+warerat Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 (edited) Well after a little bit of work, I'm pleased to report that I have successfully converted my Atari 800 into an 800XL, sans switchable BASIC and self-test. Nothing makes me beam with pride more as my old friend boots up SpartaDOS 3.2d in Ultraspeed. Time to toss my 130XE's away! To do this only required a change to the 10K OS personality module. I added the XL OS, a SRAM for the RAM-under-ROM, and a custom 800 MMU GAL for the additional decoding. I now have a true 64K Atari 800 with switchable RAM. It only requires one external connection to PB0 on joystick port 3 for the OS RAM/ROM switch to make it software controlled like the XL/XE. The wire hanging out on the right is what is connected to PB0. Phase two will be to get a switchable BASIC, but I will require some additional jumpers to the last memory slot to do this, as I have some spare pins on the GAL to implement it. I'm ready to hold down OPTION! I'd like to make a real PCB for this, as this rat's nest of wiring is driving me crazy. The old dinosaur just got a new lease in life! Take this mod, coupled with SIMM mod in one of the RAM slots and plugged into port 4, and the venerable Atari 800 can be made to look like an XL/XE! Edited January 10, 2006 by warerat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almost Rice Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 (edited) I noticed you are in Houston. I would like to see your mod. I actually was interested in doing this at one time. The only difference is I dont want to press OPTION. Maybe the 32 in 1 OS from Atarimax may be an option. The old dinosaur just got a new lease in life! Take this mod, coupled with SIMM mod in one of the RAM slots and plugged into port 4, and the venerable Atari 800 can be made to look like an XL/XE! 997203[/snapback] I like the way you think. I was thinking about putting a simm into my 800xl or XEGS, but this would be much more interesting. Edited January 10, 2006 by Almost Rice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybernoid Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Very, Very cool! Great work!!! I was thinking of doing the same thing for one of Doctorclu's 800s, but using 2 joystick dongles to connect to joy 3 and 4 to make it 130XE compatible... but time never permitted. Keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 If someone can mass market an 800 to XL conversion kit I'd buy it in a heart beat. I LOVE my Atari 800, but I also like playing XL/XE games, so I'm forced to use my 800XL... Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+warerat Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 I noticed you are in Houston. I would like to see your mod. I actually was interested in doing this at one time. The only difference is I dont want to press OPTION. Maybe the 32 in 1 OS from Atarimax may be an option. The old dinosaur just got a new lease in life! Take this mod, coupled with SIMM mod in one of the RAM slots and plugged into port 4, and the venerable Atari 800 can be made to look like an XL/XE! 997203[/snapback] I like the way you think. I was thinking about putting a simm into my 800xl or XEGS, but this would be much more interesting. 997284[/snapback] I am in the Clear Lake area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almost Rice Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I am in the Clear Lake area. 998667[/snapback] Great, I am near Almeda Mall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiliteZoner Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Well after a little bit of work, I'm pleased to report that I have successfully converted my Atari 800 into an 800XL, sans switchable BASIC and self-test. Nothing makes me beam with pride more as my old friend boots up SpartaDOS 3.2d in Ultraspeed. Time to toss my 130XE's away! To do this only required a change to the 10K OS personality module. I added the XL OS, a SRAM for the RAM-under-ROM, and a custom 800 MMU GAL for the additional decoding. I now have a true 64K Atari 800 with switchable RAM. It only requires one external connection to PB0 on joystick port 3 for the OS RAM/ROM switch to make it software controlled like the XL/XE. The wire hanging out on the right is what is connected to PB0. Phase two will be to get a switchable BASIC, but I will require some additional jumpers to the last memory slot to do this, as I have some spare pins on the GAL to implement it. I'm ready to hold down OPTION! I'd like to make a real PCB for this, as this rat's nest of wiring is driving me crazy. The old dinosaur just got a new lease in life! Take this mod, coupled with SIMM mod in one of the RAM slots and plugged into port 4, and the venerable Atari 800 can be made to look like an XL/XE! 997203[/snapback] Can you toss one of those 130XE's my way? Mine just died Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Awesome. I have 2 800s, but I never use them - my 130XE gets all my time. It was my 2nd computer, and I have had it since 87. Still looks like the day it came out of the box - fortunately it hasn't turned that nasty orange color. I'd love to do this to one of them. I've been going mod crazy with my 130XE for the past several months. Stephen Anderson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Awesome. I have 2 800s, but I never use them - my 130XE gets all my time. It was my 2nd computer, and I have had it since 87. Still looks like the day it came out of the box - fortunately it hasn't turned that nasty orange color. I'd love to do this to one of them. I've been going mod crazy with my 130XE for the past several months. Stephen Anderson 999391[/snapback] I think Cybernoid mentioned my interest in upgrading the 800. Love the 800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 (edited) This is very cool. I've been wanting to upgrade my 800 lately, I've been looking for Axlon boards without success and have been looking at home-brew upgrades for memory too, but if I could upgrade it to be XL compatible, along with extra memory to be Rambo compatible, that would be even better. Of course XE compatibility would be the ultimate, but I'd be happy with XL. Maybe you could get instructions for this mod poste Warerat? That would be very much appreciated. If your going to do a simm mod too, it might be cool to have the whole transformation posted for people to use when you are done. If you wanted to make it worth your time, I bet a lot of people would buy a kit of parts and instructions if you put them together. I'd be willing to pay for just the instructions, if nothing else. Edited January 15, 2006 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+warerat Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 This is very cool. I've been wanting to upgrade my 800 lately, I've been looking for Axlon boards without success and have been looking at home-brew upgrades for memory too, but if I could upgrade it to be XL compatible, along with extra memory to be Rambo compatible, that would be even better. Of course XE compatibility would be the ultimate, but I'd be happy with XL. Maybe you could get instructions for this mod poste Warerat? That would be very much appreciated. If your going to do a simm mod too, it might be cool to have the whole transformation posted for people to use when you are done. If you wanted to make it worth your time, I bet a lot of people would buy a kit of parts and instructions if you put them together. I'd be willing to pay for just the instructions, if nothing else. 1000754[/snapback] Hi everyone. Thanks for the interest in this, didn't know there was still an interest in the 800. I'm cleaning up the design (minimizing pin count on GAL) and will write up what needs to be done. Anyone know of a good PCB service? I'd like to make a real PCB and make a small run of the new boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybernoid Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 http://www.expresspcb.com/ is fairly good. I haven't shopped around for price in a while, but you can get 3 boards for $51 (certain size only). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Hi everyone. Thanks for the interest in this, didn't know there was still an interest in the 800. I'm cleaning up the design (minimizing pin count on GAL) and will write up what needs to be done. Anyone know of a good PCB service? I'd like to make a real PCB and make a small run of the new boards. 1001297[/snapback] I'll buy one if you get them made. Stephen Anderson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Hi everyone. Thanks for the interest in this, didn't know there was still an interest in the 800. I'm cleaning up the design (minimizing pin count on GAL) and will write up what needs to be done. Anyone know of a good PCB service? I'd like to make a real PCB and make a small run of the new boards. 1001297[/snapback] I'll buy one if you get them made. Stephen Anderson 1001679[/snapback] Me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+warerat Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 (edited) Well after a little bit of work, I'm pleased to report that I have successfully converted my Atari 800 into an 800XL, sans switchable BASIC and self-test. Nothing makes me beam with pride more as my old friend boots up SpartaDOS 3.2d in Ultraspeed. Time to toss my 130XE's away! To do this only required a change to the 10K OS personality module. I added the XL OS, a SRAM for the RAM-under-ROM, and a custom 800 MMU GAL for the additional decoding. I now have a true 64K Atari 800 with switchable RAM. It only requires one external connection to PB0 on joystick port 3 for the OS RAM/ROM switch to make it software controlled like the XL/XE. The wire hanging out on the right is what is connected to PB0. Phase two will be to get a switchable BASIC, but I will require some additional jumpers to the last memory slot to do this, as I have some spare pins on the GAL to implement it. I'm ready to hold down OPTION! I'd like to make a real PCB for this, as this rat's nest of wiring is driving me crazy. The old dinosaur just got a new lease in life! Take this mod, coupled with SIMM mod in one of the RAM slots and plugged into port 4, and the venerable Atari 800 can be made to look like an XL/XE! 997203[/snapback] Can you toss one of those 130XE's my way? Mine just died 999256[/snapback] I'll take your broken one off your hands! Edited January 20, 2006 by warerat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari-Jess Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 (edited) IGNORE ME, I SEEMINGLY CAN'T READ OR LOOK Edited April 25, 2006 by Atari-Jess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchennau Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 Warerat, Did you ever progress further on this project? I'd like to give this a try on a Atari 400 I have that has been upgraded to 64K with a real keyboard to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 This thread has been dead since April 2006 until the last few postings Another thread has been following the same subject since November 2006, so it makes more sense to read it for available updates(the latest is January 2010) and to make any further postings there. BillC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjb Posted August 7, 2010 Share Posted August 7, 2010 If there were to be a production run I'd be interested in purchasing a couple for my 2 800 systems. tjb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tregare Posted August 7, 2010 Share Posted August 7, 2010 Well after a little bit of work, I'm pleased to report that I have successfully converted my Atari 800 into an 800XL, sans switchable BASIC and self-test. Nothing makes me beam with pride more as my old friend boots up SpartaDOS 3.2d in Ultraspeed. Time to toss my 130XE's away! To do this only required a change to the 10K OS personality module. I added the XL OS, a SRAM for the RAM-under-ROM, and a custom 800 MMU GAL for the additional decoding. I now have a true 64K Atari 800 with switchable RAM. It only requires one external connection to PB0 on joystick port 3 for the OS RAM/ROM switch to make it software controlled like the XL/XE. The wire hanging out on the right is what is connected to PB0. Phase two will be to get a switchable BASIC, but I will require some additional jumpers to the last memory slot to do this, as I have some spare pins on the GAL to implement it. I'm ready to hold down OPTION! I'd like to make a real PCB for this, as this rat's nest of wiring is driving me crazy. The old dinosaur just got a new lease in life! Take this mod, coupled with SIMM mod in one of the RAM slots and plugged into port 4, and the venerable Atari 800 can be made to look like an XL/XE! 997203[/snapback] Can you toss one of those 130XE's my way? Mine just died howd it die? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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