Retro Geek

I disassembled both of the machines. The 800XL is apparently some kind of Frankenstein beast. It has a 256K memory upgrade installed and that toggle switch on the back is connected to a daughtercard known as the "RARMROD XL" from Newell Industries (also the manufacturer of the 256K memory upgrade card). The switch lets you choose between three different OSes. The daughtercard plugs into the socket for the OS chip. The original OS chip then plugs into the daughtercard along with two custom OS chips. There's the "OSN XL/XE" OS which includes a Machine Language Monitor called OMNIMON as well as something called FASTCHIP which is some kind of enhanced floating point stuff. I believe there is also the OmniView OS which gives the device an 80-column mode.

As for the 130XE, I reseated the ribbon cable for the keyboard which seems to have PARTIALLY fixed the problem. Now the Option button works but the Start button still doesn't work. I'll probably take some contact cleaner to it and give it another try.

I used to be deeply involved in the ChicagoLand Atari Users Group. I got rid of all but my ORIGINAL membrane keyboard 400 and more usable 800. My kids should be just about old enough not to break 'em. Sadly given the ubiquity of Flash based games on kiddie sites like Poptropica my dreams of using 8-bit Basic with ML coded graphics routines to introduce them to joys of programming are probably for naught..

For a while I actually helped admin the CLAUG BB... Long long long time ago when I should have been doing something much more mainstream...

The people that I knew from back then are still into electronics in various ways:

http://www.atarimagazines.com/v6n2/CLAUG.html

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/pete-pacione/2/b98/249

http://www.philcorepairbench.com/tips/svctip01.htm

I just realized that the "Windows XP" listing in my original description of this forum will soon be far less ironic than it was at the time...

Remember this? I seem to recall Wobs being fairly obsessed with it back in the day--golden convergence, and all that.

Should I add that I've watched two shows on my Apple TV today?

I'll never forget it.

Very strange to see SCART connectors on the back of that thing, but with an NTSC chip in it.

I remember that the TVs we had back in high school often had SCART connectors on them.

Oh THAT thing. Ya, well I was fairly obsessed with it too.

I tried to explain my father's calculator—a massive mechanical contraption that would print out onto paper tape. It was bigger than my laptop. It added. *Everything* else was very shaky.

Oh that got me on a trip that reminded me… funny, never heard it mentioned on these boards … HEATHKIT. Any of you remember THAT?

They're still around. This is something I might give my son when he turns 6.

http://www.heathkit.com/fusion.html

And FWIW, the first computer I ever used.

http://www.decodesystems.com/dg-nova3/

and the "screen" and keyboard it was attached to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASR-33_Teletype

SHIT. I wish I had a game of Star Trek printed out from that. :(

http://orangeriverstudio.com/monksbrew/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/StarTrek1.jpg



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2010 07:46PM by bahamut.

I couldn't afford the Heathkit computer, back when I lusted for one.

Massive WIN

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/03/former-microsoft-vp-brings-halo-to-the-atari-2600/




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2010 12:24PM by El Jeffe.

It's actually a really cool game too.

When they go on sale again in a couple of months, I'm gonna get it... even though I've never played any Halo.

I'm in the market for a Coleco Adam.

Seriously.

Anybody have one?

I still remember the deep desire to get those (Coleco + Adam add-on).
That's why I got the Intellivision, too. Waited for the computer add-on.

I'm thinking about getting a slide rule. Seriously. I was explaining them to my daughter last night, and I got nostalgic.

Hey! They're on sale!

I think I might have been right on the slide rule cusp. Don't know a single school-chum that ever used one, but the slightly older guys did. I always desired to be able to use one. On the other hand, I was first to have a handheld computer. Well, MORE than a calculator. I have two HP-41 (different models). Still work. And the batteries though 10 years old, likely still work. I have stuff I programmed into them by hand 19 years ago, that IF the batteries were to die, I would lose forever, and yet I have never worried about losing it because those N cells last forever.

Quote
Cloudscout
I'm in the market for a Coleco Adam.

Seriously.

Anybody have one?

I might still have mine. I don't remember turning loose of it. Let me check. If I do, it would be the CV+addon, not the standalone

That would be the "Expansion Module #3" version. If you still have it, that would be awesome.

First pass was a no go. Genesis, 32x, Atari VCS (3 switch), yes, ColecoVision+ ... no. Still looking.

My class learned slide rules, and used them in Physics. I think that the class after mine started with calculators.

Dammit, I'm beginning to think the CV+Adam is gone. :-(

I did find my Babylon 5 Micro Machine collection (#1-4) still in original packaging if anyone wants to make an offer, along with the other retro kit I mentioned previously.