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Atari Program Recorder
The Atari Program Recorder is Atari's dedicated magnetic-tape data storage device for the Atari 8-bit computers. The original 410 was launched along with the Atari 400 and 800 machines in 1979. The 1010 was a smaller model introduced to match the styling of the XL series released in 1983. The XC11 and XC12 of 1986 matched the XE series and were sold mostly in eastern Europe[disputed – discuss] and South America. Slight variations of all of these models were also introduced from time to time.
The data rate was nominally 600 bit/s, but the simple error correction and short gaps between the resulting packets lowered this somewhat. In the end, its rate was roughly double that of the formats used by the Commodore Datasette or the TI-99/4. In some markets, where the Program Recorder was the only cost-effective storage solution, software-based high-performance modes were developed that operated more than three times as fast, and as much as four times as fast with simple hardware modifications.
The drives had several features not commonly found on other platforms. The system's device driver supported a packet-based format with checksums for error detection, as opposed to lacking any error detection or using whole-file checksums. The driver included separate formats for binary data and more complex data that required longer to process it. The left audio channel could be used to send audio through to the television speaker, which could be used to provide music during the loading period, or in program-controlled computer aided instruction systems.
All of the versions, from the 410 to XC12, were mechanically similar. They all used a flip-up door on the top for inserting a tape. A piece of bright orange or silver tape behind the tape window was used make the current position of the tape more visible. The 410 had a power plug and internal power supply, the 1010 used an external power supply and ring-jack plug on the back of the case, and the XC11 and the XC12 were powered through the SIO cable (which made them incompatible with the 1200XL computer, which lacked the necessary power output on the SIO pin 10). The 1010 and the XC11 added a red LED to the front to indicate power-on, while the XC12 lacked the power LED but added one on top that lit while writing.
The original 400 and 800 computers, released in 1979, were housed in robust beige colored plastic cases and a series of computer peripherals were released to match this design. The original 410 was a modified Sears model 799.21672500 Solid State Cassette Recorder with a Japanese mechanism by Bigston. It was a relatively large unit and was unique among the line in that it featured a metal carrying handle that slid out from the front of the unit, identical to its Sears counterpart.
Circa 1981, the original 410 was replaced by a new unit which retained the name, but was externally smaller and more rounded in appearance and which used a new mechanism from Transtek or Chelco Sound in Hong Kong.
The release of the 600XL and 800XL in 1983 led to the system being repackaged in a much smaller form, the 1010. The new model used the black/white/silver styling of the new machines and was assigned a number in the new 1000-series device numbers. Two versions were made, one using a Chelco mechanism and another using Sanyo. They can be distinguished by the colored sticker inside the drive bay, Chelco used silver while Sanyo was orange.
When the XE series were released they were initially sold into existing markets and Atari introduced a number of XE-styled accessories to go with them. This led to the introduction of the XC11 in the UK around 1986, which are essentially the later-model 410's in the new silver-grey XE coloring. Only small numbers seem to have been produced, as by this time floppy disks were now almost universal in the US and most of Europe.[dubious – discuss]
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Atari Program Recorder
The Atari Program Recorder is Atari's dedicated magnetic-tape data storage device for the Atari 8-bit computers. The original 410 was launched along with the Atari 400 and 800 machines in 1979. The 1010 was a smaller model introduced to match the styling of the XL series released in 1983. The XC11 and XC12 of 1986 matched the XE series and were sold mostly in eastern Europe[disputed – discuss] and South America. Slight variations of all of these models were also introduced from time to time.
The data rate was nominally 600 bit/s, but the simple error correction and short gaps between the resulting packets lowered this somewhat. In the end, its rate was roughly double that of the formats used by the Commodore Datasette or the TI-99/4. In some markets, where the Program Recorder was the only cost-effective storage solution, software-based high-performance modes were developed that operated more than three times as fast, and as much as four times as fast with simple hardware modifications.
The drives had several features not commonly found on other platforms. The system's device driver supported a packet-based format with checksums for error detection, as opposed to lacking any error detection or using whole-file checksums. The driver included separate formats for binary data and more complex data that required longer to process it. The left audio channel could be used to send audio through to the television speaker, which could be used to provide music during the loading period, or in program-controlled computer aided instruction systems.
All of the versions, from the 410 to XC12, were mechanically similar. They all used a flip-up door on the top for inserting a tape. A piece of bright orange or silver tape behind the tape window was used make the current position of the tape more visible. The 410 had a power plug and internal power supply, the 1010 used an external power supply and ring-jack plug on the back of the case, and the XC11 and the XC12 were powered through the SIO cable (which made them incompatible with the 1200XL computer, which lacked the necessary power output on the SIO pin 10). The 1010 and the XC11 added a red LED to the front to indicate power-on, while the XC12 lacked the power LED but added one on top that lit while writing.
The original 400 and 800 computers, released in 1979, were housed in robust beige colored plastic cases and a series of computer peripherals were released to match this design. The original 410 was a modified Sears model 799.21672500 Solid State Cassette Recorder with a Japanese mechanism by Bigston. It was a relatively large unit and was unique among the line in that it featured a metal carrying handle that slid out from the front of the unit, identical to its Sears counterpart.
Circa 1981, the original 410 was replaced by a new unit which retained the name, but was externally smaller and more rounded in appearance and which used a new mechanism from Transtek or Chelco Sound in Hong Kong.
The release of the 600XL and 800XL in 1983 led to the system being repackaged in a much smaller form, the 1010. The new model used the black/white/silver styling of the new machines and was assigned a number in the new 1000-series device numbers. Two versions were made, one using a Chelco mechanism and another using Sanyo. They can be distinguished by the colored sticker inside the drive bay, Chelco used silver while Sanyo was orange.
When the XE series were released they were initially sold into existing markets and Atari introduced a number of XE-styled accessories to go with them. This led to the introduction of the XC11 in the UK around 1986, which are essentially the later-model 410's in the new silver-grey XE coloring. Only small numbers seem to have been produced, as by this time floppy disks were now almost universal in the US and most of Europe.[dubious – discuss]