Selling my upgraded Atari 1200XL: part 2 (completion)

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  • Опубликовано: 27 дек 2024

Комментарии • 64

  • @TJAtarian
    @TJAtarian 4 месяца назад

    Just watching section on painting the case. Your attention to detail and persistence is insane.

    • @TJAtarian
      @TJAtarian 4 месяца назад

      and even bought a spray tent. Are you making anything on this at all? legend.

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад +1

      @@TJAtarian Thanks! Yes - I'm making a reasonable amount of money, but only because the buyer is so appreciative of the work and expenditure involved and is keen to contribute towards that. The way I look at it, any cut corners at this stage are likely to create dissatisfaction and a lot of after-the-fact back-and-forth regarding troubleshooting, etc, so it's worth obsessing over the details now while the machine is in my hands rather than trying to deal with problems when it's three-thousand miles away. That's the attitude I always try to take, and it's not without self-interest, since a happy client with a working machine saves me time in the long-run.

  • @fragalot
    @fragalot 4 месяца назад +3

    i think you should put your own label on the bottom of the 1200XL, with your FJC logo, the date you refurbished it, what mods it has inside if it's PAL or NTSC, and whatever else you can fit on there to leave your mark.

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад

      That's not a bad idea at all. The original label was in bad shape and held on with tape when I first received this machine years ago.

  • @voodoomotion5855
    @voodoomotion5855 4 месяца назад +2

    Well done for preserving an awesome piece if history! These look like the big brother of the 800xl and big daddy of the 600xl. Never knew they existed years ago. Prefer them to the xe range. Love their distinct design and my memories of clunking out basic on that keyboard 😀

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад

      Yes: this fantastic-looking design clearly set the precedent for the subsequent 600/800XL designs and XL peripherals, although the later XLs were a tad watered down in terms of fit and finish, etc. The keyboards are amazing (once fixed), althoguh I'm really looking forward to equipping another 1200XL with the 'Decent 1200XL' aftermarket mechanical keyboard in a subsequent video. Stay tuned. :)

  • @richardkelsch3640
    @richardkelsch3640 4 месяца назад +2

    Hello Jon, may I make a suggestion when running into issues like this? The first thing everyone (expanding with devices) should do is get rid of the system crystal circuit, which outputs a sine wave. Replace it with a oscillator can with Schmidt trigger output (most have this). They output a clean 50% duty cycle square wave. Why? All of the Atari LSI circuits cause the clock to deteriorate. This means the likelihood of instability increases. So starting with a sine wave, you already increased the probability of instability by 25%. A square wave eliminates that variable. It still will degrade, but the degradation will be less obvious. Things like a 74F08 only help with a decent clock, but the 74F08 helps.
    In the 1200XL, remove the Q4 transistor and R12. Where R12 and Q4 previously connected, place the output of the oscillator can. Voila, the circuit runs cleanly. Note, this was one of the reasons why XEs had oscillator cans. Atari (and Commodore) only designed their systems to be stable stock or with a cartridge or disk drive connected. They never expected this.

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад

      Hi Richard. Q4 and R12 are already removed on this 1200XL, the clock being driven by the 3.5MHz (divided) output from the VBXE's (brand new) 14MHz crystal. The VBXE itself isn't compatible with oscillator packages, so there is a limit on how much tweaking can be done here. Anyone with ground-breaking ideas on how to ameliorate phase 2 clock stability issues should certainly get in touch with the hardware designers, since - particularly in the case of SIDE3 - it seemingly remains a mystery why the device (which was apparently designed to be 'immune' to O2 clock problems) often requires further stabilisation of the host machine.

  • @user-nd8zh3ir7v
    @user-nd8zh3ir7v 4 месяца назад +1

    Hi Jon, enjoyed the video. thx!

  • @bitdigital8052
    @bitdigital8052 4 месяца назад

    The paint job is A1! Very clean and imo, would go with that over rb in a severe case. Awesome vid as usual.

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад

      Thanks! And I agree. Painting is more difficult, but arguably not much more time-consuming than RetroBriting, and the results - when it turns out good - are long-lasting or permanent.

  • @Shawnsteroz
    @Shawnsteroz 4 месяца назад

    Hi Jon, great video, I found all your old mods pretty fascinating. I must admit I have never seen a 1200XL in Australia, must be rare, besides it's too freaking big, gimme an 600/800XL anyday. The paint looks good, a spray job is probably better than the retro-bright, which has no guarentee of equal colouring due to different grades of plastic used for top and bottom shells.

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад

      Thanks - and yes: I agree regarding paint vs Retr0Brite. Short-term pain, long-term gain. :)

  • @DarrenCoull
    @DarrenCoull 4 месяца назад +3

    So, the whole Lotharek thing is permanently done? That's a terrible shame, hope you really do find some extra income streams. Perhaps collab with SideCartridge guy (Logronoide) on the ST? RP2040-based mods seem to be the current flavour these days instead of discrete logic or FPGAs. A version of that cartridge but for the 8-bit might be viable? Keep up the good work!

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад +5

      Yep: his emotional response to being called out regarding inadequate testing and poor communication has been to take his ball and go home. And - ironically - I have still received no formal notification that SIDE3 and all other products carrying my firmware have been withdrawn from sale. That tells you what kind of operation we're dealing with here, and why it would be wise to find saner ways to make money. I've already been sent a Pi Pico PBI breakout board (by ScreamingAtTheRadio of 'decent keyboard' fame), and I'm looking forward to developing some prototype PBI device, making use of the state machines on the Pico.

  • @jamesalexander9468
    @jamesalexander9468 4 месяца назад

    The 2nd channel idea is a good 1. I'm also into guitars and that would be a good thing I think. Perhaps you could even repost some of your old guitar videos there. 6 strings and 8bits is a good combination.
    Another thing that others have suggested is finding some other people to do other 8bit inventions with would be good. With your repair experience and firmware knowledge you'd be good at it. Perhaps 1 possibility would be the guy who runs 8 bit and more here on youtube though I think he gets busy with his other work for long stretches.

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад +2

      I definitely think the second channel idea is worth pursuing, and as for hardware, I've already been approached by a couple of people, and am even considering working on my own Pi Pico 2-based stuff, since - although I lack VHDL abilities - I have the skills needed to at least produce a working prototype Pico-based device using a break-out board (I could then enlist the services of someone else to produce the final design). A change is as good as a rest, as they say. :)

    • @jamesalexander9468
      @jamesalexander9468 4 месяца назад

      @@flashjazzcat Yeah I've been seeing a bit bout those pico 2's this week it looks good for a lotta things for 8 bit fans like us. What blows nuggets about it is not just how it affects you & candle but how those who would've got U1MB or side3 won't get the chance cause of 1 persons bloody minded ego (not yours!). I'd not been looking at the new stuff for the A8's for many years, 2 decades at least. I might not have found out if all of my 8bit stuff hadn't gone "missing" during a move 3 years ago. I was lucky to have found them when I did though.
      PS. In the fall I plan to get started on my long overdue plan to start experimenting with that idea I'd mentioned in email. If I get it working properly hopefully I can get it released somehow. Though that could take quite a while.

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад +2

      ​@@jamesalexander9468 I had a closer look at the Pico 2 specs and it's a little short of SRAM for my purposes, but it seems you can hang extra (external) SRAM off the bus. Something with comprehensive cart mounting and HDD functionality would need at least 2MB of SRAM, and more if a PORTB RAM upgrade were to be implemented. 4MB, ideally. Adding external RAM and/or designing a proper production PCB is way outside my wheelhouse (although the Pico firmware side should not present insurmountable obstacles), so we'll see how it goes and whether any cooperation can be undertaken if I get anything off the ground.
      Ironically, Candle has been working on a JED update for SIDE 3.2 after I established that even JED 1.3-equipped production devices weren't working reliably on my test machines. Results look very promising indeed (I'm testing the JEDs with as many machines as I resonably can here), and hopefully we'll be able to at least offer an update (2.4) which might alleviate issues experienced by those who purchased SIDE 3.2 with either JED flavour (1.3 or 2.3).
      None of this helps the souring of the project itself in my eyes, however, since it still seems to me to be characterised by an uncoordinated testing strategy and a lack of attention to detail after a major redesign four years into the project (with the introduction of GoWin CPLDs in 2023). Moreover, it appears the climate which fostered 'cooperation' between us and Lotharek was so fragile, it was unable to survive constructive criticism or allow us to navigate around unforeseen issues. For my part, I'm well aware that many aspects of the software could also be improved (most specifically, error reporting and behaviour in the face of IO problems, etc), and implementing the desired improvements is exactly the undertaking I had embarked upon when Lotharek picked up his ball and went home.
      Good luck with your projects, anyway, and thanks for your considered comments.

    • @jamesalexander9468
      @jamesalexander9468 4 месяца назад +2

      @@flashjazzcat The problem with the Lotharek situation is ego (again not yours or candles) it showed glaringly in his reaction video right down to the facial expressions and disabling comments showing he can't take being shown to be in the wrong. I know I've said it before but the worst is him taking it out on the paying customers by cancelling further production rather than fixing the problem.
      As for the Pico 2 I'd had same thoughts about needing more ram on that 1 but its not outta reach. Don't underestimate yourself as your prior experiences fixing various computers does provide a lot of knowledge towards that. Plus as you mentioned others being able to join in would be great help too. It sort of relates to a couple of small projects I've had in mind for a year or so. Both of which would require me to learn to use kicad which I've been putting off far to long as I've also gotta reinstall windows yet again cause of its many massive failings. Anyways gonna do a cart case design for the longer osscart variant that Voltran hasn't gotten out yet (that I know of). The other being a pcb for a simplistic interface to composite / svideo / commodore 1702 (the rear chroma / luma inputs). I still think if more people came up with some projects even smaller 1's we'd all have an easier time of it. Much as it was decades ago when user groups still existed.

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад +2

      @@jamesalexander9468 While every one of us (and everyone involved, including me) assuredly has an ego that manifests itself in one way or another, I agree entirely that Lotharek's obvious indignation coupled with the disabling of comments indicates he has a problem with criticism. Some customer support emails to which I have been privy further support this supposition. Lotharek, of course, disables comments on all videos he uploads to his RUclips channel, and since this to me defeats the whole object, I normally skip over such content entirely. As it was, I was obliged to sit through the unnerving, meandering presentation in which - struggling to comprehend the fact he had just been called out in public - he touched on such matters as his marital situation, his children, the length of his working day, and his sense of self-worth, before musing over the 'further action' he might (and did, immediately afterwards) enact in order to punish me, Candle O'Sin, and the community at large.
      Having witnessed all that, I can only conclude that not only are we better off out of it, but that it's a miracle that cooperation (not that it resembled anything one could describe as 'cooperation' for the past six months) was possible for so long.
      Regarding the Pico stuff: I also lack any experience whatsoever in PCB layout, but I suppose it wouldn't be impossible to learn enough to produce a simple board. Doubtless being able to solder, install and repair stuff provides a reasonable path of entry into PCB design. I think you have the right idea, anyway, starting small and contributing to the pool of homebrew designs as a whole.

  • @as...4307
    @as...4307 4 месяца назад +2

    Amazing!!!!

  • @fragalot
    @fragalot 4 месяца назад

    When you write code for various hardware, do you have to keep in mind the nuances between the 400/800, XL, and XE? So what are those differences? I have been wondering for decades what are the main differences between the original 400/800, XL, XE and specifically the 1200XL versions of the Atari 8bits? I recall in 1984 my 800XL came with a "Translator Disk" (which i think we got from the local Atari support service center) which was supposed to let you run 800 software that wasn't compatible on the XLs. Later on I learned the "Translator Disk" was really meant for the incompatibilities and quirks of the 1200XL. I guess people assumed all XL machines inherited from the failed 1200XL. But I had friends who had XE models and they never had a Translator disk, and in fact I never had a NEED for the translator disk. All the software I ever used, never had an issue due to me using an XL. Probably due to the 800XL being the de-facto-standard. I also own an 800 (48k) which i don't remember ever having problems running the same software as I had with my 800XL.

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад +2

      From my point of view, it's enough not to make undocumented operating system calls, to account for any OS differences between different hardware revisions, and not to make arbitrary assumptions regarding the presense of extended memory or the amount thereof, etc. Almost all the software which required the 'translator' needed it because of ill-advised reliance on absolute OS entry points and such which changed from one model to the next. I don't use undocumented 6502C opcodes either, and that comprises all the reasonable compatibility precautions one needs to make, etc. The rest relies on whether the hardware actually works or not, and no amount of debugging is going to account for that in software. :)

  • @slaapliedje
    @slaapliedje 4 месяца назад +1

    I found some very close screws... I'll see if I can lock down which ones I found, but I ordered them from amazon. Pan-head... something or other.

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад

      Thanks! I would appreciate that. I really want to replace all the screws on this one before dispatch, and dispatch needs to be soon. :)

  • @harryguillermo
    @harryguillermo 4 месяца назад

    I am interested in buying it. It is still available?

  • @Shawnsteroz
    @Shawnsteroz 4 месяца назад

    would be good if there was another maker of the Side3 cartridge, if Lotharek is pulling it and selling the older Side2. If there is any dispute over royalties, I think he could prove he paid them, losing half his products does not seem to be a rational response. But I don't know the full story, and won't.

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад

      I'm not entirely sure what the IP situation is with SIDE3, but I'm free to deploy my firmware anywhere I like, so if Candle wanted to make the hardware available again, I'm good with that.

    • @sideburn
      @sideburn 3 месяца назад

      I saw that thread on the dispute a while back about royalties etc. I had a horrible experience with lotharek (there’s a thread about it on AA) and won’t buy anything from him anymore. Luckily retrolemon and brewing academy exist.

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  3 месяца назад

      @@sideburn No matter who the reseller is, the stuff came from Lotharek. Fortunately Candle has put a lot of stuff up on PCBWay now. Do you have a link to the thread? I would like to read it prior to making my 'summary' video concerning the events of the past couple of months.

    • @sideburn
      @sideburn 3 месяца назад

      @@flashjazzcat yeah I know they come from him and he does good work. I just doubt he would even ship me anything anymore. In atariage search for “My unfortunate experience with lotharek” or “sideburn Lotharek”

    • @sideburn
      @sideburn 3 месяца назад

      @@flashjazzcat my comments keep getting deleted.

  • @Mind-your-own-beeswax
    @Mind-your-own-beeswax 4 месяца назад +1

    Well I know bugger all about ataris Jon but nonetheless an interesting watch.

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад

      Thanks - glad you enjoyed it. :)

  • @waltciii3
    @waltciii3 4 месяца назад +1

    I'm in the US and would have kept it a PAL machine. I'd just run it through a Retrotink. Europe has the best recent software and a lot of the VBXE stuff is PAL only.

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад +1

      I immediately ran into the issue of half the demos I wanted to use for testing being 'PAL-only', but this is what the buyer wants.

    • @waltciii3
      @waltciii3 4 месяца назад

      @@flashjazzcat There's a new VBXE arcade Missile Command and VBXE (Nintendo) Popeye that work with NTSC. But currently, I'll only do VBXE on PAL machines. (I'll convert them to PAL if necessary)

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад +2

      @@waltciii3 Buyer has opted to go back to PAL thanks in part to the comments under the video. :)

    • @TJAtarian
      @TJAtarian 4 месяца назад

      And you thought you were finished!! lol​@@flashjazzcat

    • @flashjazzcat
      @flashjazzcat  4 месяца назад +2

      @@TJAtarian Quite, but the buyer has voluntarily increased the price to cover this, which is very nice of him. :)

  • @gryzman
    @gryzman 4 месяца назад +1

    first!