401:
late 1970s. Normally, when used with MFM encoding for double-density, the number of bytes per sector was doubled to 256 and the layout was otherwise unchanged. Instead, Atari's format retained the original 128 byte sectors and increased the number per track to 26, thereby providing 40 x 26 x 128 = 133,120 bytes per side, 130 kB. While Atari's documentation referred to this as double density, users used the term "enhanced" or "dual density" to distinguish it from the true double-density systems already in the market.
311:, formerly of Commodore, in June 1984. The new management arrived to find warehouses filled with XL systems and peripherals. They put the existing stock on the market for fire-sale prices while they developed new very-low-cost versions of the machines. These emerged as the XE series, which were presented at the January 1985 Consumer Electronics Show, along with a restyled 1050 called the XF521. They continued to show the new drive through 1985 and 1986, but it disappeared without ever shipping.
79:
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3.0. The move to blocks meant that the minimum file size was also 1 kB, and in the era of small files this resulted in significant wasted space. This led most users to shun 3.0, and reviewers to state flatly that "This product should be avoided. It's a shame so many newer Atari users have been saddled with it."
396:
for double-density support, although units built starting in the fall of 1985 used the WD2797. The drive ignored the alignment hole, and thus did not need the two-hole "flippy disk" to use the second side. It did respect the write-protect notch, so using the back side of a disk required another notch
230:
The required DOS 3.0 eventually shipped several months later. However, it used an entirely new format using 1 kB "blocks" rather than the standard 128 byte "sectors", meaning that disks that were formatted with DOS 3 could not be read or written on other machines unless they also updated to
372:
inches (82.6 mm). Its new case was designed by Tom
Palecki. In keeping with most of Tandon's mechanisms, a rotating arm on the front of the drive was used to lock the floppy into place. The drive also had its own read/write LED beside the down position of the latch. The power switch was located
109:
By the time it was available, a wide variety of third party drives had been introduced for the 8-bit platform, many of which were faster and offered true double-density support for 180 kB. The lack of double-density support on the 1050 was a mystery to onlookers at the time, as the hardware had
234:
By this time, increasing sales of the 400 and 800 and the failure of a new drive to appear from Atari led to a thriving market for third-party drives and alternative DOSes, many of which provided true double-density support using the format originally introduced on the 815. An August 1984 review in
192:
from Regan Cheng using off-white and black plastics with brushed metal overlay on switches and other fixtures. Along with the machines, a new line of peripherals would be released with matching styling, numbered in the 1000's in the same fashion that earlier devices had been numbered in the 400 and
258:
As was the case for the 810 before it, the 1050 was the subject of a number of 3rd party upgrades that improved performance in various ways. Notable among these was the ICD Doubler, which added true double-density support allowing it to store 180 kB of data. This also added a high-speed mode
249:
The problems with DOS 3.0 were finally addressed in 1984 with the introduction of the "long awaited" DOS 2.5. This returned to the 2.0-style formatting even for enhanced density, allowing DOS 2 and 2.5 users to swap disks as long as they were in single-density format. By this time, most of the 3rd
400:
When used in 810 compatible mode, the drive formatted disks with 40 tracks and 18 sectors per track, for a total of 720 sectors per disk. Each sector held 128 bytes, for a total storage of 92,160 bytes/disk (90 kB). This was the normal FM encoded single-density format used by most machines of the
222:
This prediction came true; when the 1200XL finally reached the market in June 1983, it was accompanied by the new Atari 1050. It offered the new "enhanced" or "dual density" option that improved formatted capacity to 130 kB, and replaced the 810 in the market. To take advantage of the new
114:
2.0S, S for "single", which did not support the 130 kB capacity. Atari replaced 2.0 with DOS 3.0 which supported the enhanced density mode, but used an entirely new format that was incompatible with earlier disks. The release of DOS 2.5 in 1985 finally addressed these issues.
263:
modifications for the 810, increasing transfers from 19.2 kbps to 52 kbps. Happy also updated their original system for the 1050, becoming the Happy 1050, and like the
Doubler it provided double-density support and its Warp Speed system.
218:
and 1025 printers. There was no sign of a new floppy drive, and one reviewer noted that when he went looking all he could find was the "old model 810 clunkers", speculating that "we will be seeing a new drive from Atari within the next half year".
165:
drives in a single large housing, each drive offering 180 kB of storage. For reasons unknown, the 815 was produced only in small numbers starting in 1980 and then abandoned, leaving the platform only with the 810 which were described by
318:
series was doing well in the market and interest in the 8-bit platforms waned. Even as stocks of the 1050 dwindled and then ran out entirely, no new drive was launched. An even further upgraded model, the double-sided, double-density
591:
Once before, Commodore had put out a product in a market where it chief competitor was TI: a line of digital watches. TI started a price war and drove
Commodore out of the market. Tramiel was not about to let that happen
241:
compared the 1050 with four 3rd party drives and the 810; the 1050 was beaten by all but the 810 in both capacity and speed. The 1050 was described as "a no-frills drive", especially compared to the Rana 1000 and
323:
was being teased through this period, but again the drive was not released. It was not until 1987, six months after 1050s had run out, that the XF551 finally shipped, and only after the threat of a lawsuit from
373:
directly below the LED, with a power indicator LED to its right. The back held the two drive number selection switches on the left, two SIO ports in the center, and the power ring jack on the right.
268:, also from ICD, supported both the Doubler and Happy systems, offering much better performance from such systems. Both were also supported by most other 3rd party DOSes on the platform.
412:, changing to a largely identical mechanism from World Storage Technology. Production returned to Singapore for the final run using Tandon from October 1985 to December 1985.
437:
Double-density requires no change to the disk mechanism, it is accomplished entirely within the drive controller electronics and was fully supported by the 1050s hardware.
605:
246:, which offered double-density, various high-speed modes, front-panel displays, and many other features. The lack of double density support was described as "a mystery".
408:
in May 1983 and ran until
December 1984, accounting for the majority of the production run. These units used the Tandon mechanism. In November 1984, production moved to
188:
In April 1982, Atari began the process of designing an improved version of the 8-bit series, which were to be known as the 1000 and 1000X. Among the changes was a new
828:
227:
was needed, 3.0. This was not available at launch, and the early examples shipped with DOS 2.0S instead, meaning they could not take advantage of the new features.
340:
The rear of the 1050 has a power jack on the right, two SIO ports (in and out) in the center, and the pin switches that select the drive number on the left.
404:
In contrast to the 810, which saw several upgrades during its time on the market, the 1050 saw only one major change. Production was first set up in
130:
purchased Atari in 1984 there were warehouses filled with unsold 1050s, which delayed production of a replacement. It was not until 1987 that the
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it replaced, and added a new "enhanced" or "dual density" mode that provided 130 kB. Based on a half-height
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as the SIO bus controller, running at 1 MHz rather than 500 kHz of the 810. The 6507 was aided by a
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was introduced, offering both double-density and double-sided capabilities and a double-speed transfer mode.
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was in full-swing. By the start of 1984, Atari was losing millions of dollars a day, and their owners,
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mechanism, it was smaller than the 810 and matched the styling of the new 600XL and 800XL machines.
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381:
377:
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drive systems, the 810 and 815. The 810 was an entry-level model, supporting only single-density
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released in June 1983. It is compatible with the 90 kB single-density mode of the original
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full support for this format. The launch was further marred by releasing it with the older
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The drive controller was a single card, unlike the two or three of the 810. It used a
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to be punched in the disk, or the drive to be slightly modified to ignore the notch.
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The 1200XL introduced Atari's new styling that the 1000-series peripherals matched.
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When the 8-bit series was first announced in 1978 it was often shown with two
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581:. Vol. 12, no. 4. Emmis Communications. pp. 136–139, 216–226.
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from the market. Sales of the 8-bits plummeted. At the same time, the
50:. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.
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179:
77:
196:
Ultimately Atari introduced only one new computer model, named
358:
inches (41.3 mm) tall, compared to the 810's full-height
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The new XL series machines were launched into the middle of a
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at 90 kB total storage. The 815 used two double-density
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304:, became desperate to sell off the "loss-plagued" company.
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party DOSes had already added support for enhanced mode.
800:. In Small, David; Small, Sandy; Blank, George (eds.).
508:
506:
504:
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The 1050 was styled to match the XL series of machines.
39:
614:...which reported a $ 180 million loss this quarter...
772:"Do More With DOS 2.0: The Atari 1050 does the trick"
126:
when sales of the entire 8-bit line plummeted. When
118:
The 1050 was launched directly into the rise of the
464:"Percom double-density disk drive for Atari micros"
684:"First Look Inside the New Atari Super Computers"
737:"Everything you wanted to know about every DOS"
428:The 1025 was a relabeled Okidata Microline 80.
524:
8:
204:in December 1982, it was shown with the new
344:The 1050 moved to a half-height mechanism,
259:that had been originally introduced in the
606:"Atari Sends Warner Loss to $ 122 Million"
288:, which quickly drove everything but the
66:Learn how and when to remove this message
700:
483:
223:enhanced density mode, a new version of
804:. Creative Computing. pp. 116–117.
757:Dziefielewski, Lawrence (August 1984).
719:
560:
548:
536:
512:
495:
454:
421:
200:. When it was introduced at the Winter
829:Computer-related introductions in 1983
798:"New Member of the Family: Atari 1200"
7:
748:Current, Michael (12 October 2021).
783:Ratcliff, Matthew (February 1989).
604:Shrage, Michael (15 October 1983).
172:as "noisy, slow and inefficient."
14:
20:
669:Saint Paul Computer Enthusiasts
646:"Warner Sells Atari To Tramiel"
627:"Warner sells Atari operations"
462:DeWitt, Robert (26 July 1982).
388:. The drive controller was the
791:. No. 69. pp. 9, 40.
770:Kruse, Richard (August 1984).
663:Floyd, Bob (11 January 1985).
1:
682:Friedland, Nat (April 1985).
644:Sanger, David (3 July 1984).
573:Nocera, Joseph (April 1984).
735:Clausen, Eric (July 1985).
46:the claims made and adding
845:
146:
202:Consumer Electronics Show
785:"Atari XF551 Disk Drive"
765:. pp. 36–39, 80–81.
796:Anderson, John (1983).
307:Atari was purchased by
298:videogame crash of 1983
282:Commodore International
124:videogame crash of 1983
390:Western Digital WD2793
341:
185:
83:
824:Atari 8-bit computers
575:"Death of a Computer"
339:
302:Warner Communications
183:
96:Atari 8-bit computers
81:
384:RIOT/PIA and a 6810
759:"Disk Drive Survey"
610:The Washington Post
328:forced their hand.
802:The Creative Atari
665:"XF521 Disk Drive"
650:The New York Times
525:Dziefielewski 1984
342:
186:
84:
31:possibly contains
778:. pp. 31–32.
750:"atari-8-bit/faq"
551:, pp. 40–45.
286:Texas Instruments
76:
75:
68:
33:original research
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743:. p. 40-45.
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314:By 1986 the new
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48:inline citations
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633:. 2 July 1984.
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701:Ratcliff 1989
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254:Modifications
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209:cassette deck
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729:Bibliography
720:Current 2021
703:, p. 9.
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561:Clausen 1985
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513:Clausen 1985
496:Current 2021
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394:MFM encoding
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309:Jack Tramiel
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290:Commodore 64
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193:800 series.
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163:MFM encoding
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128:Jack Tramiel
120:Commodore 64
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85:
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159:FM encoding
155:floppy disk
143:810 and 815
132:Atari XF551
92:floppy disk
813:Categories
445:References
386:static RAM
211:, and the
206:Atari 1010
176:New design
94:drive for
88:Atari 1050
40:improve it
587:0148-7736
468:InfoWorld
450:Citations
410:Hong Kong
406:Singapore
278:price war
272:Price war
266:SpartaDOS
261:Happy 810
225:Atari DOS
169:InfoWorld
149:Atari 810
112:Atari DOS
100:Atari 810
44:verifying
382:MOS 6532
378:MOS 6507
326:Nintendo
316:Atari ST
294:Apple II
280:between
244:Indus GT
122:and the
56:May 2024
367:⁄
353:⁄
216:plotter
138:History
38:Please
789:ANALOG
592:again.
585:
392:using
332:Design
198:1200XL
104:Tandon
776:ANTIC
763:ANTIC
741:ANTIC
688:ANTIC
416:Notes
321:XF551
238:Antic
90:is a
583:ISSN
292:and
284:and
213:1020
86:The
631:UPI
42:by
815::
787:.
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708:^
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503:^
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365:1
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355:8
351:5
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