OSS 4-in-1 Cartridge
I already own the OSS Action! and BASIC XL cartridges, but never had the MAC/65 assembler and I no longer have the BASIC XE cartridge that I owned in the 80s
. These all are pretty difficult to find and can be expensive when they show up.Technically you don’t need the cartridge at all since there are now images available for these things, but I like cartridges.
Recently I saw on eBay the OSS 4-in-1 cartridge that contained BASIC XL, BASIC XE, Action! and MAC/65 for $40. That seemed like a pretty good deal, so I ordered it. Bill, the seller, followed up with emails and shipped it quickly. It arrived in 5 days.
As the package said when it arrived, each of these is custom-made.
When you order you can choose the color you want. I went with orange since that is the original OSS color. It is a pretty close match to the original orange.
The way it works is that there are two jumpers on the back. The position of the jumpers determines which cartridge boots.
No jumpers: MAC/65 v3.6
Top jumper: BASIC XE v4.1
Bottom jumper: Action! v3.6
Both jumpers: BASIC XL v1.03
My BASIC XL cartridge is v1.02. I’m not sure what the differences are, but newer is always better, right?
I look forward to playing with BASIC XE again. I really liked that.
I never worked with assembly so I have no experience with MAC/65, but it is the best assembler to have, from what I recall.
I also plan to get into using Action! a bit as time goes on.
So overall, I am pleased with this OSS 4-in-1 cartridge. Really the only problem is that I hope I don’t loose the jumpers!
I foolishly sold it when I was clearing out some Atari stuff in the mid-2000s.
That is a great cart he offers. I use it all the time now. I keep the jumpers in a little ziplock so I don't lose them.
SantosP on AtariAge sells a multiple OSS cart that is switchable with a button. Doesn't have the "orange" look, though, as it is transparent to allow a display to show the selected program.