• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

Your first Atari, and last?

Okay, for some reasom I thought your computer was an 800xl, my bad. I did look around The Brewing Company's website and found this:

thebrewingacademy.com

TBA's Replacement Power Supply for Atari 400/800/1050/XF551/1200XL

This supports the following Atari items: Atari 400 Computer Atari 800 Computer Atari 1200XL Computer Atari 1050 Disk Drive Atari XF551 Disk Drive Atari PCF554 Disk Drive It is 9VAC 1.5A. It should put out all the power you need, however, if you need a beefier supply, contact us. This is...
thebrewingacademy.com

It's a replacement power supply for the 400/800 and it costs just $20 bucks plus shipping. SO depending on where you live it shouldn't take long to get this and have your 800 up and running.
 
My first computer was Atari 800 in 1981 with a Percom, my first double density floppy drive. When 800 died, I got 800XL in 1984 with "Ferrari" disk drive, Indus GT. I got the replacement as new 130XE when 800XL died. My last computer was XEGS but I used it in short time, I disliked it, I sold it. I still have 130XE with me now.
 
My first was an Atari 800, probably around 1980 (5th grade or so). Learned to program by typing in code from magazines (led to my career in programming/tech). Started a BBS with a 1030 modem (uncle worked for phone company and we built a ring detector) and a 1050 drive.. then went to an 800xl, then a 130xe.. also had an ATR8000. My favorite peripheral was the Indus GT drive.

Ran multiple BBB's, wrote my own BBS software for a HS G&T project (using the MOE from Carina), cracked some games, started a warez group that went national (I think statute of limitations is up, yes? lol).. Got a 1040ST when they came out.. had that for my freshman year of college in 1989, but sophomore year they required an IBM PC compatible (and provided it as part of tuition).

30+ years later I picked up a 1200xl, a FujiNet, and re-learned to code for the 8-bit and worked on some FujiNet stuff.. about to start my next project with it.
 
I played with an Atari ST from a relative when I was too young and not rich enough to buy one. So recently I corrected that. So a few months ago I bought my first and second Atari Mega 1 and Mega 2. The Mega 1 is ready for sale again. I also have two HD’s with it, one Atari Megafile, and a German one. But I don’t understand how to get them both to work together. Enough to enjoy :)
 
My first Atari... oh wow, oh boy, where do I start?

It was about 3 or 4 months ago, I finally pulled the trigger on getting my hands on an Atari 400. This machine is well before my time, I was born in '85.

It came with about a dozen carts. Have to say, it's probably the most interesting-looking machine I have. Normies tend to roll their eyes at mostly everything in my collection. But when I show the Atari 400, all of the sudden they get excited and want to see it run.

I like that this thing came with a Basic cart.

Also came with a yellow folder containing documents and manuals. Lots of hand-written instructions for various activities. Apparently this Atari belonged to a pair of sisters in Indiana.

Keyboard isn't nearly as bad as the YouTubers make it out to be. But it ain't great, either.

Also, is my last Atari for the moment. Until I run across an 800.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cde
I hear you about the keyboard. Not the worst, but definitely some finger cramping after extended use. The saving grace for lack of any tactile feel was the console beep generated with each keystroke. At least I could still type in my programs without having to look back at the screen to see if it registered.

I also remember my first storage device with my 400. Prior to obtaining a 410 data recorder, my first storage media was a spiral-ring notebook. Wrote all my application and gaming code into it after I completed each program. Then I could type it in again after powering down or playing other games. Needless to say, once I typed in one of my own games, I spent as much time as I could enjoying it, given the time it took to type it in the first place. The 410 concluded that era for me. ;)

For the 410, I usually purchased the Radio Shack tapes that looked like reel-to-reel, so it had that mainframe/mini tape subsystem feel, or how I imagined it then (Ended up working on actual tape subsystems for two HP 3000s - a 52 and a 925 - during my university summer and Christmas breaks for a local company).

That was all put behind with the 800XL (a real keyboard) and the 1050 disk drive. I still picked up a 1010 tape drive to migrate my programs to disk - and, as a kid, I still liked running those tapes with the reel-to-reel look.

With my current 800, I have an 810 disk drive and 850 interface module, but those tend to stay safely tucked in my vintage hardware cabinet. I spend more time using the SDrive-MAX drive emulator, mounting up to 4 virtual drives at a time (after tweaking DOS to allow for the 4 drive devices). Beside being much faster, I can move virtual floppy disks between my 800 and my Linux laptop, running the Atari800 emulator. This also allows me to experiment with cross-development tools to write Atari code from my laptop like CC65 and ATASM.

The 850 still gets pulled out from time to time and attached to a Wyse PowerTerm device (running OpenBSD over a serial console) so I can connect my 800 as a terminal to the online vintage systems still in operation at the Seattle Living Computers Museum. I found Chameleon from APX works rather flawlessly for the task.

It is amazing what can still be done with these machines from our past.
 
Last edited:
The only Atari systems I have ever owned are both Lynx handhelds (1 and 2) and I love those machines, though I had to sell the Lynx 1 a while ago.
I started console repairs and upgrades about 6 years ago and came across many of these in that time, and I have managed to collect almost all the games on the system so I guess I'm quite lucky in that regard. I have done screen upgrades on quite a few different Lynx 1 and 2s but mine is still original as it's actually a very good example. I plan to complete the game collection in time, but don't have as much time to use it as I used to.
 
First Atari computer I owned was a 520ST fall 1985, after we sold a Coleco Adam (don't judge me 😁) to use that money for the St.

Prior to the St, I had 2600, 5200 and Colecovision consoles 1980-85.

In hindsight, probably should have got an 800xl late 83 or early 1984, but the Adam specs and complete package and my existing CV I had since August 1982 made the Adam first up especially given a blue collar working household budget where every $50 counted back then, and a decent printer was a big ticket item in those days before good 24 pin dot matrix printers and ink jets became affordable and reliable, late 80s.

Made up for it since, collecting an 800xl cib and xegs, may get xe 8bits.
 
My first Atari was the VCS (er 2600, but it wasn't called that yet!).

My first `Atari computer' was an 800 with a 410 tape drive. After seeing how painful the tape drive was, managed to get an 810 disk drive (Archiver enhanced), along with an 850 interface module, an 830 300 baud acoustic coupler modem and an 80-column dot matrix printer. =) At some point when Atari was having a fire sale on the 800 XL ($100?, I don't exactly remember!), we got one of those. Ended up using them for a few years until I was able to get an Atari 1040 ST with an SC1224 monitor. The 1040 ST was the last Atari that I got when Atari was still in business. Over the years though, I managed to pick up another 800, a 400, a 1200 XL, another 800 XL, a 65 XE and a 130 XE, along with a collection of disk drives (a Percom, a 1050 (now Happy enhanced so it'll do DD!) and an Indus GT). =) Granted, when I got married my wife had me sell the 400, 1200 XL, 65 XE and my `extra' 800 and 800 XLs, because I `have too many computers.' =(
 
I didn't have an Atari until long after they were obsolete. I was pretty isolated as a kid.. I didn't even know Commodore had anything other than the PET, VIC and 64. The first time I encountered an Atari computer was in early 2000 at a computer store in Vancouver that had a museum in the front. I saw an Atari 400 and 800 for the first time and was blown away they existed. The 400 looked so bizarre. When the museum closed someone took the 400 but I got the 800 and still have it, along with a 520st, 1040ste 65xe and falcon.
 
I had an Atari 400 I used to chat on the college mainframe at 300 baud.
That was painful but then I moved onto a 800xl with a 1200 baud modem and a disk drive and life was much better.
Got two 600XLs recently and working on getting them going now...
 
Last is going to be the Atari 520ST I am currently repairing. The ST is completely new Foreign territory for me. Look forward to learning all about it.
 
First: Atari 2600 in the 70s
Second: Atari 800XL (received it around 1984)
Third: Atari 1040 STE in late 80s. Sold it in the early to mid 90s to get a PC.

Then in the last few years, I obtained another 1040 STE and a Mega ST2. I also am still using one of the 800XLs I used to run a BBS in the 80s. Love the Atari brand!

-JP
 
My first Atari was a 2600 which I bought as a gift for my grandmother's 75th back in 2008. I learned that back in the early 80s, she commandeered my uncle's console because she couldn't stop playing Breakout.
As it happens, it became mine six years later. I haven't really been able to use it since
 
In addition to the 800, I recently acquired the Atari 600XL to my collection. I found this one had already been modified with the 64K upgrade.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top