Faicuai Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 (edited) ...And I may never know who that person was... but I just finished restoring it... well, it barely needed anything... ...Somebody dumped a ***CTIA*** Week 4, 1980 A800, in a SOLID state of preservation, for peanuts... and listed as "for parts only"... As soon as I saw the condition of two key parts, I knew it may be well worth it... Take a look at this beauty, during restoration (complete tear-down, clean-up and replacement of anything not perfect... which was only the bottom-plate shield!).... Serial # also matching (well preserved) label: The keyboard´s (A Hitek, white-plungers) showed NO signs of use or glazing on space-bar... Like if it was new (!?) Never seen this deep / lush-green, texturized-finish MoBo, before (UBER clean out of the box!) R189 is 75-ohm, exact, and boy, look at the SUPERB image quality out of the gate !!! Another (impressive) detail is the speaker´s foam... NO signs of degradation, still foamy and healthy... seems like new? Replaced? Also very skeptical about the internals, but look at those date codes on the key components (they all seem to check out nicely): Another KEY sign of preservation... No signs of corrotion, anywhere I could see... look at that shiny, beautiful retainer-screw (other side is the same) All for $90.00 E-Bay: mańs best friend! ? Edited January 24, 2021 by Faicuai 19 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Score!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Always nice to get a result... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 (edited) Nice find! My 800 is/was in similar condition, on the inside; never touched on the inside. (the case was very yellowed and I had to retro-bright it and the keyboard needed repair) and it was a surprise gift from a fellow Atarian. The same early model Atari with CTIA and the levers to remove the top. I also had a similar experience as I also bought a spare 800 mobo w/CPU and CTIA and PSU board off of Ebay just a few months ago, in the same condition. Mobo for $25 and PSU board $15. Another early version, original stickers like yours and all. The motherboard did have the Pokey removed, but I have a couple extras anyway, one from the gifted 800 that I installed a Pokeymax in. Edited January 24, 2021 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrarkus Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 8 hours ago, Faicuai said: ...And I may never know who that person was... but I just finished restoring it... well, it barely needed anything... ...Somebody dumped a ***CTIA*** Week 4, 1980 A800, in a SOLID state of preservation, for peanuts... and listed as "for parts only"... As soon as I saw the condition of two key parts, I knew it may be well worth it... Take a look at this beauty, during restoration (complete tear-down, clean-up and replacement of anything not perfect... which was only the bottom-plate shield!).... All for $90.00 E-Bay: mańs best friend! ? Wow she's a beauty! Great find for sure, congrats! Not jealous, not at all. Not even a little bit... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarland Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 Fantastic find!! Looks like she's worth a lot more than what you paid. Thank you for sharing photos! Enjoyed them a lot. Treat her well please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 You're going to see tons more like this as many of us our reaching the end stages of life, the places that contain all our goodies are getting cleaned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preppie Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 2 hours ago, _The Doctor__ said: You're going to see tons more like this as many of us our reaching the end stages of life, the places that contain all our goodies are getting cleaned out. You're a little ray of sunshine aren't you ? 2 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr-atari Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 N.I.C.E ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted January 25, 2021 Author Share Posted January 25, 2021 8 hours ago, Sugarland said: Fantastic find!! Looks like she's worth a lot more than what you paid. Thank you for sharing photos! Enjoyed them a lot. Treat her well please! Yes sir, you got it ! I have already "de-commissioned" and stored in safe place CPU board with CTIA chip, while placing a fresh GTIA/Sally board in place. These 800s make my 800XLs look like children toys... I must admit... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarland Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 4 hours ago, Faicuai said: Yes sir, you got it ! I have already "de-commissioned" and stored in safe place CPU board with CTIA chip, while placing a fresh GTIA/Sally board in place. These 800s make my 800XLs look like children toys... I must admit... Okay. Sounds like you plan on using it. If you store the original CPU board inside the case on the left side then it stays with the computer? Once original parts that are separated they rarely return, despite our initial intentions. They do have a real presence! Never used a hi-tek keyboard, unless it was 35+ years ago. That cart shield looks great. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 (edited) 12 hours ago, _The Doctor__ said: You're going to see tons more like this as many of us our reaching the end stages of life, the places that contain all our goodies are getting cleaned out. Well, I hope many of us still have many more years to come. I myself am in my early 50's and hope for another 2-4 decades and plan my life accordingly, including holding onto my Atari's and other vintage treasures until someone takes them out of my cold dead hands. Edited January 25, 2021 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 (edited) 5 hours ago, Faicuai said: These 800s make my 800XLs look like children toys... I must admit... Exactly why I've always preferred and now own 1200XL and 800. They look like real computers and not game consoles with keyboards. No offense to other XL/XE owners, I know it's what's on the inside that counts, but I still prefer looks and build quality on the outside as well. I started out with an XE, until I got my first 1200 and 800, then I never looked back. Even if I had to upgrade both to later XL/XE standards and beyond. Edited January 25, 2021 by Gunstar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 3 minutes ago, Gunstar said: Well, I hope many of us still have many more years to come. I myself am in my early 50's and hope for another 2-4 decades and plan my life accordingly, including holding onto my Atari's and other vintage treasures until someone takes them out of my cold dead hands. I would like for us all to live and be vigorous like some of those historical books mention, any where from centennial to bicentennial ranges. The life span and quality of life really diminishes based on our food, stressors, and finally conditions of where we live. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 (edited) 12 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said: I would like for us all to live and be vigorous like some of those historical books mention, any where from centennial to bicentennial ranges. The life span and quality of life really diminishes based on our food, stressors, and finally conditions of where we live. Tis' true, and unfortunately we don't know what life holds for each one of us and we have already lost too many in the community far too soon. But baring illness and accidents, there is longevity in my family genes, and I stay in shape. I'm actually still the exact same weight and build as I was at 25. I've also done my best to live a low stress life in the career and life choices I have made. Edited January 25, 2021 by Gunstar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+kheller2 Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 3 hours ago, Gunstar said: . I'm actually still the exact same weight and build as I was at 25. I've also done my best to live a low stress life in the career and life choices I have made. Just shut up already. ? I don't need to hear any of this. ugh... I get enough from the wife. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 (edited) 32 minutes ago, kheller2 said: Just shut up already. ? I don't need to hear any of this. ugh... I get enough from the wife. Sorry. ...or not... I never did say what weight and build I was and am you know...I could be 300 pounds and look like the the Stay-Puff marsh-mellow man you know... Not really, but it's all left to your imagination, so what did you imagine me to basically look like?? Does that make you feel better? Edited January 25, 2021 by Gunstar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, Sugarland said: Okay. Sounds like you plan on using it. If you store the original CPU board inside the case on the left side then it stays with the computer? Once original parts that are separated they rarely return, despite our initial intentions. They do have a real presence! Never used a hi-tek keyboard, unless it was 35+ years ago. That cart shield looks great. BRILIANT (!) I have the anti-static packing to keep it "under the hood", nicely stored on the left-side (there is a TON of room, there)... What strikes me is that I also checked Date-Codes of ROM-card and they are ALL 1979 !! The only dates that I can't cross-check fully are CPU, and CTIA (as far as I could see, although still 1980). This also suggests the MoBo itself is likely to be the original one, as well. Also, I DO NOT plan to use it regularly. I just want to make sure that I don't fry something like its original CTIA, because everything on-board seems date-matched, and any substitution of discrete components will be noticeable. It will be my 'reference" unit only for fitting legacy HW designed for the 800 (already has a RAMROD OS board in Slot-0 and 512KB S-RAM expansion on slot 2, all solderless, plug-and-play, no physical changes of any kind). As for the BIT3, I will wait whether Incognito (my daily driver) gets its act together or not, in order to define its final destination. Initially, I am inclined to fit it on this very low-mileage CTIA unit (imagine its market value !! Edited January 26, 2021 by Faicuai 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarland Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Awesome. Thank you! Did you check if it an OS A machine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Sugarland said: Awesome. Thank you! Did you check if it an OS A machine? Yes, I did... It was OS/b.... Here's the actual ROM board and date codes: All 1979 !! (FYI, I will share later specific differences between green-plungers Stackpole and white-plungers HiTel feel and use... This HiTek unit has virtually no use... I have another on my test-bed guts, and it is definitely a lot more worn out...) Edited January 26, 2021 by Faicuai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 On 1/25/2021 at 1:55 AM, _The Doctor__ said: You're going to see tons more like this as many of us our reaching the end stages of life, the places that contain all our goodies are getting cleaned out. FWIW, my doctors say that 90 is now a very reasonable goal for most folks. (And I plan on being in that group!) -Larry 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark2008 Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 @Faicuiai Congratulations on the find. I also would like to share a minor find on e-bay, although nothing like your find. But, 4 years ago I bought an XE GS system that sadly didn't work, and then recently I found someone selling an 'untested' XE GS - base unit only, no power supply, keyboard. I picked it up for $50. Most of the time untested means it was tested, and is known not working, but not always...and sure enough, my gamble paid off. It works just fine. Since I already owned the other parts, I now have a fully functioning XE GS. Btw, this is the first Atari I have ever owned that has a good display without any mod. For whatever reason, my tv displays it just fine over the composite port. Every other machine I have is so sad on composite out, lol. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark2008 Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 On 1/26/2021 at 6:02 AM, Larry said: FWIW, my doctors say that 90 is now a very reasonable goal for most folks. (And I plan on being in that group!) -Larry OMG Larry. I'm 50. I don't wanna be EOL just yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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