Using a Generic Tape Recorder as an Atari Cassette Drive?

JoeShmoe950 asks: "I recently got my hands on an Atari 65XE. It didn't come with a floppy or a cassette drive. I started programming when I realized there was no way to save my program. I wanted to ask you people if there is any way to wire up a normal cassette recorder to an Atari. What I need is the description for what part of a tape recorder(record, mic, speaker, etc) to each pin. I want to create an alternative to buying an Atari Cassette Drive from eBay."

Comments

A better place to ask would be...

[Kris_J]

The AtariAge 8-bit forum.

odd

[Anonymous Coward]

"I started programming when I realized there was no way to save my program."
What a strange time to start programming.

Re:odd

[indros]

I suspect this is what the developers of Duke Nukem Forever have done as well.

there's some useful info here:

[spiny]

http://www2.asw.cz/~kubecj/

i'm more of an ST guy, but searching on google has found some info - it appears that the 65 tape drives are more akin to a modem than the Sinclair / Oric etc way of loading data, so it might not be that straightforward....

Re:there's some useful info here:

[sigxcpu]

http://www2.asw.cz/~kubecj/atech.htm
is the actual link to the serial interface specs

Re:there's some useful info here:

[OwnerOfWhinyCat]

It's great that you found him the link.

But this confirms my suspicion that this is a digital dataport. Other links from google indicate that the drive could play/read either of two tracks on the cassette.

There isn't going to be any "simple" wiring to turn a six hundred baud digital data stream into the inputs to a standard tape recorder.

Prosys [whoever s/he is] has a great little site on how to interface that same port to a standard computer. Nick Kennedy has some pretty snazzy software for dealing with that interface.

Not only would this gain you the ability to save, but to exchange Atari stuff with other people on the Internet without the "joy" of mailing cassettes to each other.

Mod story up

[BoneMarrow]

Whoah, I think before the Trolls begin I would just say This is the coolest article on slashdot for ages. News for nerds stuff that happens - on slashdot?

Atari

[Detritus]

Atari used a weird serial interface on their computer peripherals, partly to meet FCC regulations on RF emissions. Sort of like a prehistoric version of USB. I don't know if they ever published a description of the pinout, voltages and protocol. Making a controller for a cassette recorder would be a major development project.

Re:Atari

[The Lynxpro]

Its called the SIO Port (Serial Input Output Interface). It wasn't weird; it was brilliant. The Atari employee who created it now works for Intel. And coincidentally, he created USB and is co-owner of the patent.

Atari 410 and it's ilk

[Craig Maloney]

The venerable 410 and its successors used a 13 pin Atari-specific interface called SIO (Serial Input/Output), just like every other Atari-specific device. It's a little trickier than just feeding in a standard cassette recorder input/output like the other computers. Plus the Atari tapes could feed in sound from the other track of the tape (which made load times mre berable). As an Atari owner, I was glad when I didn't have to load things from tape anymore, and pretty much abandoned tape when i got my disk drive. You might want to find a 1050 or XF551 and use that rather than attempt to retrofit a standard cassette tape to the Atari. Or if you want, find a broken Atari tape drive and study it. I think you'll find there's more going on there than you realize.

Good luck with whatever you decide, and welcome to the world of Atari.

Speaking of which, I haven't played Atari today. Need to get it out and rectify that

SIO2PC cable and De Re Atari

[ip_vjl]

Not what you're asking for ... but you should also pick yourself up an SIO2PC cable. It acts as a connector between your Atari and a PC. Running software on the PC like APE (Atari Peripheral Emulator) allows you to save and load disk images from the PC as if they were real disks on the Atari.

This makes for better backups (as you can fit a lot of disk images on 1 CD ... and 5.25 floppies aren't as easy to come by these days)

Also:
It doesn't include the pinouts ... but there's some interesting stuff about how the Atari stores info on the tape in the book De Re Atari

Re:SIO2PC cable and De Re Atari

[crow]

And I once wrote a Linux version of that program:

http://www.crowcastle.net/preston/atari/

It may need some work, but letting your Linux box act as a file server for the Atari is really cool. (It emulate the disk hardware, so you can boot off of it and everything.)

Skip the tape drive, go ATR8000

[TBone]

Skip trying to hack yourself a tape drive interface, and try to find yourself an ATR8000.

The ATR8000 is a interace box that I used to have on my 800XL. Had drive controllers, ran CP/M, lots of neat stuff. Find an old 8" or 5.25" floppy drive, plug it in, and go, cause the damn thing ran just about any tape drive you could find. On top of which, it will give you the ability to learn a little CP/M if you're so inclined.

I remember, when my dad first picked it up, playing DOnkey Kong Jr., from 8" floppies, on the ATR. It was pretty cool :)