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Atari 800XL

T

tezza

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Messages
4,731
Location
New Zealand
I've just added one of these to my collection. I was looking for the original 800 but they are so RARE here in New Zealand. They are also quite heavy and hence shipping costs from N. America are prohibitive. That plus the issues of different colour TV formats and 110v vrs 240v, I decided the more common locally-sourced XL would have to do.

I wouldn't say it's in top condition. Inside the machine the plate covering the circuit board shows rust and I had to chase a few spiders out. In fact the keyboard wouldn't work when I first got it. Some careful disassembly and cleaning the crud of ages off the mylar keyboard membrane as suggested in one of the other forums on this site worked, and now it's up and running. I've cleaned the case and now it at least looks presentable.

I've got a 1050 drive with it, and I'm presently looking for manuals. Just how to use the thing is a bit of a mystery. I did find one guide on the web but it's in HTML format. I like to have the text beside me in hard copy.

Initial impressions thought...nice size, light weight. The keyboard has a positive feel about it. Those games I could load worked just fine. Good sound.

There was one game called "Hacker" where, after booting, the software seemed to emulate a terminal session with a mainframe. Quite cool! I wish I had the instructions.
 
Nothing specific really. I'd just like to learn more about how the OS works, and whatever is contained in ROM. I've got a bunch of mostly unlabelled disks with it. It's DOS 2.5 I think.

I make it a point to try to get the manuals with my vintage machines. None with this one though, and I never used it when I was younger.
 
I've got a 800XL and 1050 drive, also got the tape deck, not tried out much with it, got some tape software but no disks or carts.

The original 800 is pretty hard to find here in the UK as well :(

I did manage to get hold of a 400 though :D
 
Tonight, there was a loose Atari 800 (not XL/XE) that was missing one key, was quite dirty and some cracks in the plastic. Yet it was fully functional according to the seller. It ended at a mere 61 SEK (9.50 USD or 5 UKP). My maximum bid was 39 SEK (6 USD, 3 UKP) which would've been quite a steal even for a grubby looking Atari. Still, I suppose the buyer made a good deal given that a fully working 800 can go for over 500 SEK, and a boxed one well over 1000.
 
How much is a good working 800 worth these days with a 1027 printer, 1050 disk drive and related accessories, not including the monitor, which I have. I'm interested in a system on ebay and don't want to get into a bidding war. No OS software though.
 
VintageComputerman said:
How much is a good working 800 worth these days with a 1027 printer, 1050 disk drive and related accessories, not including the monitor, which I have.
Click to expand...

It's worth whatever someone is willing to pay.
Ask yourself what you'd be willing to pay; enter that as your maximum bid.

If you win it, good. If you don't, that's okay too.
There will always be someone out there with deeper pockets.
No need to stress over it.
Life is too short.
 
VintageComputerman said:
How much is a good working 800 worth these days with a 1027 printer, 1050 disk drive and related accessories, not including the monitor, which I have. I'm interested in a system on ebay and don't want to get into a bidding war. No OS software though.
Click to expand...

Estimate anywhere from $50 - $80+ before shipping for a package like that. You're much better off though just trying to get the 800 by itself. Disk drives are relatively plentiful and relatively cheap. You can also always replace the need for a disk drive with one of many the SIO2PC and similar options out there. Lots of ways to go. Also, an 800 may not be your most flexible and compatible choice, though it's certainly among the coolest of the Atari 8-bit systems for a variety of reasons.
 
ahm said:
It's worth whatever someone is willing to pay.
Ask yourself what you'd be willing to pay; enter that as your maximum bid.

If you win it, good. If you don't, that's okay too.
There will always be someone out there with deeper pockets.
No need to stress over it.
Life is too short.
Click to expand...

I consider that a golden rule. Who gives a crap about snipers and what-not? If what you're willing to bid doesn't win, then someone wanted it more. Fair enough. This is especially true if you're not bidding on multiple auctions for the same thing. Especially with the more common stuff, there's always a next auction if you lose this one.
 
Wow, I recently just picked up a Atari 800xl and cassette drive for $5. its very dirty, and the keys are sticky, making it very hard to type a single key.

Anybody have suggestions on cleaning it? :sleepy:
 
tezza said:
There was one game called "Hacker" where, after booting, the software seemed to emulate a terminal session with a mainframe. Quite cool! I wish I had the instructions.
Click to expand...

Great game. There are no instructions. You just have to figure it out.
 
VintageComputerman said:
How much is a good working 800 worth these days with a 1027 printer, 1050 disk drive and related accessories, not including the monitor, which I have. I'm interested in a system on ebay and don't want to get into a bidding war. No OS software though.
Click to expand...

We used to have a 1027 printer. Slowest thing you ever saw. I think it was a page every two minutes.

You're better off doing what we did in the mid 80s--getting a Gemini or an Okidata and loading the proper printer drivers.
 
Hm, I haven't yet disassembled my 800XL enough to determine how the keyboard mechanism looks like. I have faint memories of someone else posting that it was a bit tricky to restore, but everything is relative to your previous experiences. With a bit of luck, the keyboard consists of a conductive backplane and then a lot of rubber plungers, one per key that shorts the circuit. Commodore keyboards tend to work like that. Once taken apart, it is relatively simple to clean the backplate and plungers, perhaps add a layer of graphite to the plungers and reassemble everything. Other types of mechanisms uses microswitches soldered one by one to the board, which is a much more difficult approach to restore.
 
I have a 1027 but the power supply is not working. The 1027 works pretty good, though, that's the one I use for it. Was there some kind of adapter for the Oki printers? I have one for the C='s that I have, and they talk to it okay and it has a serial port. I had a different Okimate 10, really neat but only had the C= interface card for it.

I wish I could coment on repair of an 800, but mine never needed it. I guess I got lucky on that find. There is one user on atariage that does ram upgrades and all kinds of different stuff for the XL machines, I plan on sending it off for a bit. Only thing is shipping-- he's in Canada, but I think I'm willing to go for it.

found a link: http://atari8warez.for-the.biz/

Nathan
 
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