1.1) What is an Atari 8-bit computer?

1.1) What is an Atari 8-bit computer?

Based in Silicon Valley in the U.S.A., the company known as Atari produced
a line of home computers from 1979 to 1992 often referred to collectively as
the "Atari 8-bits," the "8-bit Ataris," the "400/800/XL/XE series," etc.

The computers included the 400, 800, 1200XL, 600XL, 800XL, 65XE, 130XE, 800XE,
and the XE Game System.

These machines competed in the marketplace most directly with the likes of the
Commodore 64 series, the Apple II series, the Texas Instruments TI99/4A, and
the Radio Shack Color Computer, among others. Of these, the 8-bit Atari is
most similar to the Commodore 64.

In marketing their computers to the public, Atari always had to contend with
their company history and reputation as a maker of video games. While the
8-bit Atari computers in their heyday were technically quite comparable if not
superior in the worlds of home and business personal computing, they also live
up to the name "Atari" with a huge library of video games which were often
outstanding for their time.
The 8-bit Atari computers do not use the same cartridges or floppy disks as
any other Atari platforms, such as the 2600 Video Computer System (VCS), the
5200 SuperSystem, the 7800 ProSystem, or the ST/TT/Falcon computers. All of
these but the 5200, however, do share the same joystick/controller hardware
port.

The 5200 SuperSystem is actually nearly identical to the 8-bit computers
internally, yet cartridges for the 5200 and the 8-bit computers cannot be
exchanged, primarly due to the physically different cartridge ports.

Here are some of the performance specifications of the 8-bit Atari computers:

(Some of the rest of this section by Bill Kendrick)

CPU: 6502 (MOS Technology)

CPU CLOCK SPEED:
NTSC machines: 1.7897725 MHz
non-NTSC machines: 1.773447 MHz

SCREEN REFRESH RATE:
59.94 times per second (Hz) on NTSC Ataris
49.86 Hz on PAL machines

GRAPHICS MODES:
ANTIC CIO/BASIC Display Resolution Number of
Mode # Graphics # Type (full screen) Colors
---------------------------------------------------------------
2 0 Char 40 x 24 1 *
3 - Char 40 x 19 1 *
4 12 ++ Char 40 x 24 5
5 13 ++ Char 40 x 12 5
6 1 Char 20 x 24 5
7 2 Char 20 x 12 5
8 3 Map 40 x 24 4
9 4 Map 80 x 48 2
A 5 Map 80 x 48 4
B 6 Map 160 x 96 2
C 14 ++ Map 160 x 192 2
D 7 Map 160 x 96 4
E 15 ++ Map 160 x 192 4
F 8 Map 320 x 192 1 *
F 9 + Map 80 x 192 1 **
F 10 + Map 80 x 192 9
F 11 + Map 80 x 192 16 ***
* 1 Hue; 2 Luminances
** 1 Hue; 16 Luminances
*** 16 Hues; 1 Luminance
+ require the GTIA chip. 1979-1981 400/800's shipped with CTIA
++ Not available via the BASIC GRAPHICS command in 400/800's.

GRAPHICS INDIRECTION (COLOR REGISTERS AND CHARACTER SETS):
Nine color registers are available. Each color register holds any of 16
luminances x 16 hues = 256 colors. (Four registers are for player-missile
graphics.

Character sets of 128 8x8 characters, each with a normal and an inverse
video incarnation, are totally redefinable.

PLAYER-MISSILE GRAPHICS: (byte height and OR corrections from Piotr Fusik)
Four 8-bit wide, 120 or 240 byte high single color players, and four
2-bit wide, 120 or 240 byte high single color missiles are available.
A mode to combine the 4 missiles into a 5th 8-bit wide player is also
available, as is a mode to OR colors or blacken out colors when players
overlap (good for making three colors out of two players!) Players
and missiles have adjustable priority and collision detection.

DISPLAY LIST INTERRUPTS (DLI's):
Screen modes can be mixed (by lines) down the screen using the Display
List - a program which is executed by the ANTIC graphics chip every
screen refresh:
All other screen attributes (color, player/missile horizontal position,
screen width, player/missile/playfield priority, etc.) can be ajusted
at any point down the screen via DLI's.

SCROLLING:
Fine scrolling (both vertical and horizontal) can be enabled on any
line on the screen.

SOUND:
Four voices of 8-bit pitch-resolution, 4-bit volume-resolution,
8-distortion sound can be produced. 2 voices (1 and 2, and/or 3 and 4)
can be combined to make 16-bit pitch-resolution. Also 4-bit volume-only
modes can be enabled for digitally sampled sound replay.

A fifth "voice" is produced by the internal speaker on Atari 400/800's
(for keyclick and buzzer) and in the XL's and XE's this was
(fortunately!) rerouted through the normal audio output, and the
keyclick can be disabled.

1.2) What is the Atari 400?

Subject: 1.2) What is the Atari 400?

Released along with the 800 in 1979, the 400 was the low-end model of the two.
The only 8-bit Atari with a membrane keyboard rather than a full-stroke
keyboard. One of the few 8-bit Ataris lacking a composite monitor port.
Originally released with just 8K RAM, but most were sold with 16K RAM. Atari
sold the Atari 400 48K RAM Expansion Kit, which required a little soldering,
to dealers only.

Only the 400 and 800 8-bit Atari models have four controller (joystick) ports.

Early 400 units include the CTIA chip; later units include the GTIA chip, also
present in all later 8-bit Ataris.

The 1982 Atari catalog calls the 400 "The Basic Computer."

The 400 was discontinued in 1983.

During development the 400 was known internally as "Candy."

1.3) What is the Atari 800?

Subject: 1.3) What is the Atari 800?

Released along with the 400 in 1979, the 800 was the high-end model of the
two. The 800 is the only 8-bit Atari with a Right Cartridge slot, in addition
to the Left Cartridge slot as present on all 8-bit Ataris. Originally
released with just 8K RAM, many were sold with 16K, later on 48K was standard.

The 800 is also the only 8-bit Atari with a four-slot modular design, where
the first slot holds the CX801 (CX801-P for PAL machines) 10K ROM module, and
the other three slots hold combinations of CX852 8K or CX853 16K RAM modules.

Jason Harmon writes: (12 Feb 2004)
"..the early ones had plastic cases on the ROM and RAM modules, and had two
thumb tabs to remove the cover to access the modules. Later model 800s had
48K standard, and to improve cooling Atari installed them without the cases
but put a small plastic strip across the tops of the cards to hold them in
position. These machines also lost the thumb tabs and have regular screws to
secure the cover over the memory slots."

Only the 400 and 800 8-bit Atari models have four controller (joystick) ports.

Early 800 units include the CTIA chip; later units include the GTIA chip, also
present in all later 8-bit Ataris.

The 800 was discontinued in 1983.

During development the 800 was known internally as "Colleen."

1.4) What is the Atari 1200XL?

Subject: 1.4) What is the Atari 1200XL?

Released as a big brother to the 400/800 in 1982, the 1200XL now uses Atari's
slightly customized 6502C microprocessor, and includes a full 64K RAM. The
1200XL was the first 8-bit Atari with just 2 controller ports. In addition,
the 1200XL includes 4 programmable Function keys and a Help key, 4 LEDs,
built-in diagnostic and graphics demonstration programs, and probably the
favorite keyboard of any 8-bit Atari computer. Clicks previously outputted
through the built-in speaker are now heard from the television or monitor's
speaker. The revised 16K Operating System offers many new features, including
an alternate International Character Set.

The 1200XL was the biggest single step forward in development of the 8-bit
Atari platform, but the corresponding software compatability problems hurt its
popularity.

The 1200XL lacks separate chroma video signal, and also lacks the +5 Volts
power on pin 10 of the SIO port.

There is no PAL (European) version of the 1200XL.

The 1200XL was discontinued in 1983.

1.5) What is the Atari 600XL?

Subject: 1.5) What is the Atari 600XL?

Released in 1983 as a replacement for the 400, the 600XL is the low-end
version of the 800XL. The 600XL/800XL include most of the features of the
1200XL minus the Function keys and the demo program. But both the 800XL and
600XL have the Atari BASIC language built-in. In addition, these two systems
offer the Parallel Bus Interface (PBI), providing fast parallel access to the
heart of the computer. The 600XL has 16K RAM.

The 600XL can be expanded from 16K to 64K with the Atari 1064 Memory Module.

Rarely, some late-model 600XLs were sold with 64K RAM. These may have only
appeared in Canada. The box had a round gold foil sticker reading: "64k
Memory -- Now with a full 64k of memory built-in."

Normally boots with Atari BASIC (Revision B) enabled; Hold down [Option] on
startup to boot without BASIC.

The North American/NTSC 600XL does not include a composite monitor port; The
European/PAL 600XL includes the monitor port, but this lacks the chroma video
signal.

The 600XL was discontinued in 1985.

1.6) What is the Atari 800XL?

Subject: 1.6) What is the Atari 800XL?

Released in 1983 as a replacement for the 800 and 1200XL, the 800XL is the
high-end version of the 600XL. The 600XL/800XL include most of the features of
the 1200XL minus the Function keys and the demo program. But both the 800XL
and 600XL have the Atari BASIC language built-in. In addition, these two
systems offer the Parallel Bus Interface (PBI), providing fast parallel access
to the heart of the computer. The 800XL contains 64K RAM.

Normally boots with Atari BASIC (Rev. B, or late models with Rev. C) enabled;
Hold down [Option] on startup to boot without BASIC.

The 800XL lacks separate chroma video signal (exeception next paragraph).

There was a late version of the 800XL in Europe, called 800XLF. The 800XLF
includes a redesigned motherboard (the XE design) and contains FREDDIE for
memory management and has chroma output. BASIC is Revision C.

Though Atari never disclosed sales figures, the 800XL was likely the most-sold
of all 8-bit Atari computer models.

The 800XL was discontinued in 1985.

1.7) What is the Atari 65XE?

Subject: 1.7) What is the Atari 65XE?

Released in 1985 as a replacement for the 600XL, the 65XE is the low-end
version of the 130XE. The 65XE is nearly identical to the 800XL in features,
minus the PBI. Many European (PAL) 65XE's include the ECI port, but no North
American (NTSC) 65XE's include the ECI port. All XE computers also include
the FREDDIE memory management chip.

Normally boots with Atari BASIC (Revision C) enabled; Hold down [Option] on
startup to boot without BASIC.

The 65XE was discontinued in 1992.

1.8) What is the Atari 130XE?

Subject: 1.8) What is the Atari 130XE?

Released in 1985 as a replacement for the 800XL, the 130XE is the high-end
version of the 65XE. The 130XE offers 128K RAM, plus the FREDDIE memory
management chip, supporting the unique (but rarely used) ability for the 6502
and the ANTIC to independently access RAM banks. In addition, the 130XE
replaces the PBI port with the Enhanced Cartridge Interface (ECI), continuing
the powerful feature of a fast parallel port.

Normally boots with Atari BASIC (Revision C) enabled; Hold down [Option] on
startup to boot without BASIC.

The 130XE was discontinued in 1992.

1.9) What is the Atari 800XE?

Subject: 1.9) What is the Atari 800XE?

Unseen and unknown in North America, the 800XE was sold in eastern Europe. The
800XE is identical in features to the European version of the 65XE, including
the ECI port. The 800XE could also be described as a 64K version of the
130XE.

Normally boots with Atari BASIC (Revision C) enabled; Hold down [Option] on
startup to boot without BASIC.

Jindrich Kubec writes, "The problematic Chinese 800XEs with GTIA problems were
manufactured in 1992."

The 800XE was discontinued in 1992.

1.10) What is the Atari XE Game System?

Subject: 1.10) What is the Atari XE Game System?

In a change of marketing strategy, Atari introduced the new XE Game System in
1987. Despite its label, the XEGS is a true 8-bit Atari computer system. It
offers the convenience of a detachable keyboard and built-in Missile Command
game, while offering 64K RAM and full compatibility with the 65XE. It was
packaged with the Light Gun, and the Flight Simulator II and Bug Hunt
cartridges.

Keyboard connected/no cartridge:
boots to Atari BASIC
Keyboard connected/no cartridge/[Select] held down at startup:
boots to Missile Command
No keyboard connected/no cartridge:
boots to Missile Command
No keyboard connected/no cartridge/[Select] held down at startup:
boots from disk drive
No keyboard connected/no cartridge/[Select]+[Start] held down at startup:
boots from tape drive

[Option] held down at startup = BASIC on
[Option] not pressed at startup = BASIC off
(opposite from all other XL/XE machines)

Andreas Magenheimer writes:
Tip: The confused XEGS Atarian should use the XEGS manager by Mat*Rat
(Mathew Ratcliff). This assumes one knows at least how to boot a disk
with the XEGS...

James Bradford offers:
There is only 1 32K ROM in the XEGS, it has the OS, BASIC (Rev C) and
Missile Command on it.

The XE Game System was discontinued in 1992.

1.11) What are the 6502, ANTIC, CTIA/GTIA, POKEY, and FREDDIE chips?

Subject: 1.11) What are the 6502, ANTIC, CTIA/GTIA, POKEY, and FREDDIE chips?

Some of the following text is taken from De Re Atari (Atari#APX-90008), a book
published by Atari through the Atari Program Exchange (APX) and copyright 1982
by Chris Crawford, et al. See http://www.atariarchives.org/dere/ where the
full text of De Re Atari is now available online.

The internal layout of the Atari 8-bit computer is very different from other
systems. It of course has a microprocessor (a 6502), RAM, ROM, and a PIA.
However, it also has three special-purpose (LSI) chips known as ANTIC, GTIA,
and POKEY. These chips were designed by Atari engineers primarily to take
much of the burden of housekeeping off of the 6502, thereby freeing the 6502
to concentrate on computations. While they were at it, they designed a great
deal of power into these chips. Each of these chips is almost as big (in terms
of silicon area) as a 6502, so the three of them together provide a tremendous
amount of power. Mastering the Atari 8-bit computers is primarily a matter of
mastering these three chips.

6502 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
====
While the 400/800 models contain a generic 6502B CPU (a faster version of the
original 6502A microprocessor), all of the XL/XE models contain Atari's
customized 6502C chip.

On the Atari, there are two microprocessors, ANTIC and the 6502. To allow
them to coexist, ANTIC must shut off the 6502, a process called DMA. The
6502B supports DMA, but in Atari's implementation, it required 4 chips. The
6502C has an extra line called HALT. It is controlled by ANTIC which uses it
whenever it needs the data/address bus. The HALT line is on pin 35 of the
Atari 6502C and must be pulled high for the chip to work.

ANTIC
=====
ANTIC ("Alpha-Numeric Television Interface Circuit") is a microprocessor
dedicated to the television display. It is a true microprocessor; it has an
instruction set, a program (called the display list), and data. The display
list and the display data are written into RAM by the 6502. ANTIC retrieves
this information from RAM using direct memory access (DMA). It processes the
higher level instructions in the display list and translates these
instructions into a real-time stream of simple instructions to GTIA.

Frank Schuster writes (6/1/02):
the patent for the ANTIC processor:

U.S. Patent 4,296,476 October 20, 1981 for a "Data processing system wit
h
programmable graphics generator". Inventors listed: Steven T. Mayer; Jay
G. Miner; Douglas G. Neubauer; Joseph C. Decuir

CTIA/GTIA
=========
CTIA ("Color Television Interface Adapter") / GTIA ("George's Television
Interface Adapter") is a television interface chip. ANTIC directly controls
most of GTIA's operations, but the 6502 can be programmed to intercede and
control some or all of GTIA's functions. GTIA converts the digital commands
from ANTIC (or the 6502) into the signal that goes to the television. GTIA
also adds some factors of its own, such as color values, player-missile
graphics, and collision detection.

Early 400/800 models included CTIA, later 400/800 models and all later 8-bit
Ataris included GTIA.

In BASIC, type POKE 623,64 [RETURN] and if the screen blackens, you have the
GTIA chip. If it stays blue, you have the old CTIA chip.

By the way, apparently no CTIA-equipped Ataris were shipped to Europe.

Clay Halliwell provides this tidbit:
A bit of trivia: CTIA 400/800s artifact in blue/green, GTIA 400/800s
artifact in green/blue, and all XL/XEs artifact in red/blue.

Jerry Jessop explains why French Ataris produce fewer colors:
I will tell you why it only has monochrome out, because it's SECAM and a
SECAM GTIA was never produced. The PAL GTIA is used in France and the Lum
outputs are run into an onboard encoder to produce a "psudo" color depending
on the Luminance output, composite only. This is why a SECAM VCS or 800 has
nowhere near the same number of colors (16) availible as a PAL or NTSC unit
(256).

The FGTIA was never completed as the market size did not warrant the
expense. The largest SECAM market is not France but the Soviet Union
(former) and in 80-84 sales of these items there were not possible.

Frank Schuster writes (6/1/02):
..here a summary of Atari patents covering technical parts of the GTIA /
CTIA or at least the steps of development to it. I found them by followi
ng
the references made in the "newest" patent 4,324,401 which at the end
stands for the GTIA.

U.S. Patent 4,324,401 April 13, 1982 for a "Method and system for
generating moving objects on a video display screen". Inventors listed:
David R. Stubben, Lyle V. Rains. References: 4,116,444; 4,107,665

U.S. Patent 4,189,728 February 19, 1980 for an "Apparatus for generating
a
plurality of moving objects on a video display screen utilizing
associative memory". Inventor listed: David R. Stubben. References:
4,116,444; 4,045,789

U.S. Patent 4,116,444 September 26, 1978 for a "Method for generating a
plurality of moving objects on a video display screen". Inventors listed
:
Steven T. Mayer; Ronald E. Milner. References: 4,016,362; 3,793,483

U.S. Patent 4,107,665 August 15, 1978 for an "Apparatus for continuous
variation of object size on a raster type video screen". Inventors liste
d:
Steven T. Mayer; Ronald E. Milner

U.S. Patent 4,045,789 August 30, 1977 for a "Animated video image displa
y
system and method". Inventor listed: Stephen D. Bristow. References:
3,793,483

U.S. Patent 4,016,362 April 5, 1977 for a "Multiple image positioning
control system and method". Inventors listed: Stephen D. Bristow; Steven
T. Mayer. References: 3,793,483

U.S. Patent 3,793,483 February 19, 1974 for a "Video Image Control Syste
m
for Amusement Device". Inventor listed: Nolan K. Bushnell
POKEY
=====
POKEY (means "POT and KEY" as in the paddles and keyboard) is a digital
input/output (I/O) chip. It handles such disparate tasks as the serial I/O
bus, audio generation, keyboard scan, and random number generation. It also
digitizes the resistive paddle inputs and controls maskable interrupt (IRQ)
requests from peripherals.

All four of these LSI chips function simultaneously. Careful separation of
their functions in the design phase has minimized conflicts between the chips.
The only hardware level conflict between any two chips in the system occurs
when ANTIC needs to use the address and data buses to fetch its display
information. To do this, it halts the 6502 and takes control of the buses."

The USPTO granted U.S. Patent 4,314,236 to Atari on February 2, 1982 for an
"Apparatus for producing a plurality of audio sound effects" - POKEY.
Inventors listed: Steven T. Mayer, Ronald E. Milner

FREDDIE
=======
The 65XE/130XE/800XE/XEGS contain a small additional LSI called FREDDIE, a RAM
address multiplexer. According to James Bradford, "FREDDIE is a type of
memory controller. It takes the address and clock from the CPU and
multiplexes it with the appropriate timings and signals to use DYNAMIC memory.
FREDDIE also buffers the system clock crystal and divides it down then feeds
that to GTIA. The XEGS has a FREDDIE but it doesn't have the extended RAM.
Even if it did, you would still need the chip that does the REAL bank
switching. It is a small 16-pin chip (Atari/Best Electronics catalog number
CO25953: rev9/page 42). It gets RAS from FREDDIE, the bank select bits from
PIA, A14, A15 and the 6502 halt signal to control which bank of 8 chips RAS
goes to. A14 and A15 then go to FREDDIE for the address range of the extra
memory bank (or normal address range with no bank switching). The ANTIC/6502
select bits in combination with the 6502 halt line, control the switching of
the PIA bank number bits to A14/A15 and which bank of memory RAS goes to. Why
people say FREDDIE does the bank switching is beyond me. An 800XL can look
like a 130XE with that 16-pin chip installed (That's right NO FREDDIE) and an
extra 8 RAM chips."

And more recently James Bradford has written:
FREDDIE is just a memory decoder and timer. It replaces several chips in the
800XL. The small chip near FREDDIE does all the bank selection. CO25953. One
line from FREDDIE, Ras (or is it cas?) goes to this chip, Halt and the bank
/processor select lines go into this same chip and ras (cas?) comes out. A pin
for each bank. If I remember correctly, refresh also goes into this small
chip. It would be quite easy to make an 800XL work just like a 130XE with this
chip since Ras (Cas?) is required by ALL dynamic RAM.
======
Technical data sheets and schematics for the ANTIC, GTIA, and POKEY chips are
available on Curt Vendel's web site, thanks to permission from Hasbro's Atari
Interactive Division's release of this data. See the TIFF scans:
http://www.atari-history.com/articles.html
Keith Howell has converted the hi-res TIFFs into clean HTML:
http://www.howell1964.freeserve.co.uk/Atari/800XL/Atari_800XL.htm

1.12) What is the internal layout of the 8-bit Atari?

Subject: 1.12) What is the internal layout of the 8-bit Atari?

ASCII art by Thomas Havemeister.

(art removed and placed in an attached txt file)

NOTES
* RAM: 400/800: 8K, 16K or 48K standard
600XL:16K standard
1200XL/800XL/65XE/800XE/XEGS: 64K standard
130XE:128K standard
* ROM: 400/800:10K OS, 1200XL:16K OS, all others:16K OS + 8K Atari BASIC
* CPU: 400/800:6502B, all others:6502C
* 800 includes two Cartridge Slots, all others include one
* early release 400/800 have CTIA instead of GTIA
* 400/800 have 4 Controller Ports, all others have 2
* PBI is on 600XL/800XL only
* ECI is on 130XE/800XE/many PAL 65XE only
* Some late XE's use a 68B21 for PIA; PIA is 6520/6520A on all others

The following are most of the team who originally designed the 400/800.
Credit for providing this information for the FAQ goes to:
Doug Neubauer (by way of James Finnegan), Jerry Jessop, Scott Emmons

VLSI HARDWARE:
Jay Miner - Creator and System architect, VSLI manager
Steve Mayer - Also one of the creators - Partner in "Cyan Engineering"
Lawrence D. Emmons - Also one of the creators - Partner in "Cyan
Engineering"
Joe Decuir - ANTIC and system and creator
???A French guy - ANTIC logic designer
George McLeod - CTIA and GTIA logic design
Doug Neubauer - POKEY logic design
Mark Shieu - POKEY chip design
Steve Stone - POKEY layout design
Steve Smith - Technician for ANTIC and GTIA
Delwin Pearson - Technician for POKEY

1.13) What issues surround NTSC vs PAL versions of the 8-bit Atari?

Subject: 1.13) What issues surround NTSC vs PAL versions of the 8-bit Atari?

Contributors to this section:
Wayne Booth, Graham Thornton, Brent Buescher Jr., Thomas Richter, Jindroush

Some quick definitions first:

NTSC standard: Abbreviation for "National Television Standards Committee"
TV signal standard used in North America, Central America, a number of South
American countries, and some Asian countries, including Japan.
525 lines per frame
60 half-frames per second (interlaced) = 60 Hz
Complete frame refreshed 30 times per second

PAL: Acronym for "phase alternation by line"
TV signal standard used in the United Kingdom, much of the rest of western
Europe, several South American countries, some Middle East and Asian
countries, several African countries, Australia, New Zealand, and other
Pacific island countries.
625 lines per frame
50 half-frames per second (interlaced) = 50 Hz
Complete frame refreshed 25 times per second.

PAL-M: A modified version of PAL, used in Brazil.

SECAM: Acronym for "systeme electronique couleur avec memoire"
TV signal standard used in France, eastern European countries, the former
USSR, and some African countries.
625 lines per frame
50 half-frames per second (interlaced) = 50 Hz
Complete frame refreshed 25 times per second.

Now then, how do the differences among 8-bit Atari computers designed for the
different world television signal standards affect users trying to use
software written elsewhere in the world?

The 50Hz vertical refresh frequency of PAL machines translates into more
vertical blank interrupt (VBI) time for demos and other computation-intensive
graphics software, when compared to the time available for VBIs on NTSC
machines with the faster 60Hz refresh frequency. So PAL demos and games that
won't work on NTSC machines are usually returning from a VBI too late. Some
also attempt to use more vertical resolution ("longer" display lists) than an
NTSC display can handle.

Note that the reverse is also true. Software using VBIs will run more slowly
on a PAL Atari than on an NTSC Atari.

Replacing the NTSC ANTIC chip in an NTSC Atari with a PAL ANTIC changes the
screen refresh rate to 50Hz, allowing most of the PAL-only European software
to run on a North American NTSC Atari. However, make sure your display device
can support a 50Hz PAL signal first! North American Atari users can also
obtain and use real European PAL Atari machines, with the same caveat
concerning the display device.

Bottom line:
Software written for NTSC machines (North America) will (almost) always work
on PAL machines (Europe), but software designed on PAL machines won't
necessarily work on NTSC machines.

Jindroush contributes: (2/26/02)
Could there be a program which runs on NTSC Atari and not on PAL Atari? Yes,
if it uses some precise timing copy protection (probably based on vblank
timing). Examples of these are Transylvania and The Quest by Penguin Software.

Thomas Richter mentions another NTSC vs PAL issue:
Another point is that the popular pseudo-colors used in the ANTIC-F (Graphics
8) mode are not colorful at all when displayed on a PAL TV, because of
differences in the color encoding for the TV. The schematics of the XL
computers include however a hack how to change the PAL version to the NTSC
version (the PAL versions include two crystals, one with 5/4th of the
frequency of the other. One is used for the system clock, the other for the
color clock), but I never dared to apply it.

And on 10/16/03 Thomas Richter answered a related question this way:
>> Note that it's typically not too hard to get an NTSC Atari to run in PAL
>> by just swapping out the ANTIC chip.
>>
>> Unfortunately, some demos actually check the OS ROM for a particular
>> value to see if it's a PAL machine or not, and then refuse to run if
>> they are. *grumble* I'd rather have a warning than a refusal. :^P

> As far as I am aware, the only value to tell a PAL from a NTSC machine is in
> GTIA. Maybe swap that one as well and see what you get

Absolutey correct, GTIA keeps the PAL/NTSC register and the Os rom reads it
from there. However, besides the GTIA PAL and NTSC machines differ in other
aspects. For example, on PAL machines an additional oscillator of 5/4 of the
main frequency is present to generate the color frequencies needed to drive
GTIA. There is no such circuit in NTSC Ataris. Besides, this factor of 5/4 is
also the reason why you don't get "artifacted colors" on PAL machines (or, at
least, not very good ones.)

1.14) What are the pinouts for the various ports on the Atari?

Subject: 1.14) What are the pinouts for the various ports on the Atari?

(also see attached ascii art txt file)

Controller Port (4 on 400/800, 2 on all others):
1 2 3 4 5
o o o o o
o o o o
6 7 8 9 CX22 trackball meanings from Steve Wallace:
1. (Joystick) Forward Input X Direction
2. (Joystick) Back Input X Motion
3. (Joystick) Left Input Y Direction
4. (Joystick) Right Input Y Motion
5. B Potentiometer Input
6. Trigger Input / Light Pen Input. Port 4 only on 400
7. +5V
8. Ground
9. A Potentiometer Input

Serial I/O (SIO) Port (all machines):
2 12
o o o o o o
o o o o o o o
1 13
1. Clock Input 8. Motor Control
2. Clock Output 9. Proceed
3. Data Input 10. +5V/Ready (not on 1200XL)
4. Ground 11. Audio Input
5. Data Output 12. +12V (400,800 only. 1400XL/1450XLD?)
6. Ground 13. Interrupt
7. Command

Cartridge Slot ("Left" slot on all machines; "Right" slot on 800 only):
A B C D E F H J K L M N P R S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
1. ~S4(Left) R/~W late(Right) A. RD4(Left) B02(Right)
2. A3 B. GND
3. A2 C. A4
4. A1 D. A5
5. A0 E. A6
6. D4 F. A7
7. D5 H. A8
8. D2 J. A9
9. D1 K. A12
10. D0 L. D3
11. D6 M. D7
12. ~S5(Left) ~S4(Right) N. A11
13. +5V P. A10
14. RD5(Left) RD4(Right) R. R/~W
15. ~CCTL S. B02

Monitor Jack (all but 400, N. American 600XL, XE Game System, SECAM
systems):
3 1
5 4
2
1. Composite Luminance (Composite Video on 600XL)
2. Ground
3. Audio Output
4. Composite Video
5. Composite Chroma (not on 800XL(most),1200XL; grounded on 600XL)

Monitor Jack, SECAM systems: (thanks Jer Sobola)
V

5 1
3
4 2

6
1 +12V DC 5mA max
2 Audio 1 output
3 Audio 2 output
4 Video output
5 GND
6 +5V 100mA max
Amplitude Audio 2 is about 6 times closer than Audio 1

Power Adapter Plug (all but 400,800,1200XL,1400XL,1450XLD):
7 6
3 1
5 4
2
1. +5V
2. Shield
3. Ground
4. +5V
5. Ground
6. +5V
7. Ground

Parallel Bus Interface (PBI) (600XL and 800XL only):
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50
1. GND ground 2. External select
3. A0 Address output 4. A1
5. A2 6. A3
7. A4 8. A5
9. A6 10. GND
11. A7 12. A8
13. A9 14. A10
15. A11 16. A12
17. A13 18. A14
19. GND 20. A15
21. D0 Data (bidirectional) 22. D1
23. D2 24. D3
25. D4 26. D5
27. D6 28. D7
29. GND 30. GND
31. Phase 2 clock output 32. GND
33. NC Reserved 34. Reset output
35. (IRQ) Interrupt request 36. Ready input
37. NC 38. External decoder output
39. NC 40. Refresh output
41. Column address output 42. GND
43. Math pack disable input 44. Row addr strobe
45. GND 46. Latch read/write out
47. NC (+5V on 600XL only) 48. NC (+5V on 600XL only, used to power 1064)
49. Audio input 50. GND

Enhanced Cartridge Interface (ECI) (130XE, 800XE and many PAL 65XE only):
A B C D E F H
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A. Reserved 1. ~EXSEL
B. ~IRQ 2. ~RST
C. ~HALT 3. ~D1XX
D. A13 4. ~MPD
E. A14 5. Audio
F. A15 6. ~REF
H. GND 7. +5V

Keyboard Port (XE Game System only):
1 8
o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o
9 15
1. KR2 Keyboard Response 8. K2 Keyboard Scan
2. K3 Keyboard Scan 9. Ground
3. K4 Keyboard Scan 10. Not Connected
4. K5 Keyboard Scan 11. Ground
5. KR1 Keybaord Response 12. Not Connected
6. K0 Keyboard Scan 13. Trigger 2
7. K1 Keyboard Scan 14. 5 VDC
15. 5 VDC

2.1) What video display devices can I use with my Atari?

Subject: 2.1) What video display devices can I use with my Atari?

Contributors to channel output variations list:
Jon Levy, Rene de Bie, Sysop Fox-1

Most 8-bit Atari computers put out video signals in two places:

1) Radio-Frequency (RF) signal, either one VHF channel, or two VHF channels
selectable by a switch on the computer. Variations depend primarily on the
part of the world that the particular version of the computer was desgined
for.

Most North American computers: VHF channels 2-3 switch-selectable.
channels 3-4 switch selectable also reported
European computers: VHF channels 3-4 switch-selectable,
or no switch (what channel?) both reported
UK computers: VHF channel 36, no switch,
or channels 38-39 switch selectable both reported
Australian computers: VHF channel 1 (400/800: channels 1-2 selectable)

Any further clarifications would be appreciated!

Accessories needed:
a) RF Cable. (RF=radio frequency--video and audio signals in the same line)
On the 400/800 models, the RF Cable does not detach from the computer.
The output end of the cable is an RCA male connector.

b) TV Switch Box. Includes an RCA female connector for RF signal input from
the Atari, input connector(s) for your TV attenna and/or cable TV
company, and 75- and/or 300-ohm VHF output connector(s) for connection to
the VHF input on the television. (Radio Shack carries a suitable TV
Switch Box.)

2) A proprietary 5-pin DIN Monitor Jack, which includes two video signals:
a) Composite video.
b) Y/C Video, also known as S-Video:
separate composite luminance (Y) and chrominance (C) signals.

Exceptions among the computer models:
-the 400 and North American 600XL lack the Monitor Jack.
-the XE Game System includes an RCA-style jack in place of the Monitor Jack,
providing a plain composite video signal only.
-the Monitor Jack on the 600XL, 800XL(most) and 1200XL lacks the separate
chrominance signal. (But it exists internally, and can be restored to the
monitor jack via hardware modification.)

The pinout for the Atari Monitor Jack is in the pinouts sections of this FAQ
list.

The typical Atari Monitor Cable includes the male 5-pin DIN connector on one
end, and two RCA male connectors on the other end. One of the RCA connectors
will carry the monophonic sound signal, and the other will carry the composite
video signal. Color composite monitors were common in the mid-80's, but these
days many televisions have an RCA female composite video input connector which
works fine with the Atari.

You may find an Atari Monitor Cable where the video signal carried on the
second RCA connector is not the composite video signal, but the composite
luminance signal. These cables are for use with monochrome composite video
monitors (usually green or amber).

The ideal Atari Monitor Cable includes 3 RCA male connectors on the output
end, carrying the sound signal, the composite luminance signal, and the
composite chrominance signal. Only the best composite monitors include
separate chrominance and luminance inputs. Commodore produced many fine
monitors of this type, popular with Atari users.

Lonnie McClure provides this information on suitable Commodore monitors:
1701, 1702, 1802, CM-141, 1080, 2002, 1902, 1902A*, 1084**, 1084S**

* The 1902A used a DIN connector for chroma/luma, which makes cabling a
bit more of a problem. The composite and audio connectors are standard
RCA jacks, however.

** The 1084 and 1084S had more than one version. Some used the a DIN
connector for chroma/luma connections, like the 1902A, while some used
standard RCA jacks.

The 1902 and 1902A are very different in appearance. The original 1902
shares the same slightly rounded front case design as the 1080 and 2002,
while the 1902A is has a rather square case design, and was manufactured
by Magnavox (as were some of the 1084 and 1084S versions).

The separate composite chrominance and luminance signals that the Atari puts
out comprise what the world has since come to call Y/C video or S-video.
S-video connectors are normally Mini4. It is possible to build a cable, or
purchase several adapters, that can allow you to utilize the separate Y/C
signals generated by the Atari with a television (or other display device)
that provides a standard S-video Mini4 input jack. This is the ultimate
display option for the 8-bit Atari. Clarence Dyson has a nice page about
such a project at http://www.wolfpup.net/atari/svideo.html .

Adapters also exist that will take in composite video or s-video, and output a
conversion of the signal as a standard VGA video signal. These are often
known as a "VGA converter" or "Scan doubler" or "Up-converter." With such a
device, the 8-bit Atari can be used with a standard PC VGA monitor. One such
adapter is the Cheese Video Box from AV Toolbox, http://www.avtoolbox.com. AV
Toolbox produces several other similar devices. An earlier popular adapter
was the JAM!! from AIMS Lab.

SCART - an acronym for Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorecepteurs
et Televiseurs - is a 21-pin universal connecting cable/socket system used for
audio/video components in Europe. The cables transmit RGB, composite video,
S-Video, mono and stereo sound. SCART, which is also known as PERITEL, EURO
AV BUS and EUROCONECTOR, is common throughout Europe, particularly in France,
England, Germany, Switzerland, and Scandinavia. SCART is also very popular in
the Russian Audio Video market. It is possible to interface the Atari's
composite video signal, along with the audio signal, through a SCART
connector, though there have been few reports of people actually doing this.

Keith Howell has a nice page on some of these topics:
http://www.howell1964.freeserve.co.uk/Atari/800XL/Atari_800XL_Video.htm

December 2003--More Than Games announced "A8 A/V BOB", an audio/video
breakout box featuring phono connectors for composite video, chroma,
luminance, and mono audio; it also features an s-video jack providing chroma
and luminance. http://www.a8maestro.com/sites/mtgcat/mtgcat.htm

3.1) What are the Atari 410, 1010, XC11, and XC12 Program Recorders?

Subject: 3.1) What are the Atari 410, 1010, XC11, and XC12 Program Recorders?

The Atari Program Recorders provide storage and retrieval of programs
and data on cassette tape. In addition to the digital track that stores
computer data, a second audio track is provided to play music or voice
as the program runs.

Data transmission rate: 600 bits per second.
Data storate capacity: 100,000 bytes per 60-minute cassette.
Track configuration: 4 track, 2 channel (digital data and audio track)

410 Program Recorder
- early Japan version had a carrying handle
- most versions made in Hong Kong
- 410a--Taiwan version
- built-in SIO cable - must end SIO daisy chain
- power - plugs directly into wall (most versions)
- "410P" version (rare). Karl Heller writes:
"It came in the white 410 box with an Atari yellow/orange paper slip
stating which power supply to use with it."

1010 Program Recorder
- Chelco version has Stop/Eject, then Pause buttons
- Sanyo version has Pause, then Stop/Eject buttons
- two SIO ports

XC11 Program Recorder
- has a built-in SIO cable and one SIO port

XC12 Program Recorder
- built-in SIO cable - must end SIO daisy chain
- Information on the Turbo 6000 Baud Interface and the Chaos Loader:
http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~sgl/atari/turb6000/turb6000.htm

3.2) What other cassette recorders can I use with my Atari?

Subject: 3.2) What other cassette recorders can I use with my Atari?

Firstly Atari themselves put out several models beyond the 410/1010/XC11/XC12,
generally only known in eastern Europe:

XCA12 Program Recorder -in same case as XC12...Poland
CA12 Program Recorder -in same case as XC12...Poland
image: http://romualdl.multimania.com/images/atari/ca12.jpg
XL12 Program Recorder -XC12 w/slight changed design.
Czech/Slovak/Poland
XC13 Program Recorder -XC12 which was "T2000 ready".
Czech/Slovak/Poland

For more information on the Turbo 2000 (T2000) and SuperTurbo modifications to
Atari program recorders, with speeds up 9600 baud, see
http://jindroush.atari.org

Unlike other microcomputer systems of the time, it was very unusual to use
anything but Atari brand program cassette recorders. One third-party product
released was the:

Compu-Mate, by General Electric (GE, G.E.)
Includes external interface module, a power cord/adapter, and SIO cable.
No second SIO port - must be at end of SIO chain.

3.3) How do I run a program from cassette?

Subject: 3.3) How do I run a program from cassette?

To run an Atari BASIC program from cassette:

1. Place the cassette in the recorder.
2. Press REWIND of FORWARD, if necessary, to bring the tape to the position
where the program is located.
3. Boot the computer to the Atari BASIC READY prompt.
4. There are several possibilities for the next step, depending on how the
program was saved, and whether you want to run the program or just load
it into RAM. Enter one of the following four commands:
a. CLOAD loads programs saved with CSAVE
b. LOAD "C:" loads programs saved with SAVE "C:"
c. ENTER "C:" loads programs saved with LIST "C:"
d. RUN "C:" loads&runs programs saved with SAVE "C:"

] Relative efficiency of the three cassette tape recording techniques:
] CSAVE/CLOAD - most efficient - fastest saves/loads - tokenized files
] SAVE "C:"/LOAD "C:" - middle efficiency - middle speed - tokenized files
] LIST "C:"/ENTER "C:" - least efficient - slowest - straight ATASCII

5. The computer will "beep" as a signal for you to press PLAY on the recorder.
6. Press the RETURN key on the computer keyboard, and the program will load
into the computer.
7. Press STOP on the recorder when loading has finished.
8. Unless you entered RUN "C:" above, now enter the command: RUN

To run an Atari BASIC or machine language program from cassette upon
startup:

1. Place the cassette in the recorder
2. Press REWIND of FORWARD, if necessary, to bring the tape to the position
where the program is located.
3. Turn on the computer while holding down the START key.
But if your computer has Atari BASIC built-in and you're running a machine
language program, hold down both the START key and the OPTION key.
4. The computer will "beep" as a signal for you to press PLAY on the recorder.
5. Let go of the START/OPTION button(s).
6. Press the RETURN key on the computer keyboard, and the program will load
into the computer.
7. Press STOP on the recorder when loading is complete and the program is
running.

3.4) What are the Atari 810, 815, 1050, and XF551 Disk Drives?

Subject: 3.4) What are the Atari 810, 815, 1050, and XF551 Disk Drives?

Section includes contributions by Andreas Magenheimer, TXG.

The Atari Disk Drives provide storage and retrieval of programs
and data on 5.25" floppy disks.

3.5) What other floppy disk drives can I use with my Atari?

Subject: 3.5) What other floppy disk drives can I use with my Atari?

Major contributors to this section: Glenn M. Saunders, Tomasz M. Tatar,
James Bradford, Konrad M. Kokoszkiewicz, Don Schoengarth, Andreas
Magenheimer

SS=Single-Sided SD=Single-Density, 90K/disk side
DS=Double-Sided ED=Enhanced-Density, 128K/disk side
DD=Double-Density, 180K/disk side

Printer port=has a standard DB25 parallel printer port,+ maybe a print buffer
Master=includes drive controller, can add additional,non-Atari-specific drives

Top transfer rate=19.2Kbps unless stated otherwise

Floppy disk drives designed for the 8-bit Atari computers:
Atari 810 SS SD
Atari 1050 SS SD/ED
Atari XF551 DS SD/ED/DD, 38.4Kbps burst mode
Access Unlimited ATAR88-1 SS SD master
Access Unlimited ATAR40-1 SS SD/DD master
Amdek AMDC I SS SD/DD uses flippy Amdisk III 3" disk/carts,printerport,master
Amdek AMDC II SS SD/DD dual drives, printer port, master
AS SN-360 DS SD/ED/DD
Astra 1620 SS SD/DD dual drives
Astra 2001 SS SD/DD dual drives
Astra Big-D DS SD/DD dual drives
Astra The One DS SD/DD, printer port
B&C 810 SS SD, optional Happy Warp Speed 52Kbps
Concorde C-221M SS SD/DD master
Concorde C-222M DS SD/DD master
CSS Floppy Board, for the Black Box, master, support PC 720K and 1.44MB 3.5"
drives, support PC 1.2MB and 360kB 5.25" drives,
also read/write 5.25" and 3.5" MS-DOS disks
see: http://www.nleaudio.com/css/products/floppy.htm
High-Density Disk Interface (HDI) a PCB master,connect up to 4 standard drives
Indus GT SS SD/ED/DD, Synchromesh mode usable with SpartaDOS X
and DOS XL only. 72Kbps under SpartaDOS X, 37Kbps under DOS XL. Z-80 cpu
RAM-Charger--expansion card contains 64K RAM + software, for CP/M support
KARIN MAXI DS SD/ED/DD/QD
L.E. Systems LEDS5-01 SS SD/DD master, 134.4Kbps, 800 only
CP/M expansion: 4MHz Z80, 64K RAM
L.E. Systems LEFDC-04 SS SD Four drives, copies a disk in 22 secs, 800 only
L.E. Systems LEFDC-08 SS SD Eight drives, copies a disk in 22 secs, 800 only
LDW Super 2000 SS SD/DD, 19.2Kbps or 67Kbps
image: http://romualdl.multimania.com/images/atari/super2000.jpg
LDW CA2001 SS SD/DD, 19.2Kbps or 38.4Kbps "California Access"
image: http://romualdl.multimania.com/images/atari/ca2001.jpg
LDW CA2002 DS SD/ED/DD,19.2Kbps,70Kbps w/SpartaDOS. "Calif. Access"
Micro MainFrame MF-1681 SS SD/DD, printer port, 4K to 54K printer buffer,
hard disk firmware included, master, Z-80 CPU w/ 16K to 64K RAM for CP/M,
TRSDOS, MaxiDOS A, and OASIS. see: http://www.qnet.com/~dons/mmf.html
Micro MainFrame MF-1682 dual drives version of MF-1681
Percom RFD40-S1 SS SD/DD, master
Percom RFD40-S2 SS SD/DD dual drives, master
Percom RFD44-S1 DS SD/DD, master
Percom RFD44-S2 DS SD/DD dual drives, master
(80-track RFDs hinted at http://www.atarimagazines.com/v1n2/newproducts.html)
Percom AT88 SS SD, master
Percom AT88-S1 PD SS SD/DD, printer port, master
Percom AT88-S2 PD SS SD/DD dual drives, printer port, master
Rana 1000 SS SD/ED/DD, stand alone disk formatting
RCP 810 SS SD
San Jose Computer Special Edition 810 SS SD, optional Happy Warp Speed 52Kbps
SWP ATR8000 4MHz Z80, 16K RAM, RS232, master, printer port
or 4MHz Z80, 64K RAM, RS232, master, printer port, CP/M 2.2
options: 128K or 256K CO-POWER-88 with MS-DOS; CP/M-86
TOMS 720 DS SD/ED/ID/DD/QD/ID printer port, MYDOS 4.50 on ROM, 70Kbps
- SS/SD - 40 tracks, 18 sects, 128 bytes = 90 KB
- SS/ED - 40 tracks, 26 sects, 128 bytes = 130 KB
- SS/ED - 40 tracks, 18 sects, 256 bytes = 180 KB
- SS/ID - IBM S-9 - 40 tracks, 9 sects, 512 bytes = 180 KB
- DS/DD - 40 tracks, 18 sects, 256 bytes = 360 KB
- DS/QD - 80 tracks, 18 sects, 256 bytes = 720 KB
- DS/ID - IBM D-9 - 40 tracks, 9 sects, 512 bytes = 360 KB
- known as Toms-Turbo Drive, Turbo format and speeder is compatible
with german Engl-Turbo-1050; (tools will work with both drives);
TOMS 710 DS SD/ED/ID/DD/QD/ID printer port, MYDOS 4.50 on ROM, 67Kbps
one more format: double sided, 80 tracks, IBM (720 KB)
also TOMS Navigator on ROM (like Norton Commander);
known as Toms-Turbo drive; Turbo format and speeder is compatible
with german Engl-Turbo-1050; (tools will also work with both drives);
Trak AT-1 SS SD/DD master.upgrade: printer port+4K/16K buffer
Trak AT-D1 SS SD master, printer port, 4K print buffer.upgrade:16K
Trak AT-D2 SS SD/DD master, printer port, 4K printbuffer.upgrade:16K
Trak AT-D4 DS SD/DD, printer port, print buffer
Trak Champ SS SD master
Trak Champ2 SS SD/DD master
Trak AT-S1 SS SD/DD slave
XFD601B DS SD/ED/DD 70kbps,Top Drive,Synchromesh,UltraSpeed,XF551 compat.
XFD602B dual DS SD/ED/DD 70kbps,Top Drive,Synchromesh,UltraSpeed,XF551 compat

While any standard "slave" drive will work with "master" drives listed above,
the following are slave drives marketed specifically to Atari users:
Access Unlimited ATAR88-A1 SS SD slave
Access Unlimited ATAR40-A1 SS SD/DD slave
Concorde C-221S SS SD/DD slave
Concorde C-222S DS SD/DD slave
Percom RFD40-A1 SS SD/DD slave
Percom AT88-A1 SS SD/DD slave
RCP 100 DS SD/DD, slave

3.6) What kinds of 5.25" floppy disks can I use with my Atari drives?

Subject: 3.6) What kinds of 5.25" floppy disks can I use with my Atari drives?

Russ Gilbert writes:
If you're talking standard computer store, you can't use those 5 1/4" disks. I
mean you can't use high density disks. They must be double density to use
with the 1050. Almost all double density 5 1/4" disks have a hub ring, high
density disks don't have the hub ring.

RHamiIton5 elaborates: (5/12/01)
The Atari 8 drives do not have write heads and circuity which can handle the
type of oxide coating used on the high density floppy media; they cannot write
reliably to them. The hub ring has just become a sort of marker to distinguish
the high density from the standard double density diskettes.

Way back in your apple days of '79-'82, most disks were hubless and only the
really premium brands offered hubs to prevent slippage and out of round
problems; you could even buy little kits for adding you own hub rings.

When the home computer swell really hit around '83 and price wars began, hub
rings became common on good disks and eventually became standard down to
include most generic bargain diskettes.

The introduction of high density 5.25's required a different coercivity (=
magnetizability) to get more bits in a smaller space and suitable electronics
to do it. These disks were produced hubless; was it a differentiating label or
just unnecessary because of stronger mylar construction? Anyone?

3.7) What can I do to extend the life of my floppy disks?

Subject: 3.7) What can I do to extend the life of my floppy disks?

Lee Hart writes (January 2004):

Personally, I have several hundred floppy disks for my Atari 800, Kaypro
4, Heathkit H89, and IMSAI 8080 computers that are 10-20 years old. What
I can say in general:

- Most disks stored in plastic boxes or ziplock baggies survived.
- Most disks stored in cardboard boxes or just their sleeves
did NOT survive.
- Some brands lasted better than others, but I haven't collated the
information so as to make any kind of definitive statements.
- If a disk cannot be read, CLEAN THE DISK DRIVE HEAD before attempting
to read another disk! Otherwise, crap from the bad disk will remain
on the head, and will scar and destroy any SUBSEQUENT disk you put
in the drive! (the voice of painful experience).
- For lack of a better plan, for each of my surviving disks I am:
a. reformatting another blank disk
b. copying the data from an old disk onto the blank disk
Then I have a more recently-produced backup disk in case the
original disk later fails.

3.8) How can I use a hard drive with my 8-bit Atari?

Subject: 3.8) How can I use a hard drive with my 8-bit Atari?

Atari never produced hard drives for the 8-bit Atari, but a variety of options
have been produced over the years. No common DOS version was written with
drives the size of hard drives in mind, and very few 8-bit Atari users have
owned hard drives for the Atari. Yet, if you're serious about it, a hard
drive can make a tremendous addition to your system!

A couple of these options are hard drives designed specifically for the 8-bit
Atari computers; the rest are interfaces designed to let you attach an
industry standard SASI, SCSI, or IDE type hard drive. Customized software
(OS, DOS) is often involved as well.

Larry White contributed to some of these descriptions.
Additional Corvus info from an eBay auction by Ben Corr, 7/03.

4.1) What are the Atari 820, 822, and 825 Printers?

Subject: 4.1) What are the Atari 820, 822, and 825 Printers?

The following printers were produced by Atari and styled to match the 400/800
computers.

Atari 820 Printer:
- 40-column impact printer
- 5x7 dot matrix
- 40 characters per line, upper & lower case alpha
- horizontal and vertical alphanumeric characters
- 6507 microprocessor, 6532 RAM I/O chip, 2K ROM
- 40 characters per second
- uses Standard Roll Paper/adding machine paper

Atari 822 Thermal Printer: ( = Trendcom Model 100 )
- 37 characters per second
- 10 characters per inch
- 40 characters per line, upper/lower case and point graphics
- 5x7 dot matrix

Atari 825 80-Column Printer ( = Centronics 737 )
- 3 character sets:
monospaced 7x8 dot matrix at 10 characters per inch
monospaced condensed at 16.7 cpi
proportionately spaced Nx9 dot matrix at avg of 14 cpi (N=6..18)
- all characters can be elongated (printer double width)
- characters per line: 80 at 10 cpi; 132 at 16.7 cpi
- speed: 50 cps at 10 cpi; 83 cps at 16.7 cpi; 79 cps avg. proportional
- print buffer: 1200 dot columns
- paper: roll, fanfold, or cut sheets
- requires Atari 850 Interface Module or equivalent

4.2) What are the Atari 1020, 1025, 1027, and 1029 Printers?

Subject: 4.2) What are the Atari 1020, 1025, 1027, and 1029 Printers?

The following printers were produced by Atari and styled to match the XL
series computers.

Atari 1020 Color Printer:
( = Commodore 1520 / Oric MCP40 / Tandy/Radio Shack CGP-115 /..; made by ALPS)
- 4-color graphics: (black, red, blue, green). optional 8-pen rainbow package
- alphanumberics and X,Y plotting capability
- 10 cps (40-column mode)
- 20, 40 and 80-column modes
- horizontal and vertical alphanumerics, English and International chr sets
- water soluble ink pen technology
- 4-pen barrel print head
- microprocessor
- paper: standard roll paper (40 column width)
- AtariGraphics cassette software included

Atari 1025 80-Column Printer: ( = Okidata ML80 )
- 40 cps (80-column 10 cpi mode)
- 5 cpi expanded (40 col), 10 cpi (80 col), 16.7 cpi condensed (132-col)
- 5x7 character dot matrix
- buffer: 132 chrs at 16.7 cpi, 80 chrs at 10 cpi
- paper: roll,fanfold,single sheets. optional:roll paper holder, tractor feed

Atari 1027 Letter Quality Printer: ( = Mannesmann Tally Riteman LQ.)
- fully formed characters, prestige elite 12)
- 12 characters per inch (80 columns)
- 20 characters per second
- single sheets or roll paper

Atari 1029 Programmable Printer ( by Seikosha)
- 7-pin dot matrix, same as Commodore MPS-801
- Released for Europe & Canada (not USA)
- Rich_N_Feymus says:
I think its a SEIKOSHA GP500, but not 100% sure. However, the
Commodore MPS-801 ribbons should be much easier to find.
- The Tandy DMP 110 is another model reported to be the same as the 1029.

4.3) What are the Atari XMM801 and XDM121 Printers?

Subject: 4.3) What are the Atari XMM801 and XDM121 Printers?

The following printers were produced by Atari and styled to match the XE
series computers.

Atari XMM801 Printer: ( = SHINWA CP80 )
- 80 columns, dot matrix
- friction feed or pin feed
- pica 10 cpi, double width pica 5 cpi, elite 12 cpi,double width elite 6 cpi,
condensed 16.5 cpi, double width condensed 8.25 cpi
- Ribbon: Commodore 1526 and the Mannesman-Tally Spirit 80

Atari XDM121 Printer:
- 80 column, daisy wheel--letter quality
- underlining, subscripts, superscripts
- friction feed paper
- Ribbon: Silver Reed CF130, Olivetti ET201,ET221,Nu-Kote NK136

4.4) What other printers can I use with my Atari?

Subject: 4.4) What other printers can I use with my Atari?

Some third-party printers were marketed for use with the Atari 8-bit
computers:

Alphacom 42 + Atari interface cartridge
- requires 850 Interface or equivalent
- thermal
- 4 1/2" width paper
- supports complete ATASCII character set

Axiom AT-100 / Seikosha AT-100 / Seikosha GP-100A Graphic Printer
- built-in Atari interface, cable and connector, 2nd SIO port for daisy-chain
- dot matrix
- early model 30-cps, later version 50 cps
- Graph-AX graphics software package

Axiom GP-550AT (by Seikosha)
- built-in Atari interface, cable and connector, 2nd SIO port
- dot matrix
- 86 cps draft, 43 cps NLQ
- Graph-AX graphics software package

Axiom GP-700AT (by Seikosha)
- built-in Atari interface, cable and connector, 2nd SIO port
- 4 hammer print heads, 4-color ribbon cartridge
- 25 colors
- 50 cps
- Graph-AX graphics software package

Epson HomeWriter 10
- plug-in cartridge interface for the Atari
- 80 column dot-matrix printer
- draft quality printing at 100 cps and near letter quality at 16 cps

General Electric GE 3-8100 / TXP 1000
- GE Printer Interface Module for Atari
- dot-matrix
- 50 cps draft, 25 cps NLQ

Okidata Okimate 10 Personal Color Printer
- available Plug 'n Print Interface for Atari
- a thermal printer.
- single-sheet or tractor-feed paper.
- 26 colors
- 240 words per minutes

Beyond the above printer models, most any "industry-standard" line printer can
work well with the Atari. For many years, most printers marketed for home use
could be classified into one of two categories: parallel or serial interface.
Parallel line printers are much more commonly used than serial line printers,
with the Epson MX/FX/LX series defining the market.

The most common way to use an industry standard printer with the Atari has
been to attach it through the 15-pin 8-bit parallel port of the Atari 850
Interface Module or equivalent (such as the ICD P:R: Connection). One gotcha
here is that the 850's parallel port is DB15, where the PC world ended-up
standardizing on a DB25 configuration. So you need to find or build a cable
that provides the DB15 connector for the Atari end (and Centronics-type
parallel connector on the printer end) when attaching a standard parallel
printer to the Atari through an Atari 850 or equivalent.

Many 3rd-party disk drives for the Atari (along with the XEP80 Interface
Module) do include a DB25 parallel printer port, rendering the need for an
Atari-specific printer cable unnecessary.

The Atari 850 Interface Module and equivalents also provide standard DB9
serial RS232C ports, permitting use of standard serial line printers with the
Atari. But this is much less common than parallel, both in the Atari world
and in the industry at large.

Some folks have connected more modern inkjet and laser printers with parallel
connections to the 8-bit Atari with success. Graphics printouts from the
Atari may be less than ideal (look for a printer with an Epson MX/FX/LX
printer series emulation mode), but these types of printers should work fine
for plain text output if they can handle simple line print jobs. Anyone want
to contribute their experiences to be included here?

Bob Woolley wrote on Sun, 14 Apr 2002:
I use HP LaserJet 4Ps on my Ataris. They are one of the last front panel
selectable cheap printers - from which you can select your default fonts
,
etc. The newer laser printers can only set fonts and operating modes thr
u
the interface, not impossible, but not as easy as selecting on the panel
.
This does allow you to print just about any point size of the internal
fonts in the printer on your Atari.

Either way, you really have to do a little work to get properly formatte
d
output from a word processor. I have managed to use the proportional fon
t
setting with AtariWriter and printer driver creation utilities to get go
od
results.

Mathy van Nisselroy provides an AtariWriter printer driver for the HP LaserJet
here: http://www-users.rwth-aachen.de/mathy.van_nisselroy/stuff.htm

Modern printers designed for home markets now tend to provide USB connectors.

5.1) What are the Atari 830, 835, 1030, XM301, and SX212 Modems?

Subject: 5.1) What are the Atari 830, 835, 1030, XM301, and SX212 Modems?

A MODulator/DEModulator translates digital information from your computer into
acoustic tones that can be sent and received, from modem to modem, via
standard telephone lines.

Atari produced several modems for use with the 8-bit Atari computers:

Atari 830 Acoustic Modem: ( = Novation 'CAT' )
- a stand-alone, acoustically coupled, frequency shift keying (FSK) modem
- up to 300 bits per second
- Bell 103/113 modem compatible
- requires Atari 850 Interface Module or equivalent

Atari 835 Direct Connect Modem:
- 300 bps
- Bell 103/113 modem compatible

Atari 1030 Direct Connect Modem:
- 300 bps
- Bell 103/113 modem compatible
- built-in ModemLink software.
- 2 SIO ports

Atari XM301 Modem:
- 300 bps
- Bell 103/113 modem compatible
- with XE Term disk software
- permanent SIO cable, must be at end of SIO chain
- draws its power from the computer via SIO

Atari SX212 Modem:
- SIO & DB25 RS232 serial ports, must be at end of SIO chain
- 1200 baud
- Bell 103/113/212A modem compatible
- rarely with SX-Express! disk software.

5.2) What other modems can I use with my Atari?

Subject: 5.2) What other modems can I use with my Atari?

Some third-party modems were marketed for use with the Atari 8-bit
computers:

==> Microconnection, by Microperipheral Corp.
300 bps, Bell 103 compatible, T-SMART software, pulse dialing (not touch tone)
Four versions:
buss-decoding version does not require 850 Interface or equivalent, includes
DB25 parallel printer interface, with or without autodial
Plain version requires 850 Interface or equivalent, with or without autodial
and autoanswer

==> MPP-1000C, by Microbits Peripheral Products
300 baud, joystick port 2, Smart Terminal cartridge

==> MPP-1000E, by Microbits Peripheral Products
300 baud, joystick port 2, Smart Term software
From: "Steven J Tucker" Sun, 13 Jan 2002 16:14:38 -0500
The 1000E..had this strange problem in that it could never hang up the phone

==> MPP-1200A, by Microbits Peripheral Products
Released? Vaporware?
1200 bps, joystick port 2

==> 300 AT, by Supra (same as MPP-1000E)
300 baud, joystick port 2, Smart Term software

==> 1200 AT, by Supra
1200 baud, Hayes compatible, connects to SIO via SupraVerter/R-Verter cable,
Smart Terminal software

==> Volksmodem, by Anchor Automation
300 baud, 'F' Cable permits connection to joystick port 2

==> Q-MODEM, by Quantum Microsystems
300 baud, two SIO connectors, QuanTerm disk or cartridge

Beyond the above modem models, most any "industry-standard" external serial
modem can work well with the Atari. These have been commonly sold for PCs for
many years. The Hayes Smartmodem more or less defined the market for these,
initially.

One common way to use an industry standard external serial modem with the
Atari is to connect it to the SIO port via an Advanced Interface Devices
(A.I.D., later Supra) R-Verter Serial Bus Modem Adapter cable, or
equivalent.

The other common way to use an industry standard external serial modem with
the Atari is to attach it through the 9-pin RS232C serial port of the Atari
850 Interface Module or equivalent (such as the ICD P:R: Connection). One
gotcha here is that the serial port on the 850 is DB9 female, where the PC
world ended up standardizing on a DB9 male connector for this purpose. But
gender converters are readily available.

For using modems at speeds of 2400 bps and up with the Atari, it will be
useful to have an understanding of data flow control. Here is a definition
of flow control from www.modems.com:

Often, one modem in a connection is capable of sending data much faster than
the other can receive. Flow control allows the receiving modem to tell the
other to pause while it catches up. Flow control exists as either software,
or XON/XOFF, flow control, or hardware (RTS/CTS) flow control. With software
flow control, when a modem needs to tell the other to pause, it sends a
certain character, usually Control-S. When it is ready to resume, it sends a
different character, such as Control-Q. Software flow control's only
advantage is that it can use a serial cable with only three wires. Since
software flow control regulates transmissions by sending certain characters,
line noise could generate the character commanding a pause, thus hanging the
transfer until the proper character (such as Control-Q) is sent. Also,
binary files must never be sent using software flow control, as binary files
can contain the control characters. Hardware, or RTS/CTS, flow control uses
wires in the modem cable or, in the case of internal modems, hardware in the
modem. This is faster and much more reliable than software flow control.

Some 2400 bps modems, and probably all modems with 9600 bps speed capabilities
and up, normally use V.42 standard error correction and V.42bis standard data
compression. But V.42 requires either software or hardware flow control, and
V.42bis requires hardware flow control (and V.42 error correction).

Hardware flow control is not available with the Atari 850's serial ports.

As a result, just before dialing out with your Atari telecom software, it's
usually desirable, if not necessary, to disable your modem's flow control.

The Hayes modem command to disable flow control looks like:
AT&K0

The top speed of the Atari 850's serial ports is 9600 bps.

Clay Halliwell offers a tip on utilizing 9600 bps through the 850 Interface:
On 11 Feb 1996, Marc G. Frank said:

> I'm having problems getting a modem attached to my Atari 850 to
> communicate at 9600 baud. When I set my communications program to 2400
> baud, everything works fine. However, when I set it to 9600 baud, the
> modem echoes my characters but doesn't act on them. That is, at 2400,

The problem with the 850 is that some of them (like mine) don't produce a
PERFECT 9600 baud signal. As a result modems can't train on it, and while
they will echo characters back, for some nitpicky reason they won't pick up
on the "AT" attention code.

The solution is to do all your dialing at 2400 baud, but set the S37
register to force the modem to try to connect at 9600. Then switch your
Atari to 9600 after connecting.

Through the use of an ICD MIO or a CSS Black Box, it is possible to utilize
modems at speeds up to 14.4 Kbps (V.32bis) at full speed with no loss of data.
The serial R: device handler for the Black Box supports hardware flow control
natively. Optional for the Black Box, but essential for the MIO, is the
HyperSpeed handler by Len Spencer.

Hyperspd.arc is available at http://members.aol.com/lenspencer/atari8.htm

6.1) What is the Atari 850 Interface Module?

Subject: 6.1) What is the Atari 850 Interface Module?

While the Atari's SIO and controller ports did not conform to established
industry standards, Atari produced the 850 Interface Module to address this
issue. The 850 connects to the SIO port on the Atari, and provides:

- four 9-pin serial EIA RS232C ports
- One 15-pin 8-bit parallel Centronics-type port

Many "industry standard" (of the time) printers, modems, and various other
devices can be used with the Atari computer in combination with an 850
Interface Module.

Early 850's are in an all metal (black) case, but most are in a plastic beige
case matching the 400/800 computers. Other features:
- programmable baud rate on any port, including:
75, 110, 134.5, 150, 300, 600, 1200, 1800, 2400, 4800, and 9600 bps;
baudot speeds of 60, 66, 75, 100 words per minute
- uses standard ASCII. Baudot support for radio-teletype (RTTY).

(please see attachment for ascii-art pinouts in a readable txt file)

PINOUTS

850 R1: Serial port DB9P:
5 4 3 2 1 ____________________________
9 8 7 6 / DB25P
1. DTR - Data Terminal Ready (out) + 20
2. CRX - Signal (carrier) Detect (in) + 8
3. XMT - Transmitted Data (out) + 2
4. RCV - Received Data (in) + 3
5. GND - Signal Ground + 7
6. DSR - Data Set Ready (in) + 6
7. RTS - Request to Send (out) + 4
8. CTS - Clear to Send (in) + 5
No connection to shield + Frame - to the shield wire

850 R2: Serial port DB9P:
5 4 3 2 1
9 8 7 6
1. DTR
3. Send Data
4. Receive Data
5. Signal Ground
6. DSR

850 R3: Serial port DB9P:
5 4 3 2 1
9 8 7 6
1. DTR
3. Send Data
4. Receive
5. Signal Ground
7. RTS
8. -8 Volts

850 R4: Serial port DB9P:
5 4 3 2 1
9 8 7 6
1. Send Data +
3. Send Data -
7. Receive Data +
9. Receive Data - (20 mA)

850 P: Parallel port DB15P:
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ____________________________
15 14 13 12 11 10 9 / 36 pin Centronics (male)
1. Data Strobe + 1
2. D0 + 2
3. D1 + 3
4. D2 + 4
5. D3 + 5
6. D4 + 6
7. D5 + 7
8. D6 + 8
9. Data Pull up (+5v) +
10. - +
11. Ground + 16
12. Fault + 32
13. Busy + 11
14. - +
15. D7 + 9
No connection to shield + Frame - to the shield wire

Because the 850 was relatively expensive, provided more capabilities than the
average user was looking for, and was at times unavailable from Atari despite
high demand, there were many 3rd-party interfaces designed to provide some
compatible subset of the 850's features. Perhaps the most prominent example
of such a product is the P:R: Connection from ICD.

6.2) What is the Atari XEP80 Interface Module?

Subject: 6.2) What is the Atari XEP80 Interface Module?

This text written by Thomas Raukamp.

Since the development of the Atari 8-bit line of computers in 1979, users
wanted better text displays than the default 40x24. There has been some
attempts to satisfy this need, like the Austin-Franklin board or the Ace
80/80xl cartridge. For more informations about these modifications read The
Atari 8-bit Hardware Upgrade FAQ from David A. Paterson.

The Atari XEP80 Interface Module is Atari's entry to the 80 column field. It
lets a XL, XE, 400 or 800 computer system display a full 80 columns across
your monitor screen. The XEP80 provides a 256-character wide by 25-line
display window. Up to 80 characters are displayed horizontally at once, and
you can scroll horizontally all the way to the 256th character, depending on
the application you're running. The XEP80 is connected to your system via a
joystick port.

The XEP80 Module interprets commands from the computer for screen display or
output to a printer. The module is supplied with an industry-standard 8-bit
parallel port so you can connect a parallel printer to your Atari 8-bit (I
even use a HP LaserJet IV on my 130XE ;) ).

All programs that use the standard screen call (E:) should be compatible with
the XEP80 Module. The software provided by Atari supports a 320x200 graphics
mode - this mode only support direct bit images. Note that you can't use all
of the standard graphic capabilities of the Atari anymore.

Although Atari recommends a monochrome monitor for usage with the XEP80, it
runs fine with any type of composite monitor. The output looks great on my
Commodore 1084 for example.

Along with the module comes a software-package containing an AUTORUN.SYS file,
which is the XEP80 handler. If you want to use the module with an application
that is compatible with the XEP80, which has it's own AUTORUN.SYS file, you
can append the application's AUTORUN.SYS on the module's AUTORUN.SYS.
***********************
Editors for the XEP80:
AtariWriter 80 by Atari
TurboWord by MicroMiser
emacs subset by Stan Lackey
MAE and its previous standalone editor ED

XEP80 P: Parallel port:
13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14
1. Strobe
2-9. Parallel Data
10. Not Used
11. Busy
12-17. Not Used
18-25. Ground

6.3) What accessories did Atari produce for their 8-bit computers?

Subject: 6.3) What accessories did Atari produce for their 8-bit computers?

This should be a complete list of Atari "CX" accessories, two or three digit
numbers, marketed for use with the 8-bit computers.

CX30-04 Paddle Controller Pair
CX40-04 Joystick Controller Pair
CX40 Single Joystick Controller
CX41 Joystick Repair Kit
CX22 Trak-Ball Controller
CX23 Kid's Controller
CX24 Pro-Line Joystick
CX42 Remote Control Wireless Joysticks
CX50 Keyboard Controller Pair
CX70 Light Pen (beige; the original Atari light pen)
CX75 Light Pen (+ Atarigraphics cartridge)
CX77 Touch Tablet ( + AtariArtist cartridge)
CX78 Joypad (shipped with the 7800 in Europe)
CX80 Trak-Ball
CX81 I/O Data Cord (5 ft)
CX82 Monitor Cable (Black and White Monitor)
CX85 Numerical Keypad ( + software Handler on diskette)
CX86 Printer Cable (included with 825 Printer)
CX87 Interface/Modem Cable (included with 830 Acoustic Modem)
CX88 Interface/Terminal Cable (null modem)
CX89 Monitor Cable (Color Monitor)
CX418 The Home Manager Kit (Personal Financial Management, Home Filing Manager
-or- Family Finances, The Home Filing Manager)
CX419 The Bookkeeper Kit/Atari Accountant (The Bookkeeper disk, CX85 keypad)
CX481 The Entertainer (Star Raiders, (Missile Command or Pac-Man),2 joysticks)
CX482 The Educator (410, BASIC cart., States & Capitals cassette)
CX483 The Programmer (BASIC, BASIC Ref. Manual, BASIC Self-Teaching Guide)
CX484 The Communicator (850, 830, TeleLink I cart.)
CX488 The Communicator II (835, TeleLink II cart.)
????? The Arcade Champ (Pac-Man, Qix, 2 joysticks, cartridge storage case)
????? The BASIC Tutor I (Inside Atari BASIC bk,Invitation to Programming 2&3)
CX852 8K RAM Memory Module (for 800 computer)
CX853 16K RAM Memory Module (for 800 computer)
XG-1 Light Gun (+ Bug Hunt cart.)

6.4) What "vaporware" computers/peripherals were never released?

Subject: 6.4) What "vaporware" computers/peripherals were never released?

Atari was a HUGE company, dominating Silicon Valley, and included a massive
research and development department which famously designed many, many
products that never saw the light of day. Here is a brief listing of many
Atari hardware model designations known to have existed internally to the
company, but which were never sold and are extremely rare (if they ever
existed at all). For definitive information on unreleased Atari products,
see:

Atari Historical Society, http://www.atari-history.com/ (Curt Vendel)

Atari 8-bit vaporware computers: (note some are more vaporous than others)
800D (Developers Bus System)
1000 Sweet 16 Project, lower end model. Became the 1200XL
1000-X Sweet 16 Project, higher end model. Became the 1200XL
1200 1200XL internally, many slight cosmetic differences
1200XLS 1200XL Show prototype, top-mounted cartridge slot
600 early 600XL, all black case, joyports on the left, missing PBI
800XL brown prototype
800XLD low-cost 1450XLD,no modem&speech,incl disk drive controller&FREDDIE
800XLCR Cost Reduced, with CGIA chip ("Keri"), which is a combined GTIA&ANTIC
900XLF early name for 65XE
1250XLD Earlier name for the 1450XLD
1400XL brown prototype
1400XL 800XL plus modem, speech synth.(looks like a 1200XL)
1450XL 1400XL plus room for 2 internal 5.25" drives(controller not included)
1450XLD 1400XL plus 5.25" floppy drive (Epson SD521 360K disk drives)
1600XL Amiga/Amiga-like.Now appears that 1850XLD was the model name for this
1650XLD to use 1450XLD case and 1200XL keyboard
1850XLD "Mickey" Atari clone of the Amiga Lorraine
65XEP 65XE plus 3.5" floppy drive, 5" green monitor
65XEM 65XE plus AMY sound chip

Atari 8-bit vaporware peripherals: (note some are more vaporous than others)
1027 PLUS -daisy-wheel, 80 columns
1053 -looks like a 1050, but supports DS/DD 360K format
1055 -a 1050 (SS/ED) with a 3.5" mechanism
1060 CP/M Add-On Module -"SweetPea" Z-80 CPU, 64K RAM, CP/M 2.2, 80col display
1090 XL Expansion System-5 PBI slots, CP/M/MS-DOS/Apple II compatible
XM128 -12" green monitor w/ built-in 80-column card
XC1411 -composite 14" color monitor (Goldstar)
XF521 -5.25" floppy drive - 1050 compatible, in XE style
XF351 -a 3.5" drive.
XC35 -an XF551 with a 3.5" mechanism
XTM201 -non-impact printer
XTC201 -XE Thermal Color Printer

6.5) What are the power requirements for my Atari components?

Subject: 6.5) What are the power requirements for my Atari components?

Thanks to Matthias Belitz for the European data in this section. I need more
international help!

As with the rest of this FAQ list, please let me know if any of this
information conflicts with the units you have.

The most important information is the voltage (in volts) required, and
whether you need a transformer (AC output) or an adapter (DC output).
The power (in voltamps or watts) and current (in amperes) specifications
of the original equipment as presented here should be regarded as
minimum values. Higher-than-specified power and current capacities are
entirely usable, and often preferable because such supplies run cooler
and last longer.

Direct Current (DC):
Power (in watts) = current (in amps) * voltage (in volts)

Alternating Current (AC):
Apparent Power (in voltamps) = current (in amps) * voltage (in volts)
Effective/True Power (in watts) = current (in amps) * voltage (in volts)
* (cosine of the angle of lag)

N O R T H A M E R I C A INPUT = 115-120 V AC, 50/60Hz
========================
AC supplies (external transformers)
9 V AC 5.4 VA (600 mA) Atari#CO62195/CO17539
1030

9 V AC 4.5 VA (500 mA) Atari#CO61516
1010

9 V AC 15.3 VA (1.7 A) Atari#CO14319
400,800,822,850,1010,1200XL

9 V AC 18 VA (2.0 A) Atari#CA014748/CA016804
400,800,822,850,1010,1200XL,810

9 V AC 31 VA (3.4 A) Atari#CO17945
400,800,822,850,1010,1200XL,810,1020,1050,XF551

9 V AC 50 VA (5.6 A) Atari#CA017964
400,800,822,850,1010,1200XL,810,1020,1050,XF551

9.5 V AC 40 VA (4.2 A) Atari#CO61636
1027,1090XL

20 V AC 6.6 VA (330 mA) Atari#CO60479/CA060535
835

20 VAC 8 VA (400 mA) Novation#901017
830

24 V AC 3.6 VA (150 mA) Atari#CA016751
830

DC supplies (external adapters)
5 V DC 1.0 A (5.0 W) Atari#CO70042
600XL,65XE,XE Game System

5 V DC 1.5 A (7.5 W) Atari#CO61982/CA024814
600XL,800XL,65XE,130XE,XE Game System
4 varieties, detailed by Ben Poehland in Current Notes v10n9 Nov 1990:
Type I: The Beauty Queen, 1983-84, made in Hong Kong
matches XL hardware, repairs easy
Type II: The Ugly Clunker, 1984-85, made in Taiwan
all black, external RF interference supression box,
entirely permanently sealed, unrepairable
Type III: The Black Beauty, 1985, made in Taiwan, uncommon
like Type I but all black, simplest design/easiest repairs
Type IV: The Peanut, 1985-?, made in Taiwan
black with silver plate, difficult/tedious repairs

6 V DC 300 mA (1.8 W) Atari#???????
"410P"

9 V DC 500 mA (4.5 W) Atari#CO16353/CA014034/CO10472/CX261
XEP80,SX212,2600 (center positive)

9.3 V DC 1.93 A (18 W) Atari#CO18187
Indus GT,5200

11.5 V DC 1.95 A (22 W) Atari#CA019141
Indus GT,5200

5 V / 12 V DC 1.1 A (5.5 W / 13.2 W) Atari#CO62297/DV1450
1400XL,1450XLD

E U R O P E (and elsewhere?) INPUT = 220/240 V AC, 50 Hz
=============================
AC supplies (external transformers)
9 V AC 4.5 VA (0.5 A) Atari#CO61516/34 (UK)
1010

9.3 V AC 15.44 VA (1,66 A) (Atari# not printed)/FW 6799
400,800,822,850,1010,1200XL

9 V AC 27 VA (3.0 A) Atari#CO60592-34 (UK)
400,800,822,850,1010,1200XL,810,1020,1050,XF551

DC supplies (external adapters)
5 V DC 1.8 A (9.0 W) Atari#CO61763-107
600XL,800XL,65XE,130XE,800XE,XE Game System

5 V DC 1.5 A (7.5 W) Atari#CO61763-34 (UK)
600XL,800XL,65XE,130XE,800XE,XE Game System

5 V DC 1.5 A (7.5 W) Atari#CO61763-11
600XL,800XL,65XE,130XE,800XE,XE Game System
two ones with the same part number, but different cases and different
input Values :#1, 65XE (Poland, made in Taiwan), Input 22 VA
#2, 800XL, Input 26 VA

8.5 V DC Atari#CO61605
600XL,800XL,65XE,130XE,800XE,XE Game System

M O R E I N F O
================
These draw their power from the SIO +5 V:
XM301 (60 mA),XC11,XC12,ICD P:R: Connection,Wizztronics MidiMax,R-Verter

Draws power from the 600XL PBI:
1064

These have built-in power supplies (plug directly into the wall):
410 (except "410P"),815,820,825,1025,1029,XMM801,XDM121

OTHER:
The ICD Multi I/O (MIO), all versions, can use both AC and DC supplies, BUT:
stick to voltages of at least 6.2-7.2 V.
On 2003.09.01 James Bradford wrote: "Doesn't matter what polarity the
centre is, the MIO has a fullwave bridge rectifer in it.
AC would be better because the diodes would be used half the time."
Indus GT: see Atari#CO18187 or CA019141 above. What happens if power
supplies for the Atari 1050 and Indus GT are mixed? Paul Alhart writes
(20 Jan 2004): "The Indus requires DC, the 1050 uses AC. Plug an Indus
supply into a 1050 and it will usually blow the rectifier diodes in the
1050. Plug an Atari supply into an Indus and it will blow the fuse in
the supply. It can damage the mother board as well."
Rana 1000: 9 VAC 3.4 AMPS
MPP1000C modem: 9 V DC 200 mA (1.8 W)

6.6) What graphic tablets were produced for the Atari?

Subject: 6.6) What graphic tablets were produced for the Atari?

This section by Andreas Magenheimer.

- Atari Touch Tablet by Atari (came with Atari Artist cart., Micro
Illustrator compatible),
- Koala Pad by Koala Industries (came with Koala/Micro Illustrator
cart.);
- Powerpad by Chalkboard Inc. (came without software!); the following
carts were available separately for the Powerpad: Micro Illustrator,
Leo's Lectric, Micro Maestro, The Programmers Kit, Logic Games, Bear
Jam (as refered to Antic, September 1984);
- Animation Station by Suncom (came with Micro-Illustrator cart.);

6.7) What lightpens were produced for the Atari?

Subject: 6.7) What lightpens were produced for the Atari?

This section by Andreas Magenheimer.

- Atari Lightpen (came with Atari Graphics cart.; it produces pictures
with 127 sectors in length, thus not Micro-Painter, nor Micro-
Illustrator compatible; however appropriate converter programs can be
found in the public domain, e.g. the Rapid Graphics Converter);
- Edumate Lightpen (came with a disk with 6 Basic programs; a program
called Peripheral Vision was available separately from Future House);
- Tech-Sketch-Lightpen (came in two versions: a) the cheaper version
which included a disk with Basic programs only and b) the more expensive
version which included the disk with Basic programs and the Micro-
Illustrator cartridge);
- MC-Pen-Lightpen (came with a disk with 4 Basic programs);
- Reston Lightpen (came with ???);

Note: these infos were taken from Antic, September 1984; I am not sure,
if all these items were really available as listed...

6.8) What lightguns were produced for the Atari?

Subject: 6.8) What lightguns were produced for the Atari?

This section by Andreas Magenheimer.

- Atari LG-1 Lightgun (came in two versions: a) complete with XEGS,
keyboard, joystick, power supply, tv-cable, Lightgun, FS II cart and
Bug Hunt cart all in one package and b) in a separate package,
containing the Lightgun and the Bug Hunt cartridge); thats's why Bug
Hunt does not have its own package, it was always included with the
Lightgun package and/or the complete XEGS package...
- BEST Lightgun by Best Electronics (a sort of selfmade (?) Lightgun);
- Sega-Lightgun (normally not Atari compatible; but can be converted
into an Atari compatible lightgun easily);
- other lightguns (most of these have to be converted)...

Note: After having 3-4 Atari and at least one (converted) Sega lightgun,
it is my personal impression, that the Atari lightgun merely works ok
on/with TV-sets (and not at all with a monitor), whereas the Sega lightgun
works alright on TV's and (most) monitors. Since I never had a Best
lightgun I cannot comment on this one... (Andreas Magenheimer);

6.9) What paddles were produced for the Atari?

Subject: 6.9) What paddles were produced for the Atari?

This section by Andreas Magenheimer.

- Atari Paddles (usually a pair of Paddles);
- Telegames Paddles (available as a) a single paddle and b) a pair
of paddles);
- Reston Paddles (available as a) a single paddle and b) a pair
of paddles);
- and many others...

Note: Both single and duo (pair) paddles are compatible to each other,
using only one port-connector (only one joystick port). Thus, with a pair
of paddles you can connect up to 4 paddles (2 pairs) to the XL/XE models
and up to 8 paddles (4 pairs) to the Atari 400/800 models.

6.14) What graphics enhancements are there for the Atari?

Subject: 6.14) What graphics enhancements are there for the Atari?

This section by Andreas Magenheimer.

- some 80 column interfaces made by Atari and third parties. Allthough
these interfaces are there to provide a better text display with 80
chars. per line, they can somehow be used as a simple graphic
enhancement; think I have seen a graphic demo for the XEP-80 device
somewhere, that used a higher graphic resolution in Gr. 0 or Gr. 8
and also provided some animation (not only text, but also graphics),
alas I don`t remember the name of that demo...;
- the ultra-rare 1090XL box and probably graphic cards for it (who-ever
owns this item, doesn't use it, who-ever would like to have + use it,
doesn't own it or cannot afford it!);
- more seriously: Antic and GTIA upgrade by Chuck Steinman. Afaik, an
article about that topic appeared in Atari Classic, since I do not own
it, I can merely speculate that it adds a second Antic and GTIA for
higher resolution and/or more colours...;
- many selfmade upgrades, using graphic chips or graphic cards from other
computers...

6.10) What voice/sound synthesis hardware was produced for the Atari?

Subject: 6.10) What voice/sound synthesis hardware was produced for the Atari?

This section by Andreas Magenheimer.

- Voice-Box II by The Alien Group (a software and hardware package);
- 1400XL/1450XLD Voice Synthesizer (built-in chip inside the extreme rare
Atari 1400XL/1450XLD models);
- Talk is Cheap by Ed Stewart, Antic Volume 2 Number 4, July 1983,
pages 64-66; hardware schematics only (a test/demo program is
mentioned in the text, but not printed in the magazine!);
- Cheap-Talk by Lee Brilliant, Analog Computing, issue 29, April 1985,
pages 59-67; hardware schematics and software demos, for example
"First Words");
- many other voice synthesizers (mostly selfmade and based on a chip by
National Semi Conductor);

6.11) What sound-digitizers/samplers were produced for the Atari?

Subject: 6.11) What sound-digitizers/samplers were produced for the Atari?

This section by Andreas Magenheimer.

- Parrot (2-Bit) by Alpha Systems, Anthony Ramos;
- Parrot-2 (2-Bit or 4-Bit?) by Alpha Systems, Anthony Ramos;
- 2-Bit Replay (2-Bit) by 2Bit-Systems Ltd.
- Sound N'Sampler (2-Bit) by Ralf David;
- Sound Digitiser (2-Bit) by Ralf David;
- Sound-Meister (2-Bit) by Irata;
- Sound-Digitizer (2-Bit) by Irata;
- Digitales Mikrofon (2-Bit) by Compyshop;
- Voice-Master (2-Bit) by Covox Inc.;
- Analog-Sample-Processor (2-Bit) by Steven Lashower (Analog Magazine);
- Atari-Sound-Sampler (2-Bit) by Andreas Binner and Harald Schoenfeld
(german Atari magazin 1/1989, pages 44-49, complete with schematics,
documentation, sample-program and assembler-source);
- Alphasys-Sound-Sampler cart. (4-Bit) by ANG/Mirage (released as a mono
version; a stereo (two Pokeys!) version was promised/planned, but afaik
never released);
- ARGS-XE-Sampler (8-Bit) by ABBUC regional group ARGS (only one or
two prototypes exist, alas the hardware was never released due to lack
of (sampling/digitizing) software; maybe a good idea for the hardware
and software experts out there!);
- and many others ...

6.12) What sound-enhancement upgrades were produced for the Atari?

Subject: 6.12) What sound-enhancement upgrades were produced for the Atari?

This section by Andreas Magenheimer.

a) enhancements for stereo-sound:

- POPS, polyphonic-pokey-sound by Lee Brilliant (stereo-support with one
Pokey!); refer to Analog Computing, issue 66, november 1988, pages
54-60; only 1-2 programs exist for this mod., see: 8.14 stereo-software
for the Atari;

- stereo with two Ataris (and thus 2 Pokey chips); use computer/pokey 1
for the left channel and computer/pokey 2 for the right; no special
hardware required for this trick (but specially programmed software!);
see also: 8.14 stereo-software for the Atari;

- stereo with 2 Pokey chips (in one Atari!); refer to an article written
by Chuck Steinman (which probably appeared in Atari classic?) on how
to upgrade your Atari internally with a second Pokey chip; or ask
Freddy Offenga for a deluxe-stereo-version, that uses a PCB instead of
the piggy-back method. For a list of software that supports this mod.