Atari 8-bit family

Atari built a series of 8-bit home computers based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU, starting in 1979. Over the next decade several versions of the same basic design would be released, but the models remained largely identical internally. They were, for their era, one of the most technically advanced machines on the market, but a combination of factors, largely business related, meant they did not have a major market when the Commodore 64 shipped a few years later and took over most of the market.

Peripherals

Atari's peripherals were named after the machines they were intended to be used with, so in general they have names like "410" and "1050". All of them used the proprietary SIO port, which allowed them to be daisy chained together into a single string; a method also used in Commodore's home computers from the VIC-20 onwards. This resulted in far less "cable spaghetti" on the desk, but it also meant plugging in "standard" components like printers and modems was practically impossible without the purchase of separate conversion units (in Atari's case, the 850 interface expansion system).

Related Topics:
Daisy chain - VIC-20

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400/800 series

• 410 tape drive, 600 bit/s on cassettes
• 810 5¼" floppy disk, single-density single-sided, 90KB
• 815 dual 5¼" floppy disks, double-density single-sided, 180KB (only small numbers produced)
• 820 printer, 40-column dot matrix on adding machine paper
• 822 printer, 40-column thermal on slightly wider paper
• 825 printer, 80-column dot matrix (Centronics 737)
• 830 300-baud modem, using an acoustic coupler, used RS-232 so required an 850 (Novation CAT)
• 835 300-baud modem, direct connect, basic Hayes compatible with SIO interface
• 850 expansion system, included four RS-232 ports and one Centronics parallel port

XL series

• 1010 tape drive, a smaller replacement for the 410
• 1020 color printer, 40-column plotter with 4 pens - 256 colors
• 1025 printer, 80-column dot matrix (Okidata ML-80)
• 1027 printer, 80-column letter quality daisy wheel (Mannesmann Tally Riteman LQ)
• 1029 printer, 80-column lower-quality 7-pin dot matrix sold in Europe (Seikosha mechanism)
• 1030 300 baud modem, direct connect
• 1050 5¼" floppy disk, "enhanced density" format single-sided, 130KB
• 1064 memory module, 64K memory expansion for 600XL
• 1090 expansion system, 5 slots in a large case (never released, small numbers leaked out)

XE series

• XEP80 80-column display module, parallel port
• XC11 tape drive
• XC12 tape drive (small model like the 1010, sold worldwide)
• XF551 5¼" floppy disk, double-density double-sided, 360KB
• XMM801 printer, 80-column dot matrix
• XDM121 printer, 80-column letter quality daisy wheel
• XM301 300 baud modem
• SX212 1200 baud modem (also included RS-232 for use on Atari ST computers)

Atari also produced a number of other tape drives for use in eastern Europe where they continued to sell into the late 1980s due to their low cost. Some of these included various "high-speed" modes which made them almost as fast as early disk drives.

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In addition to the list above, Atari failed to release a huge selection of machines and peripherals that were otherwise completed. See the externally linked FAQ below for details.

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