Task: Tips for Speeding up Atari BASIC Programs Needed: BASIC Time: 15-30 mins Introduction Atari BASIC is notoriously slow which is why many game developers worked with assembly language to do anything serious. However, if you want to develop in BASIC there are a number
Read moreCalculate Digits of Pi in Atari BASIC (10-15 mins)
Task: Calculate Digits of Pi in Atari BASIC Needed: BASIC Time: 10-15 mins Introduction The number pi (~ 3.14159265359) is a constant defined as the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. It has fascinated mathematicians for ages given the pattern of decimal values
Read moreExplore Chatbots on the Atari 8-bit Computer (15-30 mins)
Task: Explore Chatbots on the Atari 8-bit Computer Needed: Altirra emulator or original hardware with disk drive Time: 15-30 mins Introduction Chatbots have grown in popularity as natural language processing (NLP) has improved. An example is the Woebot developed by psychologists to assist people who
Read moreTips for Troubleshooting a Defective Atari 8-bit Computer (15-30 mins)
Task: Tips for Troubleshooting a Defective Atari 8-bit Computer Needed: web browser Time: 15-30 mins Introduction I have always been impressed with how reliable Atari 8-bit computers are. I have more than a dozen and they all work. What do you do if you get
Read moreExplore Atari Tweets (10-15 mins)
Task: Explore Atari Tweets Needed: web browser Time: 10-15 mins Introduction I am very active on twitter and love to post Atari-related items from time to time. Twitter is a great way to get information and interact with a slice of the Atari community. I
Read morePlay Bowling on the Atari 2600 (10-15 mins)
Task: Play Bowling on the Atari 2600 Needed: Bowling cartridge or Altirra emulator Time: 10-15 mins Introduction Everyone has played classics like Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Missile Command on the Atari 2600. But, have you played Bowling? If not, you are missing out on one
Read moreExplore the Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative (15-30 mins)
Task: Explore the Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative Needed: A web browser Time: 15-30 mins Introduction One of the great aspects of the Atari hobby is that there is tons of archived software online and freely available for download for use on an emulator or
Read moreJoin the Atari 8-Bit Computers Facebook Page (5-10 mins)
Task: Join the Atari 8-Bit Computers Facebook Page Needed: A web browser or Facebook app Time: 5-10 mins Introduction If you use Facebook then you must join the Atari 8-Bit Computers Facebook page. This is a public group with a ton of activity including daily
Read moreExplore Atari XL BASIC Listings (15-30 mins)
Task: Explore Atari XL BASIC Listings Needed: A web browser Time: 15-30 mins Introduction I recall several friends remembering when they got their first Atari 8-bit computer. They brought it home, took it out of the box, and quickly discovered they had no software to
Read moreExplore Atari 8-bit Computer Hardware Manuals (15-30 mins)
Task: Explore Atari 8-bit Computer Hardware Manuals Needed: A web browser Time: 15-30 mins Introduction I love reading the manuals that came with Atari 8-bit computer hardware. I think it is because it reminds me of opening a new Atari. I still have a number
Read moreExplore Atari-Related Posts on Hackaday (15-30 mins)
Task: Explore Atari-Related Posts on Hackaday Needed: A web browser Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction Hackaday is a website that posts daily hardware and software hacks and projects. I was pleased to learn that they did a post about this Atari Projects resource. Their post, “Classic
Read moreRead the Book “Unofficial Atari: A Visual History” (15-30 mins)
Task: Read the Book “Unofficial Atari: A Visual History” Needed: The book Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction “Unofficial Atari: A Visual History” is ~400-page book written by Darren Doyle and published by Greyfox Books. Much of the book consists of two-page visual layouts of 162 third-party
Read moreInteract with Atari’s 6502 Processor in BASIC XL (10-15 mins)
Task: Interact with Atari’s 6502 Processor in BASIC XL Needed: A BASIC XL cartridge or Altirra emulator Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction The 6502 processor developed by Chuck Peddle and his team at MOS Technology was the first inexpensive CPU available in the 1970s. This CPU
Read morePlay The Goonies on an Atari 8-bit Computer (30-60 mins)
Task: Play The Goonies on an Atari 8-bit Computer Needed: The Goonies disk or ATR file Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction The Goonies is an American kids movie that was released in 1985 and written and produced by Steven Spielberg. I recall really enjoying the movie
Read moreAssemble a Minimal Atari 8-Bit Computer (30-60 mins)
Task: Assemble a Minimal Atari 8-Bit Computer Needed: Components listed below and about $200 to $225 for purchasing Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction I have a colleague at work who I have been helping set up his first ever Atari computer rig. I have been thinking
Read moreUse Strings to Store Assembly Language Code in Memory for Execution from BASIC (10-15 mins)
Task: Use Strings to Store Assembly Language Code in Memory for Execution from BASIC Needed: A BASIC cartridge or Altirra emulator Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction I previously demonstrated how to POKE assembly language code into page 6 of memory for execution by BASIC using the
Read moreCall Assembly Language Code from Your BASIC Program (10-15 mins)
Task: Call Assembly Language Code from Your BASIC Program Needed: A BASIC cartridge or Altirra emulator Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction In my previous post on writing, compiling, saving, debugging, and running assembly language programs with the MAC/65 assembler, I referred the reader to Chapter 5
Read moreCompile and Run an Assembly Language Program for the Atari Computer (15-30 mins)
Task: Compile and Run an Assembly Language Program for the Atari Computer Needed: MAC/65 cartridge or Altirra emulator Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction I dabbled in assembly as a kid but never became a pro. I taught myself 6502 assembly later in life and became good
Read morePurchase a Retron77 Gaming Console for Emulating the 2600 (15-30 mins)
Task: Purchase a Retron77 Gaming Console for Emulating the 2600 Needed: Web browser Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction One of the most frustrating aspects of retrocomputing and retrogaming is getting old hardware to play nice with HDTVs over HDMI. This is especially true for the Atari
Read morePurchase a CRT Monitor (15-30 mins)
Task: Purchase a CRT Monitor Needed: Web browser Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction I started out on an Atari 400 and 410 cassette recorder connected to a color television in our family room in the early 1980s. We upgraded to an Atari 800 and 810 disk
Read moreExplore AtariWiki (15-30 mins)
Task: Explore AtariWiki Needed: Web browser Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction One of the best web resources for Atari 8-bit computers and programming is AtariWiki. The following description is taken from their manifesto: “The AtariWiki is a collection of Information about the Atari 8-Bit computer line
Read moreTry BASIC Programming on the Atari 2600 (15-30 mins)
Task: Try BASIC Programming on the Atari 2600 Needed: BASIC Programming cartridge, keyboard controllers, Atari 2600 Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction Programming in BASIC on the Atari 2600 is one of the most interesting things I have done with that machine. The BASIC Programming cartridge was
Read moreLearn How to Make a Game in BASIC XE (30-60 mins)
Task: Learn How to Make a Game in BASIC XE Needed: BASIC XE and extensions Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction My previous posts have demonstrated many of the programming techniques needed to make a game in Atari BASIC. A common theme is how slow BASIC is
Read moreExplore the Antic Software Archive (30-60 mins)
Task: Explore the Antic Software Archive Needed: Web browser Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction As I mentioned in my last post about Antic Magazine, one of the great features of Antic was the software that came in each and every issue. Most of these were software
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