My dad left me his computer collection and I don't know where to start

[ClausB]

411 means 41st week of 1981. 083 means 8th week of '83.

 

Where in Michigan was your dad? Was he in a club?

[T.A.P.]

4 minutes ago, ClausB said:

411 means 41st week of 1981. 083 means 8th week of '83.

 

Where in Michigan was your dad? Was he in a club?

He moved around a bit before settling in Monroe County (southeast Michigan).

 

As far as I know, he wasn't in any club, but he did mention getting a bunch of floppy disks once from a student of his who used to run an Atari BBS in the Detroit Area. I don't know if any of those are still around though.

[Mazzspeed]

I must say, your Father had a very impressive Atari collection. I don't know what you plan on doing with all these devices, but trust me, don't sell them all off - Keep a part of him around.

 

These devices were obviously a big part of his life.

[sup8pdct]

On 8/21/2021 at 2:54 AM, gilsaluki said:

My dad gave me his old Atari 8-bit computer collection when he retired and moved to Florida.

 

Does everyone end up in Florida when they retire?  DBM..   Why don't people stay in the wonderful Northeast (N.Y., Jersey, Penn, etc>)?  DBM...

Lucky you Wish I had been given that.  My wife however may banish me to the shed they are contained in if i get more....

 

I am nowhere near the USA however We have a place called Hervey bay where retirees go. Better known as Gods Waiting room. Also popular for backpackers going to Frazer island. Mix of old and young. Much like Florida from what i understand

 

James

[Mclaneinc]

We here have the south coast as our sort of retirement area but its hardly Florida or Oz

 

As for the Atari stuff, yes, great little (or not so little) collection, I don't even have a shed to hide stuff in

[T.A.P.]

6 hours ago, Mazzspeed said:

I must say, your Father had a very impressive Atari collection. I don't know what you plan on doing with all these devices, but trust me, don't sell them all off - Keep a part of him around.

 

These devices were obviously a big part of his life.

I'm going to keep a few of the computers and all of the game cartridges.

[+kheller2]

That an interesting 800 with the “G 16K 411 5084” stamp.   Cause normally I would read that as week 50 of 1984 but that can’t be correct.  Week 41 of 1981 might be closer.  I’m not as adept at pre 1983 numbers, especially the 800 with hand written serials.  

[T.A.P.]

I sifted through one of the boxes with various cables. I found four unlabeled AC adapters. Anyone know which machines these go to?

 

I want to try to pair the right adapter with the right machine. 

 

I also found a few odd cables and a couple RF boxes, along with some other odd thing with an Atari logo stamped on it. Can anyone identify that stuff and tell me what these might have gone to?

 

Sorry for the dusty box lid. That one's been stuck in my closet for ages.

[T.A.P.]

I'm guessing the two 017945 AC adapters are the original ones for the Atari 800s? I'm only guessing that since there are two of those computers and two of these.

[Sugarland]

Yes. Correct. C017945's are for the 800's. You can find these part #s on this page: http://www.atarimania.com/faq-atari-400-800-xl-xe-what-are-the-power-requirements-for-my-atari-components_59.html

 

The C014319 power supply came with the earlier 1981 800 that you pictured. Same voltage just less wattage but will still work.

 

The C061636 is for the 1027 printer.

[Sugarland]

The black RCA cable with the plastic box on it is for RF video which is rarely used these days.  The round 7 pin DIN adapter cable I've not seen before. It's an adapter to power an 800XL or 130XE or XEGS presumably from a third party power supply.

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by Sugarland

[Keatah]

On 8/20/2021 at 9:44 PM, bob1200xl said:

I have a few 1200XLs, mostly so-so yellow. Most folks want a nice white unit. Hard to find... All the 1200xl keyboards are bad so it's a $50 fix with a Best mylar. Otherwise, you can repair the old mylar with conductive paint. Shipping to the UK is something like $50+. No power supply - uses same as 1050 or 800. Bob

Can you recommend a brand or two? I've had marginal success with repairing Mylar print wiring. I suspect I'm having a paint/compatibility issue rather than technique.

[T.A.P.]

19 minutes ago, Sugarland said:

Yes. Correct. C017945's are for the 800's. You can find these part #s on this page: http://www.atarimania.com/faq-atari-400-800-xl-xe-what-are-the-power-requirements-for-my-atari-components_59.html

 

The C014319 power supply came with the earlier 1981 800 that you pictured. Same voltage just less wattage but will still work.

 

The C061636 is for the 1027 printer.

Thanks for the link!

 

 

My dad normally threw away the boxes for stuff, but he did keep a few later ones he picked up.

 

The 800XL box is in really rough shape and the 800 is a bit wavy. I edited out the shipping stickers (hence the white boxes). 

[Faicuai]

2 hours ago, T.A.P. said:

Thanks for the link!

 

 

My dad normally threw away the boxes for stuff, but he did keep a few later ones he picked up.

 

The 800XL box is in really rough shape and the 800 is a bit wavy. I edited out the shipping stickers (hence the white boxes). 

 

 

 

Holy-F! Look at those boxes!

 

The 425827 is a serial-match to one of the 800, so it is not only in pretty good shape, but GENUINE. The 800XL is IDENTICAL to mine (Hong-Kong with Olympic Logo). Therefore, I would declare this unit as fully-socketed so that means an absolute keeper.

 

Usually, when you find boxes that were not thrown away, it may well constitute a sign of what the prior owner valued the most. You have a clue there (you can confirm directly with your Dad).

 

The 40-60watt AC power supply (CO61636) is a SPECIAL unit. Not only it is made in Japan and can handle a TON of power, in relative terms, but is is USER-SERVICEABLE. The rubber boots are removable, thus revealing the screws that will give you internal access, thus simplifying fuse-replacements, etc. I am working on a pair I found at a super-price, and fitting them with removable fuse-holders, as well as adapting them for a 5.5mm jack (required for the 400, 800, 1200XL and 1050). I could fire-up one 800, 1050 and 1010 with just one of these beefy units.

 

Enjoy!

[T.A.P.]

Here's another batch of photos. This was from the last box of stuff I have laying around.

 

What's that weird AV cable in the first picture?

 

Outside of the tape drive and the printer (forgot to take a picture of the printer without the dust cover. I think it said it was a 1027?), anyone know what those other boxes are? That first blue one (the smaller) has some cut/damaged wires, so I don't know if it's savable.

 

As for the AC adapters, I found another batch of those same 800-era AC adapters, plus a batch of those DC ones for the 800XLs. I think those are all the dreaded Ingot ones, right?

 

I did find a weird AC adapter like the ingot ones, but it had an Atari box stuck to it too. Any idea what's up with that? I took a picture of it too.

 

I also have a box of tapes and a box of disks, but I stashed those in the office at work since I was running out of space at home. I'll try to go through them/take pictures later this week.

 

 

Edited August 23, 2021 by T.A.P.

[T.A.P.]

2 hours ago, Faicuai said:

Holy-F! Look at those boxes!

 

The 425827 is a serial-match to one of the 800, so it is not only in pretty good shape, but GENUINE. The 800XL is IDENTICAL to mine (Hong-Kong with Olympic Logo). Therefore, I would declare this unit as fully-socketed so that means an absolute keeper.

 

Usually, when you find boxes that were not thrown away, it may well constitute a sign of what the prior owner valued the most. You have a clue there (you can confirm directly with your Dad).

 

The 40-60watt AC power supply (CO61636) is a SPECIAL unit. Not only it is made in Japan and can handle a TON of power, in relative terms, but is is USER-SERVICEABLE. The rubber boots are removable, thus revealing the screws that will give you internal access, thus simplifying fuse-replacements, etc. I am working on a pair I found at a super-price, and fitting them with removable fuse-holders, as well as adapting them for a 5.5mm jack (required for the 400, 800, 1200XL and 1050). I could fire-up one 800, 1050 and 1010 with just one of these beefy units.

 

Enjoy!

 

I've also got a box for a printer, but I didn't think to take a picture of it.

 

Sadly, I know those boxes could have been in better shape, but we stored those in the basement of my childhood home for more than a decade, and I'm sure that didn't help them in the slightest.

 

As for the 800XL, I can't confirm if that was the box for Dad's original computer (although he did say he bought it in 1984). He did have three 800XLs, so I don't know if that came from one of the other machines. Do you know if they stuck a serial number on the box of those like they did for the 800s?

 

That CO61636 AC adapter sounds like a pretty good thing to have around. Is that what I should use to test the 800s, 1200XL, and 400?

 

 

[BillC]

25 minutes ago, T.A.P. said:

That CO61636 AC adapter sounds like a pretty good thing to have around. Is that what I should use to test the 800s, 1200XL, and 400?

The output voltage is a bit higher(9.5VAC instead of 9VAC) which would cause the voltage regulators to dissipate a little more heat, this may/may not cause a problem. 

 

The C014319 power supply is a good choice for use with the 850 interface which doesn't require as much current as the 400/800/1200XL, this is the power supply that came with my 1980 8KB 400 and was sufficient until I upgraded the RAM.

 

The XL/XE power supplies that are heavy and have the "POWER SUPPLY  DV-512CM" marking are commonly called the INGOT, and are well known for failing over-voltage and damaging chips. The box attached to one of the INGOT power supplies is an RF output cable, which connects from the computers RF modulator output to a TV antenna input.

Edited August 23, 2021 by BillC

[BillC]

4 hours ago, T.A.P. said:

I'm guessing the two 017945 AC adapters are the original ones for the Atari 800s? I'm only guessing that since there are two of those computers and two of these.

These are also the correct power supplies for the Atari 810/1050/XF551 floppy drives.

[T.A.P.]

6 minutes ago, BillC said:

The output voltage is a bit higher(9.5VAC instead of 9VAC) which would cause the voltage regulators to dissipate a little more heat, this may/may not cause a problem. 

 

The C014319 power supply is a good choice for use with the 850 interface which doesn't require as much current as the 400/800/1200XL, this is the power supply that came with my 1980 8KB 400 and was sufficient until I upgraded the RAM.

 

The XL/XE power supplies that are heavy and have the "POWER SUPPLY  DV-512CM" marking are commonly called the INGOT, and are well known for failing over-voltage and damaging chips. The box attached to one of the INGOT power supplies is an RF output cable, which connects from the computers RF modulator output to a TV antenna input.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

Should I just dispose of the INGOTs (it just doesn't feel right to throw away something with the Atari logo on it)? If so, can they be recycled? I'd rather not just have them wind up in a landfill if it can be helped.

[adam242]

The blue box in the second picture is probably a homemade SIO2PC device. Used to connect an Atari to a serial port on a PC running APE or similar software. Allows for file transfer, use of the PC's printers, and more.

[ivop]

1 hour ago, T.A.P. said:

What's that weird AV cable in the first picture?

It looks like a cable going from the 5-DIN monitor port to a form of coax connector for video, and a cinch connector for (mono) audio.

Quote

This might be an R-Verter, or something similar. A serial adapter that does not abide by the SIO protocol. Similar to MIDI interfaces.

 

Edit: or a SIO2PC like adam242 just said while I was typing this reply

 

Perhaps you can open it? If there's a MAX232 chip in there, it's definitely an old-skool RS232 SIO2PC.

Edited August 23, 2021 by ivop

[Faicuai]

1 hour ago, T.A.P. said:

Do you know if they stuck a serial number on the box of those like they did for the 800s?

Yes, of course, look the on the side-flaps of the XL box, or front/back-surface corners. Mine have them (I have two identical 800XL, both equipped exactly the same, with ALPS keyboard, socketed, etc., just 7000 units apart, and both came with same box as yours. I would be very surprise if your ALPS-keyboard XL serial does not match the Olympic-logo box's serial).

 

 

1 hour ago, T.A.P. said:

That CO61636 AC adapter sounds like a pretty good thing to have around.

Yes, it the best and most powerful. Voltage-wise, all of them (all AC-output models) read higher than 10v on the scope, on idle. Voltage variances under load would benefit either +12v DC rail or +/-5v DC rails, which would be essentially a wash, heat-wise.

 

The PROBLEM is the jack/plug: it does not conform to ~5.2mm spec, which means it would fit on the 800 receptacle, but its center element will not make inner contact with the P/S axial-plug. A small, plug-and-play adapter/extension is needed, so I don't cut cables, etc. (working on that).

[Faicuai]

1 hour ago, T.A.P. said:

Here's another batch of photos.

 

 

Quote

 

 

 

Would you look at that!

 

First time I can see a matching-cover for the 1010! Love it!! (I want one... ??)

 

And the XEP80 (!) Boy, your dad was really into it, what a nice inheritance you got... better put your hands onto it before he changes his mind from Florida... 

 

Those three power supplies are criminal... please, be very careful with them. If you must use one of the for the 800XL try the NEWEST-looking one, with the least signs of use. If you fire-up the XL and notice bad video-quality (on an otherwise good connection)  turn it off IMMEDIATELY. Once that power-supply goes bad, it will start injecting A/C into the host machine.

[BillC]

53 minutes ago, T.A.P. said:

Thanks for the clarification.

 

Should I just dispose of the INGOTs (it just doesn't feel right to throw away something with the Atari logo on it)? If so, can they be recycled? I'd rather not just have them wind up in a landfill if it can be helped.

Most just cut the DIN cord of to use with another power supply.

I have one I opened up for testing and am at the point I could remove the original PCB and swap in a replacement, but it's a fair amount of work.

 

There is also a circuit called the C64-saver that can be added inline which shuts the power off if the voltage goes too high. The DV512-CM power supply was also used for the C64, Atari just used a different pinout and without the 9VAC direct from the transformer. 

https://www.retrorgb.com/c64-saver-2-released.html

[T.A.P.]

13 minutes ago, Faicuai said:

 

Would you look at that!

 

First time I can see a matching-cover for the 1010! Love it!! (I want one... ??)

 

And the XEP80 (!) Boy, your dad was really into it, what a nice inheritance you got... better put your hands onto it before he changes his mind from Florida... 

 

Those three power supplies are criminal... please, be very careful with them. If you must use one of the for the 800XL try the NEWEST-looking one, with the least signs of use. If you fire-up the XL and notice bad video-quality (on an otherwise good connection)  turn it off IMMEDIATELY. Once that power-supply goes bad, it will start injecting A/C into the host machine.

Don't worry, I'm not planning to use any of those to test these machines. I'm going to buy a new, (hopefully) safe AC adapter to use to test those machines, if someone can direct me to a good one.

 

Tape Drives and Disk Drives aren't my thing (they're just too much work and stress for me to want to deal with) so if you want a 1010 with matching dust cover...

 

What's the XEP80? I tried looking it up online, but wasn't having much luck.