Atari CX77
| Atari CX77 Touch Tablet | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Atari Touch Tablet with its stylus | |
| Manufacturer | Atari, Inc. |
| Type | Graphics tablet |
| Release date | January 1984[1] |
| Interface | Atari controller port (jack 1)[2] |
| Compatible | Atari 8-bit computers[2] |
| Dimensions | 7.5 × 9.5 × 1.25 in; drawing surface 5 × 6.5 in[3] |
| Weight | 1 lb[4] |
| Model | CX77 |
The Atari CX77 Touch Tablet is a graphics tablet for the Atari 8-bit computers. It came with the AtariArtist drawing program on cartridge and a corded stylus, and plugs into controller jack 1. Atari previewed it in June 1983 and introduced it with AtariArtist in January 1984.[2][1] Its position signals go to the computer's paddle inputs, and the owner's guide says it can be drawn on with the stylus, a pen or a finger.[2][5]
History
[edit | edit source]Atari introduced the Touch Tablet at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago in June 1983, with a cassette graphics program at first; it shipped with AtariArtist on cartridge instead.[6] The comp.sys.atari.8bit FAQ gives January 1984 for its introduction with AtariArtist, cartridge RX8053, and says the box also held the CX8104 Atari 810/1050 Master Diskette II with DOS 2.0S. AtariArtist is Atari's version of Island Graphics' Illustrator program, written by Steven Dompier and Robert Leyland. The FAQ credits the industrial design to Tom Palecki.[1][2] The owner's guide, C061794 Rev. A, was printed in Japan, and the Computer History Museum's example was made in Japan in 1984.[2][4]
Description
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The tablet has a drawing face under a clear plastic overlay, a control button at each top corner, and a jack on the back for the stylus, which has its own button. The owner's guide says the overlay protects the tablet surface and lets the user trace a picture placed underneath it.[2] Lifting the stylus makes the on-screen cursor vanish. Drawing with something blunt, such as a finger, puts the cursor at the centre of the area touched; touching two points at once puts it midway between them.[2]
The three buttons act as fire buttons, and with one exception they do the same job. In AtariArtist's DRAW mode the right-hand tablet button can be latched on, by touching the stylus to the surface and pressing it, so that the user can draw without holding a button; pressing it again releases it. The stylus button and the left-hand button must be held down while drawing.[2]
The FAQ gives these controller port assignments for a touch tablet in jack 1:[5]
| Pin | Touch tablet signal | Same pin on other controllers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stylus button | Joystick forward |
| 3 | Left button | Joystick left, paddle 1 trigger |
| 4 | Right button | Joystick right, paddle 2 trigger |
| 5 | Vertical position | Potentiometer input 1 (paddle 2 position) |
| 7 | +5 V | +5 V |
| 8 | Ground | Ground |
| 9 | Horizontal position | Potentiometer input 0 (paddle 1 position) |
The FAQ's accessory list says the two tablet buttons cannot be read independently, which does not agree with its own pinout or with the latching right-hand button described in the owner's guide.[1][5][2] The Touch Tablet returns its vertical position the other way up from the KoalaPad and Suncom Animation Station, so software for those tablets does not read the Atari tablet correctly unless it supports both.[3]
Use and care
[edit | edit source]- Plug the stylus into the jack on the back of the tablet and the tablet into controller jack 1. On an Atari 800, put the AtariArtist cartridge in the left slot.[2]
- Keep the clear overlay on the tablet face.[2]
- Use moderate pressure, just enough to make the cursor appear. Atari warns that pressing too hard can tear the overlay or damage the tablet surface, and that pressing too lightly makes the cursor wander.[2]
- AtariArtist saves pictures to disk or cassette. For disk, switch the drive on before the computer and use a DOS-formatted disk without an AUTORUN.SYS file.[2]
Testing
[edit | edit source]A tablet can be checked without AtariArtist. With Atari BASIC, run:[7]
10 ? PADDLE(0), PADDLE(1) 20 GOTO 10
Move the stylus or a finger across the surface and both numbers should change as the position changes.[7] The horizontal position is on potentiometer input 0 (pin 9) and the vertical on input 1 (pin 5).[5]
Software
[edit | edit source]Besides AtariArtist, the FAQ lists programs that support the Atari Touch Tablet, among them Antic's RAMbrandt (1985), Broderbund's The Print Shop and The Print Shop Companion, Reeve Software's Diamond GOS programs and Simon Trew's Multi-Mouse Touch Tablet Driver (1990).[8]
Documentation
[edit | edit source]The owner's guide is hosted and described on the Atari CX77 Documentation page.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Michael D. Current (ed.), Atari 8-Bit Computers: Frequently Asked Questions, comp.sys.atari.8bit FAQ, last modified 2 August 2026, section 6.3, CX77 Touch Tablet entry. mcurrent.name. Community reference.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 Atari, Inc., The Atari Touch Tablet with AtariArtist Software: Owner's Guide, C061794 Rev. A, © 1983, printed in Japan: labelled view of the tablet (p. 2), description and hooking up (p. 3), using the tablet with AtariArtist and the DRAW button latch (p. 5), saving and loading pictures (p. 18), credits (p. 21), back cover. Hosted as File:Atari Touch Tablet with AtariArtist Owner's Guide C061794.pdf.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Michael D. Current (ed.), Atari 8-Bit Computers: Frequently Asked Questions, section 6.5, "What graphics tablets were produced for the Atari?": Atari Touch Tablet CX77 (dimensions, drawing surface, reversed vertical values compared with the KoalaPad). mcurrent.name. Community reference.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Computer History Museum, catalogue number 102628706, "Atari touch tablet": Atari CX 77, made 1984, Japan, weight 1 lb. computerhistory.org.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Michael D. Current (ed.), Atari 8-Bit Computers: Frequently Asked Questions, section 1.15, controller port pinout, touch tablet assignments. mcurrent.name. Community reference.
- ↑ Michael D. Current (ed.), Atari 8-Bit Computers: Frequently Asked Questions, section 11.1 (history): Summer CES, 5 to 8 June 1983. mcurrent.name. Community reference.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 AtariAge forums, "CX-77 Touch Tablet?", thread 129412, reply giving the PADDLE(0)/PADDLE(1) BASIC test. forums.atariage.com. Community source.
- ↑ Michael D. Current (ed.), Atari 8-Bit Computers: Frequently Asked Questions, section 8.9, "What programs use: Touch Tablet or KoalaPad/Animation Station?". mcurrent.name. Community reference.