Atari 65XE Troubleshooting Guide
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Troubleshooting for the Atari 65XE. The diagnostic procedure and error codes are from Atari's XE/XL Production Test instructions (Rev 3.4, May 1986), which cover the 65XE by name; chip positions and circuit details are from the redrawn 65XE schematics, since no Atari schematic of a 65XE board is available.[1][2][3]
Power and supply checks
[edit | edit source]The 65XE runs from an external +5 V DC supply through the 7-pin DIN J7, with +5 V on pins 1, 4 and 6, ground on 3, 5 and 7 and the shield on pin 2. There is no regulator, rectifier or 12 V rail on the board.[4][2]
- Measure the supply at its plug, disconnected from the computer. The FAQ lists two Atari supplies for the 65XE, the 1 A unit C070042 and the 1.5 A unit C061982; the sealed "Ingot" version of the latter can damage the computer if it fails.[4]
- Before fitting a replacement to a machine whose supply has failed, check for a short between J7 pins 1 and 3 with the power switch on.
- With the supply connected, measure +5 V at the chips.
| Device | Atari part | VCC pin | Ground pin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6502C (SALLY) CPU | C014806 | 8 | 1 and 21 |
| ANTIC | C021697 | 21 | 1 |
| GTIA | C014805 | 27 | 3 |
| POKEY | C012294 | 17 | 1 |
These are the same parts as in the Atari 600XL, and the pin numbers are from Atari's pin-assignment figures in the 600XL service manual.[5][6] Pin 40 of the 6502C is RESET, not VCC.[5]
Atari's production test
[edit | edit source]Atari's XE/XL production test cartridge identifies a 65XE as "ATARI 65XE TESTS", with "PAL" in place of "NTSC" on a machine with a PAL GTIA. It needs loop-back jumpers on the serial and player (joystick) ports. START runs the tests in turn: audio, video, ports, keyboard, ROM and RAM.[1]
- Audio test: six pure tones from POKEY, then a buzz from GTIA. The operator notes a missing tone or bad sound.
- Video test: the 12 players, missiles and playfields must be distinct against a grey background, eight luminance levels must show, colours must be present and uniform, and the players and missiles must move. The colour tuning bar at the bottom is used to set the colour trimpot. Missing or overlapping objects, flecks of wrong colour or gaps in the bands "likely indicate a bad GTIA chip".
- Port test: PASS or FAIL, with the error codes below.
- Keyboard test: twelve keys are shown and change colour when pressed; OPTION must be pressed last. The screen turns red if a key was not detected.
- ROM and RAM tests: PASS or FAIL. A RAM failure halts the test and shows the test number (1–4), the failing address, the data read and expected, and bits 1 to 8, one per RAM chip, in red for bad and green for good.
| Code | Meaning (Atari) |
|---|---|
| 01 | Failure in ANTIC vertical or horizontal synchronisation |
| 02 | Failure in ANTIC vertical blank interrupt |
| 03 | Failure in ANTIC display list interrupt |
| 04 | Failure writing or reading page 0 or 1 RAM |
| 05 | Failure during data line check; possible RAM failure |
| 06 | Failure during address line check (address decoding error) |
| 07 | Failure during RAM refresh check using pattern 00 |
| 08 | Failure during RAM refresh check using pattern FF |
| 10 | Failure during write to error storage (RAM) |
| 11 | POKEY timer failed |
| 12 | POKEY interrupt failed |
| 34 | Serial communication error: serial data or clock line, POKEY, or a loose serial loop-back connector |
| 35 | Serial control error: motor control, proceed, interrupt or command line, POKEY, or the loop-back connector |
| 36 | Serial control interrupt error: as 35; if 35 does not occur, POKEY, the interrupt line to the 6502, or the 6502 |
| 37 | Player port direction error: FWD, BACK, LEFT or RIGHT lines from the PIA, the PIA, or the loop-back connector |
| 38 | Pot line error: player port pot lines, POKEY, or the loop-back connector |
| 39 | Trigger line error: player port trigger line, GTIA, or the loop-back connector |
Atari calls 01 to 12 system errors: a failure in a critical component that stops further testing.[1] The ECI test and errors 71 to 73 in the same document apply to the 130XE's cartridge and expansion slot fixture.[1]
RAM
[edit | edit source]On the CO70025 and CA20097 boards the 64 KB is eight 4164 (64K × 1) DRAMs at U9 to U16; on the CA200519 board it is two 4464 (64K × 4) DRAMs.[3] The production test's bit numbers 1 to 8 map to the eight chips on the 4164 boards.
Ports
[edit | edit source]| Connector | Pin | Signal |
|---|---|---|
| SIO | 4, 6 | Ground |
| SIO | 10 | +5 V/ready |
| SIO | 12 | Not connected |
| Controller jack | 7 | +5 V |
| Controller jack | 8 | Ground |
SIO pin 10 carries +5 V through ferrite bead L10, filtered by C79, and the controller jacks draw their +5 V through a separate filtered feed with C98.[4][2] A peripheral or joystick that stops the machine when plugged in is probably shorting one of these to ground.
Outside the computer
[edit | edit source]- Unplug everything from SIO and the controller jacks and retest.
- With no cartridge, a working 65XE starts in Atari BASIC Rev. C; holding OPTION at power-on disables BASIC and, with no disk drive, runs the self test.[4]
- On a machine with the expansion (ECI) port, remove anything fitted to it.
- Adjust the colour trimpot R38 before suspecting GTIA for a colour fault; see Atari 65XE General Maintenance#Colour adjustment.[1]
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Atari 65XE
- Atari 65XE General Maintenance
- Atari 65XE Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Atari 130XE Troubleshooting Guide
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Atari Corp., XE/XL Production Test Operator's Instructions and XL/XE Production Test Diagnostic Error Codes, Rev 3.4, 22 May 1986, pages 1 to 4 of 6. In Atari 130XE Parts List and Production Test Instructions (PDF, pages 6 to 9).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jerzy Sobola, Atari 65XE schematic, nine sheets, 2003–2009: sheet 6 (C98 on the joystick supply), sheet 8 (J7) and sheet 9 (SIO, L10, C79). Community redrawing. Hosted on this wiki: File:ATARI65XE-SCHEMATIC.pdf.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Atari 130XE Personal Computer Field Service Manual, 2016 reproduction (PDF author "Jurek"), schematics "Drawn by jer/eightbitter", 2014: section 2, figures 2-7, 2-9 and 2-11. Not an Atari publication; its section 4 symptom checklist is adapted from the 1200XL manual. Hosted on this wiki: Atari 130XE Field Service Manual.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Michael D. Current (ed.), comp.sys.atari.8bit Frequently Asked Questions, last modified 29 November 2009, sections 1.7 (boot options), 1.16 (port pinouts) and the power supply list, faqs.org.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Atari, Inc., ATARI 600XL Computer Field Service Manual, FD100610 Rev. 1, October 1983, figures 1-3 to 1-6 (pin assignments). Hosted on this wiki: Atari 600XL Field Service Manual.
- ↑ Atari (U.S.) Corp., 130XE Parts List, 25 June 1985, for the part numbers of SALLY (C014806), ANTIC (C021697), GTIA (C014805) and POKEY (C012294). In Atari 130XE Parts List and Production Test Instructions.