13 replies to this topic

[busterm]

Hope you guys/gals can identify this for me.

I recently picked up a extremely large lot of Atari Hardware/ Software from a local seller. Massive lot really.

However this was in the lot. Its a basic cart that has that huge daughter board coming out the top and then a few numbered chips.

Also there were a few blank boards and an eprom maker that had atari controller cords coming out of it.

Im mainy questioning the Basic cart with the board coming out the top. Was this a custom job or were these for sell at one point.

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[orpheuswaking]

You sure you have enough 16k memory boards

[bf2k+]

Maybe the 'questionable' Basic cart was converted to an EPROM burner.

[sloopy]

ignore the idiot, some village in the central US is missing theirs ;'D



it looks like an EPROM reader, and the black things are 'personality' modules, that are plugged in for the various types of EPROMs... and the box, as it says is a programmer...

can you make pics of the back/top/etc? its not an official Atari product, but BASIC carts are very common, and have been used for various other projects.

sloopy.

[Bryan]

Looks to me like someone made their own development cartridge or EPROM burner. So, the next question is what's in the EPROMs??

Edited by Bryan, Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:25 PM.

[busterm]

orpheuswaking, on Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:11 PM, said:

You sure you have enough 16k memory boards

HAHA thats just the ones that have a box. I have 7 more with out boxes but Im not sure how muck memory are on those as they all have different chip counts.

[orpheuswaking]

busterm, on Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:48 PM, said:

orpheuswaking, on Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:11 PM, said:

You sure you have enough 16k memory boards

HAHA thats just the ones that have a box. I have 7 more with out boxes but Im not sure how muck memory are on those as they all have different chip counts.

You need to catalog and photograph the whole lot

Mine only took me 6 months to do (photos down there in the link in my sig)

[busterm]

sloopy, on Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:23 PM, said:

ignore the idiot, some village in the central US is missing theirs ;'D



it looks like an EPROM reader, and the black things are 'personality' modules, that are plugged in for the various types of EPROMs... and the box, as it says is a programmer...

can you make pics of the back/top/etc? its not an official Atari product, but BASIC carts are very common, and have been used for various other projects.

sloopy.

Here are some more photos of the board. There are a few switches on it and what looks like a cart port on the end.

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[busterm]

orpheuswaking, on Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:52 PM, said:

busterm, on Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:48 PM, said:

orpheuswaking, on Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:11 PM, said:

You sure you have enough 16k memory boards

HAHA thats just the ones that have a box. I have 7 more with out boxes but Im not sure how muck memory are on those as they all have different chip counts.

You need to catalog and photograph the whole lot

Mine only took me 6 months to do (photos down there in the link in my sig)

It would probably take me at least that long. The whole lot took two trucks to gather with barely enough room for the driver.

[busterm]

Bryan, on Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:23 PM, said:

Looks to me like someone made their own development cartridge or EPROM burner. So, the next question is what's in the EPROMs??

I checked the two carts with no labels. They both have diagnostic program on them to test video, ram and keyboard

The white pcb one only give me a green screen

The green pcb I just found out fits in the cart port of an ST and not an atari 400/800. I'll test it out as soon as I can round up a power strip. All mine are currently tied up to the 7 400/800 systems currently hooked up to my tv. BTW anyone in the market for a 400/800 =P

[sloopy]

top left photo: probably to program a 27128 as an 8k (2764) chip, as the prices of 2764's and 27128's were very close, so many would just buy the 27128's and use half or make a selectable switch between two choices (i.e. BASIC Rev A and Rev C)

top right photo: i would guess to clone a 8k or 16k cart, plug a cart in the top, and it would save the data from it to floppy, even to another EPROM in the ZIF socket

bottom left photo: this is the most interesting, as the small chip (TL497ACN), shows this isnt just an EPROM reader, but a writer too, what that chip does is take the 5v's from the A8, and multiplies it to ~30V (turns low voltage high current, into high voltage low current, as programming EPROMs require either 12V, 21V, or 25V to program, with the latter two being common in 2716 and 2732 devices). the other chip is an Intel 8255, this is somewhat similar to the 6520 already in your atari or a 6522 (and 'upgraded' 6520), but was originally designed for the Intel 8086 series of chips (yeah the line of CPU's that comes right up to the PC on your desk!), and it is the second part that shows this is a EPROM writer in addition to reader... this is the chip the controls the timing of the pulses that program the EPROMs, it is probly uncommon a 8255 is used on a 65xx based system as a 6522 would be capable of doing the job also, but the designer probably was familiar with the intel products, so chose it, as the cost differences were probably nominal...

bottom right photo: thats an Atari 800 main board on the left, and all the relevent points on the cart have been covered :')

also in the bottom left pic, the board on the bottom looks like an analog board for the 810 disk drive (goes on top of the floppy mech), and down on the bottom left of the same pic, thats a CPU board for the Atari 800, goes in the last slot of the 800...

sloopy.

[sloopy]

busterm, on Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:36 PM, said:

Bryan, on Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:23 PM, said:

Looks to me like someone made their own development cartridge or EPROM burner. So, the next question is what's in the EPROMs??

I checked the two carts with no labels. They both have diagnostic program on them to test video, ram and keyboard

The white pcb one only give me a green screen

The green pcb I just found out fits in the cart port of an ST and not an atari 400/800. I'll test it out as soon as I can round up a power strip. All mine are currently tied up to the 7 400/800 systems currently hooked up to my tv. BTW anyone in the market for a 400/800 =P

the white PCB board on the right in the X photo, says 'Monkey Wrench' on it, this was a cart with BASIC 'wedge' on it, to help programmers in BASIC, it probably goes in the right slot of an 800, with basic in the left slot...

is the screen green when just a BASIC cart is in the machine? the color adj may be off, there it a big pot on the CPU board which will adjust it back to blue...

sloopy.

[Faicuai]

busterm, on Thu Jun 23, 2011 7:59 PM, said:

Hope you guys/gals can identify this for me.

I recently picked up a extremely large lot of Atari Hardware/ Software from a local seller. Massive lot really.

However this was in the lot. Its a basic cart that has that huge daughter board coming out the top and then a few numbered chips.

Also there were a few blank boards and an eprom maker that had atari controller cords coming out of it.

Im mainy questioning the Basic cart with the board coming out the top. Was this a custom job or were these for sell at one point.

We are dealing with a butcher, here... And an interesting one, indeed.


F.

[busterm]

Ok I finally found out what this cartridge bad boy is. I just needed to do a little more digging in the box of books and magazines I have.

And low and behold I found the manual. Its not a one man hack job it was an actual product that was sold called Cartridge Mater Version 2 by Radical Systems in Huntsville AL.

I just read through the manual and it was just as some of you had suggested a developer board.

Here is what is listed under the Overview of the Manual

Quote

Cartridge Maker is a programming tool that allows you to make your own cartridges. This is an important capability for the serious game designer. The hobbyist benefits from cartridge Maker by being able to backup ATARI cartridges as protection against damage to the original cartridge. Electronics hobbyist and professionals can use Cartridge maker to burn EPROMs for other computer systems, or home projects. Cartridge Maker can read and program 2716, 2532, 2732, 2732a,2564,2764, and 27128 EPROMs. Additionally, Cartridge Maker can read ROMs (the type used by ATARI in their 8K, and 16K cartridges). Cartridge Maker provides commands to:
1 - make sure an EPROM is erased
2 - burn programs into EPROM from diskette
3 - burn programs into EPROM from cassette
4 - verify that the EPROM was correctly programmed
5 - examine the contents of an EPROM or ROM
6 - copy a EPROM or ROM to diskette
7 - copy a EPROM or ROM to cassette

Cartrdige Maker can be used stand-alone (with no other software) or with DOS. The Cartridge Maker hardware is designed specifically for the ATARI COMPUTER ( 400 , 8001 600XL, 200XL, and 1200XL and plugs into the CARTRIDGE SLOT (left slot for the 800). No external power source are required. The Cartridge Maker software in in the EPROM on the board, and also on diskette.

Now that I have the manual I'm going to see if it actually works =P

Edited by busterm, Sun Jun 26, 2011 5:35 PM.