Difference between revisions of "Historic Documents"
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This collection of historical documents centers on the Atari 7800 and its hardware, with many originating from the late Atari historian Curt Vendel. Some materials were publicly available through his Atari Museum website, while others have been preserved from his private archives and are now being shared more widely. | This collection of historical documents centers on the Atari 7800 and its hardware, with many originating from the late Atari historian Curt Vendel. Some materials were publicly available through his Atari Museum website, while others have been preserved from his private archives and are now being shared more widely. | ||
| − | In | + | In reverse chronological order: |
| + | |||
| + | === [[Media:7800_standards.pdf|7800_standards.pdf]] === | ||
| + | ''Atari's game development standards for programmers, covering items like game options and attract modes. (October 1987) | ||
| + | |||
| + | --- | ||
=== [[Media:7800_Maria_Specs.pdf|7800_Maria_Specs.pdf]] === | === [[Media:7800_Maria_Specs.pdf|7800_Maria_Specs.pdf]] === | ||
| − | ''A five-page document outlining Maria's technical specs and architecture. This appears to be a high-level introduction to the Maria chip for customers.'' | + | ''A five-page document outlining Maria's technical specs and architecture. This appears to be a high-level introduction to the Maria chip for customers. (October 1984)'' |
* '''Note 1:''' Page 1 mentions a version of Maria (number 1722) intended for 680X0 series processors. | * '''Note 1:''' Page 1 mentions a version of Maria (number 1722) intended for 680X0 series processors. | ||
| − | * '''Note 2:''' Page 5 | + | * '''Note 2:''' Page 5 notes that the CTRL register's test/forbidden DMA mode “Does not assert HALT,” a detail not known to be documented elsewhere. |
| + | |||
| + | --- | ||
| + | |||
| + | === [[Media:7800_keyboard_programming.pdf|7800_keyboard_programming.pdf]] === | ||
| + | ''GCC's guide to programming the planned 7800 Prosystem keyboard peripheral. (June 1984)'' | ||
| + | |||
| + | --- | ||
| + | |||
| + | === [[Media:7800_ntsc_bios_source_code.pdf|7800_ntsc_bios_source_code.pdf]] === | ||
| + | ''A rough scan of the 7800's NTSC BIOS source code. (April 1984)'' | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''Note 1:''' If you want this information for development purposes, you might wish to check out the [[7800_NTSC_BIOS]] or [[7800 PAL BIOS]] pages, both of which can build with modern assemblers. | ||
--- | --- | ||
=== [[Media:TIA-Maria_Gate-Level_Logic_Diagrams.pdf|TIA-Maria_Gate-Level_Logic_Diagrams.pdf]] === | === [[Media:TIA-Maria_Gate-Level_Logic_Diagrams.pdf|TIA-Maria_Gate-Level_Logic_Diagrams.pdf]] === | ||
| − | This document contains gate level diagrams for the different sections of the planned TIA-Maria hybrid chip. | + | ''This document contains gate level diagrams for the different sections of the planned TIA-Maria hybrid chip. (April 1984)'' |
| + | |||
| + | --- | ||
| + | === [[Media:Gcc1702b_maria_specs.pdf|Gcc1702b_maria_specs.pdf]] === | ||
| + | ''The Maria Chip Specification acceptance form, meant for sign-off by VCC, GCC, and Atari. (March 1984)'' | ||
--- | --- | ||
=== [[Media:Minnie_Subsystem_Top-Level_Specification_-_GCC-1730_(MGspec_19840221_sjg).pdf|Minnie Subsystem Top-Level Specification – GCC-1730]] === | === [[Media:Minnie_Subsystem_Top-Level_Specification_-_GCC-1730_(MGspec_19840221_sjg).pdf|Minnie Subsystem Top-Level Specification – GCC-1730]] === | ||
| − | ''The top-level specification for the planned "Minnie" in-cart sound chip.'' | + | ''The top-level specification for the planned "Minnie" in-cart sound chip. (February 1984)'' |
→ See: [[The 7800 Minnie sound chip]] | → See: [[The 7800 Minnie sound chip]] | ||
| Line 27: | Line 48: | ||
=== [[Media:MiniGumby_Sound_Synthesis_System,_Analog_Output_Section_Specification_-_GCC_1730_(analog_output_spec_19840203_sjg).pdf|MiniGumby Sound Synthesis – Analog Output Section Specification – GCC-1730]] === | === [[Media:MiniGumby_Sound_Synthesis_System,_Analog_Output_Section_Specification_-_GCC_1730_(analog_output_spec_19840203_sjg).pdf|MiniGumby Sound Synthesis – Analog Output Section Specification – GCC-1730]] === | ||
| − | ''The analog output section specification for the same planned "Minnie" chip.'' | + | ''The analog output section specification for the same planned "Minnie" chip. (February 1984)'' |
→ See: [[The 7800 Minnie sound chip]] | → See: [[The 7800 Minnie sound chip]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | --- | ||
| + | |||
| + | === [[Media:7800_software.pdf|7800_software.pdf]] === | ||
| + | ''The 7800 Software Guide covers most programming aspects about the 7800. (??? 1984)'' | ||
| + | * '''Note 1:''' If you want this information for development purposes, check out the [[7800_Software_Guide]] page instead, which has supplementary information and corrections from the modern era. | ||
| + | --- | ||
| + | |||
| + | === [[Media:3600_software_guide.pdf|3600_software_guide.pdf]] === | ||
| + | ''A document covering programming the 7800, before the 3600 was renamed to the 7800. (October 1983)'' | ||
| + | |||
| + | --- | ||
| + | |||
| + | === [[Media:GCC_MARIA_Chip_Layout_and_Netlist_Artifacts.zip|GCC_MARIA_Chip_Layout_and_Netlist_Artifacts.zip]] === | ||
| + | ''The files in this archive appear to represent layout and mask preparation data from various development stages and regional variants of the MARIA chip, including what may be NTSC and PAL configurations. (August 1983)'' | ||
| + | * '''Note 1:''' While some files use the `.GDS` extension, only the "example.gds" file conforms to the standard GDSII (Calma Stream) layout format. See the contained README.txt for more information. | ||
Latest revision as of 22:03, 20 July 2025
Contents
- 1 Historic Technical Documents
- 1.1 7800_standards.pdf
- 1.2 7800_Maria_Specs.pdf
- 1.3 7800_keyboard_programming.pdf
- 1.4 7800_ntsc_bios_source_code.pdf
- 1.5 TIA-Maria_Gate-Level_Logic_Diagrams.pdf
- 1.6 Gcc1702b_maria_specs.pdf
- 1.7 Minnie Subsystem Top-Level Specification – GCC-1730
- 1.8 MiniGumby Sound Synthesis – Analog Output Section Specification – GCC-1730
- 1.9 7800_software.pdf
- 1.10 3600_software_guide.pdf
- 1.11 GCC_MARIA_Chip_Layout_and_Netlist_Artifacts.zip
Historic Technical Documents
This collection of historical documents centers on the Atari 7800 and its hardware, with many originating from the late Atari historian Curt Vendel. Some materials were publicly available through his Atari Museum website, while others have been preserved from his private archives and are now being shared more widely.
In reverse chronological order:
7800_standards.pdf
Atari's game development standards for programmers, covering items like game options and attract modes. (October 1987)
---
7800_Maria_Specs.pdf
A five-page document outlining Maria's technical specs and architecture. This appears to be a high-level introduction to the Maria chip for customers. (October 1984)
- Note 1: Page 1 mentions a version of Maria (number 1722) intended for 680X0 series processors.
- Note 2: Page 5 notes that the CTRL register's test/forbidden DMA mode “Does not assert HALT,” a detail not known to be documented elsewhere.
---
7800_keyboard_programming.pdf
GCC's guide to programming the planned 7800 Prosystem keyboard peripheral. (June 1984)
---
7800_ntsc_bios_source_code.pdf
A rough scan of the 7800's NTSC BIOS source code. (April 1984)
- Note 1: If you want this information for development purposes, you might wish to check out the 7800_NTSC_BIOS or 7800 PAL BIOS pages, both of which can build with modern assemblers.
---
TIA-Maria_Gate-Level_Logic_Diagrams.pdf
This document contains gate level diagrams for the different sections of the planned TIA-Maria hybrid chip. (April 1984)
---
Gcc1702b_maria_specs.pdf
The Maria Chip Specification acceptance form, meant for sign-off by VCC, GCC, and Atari. (March 1984)
---
Minnie Subsystem Top-Level Specification – GCC-1730
The top-level specification for the planned "Minnie" in-cart sound chip. (February 1984)
→ See: The 7800 Minnie sound chip
---
MiniGumby Sound Synthesis – Analog Output Section Specification – GCC-1730
The analog output section specification for the same planned "Minnie" chip. (February 1984)
→ See: The 7800 Minnie sound chip
---
7800_software.pdf
The 7800 Software Guide covers most programming aspects about the 7800. (??? 1984)
- Note 1: If you want this information for development purposes, check out the 7800_Software_Guide page instead, which has supplementary information and corrections from the modern era.
---
3600_software_guide.pdf
A document covering programming the 7800, before the 3600 was renamed to the 7800. (October 1983)
---
GCC_MARIA_Chip_Layout_and_Netlist_Artifacts.zip
The files in this archive appear to represent layout and mask preparation data from various development stages and regional variants of the MARIA chip, including what may be NTSC and PAL configurations. (August 1983)
- Note 1: While some files use the `.GDS` extension, only the "example.gds" file conforms to the standard GDSII (Calma Stream) layout format. See the contained README.txt for more information.
