slackey@bbn.com (Stan Lackey) (06/22/89)
Hello again, with requests as usual.
1) I am in need of the cheapest used disk drive that works that I can
get my hands on. The dirtiest slimiest 810 will do. Anyone
interested in selling that old relic? I don't even need a power
supply.
2) Does ANYONE know how to convert a 65XE into a 130XE? I have seen
upgrades for the 130XE to like 576K is it? but never a mention
of the 65XE. OK I blew it, I should have sprung for the extra $30
and bought the 130XE. I admit it. I am an EE so even the most
general instructions will do.
Thanks! -Stanrcbamw@eutrc3.urc.tue.nl (m.waucomont) (06/22/89)
In article <41785@bbn.COM> slackey@BBN.COM (Stan Lackey) writes: >Hello again, with requests as usual. > >2) Does ANYONE know how to convert a 65XE into a 130XE? I have seen Years ago, I upgraded my 800XL to 256k by replacing the 64kb chips, which sat in sockets, by 256kb chips and adding a small pcb with 8 TTL IC's. It was all pretty straightforward. The RAM chips where 7.35 DG each, the TTL stuff was a few guilders, alltogether it costed me about 95 DG. That would be roughly $40,- now... As far as I know, the 65XE is an 800XL in fancy casing, so you might be able to do something with the schematics. I wrote an article in the 'Stackpointer' the newsletter of the Univ. computer club. It's in Dutch, but all that matters is the schematic and the printlayout :-) Anyone interested in this info, mail your SnailMail address and I will send you a xerox-copy of the article. I will wait till july first to collect addresses of interested people. Then I will send them the info. Requests coming in later than july first I will not reply to. I will need at least a week to dig up the newsletter in my messy room anyhow :-). Hopeing that I can do some Atarians a favor, Michel 'Mikki' Waucomont
jca@pnet01.cts.com (John C. Archambeau) (06/23/89)
I think I have an answer to question #2. You can't effectively convert a 65XE
to a 130XE. Why? Because it doesn't have the FREDDY chip in it. The FREDDY
chip is the 130XE 'expanded' memory MMU. You might, however, be able to get a
Rambo XL running in it, but I have never heard of an memory upgrades for a
65XE, of course, I have never (in my 5 years of using an Atari 8-bit) of
anybody using a 65XE. What you need to do is to find the exact differences
between a 65XE and a 800XL and apply the desired memory upgrade. Believe me,
you WERE better off with springing for a 130XE. The 65XE is pretty much
vaporware in comparison to the 800XL and 130XE and what you can slap in it.
/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*
* Flames: /dev/null (on my Minix partition)
*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*
* APRA : crash!pnet01!jca@nosc.mil
* INET : jca@pnet01.cts.com
* UUCP : {nosc ucsd hplabs!hd-sdd}!crash!pnet01!jca
*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#include <disclaimer.h>
void main (void)
{
#if defined (MSDOS) || defined (OS2) || defined (VMS)
printf ("You call that an operating system???\n");
#else
printf ("Unix might not be perfect...\n");
printf (" ...but it's the best I've seen thus far...\n");
#endif
}hans@umd5.umd.edu (Hans Breitenlohner) (06/24/89)
In article <41785@bbn.COM> slackey@BBN.COM (Stan Lackey) writes: >2) Does ANYONE know how to convert a 65XE into a 130XE? I have seen Functionally the 65XE is identical to the 800XL. Thus my first reaction was to recommend any of the memory upgrades for the 800XL. Unfortunately things are not that easy: in the 130XE some of the TTL circuits of the 800XL are replaced by a LSI circuit. This affects the circuitry doing the address multiplexing, which is where all the memory expansions connect. At best this would make it more messy to install any of these upgrades. The 130XE has an additional custom circuit to do the bank switching. If you can get 130XE schematics, it might be possible to wedge that additional circuit and the extra memories onto the board. (It is probably too much to hope that Atari left space for all that on the circuit board, but I have never seen the inside of a 65XE. If you can get your hands on an 800XL, you could upgrade it instead, and get a better keyboard in the bargain. Question: Does the XEGS use the same circuit board as the 65XE?