Atari 400 User manual

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BY

THE

EDITORS

OF

CONSUMER

GUIDE

®

THE

USER'S GUIDE

TO

ATARI

400·

800'

1200XL COMPUTERS,

SOFTWARE,

&PERIPHERALS

Another

Original publication

of

POCKET

BOOKS

~

POCKET

BOOKS, a division

of

Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230

Avenue

of

the Americas

N

ew

York, N.

V.

10020

1983

by'Publi

ca

tions International,

Ltd.

All

rights reserved, including the right to reproduce

this book

or

portions

thereof

in

any form whatsoever.

For

information

address

Pocket Books,

1230

Avenue

of

the Americas,

New

York, N.V.

10020

ISBN: 0-671-49503-8

First Pocket Books printing December,

1983

10

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I

POCKET

and colophon are regi

ste

red trademarks

of

Simon & Schuster,

In

c.

Printed

in

the U.S.A.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

1

WELCOME

TO

HOME

COMPUTING

By

using this book

to

learn about

your

system,

you

will

be well on the

way

to

many

happy

hours

of

home computing.

CHAPTER

2

GETTING STARTED

You

'

ll

learn

about

what

you

need

to

assemble

your

basic computer system.

Then

you

'

ll

go step-by-step through

the

details

of

setting

it

up

.

CHAPTER

3

MEET THE KEYS

Each

and every key on

your

keyboard

is

presented here, complete

with

exercises

to

teach

you

how

the keys

work

.Detailed

photographs

show

you

how

your

screen

will

look

as

you

work

through the

exercises.

CHAPTER

4

PERIPHERALS-

EXPANDING

YOUR

SYSTEM

So

you

want

your

new

system

to

do even

more for

you?

Here's the background

information

you

need

to

decide

what

additional equipment

you

might

want

to

buy.

4

11

30

170

CHAPTERS

SOFTWARE

Software programs also expand

your

system's capabilities. Here are some

software packages

you

might

use

for

various kinds

of

purposes.

CHAPTER

6

192

YOUR

COMPUTER'S

228

NETWORK

Many

resources are available to help

you

get

the most from

your

computer system.

You

can share all sorts

of

information

with

other computer users and

with

national

information banks

as

well

.

CHAPTER

1

WELCOMETO

HOME

COMPUTING

Now

that

you

are the proud

owner

of

an

Atari

home computer, congratulate yourself!A home

computer can eliminate a

lot

of

the drudgery

associated

with

many types

of

paperwork, such

as

writing

reportsand keeping finances in order.

In addition,

your

Atari home computer can pro-

vide

your

entire family

with

stimulating enter-

tainment. In

fact

since the computer can per-

form all sorts

of

different functions, it's very likely

that every member

of

your

family

will

be

drawn

to

some aspect

of

computing.

You

will find

that

it

is

ea

sy

to

use

your

Atari

home computer. A home computer

is

designed

so

that

long, difficult instructions and various

secret passwords are completely unnecessary

When

you

want

to

use

your

computer for a spe-

cific purpose, such

as

ty

ping a letter, balancing

your

checkbook, or simply playing a game, all

you have

to

do

is

buy

the appropriate program

(a

set

of

instructions already created for you)

that will set up

your

computer for the purpose

you

need. Once

you

are more familiar

with

your

computer,

you

may

want

to

create

your

own

simple programs. For example,

you

may

want

to

create a program

that

will

draw

pictures, or

graphics, on the screen.

This

is

easy

to

do once

you

know

the simple instructions, or commands,

to

use

.

4

For the most

part

however,

it

isn't necessary

to

learn

how

to

program

or

to

know

any

electron-

ics

theories in order

to

use

and

enjoy

your

Atari.

As

you

use

the

Atari

from day

to

day,

you

will

feel more and more comfortable

working

with

computers, and

you

will

learn

about

the many

ways

that

your

computer can simplify

your

work.

This

User's

Guide

will

help

you

get

started using

your

Atari

home computer.

You

will

learn

about

the basic components

of

your

computer,

how

to

hook it

up

,and

how

to

use

the keyboard

to

communicate

with

it. In addition,

you

'll learn

about

other

pieces of equipment

that

can en-

"hance

your

computer and

about

the software

programs

that

allow

you

to

use

the computer in

different ways. Soon

you

will

feel like a real com-

puter

ex

pert

I

Before

we

begin, take a

few

minutes

to

learn

about

several

of

Atari

home

computers-one

of

which

you

now

own

.

MEET

THE

ATARI

LINE

OF

HOME

COMPUTERS

All

of

the Atari home computers have a

few

things in common. When

you

use

an

Atari

com-

puter,

you

type messages

to

the

computer

on

the keyboard. These messages-yours

to

the

computer and the computer's back

to

you-

appear

right

on the TV screen

or

monitor

that

is

hooked

up

to

it.

5

One

of

the main differences in the types

of

com-

puters

is

how

much each can do. A computer

contains a certain number

of

memorychips,

which

allow

it

to

store information. For com-

puters, memory

is

measured in units called bytes.

Each

byte

holds one character (letter, number,

or

symbol)

of

information.

One

kilobyte, or K

as

it

is

commonly called,

is

equal

to

approximately

1,000 bytes

of

memory. For example, if

your

com-

puter comes

with

16K

of

memory, this means

that

it

can store appr.oximately 16,000 characters

of

information

at

one time.

Different types

of

Atari computers come

with

different amounts

of

memory.

The

larger the

amount

of

memory, the more the computer can

do. In

fact

some

of

the more complex programs

you

can

buy

for

your

computer require a certain

amount

of

memory in order

to

work

properly.

You

can

buy

additional units

of

memory for

your

computer if

you

need more,

which

you

will learn

about later in this guide.Let's take a look at the

Atari models 400, 800, and 1200XL.

Atari

400

The

Atari 400 was introduced in late

1979.

The

first units made contained

8K

or

16K

of

memory,

while

the latest models made contain

16K.

The

400 features a flat, touch-sensitive membrane

keyboard, rather than one more like an electric

typewriter. (A membrane keyboard

is

one

that

has

a flat surface instead

of

raised keys.)While

the 400's membrane keyboard

is

not

great for

toUCh-typing or entering long program listings,

6

it

does have some advantages: since the key-

board

is

a sealed flat surface,

it

is

fairly imper-

vious

to

the attacks

of

small children and

is

very

easy

to

clean.

Electrically speaking, the 400

is

almost identical

to

the more expensive Atari

800

. Even if

you

have

no

plans

to

get

into

a more complicated

system

with

more accessories, the

Atari

400

makes a terrific game cartridge system.

Atari

800

The

Atari 800, introduced

at

the

same time

as

the 400, offers greater

ease

of

expandability

(adding equipment

to

the computer) and use. Its

full-stroke keyboard makes

typing

a pleasure.

Although

the first models were offered

with

8K

or

16K

of

memory, Atari eventually made 48K

of

memorystandard

with

the

800

computer.

This

larger memory allows

you

to

run longer and

more complex programs.

The

800

is

the

only

Atari computer

with

two

cartridge slots. Atari'soriginal plans

were

for

some programs

to

use

both

slots,

but

a

way

to

get

bigger programs

into

one cartridge was dis-

covered and

no

two-cartridge

Atari

programs

were ever released.

The

800

has

some nice features. The system ex-

pansion slots,

which

make

it

possible

to

use

some specialized devices

with

the computer, can

be easily reached

by

removing the

top

cover. It

is

also possible

to

hook

up the

800

computer

to

7

your

stereo (which makes for

truly

powerful

sound!), and the

800

will

hook directly

into

a

color video

monitor

(which can give

you

a

bit

sharper picture than most regUlar televisions).

Atari

1200XL

The

Atari '200XL was the first

of

the Atari

XL

line.

The'

200XL

has

nice styling and a very

good

keyboard.

It

comes

with

64K

of

memory-

a more

than

ample amount for many purposes.

.

SOFTWARE

PROGRAMS

YOU

CAN

BUY

As mentioned earlier, a

program

is

a set

of

in-

structions

that

tells the computer

to

do

some-

thing.

You

can either create a program yourself

by

using a computer language (such

as

BASIC),

or

you

can

buy

a program

that

someone

else

has

already created. For the more complicated tasks

that

a computer can perform, most people find

it

easier

to

buy

already-made programs.

Once someone

has

made a program, the pro-

gram

is

stored on computer software, such

as

a

cartridge, a cassette tape,

or

a diskette (which

you

will

learn

about

later in this guide).

The

pro-

gram can then be used again and again

byany-

one

who

has

a copy

of

this software. This

is

what

you

buy

when

you

purchase a program

that

someone

else

has created.

There

is

a

wide

variety

of

programs available for

","

Atari home computers.

You

can

buy

a

software

program

that

enables

you

to

use

your

computer

as

an advanced electronic typewriter. In fact, this

8

type

of

program, called a

word

processingpro-

gram, lets

you

do

much more than

you

could

with

a regular

typewriter

.For example,

word

processing

software

lets

you

create a

document

-let

'ssay a letter

-then

move

part

of

the letter

to

a different location.

You

might

want

to

move

the third paragraph

to

where the eighth para-

graph

is

located. Or,

you

may

want

to

delete a

few

lines

of

t

ex

t.

On

your

Atari computer,

you

do all this

bef

ore

you

ever

print

the letter on a

sheet

of

paper!

Other

software programslet

you

use the com-

puter

as

a huge, electronic spreadsheet.

You

can

set up

your

finances on one

of

these spread-

sheets-then let the computer perform the cal-

culations for

you!

And

,

of

course, let's

not

forget the numerous

game

software

you

can

buy.

You

will

spend

hours

at

a time

with

your

computer

when

you

can

use

it

as

an entertainment and relaxation

tool.

You

will

learn more

about

game software

and

other

software

programs in Chapter 5,

"Software."

COMPUTER

LANGUAGES

A computerlanguage

is

a

group

of

words

/called

commands)

which

you

can use

to

instruct the

computer

to

perform a task. While there are

many computer languages, one

of

the

most

common and easiest languages

to

use

is

called

BASIC.

You

can

buy

a software cartridge

that

~ontains

the BASIC language

for

your

Atari

400,

9

800, or 1200XL.

You

can insert the

BASIC

cart-

ridge directly into

your

computer

when

you

want

to

do

some

progr

amming

of

your

own

.

Once

you

are much more familiar

with

pro-

gramming,

you

may

want

to

purchase a

differ

-

ent language

(a

different

set

of

commands) for

your

computer. There

are

other languages avail-

able, some

of

which

are more useful in

different

applications. But at this point,

you

do

not

need

to

concern yourself

too

much

with

languages

and

programming-especially

since there are

so

many already-created programs

that

you

can

buy

and

use.

COMPUTER

LITERACY

One

of

the most importantbenefits

of

personal

computing

is

achieving computer literacy. Com-

puter

literacysimply means being familiar

with

computers and

knowing

how

to

use computers

as

tools

to

perform tasks for

you

.

What

we

should be concerned

about

is

how

people use computers.

You

can use a hammer

as

a tool

to

build or tear

down

things. Understand-

ing

that

computers are simply more sophisti-

cated tools used

by

people-including

yourself

-will

help

you

to

feel comfortable using com-

puters

as

constructive tools that can help sim-

plify many

of

your

everyday tasks.

Are

you

ready~o

learn

how

to

set up and

use

your

computer? Then, let's begin!

10

CHAPTER

2

GETTI

'

NG

STARTED

All

you

need

to

start computing

is

an

Atari

com-

puter, a

1V

set

or

monitor

(preferably color), and

software.

You

may also have purchased some

sort

of

device

to

load programs

into

the com-

puter (such

as

a cassette recorder

or

a disk drive)

or

some controllers for playing games (such

as

joysticks or paddles). If

you

are interested in

learning more

about

various types

of

equipment

(called peripherals)

that

you

can use

with

your

computer, see Chapter

4,

"Peripherals."

YOU

NEED

A

TV

OR

MONITOR

It's likely

that

you

already

own

a

TV

set

that

you

can

use

with

your

Atari computer. In most

cases,

any color or black-and-white set

will

work

fine

as

a video display for

your

games

or

other

pro-

grarris.

The

only

problem

you

may run

into

is

called excessive overscan. If

it

becomes evident

that

you

aren't

seeing a

lot

of

the

edges

of

the

video image

your

computer

is

generating and

the TV

is

hooked up properly,

you

have an over-

scan problem.This sometimes occurs in older

TV

sets,

and there's

not

much

you

can

do

about

it

other than

buying

a

new

TV All

TVs

have

some

overscan; however,

if

the overscan starts

to

interfere

with

playing games

or

using

other

types

of

programs,

you

may

want

to

consider

replacing

your

TV

11

Whether

you

use

a color or a

black-and-white

TV

or

monitor

should depend on

your

needs.

While

color

TVs

or

monitors make

the

best

use

of

Atari's

color

capabilities,

you

may find a black-

and-white

screen easier on the eyes for reading

a

lot

of

text

(such

as

in

word

processing

or

for

many business

uses).

In addition,

when

using a

one-color screen,

you

have the

option

to

display

more characters across the screen.

To

learn

more

about

these features,

see

Chapter

4,

"Peripherals."

YOU

NEED

SOFTWARE

If

you

use

your

Atari computer

by

itself,

you

are

using the computer's hardware. When

you

use a

program

that

is

not

in the computer itself,

you

are using a

software

program. In addition,

when

you

want

to

save a program or

other

type

of

document

that

you

have created,

you

store

it

on

software.

Software comes in three formats: cartridge, cas-

sette,

and

diskette. The software format

you

use

will

depend

upon

your

needs and the availabil-

ity

of

the programs

you

wish

to

purchase in a

particular format. The types

of

software

pro-

grams available are discljssed in detail in Chap-

ter

5,

"Softvvare." Right

now,

we

'

ll

discuss the

three available formats

of

softvvare and any

equipment

necessary in order

to

use a partic-

ular format.

12

Cartridges

A cartridge contains electronic chips in

which

a

program

is

stored.

To

use

acartridge-based pro-

gram,

no

special equipment

is

generally re-

quired;the cartridge plugs

right

into

your

Atari

computer.A cartridge program usually cannot

be

altered,

is

completely self-contained,and

is

automatically loaded into

your

computer's mem-

ory

when

y.ou

turn on

your

computer.

Cartridge programs are very reliable and rarely

ever

go

bad. Their principal drawbacks are

that

they are limited in the

size

of

the programs they

can

hold and are usually a

bit

more expensive

than cassette-

or

diskette-based software.

You

can

't store

your

own

programs

or

other files

that

you create on a cartridge,either.

To

store

your

own

work,

you

will need to

use

a blank

cassette or diskette.

Cassettes

There are many software programs available in

the cassette format.

You

can

also

buy

blank

cas-

settes on which

to

store

your

own

work.

While a cartridge-based program

is

loaded

directly into the computer,

you

will

need a

cas-

sette recorder

to

load a cassette-based program

from the cassette into the computer's memory In

comparison

to

the peripheral needed

to

load a

diskette-based program

(a

disk drive), a cassette

recorder

is

the least expensive type

of

data stor-

age and retrieval device available forAtari home

computers. However, while

they

are

low

in cost

13

(about

S100

or

less)

,

cas

sette recorders are very

slow

compared

to

disk drives and usually are

not

as

reliable. They also tend

to

be more prone

to

errors in loading programs.

You

may

use

either

an

Atari program recorder or any regular

cas-

sette recorder. Cassette recorders are discussed

in more detail in Chapter

4,

"Peripherals."

Diskettes

A diskette, also

known

asa disk,

or

floppy disk,

is

a round,

thin

sheet

of

plastic, coated

with

magnetic oxide similar

to

the coating on a

cas-

sette tape.This sheet

is

sealed in a

jacket

to

protect

it

from dust and dirt. When

you

buy

a

diskette-based program, the program

is

stored

on the magnetic material inside the non-

removablejacket.

While diskette-based programs are usually more

expensive than cassette-based programs, disk-

ettes have certain advantages over cassettes.

Loading a program from a disk drive

is

much

faster-and

far more

accurate-than

loading a

program from a cassette recorder. In addition,

there are many more programs available on disk-

ette than cassette.Also,

when

you

store

your

own

work

,

you

can store many programs (de-

pending

on

their

size)

on a diskette,

as

opposed

to

the recommended one program on each side

of

a

ca

ssette. If

you

will

be creating

your

own

programs, or if

you

will

be

saving files such

as

letters and reports,

you

will

find diskettes

cheaper and more manageable than cassettes.

14

To

use a diskette-based program,

you

need a

disk drive.

At

present, disk drives are relatively

expensive (over $300);however, the speed and

versatility

of

a disk drive

unit

makes using

your

computer a

lot

easier and more enjoyable.

The

ability

to

quickly

access

information makes a disk

drive a must if

you

intend

to

use

your

computer

for medium

to

large data

base

applications,

extensive

word

processing programs,

or

other

business applications. Disk drives are discussed

in more detail in Chapter

4,

"Peripherals."

WHERE TO SET

UP

Before

you

unpack

your

equipment,

think

about

where

you'll

want

to

work

with

your

computer

system. If

you

are using a large TV set

(17

inches

or more diagonally),

you'll

want

to

place the

computer console (the

part

containing the key-

board) a reasonable distance from the TV screen.

Don't

put

it

in a spot where

you

'

ll

have

to

move

everything

when

you

want

to

watch

a regular

television program. For convenience,

you

may

even need

to

consider purchasing a small color

set

to

use

only

with

your

computer.

Reasonably priced and attractive furniture

is

now

widely

available for housing home com-

putersystems. While a regular desk may

do

just

fine, furniture designed especially for computer

systems

will

usually have holes for

routing

cables and special shelves for specific pieces

of

computer gear.

At

the very least, be sure to have

your

computer console resting on a.firrn, flat

surface.

15

ELECTRICAL

CONSIDERATIONS

If

you

have a number

of

things

that

need

to

be

plugged

into

electrical outlets,

count

them.

To

make

your

setup

as

safe

as

possible,

don't

string

electrical extension cords everywhere; instead,

purchase a UL-approved multipleAC

outlet

strip. This

will

minimize the number

of

wall

out-

lets

you

use for

your

computer and generally

keep things neat.

WHAT

COMES

WITH

YOUR

COMPUTER?

In the box

you

should find the

following

items:

• Your

Atari

computer console (the

part

with

the

keyboard)

•

An

AC adapter for the computer console (the

heavy little box

with

two

cords sticking

out

of

it)

• A TV

switch

box (the smaller

lightweight

box

with

one flat cable sticking

out

of

it)

•

An

Owner's

Guide (and possibly some other

books

or

papers)

The

pages

will

show

you

how

to

set

up

your

computer.

16

HOOKING

THE

TV

SET

10

THE

COMPUTER CONSOLE

STEP 1

Unplug

your

N set.

STEP 2

Locate the connector (or connectors)

on

the

back

of

the set labeled

VHF.

Remove the cable

connected there (you may need a screwdriver

for this).

STEP 3

Attach

the cable labeled N

on

the

switch

bo

x

to

the screws labeled VHF on

your

N set.

STEP 4

Check

whether

the cable

you

have

just

dis-

connected

is

thick and round (75 ohm)

or

flat

(300 ohm).

STEPS

Attach

the cable

to

the TV

switch

bo

x

at

the

points labeled 75 ohm or

300

ohm (depending

on

which

type

of

cable

you

hav

e).

STEP 6

Ifthe cable

you

disconnected in Step 2 w asa 75

ohm (thick and round) cable,

you

must set

your

N

to

accept a

300

ohm signal.

See

your

N

Owner

's Manual for instructions

on

how

to

set

your

television for a

300

ohm a

ntenn

a.

17

STEP 2

STEP 3

18

Atari 400 User manual

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