the zonz Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 In a lot of atari items I bought off craigslist I found a ICD MIO complete with case. I know what this does but have no clue as to how it works. can anyone help me identify how much memory this has onboard? can anyone give me a easy way to test this to see if it works? any idea what this is worth? I am probably going to sell this, I have no real use for it. last but not least can someone help me place the images in this post instead of attaching them? thanks in advance for any help you can offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 (edited) In a lot of atari items I bought off craigslist I found a ICD MIO complete with case. I know what this does but have no clue as to how it works. can anyone help me identify how much memory this has onboard? can anyone give me a easy way to test this to see if it works? any idea what this is worth? I am probably going to sell this, I have no real use for it. last but not least can someone help me place the images in this post instead of attaching them? thanks in advance for any help you can offer. That's not an ICD MIO.. It's a CSS Black Box.. From the picture, it looks like it just has the stock 8k of SRAM on it.. If it had 64k (via Bob's upgrade instructions) There'ed be 2 chips Piggybacked where the SRAM is.. That boar dis a SCSI interface, Paralell printer port, 6551 UART driven serial port, and has that ability to control Industry standard (PC style) floppy drives if you buy the floppyboard expansion (which is no longer available from CSS). It appears to be in excellent condition. As far as what it's worth, $200.00 would be a minimum, low-ball figure.. Edited July 19, 2010 by MEtalGuy66 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the zonz Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 In a lot of atari items I bought off craigslist I found a ICD MIO complete with case. I know what this does but have no clue as to how it works. can anyone help me identify how much memory this has onboard? can anyone give me a easy way to test this to see if it works? any idea what this is worth? I am probably going to sell this, I have no real use for it. last but not least can someone help me place the images in this post instead of attaching them? thanks in advance for any help you can offer. That's not an ICD MIO.. It's a CSS Black Box.. From the picture, it looks like it just has the stock 8k of SRAM on it.. If it had 64k (via Bob's upgrade instructions) There'ed be 2 chips Piggybacked where the SRAM is.. That boar dis a SCSI interface, Paralell printer port, 6551 UART driven serial port, and has that ability to control Industry standard (PC style) floppy drives if you buy the floppyboard expansion (which is no longer available from CSS). It appears to be in excellent condition. As far as what it's worth, $200.00 would be a minimum, low-ball figure.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the zonz Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 In a lot of atari items I bought off craigslist I found a ICD MIO complete with case. I know what this does but have no clue as to how it works. can anyone help me identify how much memory this has onboard? can anyone give me a easy way to test this to see if it works? any idea what this is worth? I am probably going to sell this, I have no real use for it. last but not least can someone help me place the images in this post instead of attaching them? thanks in advance for any help you can offer. That's not an ICD MIO.. It's a CSS Black Box.. From the picture, it looks like it just has the stock 8k of SRAM on it.. If it had 64k (via Bob's upgrade instructions) There'ed be 2 chips Piggybacked where the SRAM is.. That boar dis a SCSI interface, Paralell printer port, 6551 UART driven serial port, and has that ability to control Industry standard (PC style) floppy drives if you buy the floppyboard expansion (which is no longer available from CSS). It appears to be in excellent condition. As far as what it's worth, $200.00 would be a minimum, low-ball figure.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the zonz Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 what does the floppyboard expansion look like? I have 2 other boards with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 If the owner had the floppy board, there would be chips missing on the black box board.. The Floppy board mounts above the blackbox board, and plugs into some chip sockets and headers on the blackbox board.. It pretty much overhangs about 75% of the blackbox board, excluding the are where the buttons and switches are. BTW, that's the most advanced HD controller ever made for the ATARI.. If you have an ATARI system, youd do well to keep it.. Noone's making any more of them, and the sourcecode for the ROM is lost.. It's an awesome device. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the zonz Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 WOW, it's not everyday you stumble upon something so rare, but I would like to test it and probably sell it ( I need the money) . can this post be closed since I have a bad title and start a new one? ( not to mention I messed up the reply 2 times in a row) Thanks, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 (edited) WOW, it's not everyday you stumble upon something so rare, but I would like to test it and probably sell it ( I need the money) . can this post be closed since I have a bad title and start a new one? ( not to mention I messed up the reply 2 times in a row) Thanks, John Here is the floppy board. I have both. So does GTO. Check you mail on this board. I will send whatever info you need. Edited July 19, 2010 by _The Doctor__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 what does the floppyboard expansion look like? I have 2 other boards with it. This is what the Floppy Board for the CSS Black Box looks like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the zonz Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 nope, don't have that board. does this only work on the 130xe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 I also have a blackbox with a floppyboard, and the latest firmware, and 64k of printer buffer, and the parity mod.. It will work on any XL/XE that has a PBI/ECI bus, but for the 600xl/800xl, itr requires a custom cable to connect it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloopy Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 why cant i ever get this fortunate? i would give a body part for one :'/ and yes keeping it would be a good idea... sloopy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itzmike Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 I'd had a BB / FB once. Sadly I'd lent it along with several 800xl's and 130xe, hardrive and Mux to a friend who as part of her computer course wanted an example of an early computer system. At some point the BlackBox had been jamed into the 130xe ripping the ECI connection loose and shorting the BB ... in other words, "it's dead jim". I'd hang on to it if you've any interest at all in classic computers, it's a nice device to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Hello guys CSS still had all the stuff they need to build FloppyBoards last time I "spoke" to Chris (Bob's "partner in crime"). And they probably still do. And all you need to know about the FloppyBoard and BlackBox that isn't on the CSS site, can be found on my BlackBox site. BTW I've played music CD's with my Atari and read data CD's using the BlackBox. And booted from CD! (see my ASPI page and my boot CD page.) sincerely Mathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 (edited) I'd had a BB / FB once. Sadly I'd lent it along with several 800xl's and 130xe, hardrive and Mux to a friend who as part of her computer course wanted an example of an early computer system. At some point the BlackBox had been jamed into the 130xe ripping the ECI connection loose and shorting the BB ... in other words, "it's dead jim". I'd hang on to it if you've any interest at all in classic computers, it's a nice device to have. That can be easily fixed.. All of the chips on the black box are still commonly available.. and if the ECI "tongue" is damaged, you can still use an MIO-style cable connected to the 50 pin header on top. Edited July 23, 2010 by MEtalGuy66 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 (edited) Hello guys CSS still had all the stuff they need to build FloppyBoards last time I "spoke" to Chris (Bob's "partner in crime"). And they probably still do. Mustve been a while since you talked to him.. Ray Paladino bought all of Bob's remaining FLoppyboard PCB blanks about 2 years ago.. (I think he also got a few BB PCBs.. Whatever Bob had left..).. He was able to source EVERYTHING to fully assemble them all.. I bought a Floppyboard from him about 1.5 years ago.. and it works great. He's not selling any of his remaining stuff, afaik.. He still plans to put up that monster 8-node atari BBS... He bought three MIOs from me, and he built 9 256k 800XLs.. He has at least three black boxes, and four dual-port lantronics terminal servers.. He also bought about 12 MUX client boards from Steve Carden.. He will be using all of the above in the BBS.. Edited July 23, 2010 by MEtalGuy66 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Your pictures remind me... I have the BB/FB combo, and Bob from CSS talked me into buying the case as well. But after I got the case, I couldn't imagine the close proximity of the FB chips on top of the BB chips, then putting the whole thing inside an (essentially) unventilated case. So I sold the case to a "collector" and I've run the BB/FB combo using a small "slot" fan to circulate air down the length of the pair. You certainly had a good find! -Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari8man2004 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Wow, this is awesome news.. Put me down for 2. I'm glad Bob has interest with the 8bit scene again, there's nothing like the Blackbox. My 20 year old BB is still working like a charm. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Wow, this is awesome news.. Put me down for 2. I'm glad Bob has interest with the 8bit scene again, there's nothing like the Blackbox. My 20 year old BB is still working like a charm. Thanks! Wrong thread maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 4sur! BTW, the nice pics of the pristine BB shamed me into getting out the can of air and "dusting" my BB off! -Larry Wow, this is awesome news.. Put me down for 2. I'm glad Bob has interest with the 8bit scene again, there's nothing like the Blackbox. My 20 year old BB is still working like a charm. Thanks! Wrong thread maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox-1 / mnx Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 BTW, the nice pics of the pristine BB shamed me into getting out the can of air and "dusting" my BB off! /me discovered his can was empty 4 minutes ago as I had exactly the same idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloopy Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 i have a 33 gallon can of air, anyone need some? :') sloopy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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