Most liked posts in thread: What's new Pussycat too?

Thanks Andy. Seeing the grey color on the computer and accessories again in daylight (instead of lamp light while doing the badge) I realize the grey I used is too dark, but easily fixed. I also found a way to get the '800CX' in outline form like the original, and insert it to the graphic art program as another layer .png image (this badge is done in 4 layers for each color and font). Hopefully I can finish the job this weekend since we are suppose to have warm (enough for clear coating) and sunny weather again for a bit.

In the mean time, I've received some more parts for other projects. Some potentiometers. I need two new ones to replace broken ones I removed from my analog/digital trainer/experimenter P.A.D (power supply analog digital) and since the whole set below was only $15, with a variety and knobs too (I can use for the PAD and other missing knobs on vintage stuff), I figured I'd have more for future projects and repairs.

I also finally remembered to get some proper sliding pots to correct the ones on my Super Sketch Pad I reviewed and spoke of the issue either here or on Atari Sector several years ago, so I can fix it's flawed "engineering" and have the proper resolution to cover the full screen, unlike the originals.

 

TRAGEDY STRIKES MY 800CX!

I finally was able to find time during a good day to finish the clear coating of my 800CX, All went relatively well, everything turned out nice in the end. After painting all the cases, etc. and allowing to dry too the touch, I put them all up to fully cure for the last 72 or so hours. I brought them in to my Fujilab this evening and I dropped the 800's lid/cartridge door and the brittle plastic shattered (cleanly at least) right on it's hinges where the most stress is applied, and also right on the front cartridge door! So this is turning into a full broken machine restoration and not just a facelift and make-over. So I tried to be carefull, but I'm just not as agile and well-balanced as in my youth!




So now I am going to have to repair them! I'll have to try and hide the crack on the door, once glued, with some more white paint, I think I can make it look like it never happened as it is a clean break and only leaves a hair-line crack visible when held together. I don't know if gluing and touch-up will be good enough for the door hinges, I may have to reinforce them which will be something that shows with the door open, but I may have no choice! Wish me luck lads, as I head forward.

Any recommendations for really good plastic repair glue or resin? I'm planning on a couple of drops of super glue, to hold it tight without clamps and such, with clear Gorilla glue applied sparingly, at the same time down most of the length of the breaks in-between the super glued drops at either end, for what I think will be a better long-term glue, but it takes quite a few hours or overnight to properly cure, then light sanding and repainting.

If you boys know a better way let me know. I generally would use J.B. Weld for case and plastic part repairs or hacks, which I believe to be the best, but that is before any painting is done and I can properly sand it smooth. At this point going that route would require a complete paint removal and restart which I hope to avoid.

I also dropped the top case of the 410 and it cracked near it's front corner, but I as able to glue and touch up before I did the clear coat. It can't be seen unless you look really close. Such brittle old plastic, as they both fell on a rug too. I knew it was brittle and have seen other accidents and shipping horrors.

 

I have one small decision regarding the CX85 keypad and the 800's function key color pattern. But first I want to get you guys up to speed on my thinking and logic of key colors for this project.

As you know, I've copied some of the keyboard color layout of the mock-up IBM "Atari" Personal Computer, but have also made some changes I felt looked better. And as far as the function keys go, in the mock-up photo they fall on the binding fold and are 95% hidden and in shadow so one can't tell for sure what color they are suppose to be. I've studied it and the tiny bit of keys I can make out actually look like they are black! If that's true, I didn't want black function keys anyway.

Anyway, at first I had the function keys laid out like the vertical left and right "columns" on the edge of either side of the keyboard. But then I thought too much of that pattern might detract rather than enhance, and I repainted one of the function keys so only the RESET is blue and the rest gray. As for balance it matched the horizontal 4 keys on the upper right of the keyboard starting with the CLEAR key and ending with the BREAK key. And with the 410's buttons I decided to stay grey, except for the recorder button that is often colored orange or red on recorders anyway, so it fit the styling of blue touches here and there, again avoiding alternating blue and grey only doing it where I know the IBM designers chose to do it.

All that was just to get you guys on the same page I am on and understanding my choices. Now to what I want opinions on to help me decide: Originally on the CX85 keypad I decided to alternate the function/console keys to match the pattern of the left and right sides of the keyboard. thinking it would tie it all in better but still not over doing it. But after the clear coat I decided to re-arrange the keypad function keys to match the 800's console key color layout of blue at the top (which is ESCAPE on both) and the rest grey. I moved the blue key over to the top right corner which is the "=" key so the keypad color layout looks "balanced" as an alternative. Should I change back to the alternating color console keys on the keypad? How about on the 800's console keys? Alternating blue and grey like the sides of the keyboard or just blue at the top and the rest grey as I have them now? I need to make a final decision on this before I attach the key cap labels, but am finding it hard to decide. I would have to strip and repaint the SELECT key again, console keys aren't interchangeable like other keys. But I have a space bar and grey button on the keypad that have to be stripped and repainted anyway, so one more key is no big deal.

 

I'm sure you've got the best combination of key layout colours there, Matt.
It's looking great your 800CX project.
Apols for the lack of time but with Bev's dad in hospital after seizures our attention this end is elsewhere right now.
Once that glue's dried and you've touched up and strengthened those hinge areas, this is going to turn out one helluva smart custom job.
Well done in advance, buddy.

 

As usual Matt, simply epic work my friend...Looks the part..

 

WTF?

As you know, I don't do superlatives.

That is show-room window-busting, green-with-envy-making, solid-gold medallion winners' rostrum achieving, bollock-achingly great, my friend.

The whole look, colour scheme, matching and marrying up of corresponding peripherals so slickly is a sight to behold, me old muckah.

Would you care to swap it for a stock 1200XL with an Oric Atmos riding shotgun/piggy back and a BBC Model B 2nd processor stuck out the user port?

LOL! I'm clutching at retro straws!

Matt, it is a winner in every possible way - our many congratulations from this end, ie. me, Bev and the cat who is purring with approval - you are the cat's whiskers tonight, fella, with that so so cool creation.

Well done, mate.

The Three Kings cannot beat you this Christmas as your creation is a fantastic festive gift to the Atari world to feast their eyes upon.

AMEN.

 

Cheers, Al.

I'll keep my mince pies peeled and look f'wd to your pics.

Well done, Paul - you remind us that the main presents - any given time - is the safety, health and company of our loved ones.

I'm sure you'll soon have your car up n running again real soon with some Chrimbo cash to chip in and as you remind us, your 1200XL is the kind of pressie which would keep anyone smiling for the rest of this festive season and well beyond towards next year's!

Enjoy, mate and all the best, fellas.

 

LOL! You've gotta larf at the black humour of it, Paul.

Cheers for the comical observations.

I remember when some Hooray Henry brought out Crap Towns in the 90s and Ull always used to top it... until one year it came 2nd or 3rd and everyone in Ull was shocked senseless - we wondered how any place could be worse than living around ere Oop North!!

;-)

 

@Paul "Mclaneinc" Irvine Your Warp+ 32-in-1 OS will be shipped out tomorrow Paul, I've been blocked on getting it posted 3 days in a row now!. I went to the post office on Monday, arriving at 11:40 am, finding out that they changed their lunch hour from 12-1pm forward to 11:30 am-12:30 pm! I wasn't going to wait around for 50 minutes.

So I try again on Tuesday, but my local post doesn't open until 9 am and it was about 20 min. before as I was passing by my town, but on my way to work in another town 20 minutes away, so I stopped at that office when I got into town, waited in line for 10 minutes and finally got to the counter, package ready, international paper work done and ready, and either by user fault or just a crappy computer system, the lady couldn't get the computer to accept the package! After another ten minutes of her trying, over and over, she finally asks for assistance from here colleague in the next booth, who comes over and messes with it for another 5 min. and finally says the system will have to be rebooted. I ran out of time and patience and just left, package and paper work still in hand.

Today I returned to my home town Post office, a quarter after 9, while on my way to the job site, and had to meet my customer there at 10 am to get the keys to the rental house we are to work on. So I enter the post office, and there are two old ladies huddled over the computer screen, having computer issues and trying to get it up since before 9 am. I don't have much faith in them accomplishing it anytime soon...so I left. I will attempt sending it out again tomorrow.

We are waiting until 9 am to head out to work, which will bring us by the local post by 9:15 and we have no one to meet, so we have time. But of course I'll end up being the first customer with no waiting and with everything already filled out and ready to go it will all be lickity-split fast and I'll be in and out in two minutes, because I have the time.

 

It went out this morning without a hitch, exactly as I foretold yesterday. I'll PM you the tracking number and photo of the receipt for that block code thing to photo with your smart phone to take you straight away, if your into that, I don't really know how.

 

The old QR code, not really in to all that, I take a persons word, that's good enough for me (as long as I know the person )
I'll let you know when it arrives, thanks again Matt..

Was going to send you some of that Yorkshire tea over but saw Andy has already done that.

 

Bloody brilliant -

Get a brew ON, Matt!

 

Well, the retro-brite is more of a restoration attempt (before breaking out the paint). Now using the old standard joysticks from the Coco for Atari projects is a "never miss a modding chance."

 

Only change I'd make are new blinds..

 

Lovely looking but the price gave me a wake up (on Lulu.com).

The programmer's guide was another one I lost bitd...Nice to have a PDF.

 

Some lovely acquisitions there, Alex, Matt and Nysavant - they greatly enhance any retro collector's collection.

Lovely to see and thanks for the quality share - great pics.

 

Very nice @nysavant ! I didn't even know there were Atari related hot wheels! Are those a newer item or vintage?

 

Delighted you've got your rainy day filled, fella.

Enjoy, Al and do post up some results of your "play away" sessions!

 

Enjoy the best of both worlds then, Al.
A sunny stroll then a stroll down "memory" lane as it were with the vintage retro classic 1200 kit.
Completely persisting it down here with that "set in for the day" dismal grey sky look.
We've just done the DIY B&Q, stuck in queues of endless traffic run and now hunkering down for the day.
Get a proper fire lit etc.
Enjoy that bootiful find of yours, mate.

 

Sod DIY.. It can blooming well, do it itself...

Dry here at the mo, but looking at the sky tells me its going to be rather wet and very soon..

 

I used to use WHDload with both my ST's and Amiga, IIRC. Isn't that an app to transfer files from PC to Amiga/ST format standards? Or maybe it just had something to do with HDD's. I had a real HDD of course in my Amiga, and my first 1040STf I had an external one I built into an old IBM PS/1 computer case along with a second floppy drive and a SCSII Zip drive. When I got the Mega STe it of course had a HDD built in, but I also go a 1040STe which I used Satantronic's Satan Drive, IIRC, with standard SD cards which, IIRC, I either used WHDload in conjunction with it, or in making 3.5" floppies for the regular drives off the PC.

 

On the Amiga WHDLoad is a way of taking disk games and making them load off a HDD, it's purely a loader, the actual transfer of files is done by a talented hacker who has ripped the code off the disk, WHDLoad then does the loading of the packed game from the hard disk..

Don't know much about ST's and their software, me and them didn't get on

 

Pondering on it all, I actually think the biggest mistakes made that were a loss for the industry and the consumers in the end was Jack "stealing" Commodore's engineers and turning down further support or buying the Amiga. And the Commodore engineer's accepting and leaving Commodore. I don't know the chronological order of these events OTTOMH, but I don't think they jumped shipped until after Jack bought Atari home division and had some place for them to go. And he would have known about the Amiga by then if he hadn't before.

If he had gone with Amiga, then we would have that fine machine no matter what, through Atari or Commodore. But, if Commodore still had their engineer's (I just can't remember their names as well, OTTOMH) then they could have continued their 16-bit machine work at Commodore, which surely had at least been started design on by that time, but it could have been much better than the ST and stiffer competition for the Atari Amiga, because they could have still used next-gen versions of the VIC and SID line. We as consumers would have two great machines, greater than what we got, to choose from, and I think both Atari and Commodore would have had more success and maybe a more permanent spot in the PC market to this day. But at least we would have gotten and even better machine from Commodore than the ST, good as it is, since it had to be made in six months with off-the-shelf components! Which still shows how good the ex-Commodore engineers were too, with a time line like that and come up with a machine as good, and bug free (OS's aside), as the ST in that time.

It was such a "wild west" back then though that anything could have happened. Atari might have been gone and we never got the Amiga or any other next gen Atari hardware based on the ANTIC/POKEY/GTIA/AMY hardware and maybe would have gotten a 16-bit VIC/SID machine. Or both and the Amiga was lost to time and never picked up by either company, had Warner also held on to Atari through the crash.

Just imagine, machines with the 68000 CPU, but with Pokey II and Antic II and VIC-3 and SID II, with stereo sound, like two Pokey's or Sid's built into one chip, and of course expansion of resolution, color and sprites in the new ANTIC/GTIA and SID chips.

 

I always keep in mind my PSU when adding another extension to my Atari's, but both the 800 and the 1200XL use the "universal" PSU's that the 810, 1050 and several other peripherals use too, and that PSU, at least in NTSC land, comes in several different AMP sizes and all of mine on my computers and drives are the larger variety 31VA which is about 3.5 amps compared to other newer XL/XE PSU's that can handle less than half of that amperage load, IIRC. I think I'm still safe. All that's a new power strain is the one more Diamond cart. That's also why there was no issue installing a Happy upgrade, SIO2PC, 1050-to-PC and LED lighting in my one 1050 all sucking power from the 1050 too.

 

I did a little bit of research on the Atari "universal" PSU this side of the pond. Apparently they came in three varieties that worked with 400/800/810/822/1010/1050/1200/XF551 and XEGS(?) devices. Starting at 15.3VA, 31VA and 40VA which is divided by the 9V AC, so that's amp loads of 1.7 amps, 3.44 amps and 4.4 amp loads. And I thought I had the biggest load!

The 5V DC PSU's of the 600/800xl/65/130XE came in between 1 amp and 2 amps, IIRC, though I haven't found specific sources like I did for the universal PSU. But that also seems to be the range most people who are using modern USB 5V replacements are in too. Though I believe 5V DC PSU's USB or not can be found in the 3 amp range. I think that would be best if you have the later model Atari's and need a new PSU and plan to add upgrades and expansions. Or if you convert the 1200XL to straight 5V DC I think you are best making sure you have as much amperage load possible on the new PSU as you can find.

@Paul "Mclaneinc" Irvine what are you doing for a PSU with your 1200XL? An English version of the Atari universal supply? A 9V AC equivalent? Or are you converting it to direct 5V DC?