nicki@hpsmo100.rose.hp.com (Nick Ingegneri) (05/29/91)
Here's a real old bit of ATARI trivia... Does anyone remember the Atari 815 dual disc drive? It looked like a tall 810 and had two drives mounted inside of the case. They never shipped, but I saw some at an early 80's CES show. Rumor had it that some units had found their way into the hands of some users for testing. If you found one now, it might be a real conversation piece. Another product that never made it was the Atari lightpen that was announced with the inital release of the Atari 400/800. Atari's legal department stopped them from ever shipping due to fear of lawsuits. They weren't to keen on the idea of kids poking at the picture tube with a pointy wand. The famous (or infamous) Atari 410 cassette recorder was produced in no less than three different versions. All it really was was a conventional tape deck with the audio portion removed and some interface circuitry to tie it to the computer. I saw at least three different versions, all with the 410 model number. The only think they had in common was that they were all beige. I remember the excitement I felt way back in late '79, (or was it early '80) when I bought my Atari 800 with 8k of ram, a 410 tape drive, and a Star Raiders cartridge. As I recall it cost about $1100 back then.
fseipel@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Frank E Seipel) (05/31/91)
Some interesting trivia, but I have one correction: Atari finally DID release a lightpen (I used to have one). I think they did so in '84. It came with its own special cartridge drawing program, which was really quite nice (IMHO). I was impressed at the time that they hadn't merely repackaged Koala Paint, as they had done for the Atari Touch Tablet. Speaking of light pens, you can make your own: There was an article on the subject in a very early issue of Creative Computing (now defunct). It may have been 1981. Then there was the Atari Paint program, which used a joystick for input. The code names for the original Atari 4oo and 8oo were Colleen and Candy.
collin861@snake.cs.uidaho.edu (Dean Collins) (05/31/91)
In article <2970002@hpsmo100.rose.hp.com>, nicki@hpsmo100.rose.hp.com (Nick Ingegneri) writes: |> |> [stuff deleted] |> |> Another product that never made it was the Atari lightpen that was announced |> with the inital release of the Atari 400/800. Atari's legal department |> stopped them from ever shipping due to fear of lawsuits. They weren't to |> keen on the idea of kids poking at the picture tube with a pointy wand. Thats funny, I own an Atari light-pen... It works great, too! It never fails to impress people about the capabilities of an Atari. It comes with a really neat drawing program (AtariGraphics, I believe), complete with pop-up windows and special "star-trek" sound effects... I believe it came out shortly after the 600XL and 800XL were introduced, although my memory is fading... |> [stuff deleted] |> |> I remember the excitement I felt way back in late '79, (or was it early '80) |> when I bought my Atari 800 with 8k of ram, a 410 tape drive, and a Star |> Raiders cartridge. As I recall it cost about $1100 back then. ^^^^^ Ouch! I could barely afford my $180 600XL when it came out! :-) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Dean Collins | "The last man on earth sat alone University of Idaho, Moscow, ID | in a room. collin861@snake.cs.uidaho.edu | There was a knock at the door..." ---------------------------------------------------------------------
gt7865a@prism.gatech.EDU (Comer,Matthew Brian) (05/31/91)
Speaking of old Atari equipment, does anyone remember the ATR8000? I had one,
and it was a real blessing. It was a Z80 based CP/M expander for the Atari,
though I never used it for CP/M. I used it for the built in disk drive
interface which allowed me to use standard disk drives with my Atari, the
RS232 port for modem and printer, etc. I had mine with two Shugart DS/DD
5.25 inch floppy drives. It was an interesting piece of equipment.
Also, does anyone still have copies of the COMPUTE! series of books on the
Atari 8bits? I remember Inside Atari and a couple others... they were
really great. Too bad you can't get inside information like that for
todays computers so cheaply! (the Mac I'm on now, for example!)
--
Comer, Matthew Brian
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
uucp: ...!{decvax,hplabs,ncar,purdue,rutgers}!gatech!prism!gt7865a
Internet: gt7865a@prism.gatech.eduthaanuj@prism.cs.orst.edu (John Thaanum) (05/31/91)
In article <2970002@hpsmo100.rose.hp.com> nicki@hpsmo100.rose.hp.com (Nick Ingegneri) writes: >Here's a real old bit of ATARI trivia... Does anyone remember the Atari 815 >dual disc drive? It looked like a tall 810 and had two drives mounted >inside of the case. They never shipped, but I saw some at an early 80's >CES show. Rumor had it that some units had found their way into the hands >of some users for testing. If you found one now, it might be a real >conversation piece. > Not only that, but it was double density. There was even another version of DOS writted for it- DOS 2.0D. Too bad this product never hit the shelves. It might have been enough to deter potential Apple ][ buyers. John Thaanum thaanuj@prism.cs.orst.edu
bill@mwca.UUCP (Bill Sheppard) (06/01/91)
In article <1991May30.190652.5283@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> fseipel@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Frank E Seipel) writes: > > Some interesting trivia, but I have one correction: Atari finally DID >release a lightpen (I used to have one). I think they did so in '84. It >came with its own special cartridge drawing program, which was really >quite nice (IMHO). I was impressed at the time that they hadn't merely >repackaged Koala Paint, as they had done for the Atari Touch Tablet. The software was done by Steve Gibson, one of the truly visionary pioneers of the personal computer era. The drawing program was at the time considered to have on of the most advanced user interfaces yet seen for any PC. -- ############################################################################## # Bill Sheppard -- bills@microware.com -- {uunet,sun}!mcrware!mwca!bill # # Microware Systems Corporation --- OS-9: Seven generations beyond OS/2!! # ######Opinions expressed are my own, though you'd be wise to adopt them!######
Chris_F_Chiesa@cup.portal.com (06/02/91)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute sponsored or co-sponsored a scholarship back in 1981 which gave COMPLETE Atari 800 systems with 48K memory, an 850 interface, two 810 drives, the 830 (?) 300-baud acoustic modem, some cartridges (BASIC, Star Raiders, Telelink I, Assembler/Editor), a bunch of manuals including a release of the Technical Reference Notes so early that the Table of Contents didn't have Page Numbers in it, a Beta release of "Atari Pascal" on four 5.25" diskettes, and I forget what all else. One of the professors who administered the program had an 815 disk drive in his office; for all I know it might still be there gathering dust. The catch was that the students had to actually GRADUATE from RPI in order to KEEP the system; if they flunked or dropped out they had to give it back! My girlfriend-at-that-time survived RPI and still has that Atari system (and yes, it DID cost about $1100 at that time). Oh, yeah, the system also included an Epson printer and a TV (not monitor; you could watch color TV when you weren't computing)! My SAT scores were probably good enough that if I hadn't waited til the last day of admissions to APPLY to RPI, I might have gotten one of these scholarships, and if I had, the thought of KEEPING it might have kept met at RPI for four years (as it was, I left after 2.5 years). My life would have been VERY dif- ferent and I wouldn't be here telling you this right now! Chris Chiesa Chris_F_Chiesa@cup.portal.com
daveg@prowler.clearpoint.com (Dave Goldblatt) (06/04/91)
==> On 31 May 91 00:16:49 GMT, thaanuj@prism.cs.orst.edu (John Thaanum) said: In article <2970002@hpsmo100.rose.hp.com> nicki@hpsmo100.rose.hp.com (Nick Ingegneri) writes: >Here's a real old bit of ATARI trivia... Does anyone remember the Atari 815 >dual disc drive? It looked like a tall 810 and had two drives mounted >inside of the case. They never shipped, but I saw some at an early 80's >CES show. Rumor had it that some units had found their way into the hands >of some users for testing. If you found one now, it might be a real >conversation piece. > JT> Not only that, but it was double density. There was even another version JT> of DOS writted for it- DOS 2.0D. Too bad this product never hit the shelves. JT> It might have been enough to deter potential Apple ][ buyers. Sorry, but that's not true. It really was just two 810 drives stuffed together. DOS 2.0D was written to deal with the two drives in one box, it was definitely *NOT* double density. How do I know? I was one of the few people who had one to play with. :-) (the computer store I bought my Atari 800 from {and worked at} had one on loan from Atari for a while -- we used to get a lot of toys from them due to the volume of the store and the locals who were fairly prolific, such as Jerry White (anyone remember him?) and Swifty Software, amongst others). -dg- -- "Look, folks, you can't save everyone. | Dave Goldblatt [daveg@clearpoint.com] Just try not to be living next to | Software Engineering (Subsystems) them when they go off." | Clearpoint Research Corporation - Dennis Miller | 35 Parkwood Dr., Hopkinton, MA 01748
thaanuj@prism.cs.orst.edu (John Thaanum) (06/04/91)
In article <DAVEG.91Jun3180923@prowler.clearpoint.com> daveg@prowler.clearpoint.com writes: >==> On 31 May 91 00:16:49 GMT, thaanuj@prism.cs.orst.edu (John Thaanum) said: > >In article <2970002@hpsmo100.rose.hp.com> nicki@hpsmo100.rose.hp.com (Nick Ingegneri) writes: >>Here's a real old bit of ATARI trivia... Does anyone remember the Atari 815 >>dual disc drive? It looked like a tall 810 and had two drives mounted >>inside of the case. They never shipped, but I saw some at an early 80's >>CES show. Rumor had it that some units had found their way into the hands >>of some users for testing. If you found one now, it might be a real >>conversation piece. >> >JT> Not only that, but it was double density. There was even another version >JT> of DOS writted for it- DOS 2.0D. Too bad this product never hit the shelves. >JT> It might have been enough to deter potential Apple ][ buyers. > >Sorry, but that's not true. It really was just two 810 drives stuffed together. >DOS 2.0D was written to deal with the two drives in one box, it was definitely >*NOT* double density. > >How do I know? I was one of the few people who had one to play with. :-) >(the computer store I bought my Atari 800 from {and worked at} had one on >loan from Atari for a while -- we used to get a lot of toys from them due >to the volume of the store and the locals who were fairly prolific, such >as Jerry White (anyone remember him?) and Swifty Software, amongst others). > >-dg- >-- >"Look, folks, you can't save everyone. | Dave Goldblatt [daveg@clearpoint.com] > Just try not to be living next to | Software Engineering (Subsystems) > them when they go off." | Clearpoint Research Corporation > - Dennis Miller | 35 Parkwood Dr., Hopkinton, MA 01748 I just wanted to let everybody know that I had intended to misinform anybody. I was just quoting what I _thought_ I remembered reading in a Creative Computing article from long ago. CC really was an outstanding magazine. When it died, a couple of the editors went on to work for Atari's own magazine (Atari Explorer?). Atari canned them about 9 months ago and hired a new staff. Have any of you heard anything about what the previous editors are up to these days? John Thaanum thaanuj@prism.cs.orst.edu them
apalmer@pyrtech.pyramid.com (Albert "Earthquake" Palmer) (06/06/91)
In article <2970002@hpsmo100.rose.hp.com> nicki@hpsmo100.rose.hp.com (Nick Ingegneri) writes: >Here's a real old bit of ATARI trivia... Does anyone remember the Atari 815 >dual disc drive? It looked like a tall 810 and had two drives mounted >inside of the case. They never shipped, but I saw some at an early 80's >CES show. Rumor had it that some units had found their way into the hands >of some users for testing. If you found one now, it might be a real >conversation piece. > I own an Atari 815 disk drive. It has 2 SSDD disk drives. The format is different from all double density drive that followed. Atari had a special version of thier DOS II (not DOS2.0) that worked with the drive. They were unable to manufacture a reliable product due to poor design. > >Another product that never made it was the Atari lightpen that was announced >with the inital release of the Atari 400/800. Atari's legal department >stopped them from ever shipping due to fear of lawsuits. They weren't to >keen on the idea of kids poking at the picture tube with a pointy wand. > The original light pen made it as far as the Atari company store. I purchaced one the first day they showed up in the store for a friend. He had purchaced my 1 week old 400 so I could buy a 800. I took the light pen home that first night and had a blast. I gave the light pen to him the next day and he brought it back the next day with the 400. The light pen would not work on the 400, but it worked fine on my 800. I had become friends with some of the techs at the service dept when the 400 failed the first night with a bad ctia. I took the 400 out to Atari and watched as they worked on the machine. The problem turned out to be the trace for the light pin that went to joystick port 1 on the 800 went to port 4 on the 400. As it turned out, no one at Atari had tested the light pen on anything but an 800. In the manufacturing process, this function was tested. Because every 400 failed this test, they assumed the test was bad and ignored it. Because all the cases of light pens in the warehouse had docs that said to use port 1, they held up shipment. To my knowledge, none of these light pens ever shipped. The light pen that came out a few years later was completely redesigned. > >The famous (or infamous) Atari 410 cassette recorder was produced in no less >than three different versions. All it really was was a conventional tape >deck with the audio portion removed and some interface circuitry to tie it >to the computer. I saw at least three different versions, all with the >410 model number. The only think they had in common was that they were >all beige. > >I remember the excitement I felt way back in late '79, (or was it early '80) >when I bought my Atari 800 with 8k of ram, a 410 tape drive, and a Star >Raiders cartridge. As I recall it cost about $1100 back then. > I'm posting this from my TT. I have 400s, 800s, 1200XLs, 800XLs, 1400XLs, 520STs and 1 1040ST. I still remember that first night when after 3 hours of Star Raiders, the 400 died. I was up until 2am after I discovered the problem was heat related. By turning the system off for 30 minutes, I could play for 1 hour. Al Palmer
rbrown@CS.Cornell.EDU (Russell Brown) (06/08/91)
In article <30223@hydra.gatech.EDU> gt7865a@prism.gatech.EDU (Comer,Matthew Brian) writes: >Speaking of old Atari equipment, does anyone remember the ATR8000? I had one, >and it was a real blessing. It was a Z80 based CP/M expander for the Atari, >though I never used it for CP/M. I used it for the built in disk drive >interface which allowed me to use standard disk drives with my Atari, the >RS232 port for modem and printer, etc. I had mine with two Shugart DS/DD >5.25 inch floppy drives. It was an interesting piece of equipment. A mixed blessing, surely. If you never used it for CP/M, then you probably were able to avoid most of the severe drawbacks of the system. I would have, but I didn't want to spring for a copy of MYDOS. At the time, MYDOS was the only thing available which had the necessary software to allow an Atari to use the RS232 port on the ATR8000. Not wanting to waste money on yet another DOS (I already had OS/A+ DOS version 2 and 4, as well as a bootleg of Atari DOS V. 2), I was forced to use the CP/M terminal emulator program in order to be able to use the RS232 port to attach a modem. OK, so what's the problem? Well, the CP/M or whatever was controlling the disk drives when CP/M was running was one of the most amazingly poor pieces of engineering I had encountered to that point. I used that system for I guess the better part of a year. I was barely able to keep my software intact, though, as it usually took little longer for a given copy of my CP/M system disk to become unreadable than it did for me to make a new backup. I had this happen at least four times. This part of the ATR system was quite unimpressive. I will agree, though, that it was a hell of a nice system as far as its control of disk drives for Atari format usage, as well as a nice big printer buffer. Russell G. Brown Graduate Student from Hell Cornell Computer Science
dwj@sactoh0.sac.ca.us (Daniel W. James) (06/08/91)
In article <1991Jun7.204023.28444@cs.cornell.edu> rbrown@CS.Cornell.EDU (Russell Brown) writes: >I would have, but I didn't want to spring for a copy of MYDOS. At the time, >MYDOS was the only thing available which had the necessary software to allow >an Atari to use the RS232 port on the ATR8000. Not wanting to waste money on >yet another DOS (I already had OS/A+ DOS version 2 and 4, as well as a bootleg Yes, but remember that MYDOS is shareware. You could have downloaded it from just about any board to at least try it out without having to buy a new version of dos.
Tom_Klok@mindlink.bc.ca (Tom Klok) (06/14/91)
> nicki@hpsmo100.rose.hp.com writes: > > Another interesting factoid... You probably knew of six slots that the 800 > had for expansion. There were two cartridge slots, one OS slot, and three > memory slots. But did you know that there was a seventh slot buried deep > inside the machine. And plugged into that slot was the processor card that > contained the 6502 and it's support chips. Rumor was that the reason for > putting the processor on a card would be to allow future versions that used > the same bus, I/O, and graphics, but a different processor. But there's an 8th slot (sort-of), which is even _more_ interesting. It's the long card-edge connector on the very back of the 800 motherboard, behind the CPU card. It's normally covered up by the shielding, completely inaccessable unless you remove the shielding or cut a slot through it. The connector carries just about the entire bus, and was used for factory testing. As far as I know, nobody ever developed a device that would hang off it and do something practical. Some large RAM expansion cards required jumpers run to it, though. Tom Klok a344@mindlink.bc.ca