Bear (and Porridge) do the Atari 800XLF Cha, Cha, Char

Right, time to get out my 'hot air rework station':

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-Yep, It's a Ghetto Rework Station-


RF Modulator out - this leaves both room for a motherboard mounted VGA connector and space on the back of the computer.

ANTIC removed in a jiff with hardly any effort at all. A good hot air rework station is a real godsend, especially when you want to remove large IC's intact from old motherboards...
...note the various important pieces of equipment and careful setup / preparation. ;)


More later.
 

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Nearly done :)

I shall post some piccies soon...
Funny, my 800XL only outputs in mono via the built-in video port now the upgrade is done. All is fine via the VBXE's VGA port. I've not found any mention of this in the VBXE docs or associated forum threads:
-Something I have done wrong? (not obviously)
-A result of my removing the TV modulator? (I'll have to check)
-An expected side-effect of the VBXE? (a little warning would have been nice)

Hmm, I had to pull my New Brain to fit the VBXE. A bit of a shame considering the work I put in to it, but it seems a happy bonus of the VBXE is a more stable system - I suspect my Freddy 800XL + New Brain could end up for sale fairly soon. 'Good machine, can't promise it will work if upgraded'.
 
Here's some piccies of the final (for now) system:

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-Rubbish photo, I'll upload a better one some time-


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-Close up of VBXE install, and other bits-


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-Rear panel of my 800XL-


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-Close up of new switch and ports-


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-And rest... for now-


Photos of it in action when I've got it properly hooked up to a compatible monitor... 15khz output!
 

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Ooo... It's been a while since I last resurrected this thread!

Bear is still on the run, with Porridge, for crimes against humanity. To be more specific the smaller and generally more annoying members of the human race... I can't say he's wholly to blame for making the occasional snack out of the wee little tykes on his show. A bear has a prodigious appetite, and as he said himself; "What else am I supposed to do when I'm trying to google 'Teens do the Cha, cha, char' and I can't hear myself think for all their incessant yammering?"
I ask you, what kind of lunatics would think having a large, dangerous animal host a children's TV show would be a good idea? (Possibly the same persons who thought a man with a name that means 'squeaky fart' would be the ideal person to put in charge of the world's most dangerous powerful country?)


So, as Bear and Porridge (aka the dynamic duo because Bear thinks Porridge looks sooo cute in his Robin outfit) aren't about I guess I'll just have to show off the latest developments myself:

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Top

My Atari 800XL (nonFreddie) with SIDE2 cartridge, along with screen and buttons for internal SIO2SD adaptor. Why have one mass storage solution when you can have two?

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Bottom

Who doesn't like a nice bottom? Left to right are SIO port, expansion bus with SD card hiding behind the cover, properly functioning AV port, stereo audio jack with indicator LED, VGA out, stereo / mono selector switch, power socket, and power switch.



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It's filth I tell you!

And having removed it's top lets walk through the goodies on show. The motherboard has had a few stability mods, feel free to look further up the thread for some of the angst this machine has inflicted on me. Fully recapped with ceramic and tantalum jobbies, will hopefully never leak again!
Bottom, right: Dual Pokeys and COVOX for stereo sound 'n stuff.
Bottom, left: VBXE handling VGA and extra video trickery.
Top, left: Ultimate 1Mb board for lots of memory, ROMs, and configurablility.
Top, right: Rapidus Accelerator because what a 30 year old machine needs is 14mhz of 16bit poke, and yet more memory!
The SIO2SD adaptor and screen are fitted in the lid, requiring me to solder up a more low profile connector for the Ultimate 1Mb board.

...if only I had the slightest idea how to use the darn thing! :D
 
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Very nice

chokka is a word that comes to mind!

where did the buttons come from Charlie as they look very good and the right length. What to do with it? Play flip and flop, drop zone, star raiders,... some of the big demos... yoomp...do you want a list?;)

again, it looks great, a monster.
 
:)
Thanks, I have gone a bit mad on this machine... been upgrading & trouble-shooting it so much I've barely used it & understand it less if I'm honest!

I play Yoomp & the new version of Pacman a lot... always up for suggestions.
My VBXE has currently forgotten it's an upgrade so can't play the really funky stuff, another debugging job!
 
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