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Your first Atari, and last?

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pgru2

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145
Hi
Just to share info about Your Atari story.
You are welcome to write about it there.

Thank You for reading and answering
 
My first computer of any kind was an Atari 800, bought in 1982. I have since collected all of the US released 8bit models. A 400, 600 and 800XL, 1200XL, 65 and 130XE, and lastly the XEGS as well as almost all the Atari brand and third party disk drives for the 8bit line (still looking for an Astra drive). I have an Atari Super Pong, Touch Me handheld, 2600, 5200 four port, and 7800 game consoles. I also have a 520ST ( original configuration), and two 1040STfs, plus the rather rare SC1435 14" color monitor for the ST.
 
Let's see, Atari 800xl, upgrade to 256K (my own design) and Omnimon XL. Picked up 2 800 all before getting my first ST. Didn't really like the ST but learned a lot with it. Now I also have a 600XL and an extra 800xl. Of course I started collecting a lot of other stuff. Still have the all the A8s including my first 800xl. I still have the drives, the documents, the software (very odd, the disks work)
 
If we're limited to the computer line, I'd say Atari 400 in the late 80's/early 90's, probably 89/90. I bought it second hand from a pawn shop along with a dozen or so carts, and that's all I ever did with it was play games.

Since then though I've had a couple Atari 1040STs. Currently I've got an 800XL with 256K RAM. I've also got an Atari 7800 which is my current plaything.
 
At the risk of having everyone agree, I'd say my last Atari was an Amiga 1200.
 
I disagree. Amigas are very different.

My first Atari, what I initially learned basic on in 9th grade, a 400. My next Atari was a dishevelled 1040stf I found in someone's trash. Never did anything with it, it wound up being discarded. I've since procurred a 1040stf, a 520stfm, a french 520stfm mobo, nos or reworked by Atari, 2 sm124s, an sc1224, and a rro30motherboard that's been through the ringer, I had the intention of rebuilding.

Oh how could I forget. My own personal first Atari was a Lynx.
 
Towmater said:
At the risk of having everyone agree, I'd say my last Atari was an Amiga 1200.
Click to expand...

I saw in my life the Amiga in Atari case... Also probably Amiga was designed/eng. by at least one, who designed/eng. Atari.
 
LOL, yes I'd agree with that!

For those not aware, the chip designers of the Atari chips went on to create the Amiga chips. At the same time they switched the Commodore Management team to Atari (well almost at the same time).
 
ncherry said:
LOL, yes I'd agree with that!

For those not aware, the chip designers of the Atari chips went on to create the Amiga chips. At the same time they switched the Commodore Management team to Atari (well almost at the same time).
Click to expand...

Not sure on that I read in the latest book on the amiga was Amiga inc with funds from atari that's why commodore gave amiga inc
the money to pay atari..
 
1980: Atari 400, 8K, mod'd later to 48K
1982: Atari 800, mod'd later to 174K
1984: Atari 800XL, mod'd to 256K
1986: Atari ST, mod'd to 512K
 
I still have the first 3 above but I did not keep the ST. I think it actually came with 512K and I modified it to 1MB.
 
Had a 1040ST next to my Amiga 1000. Loved them both for different reasons. ~1986-87

Then it was a 1040STE next to my Amiga 500 a few years later. ~1990-91

Finally an Atari 800XL with a Lotharek SIO2SD drive a few years ago that was new old stock. ~2015-16

All of it gone now, as I travel too much, so thank God for emulation.
 
My first Atari was Pong (when the home version was new-ish).

My last so far is a 520ST (bought long after its heyday).
 
I was a Sinclair man for much of the early phase of the original home computing so I came late to the Atari party. My first Atari (around 1986-87) was therefore a 520STFM, which I still have. Originally 512K RAM, it acquired a further 2MB of RAM not long after I bought it.

Around 2001, I got talking to a guy at work who was looking for a basic PC and discovered that he had an almost unused Atari 1040 so I went home and built the best PC I could throw together from the parts I had lying around and the next day, offered it to him as a direct swap for the Atari, which he agreed to. When I finally set eyes on the 'new' ST, it turned out to be a 1040 Ste, still in pristine battleship grey livery as it had never been exposed to the sun for any length of time.

I tested it and then mothballed it in a dark place, and continued using my original STFM which was already dark orange and beyond cosmetic redemption. After about 15 years the STFM failed (temporarily). When I got the 1040 Ste out of storage to use while I was fixing the original machine, it worked for about half an hour and then froze up: That turned out to be due to the PLCC sockets, particularly the one for the CPU, not making good contact, and it was only properly and permanently repaired when I replaced the sockets. I also took the opportunity to upgrade its 1MB of memory to 4MB - unlike the STFM the RAM was in SIMM form factor and easily replaced.

As things stand, both machines are still in working order. The old STFM workhorse is still used quite a bit: The Ste is back in dark storage to preserve its colour.
 
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