Atari 65XE (Poland)
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| Atari 65XE | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Atari Corporation; imported by Logical Design Works and serviced in Poland by P.Z. Karen |
| Type | Home computer (regional distribution) |
| CPU | 6502C (SALLY) at 1.77 MHz (PAL) |
| Memory | 64 KB RAM; 24 KB ROM (16 KB operating system + 8 KB Atari BASIC Rev. C) |
| Storage | Cassette or floppy disk drive over SIO; ROM cartridge |
| Display | ANTIC and GTIA; RF and monitor output |
| Sound | POKEY, four channels |
| OS / Firmware | Atari XL/XE operating system; Atari BASIC Rev. C |
| Model no. | 65XE |
Atari 65XE (Poland) covers the Atari 65XE as it was imported, sold and serviced in Poland in the late 1980s. The machines were PAL 65XEs; what is particular to Poland is the arrangement that brought them there.
Distribution
[edit | edit source]Logical Design Works, Inc. (LDW) of San Jose, California, was founded in 1983 by Lucjan Daniel Wencel, a physics graduate of the University of Warsaw, and traded until 1993. Its Polish sister company, Przedsiębiorstwo Zagraniczne Karen (P.Z. Karen), named after Wencel's wife, employed Polish programmers to convert and write software for the American market, later published under the California Dreams label.[1]
From 1985 LDW imported the 8-bit Atari computers into Poland, where they were sold through Pewex, the state chain of hard-currency shops, and P.Z. Karen serviced the imported machines. Imports of the 16-bit ST range followed in 1987. P.Z. Karen gave up distributing Atari equipment at the end of 1991.[1]
Atariki, the Polish Atari community wiki, describes LDW as Atari's exclusive distributor in Poland, gives the total of Atari hardware that reached the Polish market through P.Z. Karen as more than 160,000 units, and records that the group also made 8-bit peripherals in Poland under the California Access name, including the XCA12 and CA12 cassette recorders and the CA-2001 disk drive.[2]
A 65XE computer set is in the collection of the Museum of Municipal Engineering in Kraków.[3]
The machines
[edit | edit source]The Polish-market machines are PAL 65XEs; see Atari 65XE for the hardware, versions, ports and documentation. The FAQ records two PAL versions: early machines without the expansion (ECI) port, and the more common later machines with it, built on the PAL 130XE board and identical to the Atari 800XE.[4] Identify a board from its assembly number and the RAM fitted: eight 4164 DRAMs on the CO70025 and CA20097 assemblies, two 4464 DRAMs on CA200519.[5]
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Atari 65XE
- Atari 65XE General Maintenance
- Atari 65XE Troubleshooting Guide
- Atari 65XE Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Atari 130XE
- Atari 800XE
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Logical Design Works", Polish Wikipedia, citing Komputer 5/1987 p. 7, Bajtek 12/1987 p. 28, Moje Atari 4 pp. 8–9, Computerworld Poland ("Atari po rozwodzie z Karenem"), and Kosman, Nie tylko Wiedźmin (2015) pp. 47–55. Source for LDW, P.Z. Karen, the Pewex sales, servicing, the ST imports and the end of distribution in 1991.
- ↑ "LDW", Atariki, the Polish Atari community wiki, citing Komputer 8/1986 pp. 11–12 and 9/1987 p. 44, Bajtek tylko o Atari 2 (1988) p. 3 and Moje Atari 4/1991 pp. 8–9. Source for the exclusive distribution, the 160,000 figure and the California Access peripherals.
- ↑ "Atari 65XE computer set", Museum of Municipal Engineering, Kraków, catalogue entry.
- ↑ Michael D. Current (ed.), comp.sys.atari.8bit Frequently Asked Questions, last modified 29 November 2009, section 1.7, "What is the Atari 65XE?", faqs.org.
- ↑ Atari 130XE Personal Computer Field Service Manual, 2016 reproduction with schematics redrawn by "jer/eightbitter", section 2, figures 2-7, 2-9 and 2-11. Not an Atari publication. Hosted on this wiki: Atari 130XE Field Service Manual.