ScuzzBlog: Diaries December 2018 Entry 18th December 2018: Post 02: Atari 400 - Kiddy proof Atari 400 - Kiddy proof Both the 800 and 400 were announced as early as 1978 though not released until 1979. Kinda aimed at the kiddies market with supposedly child proof keyboard with easy wipe surface. The unit has just the one cartridge slot. Atari 400 from the USA dating from 1979-82 Has a QWERTY membrane keyboard. Uses the 6502 CPU running at 1.79 MHz Scrolling , Sprites and Video is provided by the ANTIC processor. RAM is 8KB though the unit was later shipped with 16 KB Sound is very good for the day using 4 voices at 3.5 octaves. Has its own power supply. For the day a pretty advanced machine. Quite sturdy and well built. The weight of the unit is from the metal shielding inside. Has just the one cartridge slot. The 400 is the cheaper version of the 800 though in truth once you get use to the one cartridge and membrane keyboard it functions pretty much the same. OK so I'm back to checking computers and I can report she is just fine. One very annoying thing about Atari in these days and that is the insistence to provide a TV connector hard wired into the computer. The reason is firstly they provided a bonkers long cable that is a pig to store. And second when the connector fails as has happened to me I have to rewire the connector and it aint easy. Whereas in later models its a simple plug in on the back. So when you have one of these or the 800 or Woody/2600 you are like forever having to have the cable lying around all the time... and like I say, it's very long. OK Using the tape... You need the Atari special connector/cable and a suitable cassette player. Getting harder to find working ones. I had to mend mine. OK when all connected and slot in your tape and simply type in CLOAD and then press RETURN with the tape set to play. The computer will beep once. Next press RETURN again and the tape will load. To save is the same thing just type CSAVE and press RETURN. This time she beeps twice and then on RETURN with save and play depressed she will save your program. To name it is another command but I am not discussing that here. I cover that in another blog on the matter. Atari 400

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Last updated 18th December 2018

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