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Editor Assembler too wide for a cart body ??


KLund1

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In going trough yet another recent Atari lot, I found a Editor Assembler PCB too wide for a cart body. The part numbers show it as the less common Editor Assembler cart, not the Assembler Editor.

The PCB is unusual. it has square edges not the broken off edges like most others.

Also, very unusual, is it is too wide to fit into a standard brown cart body. I'd say it is about 2mm+ too wide. And probably too long. It is just as long as the top of that inside clip to hold the PCB in place. The PCB reads PwCI-D 8303. When I found it, there was clear packing tape around the main section. Now that I think about it, it was probably there so the user would not short the card when putting into a 800. I took it off and removed all the sticky tape residue off of it. The card works normally.

Notice the tin contacts, not gold.

The pic shows the card in question on top. Below is a normal E/A card for comparison.

Any ideas?

DSCN4429.JPG

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I've just opened my brown Computer Chess, it has the jagged type PCB - though probably an earlier rev to the one you show.

 

There's a good couple of mm each side of the outcrops excess space.

 

I think I've got a pulled apart grey cart somewhere but had a look and can't find it - maybe they have a bit more room inside?

 

Also note there's 3rd party carts that have different dimensions (though OSS orange are slightly narrower), and even C64 cart shells were used for some titles (they're slightly wider than a grey or brown cart from what I can see from my Easyflash)

 

That straight edge one... looks just about homebrew in itself.

 

 

375000621_ComputerChesscart.thumb.jpg.f74afdaef60f61453ee1cb405ee0b6fb.jpg

Edited by Rybags
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3 hours ago, ClausB said:

The board and chips are date-coded early 1983. Perhaps made for a later type of cart case?

Possible. Anyone seen a gray case A/E cart? I haven't. Maybe a proto of a gray cased A/E? I have never open a gray case cart. what are those PCB dimensions?

 

The solder joints on the back do look hand done. Not wave. But the PCB looks pro made.

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My best guess is that it is a homebrew (Polish?) made PCB for the Z7 Kradex cartridge shells. These are the shells for the C64 and have been used since the nineties by a.o. Polish companies to publish Atari 8-bit cartridges. You can still buy these shells at https://www.kradex.eu/product/enclosures_two_part/z7_ps?lang=en

 

The dimensions of your PCB are similar to the PCB I use for my cartridges.

 

cartridge.thumb.jpg.26fd9c8ccd3417e27372bd930c047499.jpg

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Thanks for the replies.

This was in a lot that came from an Atari engineer here in sunnyvale. I do not think it is a home brew. The traces look very much 'Atari' like. In the box with this were several other A/E's, Atariwriter, Pilot, Action!, and several regular brown carts games including a Star Raider no s.

Maybe a 5200 sample cart board? 3/83 would be about right for development?

Anyone know what the PwCI-D means? Oh, on the back is some large 1" long, printed, outlined "J"'s. On the front left of the PwCI-D is a partial box with some unreadable text, printed the same way as the J's on the back. 

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8 hours ago, KLund1 said:

Thanks for the replies.

This was in a lot that came from an Atari engineer here in sunnyvale. I do not think it is a home brew. The traces look very much 'Atari' like. In the box with this were several other A/E's, Atariwriter, Pilot, Action!, and several regular brown carts games including a Star Raider no s.

Maybe a 5200 sample cart board? 3/83 would be about right for development?

Anyone know what the PwCI-D means? Oh, on the back is some large 1" long, printed, outlined "J"'s. On the front left of the PwCI-D is a partial box with some unreadable text, printed the same way as the J's on the back. 

Definitely not a 5200 board.  Pins and spacing are for an 8-bit computer.  Many years ago, I purchased an Atari ASM/ED cart (I believe from Best Electronics) and it was bare PCB.  I'll see if I can find it and check the dimensions.

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