Atari 1020 Color Plotter Graphics Demo, Atari 1010 Tape Drive

[LambdaMikel]

... of course, the Atari 1020 Color Plotter is a "real" graphics plotter, it does not only have a text mode. Check it out


https://youtu.be/Mk52VbPfHu8
Also of interest - how different (compare to the CPC) the Atari Tape Loading process sounds.  Seems to be an entirely different system. Or maybe it only sounds like that.

[Bryce]

I have a 1020 (owned since back then) and just recently got a new set of pens for it. Great little plotter. My first computer generated schematics were plotted on it!

Bryce.

[LambdaMikel]

I have a 1020 (owned since back then) and just recently got a new set of pens for it. Great little plotter. My first computer generated schematics were plotted on it!

Bryce.

There are many cheap "untested" 1020 printers (NOS, no power supply, etc.) on Ebay here. The problem with these is - 90% of them are defect by now, the gears have gone bad (they dried out, became brittle and broke). They look great like new, but it is almost impossible to repair them (tried it myself). I managed to repair 1 or 2. I currently have 2 working ones, and I cannot recommend to anyone going through the hassles of acquiring one in the hope it will work, even though it IS a really great plotter. Just very difficult to get a working one these days, or be lucky enough to get it fixed / repaired. It is not easy.


Oh, you got a source for pens? Where are you getting yours from?


Mine come from Sunnyvale / Best Electronics, a guy who owns two warehouses full of Atari insolvency left overs. But he limits your orders of pens to 1 or 2 sets only or so. Same for other items, ie, Atari 800 *not XL* NOS keyboards. And he is often cheapter than Ebay (and his stuff is NOS, original Atari... even the packaging / boxes are from Atari).


Is this your original 1020, what did you do to the gears that they survived, or are you just a lucky guy? 

[Bryce]

I haven't tried it in years, so thanks for the tip about the crumbling cogs. I was going to try it soon as the pens only arrived a few weeks ago. Couldn't these be easily made with a 3D printer? Yes, it's my original 1020 that I bought way back then. It was a display model, so I never owned the boxes or (probably 4 page) manual that came with it.


As far as the pens are concerned, I got mine from a guy on Amibay, but I've seen them on ebay too. They weren't exclusive to Atari, they were used on several Canon printers too and I think the pens were made by Canon too.

Bryce.

[LambdaMikel]

Note sure about 3D printer cogs... maybe. But, there is really a lot of stress on them, and I wonder if the precision / resolution is high enough of the average 3D printer.

AFAIK, the gears aren't plastic either, they are nylon... and that was part of the problem.

[LambdaMikel]

Some good info here
http://atariage.com/forums/topic/258670-atari-1020-resources/
http://biosrhythm.com/?p=1395
Well, I really hope for you that you do not have to apply any of these, I almost lost my mind on some of these repairs

[LambdaMikel]

They weren't exclusive to Atari, they were used on several Canon printers too and I think the pens were made by Canon too.
Bryce.

Right, I also have an (Alps) plotter for the Commodore (the 1520 plotter), and the Sharp PC 1500(a). I will post videos of these, too. Especially the Sharp plotter is even smaller and *adorable*.