Atari Portfolio: Difference between revisions
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Rewritten against Atari's Portfolio Technical Reference Guide: 128 KB is four 32 KB SRAMs and 256 KB ROM is two 128 KB devices, 4 KB of RAM mapped at B000h as video RAM, 63-key switch-matrix keyboard, 60-pin expansion port, 6x8 character cell, software-controlled contrast; power documented properly (three AA cells stepped UP to 5 V, 5VS 40 mA at 5 V +/-5%, VRAM 4.5 V, VEXT, BATD, four power modes); lithium cells are inside the memory cards; corrected weight to 433 g and dimensions to 26 x 197... |
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{{Infobox computer | {{Infobox computer | ||
| name = Atari Portfolio | | name = Atari Portfolio | ||
| image = [[File: | | image = [[File:Atari Portfolio.jpg|300px]] | ||
| caption = Atari Portfolio palmtop computer | | caption = Atari Portfolio palmtop computer | ||
| manufacturer = Atari Corporation (designed by DIP Research Ltd.) | | manufacturer = Atari Corporation (designed by DIP Research Ltd.) | ||
| type = Palmtop | | type = Palmtop computer | ||
| release date = | | release date = 1989 | ||
| price = About 890 DEM in Germany at launch, without accessories | |||
| price = | |||
| cpu = Intel 80C88 @ 4.9152 MHz | | cpu = Intel 80C88 @ 4.9152 MHz | ||
| memory = 128 KB RAM (expandable to 640 KB | | memory = 128 KB RAM (four 32 KB static RAMs), expandable to 640 KB; 256 KB ROM (two 128 KB devices) | ||
| storage = Internal RAM disk (C:), removable memory cards (A:) | | storage = Internal RAM disk (C:), removable memory cards (A:) | ||
| display = 240 | | display = 240 x 64 pixel super-twist monochrome LCD, no backlight; 40 characters x 8 lines | ||
| sound = Piezo speaker | | sound = Piezo speaker driven by a DTMF telephone dialler chip | ||
| input = 63-key QWERTY keyboard | | input = 63-key QWERTY switch-matrix keyboard | ||
| dimensions = | | dimensions = 26 mm x 197 mm x 98 mm | ||
| weight = | | weight = 433 g without cells | ||
| os = DIP DOS 2.11 (MS-DOS 2.11 compatible) | | os = DIP DOS 2.11 (MS-DOS 2.11 compatible) | ||
| connectivity = | | connectivity = 60-pin expansion port; memory card slot | ||
| power = | | power = Three AA cells stepped up to 5 V; optional mains adaptor (6 V, 300 mA) | ||
| also known as = Atari PC Folio, DIP Pocket PC | | also known as = Atari PC Folio, DIP Pocket PC | ||
}} | }} | ||
The '''Atari Portfolio''' is | The '''Atari Portfolio''' is an IBM PC compatible palmtop computer released by Atari Corporation | ||
in 1989. In Germany it was presented at the Atari show in Duesseldorf in August 1989 at around | |||
890 DEM, with no accessories included - not even the mains adaptor - and Atari went on to sell | |||
roughly '''150,000 units in Germany alone'''.<ref name="pofowiki">[http://www.pofowiki.de/doku.php?id=info:steckbrief "Der Atari-Portfolio-Steckbrief"] and [http://www.pofowiki.de/doku.php?id=hardware:original "Original Atari Portfolio und Zubehoer"], PofoWiki. Secondary source: a long-running German community wiki devoted to the Portfolio. Source for the August 1989 Duesseldorf launch and price, the German sales figure, the physical dimensions and weight, the mains adaptor rating, the battery life figure and the HPC accessory numbering.</ref> | |||
= | Atari published a '''Technical Reference Guide''' for the machine, and it is unusually detailed | ||
about the hardware. It is the source for most of this page.<ref name="trg">Atari Corporation, ''Atari Portfolio Technical Reference Guide''. Sections 2.1 (system description), 2.3 (memory cards), 2.5 (power supply unit and power modes), 2.6 (expansion port), 2.8 (LCD display) and 3.8 (power management). Hosted on this wiki: [[:File:Atari Portfolio Technical Reference Guide.pdf]].</ref> | |||
== History and development == | |||
DIP developed the first MS-DOS compatible palmtop | The Portfolio was designed by '''DIP Research Ltd.''' of the Surrey Research Park in Guildford, | ||
Surrey. DIP developed the first MS-DOS compatible palmtop, the '''DIP Pocket PC'''; Atari | |||
Corporation licensed the electronics and software design and produced a consumer version with its | |||
own case and keyboard. It was sold as the Atari Portfolio in the United States and the United | |||
Kingdom, and initially as the '''PC Folio''' in Germany, Italy and Spain. | |||
== Hardware == | |||
=== Processor === | |||
= | The Portfolio uses an '''80C88''' - the same processor as the original IBM PC, in its CMOS static | ||
version, which allows the clock to be halted when nothing is being processed. It runs at | |||
'''4.9152 MHz''' rather than the PC's 4.77 MHz. The processor runs in minimum mode, so bus lock | |||
cannot be used.<ref name="trg" /> | |||
=== Memory === | |||
* '''System RAM: 128 KB''', as '''four 32 KB static RAM chips'''. Static RAM has a very low | |||
standby current, which is what allows the contents to survive on battery power.<ref name="trg" /> | |||
* '''4 KB of that RAM is mapped at B000h as the video RAM''' - the same address the PC | |||
Monochrome Display Adapter uses.<ref name="trg" /> | |||
* '''System ROM: 256 KB''', as '''two 128 KB devices''', containing the BIOS, DOS, command | |||
processor and the application software.<ref name="trg" /> | |||
= | The RAM is divided between system memory and the local storage partition, drive C:, using the | ||
<code>FDISK</code> command. Because a crash loses everything on C:, the common practice is to set | |||
C: to about 8 KB and keep files on a memory card, which leaves roughly 100 KB free for | |||
applications.<ref name="pofaq">BJ Gleason, ''Portfolio Frequently Asked Questions (PORT.FAQ)'', edition of 26 February 1992, [http://www.blinkenlights.com/classiccmp/portfolio.txt blinkenlights.com]. A contemporary community document. Source for the memory-card battery life and replacement procedure, the rechargeable-cell warning, the interface power warning, the FDISK guidance, the card sizes and modules, the ROM versions known in 1992, the developer easter egg and the Atari cable part numbers quoted here.</ref> | |||
The | The '''Memory Expander+ (HPC-104)''' adds 256 KB on the expansion bus; two can be stacked for | ||
640 KB in total.<ref name="pofowiki" /> | |||
=== Display === | === Display === | ||
A '''240 x 64 pixel super-twist LCD''', corresponding to 8 lines of 40 characters, with no | |||
backlight. It is driven by LCD screen drivers under a graphics LCD controller with its own | |||
dedicated screen RAM chip and character generator ROM, arranged to be as close to an IBM | |||
Monochrome Display Adapter as possible.<ref name="trg" /> | |||
Atari lists the display's characteristics as:<ref name="trg" /> | |||
* Full IBM PC extended character set | |||
* A virtual 80 x 25 MDA screen page, with several screen modes | |||
* PC BIOS compatible pixel set/reset for graphics | |||
* Each character an array of '''6 x 8 pixels''' | |||
* '''Software-controlled contrast''', held in a control register | |||
* Block or underline cursor | |||
Screen text attributes - bold, underline, reverse - and the various cursor sizes are '''not''' | |||
supported.<ref name="trg" /> | |||
=== Keyboard and sound === | |||
A '''63-key QWERTY switch-matrix keyboard'''. The custom ASIC generates physical scan codes which | |||
the BIOS translates into IBM PC compatible ones.<ref name="trg" /> | |||
The speaker is driven by a '''DTMF telephone dialler chip''', which produces the dual tones for | |||
tone dialling plus a set of melody tones; the key click uses the same circuit.<ref name="trg" /> | |||
== | === Expansion port === | ||
A '''60-pin connector''' on the right-hand side, carrying the bus and all of the power and | |||
control lines.<ref name="trg" /> | |||
=== | == Power == | ||
The Portfolio is a '''step-up''' design: the power supply unit contains a switching regulator | |||
that '''steps the voltage from three AA cells up to 5 V''', and the regulator can be switched | |||
off.<ref name="trg" /> When cells and an external supply are both connected, the Portfolio runs from whichever | |||
is at the higher voltage - what Atari calls the "initial source".<ref name="trg" /> | |||
<templatestyles src="Template:StyledTable/styles.css" /> | <templatestyles src="Template:StyledTable/styles.css" /> | ||
{| class="wikitable styled-table" | {| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:95%;" | ||
|+ | |+ '''Portfolio supply lines''' | ||
! Line !! Documented behaviour | |||
! | |||
|- | |- | ||
| | | '''5VS''' || Output of the five-volt regulator. Five volts during STANDBY and RUN, floating low at any other time. Rated to supply up to '''40 mA at 5 V +/-5%''' to a peripheral | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | '''VCC (card)''' || Follows 5VS. It exists so that inserting or removing a memory card does not put spikes on 5VS, and should not be used for anything else | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | '''VRAM''' || Supply to the system RAM. '''4.5 V''' in STANDBY and RUN; initial source minus 0.5 V in OFF; the voltage across a capacitor in NO POWER | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | '''VEXT''' || The external supply voltage, connected directly to the external jack socket | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | '''BATD''' || Battery detection. Normally carries the initial source; pulled to ground when the cells are removed, isolating the system RAM | ||
|} | |} | ||
Source: Atari Portfolio Technical Reference Guide, section 2.5.<ref name="trg" /> | |||
The four power modes are '''NO POWER''' (no source connected, for example during a battery | |||
change - the system RAM is held up by an internal capacitor and the voltage on VRAM decays), | |||
'''OFF''' (the custom chip and RAM powered directly from the initial source), '''STANDBY''' (the | |||
whole system on the 5 V regulator with the processor clock halted) and '''RUN'''.<ref name="trg" /> | |||
< | The mains adaptor is rated '''6 V, 300 mA'''.<ref name="pofowiki" /> A set of alkaline cells lasts about six | ||
{| class="wikitable styled-table" | weeks at an hour of use a day.<ref name="pofowiki" /> Rechargeable cells can be used but their discharge curve | ||
|+ Atari Portfolio | is much steeper than an alkaline's, so the low-battery warning may not appear in time - keep | ||
anything important on a memory card if you use them.<ref name="pofaq" /> | |||
! Part | |||
'''Always run from the adaptor when the serial or parallel interface is attached.''' Atari's own | |||
guidance is that an external supply should be used wherever practical with any peripheral, and | |||
the interfaces draw roughly as much power as the Portfolio itself.<ref name="trg" /><ref name="pofaq" /> | |||
== Memory cards == | |||
The Portfolio takes credit-card-sized memory cards in the '''Mitsubishi''' format, inserted in | |||
the left-hand slot and formatted to look like MS-DOS disks. Cards for the HP palmtops, the Poqet | |||
and the Sharp PC-3000 are '''not''' compatible and should not be used.<ref name="trg" /><ref name="pofaq" /> | |||
There are three types:<ref name="trg" /> | |||
* '''RAM''' cards - static RAM with '''a lithium back-up cell in each card''', which Atari says | |||
will maintain the card's data when it is out of a Portfolio "for a year or more". Sizes 32, 64 | |||
and 128 KB. | |||
* '''OTPROM''' cards - one-time programmable, 64 and 128 KB. The programming voltage line runs at | |||
12.5 V in program mode and 5 V normally. | |||
* '''Mask ROM''' cards - factory programmed, 128 KB, used for commercial software. | |||
The card operating supply is '''5 volts''', and a small pin internally connected to ground is | |||
used to detect the presence of a card.<ref name="trg" /> | |||
Outside the United States, DIP Systems in England also sold larger '''Memory Modules''' - 256 KB, | |||
512 KB and 1 MB - which work like RAM cards but protrude from the slot in a box about | |||
20 x 50 x 70 mm.<ref name="pofaq" /> | |||
== Accessories == | |||
Original Atari Portfolio accessories carry an '''HPC''' number.<ref name="pofowiki" /> | |||
{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:85%;" | |||
|+ '''Atari Portfolio accessories''' | |||
! Part number !! Item | |||
|- | |- | ||
| HPC- | | HPC-004 to HPC-010 || Keyboard variants by language<ref name="pofowiki" /> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| HPC- | | '''HPC-101''' || Smart Parallel Interface, for printing and file transfer<ref name="pofowiki" /> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| HPC- | | '''HPC-102''' || Serial Interface<ref name="pofowiki" /> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| HPC- | | '''HPC-104''' || Memory Expander+, 256 KB<ref name="pofowiki" /> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| HPC- | | HPC-201 / 202 / 203 || RAM cards, 32 / 64 / 128 KB<ref name="pofowiki" /> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| HPC- | | HPC-204 / HPC-205 || OTPROM cards<ref name="pofowiki" /> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| HPC- | | HPC-301 || PC Card Drive - an ISA card and external box that presents a Portfolio memory card as a drive on a PC<ref name="pofaq" /> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| HPC- | | HPC-406 || Parallel file-transfer cable (male-to-male DB25, all lines straight through)<ref name="pofaq" /> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| HPC- | | HPC-407 || Portfolio-to-Macintosh file transfer cable<ref name="pofaq" /> | ||
< | |||
|- | |- | ||
| HPC-409 || Serial null-modem cable (female DB9 to female DB25)<ref name="pofaq" /> | |||
|- | |- | ||
| | | HPC-501 / HPC-502 || Adaptors for programming OTPROM cards in a standard PROM programmer<ref name="trg" /> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | HPC-701 || DOS Utilities ROM card<ref name="pofaq" /> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | HPC-704 || File Manager / Tutorial ROM card<ref name="pofaq" /> | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | HPC-7xx || Other mask ROM software cards<ref name="pofowiki" /> | ||
|} | |} | ||
== Operating system and built-in software == | |||
The Portfolio runs '''DIP DOS 2.11''', compatible with MS-DOS 2.11 at the BIOS level. Most | |||
well-behaved text-mode DOS programs run on it provided they do not go below the BIOS to address | |||
< | the hardware directly, because the Portfolio's hardware is not I/O-port compatible with the | ||
PC.<ref name="trg" /> Later versions of MS-DOS will not run on it.<ref name="pofaq" /> | |||
= | Built into ROM are a text editor, a Lotus 1-2-3 compatible spreadsheet, an address book with DTMF | ||
dialling, a diary with alarms, a calculator, the setup utility and the parallel file-transfer | |||
software.<ref name="pofowiki" /> | |||
Atari also issued an '''UPDATE''' program that applied run-time fixes for ROM bugs; it is normally | |||
run from AUTOEXEC.BAT.<ref name="pofaq" /> | |||
== | === ROM versions === | ||
The Portfolio's ROM cannot be upgraded in the field.<ref name="pofaq" /> The 1992 Portfolio FAQ lists | |||
'''1.056''' as the first released version, '''1.072''' as current, and '''1.09''' as developed but | |||
not released.<ref name="pofaq" /> Longer version lists circulate; they could not be verified against a | |||
contemporary source for this page, so the ROM in a given machine is best read from the machine | |||
itself rather than assumed. | |||
== | == Things that are not faults == | ||
* '''The screen flashes when the machine is off.''' The Portfolio wakes about every two minutes to | |||
check the diary alarms. This is normal.<ref name="pofaq" /> | |||
* '''The machine powers itself down after about two minutes of inactivity.''' Also normal, and it | |||
matters during a memory-card battery change - see | |||
[[Atari Portfolio General Maintenance]].<ref name="pofaq" /> | |||
* '''A blank screen with audible key clicks''' is usually contrast, not a hardware fault: contrast | |||
on this machine is set in software through a control register.<ref name="trg" /> | |||
== | == Easter egg == | ||
From the text editor, press '''Fn+F2''' for the help menu, press '''K''' for Keyboard Help, then | |||
press '''Alt+[''' to see the names of the people who developed the machine.<ref name="pofaq" /> | |||
== | == Pop culture == | ||
The Portfolio appears in the 1991 film ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', used by the character John | |||
Connor. | |||
== | == Related pages == | ||
* [[ | * [[Atari Portfolio General Maintenance]] | ||
* [[ | * [[Atari Portfolio Troubleshooting Guide]] | ||
* [[ | * [[Atari Portfolio Capacitor Replacement Guide]] | ||
* [[Atari Portfolio Technical Reference Guide]] | |||
== | == References == | ||
<references /> | |||
{{Navbox-AtariVintageComputers}} | {{Navbox-AtariVintageComputers}} | ||
[[Category:Atari Systems]] | [[Category:Atari Systems]] | ||
Latest revision as of 04:23, 23 September 2026
 | |
| Atari Portfolio palmtop computer | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Atari Corporation (designed by DIP Research Ltd.) |
| Type | Palmtop computer |
| Released | 1989 |
| Intro price | About 890 DEM in Germany at launch, without accessories |
| CPU | Intel 80C88 @ 4.9152 MHz |
| Memory | 128 KB RAM (four 32 KB static RAMs), expandable to 640 KB; 256 KB ROM (two 128 KB devices) |
| Storage | Internal RAM disk (C:), removable memory cards (A:) |
| Display | 240 x 64 pixel super-twist monochrome LCD, no backlight; 40 characters x 8 lines |
| Sound | Piezo speaker driven by a DTMF telephone dialler chip |
| Input | 63-key QWERTY switch-matrix keyboard |
| Connectivity | 60-pin expansion port; memory card slot |
| Power | Three AA cells stepped up to 5 V; optional mains adaptor (6 V, 300 mA) |
| Dimensions | 26 mm x 197 mm x 98 mm |
| Weight | 433 g without cells |
| OS / Firmware | DIP DOS 2.11 (MS-DOS 2.11 compatible) |
The Atari Portfolio is an IBM PC compatible palmtop computer released by Atari Corporation in 1989. In Germany it was presented at the Atari show in Duesseldorf in August 1989 at around 890 DEM, with no accessories included - not even the mains adaptor - and Atari went on to sell roughly 150,000 units in Germany alone.[1]
Atari published a Technical Reference Guide for the machine, and it is unusually detailed about the hardware. It is the source for most of this page.[2]
History and development
[edit | edit source]The Portfolio was designed by DIP Research Ltd. of the Surrey Research Park in Guildford, Surrey. DIP developed the first MS-DOS compatible palmtop, the DIP Pocket PC; Atari Corporation licensed the electronics and software design and produced a consumer version with its own case and keyboard. It was sold as the Atari Portfolio in the United States and the United Kingdom, and initially as the PC Folio in Germany, Italy and Spain.
Hardware
[edit | edit source]Processor
[edit | edit source]The Portfolio uses an 80C88 - the same processor as the original IBM PC, in its CMOS static version, which allows the clock to be halted when nothing is being processed. It runs at 4.9152 MHz rather than the PC's 4.77 MHz. The processor runs in minimum mode, so bus lock cannot be used.[2]
Memory
[edit | edit source]- System RAM: 128 KB, as four 32 KB static RAM chips. Static RAM has a very low
standby current, which is what allows the contents to survive on battery power.[2]
- 4 KB of that RAM is mapped at B000h as the video RAM - the same address the PC
Monochrome Display Adapter uses.[2]
- System ROM: 256 KB, as two 128 KB devices, containing the BIOS, DOS, command
processor and the application software.[2]
The RAM is divided between system memory and the local storage partition, drive C:, using the
FDISK command. Because a crash loses everything on C:, the common practice is to set
C: to about 8 KB and keep files on a memory card, which leaves roughly 100 KB free for
applications.[3]
The Memory Expander+ (HPC-104) adds 256 KB on the expansion bus; two can be stacked for 640 KB in total.[1]
Display
[edit | edit source]A 240 x 64 pixel super-twist LCD, corresponding to 8 lines of 40 characters, with no backlight. It is driven by LCD screen drivers under a graphics LCD controller with its own dedicated screen RAM chip and character generator ROM, arranged to be as close to an IBM Monochrome Display Adapter as possible.[2]
Atari lists the display's characteristics as:[2]
- Full IBM PC extended character set
- A virtual 80 x 25 MDA screen page, with several screen modes
- PC BIOS compatible pixel set/reset for graphics
- Each character an array of 6 x 8 pixels
- Software-controlled contrast, held in a control register
- Block or underline cursor
Screen text attributes - bold, underline, reverse - and the various cursor sizes are not supported.[2]
Keyboard and sound
[edit | edit source]A 63-key QWERTY switch-matrix keyboard. The custom ASIC generates physical scan codes which the BIOS translates into IBM PC compatible ones.[2]
The speaker is driven by a DTMF telephone dialler chip, which produces the dual tones for tone dialling plus a set of melody tones; the key click uses the same circuit.[2]
Expansion port
[edit | edit source]A 60-pin connector on the right-hand side, carrying the bus and all of the power and control lines.[2]
Power
[edit | edit source]The Portfolio is a step-up design: the power supply unit contains a switching regulator that steps the voltage from three AA cells up to 5 V, and the regulator can be switched off.[2] When cells and an external supply are both connected, the Portfolio runs from whichever is at the higher voltage - what Atari calls the "initial source".[2]
| Line | Documented behaviour |
|---|---|
| 5VS | Output of the five-volt regulator. Five volts during STANDBY and RUN, floating low at any other time. Rated to supply up to 40 mA at 5 V +/-5% to a peripheral |
| VCC (card) | Follows 5VS. It exists so that inserting or removing a memory card does not put spikes on 5VS, and should not be used for anything else |
| VRAM | Supply to the system RAM. 4.5 V in STANDBY and RUN; initial source minus 0.5 V in OFF; the voltage across a capacitor in NO POWER |
| VEXT | The external supply voltage, connected directly to the external jack socket |
| BATD | Battery detection. Normally carries the initial source; pulled to ground when the cells are removed, isolating the system RAM |
Source: Atari Portfolio Technical Reference Guide, section 2.5.[2]
The four power modes are NO POWER (no source connected, for example during a battery change - the system RAM is held up by an internal capacitor and the voltage on VRAM decays), OFF (the custom chip and RAM powered directly from the initial source), STANDBY (the whole system on the 5 V regulator with the processor clock halted) and RUN.[2]
The mains adaptor is rated 6 V, 300 mA.[1] A set of alkaline cells lasts about six weeks at an hour of use a day.[1] Rechargeable cells can be used but their discharge curve is much steeper than an alkaline's, so the low-battery warning may not appear in time - keep anything important on a memory card if you use them.[3]
Always run from the adaptor when the serial or parallel interface is attached. Atari's own guidance is that an external supply should be used wherever practical with any peripheral, and the interfaces draw roughly as much power as the Portfolio itself.[2][3]
Memory cards
[edit | edit source]The Portfolio takes credit-card-sized memory cards in the Mitsubishi format, inserted in the left-hand slot and formatted to look like MS-DOS disks. Cards for the HP palmtops, the Poqet and the Sharp PC-3000 are not compatible and should not be used.[2][3]
There are three types:[2]
- RAM cards - static RAM with a lithium back-up cell in each card, which Atari says
will maintain the card's data when it is out of a Portfolio "for a year or more". Sizes 32, 64 and 128 KB.
- OTPROM cards - one-time programmable, 64 and 128 KB. The programming voltage line runs at
12.5 V in program mode and 5 V normally.
- Mask ROM cards - factory programmed, 128 KB, used for commercial software.
The card operating supply is 5 volts, and a small pin internally connected to ground is used to detect the presence of a card.[2]
Outside the United States, DIP Systems in England also sold larger Memory Modules - 256 KB, 512 KB and 1 MB - which work like RAM cards but protrude from the slot in a box about 20 x 50 x 70 mm.[3]
Accessories
[edit | edit source]Original Atari Portfolio accessories carry an HPC number.[1]
| Part number | Item |
|---|---|
| HPC-004 to HPC-010 | Keyboard variants by language[1] |
| HPC-101 | Smart Parallel Interface, for printing and file transfer[1] |
| HPC-102 | Serial Interface[1] |
| HPC-104 | Memory Expander+, 256 KB[1] |
| HPC-201 / 202 / 203 | RAM cards, 32 / 64 / 128 KB[1] |
| HPC-204 / HPC-205 | OTPROM cards[1] |
| HPC-301 | PC Card Drive - an ISA card and external box that presents a Portfolio memory card as a drive on a PC[3] |
| HPC-406 | Parallel file-transfer cable (male-to-male DB25, all lines straight through)[3] |
| HPC-407 | Portfolio-to-Macintosh file transfer cable[3] |
| HPC-409 | Serial null-modem cable (female DB9 to female DB25)[3] |
| HPC-501 / HPC-502 | Adaptors for programming OTPROM cards in a standard PROM programmer[2] |
| HPC-701 | DOS Utilities ROM card[3] |
| HPC-704 | File Manager / Tutorial ROM card[3] |
| HPC-7xx | Other mask ROM software cards[1] |
Operating system and built-in software
[edit | edit source]The Portfolio runs DIP DOS 2.11, compatible with MS-DOS 2.11 at the BIOS level. Most well-behaved text-mode DOS programs run on it provided they do not go below the BIOS to address the hardware directly, because the Portfolio's hardware is not I/O-port compatible with the PC.[2] Later versions of MS-DOS will not run on it.[3]
Built into ROM are a text editor, a Lotus 1-2-3 compatible spreadsheet, an address book with DTMF dialling, a diary with alarms, a calculator, the setup utility and the parallel file-transfer software.[1]
Atari also issued an UPDATE program that applied run-time fixes for ROM bugs; it is normally run from AUTOEXEC.BAT.[3]
ROM versions
[edit | edit source]The Portfolio's ROM cannot be upgraded in the field.[3] The 1992 Portfolio FAQ lists 1.056 as the first released version, 1.072 as current, and 1.09 as developed but not released.[3] Longer version lists circulate; they could not be verified against a contemporary source for this page, so the ROM in a given machine is best read from the machine itself rather than assumed.
Things that are not faults
[edit | edit source]- The screen flashes when the machine is off. The Portfolio wakes about every two minutes to
check the diary alarms. This is normal.[3]
- The machine powers itself down after about two minutes of inactivity. Also normal, and it
matters during a memory-card battery change - see Atari Portfolio General Maintenance.[3]
- A blank screen with audible key clicks is usually contrast, not a hardware fault: contrast
on this machine is set in software through a control register.[2]
Easter egg
[edit | edit source]From the text editor, press Fn+F2 for the help menu, press K for Keyboard Help, then press Alt+[ to see the names of the people who developed the machine.[3]
Pop culture
[edit | edit source]The Portfolio appears in the 1991 film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, used by the character John Connor.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Atari Portfolio General Maintenance
- Atari Portfolio Troubleshooting Guide
- Atari Portfolio Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Atari Portfolio Technical Reference Guide
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 "Der Atari-Portfolio-Steckbrief" and "Original Atari Portfolio und Zubehoer", PofoWiki. Secondary source: a long-running German community wiki devoted to the Portfolio. Source for the August 1989 Duesseldorf launch and price, the German sales figure, the physical dimensions and weight, the mains adaptor rating, the battery life figure and the HPC accessory numbering.
- ↑ 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 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 Atari Corporation, Atari Portfolio Technical Reference Guide. Sections 2.1 (system description), 2.3 (memory cards), 2.5 (power supply unit and power modes), 2.6 (expansion port), 2.8 (LCD display) and 3.8 (power management). Hosted on this wiki: File:Atari Portfolio Technical Reference Guide.pdf.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 BJ Gleason, Portfolio Frequently Asked Questions (PORT.FAQ), edition of 26 February 1992, blinkenlights.com. A contemporary community document. Source for the memory-card battery life and replacement procedure, the rechargeable-cell warning, the interface power warning, the FDISK guidance, the card sizes and modules, the ROM versions known in 1992, the developer easter egg and the Atari cable part numbers quoted here.