this beautiful cartridge has been without updates. Apologies for the delay (but SDX 4.49-final was out, and needed to retests its revised "CAR" utility). Here it is, take a look at the functional scope and give it a spin: Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 (edited) TheCart! is my choice for use with my 800, however it needs a very simple modification done to cart port 2 for it to work. You were talking about "overkill" and the cart has 128MB memory which is plenty for most things, can use all kinds of files, etc. and has a great menu system that you can customize. For my XL, MyIDE II serves all my needs for rom and any other file types through it's FAT32 loader menu. ATR's work through MyBIOS on MyIDE II (seperate from FAT32 menu). There is an article in EXCEL issue 5 on many or most of your options too. And several issues of EXCEL have DIY articles on UNOcart and SIO2PC, etc. The PDF versions of all 5 issues can be had for 5 English pounds. http://excel-retro-mag.co.uk/?v=7516fd43adaa Of course, as with all the hobbiest released hardware, it depends on what's available when you want it, as most are limited or it might be years in between limited runs or until someone else take over re-releasing items that had one or two limited runs, etc. Edited April 17, 2020 by Gunstar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 (edited) By the way, when did they start putting right/left cartridge labeling above the slots like @Faicuai has in his Atari 800? Is mine missing the label or did early CTIA models not have the label? Edited April 17, 2020 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FULS Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 7 hours ago, Gunstar said: TheCart! is my choice for use with my 800, however it needs a very simple modification done to cart port 2 for it to work. You were talking about "overkill" and the cart has 128MB memory which is plenty for most things, can use all kinds of files, etc. and has a great menu system that you can customize. For my XL, MyIDE II serves all my needs for rom and any other file types through it's FAT32 loader menu. ATR's work through MyBIOS on MyIDE II (seperate from FAT32 menu). There is an article in EXCEL issue 5 on many or most of your options too. And several issues of EXCEL have DIY articles on UNOcart and SIO2PC, etc. The PDF versions of all 5 issues can be had for 5 English pounds. http://excel-retro-mag.co.uk/?v=7516fd43adaa Of course, as with all the hobbiest released hardware, it depends on what's available when you want it, as most are limited or it might be years in between limited runs or until someone else take over re-releasing items that had one or two limited runs, etc. I agree. Love THE!CART. Here's the cart image I run with it. It's still has a lot of empty space for more games. Use a joystick to navigate the menu or type a game title for a search. Just run it with Altirra emulator. THE_CART.car 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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