-----Original Message-----
From: mhop [SMTP:mhop@snip.net]
Sent: Friday, March 21, 1997 8:21 AM
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
Subject: Atari 800xe ?
>> Common European Computer (esp. Germany):
>>
>> Atari 800XE (common in eastern europe)
>>
>
> Really? There was the 800, 800lx, and the 130xe. I think I heard of a
> 600ex game system, but I never heard of an 800ex. What are its specs?
I have a 800XE new in the box for ex. east germany. It looks like a 130XE but
has only 64kB. If you are interested in further details I can check the instuction booklet.
Anyone interested in 800XEs? I can try to get hold of some ...
>> Laser 50, Laser 2000, Sinlair QL,
> ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^
>
> Now THESE machines interest me. Why? Because I am the proud owner of a
> Laser 3000 from Video Technologies Ltd. Are the 50 and the 2000 from
> the same company? The only other machines from them that I've heard of
> are the VZ200 and the Laser 128 (I think they were?).
are you sure the VZ200 is from Video Technologies? I have one new in box with 16kB RAM but there is
no reference to Video Technologies on the case.
I have four LASER 500 with LASER Tapes. Anyone heard of these?
> There are a lot of very common (in Europe) European machines I'd like to
> get my hands on, perhaps someone should set up an intercontinental
> computer trade route. :)
VERY GOOD IDEA - I got some of my computers from the US ...
If anyone is interested in trading (Computer and Video-Games):
http://hal.do.isst.fhg.de/~walgen/Museum/Gallery/Gallery.html
I also have a small flea-market for old computer at
http://hal.do.isst.fhg.de/~walgen/Museum/HCM.html
Furthermore it could be interesting to make a list of common european
computers that are possibly rare in the US. Here a first try - please
make comments on the rarity of these computers in the US:
Common European Computer (esp. Germany):
Atari 800XE (common in eastern europe)
Commodore C-116
Commodore C-16
Commodore VC-20 (has not VIC-20 as label)
Philips VG 8010, VG8020, NMS8280 (all MSX)
Philips G7000 (Video games)
Schneider CPC 464, CPC 664, CPC6128, Joyce PCW 8256
Sharp MZ-700, MZ-800
Sinclair QL
Sony HitBit HB-75D (MSX)
Triumph Adler Alphatronic TA
Robotron KC85/3 (from ex. east germany - Z-80 clone)
Common European Computer (esp. France):
Matra Alice, Alice 90
Thomson TO7, TO7-70
Thomson MO5, TO8, TO8D
Common European Computer (esp. Netherlands):
MSX Computer. esp. Philips
> Common European Computer (esp. Germany):
>
> Atari 800XE (common in eastern europe)
>
Really? There was the 800, 800lx, and the 130xe. I think I heard of a
600ex game system, but I never heard of an 800ex. What are its specs?
mhop(a)snip.net
On 20-Mar-97, classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu wrote:
>There were many "Speech Synthesizer" modules released. Most of them had to
>do with entertainment packages, but there also many for education as well.
> Education packages included the Scott, Foresman series were the computer
>would say the numbers and letters to children, and for entertainment, there
>was Alpiner, Parsec, M*A*S*H, Star Trek, Microsurgeon, and many, many others.
Actually, I was referring to the modules that were to plug into the Speech
Synthesizer itself, beneath the flip-top. Numerous references mention them,
and though on my Synthesizer, there isn't a connector in it for the module, I
was wondering if maybe some early examples were shipped with one. Even the
Speech Synthesizer manual mentions the cartridges.
>There are more than 373 words to choose from. In fact, with the Terminal
>Emulator II cartridge, you have unlimited "text-to-speech" capability.
> Literally anything you type in can be spoken. Sometimes you would have to
>make the the pronunciation spellings different in order for this to work, but
>mostly, it was fine. Extended BASIC was the only cartridge that limited
>"text-to-speech", but even then TI later released a "text-to-speech" diskette
>which would allow the user to type in anything (much like the Terminal
>Emulator II, and Speech Editor).
I got the 373 word limit from the Synthesizer manual, though I've not
counted up the words in the list it shows. I plan on playing with TE-II once
I recieive the RS232 board for my PEBox. It'd be interesting having it speak
the ascii data as it came across!
>I just picked up a Speech Editor cartridge for $20 from someone who was
>selling it along with other old TI stuff. Expect to pay this, or more for it
>- as it is rare. I just got it, and I can't even use it because I don't have
>the manual.
That's fine with me...BTW, here's another question regarding the GROM
cartridges. When did Atari begin making the arcade game cartridges for the
TI-99/4A? Most people admit that TI didn't allow much 3rd party software to
be produced initially, yet here is one of their competitors writing programs
for it. I have the Donkey Kong and Pac Man cartridges, and they are both
dated 1983.
Jeff jeffh(a)eleventh.com
--
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// Amiga: The computer for the creative mind...since 1985!
// -------------------------------------------------------
\// True 32bit pre-emptive multitasking GUI, plug&play hardware,
\/ stereo sound, and 4096 color video modes since day #1
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Collector of classic home computers:
Amiga 1000, Atari 800, Atari 800XL, Atari Mega-ST/2, Commodore
C-128, Commodore Plus/4, Commodore VIC-20, Kaypro 2X, Mattel
Aquarius, Osbourne Executive, Sinclair ZX-81, TI-99/4A, Timex-
Sinclair 1000, TRS-80 Color Computer-3, and a TRS-80 Model 4.
Plus Atari SuperPong and Atari 2600VCS game consoles.
In a message dated 97-03-16 18:18:32 EST, Bryan Nicalek writes:
> The TI-99/2 was never actually produced. Only pre-production units were
ever
> made. This was after the TI-99/4A, back in 1983. A whole line of
> peripherals were planned to be offered, including the new HEX-BUS
interface.
> The 99/2 was black and white only, 40 columns, and limited but a very
> portable computer. Only rare photos have ever been seen.
The 99/2 did make it out the door - I bought one in a MSP Target. The hex
bus peripherals also were produced, and worked with the CC40 (handheld from
TI).
John Hamilton
hamijohn(a)aol.com
"Old computers never die, they just fade away bit by bit!"
> My nephew owns an Atari 800XL computer, and I was wondering if anyone
> knows of any source for basic programs he could type in and learn from.
> I think the basic programs should be short and easy for a 7th grader to
> learn from. Thanks for any help. I will be writing up a mastermind program
> for him and maybe a tic-tac-toe game for him. Anyone have ideas for other
> games that can be written in BASIC and are easy to understand and short?
> Thanks in advance.
Used book stores. They often have old computer books lying around which
they'll sell to you for a couple dollars, and it shouldn't be too hard to
find books of basic games. Heck, I have a book of 33 games designed for
PET, Apple ][, or TRS-80 BASIC that I could send to you, if you want.
They're pretty, uh, basic, but taking them apart isn't a bad way to learn
BASIC.
I really should sleep more,
--
Ben Coakley coakley(a)ac.grin.edu
530 User anonymous access denied.
http://www.math.grin.edu/~coakley for fiction, etc.
In a message dated 97-03-20 13:55:54 EST jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com (James Willing)
wrote:
> I guess my base fear here is that if we actually managed to get the
> media's attention, a few major stories like this might drive the equipment
> costs to high (note I said COSTS, not VALUE) that only deep pocketed
> people with no real interest in the equipment other than its percieved
> 'value' would be able to afford to obtain it!
Well said. Publicity is not always a good thing.
imw(a)agora.rdrop.com (James Willing) also wrote:
Me, I'm doing new board layouts and am planning to reconstruct a 'Mark-8'
or two... Anyone else interested in a board set?
I might be, post some details.
Lou
Captain Napalm sez:
>It was thus said that the Great Christopher Heer once stated:
>> Wow. 72 pin? Are you certain? In any case, ISTR older Zeniths taking proprietary
>> memory.
> Yup. Without any SIMMS, the system just sits there producing vast amounts
>of nothing quite fast. With memory installed, I get the bad CMOS error,
>then vast amounts of nothing quite fast.
Well that's pretty ironclad. I doubt you're having a memory problem.
>> > Then the screen goes blank and the system just sits there, fans spinning.
>> How long? I mean, how long have you let it wait? If it's mis-configured on the
>> hard disk, it could take simply ages to time out.
> Oh, two minutes maybe. Nothing very long.
Let it go longer. Sweartagod I've seen PC's take 15 minutes to error out. Also, if
there's a hard disk controller installed, yank it. It may make it time out faster.
And as someone else mentioned, Zenith was fond of using Ctrl-Alt-Ins as the keystroke
combination to get into setup. Give that a go.
--
Christopher D. Heer ORACLE Corporation
Network Engineer III 203 N. La Salle Avenue #2000
Work: (312) 704-1676 Chicago, IL 60601
Fax: (312) 726-4635
Email: cheer(a)us.oracle.com Visualize Whirled Peas
Captain Napalm sez:
> At an auction this past Saturday, I picked up a Zenith Z386-20 (okay, it
>might, just might, be 10 years old). It looks to be a decent system, and
>today is the first day I've been able to play around with it, as I had to
>scrape up some 72-pin SIMMS for memory.
Wow. 72 pin? Are you certain? In any case, ISTR older Zeniths taking proprietary
memory.
> Upon turning the unit on, I get (if I recall - it doesn't stay very long
>on the screen):
> Bad CMOS configuration blah blah yada yada
> Then the screen goes blank and the system just sits there, fans spinning.
How long? I mean, how long have you let it wait? If it's mis-configured on the
hard disk, it could take simply ages to time out.
> I have some questions about the unit I figure I'd through out here before
>going to alt.folklore.computers.
> 1. It doesn't seem to even look at the keyboard. Do Zeniths use
> a proprietary keyboard, or is the POST routine not getting past
> the bad CMOS?
Zeniths were, ISTR, slightly touchy about keyboards, but they didn't have to be
proprietary. Odds are something else is hanging it.
> 2. The computer itself has a daughter board that contains the
> ROMs, a SmartBattery (DALLAS - DS1260-100 / 9816 / 3V
> Lithium battery), an Intel 8742 (Universal Peripheral Interface
> 8-bit Slave uController) and other neat features (the 8 LEDs
> are a nice touch). The Smart battery can be removed, but I'm
> wondering if it's a common item and is easily replaced.
Depends on how you define "common" and "easily," but yeah, you should be able to
find it and replace it. They last a long time, though; I'd resolve the config
issue before replacing it.
--
Christopher D. Heer ORACLE Corporation
Network Engineer III 203 N. La Salle Avenue #2000
Work: (312) 704-1676 Chicago, IL 60601
Fax: (312) 726-4635
Email: cheer(a)us.oracle.com Visualize Whirled Peas
