Task: Purchase an Atari 850 Interface Module Needed: Web browser Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction The Atari Serial Input/Ouput System or SIO was designed to allow the computer to communicate with peripherals such as the 810 or 1050 disk drive. An advantage of the SIO is
Read moreTips for Finding Local Atari Hardware and Software (15-30 mins)
Task: Tips for Finding Local Atari Hardware and Software Needed: Persistence! Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction The easiest place to find Atari hardware and software is on eBay. However, even the most common Atari goodness is way overpriced. There is also the problem of shipping that
Read moreFun With The Atari Touch Tablet (15-30 mins)
Task: Fun With The Atari Touch Tablet Needed: Atari Touch Tablet Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction I got an Atari Touch Tablet along with the Atariartist cartridge for Christmas back in the early 1980s. This was one of my favorite Atari gifts ever. I had so
Read moreLoad Cassette Games on Your Atari 2600 (10-15 mins)
Task: Load Cassette Games on Your Atari 2600 Needed: Arcadia / Starpath Supercharger, compatible cassette game Time: 10-15 mins Introduction One of the many limitations of the Atari 2600 video console system (VCS) was that it only had 128 bytes of RAM. This and the
Read moreConnect Your Atari Computer to an LED Screen (30-60 mins)
Task: Connect Your Atari Computer to an LED Screen Needed: LED screen, connectors Time: 30-60 mins Introduction I previously posted some details on how to connect your Atari computer to an LCD screen using composite video or composite converted to S-video. What if you want
Read moreReplace the Ribbon and Paper in an Atari 1025 Printer (10-15 mins)
Task: Replace the Ribbon and Paper in an Atari 1025 Printer Needed: 1025 printer, ribbon, paper Time: 10-15 mins Introduction I never had an Atari printer back in the day. We had an Epson MX-80 dot matrix that worked quite well. So, I have been
Read morePurchase an Indus GT Disk Drive (15-30 mins)
Task: Purchase an Indus GT Disk Drive Needed: Web browser Time: 15-30 mins Introduction My favorite disk drive is the Atari 810. It was my fist and I love the aesthetics. However, the 810 could only read and write about 90k of data and was
Read moreMake Custom Atari 2600 Cartridges (30-60 mins)
Task: Make Custom Atari 2600 Cartridges Needed: Binary, label art Time: 30-60 mins Introduction When I finished my Atari 2600 homebrew game Gene Medic I couldn’t wait to make it ‘real’ by having an actual cartridge made. Fortunately, the folks down at Atari Age make
Read moreTips for Storing Atari Computers and Consoles (10-15 mins)
Task: Tips for Storing Atari Computers and Consoles Needed: Web browser Time: 10-15 mins Introduction I got most of my Atari collection in the early 2000s when it was cheap and somewhat plentiful. I could tell as I acquired and cleaned each item that many
Read moreTest the RAM of an Atari 400 or 800 (10-15 mins)
Task: Test the RAM of an Atari 400 or 800 Needed: Atarimax MaxFlash or similar Time: 10-15 mins Introduction I remember being really interested in the diagnostic tests that were included in my friend’s new Atari 1200XL. These allowed you to test the RAM and other
Read moreBackup Cartridges to Floppy Disk Using “The Pill” (15-30 minutes)
Task: Backup Cartridges to Floppy Disk Using “The Pill” Needed: Floppy disks, disk drive, The Pill, The Pill software Time: 15-30 mins Introduction Software pirating was rampant back in the early 1980s and there were plenty of software and hardware tools that made this easy.
Read moreReplace the Ribbon and Paper in an Atari 820 Printer (15-30 minutes)
Task: Replace the Ribbon and Paper in an Atari 820 Printer Needed: Atari 820 printer with replacement ribbon and paper roll Time: 15-30 mins Introduction I never had an Atari 820 printer back in the day but have always wanted one because it beautifully matches
Read moreConnect Your Atari Joystick to a PC (10-15 mins)
Task: Connect Your Atari Joystick to a PC Needed: Atari Joystick and a USB adapter Time: 10-15 minutes Introduction The Atari 400 and 800 were by far the best gaming computers when they hit the market. This was largely due to the awesome ANTIC graphics chip
Read morePurchase an Atarimax Maxflash Cartridge (30-60 min)
Task: Purchase an Atarimax Maxflash Cartridge Needed: Atarimax Maxflash Cartridge, USB Cartridge Programmer, A to A USB Cable, and Maxflash Studio Software Time: 30-60 mins Introduction I love the ease of use of cartridges compared to cassette or disk. Fortunately, there are some easy modern
Read morePurchase a Harmony Cartridge for the Atari 2600 (10-15 mins)
Task: Purchase a Harmony Cartridge for the Atari 2600 Needed: Harmony Cartridge With SD or microSD Card Time: 10-15 mins Introduction When I was programming my Atari 2600 game “Gene Medic” I wanted to be able to test it on original hardware since there are
Read moreConnect Your Atari Computer to the Internet using the SIO2PC from Atarimax (15-30 mins)
Task: Connect Your Atari Computer to the Internet using the SIO2PC from Atarimax Needed: SIO2PC Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction Although the internet was invented before Atari 8-bit computers were released in 1979 it was not available to most of us until years later. I don’t
Read moreConnect Your Atari Computer to a PC (15-30 mins)
Task: Connect Your Atari Computer to a PC Needed: SIO2PC Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction Cartridges and floppy disks are great but sooner or later you will want to tap into the huge archive of software that is available on the internet. You can certainly boot
Read moreInstall the Happy Board for the 1050 Disk Drive (45-60 mins)
Task: Install the Happy Board for the 1050 Disk Drive Needed: 1050 Disk Drive & Happy Enhancement Time: 45-60 minutes Introduction The Atari 810 disk drive could read and write single-density disks with about 90k of data. Atari’s followup drive was the 1050 that was
Read moreRepair an Atari 1020 Printer (30-60 mins)
Task: Repair an Atari 1020 Printer Needed: 1020 printer, 3D printed gears Time: 30-60 minutes Introduction I had an Epson dot matrix printer with my Atari 800 back in the day. It served me well but wasn’t that great with graphics and was only black
Read morePurge Dangerous Power Supplies (15-60 mins)
Task: Identify and remove dangerous Atari power supply units and label the safe ones Needed: Labels and pen Time: 15-60 mins Introduction If you are like me and have a number of different Atari home computer models and peripherals then you also have a large
Read moreClean an 810/1050 Disk Drive Head (15-30 min)
Task: clean an Atari 810/1050 disk drive head Needed: Phillips-head screwdriver, Q-tip, alcohol Time: 15-30 minutes Introduction I started out back in the early 80s with an Atari 400 computer and a 410 cassette recorder for storing programs. Working with the 410 was tedious and
Read morePurchase an Atari 8-Bit Computer (1-2 hours)
Task: Purchase an Atari 8-Bit Computer Needed: $ Time: 1-2 hours (or longer) Introduction If you are reading this website it is very likely that you already have one or more Atari 8-bit computers. However, if you don’t own an Atari, and would like to,
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