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XL/XE compatible Atari 800?


Tempest

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Fiberwire:

heh ;)

Sloopy told me, that you have one spare and could ship it over to me for testing, and then Curt was involved

but sure - if you can lend me one for time of development - it will be very helpfull

Ransom:

You don't need any gear for finnished product, hardware will be fixed then, and no jtag programmer will be required

current build, is just to get prototypes done, as this is too much for me to handle

 

Mimo: end of this week it will be - i tell ya ;)

now i suppose to design electric meter for server rack - nice change after designing computers ;P

time schelude for this is friday (having pcb ready) and i'm drawing schematics... ;)

 

i'm not taking any more beta testers after this post - whoever may come up - i have more than enough already, and can't expect anyone buying gear for this unless really want it

rest will have to wait for regular preorder thread, and hopefully it won't take 9 months to get this done

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JamesD: its an PBI interface connector

fiberwire: it works like this: you put your 128k axlon board back in the drawer, and use 1mb axlon compatible memory expansion which is already built in

 

Ok, i'll PM you with details, and if we move forward, i'll post updates in this thread

 

The PBI Connector will be great, will we only need a 50pin scsi ribbon cable to be able to connect it to things like the IDE+ 2.0?

 

or better yet an internal ribbon cable running to a 50pin scsi connector mounted out the back or side of the 800?

 

Robert.

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all is doable, you need to open that tinbox though

casting prevents anythign to get in or out, and top lid will have to be modified to get anything pass through it

 

I would recommend considering the unique benefits of the "JM"-800's "anatomy".

 

If looked at it from the top-front side, there is a cavern-like empty-volume towards the left-side of the machine, which is naturally well cooled/ventilated, which could perfectly store a TROVE of goodies, nicely tucked-inside, with minimal or no ghetto-looking ribbons sticking out, poor-looking cable-spaguetti's, or at least ensuring that these remain inside.

 

Now, this could be the BOARD OF THE CENTURY, but the trick is how to pick all the signals you need, with minimal dismantling of the machine (a-la-800XL, but with a quite a different system-board config. and distribution). If you have access to a pristine unit, you will notice that its construction and the amount of material devoted to its assembly are in another league, with respect to the XL-series (and not to even mention the XE-series, though).

 

As for me, I have no problem paying MORE (e.g. increased design and manufacturing costs) in exchange of minimally intrusive implementation and a wider range of integrated functionality (not because of the install work burden, but because of the historical value of the machine).

 

And if this board (hypothetically) were to combine stuff like [ultra1MB + SIDE-like storage + VBXE / 80cols + maybe stereo], either from the get-go, or with discrete add-ons to the expansion board (either on its own slot, or using slots), this would render my 800XL to a child's toy, and put the JM-800 back onto the stratosphere, where it belongs. :)

 

F.

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JamesD: i've decided to limit beta-tester crew to 10 people, thus please don't buy any gear that you wouldn't need

i'll have something to report by the end of this week

Ok by me. I wanted the 800 anyway. The only reason I purchased a 130XE was because an 800 wouldn't run everything I wanted to.

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