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Just bought a 600XL.


Mazzspeed

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2 minutes ago, Mazzspeed said:

I think I lucked out, the svideo indicator on the screen just flashes about once a second, can't get it to sync without an adapter which looks terrible.

Beside, those are the wrong aspect ratio. This is why I didn't get one myself and instead hunted for a 1024x768 (4:3) monitor instead.

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30 minutes ago, Tuxon86 said:

Beside, those are the wrong aspect ratio. This is why I didn't get one myself and instead hunted for a 1024x768 (4:3) monitor instead.

Totally agreed, it was just something to tie me over until I could find a suitable alternative. I have another 4:3 Dell here that I use with my Amiga, it's picture quality is amazing, but the Amiga is fitted with an Indivision for DVI output and the monitor has no Svideo connection.

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1 minute ago, Mazzspeed said:

Totally agreed, it was just something to tie me over until I could find a suitable alternative. I have another 4:3 Dell here that I use with my Amiga, it's picture quality is amazing, but the Amiga is fitted with an Indivision for DVI output and the monitor has no Svideo connection.

Have you considered going with a Retrothink 2X

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3 hours ago, Mazzspeed said:

Eventually I'll fit Sophia 2, this is just me testing and making sure everything works as it should. I'm sure I can find a cheap LCD TV that syncs, most of the cheapies do for some bizarre reason.

I've also found that many of the el cheapo units also handle multiple analogue TV standards - so PAL-, SECAM-, and NTSC-region machines may be possibilities.  Could help with future acquisitions ;)

Edited by x=usr(1536)
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3 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

I've also found that many of the el cheapo units also handle multiple analogue TV standards - so PAL-, SECAM-, and NTSC-region machines may be possibilities.  Could help with future acquisitions ;)

That's what I found out using my cheapo. For Amiga and ST I had good luck with some model of Acer 19" and Asus that do work with both with a simple cable/adaptor via vga.

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And it works via svideo on the Samsung. Curse this stupid Dell 2007, of course I'd get the one with svideo that refuses to sync!

 

Oh well. The point was to test the device works, and it works perfectly - In fact the picture is quite clear. Time to order goodies including Sophia 2.

 

ILTMCG2.jpg

 

At least I have a nice chroma/luma/audio lead for the 1084S. Put a bit of effort into this one, all separately shielded.

 

dzl4YPl.jpg

Edited by Mazzspeed
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11 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

I would have left the rf in, and I worry about a cap that fat under the main pcb...it might get flattened a bit, hopefully some of the shields remain.... everything else looks great.

Thanks Doc!

 

I planned on getting Sophia 2 all along, and the RF location is the perfect space for the DVI board. I've still got the RF modulator and the 600's PCB is in fairly good shape, so there's nothing stopping me from putting it back in place and removing all the mods later on down the track if I decide to part with it and someone wants an original machine.

 

Although I plan on keeping this forever!

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So I scored this 21" Sharp TV of Facebook Marketplace for next to nothing and it's perfect for retro computing, it handles literally every input and format as well as every TV standard and even has advanced controls for individual color adjustment regarding both hue and saturation.

 

The IQ via svideo is fairly impressive. This will do me fine until I order a Sophia 2.

 

qAGWYKN.jpg

Edited by Mazzspeed
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OK.

 

So...64mb upgrade is done, quite straightforward using Lotharek's expansion - However, it 'just' fits. It actually puts slight pressure on the underside of the keyboard.

 

adQ9yjq.jpg

 

I had to solder pin 16 on the underside of the motherboard due to the fact I was removing the MMU and fitting the U1MB.

 

J8HM8QQ.jpg

 

Mounting bolts installed.

 

H5005J5.jpg

 

U1MB installed. I haven't shortened any cables yet, I want to be sure everything works as expected first.

 

W5tfKJi.jpg

 

That Phi connection was damn tight considering the mounting bolts!

 

J8HM8QQ.jpg

 

So I have it all running, everything seems fine.

 

5K0Nct2.jpg

 

JwLPLCY.jpg

 

I can boot into SDX:

 

f4pE01W.jpg

 

However I can't see SIDE3 as a storage device! I know there's possibly an upgrade I need to do here, I'm just too tired to look it up - Can anyone offer some advice (FJC perhaps)? I'm hoping I can do the upgrade from the SIDE3 itself, if not I may have to buy some form of SIO device.

 

Hmf1fZL.jpg

 

All up, it took around 4 hours to install. Fairly straightforward truth be told, and a really tight fit in the 600XL.

 

 

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You have the SIDE PBI BIOS installed, which is designed for the SIDE/SIDE2 cartridge. You need to install the pre-release U1MB firmware, found in the download section of the SIDE3 firmware page of my website:

 

https://atari8.co.uk/firmware/side3/

 

The proper release will be forthcoming shortly (updates to plugin architecture and such took a lot longer than expected).

 

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11 minutes ago, flashjazzcat said:

You have the SIDE PBI BIOS installed, which is designed for the SIDE/SIDE2 cartridge. You need to install the pre-release U1MB firmware, found in the download section of the SIDE3 firmware page of my website:

 

https://atari8.co.uk/firmware/side3/

 

The proper release will be forthcoming shortly (updates to plugin architecture and such took a lot longer than expected).

 

Cheers FJC, thank you!

 

I jumped on the ##Atari IRC channel and got some help regarding bypassing the PBI BIOS and booting straight into the SIDE3 loader, which was great as it:

 

A - Confirmed SIDE3 was working, and

B - Allowed me to play a couple of games.

 

Sadly, I thought I ordered an SIO2USB adapter, but just ordered an SIO plug (quite well made I might add, injection molded, not 3D printed) - So over the next few days I hope to make an SIO2USB lead as I have no SIO devices to load the update onto so I can't perform the update. Such is life,ho hum.

 

All in all however, I'm quite happy with the end result.

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On 3/26/2021 at 11:13 PM, Mazzspeed said:

Allrighty...

 

We have a picture using separate chroma and luma on the 1084S as well as working audio. Now to try and find a digital panel that works with this thing...

 

zrDhm44.jpg

I got one of those lately:

 

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Haier-15in-LCD-Flat-Screen-TV-Television-HL15E-Factory-Sealed-NIB-New/274523399531

 

Works really great and has composite/svideo/hdmi/vga inputs.

 

I also got one of those:

 

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/ViewEra-V151HV-15-Black-Monitor/303209999108

 

Which also has composite/svideo/vga. 

 

Both work well with my C64 and Atari 130XE in svideo and with mi Ti and A2E in composite.

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11 minutes ago, Tuxon86 said:

I got one of those lately:

 

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Haier-15in-LCD-Flat-Screen-TV-Television-HL15E-Factory-Sealed-NIB-New/274523399531

 

Works really great and has composite/svideo/hdmi/vga inputs.

 

I also got one of those:

 

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/ViewEra-V151HV-15-Black-Monitor/303209999108

 

Which also has composite/svideo/vga. 

 

Both work well with my C64 and Atari 130XE in svideo and with mi Ti and A2E in composite.

I scored a 16:9 Sharp Aquos 21" LCD TV with a really good quality svideo input. It handles everything I throw at it with a giddy array of tweaks and settings including 4:3 mode (bearing in mind that the image on the A8 has a very wide aspect ratio even on 4:3 displays). It cost me next to nothing and I'm quite happy with it, I'll probably stick with it until I decide to install Sophia 2 or perhaps VBXL.

 

However, thank you for your links, they are very suitable and may work well with some of my other retro machines! I'll keep them in mind my Friend.

 

One thing I do want to get is a new 600XL badge, are they available anywhere?

Edited by Mazzspeed
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4 minutes ago, Tuxon86 said:

You can go The 8 Bit Guy way and create one yourself, like he did for his PCjr keyboard. A thin piece of aluminium and a clear P-Touch label.

Or a thin piece of aluminium, some photo paper and a laser printer. Print mirrored design, iron onto metal face down, then wash away paper.

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Very nice 600XL. I acquired one early in the year, and finally got around to giving it a similar treatment over the last week. Yours came out very clean, I was never confident enough to touch the aluminum on any of mine.

 

Mine has the same AWC keyboard - it's pretty decent, doesn't block if you hit the keys off-center the way the ALPS keyboard on my 800XL somewhat does. Mine had a cracked solder joint on the "M" key.

 

I've been fortunate that the two XL machines I got both happened to come with mechanical keyboards The keys just work and no worries about membranes, but I shudder to think what I'll do if any of the switches ever need to be replaced.

 

I game mine the U1MB and the Super Video 2.1 treatment. I used FJCs 3-wire 64k mod instead of the Lotharek one. I removed the battery holder from the underside of the U1MB to allow me to mount it about 5mm closer to the motherboard to take some pressure off the keyboard ribbon. I intend to modify and reinstall the shield again at a later point.

Edited by rmzalbar
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