Getting Started with Retro Computing I
Getting Started with Retro Computing I
Starting with Atari 8-bits, of course
If you like what you’ve been seeing here on Goto 10 and are interested in getting into retro computing yourself, then here are some tips/guidance/ideas/suggestions.
This will be split into multiple parts as there are so many systems to consider. To start, I’m going to focus on the Atari 8-bit, as I tend to do. In later posts I will cover the Atari ST and then other non-Atari systems.
Although this site is Atari-focused, the name Goto 10 is meant to include other systems as well. I’d like to also cover the TI 99/4a, TRS-80, Commodore 64 and Amiga computers, which were the primary competitors to Atari, at least here in the United States.
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Retro Computing with the Atari 8-bit
The Atari 8-bit computers were announced in late 1978, started shipping in late 1979 and were discontinued in 1992. It is estimated that about 2 million machines in total were shipped. Over that time period, many different models were produced, with RAM amounts ranging from 8K to 128K. First there was the Atari 400 and 800. Then the 1200XL, followed by the 600XL and 800XL. Later there was the 65XE, 130XE and XE Game System.
For more information about the Atari 8-bits, be sure to read A Brief History of Atari 8-bit Computers, Parts 1 and 2.
These computers are all similar and mostly compatible with each other, but there are differences. The XL/XE models had a slightly upgraded OS, so there could be some compatibility issues with older software designed for the 400/800.
Due to their well-designed OS, Atari 8-bits can work with more than 64K of RAM. The 130XE included 128K and today you can buy add-on boards that offer 1MB of RAM.
Unlike, say the Commodore 64, which could not use more than 64K. Those RAM modules just worked as disk drives, from what I understand.
Emulation
If you’re just getting started, you probably ought to at least give emulation a try first. It can be a great way to get a basic (pun intended) idea of how the system works before you take the plunge with finding actual hardware.
For the Atari 8-bit, the emulator I use most often is Atari800MacX. This is a Mac-native port of the Atari800 open-source emulator. I’ve been using the Atari800MacX emulator for years, long before I re-acquired some 8-bit computers. The UI makes it really easy to use. I especially like its easy ability to print to a text file, which is great for getting source code to include in articles. In addition you can set up a virtual hard disk to make it easier to use local files with the Atari, or to export them to use elsewhere, such as to make available for download or to get onto actual hardware.
To get started on Mac, download Atari800MacX. You’ll also need Atari ROMs for the OS at least (AtariMania is a great place to find them). With those in place, you can then boot from downloadable disk images and play some games (also many on AtariMania). I’ll be writing about Atari800MacX usage in more detail in the future.
Another popular emulator is Altirra, which runs on Windows and Linux, if you’re into that. I’ve seen mention of using WINE to get it to work with macOS, but I have not looked into that. I did try Altirra on a Windows PC and it does work well, but I found I preferred to use the Atari800 emulator on Windows.
One problem I did run into when switching between Mac and Windows was that disk images did not seem to be fully compatible. For example, if I took a disk image I made on Mac and copied it to use on Altirra on Windows, I could access the files on it and use it. But if I wrote something to the image on Windows and then copied it back to the Mac, I could not read it with Atari800MacX. I probably have a configuration setting wrong somewhere, but since I don’t have a real need to do this often, I haven’t worried about it. If any readers have seen these before and have suggestions, please leave a comment.
Hardware
When looking for Atari 8-bit hardware, I’ve found that it is generally pretty easy to find here in the US
, but that it seems harder to find in Europe.The opposite is the case for the Atari ST, which seems easy to find in Europe but quite difficult to find in the US.
The most common model is the 800XL and is probably the one to start with. It is stylish and reliable. Although be wary of the power supply. The black “ingot” design can fail and burn out an Atari in the process. You’ll be better off getting a replacement or event a USB power supply instead.
Like everything thing from that era, the Atari 8-bits were designed to be used with CRT displays (TVs or monitors).
The Atari’s TV output sends an analog signal to channel 3/4 (in the US). Some newer LCDs can display analog signals, but not all. To test this you’ll want an adapter (or switchbox)
to connect the Atari to the RF input on the LCD. Tell the LCD to scan for channels and see if it finds any analog ones. You may get lucky.Of course an RF signal is not the best you can get. Most Ataris
can also output a composite signal for use with a monitor (of the time). This can be a straight composite or a separated S-Video signal. You’ll need a special cable for this. I use a monitor to S-Video cable with an old LCD which gives me a nice sharp picture.Using LCDs is convenient, but they do display things diffently than a CRT, so if you can use a CRT you might prefer it. Read this article to learn more about CRT vs. LCD.
Getting Software
There were a lot of game cartridges made for Atari computers so if you have an actual machine you can use it without any other peripherals. Just plug in a game cartridge (as it if were a console) and enjoy! Most cartridges sell for about $10-$20 on eBay. I have a collection of 8-bit cartridges, including games and programming languages.
Most software is available online which makes it even easier to try out stuff. With an emulator you can just download disk images, cartridge images or executable “xex” files that you can run.
A great place to get software is AtariMania.
Using downloaded stuff with actual hardware is trickier. I have a few modern devices that help with that.
The easiest is the S-Drive Max
, a device that uses disk images on an SD card and emulates them as actual floppy drives. It has a touch screen and is easy to use. I can download images to an SD card, plug it into the S-Drive Max and it acts as if it is a floppy disk.I also have actual a couple floppy disk drives and lots of floppy disks I can use, but most won’t have access to that.
You can use something called SIO2PC that provides a way to copy stuff from a computer onto a floppy in an actual Atari drive. I do not tried this myself.
I also have a special cartridge called the Side3 that also can take an SD card and allow you to run stuff from it. This is much more difficult to use and not as compatible as an S-Drive Max, but it is much more powerful. I’m working on an article about how I set up a virtual hard disk with the Side3.
You can also find an AtariMax cartridge that takes an SD card and lets you run things from it, but it works best with cart images and not disk images.
For most people, the combination of an Atari 800XL and an S-Drive Max will let you try most things.
Other articles you might like:
I see plenty on eBay and FaceBook marketplace.
Here’s an example on Amazon.
All except the Atari 400 and 600XL have monitor outputs.
I’ve used The Brewing Academy for a lot of modern Atari-related stuff.
About $70 from The Brewing Academy. It’s an open spec so others probably make it as well. I’ve also seen them on eBay.
My 800XL arrived today. 😎
While it’s 100% accurate that the C64 could only address 64K of memory, it’s not quite right to say the RAM Expansion Units (REUs) only operated as disk drives. They were super fast DRAM units that operates via bank switching. So basically you’re swapping the entire 64KB of the machine in and out of the REU at speeds of about 1MB/sec, or basically instantaneous. So if you wrote your software to take advantage of bank switching, you could use as much as you had as far as I know.
And you could use them as RAM disk drives. 😃