8-bit Atari Frequently Asked Questions

Archive-name: atari-8-bit/faq
Posting-Frequency: 60 days
Last-modified: March 31, 2004

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Atari 8-Bit Computers

Frequently Asked Questions List

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UPDATES SINCE PREVIOUS POSTING
2004.03.31 8.1 updated to Revision 1.9 (2004-3-30), thanks Freddy Offenga

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Subject: 0.1) Table of contents

0.1) Table of contents

The Computers
1.1) What is an Atari 8-bit computer?
1.2) What is the Atari 400?
1.3) What is the Atari 800?
1.4) What is the Atari 1200XL?
1.5) What is the Atari 600XL?
1.6) What is the Atari 800XL?
1.7) What is the Atari 65XE?
1.8) What is the Atari 130XE?
1.9) What is the Atari 800XE?
1.10) What is the Atari XE Game System?
1.11) What are the 6502, ANTIC, CTIA/GTIA, POKEY, and FREDDIE chips?
1.12) What is the internal layout of the 8-bit Atari?
1.13) What issues surround NTSC vs PAL versions of the 8-bit Atari?
1.14) What are the pinouts for the various ports on the Atari?

Video Display
2.1) What video display devices can I use with my Atari?

Mass Storage
3.1) What are the Atari 410, 1010, XC11, and XC12 Program Recorders?
3.2) What other cassette recorders can I use with my Atari?
3.3) How do I run a program from cassette?
3.4) What are the Atari 810, 815, 1050, and XF551 Disk Drives?
3.5) What other floppy disk drives can I use with my Atari?
3.6) What kinds of 5.25" floppy disks can I use with my Atari drives?
3.7) What can I do to extend the life of my floppy disks?
3.8) How can I use a hard drive with my 8-bit Atari?

Printers
4.1) What are the Atari 820, 822, and 825 Printers?
4.2) What are the Atari 1020, 1025, 1027, and 1029 Printers?
4.3) What are the Atari XMM801 and XDM121 Printers?
4.4) What other printers can I use with my Atari?

MODEMs
5.1) What are the Atari 830, 835, 1030, XM301, and SX212 Modems?
5.2) What other modems can I use with my Atari?

More hardware
6.1) What is the Atari 850 Interface Module?
6.2) What is the Atari XEP80 Interface Module?
6.3) What accessories did Atari produce for their 8-bit computers?
6.4) What "vaporware" computers/peripherals were never released?
6.5) What are the power requirements for my Atari components?
6.6) What graphic tablets were produced for the Atari?
6.7) What lightpens were produced for the Atari?
6.8) What lightguns were produced for the Atari?
6.9) What paddles were produced for the Atari?
6.10) What voice/sound synthesis hardware was produced for the Atari?
6.11) What sound-digitizers/samplers were produced for the Atari?
6.12) What sound-enhancement upgrades were produced for the Atari?
6.13) What MIDI enhancements are there for the Atari?
6.14) What graphics enhancements are there for the Atari?
6.15) What types of memory upgrades are there for the Atari?
6.16) What networking hardware is there for the Atari?
6.17) Can I attach an ISA card to the Atari?
6.18) What preventative maintenance can I do on my Atari system?

Core software: OS, BASIC, DOS, Modem handlers
7.1) What versions of the Atari Operating System (OS) are there?
7.2) What is the ATASCII character set?
7.3) What is Atari BASIC?
7.4) What are Atari DOS 1, DOS 2.0S, DOS 3, DOS 2.5, and DOS XE?
7.5) What are MyDOS, SpartaDOS, and other popular DOS versions?
7.6) How do I modify Atari DOS to support more than two drives?
7.7) Are there Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) for the Atari?
7.8) What should I know about modem device handlers?

Software
8.1) What programming languages are available for the Atari?
8.2) What cartridges were released for the Right Slot of the 800?
8.3) What games support 4 or more simultaneous players?
8.4) What programs run only on the 400 and 800 models, and why?
8.5) What programs make use of the Light Gun or a light pen?
8.6) What programs have a track ball mode or support a mouse?
8.7) What programs have a paddle(s) or Koala Pad mode?
8.8) What programs have a CX85 Numerical Keypad mode?
8.9) What programs have a Touch tablet mode?
8.10) What kinds of RAMdisks can be set up on the Atari?
8.11) What programs support a RAMdisk?
8.12) What programs require a RAMdisk?
8.13) What voice/sound synthesis software is there for the Atari?
8.14) What programs support stereo and upgraded sound?
8.15) What games support online action via modem?
8.16) What programs support Atari computer networking?

Working with Atari files: Compression, File formats, Copying
9.1) How can I work with .arc files on my 8-bit Atari?
9.2) What file formats for entire disks/tapes/cartridges are there?
9.3) How can I copy my copy-protected Atari software?

Interoperating with "modern" computers
10.1) What programs can log in to other computers via modem?
10.2) What programs can I use to host a BBS on the Atari?
10.3) How can I read/write Atari disks on an MS-DOS PC?
10.4) How can I read/write MS-DOS PC disks on my Atari?
10.5) How do I transfer files using a null modem cable?
10.6) How can my Atari use my PC's HD using SIO2PC or Atari810?
10.7) How can my Atari use my PC's HD, printer and modem using APE?
10.8) How can I connect my 1050 drive to my PC with the APE ProSystem?
10.9) What about interoperating with the Apple Macintosh?
10.10) Are there 8-bit Atari tools for the Commodore Amiga?

Timeline
11.1) How did Atari get its name?
11.2) What is the History of Atari?

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Subject: 1.1) What is an Atari 8-bit computer?

Based in Silicon Valley in the U.S.A., the company known as Atari produced
a line of home computers from 1979 to 1992 often referred to collectively as
the "Atari 8-bits," the "8-bit Ataris," the "400/800/XL/XE series," etc.

The computers included the 400, 800, 1200XL, 600XL, 800XL, 65XE, 130XE, 800XE,
and the XE Game System.

These machines competed in the marketplace most directly with the likes of the
Commodore 64 series, the Apple II series, the Texas Instruments TI99/4A, and
the Radio Shack Color Computer, among others. Of these, the 8-bit Atari is
most similar to the Commodore 64.

In marketing their computers to the public, Atari always had to contend with
their company history and reputation as a maker of video games. While the
8-bit Atari computers in their heyday were technically quite comparable if not
superior in the worlds of home and business personal computing, they also live
up to the name "Atari" with a huge library of video games which were often
outstanding for their time.

The 8-bit Atari computers do not use the same cartridges or floppy disks as
any other Atari platforms, such as the 2600 Video Computer System (VCS), the
5200 SuperSystem, the 7800 ProSystem, or the ST/TT/Falcon computers. All of
these but the 5200, however, do share the same joystick/controller hardware
port.

The 5200 SuperSystem is actually nearly identical to the 8-bit computers
internally, yet cartridges for the 5200 and the 8-bit computers cannot be
exchanged, primarly due to the physically different cartridge ports.

Here are some of the performance specifications of the 8-bit Atari computers:

(Some of the rest of this section by Bill Kendrick)

CPU: 6502 (MOS Technology)

CPU CLOCK SPEED:
NTSC machines: 1.7897725 MHz
non-NTSC machines: 1.773447 MHz

SCREEN REFRESH RATE:
59.94 times per second (Hz) on NTSC Ataris
49.86 Hz on PAL machines

GRAPHICS MODES:
ANTIC CIO/BASIC Display Resolution Number of
Mode # Graphics # Type (full screen) Colors
---------------------------------------------------------------
2 0 Char 40 x 24 1 *
3 - Char 40 x 19 1 *
4 12 ++ Char 40 x 24 5
5 13 ++ Char 40 x 12 5
6 1 Char 20 x 24 5
7 2 Char 20 x 12 5
8 3 Map 40 x 24 4
9 4 Map 80 x 48 2
A 5 Map 80 x 48 4
B 6 Map 160 x 96 2
C 14 ++ Map 160 x 192 2
D 7 Map 160 x 96 4
E 15 ++ Map 160 x 192 4
F 8 Map 320 x 192 1 *
F 9 + Map 80 x 192 1 **
F 10 + Map 80 x 192 9
F 11 + Map 80 x 192 16 ***
* 1 Hue; 2 Luminances
** 1 Hue; 16 Luminances
*** 16 Hues; 1 Luminance
+ require the GTIA chip. 1979-1981 400/800's shipped with CTIA
++ Not available via the BASIC GRAPHICS command in 400/800's.

GRAPHICS INDIRECTION (COLOR REGISTERS AND CHARACTER SETS):
Nine color registers are available. Each color register holds any of 16
luminances x 16 hues = 256 colors. (Four registers are for player-missile
graphics.

Character sets of 128 8x8 characters, each with a normal and an inverse
video incarnation, are totally redefinable.

PLAYER-MISSILE GRAPHICS: (byte height and OR corrections from Piotr Fusik)
Four 8-bit wide, 120 or 240 byte high single color players, and four
2-bit wide, 120 or 240 byte high single color missiles are available.
A mode to combine the 4 missiles into a 5th 8-bit wide player is also
available, as is a mode to OR colors or blacken out colors when players
overlap (good for making three colors out of two players!) Players
and missiles have adjustable priority and collision detection.

DISPLAY LIST INTERRUPTS (DLI's):
Screen modes can be mixed (by lines) down the screen using the Display
List - a program which is executed by the ANTIC graphics chip every
screen refresh:

All other screen attributes (color, player/missile horizontal position,
screen width, player/missile/playfield priority, etc.) can be ajusted
at any point down the screen via DLI's.

SCROLLING:
Fine scrolling (both vertical and horizontal) can be enabled on any
line on the screen.

SOUND:
Four voices of 8-bit pitch-resolution, 4-bit volume-resolution,
8-distortion sound can be produced. 2 voices (1 and 2, and/or 3 and 4)
can be combined to make 16-bit pitch-resolution. Also 4-bit volume-only
modes can be enabled for digitally sampled sound replay.

A fifth "voice" is produced by the internal speaker on Atari 400/800's
(for keyclick and buzzer) and in the XL's and XE's this was
(fortunately!) rerouted through the normal audio output, and the
keyclick can be disabled.

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Subject: 1.2) What is the Atari 400?

Released along with the 800 in 1979, the 400 was the low-end model of the two.
The only 8-bit Atari with a membrane keyboard rather than a full-stroke
keyboard. One of the few 8-bit Ataris lacking a composite monitor port.
Originally released with just 8K RAM, but most were sold with 16K RAM. Atari
sold the Atari 400 48K RAM Expansion Kit, which required a little soldering,
to dealers only.

Only the 400 and 800 8-bit Atari models have four controller (joystick) ports.

Early 400 units include the CTIA chip; later units include the GTIA chip, also
present in all later 8-bit Ataris.

The 1982 Atari catalog calls the 400 "The Basic Computer."

The 400 was discontinued in 1983.

During development the 400 was known internally as "Candy."

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Subject: 1.3) What is the Atari 800?

Released along with the 400 in 1979, the 800 was the high-end model of the
two. The 800 is the only 8-bit Atari with a Right Cartridge slot, in addition
to the Left Cartridge slot as present on all 8-bit Ataris. Originally
released with just 8K RAM, many were sold with 16K, later on 48K was standard.

The 800 is also the only 8-bit Atari with a four-slot modular design, where
the first slot holds the CX801 (CX801-P for PAL machines) 10K ROM module, and
the other three slots hold combinations of CX852 8K or CX853 16K RAM modules.

Jason Harmon writes: (12 Feb 2004)
"..the early ones had plastic cases on the ROM and RAM modules, and had two
thumb tabs to remove the cover to access the modules. Later model 800s had
48K standard, and to improve cooling Atari installed them without the cases
but put a small plastic strip across the tops of the cards to hold them in
position. These machines also lost the thumb tabs and have regular screws to
secure the cover over the memory slots."

Only the 400 and 800 8-bit Atari models have four controller (joystick) ports.

Early 800 units include the CTIA chip; later units include the GTIA chip, also
present in all later 8-bit Ataris.

The 800 was discontinued in 1983.

During development the 800 was known internally as "Colleen."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 1.4) What is the Atari 1200XL?

Released as a big brother to the 400/800 in 1982, the 1200XL now uses Atari's
slightly customized 6502C microprocessor, and includes a full 64K RAM. The
1200XL was the first 8-bit Atari with just 2 controller ports. In addition,
the 1200XL includes 4 programmable Function keys and a Help key, 4 LEDs,
built-in diagnostic and graphics demonstration programs, and probably the
favorite keyboard of any 8-bit Atari computer. Clicks previously outputted
through the built-in speaker are now heard from the television or monitor's
speaker. The revised 16K Operating System offers many new features, including
an alternate International Character Set.

The 1200XL was the biggest single step forward in development of the 8-bit
Atari platform, but the corresponding software compatability problems hurt its
popularity.

The 1200XL lacks separate chroma video signal, and also lacks the +5 Volts
power on pin 10 of the SIO port.

There is no PAL (European) version of the 1200XL.

The 1200XL was discontinued in 1983.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 1.5) What is the Atari 600XL?

Released in 1983 as a replacement for the 400, the 600XL is the low-end
version of the 800XL. The 600XL/800XL include most of the features of the
1200XL minus the Function keys and the demo program. But both the 800XL and
600XL have the Atari BASIC language built-in. In addition, these two systems
offer the Parallel Bus Interface (PBI), providing fast parallel access to the
heart of the computer. The 600XL has 16K RAM.

The 600XL can be expanded from 16K to 64K with the Atari 1064 Memory Module.

Rarely, some late-model 600XLs were sold with 64K RAM. These may have only
appeared in Canada. The box had a round gold foil sticker reading: "64k
Memory -- Now with a full 64k of memory built-in."

Normally boots with Atari BASIC (Revision B) enabled; Hold down [Option] on
startup to boot without BASIC.

The North American/NTSC 600XL does not include a composite monitor port; The
European/PAL 600XL includes the monitor port, but this lacks the chroma video
signal.

The 600XL was discontinued in 1985.

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Subject: 1.6) What is the Atari 800XL?

Released in 1983 as a replacement for the 800 and 1200XL, the 800XL is the
high-end version of the 600XL. The 600XL/800XL include most of the features of
the 1200XL minus the Function keys and the demo program. But both the 800XL
and 600XL have the Atari BASIC language built-in. In addition, these two
systems offer the Parallel Bus Interface (PBI), providing fast parallel access
to the heart of the computer. The 800XL contains 64K RAM.

Normally boots with Atari BASIC (Rev. B, or late models with Rev. C) enabled;
Hold down [Option] on startup to boot without BASIC.

The 800XL lacks separate chroma video signal (exeception next paragraph).

There was a late version of the 800XL in Europe, called 800XLF. The 800XLF
includes a redesigned motherboard (the XE design) and contains FREDDIE for
memory management and has chroma output. BASIC is Revision C.

Though Atari never disclosed sales figures, the 800XL was likely the most-sold
of all 8-bit Atari computer models.

The 800XL was discontinued in 1985.

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Subject: 1.7) What is the Atari 65XE?

Released in 1985 as a replacement for the 600XL, the 65XE is the low-end
version of the 130XE. The 65XE is nearly identical to the 800XL in features,
minus the PBI. Many European (PAL) 65XE's include the ECI port, but no North
American (NTSC) 65XE's include the ECI port. All XE computers also include
the FREDDIE memory management chip.

Normally boots with Atari BASIC (Revision C) enabled; Hold down [Option] on
startup to boot without BASIC.

The 65XE was discontinued in 1992.

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Subject: 1.8) What is the Atari 130XE?

Released in 1985 as a replacement for the 800XL, the 130XE is the high-end
version of the 65XE. The 130XE offers 128K RAM, plus the FREDDIE memory
management chip, supporting the unique (but rarely used) ability for the 6502
and the ANTIC to independently access RAM banks. In addition, the 130XE
replaces the PBI port with the Enhanced Cartridge Interface (ECI), continuing
the powerful feature of a fast parallel port.

Normally boots with Atari BASIC (Revision C) enabled; Hold down [Option] on
startup to boot without BASIC.

The 130XE was discontinued in 1992.

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Subject: 1.9) What is the Atari 800XE?

Unseen and unknown in North America, the 800XE was sold in eastern Europe. The
800XE is identical in features to the European version of the 65XE, including
the ECI port. The 800XE could also be described as a 64K version of the
130XE.

Normally boots with Atari BASIC (Revision C) enabled; Hold down [Option] on
startup to boot without BASIC.

Jindrich Kubec writes, "The problematic Chinese 800XEs with GTIA problems were
manufactured in 1992."

The 800XE was discontinued in 1992.

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Subject: 1.10) What is the Atari XE Game System?

In a change of marketing strategy, Atari introduced the new XE Game System in
1987. Despite its label, the XEGS is a true 8-bit Atari computer system. It
offers the convenience of a detachable keyboard and built-in Missile Command
game, while offering 64K RAM and full compatibility with the 65XE. It was
packaged with the Light Gun, and the Flight Simulator II and Bug Hunt
cartridges.

Keyboard connected/no cartridge:
boots to Atari BASIC
Keyboard connected/no cartridge/[Select] held down at startup:
boots to Missile Command
No keyboard connected/no cartridge:
boots to Missile Command
No keyboard connected/no cartridge/[Select] held down at startup:
boots from disk drive
No keyboard connected/no cartridge/[Select]+[Start] held down at startup:
boots from tape drive

[Option] held down at startup = BASIC on
[Option] not pressed at startup = BASIC off
(opposite from all other XL/XE machines)

Andreas Magenheimer writes:
Tip: The confused XEGS Atarian should use the XEGS manager by Mat*Rat
(Mathew Ratcliff). This assumes one knows at least how to boot a disk
with the XEGS...

James Bradford offers:
There is only 1 32K ROM in the XEGS, it has the OS, BASIC (Rev C) and
Missile Command on it.

The XE Game System was discontinued in 1992.

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Subject: 1.11) What are the 6502, ANTIC, CTIA/GTIA, POKEY, and FREDDIE chips?

Some of the following text is taken from De Re Atari (Atari#APX-90008), a book
published by Atari through the Atari Program Exchange (APX) and copyright 1982
by Chris Crawford, et al. See http://www.atariarchives.org/dere/ where the
full text of De Re Atari is now available online.

The internal layout of the Atari 8-bit computer is very different from other
systems. It of course has a microprocessor (a 6502), RAM, ROM, and a PIA.
However, it also has three special-purpose (LSI) chips known as ANTIC, GTIA,
and POKEY. These chips were designed by Atari engineers primarily to take
much of the burden of housekeeping off of the 6502, thereby freeing the 6502
to concentrate on computations. While they were at it, they designed a great
deal of power into these chips. Each of these chips is almost as big (in terms
of silicon area) as a 6502, so the three of them together provide a tremendous
amount of power. Mastering the Atari 8-bit computers is primarily a matter of
mastering these three chips.

6502 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
====
While the 400/800 models contain a generic 6502B CPU (a faster version of the
original 6502A microprocessor), all of the XL/XE models contain Atari's
customized 6502C chip.

On the Atari, there are two microprocessors, ANTIC and the 6502. To allow
them to coexist, ANTIC must shut off the 6502, a process called DMA. The
6502B supports DMA, but in Atari's implementation, it required 4 chips. The
6502C has an extra line called HALT. It is controlled by ANTIC which uses it
whenever it needs the data/address bus. The HALT line is on pin 35 of the
Atari 6502C and must be pulled high for the chip to work.

ANTIC
=====
ANTIC ("Alpha-Numeric Television Interface Circuit") is a microprocessor
dedicated to the television display. It is a true microprocessor; it has an
instruction set, a program (called the display list), and data. The display
list and the display data are written into RAM by the 6502. ANTIC retrieves
this information from RAM using direct memory access (DMA). It processes the
higher level instructions in the display list and translates these
instructions into a real-time stream of simple instructions to GTIA.

Frank Schuster writes (6/1/02):
the patent for the ANTIC processor:

U.S. Patent 4,296,476 October 20, 1981 for a "Data processing system with
programmable graphics generator". Inventors listed: Steven T. Mayer; Jay
G. Miner; Douglas G. Neubauer; Joseph C. Decuir

CTIA/GTIA
=========
CTIA ("Color Television Interface Adapter") / GTIA ("George's Television
Interface Adapter") is a television interface chip. ANTIC directly controls
most of GTIA's operations, but the 6502 can be programmed to intercede and
control some or all of GTIA's functions. GTIA converts the digital commands
from ANTIC (or the 6502) into the signal that goes to the television. GTIA
also adds some factors of its own, such as color values, player-missile
graphics, and collision detection.

Early 400/800 models included CTIA, later 400/800 models and all later 8-bit
Ataris included GTIA.

In BASIC, type POKE 623,64 [RETURN] and if the screen blackens, you have the
GTIA chip. If it stays blue, you have the old CTIA chip.

By the way, apparently no CTIA-equipped Ataris were shipped to Europe.

Clay Halliwell provides this tidbit:
A bit of trivia: CTIA 400/800s artifact in blue/green, GTIA 400/800s
artifact in green/blue, and all XL/XEs artifact in red/blue.

Jerry Jessop explains why French Ataris produce fewer colors:
I will tell you why it only has monochrome out, because it's SECAM and a
SECAM GTIA was never produced. The PAL GTIA is used in France and the Lum
outputs are run into an onboard encoder to produce a "psudo" color depending
on the Luminance output, composite only. This is why a SECAM VCS or 800 has
nowhere near the same number of colors (16) availible as a PAL or NTSC unit
(256).

The FGTIA was never completed as the market size did not warrant the
expense. The largest SECAM market is not France but the Soviet Union
(former) and in 80-84 sales of these items there were not possible.

Frank Schuster writes (6/1/02):
..here a summary of Atari patents covering technical parts of the GTIA /
CTIA or at least the steps of development to it. I found them by following
the references made in the "newest" patent 4,324,401 which at the end
stands for the GTIA.

U.S. Patent 4,324,401 April 13, 1982 for a "Method and system for
generating moving objects on a video display screen". Inventors listed:
David R. Stubben, Lyle V. Rains. References: 4,116,444; 4,107,665

U.S. Patent 4,189,728 February 19, 1980 for an "Apparatus for generating a
plurality of moving objects on a video display screen utilizing
associative memory". Inventor listed: David R. Stubben. References:
4,116,444; 4,045,789

U.S. Patent 4,116,444 September 26, 1978 for a "Method for generating a
plurality of moving objects on a video display screen". Inventors listed:
Steven T. Mayer; Ronald E. Milner. References: 4,016,362; 3,793,483

U.S. Patent 4,107,665 August 15, 1978 for an "Apparatus for continuous
variation of object size on a raster type video screen". Inventors listed:
Steven T. Mayer; Ronald E. Milner

U.S. Patent 4,045,789 August 30, 1977 for a "Animated video image display
system and method". Inventor listed: Stephen D. Bristow. References:
3,793,483

U.S. Patent 4,016,362 April 5, 1977 for a "Multiple image positioning
control system and method". Inventors listed: Stephen D. Bristow; Steven
T. Mayer. References: 3,793,483

U.S. Patent 3,793,483 February 19, 1974 for a "Video Image Control System
for Amusement Device". Inventor listed: Nolan K. Bushnell

POKEY
=====
POKEY (means "POT and KEY" as in the paddles and keyboard) is a digital
input/output (I/O) chip. It handles such disparate tasks as the serial I/O
bus, audio generation, keyboard scan, and random number generation. It also
digitizes the resistive paddle inputs and controls maskable interrupt (IRQ)
requests from peripherals.

All four of these LSI chips function simultaneously. Careful separation of
their functions in the design phase has minimized conflicts between the chips.
The only hardware level conflict between any two chips in the system occurs
when ANTIC needs to use the address and data buses to fetch its display
information. To do this, it halts the 6502 and takes control of the buses."

The USPTO granted U.S. Patent 4,314,236 to Atari on February 2, 1982 for an
"Apparatus for producing a plurality of audio sound effects" - POKEY.
Inventors listed: Steven T. Mayer, Ronald E. Milner

FREDDIE
=======
The 65XE/130XE/800XE/XEGS contain a small additional LSI called FREDDIE, a RAM
address multiplexer. According to James Bradford, "FREDDIE is a type of
memory controller. It takes the address and clock from the CPU and
multiplexes it with the appropriate timings and signals to use DYNAMIC memory.
FREDDIE also buffers the system clock crystal and divides it down then feeds
that to GTIA. The XEGS has a FREDDIE but it doesn't have the extended RAM.
Even if it did, you would still need the chip that does the REAL bank
switching. It is a small 16-pin chip (Atari/Best Electronics catalog number
CO25953: rev9/page 42). It gets RAS from FREDDIE, the bank select bits from
PIA, A14, A15 and the 6502 halt signal to control which bank of 8 chips RAS
goes to. A14 and A15 then go to FREDDIE for the address range of the extra
memory bank (or normal address range with no bank switching). The ANTIC/6502
select bits in combination with the 6502 halt line, control the switching of
the PIA bank number bits to A14/A15 and which bank of memory RAS goes to. Why
people say FREDDIE does the bank switching is beyond me. An 800XL can look
like a 130XE with that 16-pin chip installed (That's right NO FREDDIE) and an
extra 8 RAM chips."

And more recently James Bradford has written:
FREDDIE is just a memory decoder and timer. It replaces several chips in the
800XL. The small chip near FREDDIE does all the bank selection. CO25953. One
line from FREDDIE, Ras (or is it cas?) goes to this chip, Halt and the bank
/processor select lines go into this same chip and ras (cas?) comes out. A pin
for each bank. If I remember correctly, refresh also goes into this small
chip. It would be quite easy to make an 800XL work just like a 130XE with this
chip since Ras (Cas?) is required by ALL dynamic RAM.

======
Technical data sheets and schematics for the ANTIC, GTIA, and POKEY chips are
available on Curt Vendel's web site, thanks to permission from Hasbro's Atari
Interactive Division's release of this data. See the TIFF scans:
http://www.atari-history.com/articles.html
Keith Howell has converted the hi-res TIFFs into clean HTML:
http://www.howell1964.freeserve.co.uk/Atari/800XL/Atari_800XL.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 1.12) What is the internal layout of the 8-bit Atari?

ASCII art by Thomas Havemeister.

->
+---------------------------------------+
| +------------+ |
| | CPU (6502) | +-------+
| +------------+ <- | I/O- |
| | +----------|release|
| +-+ | +-------+
| +---------+<- |p| | |
| | MMU |-----| | | <-+---------+-|----------+----------+
*-| memory- | |r| *---| PIA | | (trigger)|Controller|====\
| |managment|-----|-+--------| (6520) | |+---------| Ports |====/
| +---------+<- |o| -> | +---------+-|-+ <--> +----------+
| | | | ||| | |
| +-----+ |c| | <-+---------+ ||| |(lightpen)
| | RAM |<-A/D | | *---| ANTIC | ||| | |
*---|8-128|-------|e|----|---|(2nd CPU)|---------------+ |
| |Kbyte|->D | | -> | +---------+ ||| +---------------
| +-----+ |s| | || ||| |
| | | | <-+---------+-|||--------+(screen)
| +-------+ |s| *---| GTIA |-|+| | |
| | Atari |<-A | |----|---| /CTIA | | | | +----------+ +-----------+
| | BASIC |------|o| -> | +---------+ | | | | summary |===| modulator |
*--|8 Kbyte|->D | | | | | | |connection|===| ^^^^^^^^^ |
| | ROM | |r| | <-+---------+ | | | +----------+ +-----------+
| +-------+ | | +---| POKEY |-|-|-+ |(sound) |
| | |--------| |-|-|--------+ |
| +-------+ |b| -> +---------+ | +----------+ |
| |AtariOS|<-A | | | | | |
*--|10/16Kb|------|u| +--|----------+ | tv/monitor
| | ROM |->D | +----------------- | | | **********
| +-------+ |s| | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| +-+ +-+ | | |
| | | | | |
+--------------*---|------------*---| | | |
| | | | | | |
+-----------+ +-----------+ +------------+
|ParallelBus| | Cartridge | | Serial |
|Interface/ | | Slot | |Input/Output|
| Enhanced | | ROM | | (SIO) |
| Cartridge | +-----------+ +------------+
| Interface | | |
+-----------+ | |
| | |
- memory expansion -cartridge with - disk drive
- Z80 card programs - printer
- 80 char card (games , dos ) - modem

NOTES
* RAM: 400/800: 8K, 16K or 48K standard
600XL:16K standard
1200XL/800XL/65XE/800XE/XEGS: 64K standard
130XE:128K standard
* ROM: 400/800:10K OS, 1200XL:16K OS, all others:16K OS + 8K Atari BASIC
* CPU: 400/800:6502B, all others:6502C
* 800 includes two Cartridge Slots, all others include one
* early release 400/800 have CTIA instead of GTIA
* 400/800 have 4 Controller Ports, all others have 2
* PBI is on 600XL/800XL only
* ECI is on 130XE/800XE/many PAL 65XE only
* Some late XE's use a 68B21 for PIA; PIA is 6520/6520A on all others

The following are most of the team who originally designed the 400/800.
Credit for providing this information for the FAQ goes to:
Doug Neubauer (by way of James Finnegan), Jerry Jessop, Scott Emmons

VLSI HARDWARE:
Jay Miner - Creator and System architect, VSLI manager
Steve Mayer - Also one of the creators - Partner in "Cyan Engineering"
Lawrence D. Emmons - Also one of the creators - Partner in "Cyan
Engineering"
Joe Decuir - ANTIC and system and creator
???A French guy - ANTIC logic designer
George McLeod - CTIA and GTIA logic design
Doug Neubauer - POKEY logic design
Mark Shieu - POKEY chip design
Steve Stone - POKEY layout design
Steve Smith - Technician for ANTIC and GTIA
Delwin Pearson - Technician for POKEY

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 1.13) What issues surround NTSC vs PAL versions of the 8-bit Atari?

Contributors to this section:
Wayne Booth, Graham Thornton, Brent Buescher Jr., Thomas Richter, Jindroush

Some quick definitions first:

NTSC standard: Abbreviation for "National Television Standards Committee"
TV signal standard used in North America, Central America, a number of South
American countries, and some Asian countries, including Japan.
525 lines per frame
60 half-frames per second (interlaced) = 60 Hz
Complete frame refreshed 30 times per second

PAL: Acronym for "phase alternation by line"
TV signal standard used in the United Kingdom, much of the rest of western
Europe, several South American countries, some Middle East and Asian
countries, several African countries, Australia, New Zealand, and other
Pacific island countries.
625 lines per frame
50 half-frames per second (interlaced) = 50 Hz
Complete frame refreshed 25 times per second.

PAL-M: A modified version of PAL, used in Brazil.

SECAM: Acronym for "systeme electronique couleur avec memoire"
TV signal standard used in France, eastern European countries, the former
USSR, and some African countries.
625 lines per frame
50 half-frames per second (interlaced) = 50 Hz
Complete frame refreshed 25 times per second.


Now then, how do the differences among 8-bit Atari computers designed for the
different world television signal standards affect users trying to use
software written elsewhere in the world?

The 50Hz vertical refresh frequency of PAL machines translates into more
vertical blank interrupt (VBI) time for demos and other computation-intensive
graphics software, when compared to the time available for VBIs on NTSC
machines with the faster 60Hz refresh frequency. So PAL demos and games that
won't work on NTSC machines are usually returning from a VBI too late. Some
also attempt to use more vertical resolution ("longer" display lists) than an
NTSC display can handle.

Note that the reverse is also true. Software using VBIs will run more slowly
on a PAL Atari than on an NTSC Atari.

Replacing the NTSC ANTIC chip in an NTSC Atari with a PAL ANTIC changes the
screen refresh rate to 50Hz, allowing most of the PAL-only European software
to run on a North American NTSC Atari. However, make sure your display device
can support a 50Hz PAL signal first! North American Atari users can also
obtain and use real European PAL Atari machines, with the same caveat
concerning the display device.

Bottom line:
Software written for NTSC machines (North America) will (almost) always work
on PAL machines (Europe), but software designed on PAL machines won't
necessarily work on NTSC machines.

Jindroush contributes: (2/26/02)
Could there be a program which runs on NTSC Atari and not on PAL Atari? Yes,
if it uses some precise timing copy protection (probably based on vblank
timing). Examples of these are Transylvania and The Quest by Penguin Software.

Thomas Richter mentions another NTSC vs PAL issue:
Another point is that the popular pseudo-colors used in the ANTIC-F (Graphics
8) mode are not colorful at all when displayed on a PAL TV, because of
differences in the color encoding for the TV. The schematics of the XL
computers include however a hack how to change the PAL version to the NTSC
version (the PAL versions include two crystals, one with 5/4th of the
frequency of the other. One is used for the system clock, the other for the
color clock), but I never dared to apply it.

And on 10/16/03 Thomas Richter answered a related question this way:
>> Note that it's typically not too hard to get an NTSC Atari to run in PAL
>> by just swapping out the ANTIC chip.
>>
>> Unfortunately, some demos actually check the OS ROM for a particular
>> value to see if it's a PAL machine or not, and then refuse to run if
>> they are. *grumble* I'd rather have a warning than a refusal. :^P

> As far as I am aware, the only value to tell a PAL from a NTSC machine is in
> GTIA. Maybe swap that one as well and see what you get

Absolutey correct, GTIA keeps the PAL/NTSC register and the Os rom reads it
from there. However, besides the GTIA PAL and NTSC machines differ in other
aspects. For example, on PAL machines an additional oscillator of 5/4 of the
main frequency is present to generate the color frequencies needed to drive
GTIA. There is no such circuit in NTSC Ataris. Besides, this factor of 5/4 is
also the reason why you don't get "artifacted colors" on PAL machines (or, at
least, not very good ones.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 1.14) What are the pinouts for the various ports on the Atari?

Controller Port (4 on 400/800, 2 on all others):
1 2 3 4 5
o o o o o
o o o o
6 7 8 9 CX22 trackball meanings from Steve Wallace:
1. (Joystick) Forward Input X Direction
2. (Joystick) Back Input X Motion
3. (Joystick) Left Input Y Direction
4. (Joystick) Right Input Y Motion
5. B Potentiometer Input
6. Trigger Input / Light Pen Input. Port 4 only on 400
7. +5V
8. Ground
9. A Potentiometer Input

Serial I/O (SIO) Port (all machines):
2 12
o o o o o o
o o o o o o o
1 13
1. Clock Input 8. Motor Control
2. Clock Output 9. Proceed
3. Data Input 10. +5V/Ready (not on 1200XL)
4. Ground 11. Audio Input
5. Data Output 12. +12V (400,800 only. 1400XL/1450XLD?)
6. Ground 13. Interrupt
7. Command

Cartridge Slot ("Left" slot on all machines; "Right" slot on 800 only):
A B C D E F H J K L M N P R S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
1. ~S4(Left) R/~W late(Right) A. RD4(Left) B02(Right)
2. A3 B. GND
3. A2 C. A4
4. A1 D. A5
5. A0 E. A6
6. D4 F. A7
7. D5 H. A8
8. D2 J. A9
9. D1 K. A12
10. D0 L. D3
11. D6 M. D7
12. ~S5(Left) ~S4(Right) N. A11
13. +5V P. A10
14. RD5(Left) RD4(Right) R. R/~W
15. ~CCTL S. B02

Monitor Jack (all but 400, N. American 600XL, XE Game System, SECAM
systems):
3 1
5 4
2
1. Composite Luminance (Composite Video on 600XL)
2. Ground
3. Audio Output
4. Composite Video
5. Composite Chroma (not on 800XL(most),1200XL; grounded on 600XL)

Monitor Jack, SECAM systems: (thanks Jer Sobola)
V

5 1
3
4 2

6
1 +12V DC 5mA max
2 Audio 1 output
3 Audio 2 output
4 Video output
5 GND
6 +5V 100mA max
Amplitude Audio 2 is about 6 times closer than Audio 1

Power Adapter Plug (all but 400,800,1200XL,1400XL,1450XLD):
7 6
3 1
5 4
2
1. +5V
2. Shield
3. Ground
4. +5V
5. Ground
6. +5V
7. Ground

Parallel Bus Interface (PBI) (600XL and 800XL only):
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50
1. GND ground 2. External select
3. A0 Address output 4. A1
5. A2 6. A3
7. A4 8. A5
9. A6 10. GND
11. A7 12. A8
13. A9 14. A10
15. A11 16. A12
17. A13 18. A14
19. GND 20. A15
21. D0 Data (bidirectional) 22. D1
23. D2 24. D3
25. D4 26. D5
27. D6 28. D7
29. GND 30. GND
31. Phase 2 clock output 32. GND
33. NC Reserved 34. Reset output
35. (IRQ) Interrupt request 36. Ready input
37. NC 38. External decoder output
39. NC 40. Refresh output
41. Column address output 42. GND
43. Math pack disable input 44. Row addr strobe
45. GND 46. Latch read/write out
47. NC (+5V on 600XL only) 48. NC (+5V on 600XL only, used to power 1064)
49. Audio input 50. GND

Enhanced Cartridge Interface (ECI) (130XE, 800XE and many PAL 65XE only):
A B C D E F H
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A. Reserved 1. ~EXSEL
B. ~IRQ 2. ~RST
C. ~HALT 3. ~D1XX
D. A13 4. ~MPD
E. A14 5. Audio
F. A15 6. ~REF
H. GND 7. +5V

Keyboard Port (XE Game System only):
1 8
o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o
9 15
1. KR2 Keyboard Response 8. K2 Keyboard Scan
2. K3 Keyboard Scan 9. Ground
3. K4 Keyboard Scan 10. Not Connected
4. K5 Keyboard Scan 11. Ground
5. KR1 Keybaord Response 12. Not Connected
6. K0 Keyboard Scan 13. Trigger 2
7. K1 Keyboard Scan 14. 5 VDC
15. 5 VDC

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 2.1) What video display devices can I use with my Atari?

Contributors to channel output variations list:
Jon Levy, Rene de Bie, Sysop Fox-1

Most 8-bit Atari computers put out video signals in two places:

1) Radio-Frequency (RF) signal, either one VHF channel, or two VHF channels
selectable by a switch on the computer. Variations depend primarily on the
part of the world that the particular version of the computer was desgined
for.

Most North American computers: VHF channels 2-3 switch-selectable.
channels 3-4 switch selectable also reported
European computers: VHF channels 3-4 switch-selectable,
or no switch (what channel?) both reported
UK computers: VHF channel 36, no switch,
or channels 38-39 switch selectable both reported
Australian computers: VHF channel 1 (400/800: channels 1-2 selectable)

Any further clarifications would be appreciated!

Accessories needed:
a) RF Cable. (RF=radio frequency--video and audio signals in the same line)
On the 400/800 models, the RF Cable does not detach from the computer.
The output end of the cable is an RCA male connector.

b) TV Switch Box. Includes an RCA female connector for RF signal input from
the Atari, input connector(s) for your TV attenna and/or cable TV
company, and 75- and/or 300-ohm VHF output connector(s) for connection to
the VHF input on the television. (Radio Shack carries a suitable TV
Switch Box.)

2) A proprietary 5-pin DIN Monitor Jack, which includes two video signals:
a) Composite video.
b) Y/C Video, also known as S-Video:
separate composite luminance (Y) and chrominance (C) signals.

Exceptions among the computer models:
-the 400 and North American 600XL lack the Monitor Jack.
-the XE Game System includes an RCA-style jack in place of the Monitor Jack,
providing a plain composite video signal only.
-the Monitor Jack on the 600XL, 800XL(most) and 1200XL lacks the separate
chrominance signal. (But it exists internally, and can be restored to the
monitor jack via hardware modification.)

The pinout for the Atari Monitor Jack is in the pinouts sections of this FAQ
list.

The typical Atari Monitor Cable includes the male 5-pin DIN connector on one
end, and two RCA male connectors on the other end. One of the RCA connectors
will carry the monophonic sound signal, and the other will carry the composite
video signal. Color composite monitors were common in the mid-80's, but these
days many televisions have an RCA female composite video input connector which
works fine with the Atari.

You may find an Atari Monitor Cable where the video signal carried on the
second RCA connector is not the composite video signal, but the composite
luminance signal. These cables are for use with monochrome composite video
monitors (usually green or amber).

The ideal Atari Monitor Cable includes 3 RCA male connectors on the output
end, carrying the sound signal, the composite luminance signal, and the
composite chrominance signal. Only the best composite monitors include
separate chrominance and luminance inputs. Commodore produced many fine
monitors of this type, popular with Atari users.

Lonnie McClure provides this information on suitable Commodore monitors:
1701, 1702, 1802, CM-141, 1080, 2002, 1902, 1902A*, 1084**, 1084S**

* The 1902A used a DIN connector for chroma/luma, which makes cabling a
bit more of a problem. The composite and audio connectors are standard
RCA jacks, however.

** The 1084 and 1084S had more than one version. Some used the a DIN
connector for chroma/luma connections, like the 1902A, while some used
standard RCA jacks.

The 1902 and 1902A are very different in appearance. The original 1902
shares the same slightly rounded front case design as the 1080 and 2002,
while the 1902A is has a rather square case design, and was manufactured
by Magnavox (as were some of the 1084 and 1084S versions).

The separate composite chrominance and luminance signals that the Atari puts
out comprise what the world has since come to call Y/C video or S-video.
S-video connectors are normally Mini4. It is possible to build a cable, or
purchase several adapters, that can allow you to utilize the separate Y/C
signals generated by the Atari with a television (or other display device)
that provides a standard S-video Mini4 input jack. This is the ultimate
display option for the 8-bit Atari. Clarence Dyson has a nice page about
such a project at http://www.wolfpup.net/atari/svideo.html .

Adapters also exist that will take in composite video or s-video, and output a
conversion of the signal as a standard VGA video signal. These are often
known as a "VGA converter" or "Scan doubler" or "Up-converter." With such a
device, the 8-bit Atari can be used with a standard PC VGA monitor. One such
adapter is the Cheese Video Box from AV Toolbox, http://www.avtoolbox.com. AV
Toolbox produces several other similar devices. An earlier popular adapter
was the JAM!! from AIMS Lab.

SCART - an acronym for Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorecepteurs
et Televiseurs - is a 21-pin universal connecting cable/socket system used for
audio/video components in Europe. The cables transmit RGB, composite video,
S-Video, mono and stereo sound. SCART, which is also known as PERITEL, EURO
AV BUS and EUROCONECTOR, is common throughout Europe, particularly in France,
England, Germany, Switzerland, and Scandinavia. SCART is also very popular in
the Russian Audio Video market. It is possible to interface the Atari's
composite video signal, along with the audio signal, through a SCART
connector, though there have been few reports of people actually doing this.

Keith Howell has a nice page on some of these topics:
http://www.howell1964.freeserve.co.uk/Atari/800XL/Atari_800XL_Video.htm

December 2003--More Than Games announced "A8 A/V BOB", an audio/video
breakout box featuring phono connectors for composite video, chroma,
luminance, and mono audio; it also features an s-video jack providing chroma
and luminance. http://www.a8maestro.com/sites/mtgcat/mtgcat.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 3.1) What are the Atari 410, 1010, XC11, and XC12 Program
Recorders?

The Atari Program Recorders provide storage and retrieval of programs
and data on cassette tape. In addition to the digital track that stores
computer data, a second audio track is provided to play music or voice
as the program runs.

Data transmission rate: 600 bits per second.
Data storate capacity: 100,000 bytes per 60-minute cassette.
Track configuration: 4 track, 2 channel (digital data and audio track)

410 Program Recorder
- early Japan version had a carrying handle
- most versions made in Hong Kong
- 410a--Taiwan version
- built-in SIO cable - must end SIO daisy chain
- power - plugs directly into wall (most versions)
- "410P" version (rare). Karl Heller writes:
"It came in the white 410 box with an Atari yellow/orange paper slip
stating which power supply to use with it."

1010 Program Recorder
- Chelco version has Stop/Eject, then Pause buttons
- Sanyo version has Pause, then Stop/Eject buttons
- two SIO ports

XC11 Program Recorder
- has a built-in SIO cable and one SIO port

XC12 Program Recorder
- built-in SIO cable - must end SIO daisy chain
- Information on the Turbo 6000 Baud Interface and the Chaos Loader:
http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~sgl/atari/turb6000/turb6000.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 3.2) What other cassette recorders can I use with my Atari?

Firstly Atari themselves put out several models beyond the 410/1010/XC11/XC12,
generally only known in eastern Europe:

XCA12 Program Recorder -in same case as XC12...Poland
CA12 Program Recorder -in same case as XC12...Poland
image: http://romualdl.multimania.com/images/atari/ca12.jpg
XL12 Program Recorder -XC12 w/slight changed design.
Czech/Slovak/Poland
XC13 Program Recorder -XC12 which was "T2000 ready".
Czech/Slovak/Poland

For more information on the Turbo 2000 (T2000) and SuperTurbo modifications to
Atari program recorders, with speeds up 9600 baud, see
http://jindroush.atari.org

Unlike other microcomputer systems of the time, it was very unusual to use
anything but Atari brand program cassette recorders. One third-party product
released was the:

Compu-Mate, by General Electric (GE, G.E.)
Includes external interface module, a power cord/adapter, and SIO cable.
No second SIO port - must be at end of SIO chain.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 3.3) How do I run a program from cassette?

To run an Atari BASIC program from cassette:

1. Place the cassette in the recorder.
2. Press REWIND of FORWARD, if necessary, to bring the tape to the position
where the program is located.
3. Boot the computer to the Atari BASIC READY prompt.
4. There are several possibilities for the next step, depending on how the
program was saved, and whether you want to run the program or just load
it into RAM. Enter one of the following four commands:
a. CLOAD loads programs saved with CSAVE
b. LOAD "C:" loads programs saved with SAVE "C:"
c. ENTER "C:" loads programs saved with LIST "C:"
d. RUN "C:" loads&runs programs saved with SAVE "C:"

] Relative efficiency of the three cassette tape recording techniques:
] CSAVE/CLOAD - most efficient - fastest saves/loads - tokenized files
] SAVE "C:"/LOAD "C:" - middle efficiency - middle speed - tokenized files
] LIST "C:"/ENTER "C:" - least efficient - slowest - straight ATASCII

5. The computer will "beep" as a signal for you to press PLAY on the recorder.
6. Press the RETURN key on the computer keyboard, and the program will load
into the computer.
7. Press STOP on the recorder when loading has finished.
8. Unless you entered RUN "C:" above, now enter the command: RUN

To run an Atari BASIC or machine language program from cassette upon
startup:

1. Place the cassette in the recorder
2. Press REWIND of FORWARD, if necessary, to bring the tape to the position
where the program is located.
3. Turn on the computer while holding down the START key.
But if your computer has Atari BASIC built-in and you're running a machine
language program, hold down both the START key and the OPTION key.
4. The computer will "beep" as a signal for you to press PLAY on the recorder.
5. Let go of the START/OPTION button(s).
6. Press the RETURN key on the computer keyboard, and the program will load
into the computer.
7. Press STOP on the recorder when loading is complete and the program is
running.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 3.4) What are the Atari 810, 815, 1050, and XF551 Disk Drives?

Section includes contributions by Andreas Magenheimer, TXG.

The Atari Disk Drives provide storage and retrieval of programs
and data on 5.25" floppy disks.

==> Atari 810 --- a 5.25" floppy disk drive
The least common denominator for the Atari. One mode of operation:
1) Single-Sided, Single-Density--
FM 40 tracks x 18 sectors/track x 128 byte/sector = 90K capacity
19.2Kbps transfer rate. 288RPM.
The 810 includes a 6507 microprocessor.
Shipped with DOS 1 (very early) or DOS 2.0S
earlier MPI version- push button door opening for disk access
later Tandon version- lift door, like a garage door disk access
two SIO ports
accessories from Atari:
CX8100 Atari 810 Blank Diskettes (5 per box)
CX8111 Atari 810 Formatted Diskettes II (5 per box)
CX8202 Atari 810/815 Blank Diskettes (5/box, certified for double density)

Third-party upgrades for the 810:
810 Archiver -- copy many copy-protected programs
Happy 810 -- Happy Backup, Warp Speed 52Kbps, 18 sector buffer
810 Fast Chip by Binary 10%-40% faster
810 Turbo by Neanderthal Computer Things (NCT) -- double-density
see: http://www.qnet.com/~dons/810T.html
810 Duplicator (DT-Duplicating Technologies) -- copy disks, double-density,
"read 18 sectors in the time normally for 1"

==> Atari 815 Dual Disk Drive --- dual 5.25" floppy disk drives in one unit
Were produced (all hand-built), but are very rare. One mode of operation.
Per drive:
1) Single-Sided, Double-Density--
MFM 40 tracks x 18 sectors/track x 256 bytes/sector = 180K capacity
19.2Kbps transfer rate. 288RPM.
The 815 includes a 6507 microprocessor.
Shipped with DOS 2.0D
MPI mechanism version- push button door opening for disk access
Tandon mechanism version- lift door, like a garage door disk access
accessories from Atari:
CX8202 Atari 810/815 Blank Diskettes (5 per box, certified for double density)
Stephen Knox writes (12/28/02):
I believe the story on the 815s was Atari didn't want to release them due to
severe QA problems with the drive but they had so many preorders they had to
release something. I think they filled the preorders and then cancelled the
model - Most of them got returned due to problems.

==> Atari 1050 --- a 5.25" floppy disk drive
Same as the 810, plus Dual-Density capability. Two modes of operation:
1) Single-Sided, Single-Density, 90K, 810 compatible
2) Single-Sided, Dual-Density, otherwise known as "Enhanced Density" because
it is not true double-density--
MFM 40 tracks x 26 sectors/track x 128 bytes/sector = 128K capacity
19.2Kbps transfer rate. 288RPM
The 1050 includes a 6507 microprocessor.
Shipped with DOS 2.0S, DOS 3, or DOS 2.5
DIP switches: Black & white left: Drive 1
Black right, white left: Drive 2
Black left, white right: Drive 3
Black & white right: Drive 4
Third-party upgrades for the 1050 (all add a true SSDD 180K capability):
US Doubler (ICD) SS SD/ED/DD UltraSpeed (US) 54Kbps, sector skewing
Happy 1050 SS SD/ED/DD Warp Speed 52Kbps, 36 sector buffer,
(Happy Computers) Happy Backup. also read/write 180K 5.25" MS-DOS floppies
I.S. Plate (Innovated Software) SS SD/ED/DD Ultra/Warp (USD/Happy clone)
Hyper Drive (Chaos! Computers) SS SD/ED/DD Warp Speed 52Kbps (Happy clone)
Super Archiver (CSS) SS SD/ED/DD UltraSpeed 54Kbps (US Doubler clone)
Super Archiver II(CSS)SS SD/ED/DD UltraSpeed 54Kbps (US Doubler clone)
Cheer-Up 1050 SS SD/ED/DD Warp Speed 52Kbps (Happy clone)
Speedy 1050 SS SD/ED/DD Warp Speed 57Kbps (Happy clone), 8kb buffer,
(Compy-Shop, now ABBUC) DOS, copier, track & density displays, beep speaker
Mini-Speedy same as Speedy 1050, but without displays & speaker
Super Speedy 1050 SS SD/ED/DD Warp Speed 96,000Baud (Happy clone),192K RAM
SuperMax 1050 SS SD/ED/DD UltraSpeed 52Kbps (US Doubler clone)
Lazer 1050 SS SD/ED/DD Warp Speed and UltraSpeed 54Kbps
Engl-Turbo-1050 SS SD/ED/DD Turbo Speed approx. 70,000 Baud (uses
(german Turbo) Sector skewing that differs from USDoubler)
1050 Duplicator (Duplicating Technologies (DT))
SS SD/ED/DD "read 18 sectors in the time normally for 1"
sources(Jim Patchell)http://www.oldcrows.net/~patchell/atari/duplicator.html
Klone ???????

Rich Mier professes:
You've been plugging and unplugging the SIO cable with the 1050 power pack
plugged in, right? That's a no-no. Most of the time it's Okay, but about 1
in 10, 20 times, it will blow out 'U-1'. It's a CA/LM 3086 I.C. at the right,
rear of the main board. A 14 pin DIL chip. Actually it is an array of 5
transistors.

Unplug the power pack from the 1050, then unplug the SIO cable. Power can be
ON on the CPU. The problem has to do with the secondary winding of the Power
Pack. Remember, the problem only occurs 1 out of 10 - 20 times that you do
it, not all the time.

It doesn't really matter if the 1050 Transformer has power on or off, it
'Might' happen if plugged into the 1050. It is really bad on 810's.

One thing, if the system has been turned off for, oh say, 5 - 10 minutes it
won't matter. By then all the capacitors should be bled(sc?) to 0 volts.

==> Atari XF551 --- a 5.25" floppy disk drive. Four modes of operation:
1) Single-Sided, Single-Density, 90K, 810 compatible
2) Single-Sided, Enhanced-Density, 128K, 1050 compatible
3) Single-Sided, Double-Density, 180K, Percom & other 3rd parties compatible
4) Double-Sided, Double-Density--
MFM 80 tracks x 18 sectors/track x 256 bytes/sector = 360K capacity
Writes "backwards" to the second side of the disk, when compared to a two-
sided "flippy" disk with SSDD 180K format on each side
High speed 38400 bps burst mode usable only with SpartaDOS X, SuperDOS 5.1,
TurboDOS, DOS XE, and patched SpartaDOS 3.2.
Rotaton rate: 300RPM. Since all other Atari-specific drives run at 288RPM,
this results in rare compatibility issues. Specifically, these commercial
disks do not load in, and can be damaged by, the XF551:
- Flight Simulator II (subLOGIC)
- Blue Max (Synapse)
- Bank Street Writer (Broderbund). Conflicting reports about this one.
8040 cpu + external ROM or 8050 cpu with internal ROM
Shipped with DOS 2.5 or DOS XE.
DIP switches: Both dips down: Drive 1
Left down, right up: Drive 2
Left up, Right down: Drive 3
Left and Right up: Drive 4
Chinon-built XF551-cannot read/write/format backside if no timing hole
Mitsumi-built XF551--can read/write backside if to timing hole, if formatted
Third-party upgrades for the XF551:
CSS XF Single Drive Upgrade--3.5", 720K floppy drive replacement
also read 720K 3.5" MS-DOS disks
see http://www.nleaudio.com/css/products/XFsingdrup.htm
CSS XF Dual Drive Upgrade--add 3.5" drive w/o losing the 5.25" drive
also read 720K 3.5" MS-DOS disks
see http://www.nleaudio.com/css/products/XFdualdrup.htm
CSS XF551 Enhancer--overcomes sensor for index hole, create flippy disks
see http://www.nleaudio.com/css/products/XF551enh.htm
CSS XF Update--replace drive OS, adds UltraSpeed
see http://www.nleaudio.com/css/products/XFupdate.htm
Hyper-XF-OS--avaiable for 5.25" or 3.5" floppy versions; uses sector skewing
and UltraSpeed (but no track buffer!); can use disk partitions
(2 on 5.25", 4 partitions on 3.5") with mixed Densities (S/E/D)
or standard 360kbytes (5.25") / 720kbytes (3.5"); can
theoretically read/write ST/PC 720k disks (software is missing!)
OS created by Stefan Dorndorf/Germany;
XF-Speedy--replaces the 8040 CPU with a 65C02 + ROM + Memory

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 3.5) What other floppy disk drives can I use with my Atari?

Major contributors to this section: Glenn M. Saunders, Tomasz M. Tatar,
James Bradford, Konrad M. Kokoszkiewicz, Don Schoengarth, Andreas
Magenheimer

SS=Single-Sided SD=Single-Density, 90K/disk side
DS=Double-Sided ED=Enhanced-Density, 128K/disk side
DD=Double-Density, 180K/disk side

Printer port=has a standard DB25 parallel printer port,+ maybe a print buffer
Master=includes drive controller, can add additional,non-Atari-specific drives

Top transfer rate=19.2Kbps unless stated otherwise

Floppy disk drives designed for the 8-bit Atari computers:
Atari 810 SS SD
Atari 1050 SS SD/ED
Atari XF551 DS SD/ED/DD, 38.4Kbps burst mode
Access Unlimited ATAR88-1 SS SD master
Access Unlimited ATAR40-1 SS SD/DD master
Amdek AMDC I SS SD/DD uses flippy Amdisk III 3" disk/carts,printerport,master
Amdek AMDC II SS SD/DD dual drives, printer port, master
AS SN-360 DS SD/ED/DD
Astra 1620 SS SD/DD dual drives
Astra 2001 SS SD/DD dual drives
Astra Big-D DS SD/DD dual drives
Astra The One DS SD/DD, printer port
B&C 810 SS SD, optional Happy Warp Speed 52Kbps
Concorde C-221M SS SD/DD master
Concorde C-222M DS SD/DD master
CSS Floppy Board, for the Black Box, master, support PC 720K and 1.44MB 3.5"
drives, support PC 1.2MB and 360kB 5.25" drives,
also read/write 5.25" and 3.5" MS-DOS disks
see: http://www.nleaudio.com/css/products/floppy.htm
High-Density Disk Interface (HDI) a PCB master,connect up to 4 standard drives
Indus GT SS SD/ED/DD, Synchromesh mode usable with SpartaDOS X
and DOS XL only. 72Kbps under SpartaDOS X, 37Kbps under DOS XL. Z-80 cpu
RAM-Charger--expansion card contains 64K RAM + software, for CP/M support
KARIN MAXI DS SD/ED/DD/QD
L.E. Systems LEDS5-01 SS SD/DD master, 134.4Kbps, 800 only
CP/M expansion: 4MHz Z80, 64K RAM
L.E. Systems LEFDC-04 SS SD Four drives, copies a disk in 22 secs, 800 only
L.E. Systems LEFDC-08 SS SD Eight drives, copies a disk in 22 secs, 800 only
LDW Super 2000 SS SD/DD, 19.2Kbps or 67Kbps
image: http://romualdl.multimania.com/images/atari/super2000.jpg
LDW CA2001 SS SD/DD, 19.2Kbps or 38.4Kbps "California Access"
image: http://romualdl.multimania.com/images/atari/ca2001.jpg
LDW CA2002 DS SD/ED/DD,19.2Kbps,70Kbps w/SpartaDOS. "Calif. Access"
Micro MainFrame MF-1681 SS SD/DD, printer port, 4K to 54K printer buffer,
hard disk firmware included, master, Z-80 CPU w/ 16K to 64K RAM for CP/M,
TRSDOS, MaxiDOS A, and OASIS. see: http://www.qnet.com/~dons/mmf.html
Micro MainFrame MF-1682 dual drives version of MF-1681
Percom RFD40-S1 SS SD/DD, master
Percom RFD40-S2 SS SD/DD dual drives, master
Percom RFD44-S1 DS SD/DD, master
Percom RFD44-S2 DS SD/DD dual drives, master
(80-track RFDs hinted at http://www.atarimagazines.com/v1n2/newproducts.html)
Percom AT88 SS SD, master
Percom AT88-S1 PD SS SD/DD, printer port, master
Percom AT88-S2 PD SS SD/DD dual drives, printer port, master
Rana 1000 SS SD/ED/DD, stand alone disk formatting
RCP 810 SS SD
San Jose Computer Special Edition 810 SS SD, optional Happy Warp Speed 52Kbps
SWP ATR8000 4MHz Z80, 16K RAM, RS232, master, printer port
or 4MHz Z80, 64K RAM, RS232, master, printer port, CP/M 2.2
options: 128K or 256K CO-POWER-88 with MS-DOS; CP/M-86
TOMS 720 DS SD/ED/ID/DD/QD/ID printer port, MYDOS 4.50 on ROM, 70Kbps
- SS/SD - 40 tracks, 18 sects, 128 bytes = 90 KB
- SS/ED - 40 tracks, 26 sects, 128 bytes = 130 KB
- SS/ED - 40 tracks, 18 sects, 256 bytes = 180 KB
- SS/ID - IBM S-9 - 40 tracks, 9 sects, 512 bytes = 180 KB
- DS/DD - 40 tracks, 18 sects, 256 bytes = 360 KB
- DS/QD - 80 tracks, 18 sects, 256 bytes = 720 KB
- DS/ID - IBM D-9 - 40 tracks, 9 sects, 512 bytes = 360 KB
- known as Toms-Turbo Drive, Turbo format and speeder is compatible
with german Engl-Turbo-1050; (tools will work with both drives);
TOMS 710 DS SD/ED/ID/DD/QD/ID printer port, MYDOS 4.50 on ROM, 67Kbps
one more format: double sided, 80 tracks, IBM (720 KB)
also TOMS Navigator on ROM (like Norton Commander);
known as Toms-Turbo drive; Turbo format and speeder is compatible
with german Engl-Turbo-1050; (tools will also work with both drives);
Trak AT-1 SS SD/DD master.upgrade: printer port+4K/16K buffer
Trak AT-D1 SS SD master, printer port, 4K print buffer.upgrade:16K
Trak AT-D2 SS SD/DD master, printer port, 4K printbuffer.upgrade:16K
Trak AT-D4 DS SD/DD, printer port, print buffer
Trak Champ SS SD master
Trak Champ2 SS SD/DD master
Trak AT-S1 SS SD/DD slave
XFD601B DS SD/ED/DD 70kbps,Top Drive,Synchromesh,UltraSpeed,XF551 compat.
XFD602B dual DS SD/ED/DD 70kbps,Top Drive,Synchromesh,UltraSpeed,XF551 compat

While any standard "slave" drive will work with "master" drives listed above,
the following are slave drives marketed specifically to Atari users:
Access Unlimited ATAR88-A1 SS SD slave
Access Unlimited ATAR40-A1 SS SD/DD slave
Concorde C-221S SS SD/DD slave
Concorde C-222S DS SD/DD slave
Percom RFD40-A1 SS SD/DD slave
Percom AT88-A1 SS SD/DD slave
RCP 100 DS SD/DD, slave
RCP 200 DS SD/DD dual drives, slave

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 3.6) What kinds of 5.25" floppy disks can I use with my Atari drives?

Russ Gilbert writes:
If you're talking standard computer store, you can't use those 5 1/4" disks. I
mean you can't use high density disks. They must be double density to use
with the 1050. Almost all double density 5 1/4" disks have a hub ring, high
density disks don't have the hub ring.

RHamiIton5 elaborates: (5/12/01)
The Atari 8 drives do not have write heads and circuity which can handle the
type of oxide coating used on the high density floppy media; they cannot write
reliably to them. The hub ring has just become a sort of marker to distinguish
the high density from the standard double density diskettes.

Way back in your apple days of '79-'82, most disks were hubless and only the
really premium brands offered hubs to prevent slippage and out of round
problems; you could even buy little kits for adding you own hub rings.

When the home computer swell really hit around '83 and price wars began, hub
rings became common on good disks and eventually became standard down to
include most generic bargain diskettes.

The introduction of high density 5.25's required a different coercivity (=
magnetizability) to get more bits in a smaller space and suitable electronics
to do it. These disks were produced hubless; was it a differentiating label or
just unnecessary because of stronger mylar construction? Anyone?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 3.7) What can I do to extend the life of my floppy disks?

Lee Hart writes (January 2004):

Personally, I have several hundred floppy disks for my Atari 800, Kaypro
4, Heathkit H89, and IMSAI 8080 computers that are 10-20 years old. What
I can say in general:

- Most disks stored in plastic boxes or ziplock baggies survived.
- Most disks stored in cardboard boxes or just their sleeves
did NOT survive.
- Some brands lasted better than others, but I haven't collated the
information so as to make any kind of definitive statements.
- If a disk cannot be read, CLEAN THE DISK DRIVE HEAD before attempting
to read another disk! Otherwise, crap from the bad disk will remain
on the head, and will scar and destroy any SUBSEQUENT disk you put
in the drive! (the voice of painful experience).
- For lack of a better plan, for each of my surviving disks I am:
a. reformatting another blank disk
b. copying the data from an old disk onto the blank disk
Then I have a more recently-produced backup disk in case the
original disk later fails.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 3.8) How can I use a hard drive with my 8-bit Atari?

Atari never produced hard drives for the 8-bit Atari, but a variety of options
have been produced over the years. No common DOS version was written with
drives the size of hard drives in mind, and very few 8-bit Atari users have
owned hard drives for the Atari. Yet, if you're serious about it, a hard
drive can make a tremendous addition to your system!

A couple of these options are hard drives designed specifically for the 8-bit
Atari computers; the rest are interfaces designed to let you attach an
industry standard SASI, SCSI, or IDE type hard drive. Customized software
(OS, DOS) is often involved as well.

Larry White contributed to some of these descriptions.
Additional Corvus info from an eBay auction by Ben Corr, 7/03.

==> Corvus hard drive (5MB, 10MB, or 20MB)
Attaches via joystick ports 3 & 4 on the Atari 800 only.

-- Corvus Integrator Board - alows access to the Corvus Disc without the
Corvus software, so that any DOS that uses standard SIO calls will work.

-- Corvus Multiplexer - used to network up to 8 Ataris to one Corvus Drive

- Corvus Mirror card - back up the drive's contents onto video tape

==> SupraDrive Atari Hard Disk, by Supra, later K-Products. 10MB or 20MB.
includes external Hard Disk Interface
Some limitations on drive type and size and total number of drives in sys.
Attaches via PBI, or ECI with adapter.
See: http://www.atarimagazines.com/v5n6/Supradrivefor8Bit.html
Maybe still available from Bob Klaas?

==> BTL Hard Disk System
BTL 2001 Connector for 600XL/800XL PBI
BTL 2002 Connector for 130XE/800XE/65XE ECI
BTL 2004 SASI Hard Disk Adapter
See: http://www.atarimagazines.com/v5n12/BTLHardDisk.html

==> Multi I/O (MIO) interface, by ICD. Includes:
- Parallel printer interface
- Serial interface, for modem or serial printer. will handle 19.2Kbps
- 256K or 1 MB RAM, for RAMdisk or printer spooler
- SASI/SCSI interface, supports up to 8 controllers.
Limited to drives with 256-byte sectors.
Attaches via PBI, or ECI with adapter.

==> CSS Black Box interface
RS-232 Serial Modem Port (19.2Kbps) w/ hardware flow control,
Parallel Printer Port,SASI/SCSI Hard Disk Port, Operating System Enhancements,
optional 64K printer buffer. Supports drives with 512-byte sectors.
PBI/ECI device. Available: http://www.nleaudio.com/css/products/black.htm

==> SmartIDE project by Bob Woolley
Uses 256 of the normal 512 byte sectors. Point-to-point wiring project.
Articles and software at http://www.wolfpup.net/atari/atari.html

==> IDE Hard Drive Interface 1.0
By Konrad M. Kokoszkiewicz (Draco) and Jacek Zuk
PBI device. Logical sector length: 256 or 512 bytes
Availability???

==> Fine Tooned Engineering (FTe) Multi I/O II (MIO II) interface
An IDE interface. Several exist, but it was never really released

==> msc-IDE Controller
created by Steve Birmanns and Matthias Belitz
* real device for the parallel-port (PBI/ECI) of the Atari XL/XE
* up to 240 partitions per harddisk supported
* emulates D1: until D9: of disk devices (access to 9 partitions at one time)
* full bootable from any partition (with standard XL-OS)
* write protectition capability
* supports master/slave configuration
* more than 30 KB/s file access with SPARTA-DOS 3.2 gx (reading)
* more than 10 KB/s file access with SPARTA-DOS 3.2 gx (writing)
* software partially supports CD-ROM and ZIP drives.
Sold out.
http://www.birmanns.de/atari/

==> Gary Morton's BadSector"A" Project
Wants to connect his IDE drive to the SIO bus.
http://www.alma.demon.co.uk/Atari/AtariProjects.html

==> MyIDE interface and software by Mr.Atari, Sijmen Schouten
Point-to-point wiring project. Different units for 800 and XL, including a
cartridge version for the XL.
http://home.wanadoo.nl/mr.atari/

==> SIO2IDE, by Marek Mikolajewski (MMSoft)
The SIO2IDE is a simple interface that allows you to attach any IDE Disk
Drive to your 8-bit Atari computer. Latest interface version has the
following main features:

* ATARI side:
- uses standard Atari SIO at a speed of 19200 baud
- works with Atari High Speed SIO (US and Happy) at a speed of 52000 baud
- emulates Atari disks D1: to D8:
- can be used with any Atari DOS and OS
- can be used without any problems with other SIO devices (disk drivers,
printers, modems, SIO2PC, second SIO2IDE etc)
- can be easy installed inside your Atari with 2.5' laptop HD
- is easy to configure via special fdisk.com utility software
(changing disks sequence and active directory)
* IDE device side:
- all IDE ATA/ATAPI devices can be used: Disk Drives (2.5' and 3.5'),
CD-ROMs, Compact Flash cards etc.
- supports PC file systems, FAT16 and FAT32
- supports CD file system, ISO9660
- supports ATR disk images (SD, DD up to 16MB)
- supports directory change (multiconfig)
- is easy to configure, many text configuration files (sio2ide.cfg) can
be stored in different directories
- disk configuration can be checked by special checkfs.exe PC utility
NOTE: checkfs.exe does NOT work with HDD connected via USB port
- standard disk utilities can be used (defrag.exe, scandisk.exe etc)
* USB port side:
- interface works as Mass Storage Class device (removable drive)
- no drivers are needed for Windows 2K, ME, XP
- driver for Win98 is included in this SIO2IDE package

http://www.atari.cuprum.com.pl/sio2ide.htm

==> Nathan Hartwell's IDE projects
http://www.magelair.com/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 4.1) What are the Atari 820, 822, and 825 Printers?

The following printers were produced by Atari and styled to match the 400/800
computers.

Atari 820 Printer:
- 40-column impact printer
- 5x7 dot matrix
- 40 characters per line, upper & lower case alpha
- horizontal and vertical alphanumeric characters
- 6507 microprocessor, 6532 RAM I/O chip, 2K ROM
- 40 characters per second
- uses Standard Roll Paper/adding machine paper

Atari 822 Thermal Printer: ( = Trendcom Model 100 )
- 37 characters per second
- 10 characters per inch
- 40 characters per line, upper/lower case and point graphics
- 5x7 dot matrix

Atari 825 80-Column Printer ( = Centronics 737 )
- 3 character sets:
monospaced 7x8 dot matrix at 10 characters per inch
monospaced condensed at 16.7 cpi
proportionately spaced Nx9 dot matrix at avg of 14 cpi (N=6..18)
- all characters can be elongated (printer double width)
- characters per line: 80 at 10 cpi; 132 at 16.7 cpi
- speed: 50 cps at 10 cpi; 83 cps at 16.7 cpi; 79 cps avg. proportional
- print buffer: 1200 dot columns
- paper: roll, fanfold, or cut sheets
- requires Atari 850 Interface Module or equivalent

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 4.2) What are the Atari 1020, 1025, 1027, and 1029 Printers?

The following printers were produced by Atari and styled to match the XL
series computers.

Atari 1020 Color Printer:
( = Commodore 1520 / Oric MCP40 / Tandy/Radio Shack CGP-115 /..; made by ALPS)
- 4-color graphics: (black, red, blue, green). optional 8-pen rainbow package
- alphanumberics and X,Y plotting capability
- 10 cps (40-column mode)
- 20, 40 and 80-column modes
- horizontal and vertical alphanumerics, English and International chr sets
- water soluble ink pen technology
- 4-pen barrel print head
- microprocessor
- paper: standard roll paper (40 column width)
- AtariGraphics cassette software included

Atari 1025 80-Column Printer: ( = Okidata ML80 )
- 40 cps (80-column 10 cpi mode)
- 5 cpi expanded (40 col), 10 cpi (80 col), 16.7 cpi condensed (132-col)
- 5x7 character dot matrix
- buffer: 132 chrs at 16.7 cpi, 80 chrs at 10 cpi
- paper: roll,fanfold,single sheets. optional:roll paper holder, tractor feed

Atari 1027 Letter Quality Printer: ( = Mannesmann Tally Riteman LQ.)
- fully formed characters, prestige elite 12)
- 12 characters per inch (80 columns)
- 20 characters per second
- single sheets or roll paper

Atari 1029 Programmable Printer ( by Seikosha)
- 7-pin dot matrix, same as Commodore MPS-801
- Released for Europe & Canada (not USA)
- Rich_N_Feymus says:
I think its a SEIKOSHA GP500, but not 100% sure. However, the
Commodore MPS-801 ribbons should be much easier to find.
- The Tandy DMP 110 is another model reported to be the same as the 1029.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 4.3) What are the Atari XMM801 and XDM121 Printers?

The following printers were produced by Atari and styled to match the XE
series computers.

Atari XMM801 Printer: ( = SHINWA CP80 )
- 80 columns, dot matrix
- friction feed or pin feed
- pica 10 cpi, double width pica 5 cpi, elite 12 cpi,double width elite 6 cpi,
condensed 16.5 cpi, double width condensed 8.25 cpi
- Ribbon: Commodore 1526 and the Mannesman-Tally Spirit 80

Atari XDM121 Printer:
- 80 column, daisy wheel--letter quality
- underlining, subscripts, superscripts
- friction feed paper
- Ribbon: Silver Reed CF130, Olivetti ET201,ET221,Nu-Kote NK136

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 4.4) What other printers can I use with my Atari?

Some third-party printers were marketed for use with the Atari 8-bit
computers:

Alphacom 42 + Atari interface cartridge
- requires 850 Interface or equivalent
- thermal
- 4 1/2" width paper
- supports complete ATASCII character set

Axiom AT-100 / Seikosha AT-100 / Seikosha GP-100A Graphic Printer
- built-in Atari interface, cable and connector, 2nd SIO port for daisy-chain
- dot matrix
- early model 30-cps, later version 50 cps
- Graph-AX graphics software package

Axiom GP-550AT (by Seikosha)
- built-in Atari interface, cable and connector, 2nd SIO port
- dot matrix
- 86 cps draft, 43 cps NLQ
- Graph-AX graphics software package

Axiom GP-700AT (by Seikosha)
- built-in Atari interface, cable and connector, 2nd SIO port
- 4 hammer print heads, 4-color ribbon cartridge
- 25 colors
- 50 cps
- Graph-AX graphics software package

Epson HomeWriter 10
- plug-in cartridge interface for the Atari
- 80 column dot-matrix printer
- draft quality printing at 100 cps and near letter quality at 16 cps

General Electric GE 3-8100 / TXP 1000
- GE Printer Interface Module for Atari
- dot-matrix
- 50 cps draft, 25 cps NLQ

Okidata Okimate 10 Personal Color Printer
- available Plug 'n Print Interface for Atari
- a thermal printer.
- single-sheet or tractor-feed paper.
- 26 colors
- 240 words per minutes

Beyond the above printer models, most any "industry-standard" line printer can
work well with the Atari. For many years, most printers marketed for home use
could be classified into one of two categories: parallel or serial interface.
Parallel line printers are much more commonly used than serial line printers,
with the Epson MX/FX/LX series defining the market.

The most common way to use an industry standard printer with the Atari has
been to attach it through the 15-pin 8-bit parallel port of the Atari 850
Interface Module or equivalent (such as the ICD P:R: Connection). One gotcha
here is that the 850's parallel port is DB15, where the PC world ended-up
standardizing on a DB25 configuration. So you need to find or build a cable
that provides the DB15 connector for the Atari end (and Centronics-type
parallel connector on the printer end) when attaching a standard parallel
printer to the Atari through an Atari 850 or equivalent.

Many 3rd-party disk drives for the Atari (along with the X