Atari 65XE User manual

ATARI 65XE
PERSONALCOMPUTER
OWNER'SMANUAL
TM

IMPORTANTINFORMATION
Likeanyelectricalappliance,thisATARI65XEComputerusesandproducesradio-
frequencyenergy.Ifitisnotinstalledandusedaccordingtotheinstructionsinthis
guide,theequipmentmaycauseinterferencewithyourradioortelevisionreception.
Ifyoubelievethatthisequipmentiscausinginterferencewithyourradioortelevision
reception,tryturningtheequipmentoffandon.Iftheinterferenceproblemstopswhen
theequipmentisturnedoff,thentheequipmentisprobablycausingtheinterference.
Withtheequipmentturnedon,youmaybeabletocorrecttheproblembytryingoneor
moreofthefollowingmeasures:
•Reorienttheradioortelevisionantenna.
•Repositiontheequipmentinrelationtotheradioortelevisionset.
•Movetheequipmentawayfromtheradioortelevision.
•Plugtheequipmentintoa differentwalloutletsothattheequipment
andtheradioortelevisionareondifferentbranchcircuits.
Ifnecessary,consultyourATARIComputerretaileroranexperiencedradioand
televisiontechnicianforadditionalsuggestions.
AnotherhelpfulresourceisHowtoIdentifyandResolveRadio-TVInterference
Problems,a bookletpreparedbytheFederalCommunicationsCommission.Thisbooklet
isavailablefromtheU.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice,Washington,DC20402,StockNo.
004-000-00345-4.
WARNING:Thisequipmenthasbeencertifiedtocomplywiththelimitsfora ClassB
computingdevice,pursuanttoSubpartJ ofPart15ofFCCRules.Theserulesare
designedtoprovidereasonableprotectionagainstsuchinterferencewhenthe
equipmentisusedina residentialsetting.However,thereisnoguaranteethat
interferencewillnotoccurina particularhomeorresidence.Onlyperipherals(computer
input/outputdevices,terminals,printers,etc.)thathavebeencertifiedtocomplywith
theClassB limitsmaybeattachedtothiscomputer.
Operationofnoncertifiedperipheralswiththiscomputerislikelytoresultininterference
withradioandTVreception.
Everyefforthasbeenmadetoensuretheaccuracyoftheproductdocumentationin
thismanual.However,becauseweareconstantlyimprovingandupdatingourcomputer
softwareandhardware,AtariCorp.isunabletoguaranteetheaccuracyofprinted
materialafterthedateofpublicationanddisclaimsliabilityforchanges,errors,and
omissions.
Noreproductionofthisdocumentoranyportionofitscontentsisallowedwithoutthe
specificwrittenpermissionofAtariCorp.,Sunnyvale,CA94086.
©1987AtariCorp.AllRightsReserved.
ATARI

ATARI 65XE
PERSONALCOMPUTER
TM

TheRightComputer
fortheTaskatHand
Welcometotheworldofhomecomputing.YournewATARI®65XE™
isoneofthemostpowerfulandversatilesmallcomputersyoucan
buyforyourhome.
Its64KRAMmemory,full-strokekeyboard,soundandgraphics
capabilities,andanarrayofcompatiblesoftwareprogramsandhard-
wareaccessoriesmaketheATARI65XEtheperfectcomputerfor
entertainment,educational,andbusinessuses.Andwiththebuilt-in
ATARIBASICprogramminglanguage,youcanbeginimmediatelyto
writeyourowncomputerprograms.
Thismanualisarrangedforeasyaccesstotheinformationyouneed,
whetheryouarea beginningoranadvancedprogrammer.Part1
showsyouhowtosetupyourATARI65XEComputer,checkwhether
it'sfunctioningproperly,usethekeyboard,loadsoftwarecartridges,
andexpandthesystembyaddingperipheraldevices.
Part2 isanintroductorylessoninBASICprogramming.Ifyoualready
knowhowtoprogram,youcangodirectlytothesampleprograms
andreferencematerialsinPart3.However,thebeginningprogrammer
shouldworkthroughthelessons.YourATARI65XEhasmanyapplica-
tions,andunderstandingitsbuilt-inlanguagewillmakeyourcomputer
morefunandmoreuseful.
OnceyouhavetheATARI65XEsetupandworking,lookatthe
Resourcessectionofthemanual.You'llfindthatthereareunlimited
resourcesfortheATARIComputerowner—frombooksandprograms
tousersgroupsandmagazines.Youwillfinda wholerealmofnew
activitiestodowithyourATARIComputer.

TableofContents
PART1:GETTINGSTARTED...................................................1
MeetingtheATARI65XE....................................................2
HookingItUp......................................................................5
CheckingItOut...................................................................9
UnderstandingYourKeyboard.............................................13
IntroducingATARIGraphics................................................17
AddinganInternationalCharacterSet................................19
ExploringATARIBASIC......................................................21
UsingSoftware....................................................................23
ExpandingYourSystem.....................................................25
PART2:PROGRAMMINGWITHATARIBASIC.....27
EditingwiththeATARI65XEKeyboard.................................29
Writinga SimpleBASICProgram:
NEW,LIST,PRINT,RUN................................................35
CreatinganInteractiveLoop:
GOTO,DIM,INPUT........................................................41
UsingRandomNumbersandMathematicalFunctions:
RND,+,-,*,/.............................................47
MakingDecisionsandSolvingProblems:
IF-THEN,FOR-NEXT.................................................55
ProducingSoundandGraphics:
SOUND,SETCOLOR,COLOR..................................65
PART3:APPENDICES....................................................77
A.SamplePrograms..........................................................79
B.BASICReservedWords.................................................93
C.ATASCIICharacterSet...................................................101
D.ErrorMessages.............................................................111
E.Troubleshooting............................................................115
F.Resources.....................................................................117
G.ATARI65XESpecifications...........................................119
INDEX....................................................................................121

Part1
GettingStarted
1

MeetingtheATARI65XE
Peripheral
ChannelPower
PeripheralPort
ControllerPorts
Connectsperipheralequipment,suchasdiskdrives,program
recorders,printers,andmodems.
CartridgeSlot
Allowstheuseofplug-incartridgesforquickandeasyprogram
loading.
MonitorJack
Providesaccesstoa monitor'ssuperiorresolution.
Selectschannel2 or3 fortheclearestpicture.
2
Cartridge Monitor
Television
TVChannelSelectSwitch

Providesa plugfortheconnectingcablefromtheTVSwitchBox.
TelevisionJack
Connectstouchtablets,numerickeypads,joysticks,andpaddle
controllers.
ControllerPorts
On/OffSwitch
ConnectsthecomputertotheACpowersupply.
PowerAdapterPlug
3

4

HookingItUp
WhenyouunpackyourATARI65XE,makesureyouhavethefollowing
items:
•ATARI65XEComputer
•ACPowerSupply
•TVSwitchBox(NOTFOREUROPEANCOUNTRY)
•ConnectingcablefromcomputertoTVSwitchBox
•65XEOwner'sManual
•Warranty/RegistrationCard
Ifyouaremissinganyoftheseitems,contactyourdealer.Another
goodideaistosavethepackingmaterialsincaseyouwantto
transportthecomputerorsenditinthemail.
SettingupyourATARIComputersystemiseasy.Allyouneedisa
televisionsetanda screwdriver;AtariCorp.providestherest.Your
ATARI65XEcanbeconnectedtoanordinaryblack-and-whiteorcolor
television,oryoucanbuya computermonitortousesolelyasa
displayscreen.
Toconnectthecomputertoa monitor,followtheinstallationinstruc-
tionsthatcomewiththemonitor.Youwillneeda connectingcable
(usuallysuppliedwiththemonitor)toattachthemonitortotheATARI
65XEMonitorjackonthebackofyourcomputer.
Ifyouaregoingtousea televisionasa displayscreen,locatetheTV
SwitchBoxandtheconnectingcable.TheSwitchBoxattachesdirectly
toyourtelevision,butitwillnotinterferewithnormaltelevisionrecep-
tion.WiththeslidingswitchintheCOMPUTERposition,yourtelevision
willdisplaysignalsfromyourATARI65XE.IntheTVposition,signals
comefromyourtelevisionantenna.
INSTALLINGTHETVSWITCHBOX
HowyouinstalltheSwitchBoxwilldependonthekindofantenna
connectionthatyouhave.Therearetwotypesofconnections:a
round,75-OHMconnectionanda flat,300-OHMtwin-leadconnection.
Followthestepsbelowforeithertypeofantennaconnection:
1.DisconnectyourpresentVHFantennaoryourcableTVlinefrom
theterminalsonthebackofyourtelevision.Iftheantennacableisthe
5