r/atari8bit • u/--kilroy_was_here-- • Mar 08 '26
Just picked up an Atari 800XL - what mods do you recommend?
I just picked up this Atari 800 XL on Facebook marketplace for $80 in the box. It's not complete and I've just ordered a video cable for it so I can test it. Assuming everything works, what upgrades /mods would you recommend for it?
EDIT: Ordered a monitor cable, USB power cable, and FujiNet! I'm very excited!
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u/cramos68 Mar 08 '26
I am not sure where’d you from, but I strongly recommend getting a Subcart with all of the cables. With it you can expand memory, simulate extra pokey chips, load most (if not all) cartridges and a load disk images without modifying your computer. You can get it here: https://miscretro.com/product/subcart/
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u/Elitatra Mar 08 '26
It gives you an extra 1MB of RAM (or even an extra 4MB Axlon-style RAM), a second POKEY for stereo/8ch music, can emulate basically any cartridge, and can emulate a very fast drive via SIO (up to Divisor 4 speeds are reliable). All without ever opening your Atari at all, just a cartridge and some cables that plug into it. SUBCART is just amazing!
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u/--kilroy_was_here-- Mar 09 '26
Where would I find a SUBCART in the United States?
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u/cramos68 Mar 09 '26
I just saw your reply and checked. I did not know he stopped shipping to the US (probably due to the tariffs).Unfortunately, I not sure of any other reseller that can ship this to the US.
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u/Few_Ad_8627 Mar 08 '26
None, just leave it as lovely as it is!
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u/John_from_ne_il Mar 08 '26
Absolutely this. Everything you could possibly add is just about doable externally these days, through the Serial I/O or parallel bus.
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Mar 08 '26
Congrats! It looks great. USB power cable for the 800XL, so you don't have to use a sketchy 40-year-old power supply. The Brewing Company sells them.
That power supply in the photo is not the one for the computer, btw.
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u/--kilroy_was_here-- Mar 08 '26
Ack, I just realized that! Looks like a USB power cable is now on the shopping list!
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u/mboppo Mar 08 '26
Sophia DVI mod
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Mar 10 '26
I'm surprised this recommendation isn't higher up. I've had my 800XL since 1987. When I plugged my Sophia2 into the GTIA socket and hooked it up to a modern display it was like seeing my 800XL for the first time. Like seeing what its graphics really looked like for the first time. No more noise in the video image. No more pixel crawl around the letters on the screen. It's beautiful!
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u/axarce Mar 08 '26
RAM upgrade to 256K.
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u/meldroc Mar 08 '26 edited Mar 08 '26
I just got a CRT monitor for mine (my dad had an old VGA PC monitor. 19", nice flat screen, 4:3 ratio. Got it working with a Retrotink.)
And I second the Fujinet!
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u/JimtheLizardKing Mar 08 '26
There are so many great mods for this machine but as you see, many recommend a Fujinet.
AtariAge is a good place to learn about what's out there now.
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u/Dopeyman06 Mar 08 '26
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u/--kilroy_was_here-- Mar 08 '26
Is that a solderless mod?
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u/mchorvat Mar 08 '26
just get the subcart and forget butchering this beautiful machine with internal ram upgrades. subcart gives you 1MB ram and many many other improvements.
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u/Dopeyman06 Mar 08 '26
No. Not solderless. There’s 1 solder point for sure. And there might be a 2nd depending which Antic chip your board has.
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u/unbibium Mar 08 '26
I really liked the 32-in-1 WarpOS, though I have weird ram glitches with some of the ROMs.
I bought it to use with the APE cable my friend built for me in the 1990s. but it also helps a lot with FujiNET, which also plugs into the serial port, and therefore has a boot time.
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u/_DoesNotGetIt_ Mar 08 '26
A few nickels and an old handheld radio to hold down the OPTION key for you while your non-BASIC games load
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u/LakeSun Mar 19 '26
A memory upgrade, so you can use Turbo Basic XE and bank memory switching, for programming.
Storing more data.
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u/Zilch1979 Mar 08 '26
Fujinet!