Watching this vid and the subsequent two, in addition to your Vic-20 with tape vid, one notices that the engineering of the 8- bit Atari line was so much nicer in quality and design than Commodore, ZX Spectrum, and even Apple II in many ways. Commodore and Spectrum main boards can be quite horrifying and incredibly cheaply made. Apple II, while robust, often seem very kluge like in their implementation of discs, memory, I/o etc. Great vids mate! Liked and subscribed!
Yeah, I have to admit that the 400 and 800 were well over engineered! Part of the reason they charged what they did on release :D I do love the independant PSU board and with a second system, you could even have a test system to check the CPU and RAM cards. Spectrums were thrown together from the cheapest parts they could source and that shows. It does explain why it was so popular as they could hit such a cheap price point! Commodore I quite like and while they used MOS vhips, that's all really hindsight now showing how bad they were. Apple II I've never working on and don't own, yet... ;)
I've just swapped a 1050 for a slightly damaged 400 and a few games! Thanks for the video tutorial, makes it easier to get on with! I've done an 800 before and seems quite similar.
That's great to hear! Hope it all comes together and you end up with a nice, shiny 400 for your effort :) Just remember to use a DC ground to test the PSU with... :D
I do like to get my manuals in tested condition. I had an Atari 400 from new and installed a 48K ram card and the B-Key keyboard upgrade. I've owned it since 1980 except for a few years when I gave it to my sister for her kids to use. I've had nearly every Atari 8-bit computer except the 65XE and the XEGS. I've never had to recap an Atari. I think they just used better quality caps than other makers, especially the Commodores.
Thanks for the comment! All caps will suffer degredation over time as the electrolytic dries out. Nothing is 100% though I agree that a lot of the time, there's no need to replace them. My preference is to do it anyway to guarantee many more decades of use, but do acknowledge that it's a subject for a lot of debate! I never had any of the Atari computers so the 400 was new to me. Do want to add the rest to my collection when I get a chance though. Especially something with a better keyboard :-D
Great vid! Interesting about that crack in the case... I just got a 400 (sold as non-working, so I expect a lot of work on it) and also noticed a small crack in the case, in the exact same spot as you said there was a crack in the case on yours... I guess that is a weak point for them... I have a LOT of cleaning to do on mine. Only just got it... :-)
Thanks for the comment! Not sure why it was cracked at that oint on the case however interesting to hear you have the same issue. Could be a weak point indeed! Best advice I can give is to take your time and if need be, try the Exxoss and AtariAge forums. The guys on both are decent and helped me greatly. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that there's nothing too serious wrong with it!
Yeah, I did with my ZX81 and I think a ZX Spectrum too. Only reason I didn't swap it for one is I try to keep the systems as original as possible if I only own one of them. I'm a collector so like them to be 'original' if possible, but each to their own!
Watching this vid and the subsequent two, in addition to your Vic-20 with tape vid, one notices that the engineering of the 8- bit Atari line was so much nicer in quality and design than Commodore, ZX Spectrum, and even Apple II in many ways. Commodore and Spectrum main boards can be quite horrifying and incredibly cheaply made. Apple II, while robust, often seem very kluge like in their implementation of discs, memory, I/o etc. Great vids mate! Liked and subscribed!
Yeah, I have to admit that the 400 and 800 were well over engineered! Part of the reason they charged what they did on release :D I do love the independant PSU board and with a second system, you could even have a test system to check the CPU and RAM cards.
Spectrums were thrown together from the cheapest parts they could source and that shows. It does explain why it was so popular as they could hit such a cheap price point! Commodore I quite like and while they used MOS vhips, that's all really hindsight now showing how bad they were. Apple II I've never working on and don't own, yet... ;)
I've just swapped a 1050 for a slightly damaged 400 and a few games! Thanks for the video tutorial, makes it easier to get on with! I've done an 800 before and seems quite similar.
That's great to hear! Hope it all comes together and you end up with a nice, shiny 400 for your effort :) Just remember to use a DC ground to test the PSU with... :D
@@RetroKrazy thanks!
I do like to get my manuals in tested condition. I had an Atari 400 from new and installed a 48K ram card and the B-Key keyboard upgrade. I've owned it since 1980 except for a few years when I gave it to my sister for her kids to use. I've had nearly every Atari 8-bit computer except the 65XE and the XEGS.
I've never had to recap an Atari. I think they just used better quality caps than other makers, especially the Commodores.
Thanks for the comment!
All caps will suffer degredation over time as the electrolytic dries out. Nothing is 100% though I agree that a lot of the time, there's no need to replace them. My preference is to do it anyway to guarantee many more decades of use, but do acknowledge that it's a subject for a lot of debate!
I never had any of the Atari computers so the 400 was new to me. Do want to add the rest to my collection when I get a chance though. Especially something with a better keyboard :-D
Great vid!
Interesting about that crack in the case...
I just got a 400 (sold as non-working, so I expect a lot of work on it) and also noticed a small crack in the case, in the exact same spot as you said there was a crack in the case on yours...
I guess that is a weak point for them...
I have a LOT of cleaning to do on mine. Only just got it... :-)
Thanks for the comment! Not sure why it was cracked at that oint on the case however interesting to hear you have the same issue. Could be a weak point indeed!
Best advice I can give is to take your time and if need be, try the Exxoss and AtariAge forums. The guys on both are decent and helped me greatly. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that there's nothing too serious wrong with it!
Replace the 7805s with TSR-1 2450s. They run much cooler.
Yeah, I did with my ZX81 and I think a ZX Spectrum too. Only reason I didn't swap it for one is I try to keep the systems as original as possible if I only own one of them. I'm a collector so like them to be 'original' if possible, but each to their own!