Welcome to the comp.sys.atari.8bit newsgroup!
Atari 8-Bit Computers
Frequently Asked Questions List
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|LLLLLLLLLLL| |LLLLLLLLLLL || | LLLLLLLLLLL L |
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130XE 800XL 800
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| ///////// | | / _____ \ |
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|______/////| |____[---]____| | ___________ |
|LLLLLLLLLLL| |LLLLLLLLLLL || | ========== =|
|LLLLLLLLLLL| |LLLLLLLLLLL || | ========== =|
|__[_____]__| |__[_____]____| |___[_____]___|
65XE 600XL 400
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| ///////// | ___________ | |
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|______/////| |// / | /\___________ |=============|
|LLLLLLLLLLL| |/O\ |\/ |LLLLLLLLLLL| | LLLLLLLLLLL |
|LLLLLLLLLLL| |-----------| |LLLLLLLLLLL| | LLLLLLLLLLL |
|__[_____]__| |____O_O_O_O| |__[_____]__| |___[_____]___|
800XE XE 1200XL
Additions/suggestions/comments/corrections are needed! Please send to:
Michael Current, michael@mcurrent.name
Copyright (c) 1992-2009 by Michael D. Current, and others where noted. Feel
free to reproduce this file, in whole or in part, so long as the content of
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when given.
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You may also request my latest working version at: michael@mcurrent.name
**********************************************************************
* For other 8-bit Atari related FAQs please see the "Welcome FAQ": *
* ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/faqs/atari-8-bit/welcome *
* http://faqs.cs.uu.nl/na-dir/atari-8-bit/welcome.html *
* http://www.faqs.org/faqs/atari-8-bit/welcome/ *
**********************************************************************
UPDATES SINCE PREVIOUS POSTING:
2009.09.26 6.9 added link to advice on cleaning drive heads
2009.08.31 11.1 Mario Bros. versions clarified
2009.08.21 5.1 the 1030 was by Penril
2009.08.09 1.11 substantial 6502 discussion revision
2009.08.06 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.11 late-run 400/800 include the SALLY 6502.
Section Contents
- News Headers
- 0.1) Table of contents
- 1.1) What is an Atari 8-bit computer?
- 1.2) What is the Atari 400?
- 1.3) What is the Atari 800?
- 1.4) What is the Atari 1200XL?
- 1.5) What is the Atari 600XL?
- 1.6) What is the Atari 800XL?
- 1.7) What is the Atari 65XE?
- 1.8) What is the Atari 130XE?
- 1.9) What is the Atari 800XE?
- 1.10) What is the Atari XE video game system?
- 1.11) What are SALLY, ANTIC, CTIA/GTIA/FGTIA, POKEY, and FREDDIE?
- 1.12) Why do the ANTIC Modes start with "Mode 2", what about 0 or 1?
- 1.13) What is the internal layout of the 8-bit Atari?
- 1.14) Who designed the Atari 8-bit computers?
- 1.15) What issues surround NTSC vs. PAL vs. SECAM computer versions?
- 1.16) What are the pinouts for the various ports on the Atari?
- 2.1) What video display devices and speakers can I use with my Atari?
- 2.2) What is artifacting?
- 3.1) What are the Atari 410, 1010, XC11, and XC12 Program Recorders?
- 3.2) What other cassette recorders can I use with my Atari?
- 3.3) How do I run a program from cassette?
- 3.4) What are the Atari 810, 815, 1050, and XF551 Disk Drives?
- 3.5) What other floppy disk drives can I use with my Atari?
- 3.6) What kinds of 5.25" floppy disks can I use with my Atari drives?
- 3.7) What can I do to extend the life of my floppy disks?
- 3.8) What hard drives were designed for my Atari?
- 3.9) How can my Atari utilize my PC's or Mac's storage drives?
- 3.10) How can I use SD/MMC cards with my Atari?
- 3.11) How can I use a USB flash drive with my Atari?
- 4.1) What are the Atari 820, 822, and 825 Printers?
- 4.2) What are the Atari 1020, 1025, 1027, and 1029 Printers?
- 4.3) What are the Atari XMM801 and XDM121 Printers?
- 4.4) What other printers can I use with my Atari?
- 4.5) How can my Atari utilize my PC's printer?
- 5.1) What are the Atari 830, 835, 1030, XM301, and SX212 Modems?
- 5.2) What other modems can I use with my Atari?
- 5.3) How can my Atari utilize my PC's modem/network?
- 5.4) What networking hardware is there for the Atari?
- 5.5) How can I connect my Atari to a high-speed/Ethernet network?
- 6.1) What is the Atari 850 Interface Module?
- 6.2) What is the Atari XEP80 Interface Module?
- 6.3) How can I use a SCSI/SASI device with my Atari?
- 6.4) How can I use an IDE device with my Atari?
- 6.5) Can I attach an ISA card to my Atari?
- 6.6) How can I use a USB device with my Atari?
- 6.7) What are the power requirements for my Atari components?
- 6.8) What accessories did Atari produce for their 8-bit computers?
- 6.9) What preventative maintenance can I do on my Atari system?
- 6.10) What graphics tablets were produced for the Atari?
- 6.11) What light pens were produced for the Atari?
- 6.12) What light guns were produced for the Atari?
- 6.13) What paddles were produced for the Atari?
- 6.14) What voice/sound synthesis hardware was produced for the
- 6.15) What sound-digitizers/samplers were produced for the Atari?
- 6.16) What sound-enhancement upgrades were produced for the Atari?
- 6.17) What MIDI enhancements are there for the Atari?
- 6.18) What graphics enhancements are there for the Atari?
- 6.19) What types of memory upgrades are there for the Atari?
- 7.1) What versions of the Atari Operating System (OS) are there?
- 7.2) What other operating systems have been produced for the Atari?
- 7.3) What is the ATASCII character set?
- 7.4) What is Atari BASIC?
- 7.5) What are Atari DOS I, DOS II, DOS 3, DOS 2.5, and DOS XE?
- 7.6) What are MyDOS, SpartaDOS, and other popular DOS versions?
- 7.7) How do I modify Atari DOS to support more than two drives?
- 7.8) Are there Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) for the Atari?
- 7.9) What should I know about modem device handlers?
- 8.1) What programming languages are available for the Atari?
- 8.2) What cartridges were released for the Right Slot of the 800?
- 8.3) What games support 4 or more simultaneous players?
- 8.4) What programs run only on the 400 and 800 models, and why?
- 8.5) What programs use a light pen or a light gun?
- 8.6) What programs have a trackball mode or support a mouse?
- 8.7) What programs use paddle controllers?
- 8.8) What programs have a CX85 Numerical Keypad mode?
- 8.9) What programs use: Touch Tablet or KoalaPad/Animation Station?
- 8.10) What kinds of extra RAM and RAMdisks can be installed?
- 8.11) What programs support more than 64K RAM?
- 8.12) What programs require more than 64K RAM?
- 8.13) What voice/sound synthesis software is there for the Atari?
- 8.14) What programs support stereo and upgraded sound?
- 8.15) What games support online action via modem?
- 8.16) What programs support Atari computer networking?
- 9.1) How can I work with .arc files on my 8-bit Atari?
- 9.2) What file formats for entire disks/tapes/cartridges are there?
- 9.3) How can I copy my copy-protected Atari software?
- 10.1) What programs can log in to other computers via modem?
- 10.2) What programs can I use to host a BBS on the Atari?
- 10.3) How can I read/write 8-bit Atari disks on an MS-DOS PC?
- 10.4) How can I read/write MS-DOS PC disks on my Atari?
- 10.5) How do I transfer files using a null modem cable?
- 10.6) How can my PC utilize my Atari disk drive?
- 10.7) What about interoperating with the Apple Macintosh?
- 10.8) Are there 8-bit Atari tools for the Commodore Amiga?
- 11.1) What is the history of Atari's 8-bit computers platform?
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Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer:
Michael Current <michael@mcurrent.name>
Last Update August 08 2012 @ 06:18 AM
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