Category:Atari 8-bit


 * Note: The Atari 800 system is chosen to represent the entire 8-bit line of Atari computers that employed a 6502 CPU.

Atari 400
As soon as the Atari 2600 was released, the engineering team from Atari's Grass Valley Research Center(calling themselves Cyan Engineering), started work on its eventual replacement. They felt that the 2600 would have about a three year lifespan, and tried to limit themselves to those features that could be perfected by that time. What they ended up with was essentially a "corrected" version of the 2600, fixing its more obvious flaws.

The newer design would be faster than the 2600, have better graphics, and include much better sound hardware. Work on the chips for the new system continued throughout 1978, primarily focusing on the much-improved video hardware known as the CTIA (the 2600 used a chip known as the TIA).

However, at this point, the home computer revolution took off in the form of the Apple II family, Commodore PET and TRS-80. Ray Kassar, the new CEO of Atari, wanted the new chips to be used in a home computer to challenge Apple. Atari researched on what would be needed to produce a workable home computer of their own. This included support for character graphics (something the 2600 didn't support), some form of expansion for peripherals, the BASIC programming language, and a keyboard.

Atari 800
Management identified two sweet spots for the new computers, a low-end version known as Candy, and a higher-end machine known as Colleen (rumored to be named after attractive Atari staff). The primary difference between the two models was marketing; Atari marketed Colleen as a computer, Candy as a game machine (or hybrid game console). Colleen would include slots for memory and ROM, a second 8k cartridge slot, monitor output and a full keyboard, while Candy used a plastic "membrane keyboard" and internal slots (not user upgradable). Both machines were built like tanks with huge internal aluminum shields, to meet FCC rules for TV signals emitted in RF space (Part 15 Type I). Apple machines, without a RF modulator, didn't need to meet those requirements (the first model of the TRS-80 actually never met that FCC spec).

The machines were announced in December 1978 as the 400 and 800, although they weren't widely available until November 1979. The names originally referred to the amount of memory, 4K RAM in the 400 and 8K in the 800. However by the time they were released the prices on RAM had started to fall, so the machines were instead released with 8K and 16K respectively.

Due to new FCC restrictions, the 400/800 couldn't allow slots like those found on the Apple II computers. Instead, they created a proprietary, expensive serial-based interface called SIO (Serial Input/Output). All external devices were connected using this interface (cassette drive, disk drive, interface box) adding to the cost of ownership. On the 800, the internal slots were reserved for ROM and memory modules. Originally the machines shipped with 16k, but as prices continued to fall Atari eventually supplied the machines fully expanded to 48k, using up all the slots.

A few companies made RAM modules for the Atari 800. One company made a module which added an 80-column display system and 16k of RAM so you could remove one of the Atari-supplied cards without losing memory.

Overheating problems with the memory modules eventually led Atari to remove the casings on the memory modules, leaving them as "bare" boards. Later, the expansion cover was held down with screws instead of latches.

The Atari 800 sold respectably, but not nearly as well as the Apple machines. The crippling of the 400 only confused buyers and a replacement was in the works (the so called Sweet-8 or "Liz NY").

Atari 65XE
The XE series computers were made to replace the aging 800 and XL series of Atari computers. The case was not only redesigned to improve aesthetically from the bulky appearing late '70s 400/800/XL models, but also had a lower physical profile and much improved ventilation. The interior cartridge memory expansion was done away with and replaced with more reliable factory installed RAM. The 65XE with 64KB and the 130XE with 128KB respectively. The cartridge slot and adjacent expansion port was relocated to the back. In addition to obvious changes, others were made such as the addition of improved memory handling with the Freddy chip, more commands and shorthand added to AtariBasic, and an increase in available graphics modes. This set the XEs a step ahead of it's 800 and XL predecessors.

Unfortunately, the XE wasn't fully up to the job it was made to do. In addition to replacing the 800/XL line, it also had to compete with the Commodore 64/128 and Apple IIe series. The problem no direct fault of the computer itself, as it was reliable and quick enough compared to rivals. There were reliability issues with the supporting 1050 model 5-1/4" floppy drive (the older 810 model was better with external power suppy, thus ran cooler, and no belt problems), which didn't help. But the real fault was with software support (problems with publishing & licensing agreements, etc.) and lackluster marketing. With an increasingly limited base of software available on store shelves, the computer's sales fell quickly after.

Atari 130XE
Yet another blow to late arriving 8-bit XE series was the emergence of 16-bit platforms. It faced competition in-house from the ST series. And of course rivals such as the Commodore Amiga and Apple Macintosh. (And all this happened before the 486DX and Pentium multimedia-capable PCs arrived and dominated the market.)

Atari XE Game System
The XEGS was essentially an Atari 65XE computer reworked cosemtically to give the appearance of a game console. The 65XE and 130XE had been Atari Corp.'s (under the Tramiel's management) last update to Atari's venerable 8bit line before the new Atari switched over to the new 16bit ST computers.

Not satisfied with the lack of sucess of the Atari 7800 console they dragged out of mothballs the year before to compete with Nintendo, Atari Corp. decided take it's back-stock and turn it in to a game machine which could in turn take advantage of the almost 10 years of games (cartridge and disk based) that had been developed for the Atari 8bit computers. Hopefully solving a problem that would plague all of Atari Corp.'s game console releases - lack of software, but still fell in line with their other problems - the same old rehashed titles.

The console was designed to be able to be used as a stand-alone console or as a full computer when the optional keyboard and any standard 8-bit computer peripherals were connected. When in standalone mode if no cartridge was inserted it would start up with the Atari Computer version of Missile Command, which was built in.

The console went on sale in 1987, and for a price of $199 included the console, a standard Atari 2600 Joystick (color changed to match the XEGS colors), a light gun, and Bug Hunt (a light gun game). The XEGS didn't do well at all, and as with many of Atari Corp.'s products in the coming years, was pulled from the market after very little production time.

Atari 600XL
After the Atari 1200XL was released, Atari was involved in what would soon develop into a full-blown price war. Jack Tramiel of Commodore International watched Texas Instruments enter the home computer market, and decided to push them back out by undercutting their prices. TI had undercut Commodore's calculator business only a few years earlier, but this time Tramiel's supply was stronger than TI's, and he could turn the tables. Although Atari had never been a deliberate target of Tramiel's wrath, they, along with the rest of the market, were dragged into "his" price war in order to maintain market share.

The timing was particularly bad for Atari; the 1200XL was a flop, and the earlier machines were too expensive to produce to be able to compete at the rapidly falling price points. The solution was to replace the 1200XL with a machine that users would again trust, while at the same time lowering the production costs to the point where they could compete with Commodore.

Starting with the 1200XL design as the basis for a new line, Atari engineers were able to add a number of new IC's to take over the functions of many of those remaining in the 1200XL. While the 1200XL fit onto a single board, the new designs were even smaller, simpler, and as a result much less expensive. To reduce cost even further, manufacturing of a new series of machines was set up in the far east.

Atari 800XL
These versions, the 600XL, 800XL, 1400XL and 1450XLD were announced at the 1983 Summer CES. These machines had Atari BASIC built into the ROM of the computer and a Parallel Bus Interface (PBI). The machines looked similar to the 1200XL, but were smaller back to front, the 600 being somewhat smaller than the 800 front-to-back (a reflection of the Sweet 8 project). The 1400 and 1450 both added a built-in 300 baud modem and a voice synthesizer, and the 1450XLD also included a built-in double-sided floppy disk drive in an enlarged case.

Problems with the new production lines delayed the entry of the machines onto the market. Originally intended to replace the 1200XL in mid-83, the machines did not arrive until late in 1983, far fewer than anticipated during the 1983 Christmas season. Nonetheless, the 800XL was the most popular computer sold by Atari. The 1400XL and the 1450XLD had their delivery dates pushed back, first by the priority given to the 600XL/800XL, and later by the 3600 System. In the end the 1400XL was eventually cancelled outright, and the 1450XLD so delayed that it would never ship.

By late 1983 the price war that had started the year before was now reaching a crescendo. Although the 600/800 were well positioned in terms of price and features, their entry into the market was so delayed that Commodore was able to take the '83 Christmas season while Atari struggled to get their machines onto the shelves. Combined with the simultaneous effects of the video game crash of 1983, Atari was soon losing millions of dollars a day. Their owners, Warner Communications, became desperate to sell off the division.

Atari 1200XL
The Atari 800 was complex and expensive to build, consisting of multiple circuit boards in various locations inside or outside the massive aluminum shield. Additionally the machine was designed to add RAM only through cards, which required expensive connectors and packaging even though it now shipped fully expanded right from the factory. At the same time the Atari 400 didn't compete technically with some of the newer machines appearing in the early 1980s, which tended to ship with much more RAM and a real keyboard.

Another major change was the introduction of the FCC ratings specifically for digital devices in homes and offices. One of the ratings, known as Class B, mandated that the device's RF emissions were to be low enough not to interfere with other devices, such as radios and TVs. Now computers needed just enough shielding to prevent interference (both ways), not prevent emissions from leaking out. This requirement enabled lighter, less expensive shielding than the previous 400 and 800 computers.

In 1982 Atari started the Sweet 16 project to address these issues. The result was an upgraded set of machines otherwise similar to the 400 and 800, but much easier and less costly to produce. Newer fabs allowed a number of chips in the original systems to be condensed into one. For comparison, the original 800 used seven separate circuit boards (many of them small, three of them for RAM and another for ROM), while the new machines used only one. Sweet 16 also addressed problems with the 800 by adding a new expansion chassis as well, although it was to be external. Like the earlier machines, the Sweet 16 was intended to be released in two versions as the 1000 with 16KB and the 1000XL with 64KB. RAM was still expensive enough to make this distinction worthwhile.

When ANTIC needed memory access it halted the CPU. But this required four support chips. Atari later had a custom version of the 6502B to be made with an extra "HALT" pin. Known initially as SALLY, this version later became an official product known as the "6502C" and used in all XL/XE Atari machines.

But when the machines were actually released there was only one version, the 1200XL, an odd hybrid of features from the Sweet 16 project. Notable features were 64kB of RAM (first for an Atari), built-in self test, redesigned keyboard (featuring four function keys and a HELP key), and redesigned cable port layout. However the 1200XL also included a number of missing or poorly implemented features. For instance it included the expansion chassis connector, but the case did not include a hole for it to be used. An improved video circuit provided more chroma for a more colorful image, but the line was not connected to the monitor port. The +12V pin in the SIO port was not used; only +5V power was available.

The 1200XL was functionally similar to the existing 800, but at a hefty price point. Changes made to the operating system to support the new hardware resulted in compatibility problems with some older software. For all of these reasons the 1200XL sold poorly. There is an often-repeated story, perhaps apocryphal, that 800 sales shot up after the release of the 1200XL, as existing owners tried to snap them up before they disappeared. Released in late 1982, the machine was quickly discontinued in 1983.