Well my Atari 800XL Works, anything I should buy?

[Lacan]

I got the Atari 800XL Working along with the 5inch disk drive, I also have a tape drive with some tapes. I got 4 carts, 1941 strat game, Ms Pacman, Pole Position and TypeWriter. Can anyone tell me the best place to buy stuff for my Atari 800xl?

 

Also whats that cart or converter or whatever it is that uses USB or something that connects the Atari computer to my PC so I can put games on a disk or a flash cart or something? I don't know if I'm allowed to say that here, the moderator or admin can edit this paragraph if he/she wants.

 

I rather have real Atari carts and tapes, and disks with games on it offically. Like a Pacman cart, Donkey Kong Cart, etc.

 

Also I heard there was a way to play 5200 games on my Atari system, does anyone know how this works?

 

One more thing, I realize programming is very easy on the Atari computers, compared to PCs or anything else these days.

[deathtrappomegranate]

For connecting to a PC, get a SIO2PC setup. Try atarimax.com for the hardware.

 

As for software, ebay is the place to be, or, of course, the AA marketplace forum.

 

For 5200 games on A8, you'll need SIO2PC, and a good download site (like atarimania.com ). There's no way to connect 5200 carts to A8 directly at present.

 

Programming on A8 is not necessarily so simple. Depends what you want to do. BASIC is straightforward, but limited. Assembly language is more difficult to learn, but opens up many more possibilities.

[Lacan]

Not to sound dumb, but do I have to open up my Atari 800 XL in order to hook up the SIO2PC thing. I'm not good in hacking a system. I tried to customize my PC one time with major upgrades and it ended up destroying my PC *I ended up getting a new one*. I don't want to ruin a perfectly good Atari 800 XL.

[jetset]

Not to sound dumb, but do I have to open up my Atari 800 XL in order to hook up the SIO2PC thing. I'm not good in hacking a system. I tried to customize my PC one time with major upgrades and it ended up destroying my PC *I ended up getting a new one*. I don't want to ruin a perfectly good Atari 800 XL.

966313[/snapback]

 

Dont be afraid about sounding dumb!

The SIO2PC requires no technical skills whatsoever. The only bad part is your PC/laptop has to have a serial port. I dont know from PC's, but many laptops nowadays dont have them.

Trust me when I tell you...if **I** am able to utilize the connection ANYONE can.

Plus, if you buy from Steve @ atarimax.com, he will be more than helpful if/when you get stuck.

[Rybags]

Ebay is a good source to find original software.

 

Things to buy: at least 2 joysticks if you don't already have one. I still have a Wico I bought almost 25 years ago. Probably the most durable piece of computer hardware ever made.

An extra disk drive would also be a wise investment, but getting an SIO2PC/APE cable would mean you could semi-retire your floppy drive.

 

5200 games don't work directly on the computers. Some games back in the mid 1980s were released exclusively on that system. Many were converted soon after being released by hacking crews. Hardware on both systems is mostly identical except for the controllers and the addresses that the hardware is mapped to. The current situation is that many people are now converting games from the computer to the 5200.

[Lacan]

Does anyone know a good place to buy 5 inch blank disks for my Atari computer?

Edited November 16, 2005 by Lacan

[classics]

Does anyone know a good place to buy 5 inch blank disks for my Atari computer?

966862[/snapback]

 

I have new boxes of 5.25 ds/dd disks for $5, but you might want to check eBay if you are going to buy other Atari gear.

 

Some of the lots of equiptment you wil find there often come with large boxes of used but perfectly servicable disks that just need formatting.

 

Steve

[Lacan]

I'll buy the blank disks when I get money on December 1st.

[DonutCity]

Atari gear...check out Best Electronics - http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/

[ATARIeric]

Not to sound dumb, but do I have to open up my Atari 800 XL in order to hook up the SIO2PC thing.

 

 

The SIO2PC is a cable that connects between your PC to your atariXL by plugging one end of the SIO cable to where you normally would connect atari peripherals.

 

No need to open the computer