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From: hans@umd5.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Subject: Re: 800XL with sick ROM - Help!
Message-ID: <1430@umd5>
Date: Tue, 3-Feb-87 17:04:01 EST
Article-I.D.: umd5.1430
Posted: Tue Feb  3 17:04:01 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 5-Feb-87 04:14:33 EST
References: <128@sco.UUCP> <3727@teddy.UUCP>
Reply-To: hans@umd5.umd.edu (Hans Breitenlohner)
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Lines: 28

In article <3727@teddy.UUCP> kdj@teddy.UUCP (Kenneth D. Jordan) writes:
>My 800XL ROM is sick.  The memory test on the ATARI shows the left hand
   ....

Well, there are a number of ways to approach this.

If you have access to a good ROM, an EPROM programmer, and 27128 EPROMs,
you could duplicate a good one.  As far as I know, the 600XL, 800XL, 65XE
and 130XE all have the same ROM.  If you have a friend with a broken machine 
of any of these types, you could also try to use a ROM from it.
I have used a 27128 EPROM (either 200 or 250 ns, I don't remember), and
know that it works.

If this is not feasible, there are several places which sell Atari parts.
American TV and B&C Computervision come to mind.  They advertise in 
Antic and Analog, among others.  I have not dealt with either, but I hear
that they promise delivery in the 4-6 week time frame.
Price should be around $10.

Finally Computer Mail Order (again, I have not dealt with them) recently
advertised 600XLs for $30 or $35.  Since they are identical to 800XLs
except for the memory circuitry and the video output, you would get a great
supply of spare parts that way.  Of course I don't know if they have any
left.

Before doing any of this I would try to swap parts with a good machine,
to be sure it really is the ROM and not some other part of the memory
circuitry which is causing the problem.