Atari 800XL - One owner since new

[Ashley83]

Hi Everyone, 

 

I have found my Atari 800XL in my parents Attic. It's been boxed up there since about 1992 when i got a SNES. I've had it since new in the 80's.

 

Case is still great, metal keys on the right hand side and keyboard all excellent, just the plastic has yellowed over the years.

 

I have purchased a cable......(Kenable 5 Pin Male Din Plug to 4 x RCA Phono Male Plugs Audio Cable 2m)...from Amazon. I have the original Atari Power supply, and the original Atari Ariel connector, but my TV doesn't have Ariel socket.

 

I have plugged it into my TV using the components and used a component scart adapter too. 

 

The system powers on, has the blue screen with the ready text. There is a constant humming sound as soon as it powers on. I ran the test using the BYE command, and the Memory Test is fine, and so is the keyboard test. However when the sound test is run, no sound, it's just the humming.

 

From what I've read on this forum, it's probably the power supply that is causing the humming. Not sure about the sound issue. Could just be the connector or something internal I guess. 

 

My plan was to buy a game cartridge and a joystick for about £30 and then sell it as a full set on Etsy. 

 

I found a thread on here a while back,  and a few people wanted a system but didn't want to pay the amounts being asked for on Ebay, which is understandable. For example, I went on ebay today and found an untested 800XL, case a bit battered with no power supply/cables and asking £140, which is a bit much.

 

I want to sell my 800XL to someone who knows what they are doing with it and can get it back to its former glory and enjoy it.

 

I am really not a tech person and I really don't fancy messing with the internal circuit board to try to clean it or investigate the sound issue. I'm not wanting to keep running it off this original power supply, as I'm a bit terrified of it damaging it in some way, from what I've read its like playing Russian roulette with your system. I also don't fancy buying the peripherals and a new power supply just to sell it on. I would rather sell it for cheaper, let someone have the opportunity to get one at a realistic price and let them buy their own peripherals as they require, or they may already have them for other similar systems. 

 

With all this being said, would anyone be interested in buying my 800XL, as it is? I'm thinking £110 would be a fair price.

 

I'm in Nottingham, UK.

 

Pictures attached. (Any blur is my rubbish camera phone, not the actual output from the system, thats perfect).

 

Thanks,

Ashley

[Beeblebrox]

@Ashley83Hi. I couldn't comment about the humming sound.

 

Why don't you pick up a USB power supply? They are cheap. I get mine here on Ebay and this is the last one I purchased: 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144094325345?hash=item218cb0ea61:g:dFYAAOSweANgKq56

 

You mentioned listing it on Etsy - I assume you meant Ebay? Whilst there is a trading area here on AA, in terms of selling there is of course the larger audience on Ebay UK I'd suggest popping your 800XL on there with lots of photos. IMHO I wouldn'y bother buying a joystick and a cartridge. You'll likely only sell it for a little more and if someone wants it they'll buy it as is. Be sure to mention the humming in the listing details if it persists. Just pop on a buy it now price (allowing for the annoying Ebay fees), and I am sure you will sell it.

 

Good luck.

Edited October 3, 2021 by Beeblebrox
adding more info

[marauder666]

Humming sounds like video signal on the audio connection.

have you tried each connection into the audio input on the tv

[+kheller2]

If you have a multimeter, you can test the cable wiring to see what jack is what.  I don't see a diagram showing which pins go to which jacks, and given that most 5 pin DINs are wired differently...

[Frozone212]

I'd buy it but $110 is kinda high. Also, UK to US shipping?

[Sugarland]

Thank you for saving it! From what little I know about UK/EU prices, your asking £110 sounds fair.  You are right to be worried of breaking it. That power supply brick should not be used. Save it for the computer-side of the cord which can be cut off and used for a modern replacement brick. I see your 800XL has the type 5 Mitsumi keyboard variant. The following thread discusses the different keyboards Atari installed.

 

 

Edited October 4, 2021 by Sugarland

[manterola]

the no sound and humming is probably because the cable you used, or the wrong connector used. My guess is that you are putting some video signal from the Atari to the sound input of your TV. 

In this atariage forums there is a section called marketplace where you can sell Atari and other vintage stuff, but you need better pictures than the ones already uploaded. 

Don't worry about cartridges and joystick, I don't think you will add value to the listing, if the Atari computer is in good shape and working. 

 

 

[Beeblebrox]

@Ashley83Yup, I'd agree with Sugarland that £110 is fair for an 800XL in the UK. What I've found is they go for between £100 and £140 on their own if advertised as tested working, depending on appearance/condition. If they are advertised as untested or have an identified memory/ram issue say, then £60-£80. If they have a working 1050 drive bundled with them maybe over the £200 mark as typcially working stock 1050 drives go around the £80-£100 mark when sold alone. 

 

Again just be mindful with Ebay they'll take their chunk and of course there is postage/insurance. It certainly would only be worth shipping within the UK.

 

I'd buy the cheap USB power supply and also look into what has been suggested by the forum members in this thread. ?

Edited October 4, 2021 by Beeblebrox

[Ashley83]

On 10/3/2021 at 9:37 PM, Beeblebrox said:

@Ashley83Hi. I couldn't comment about the humming sound.

 

Why don't you pick up a USB power supply? They are cheap. I get mine here on Ebay and this is the last one I purchased: 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144094325345?hash=item218cb0ea61:g:dFYAAOSweANgKq56

 

You mentioned listing it on Etsy - I assume you meant Ebay? Whilst there is a trading area here on AA, in terms of selling there is of course the larger audience on Ebay UK I'd suggest popping your 800XL on there with lots of photos. IMHO I wouldn'y bother buying a joystick and a cartridge. You'll likely only sell it for a little more and if someone wants it they'll buy it as is. Be sure to mention the humming in the listing details if it persists. Just pop on a buy it now price (allowing for the annoying Ebay fees), and I am sure you will sell it.

 

Good luck.

No, I meant Etsy. i don't use Ebay anymore since they changed the way you get paid. Not Paypal anymore and they too focused on the buyers and neglect the sellers. 

 

I do need a cable, I'd rather just have something that goes into a mains socket, rather than USB. I did find one, but so many different ones, hard to tell which has the correct voltage etc. Bit of a mine field.

[Ashley83]

19 hours ago, Sugarland said:

Thank you for saving it! From what little I know about UK/EU prices, your asking £110 sounds fair.  You are right to be worried of breaking it. That power supply brick should not be used. Save it for the computer-side of the cord which can be cut off and used for a modern replacement brick. I see your 800XL has the type 5 Mitsumi keyboard variant. The following thread discusses the different keyboards Atari installed.

 

 

So this one has the worst keyboard.....haha, thanks for the info, at least i know now. 

[Ashley83]

18 hours ago, manterola said:

the no sound and humming is probably because the cable you used, or the wrong connector used. My guess is that you are putting some video signal from the Atari to the sound input of your TV. 

In this atariage forums there is a section called marketplace where you can sell Atari and other vintage stuff, but you need better pictures than the ones already uploaded. 

Don't worry about cartridges and joystick, I don't think you will add value to the listing, if the Atari computer is in good shape and working. 

 

 

Thanks, that was my thoughts, some people might have other 8 bit equipment already and don't need the peripherals. 

 

I want to get it fully working, and I don't want to mess with it whilst running on this current power supply, so I am taking it down to a local electronics repairer for him to take a look. He's into retro tech so he's quite happy about getting to work on a 800XL. I'm sure he will have some kind of old monitor to try it out on. Fingers crossed its just the lead and TV that was the cause of the sound issue and its all ok. If not, he will find the issue and repair anything as required so it's in good order.

[Ashley83]

If I purchase the recommended USB adapter from ebay, can you use any USB mains adapter and plug straight into the wall? How is the current regulated doing this? How do you know not overloading the Atari?

 

I have a USB mains adapter for my phone charger. Would this be ok to use? AC to DC it says on it. It's from CEX. 

 

Thanks

Edited October 4, 2021 by Ashley83

[Ashley83]

On 10/3/2021 at 9:45 PM, marauder666 said:

Humming sounds like video signal on the audio connection.

have you tried each connection into the audio input on the tv

No didn't try that. I just put the 3 connectors straight in as colour coded. Never thought the old connections might mean this won't work. 

 

I think I will get a power supply for it and then I can mess with it a bit more without fear of power pack damaging the circuit boards.

 

[Beeblebrox]

27 minutes ago, Ashley83 said:

If I purchase the recommended USB adapter from ebay, can you use any USB mains adapter and plug straight into the wall? How is the current regulated doing this? How do you know not overloading the Atari?

 

I have a USB mains adapter for my phone charger. Would this be ok to use? AC to DC it says on it. It's from CEX. 

 

Thanks

It's fine. They are custom made for this. 5V 2amp would be fine. It's made for using the same charger adapters mobile phones use. I have mine plugged into a 4 gang extension block which has 2 x USB charge sockets. Far better than the brick PSUs. If in doubt have your's plugged into a gang which has surge protection I guess. Also you can just google around a bit, read threads on AA and also reviews on Ebay and Amazon to alay fears.

Edited October 4, 2021 by Beeblebrox
typo

[Ashley83]

3 minutes ago, Beeblebrox said:

It's fine. They are custom made for this. 5V 2amp would be fine. It's made for using the same charger adapters mobile phones use. I have mine plugged into a 4 gang extension block which has 2 x USB charge sockets. Far better than the brick PSUs. If in douby have your's plugged into a gang which has surge protection I guess. 

Ok, Nice one.

 

I will buy one. Then I can have a bit more of a play with it without the fear of the original power supply damaging it. 

 

Thanks for the recommendation. 

[Ashley83]

15 hours ago, Beeblebrox said:

@Ashley83Yup, I'd agree with Sugarland that £110 is fair for an 800XL in the UK. What I've found is they go for between £100 and £140 on their own if advertised as tested working, depending on appearance/condition. If they are advertised as untested or have an identified memory/ram issue say, then £60-£80. If they have a working 1050 drive bundled with them maybe over the £200 mark as typcially working stock 1050 drives go around the £80-£100 mark when sold alone. 

 

Again just be mindful with Ebay they'll take their chunk and of course there is postage/insurance. It certainly would only be worth shipping within the UK.

 

I'd buy the cheap USB power supply and also look into what has been suggested by the forum members in this thread. ?

1050 disk drives are listed on Ebay for £200 in UK, just on their own.

[Beeblebrox]

7 hours ago, Ashley83 said:

1050 disk drives are listed on Ebay for £200 in UK, just on their own.

@Ashley83  in my experience stock used 1050s go for around the £80-£100 mark. Sure some people may sell a 1050 boxed in mint condition or an enhanced 1050 (with a mod like Happy or US doubler) for higher.  You have to look at the average. There are some people listing 800XLs for parts in poor condition at near £200 but obviously doesn't mean they will get it. ?

[marauder666]

If you've got a multimeter, measure the voltage on the PSU DIN connector, top pin on either side.  If it's 5.2V or less (unless zero), it'll be ok for a quick test of the audio with the different connections into the TV.

 

 

[TGB1718]

PSU limits are 4.75 to 5.25 VDC, off load more likely towards the higher limit

[Thelen]

On 10/4/2021 at 5:08 AM, Sugarland said:

Thank you for saving it! From what little I know about UK/EU prices, your asking £110 sounds fair.  You are right to be worried of breaking it. That power supply brick should not be used. Save it for the computer-side of the cord which can be cut off and used for a modern replacement brick. I see your 800XL has the type 5 Mitsumi keyboard variant. The following thread discusses the different keyboards Atari installed.

 

 

Just curious, what are the risks of using the original power brick? Probably the old electrolythical capacitors?

[TGB1718]

As long as it's measuring around 5V no problems at all for UK models, I think the dodgy XL PSU was a US one (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

[Sugarland]

10 minutes ago, TGB1718 said:

As long as it's measuring around 5V no problems at all for UK models, I think the dodgy XL PSU was a US one (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

 

It can test fine and work for a few days or weeks then fail catastrophically or at least enough to fry the computer.

 

[Ashley83]

1 hour ago, Sugarland said:

 

It can test fine and work for a few days or weeks then fail catastrophically or at least enough to fry the computer.

 

Yes, I read this in a few places. For the minimal cost of a usb power supply, not worth the risk of using this old power pack.

Edited October 5, 2021 by Ashley83

[Ashley83]

Just out of interest, are these 800XL's more sort after as original, or with customised or modded cases. As the case has yellowed somewhat, and would need a bit of cleaning, might it be better to buy a different shell or have the original case custom spray painted with some game graphics, like pac man for example? Would people be into a customised Atari, like they would for say a customised snes or ps1?

[Beeblebrox]

12 minutes ago, Ashley83 said:

Just out of interest, are these 800XL's more sort after as original, or with customised or modded cases. As the case has yellowed somewhat, and would need a bit of cleaning, might it be better to buy a different shell or have the original case custom spray painted with some game graphics, like pac man for example? Would people be into a customised Atari, like they would for say a customised snes or ps1?

@Ashley83

TBH I'd just clean it up as best you can. It sounds like you could waste a lot of money customising it and may or may not sell it. Custom spray painting would cost a lot I'd imagine. You could end up out of pocket. This is old retro tech so as far as I am aware there are no custom shells to buy. (I've not come across any).  I do apprecaite it sounds like you are trying to maximise a profit selling it which is fair enough. I'd just get it working, clean up the case as best you can, and sell it as is. 

That's just my opinion of couse.