Atari 800XL Unboxing & 1st Test in 2022 - Vintage 8bit Computer - Retro Video Game - Centipede

[@tjf7101]

Had one of these with the 1050 drive. Nothing but find memories. Great little game computer and great for an intro to programming. I still have some of the programming books. Lusted of the 1400xl and 1450 xld. But they were never meant to be😢 Stunned that this machine still works.

[@mjp29]

I was born in 1971. The 800xl was the first Atari computer I ever layed eyes on. I can still smell the smell of the inside of the box you have there! I wonder if the box retains its smell (inside). Odd that I would remember that!

[@richardscritchfield4423]

Ha! I thought the same thing!

[@XXXXXXXXXO]

Wow what memories. That was my first computer back then. Along with a floppy disk drive. My heartfelt thanks to my uncle Kurt, who has sadly passed away in the meantime, and who gave me this computer back then!

[@dmclegg66]

It was also my first computer it was in the basement had the tape drive and the floppy drive brings back memories I was born in 1979 so this was high tech back then.

[@TheTha-ze1hn]

Meiner hatt kein diskfloppy .. eher eher musste ich mit kassette laden... eher dowas wie audiokassetten und das war auch mein erstes ding u d ich mag das ding nur ich habe es nicht mehr !

[@WhiteDjayanegara]

It was also my very first computer, with floppy disk drive (ATARI 1050). My favorite game were Bruce Lee and Lode Runner.

[@GetOffMyyLawn]

When I was young, i had an Atari 400, and l taught myself programming using the samples in magazines like Compute! and Byte. One summer, I had to have oral surgery, and I was in alot of pain. When I got home, my mom surprised me with an Atari 800XL. I was so excited to have a real keyboard and 64k of ram. I knew how much she must have paid for it, and to this day I still appreciate the gift. Today, I work in application development and regret not keeping my original Atari computers.

[@MacSociety]

cool story. thx for sharing.

[@WattTheTech]

Nice, my first ATARI computer was the 600XL, then moved to the 130XE, loved it, still have it. Got two 1050 floppy drives and the ArtPad, Roller Ball and 1020 plotter, think I have the tape unit also, not tried them in years. I did get an 1040 STFM back in the day but didn't like it so went back to the 8-bit machines. My first was also the ZX81 then a Vic-20 before 600XL. but im an ATARI man. Of course had the 2600 that started it all.

[@MacSociety]

especially on that taper player, check the rubber belt 1st. They turn to GOO as they age and make a mess. Best replace it 1st. Been there done that on other tape players.

[@WattTheTech]

Think after the Christmas madness is over im going to dig it and see if it still turns on. Great tip, will do that for sure, I have a 1010 and the XC11 DATA recorders @@MacSociety

[@joywyr]

Love your enthusiasm! We had an 800xl with centipede, pac man, pole position, donkey kong and pastfinder. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[@92Rocks]

Just purchased a new old stock 800XL. Cannot wait for memory lane. Great video.

[@MacSociety]

Congrats! a very fine machine!

[@JoseRojasA]

Got a 600xl for Christmas, a Sears purchase. My most desired gift ever. Back then most of my friends had no clue what it was I had!?! My dear mother was sooo supportive as I explained that you could write programs on it ?!?!?. It was an expensive thing for us! They just knew it was just an Atari, which could mean games. I ended up meeting a new group of friends that cared about this nerdy stuff. The kicker was that I had to wait a year to get a tape deck for it. I retyped my programs every time since I could not save them. Thanks for sharing your joy of opening this package as if it was the first time!

[@MacSociety]

Wow, true dedication! Yeh my first came with the cassette so I could type and safe too. 😜

[@marcianoacuerda]

I was passed down one from my older sister. I also got into that nerdy stuff. It was great, unfortunately I never learned how to record my programs into a tape. I had to retype them same as you. Great experience!!

[@retrozrywka8678]

What a super positively crazy guy you are, I love your laughter, you can see that it's your passion, keep it up :) I also love Atari :) Regards;)

[@John-uc6gb]

Great video. I love Atari. Have 3 of them. Thank you

[@darrylsloan]

Only ever saw one of these in the real, back in the day. My friend Mark had one. I was always wowed by the aesthetic of it. The UK market was dominated by Sinclair and Commodore, with Amstrad probably coming third. I imagine it was hard to find many games on the high street for the Atari, in my neck of the woods.

[@bondgabebond4907]

I think I had one of those. I have two 800 computers with 40 carts. That was quite a machine back in the day. Your 800XL looks to be near mint. Give it love.

[@MacSociety]

Yupper, is a keeper!

[@DTM-Books]

I can tell you’d be a perfect grandpa. The grandkids should love this Atari 8-bit every time they visit, hah.

[@GORF_EMPIRE]

A very nice machine and it looks like it's right off the assembly line. Enjoy it!

[@PianoandKeysStudio]

Nice. When I was a kid I wanted a 600XL for xmas... got a Dragon 32 instead just over a year before they went bust.

[@mattmyers9351]

Great video TJ!

[@The-Great-Gonzo]

Now I kind of want an Atari 800 XL. 😊 BTW, I love your kitchen!

[@MacSociety]

Thanks! I am baking HUGE hand size peanut butter cookies in it right now. ;-)

[@wojciechgasiorowski628]

this one is in a great shape man, I envy :D

[@Curious_Skeptic]

I remember add the ram board. I was nervous i would kill it!! 😬 When amiga came out, I was beside myself. My friend had all the good stuff. Amiga 2000 or such. Looking back at playing flight sim for hours and hours on an Atari. Omg. Lol.

[@mindthreatx]

Man, I forgot just how nice the Power Supply even matched the computer as well! The Xls had the best keyboards! (Or was it the 800 itself?) still, definitely one of the better Atari keyboards for sure. Cool to learn about being the official computer for the 1984 olympics, I don't remember reading or hearing about that!

[@MacSociety]

So far the only keyboard on an Atari I own that I don't like much is the spongy XEGS. Feels really spongy. The 800 is solid, as are the 800xl and 600xl although my 600xl has some keyboard issues right now.

[@horaciodelre2210]

Nobody makes an ATARI 800XL so fun!!!!

[@gertsy2000]

Good stuff TJ. I'm not sure there was much you could plug into the expansion port.

[@AlexEvans1]

Some atari 8-bit modes (I believe the XL included) have a built in self test. Hold down option (disable basic) with no disk drives connected.

[@ChristmasEve777]

I'm binge watching your videos, TJ. I love your channel! Wow, why wasn't this Atari machine as popular as the C64? 256 colors instead of 16, 4 audio channels instead of 3 (I think that's what I heard you say). Same amount of memory. I'll google it and check the specs. Looks like a wonderful 8-bit computer.

[@MacSociety]

Thanks for the binge wacthing! Yeh, Atari was a mighty fine box. Probably poorly marketed and still sold tons but nothing like Commodore. Either way, I love mine!

[@ChristmasEve777]

@@MacSociety Marketing! Yes. That was the downfall of some computer/console companies over the years. I gotta say, you remind me a lot of my friend Eric in the way you look and act LOL. He's a nerd like you are (so am I!!) but your jokes totally remind me of his. The one that really made me think "ERIC" was something like "What can you do with all this memory? I sure can use some extra memory. I'm gettin old!" hahhaa! Back in 2012, I bought a new TV and he asked me which brand I got. I told him Sharp. He then warned me, "be careful which way you hold it!"

[@MacSociety]

@@ChristmasEve777 LOL

[@Betamax19732]

Thanks that was my first computer

[@NotMuchHere]

i had a 400. ... when i could get an 800xl I jumped at the chance ... and an indus disk drive ... for obvious reasons .. computer keyboard and the coolest disk drive

[@MacSociety]

I also owned an Indus in the day. Miss mine.

[@mikemoss6045]

After a video about revive machines making a modernized 800xl and now im getting these videos about the actual 800xl.. not complaining, just wishing it comes true.

[@MacSociety]

many of us do. This revive machines 800xl looks very nice.

[@andrzejwisniewski7358]

Beautiful new computer :) But this power supply I see for the first time !

[@K.Reimann]

TJ. Is that the correct way to test a keyboard on an ATARI 800 XL ???? You must use the Keyboard Test Tool in the ATARI Self Test (You now. Boot to BASIC--->READY--->BYE--->[ENTER] 😂

[@AtariForeva]

European ones had the same box, mine had black PSU.

[@timothydoom]

What model number is that sony bravia? its awesome!

[@MacSociety]

Sony KDL-19M4000

[@johnmc3862]

Opening @ 10:08

[@cmr2079]

What kind of monitor is that?

[@MacSociety]

Sony KDL-19M4000

[@arcadeages3917]

Is that a Sam Coupé I see thurr?

[@MacSociety]

@@arcadeages3917 yes I have a SAM. 😁

[@opentheskyy7]

We cordially invite you to the "Atari 8-bit Programming" Discord server: discord.gg/GTapZjCsgp

[@TheAtomicCrusher]

Lotus 123 was cool to use. I was surprised when I first used Excel on Windows 3.1, and it had similar keyboard shortcuts - not everything was the same, but the key bits were. Obviously made it easier to move across. It was unfortunate that Lotus took their time to move 123 across to Windows. It gave an advantage to Excel that was never lost. At least I would have laughed at your joke TJ. Damn millennials..🤣

[@eddielowe8189]

lotus smart suite was a good alternative to microsoft office, sadly microsoft now own it and buried it to promote their own software.

[@CaseyNydahl]

I like pretty bottoms TJ LOL

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

Hey you have a trash can Mac.

[@AbeStephan]

Trackball game .

[@NinaLicious89]

You bark so loud :@