Video: Memory Card for Atari XL/XE series computers
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Christian Alarcón Vidal (Chile) published a video showing the operation of a Memory Card, a unique information storage device for Atari computers of the XL/XE series.
As described on the RetroGames website, it is a cartridge with a static RAM memory of 32KB, to store recorded files. The Memory Card does not contain any type of microcontroller and all logic is achieved thanks to a mini operating system, called "handler".
When the computer is turned on, part of the handler is transferred to the Atari's memory, allowing it to interact with the device (which it recognized as the M: drive). Using a series of somewhat complicated commands, the user could record, load and delete files.
According to Marcelo Waldbaum, one of the creators of the device, the memory card was produced by Turbo Software towards the end of the eighties at the request of Coelsa, Atari's representative in Chile.
The company needed a low-cost, independent storage solution. "Their last import (was) about ten thousand units (of Atari computers). But they had a very serious problem because the manufacture of cassette players had been discontinued and they could not sell the equipment without the educational argument that was always used," he explains on the RetroGames forum.
The Turbo Soft team developed the memory card in just ten days; the manufacturer supplied each device with various utility programs and games. Each unit was sold for 7,900 Chilean pesos at the time - about 45 USD today. In total, 10,000 cards were produced.
Unfortunately, memory cards had several limitations: the main one was that they only allowed loading programs in BASIC language; likewise, when recording, only one letter could be used as a file name. Also, the mini operating system reduced the capacity of the device (only 24KB left for the user).
Finally, the handler was totally dependent on the life of the lithium battery: when the 3V battery was discharged - in an average of ten years - the system was erased and the cartridge lost its usefulness.
We appreciate the information and images shared by Christian Alarcón, Guillermo Fuenzalida and Cristian Cruells, members of the Facebook group ATARI CHILE
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