Looking for a 1064 memory expansion module to go in the PBI port of my 600XL. Just in case anybody has one for sale Thanks, Al.
About as rare as hen's teeth, as you probably know, Al. There's one presently on Feebay but it's as much as a 600XL itself costs... (all yours here for £110 from Italy, mate): https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133944176468?hash=item1f2fb1ef54:g:2uAAAOSwi0FhngKe
Cheers Andy. Saw that one, ouch. I like the idea of adding a genuine Atari peripheral though so going to keep my eyes open for a more affordable bargain...
These are a tad rare on the markets and that one I would not touch as there was a lot of rust on the connector, who knows how much more inside, and how wet did the whole thing get? While's its the 'proper' way to go if you want to keep it all real Atari, it actually is a royal pain in the arse as it destroys the nice thing about the 600XL, it's size. With that on the back, it's deeper than a 1200XL. Get the internal upgrade done, it will up its value a little and any serious user would have to do it anyway, and of course, if a buyer want's the machine as from the factory, it takes 5 mins to remove the upgrade.
Did the 600XL come with 16kb of RAM, is that correct? And this expansion module enlarge the memory to 64k? Well, this undoubtedly is a rare Atari-original accessory which is worth buying at a reasonable price, but have you thought about expanding the 600XL internally? @Klyde did that for me and the micro works great.
I said to Al to get an internal upgrade, don't make the machine in to a space taking lump and it would be cheaper than one of those horrible 64K boxes.
I will probably go the internal route when I get someone local to do the upgrade. But also,thinking about collecting the XL range peripherals again, so.....
There's no stopping you, Al. I wouldn't say you were so much of an Atari addict, more a guy with XLent taste!
That surface rust on the 1064 module being auctioned pictured above is most likely only exactly where you see it; on the exposed area of metal. I've seen similar on the 600/800XL PBI interface metal tabs and on plenty of shielding for Atari XL/XE machines, but the boards inside were perfectly fine with no rust. I just clean the rust off in one way or another (sometimes solvents sometimes good old-fashioned sanding).
Like the sig... Wish I had more motivation to actually do it.. Utter nightmare here, screams smashing banging and the council just ignore us. And that is without the nightmare in laws... Need to win the lottery...
If I was restoring my 600XL (too far gone at this point with part of the mobo attached to my 1200XL), I agree with you @Paul "Mclaneinc" Irvine , an internal upgrade is what I'd go with too, but my reasoning wouldn't be due to avoiding a larger footprint, but just because it's cheaper. Though a secondary concern would be the fact that knowing me, I would be putting the PBI to good use, probably with a Syscheck for external 512K (leaving more room for other upgrades internally, like Pokeymax and Sophia 2 or VBXE, etc.), so I'd rather not have a 1064 module attached and then another device out the back of it. I'm trying to keep my PBI expansions down to just one device on all my machines with PBI. While my 800 only has the Turbo Freezer and 1200XL only has a Syscheck attached to their PBI's, I am already dealing with a chain of cartridges out the side of my 1200XL with Super SDX/RTC cart, Diamond 3 cart and MyIDE II cart hanging out.
Ignore all below, head on but empty, I have a SIO hub so it's not an issue, also my cable would just about been long enough, looked way short but no.. Also my old AVG will actually fit in to the 1200 in its case, it's a shove but works (I think) Next to get the machine tested.. Re carts, that's the one pain with the 1200, avg ok, avg with sio cable, NO.....Way way too short Wonder if anyone has made a cable especially for it as I don't fancy ordering numerous sets of parts for one cable.
@Paul "Mclaneinc" Irvine Dropcheck sells a 1200XL cartridge extension. I have one I use with my eprom burner as it too won't fit with the cable. Though I bought it before I found out the eprom burner will work fine through my SSDX cart from Dropcheck, as it has the pass-thru. https://www.bitsofthepast.com/?product=atari-8bit-cartridge-slot-breakout-pcb This one is slightly different than the 1200XL breakout-board I got from her a couple of years ago, and she says this one is a bit short to use with the 1200XL, but it looks the same to me, and I think she is talking about the upright connector that mine does not have, I think it should still work perfectly fine for a basic extender to plug your AVG cart in the end.
I do know what you mean about lack of motivation, even though I enjoy tinkering with hardware, when you have a list of stuff as long as I do, it seems daunting and it's not like I want to work on electronics every spare moment I have, actually using the hardware for games and more I like to do once in a while too, not to mention other interests I pursue in my free time. But for someone with less experience, I know the fear too, as a matter of fact, as experienced as I am, there is always that fear of something going wrong and having to trouble-shoot. This too keeps me from jumping in sometimes. But the more you do and experience you get, while it never goes away completely, it does lessen, especially after a couple successes. The thing that get me going (once I am going I am fine, and enjoy it) is remembering the satisfaction gotten from repairs, upgrades and mods that have eventually been successful. That feeling of accomplishment is better to me that the fun of actually using the machine after done, which also gives motivation to do more. I can also definitely understand that the chaos you endure from your neighbors can put one ill at mood to work on anything that takes focus and concentration! I pray you don't have to put up with it for the rest of your life! Maybe what you need to invest in are some noise-cancelling head-phones for use during gaming and for music or audio books or whatever and while you tinker? Good headphones of this type will block out all noise, you may feel vibrations still though. Even without loud neighbors so close, I find wearing my headphones for lack of distraction helps me concentrate or at least puts me in a better mood. I purchased and listened to 3 of Isaac Asimov's Foundation books while doing all the upgrades and trouble-shooting to my 800 (inside, not the paint job. I do two interests at once that way and I lose track of time as I'm so focused on my work while listening to a good book. Or at least a pair of ear-muffs which would be cheaper. I wear ear-muffs to bed at night because my brother snores loudly and his room is right next to mine and the wall is like paper as far as sound travel goes. I'm planning on getting some acoustic dampening panels to put on the wall adjacent to his room so we don't bother each other while the other is asleep. Of course the acoustic dampening panels aren't cheap either, it will cost me a couple hundred for enough to do the one wall. A few examples below for ear-muffs/headphones. The last is what I'm going to get soon for my wall. https://www.amazon.com/Loop-Quiet-N...ear+muffs+for+sleeping&qid=1639538599&sr=8-11 https://www.amazon.com/Headphones-W...+cancelling+sleep&qid=1639539101&sr=8-16&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N8U517...colid=12TI6Y9DV0YC1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/Soundcore-Ca...celling+headphones&qid=1639539198&sr=8-5&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/Sony-Noise-C...e+cancelling+headphones&qid=1639539172&sr=8-3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0814RLDW...olid=12TI6Y9DV0YC1&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Its ok Matt, as said, I have an SIO hub, was sat right in front of me, too many things on my poor old mind
Wow, thanks for the info Matt, my problem with the headphones is a simple but awkward one, tinnitus, I need the noise around to ward off hearing the tinnitus which is severe, I'm one of the unlucky folks who has it to a severe level, they tried all the white noise ear plugs etc but my level of it is so high it's constant, but I've learnt how to minimise it with concentration / meditation, but it's never gone, so complete silence just leaves it the only noise I can hear, and the effect builds very quickly to the point I'm very, very uncomfortable. It's worrying to know that it's the cause of many suicides by people who cannot handle the effect of it. I tried headphones with nature noises but it's so unlike any noise from around here I know its fake so my unease rises. My problem is that it's a mental health issue, so it's one of a few issues I have that fed each other, ie if I'm down the tinnitus flares, the brain is a nasty enemy when it wants to be, but I fight on, it's all I know. It's also one of the things that dent my motivation, any project I take on is one I'm totally capable of doing, the last thing my head needs is something where I'm suddenly in no man's land not knowing what to do, that would just aggravate me and all the issues would kick in. These days it's more that I simply don't feel that the bother is worth it, and I become negative too quickly. It's simply the fault of our circumstance, too many things making life that little bit more hard. It's the same stuff most people get, but my old head see's it differently to the average person and gets me down a bit more. Don't worry, I'm not as bad as I sound at this moment, it's just hard to describe without it having an effect on me, describing it just re-enforces how much it can affect me.. The truth is, my daughter is just about to make her way home for Xmas, I've got my roast joint for the big day, the flat is nice and warm and we will have a family Xmas, the four of us, Felix is part of the family too For me, that sounds perfect Hopefully the idiots above will go to their parents for Xmas as they normally do, it seems they are having a much quieter day than the last few (hopfelly). My one big stress is how much the car insurance will be and I can find that out on Thursday when I can apply for quotes (has to be within 30 days of ending), maybe a bit of luck will find me and I'll get a nice semi cheap one..
