Atari 1050 Upgrades

{Recovered from a dead Atari sector}

admin

This thread will be a W.I.P. - which I'll update as time permits.
I'll start be providing the very basic detail of the upgrades available to 1050 drive owners.


Upgrade: 1050 duplicator

Manufacturer: Duplicator Technologies [DT]
Year: 1986
Features: SS SD/ED/DD 3x speed increase. Whole track buffering (18 sectors / 8KiB), Navigate/edit/create non-standard formats, copying software included

Later versions = CheerUp Upgrade, by Happy Computers, Inc., 1987, upgrades and 1050 Duplicator replaced by Happy 1050 Enhancement software compatible

Commands: 21, 22, 3F, 4E, 4F, 50, 52, 53, 57, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 6A, 6D, 6E, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77​

Upgrade: Bitwriter

Manufacturer: Computer Software Services (CSS)
Year: 1988
Features: enhancement to Super Archiver - Writes bits rather than sectors, for increased copy capabilities

Commands: 21, 22, 3F, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 4C 4E, 4F, 50, 52, 53, 54, 57, 5A, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 6A, 6D, 6E, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77​

Upgrade: Bitwriter Replica

Manufacturer: tf_hh
Year: 2016
Features: Super Archiver 1050/ BitWriter 1050 - copies all copy-protected games for backup or software preservation
Reading/Writing/Formatting Double Density
Highspeed SIO​

Upgrade: Copy Card 7.0

Manufacturer: ? [Europe]
Year: 198?
Features: SS SD/ED/DD
Happy 1050 copy but not full clone, ICD US Doubler emulation

Commands: 21, 22, 24, 3F, 48, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 70, 72, 77​

Upgrade: Density Doubler 1050

Manufacturer: Duplicating Technologies (DT)
Year: 1986
Features: SS SD/ED/DD up to 3x speed increase.

Commands: 21, 22, 3F, 4E, 4F, 50, 52, 53, 57, 66​

Upgrade: Happy 1050

Manufacturer: Happy Computer
Year: 1984-1989
Features: SSDD, 52kbps speed, 36 sector buffer. Can also read/write 180k MS-DOS.
Adds true single-sided, double density (180KiB) operation

Commands: 21, 22, 24, 3F, 48, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 70, 72, 77​

Upgrade: Happy 1050 Maximiser

Manufacturer: Happy Computer
Year: 1985
Features: SSDD, 52kbps speed, 36 sector buffer. Can also read/write 180k MS-DOS.

Commands: 21, 22, 24, 3F, 48, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 70, 72, 77​

Upgrade: High Speed Board 1050

Manufacturer: Irata Verlag, West Germany
Year: 1985
Features: SSDD, 52kbps speed, 36 sector buffer. Can also read/write 180k MS-DOS.
Happy 1050 clone

Commands: 21, 22, 24, 3F, 48, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 70, 72, 77​

Upgrade: Hyperdrive

Manufacturer: ? UK
Year: 1986
Features: SS SD/ED/DD
Happy 1050 clone

Commands: 21, 22, 24, 3F, 48, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 70, 72, 77​

Upgrade: Hyperdrive - re-issue

Manufacturer: Chaos! Computers
Year: 1995
Features: SS SD/ED/DD
Happy, US Doubler UltraSpeed 1050 clone

Commands: 21, 22, 24, 3F, 48, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 70, 72, 77​

Upgrade: I.S. Doubler

Manufacturer: Robert Perry, Innovated Software [UK]
Year: 1985
Features: SSDD, 54kbps speed, sector skewing, ICD US Doubler clone

Commands: 21, 22, 3F, 4E, 4F, 50, 52, 53, 57, 66​

Upgrade: I.S. Plate 1050

Manufacturer: Robert Perry, Innovative Software
Year: 1986
Features: fully Happy 1050 compatible, board (fits 6507 socket) with 6502 and 16KiB RAM buffer.
IS Doubler/US Doubler, Archiver/Chip, standard 1050 emulation, 16-drive support.
Software included; IS Doubler/US Doubler high-speed disk copiers (standard and 130XE versions), file loader, custom disk format (incl bad sectors), track tracer
Late units: Software instead built-in on ROM
Early units: ISP Gremlin Grabber (sold separately)
Most units included Gremlin Grammer II or Gremlin Grabber III

Commands: 20, 21, 22, 3F, 41, 44, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 60, 62, 68, 69​

Upgrade: Kiwi Systems

Manufacturer: (New Zealand)
Year: 1986
Features: SSDD, 54kbps speed, Lazer (Happy) 1050 clone, with Archiver.
Bundled with 1050 to Kiwi Chip Archiver (Kiwi Systems)

Commands: 20, 21, 22, 3F, 41, 44, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 60, 62, 68, 69​

Upgrade: Klone

Manufacturer: Computer Software Services [USA]
Year: 1986
Features: SS SD/ED/DD
Happy 1050 clone, bundled Happy Warp Speed Software

Commands: 21, 22, 24, 3F, 48, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 70, 72, 77​

Upgrade: Klone II

Manufacturer: Computer Software Services (CSS) [USA]
Year: 1987
Features: SS SD/ED/DD
Happy 1050 clone, bundled Happy Warp Speed Software

Commands: 21, 22, 24, 3F, 48, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 70, 72, 77​

Upgrade: Lazer 1050

Manufacturer: Utility House
Year: 1986
Features: SSDD, 54kbps speed, Happy 1050 clone
Bundled with [Utility House] Lazer Drive Supercharger software

Commands: 20, 21, 22, 3F, 41, 44, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 60, 62, 68, 69​

Upgrade: Mega Speedy 1050

Manufacturer: Compy Shop (now ABBUC)
Year: 2014
Features: SSDD, 57kbps speed, 8kb buffer, incl DOS/copier. Track display and audio.
1050 Turbo and 1050 Duplicator modes, can also emulate Happy 1050, US Doubler, Super Archiver and Supermax

Commands: 20, 21, 22, 3F, 41, 44, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 60, 62, 68, 69​

Upgrade: Reproducer

Manufacturer: Gardner Computing
Year: 1984
Features: SSDD, sector skewing. Navigate/edit/create nonstandard format disks (software included)

Commands: 21, 22, 3F, 4E, 4F, 50, 52, 53, 57, 66​

Upgrade: Speedy 1050

Manufacturer: Compy Shop (now ABBUC)
Year: 1986
Features: SSDD, 57kbps speed, 8kb buffer, incl DOS/copier. Track display and audio.

Commands: 20, 21, 22, 3F, 41, 44, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 60, 62, 68, 69​

Upgrade: Super Archiver

Manufacturer: Computer Software Services (CSS)
Year: 1987
Features: SSDD, 54kbps speed, copies and creates fuzzy & phantom sectors. Navigate/edit/create nonstandard format disks. Bundled software: Super Archiver/Editor 3.0, Super Archiver (skew) 3.1,
Super Archiver Fuzzy Sector Maker, The Archiver Tracer, Super Archiver Diagnostic

Commands: 21, 22, 3F, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 4C 4E, 4F, 50, 52, 53, 54, 57, 5A, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 6A, 6D, 6E, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77​

Upgrade: Super Archiver II

Manufacturer: Computer Software Services (CSS)
Year: 1988
Features: SSDD, 54kbps speed, copies and creates fuzzy & phantom sectors. Navigate/edit/create nonstandard format disks. Bundled software: Super Archiver/Editor 3.0, Super Archiver (skew) 3.1,
Super Archiver Fuzzy Sector Maker, The Archiver Tracer, Super Archiver Diagnostic

Commands: 21, 22, 3F, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 4C 4E, 4F, 50, 52, 53, 54, 57, 5A, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 6A, 6D, 6E, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77​

Upgrade: Super Speedy 1050 prototype

Manufacturer: Compy Shop (now ABBUC)
Year: 1986
Features: SSDD, 57kbps speed, 8kb buffer, incl DOS/copier. Track display and audio.

Commands: 20, 21, 22, 3F, 41, 44, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 60, 62, 68, 69​

Upgrade: Supermax 1050

Manufacturer: Super Products (Australia)
Year: 1987
Features: switchable ROM, true double density with 4x increase in the read/write speed (with SuperDOS or other hi speed DOS). SuperDOS is smaller and has extra features, incl binary loader - leaving 707 free sectors per disk
Varying accounts say this was either a straightforward plugin or a plugin board with one cable to solder. Remove rom and ram, plug in SuperMAX. Functions like USDoubler except for the special format command. Occasional problems with protected software due to removed delay.

Commands: 20, 21, 22, 3F, 41, 44, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 60, 62, 68, 69​

Upgrade: TOMS Multi Drive 1050

Manufacturer: TOMS
Year: 1991
Features: SS SD/ED/DD/IBM Turbodrive 68200 bit/s, sector skew
IBM format: 40 tracks/9 sectors 180KiB
1050 Turbo/Top Drive compatible UltraSpeed emulation

Commands: 21, 22, 24, 3F, 48, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 70, 72, 77​

Upgrade: Top Drive 1050

Manufacturer: Ataserw
Year: 1987/8
Features: SS SD/ED/DD - 1050 Turbo clone, ROM by P.Z. Karen, brand of of LDW TUR DOS disk/cartridge, upgrades to 1050 Happy compatiblity

Commands: 21, 22, 24, 3F, 48, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 70, 72, 77​

Upgrade: Turbo-1050 aka "Engl-Turbo-1050"

Manufacturer: Bernhard Engl for Gerald Engl Computertechnik
Year: 1985-1988
Features: SSDD, "turbodrive" 70kbps (68200bps) speed, non-US Doubler skew. Software on ROM: Backup Machine II, Magic Formatter, Maintenance Box

Commands: 21, 22, 24, 3F, 48, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 70, 72, 77​

Upgrade: Tygrys 1050 1.0

Manufacturer: Navitron - Marek Bojarski
Year: 1988
Features: SS SD/ED/DD; 53 kbit/s

Commands: 21, 22, 24, 3F, 48, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 70, 72, 77​

Upgrade: Tygrys 1050 2.0

Manufacturer: Mediacom 1993 - Marek Bojarski
Year: 1993
Features: SS SD/ED/DD; 70 kbit/s

Commands: 21, 22, 24, 3F, 48, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 70, 72, 77​

Upgrade: US Doubler

Manufacturer: ICD
Year: 1984
Features: SSDD, 54kbps speed, sector skewing, many units bundled with ICD Spartados disk

Commands: 21, 22, 3F, 4E, 4F, 50, 52, 53, 57, 66​

Upgrade: Warp Drive

Manufacturer: Stocksoft [UK]
Year: 1986
Features: SS SD/ED/DD
Happy 1050 clone, Rev 2 onwards upgrade = "The Chip Archiver" emulation

Commands: 21, 22, 24, 3F, 48, 4E, 4F, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 70, 72, 77​

Currently compiling info on:

Chipmunk
The Chip (by Spartan)
The Protector
The Black Patch
The Backup Master
Happy to Chip Converter​

Command List:

20 - Format auto
21 - Format
22 - Format ED
23 - 1050 diags 1
24 - 1050 diags 2
3F - Get high-speed index
41 - Add/Remove Command
42 - Configure
43 - N/K
44 - Configure drive
46 - N/K
47 - N/K
48 - Happy Configure Command
4B - Slow/fast config
49 - Indexed Formatting
4C - Jump without message
4D - Jump with message
4E - Read PERCOM block
4F - Write PERCOM block
50 - Write sector
51 - Quit
52 - Read sector
53 - Get status
54 - Read Address
55 - Motor On
56 - Verify Sector
57 - Write sector with verify
5A -
60 - Write Track
61 - N/K
62 - Read Track
63 - N/K
64 - N/K
66 - Format with skew
67 - N/K
68 - Get SIO Length
69 - Get SIO Routine
6A - N/K
6D - N/K
6E - N/K
70 - N/K
71 - N/K
72 - N/K
73 - N/K
74 - N/K
75 - N/K
76 - N/K
77 - N/K​

IMPORTANT INFO:
The main ICs of the 1050 dictate that the vast majority of drive upgrades conform to two standards

2x IC : USD/IS Doubler (or similar)
to install: remove and replace ICs situated in U8 & U10.

Integral Board: Happy(Warp/Laser/IS Plate/Speedy or similar)
to install: remove U9 & U10 inserting board into U9

the layout - for anyone needing to know is

Rev/J14
Rev/J10 ....................................J15/Rev
.....J1/Rev
Rev/J12
Rev/J11


.................................................. 0/6


Correct Drive Speed:
288 rpm, or 208.3 millisecconds per revolution


Note the faces visible from the inside of the board are in RED text.
Rev = reverse/blank side
also, because of the specific arrangement of the connectors, J1 is inset

looking at drive board (from front of drive) my image below has each IC labelled with (typical) identifying IC numbers


​