When I purchased a disk drive for my computer system, there were several important considerations - price, features and reliability. Though several alternatives to the Atari 1050 disk drive were in existence, the final factor in my decision was reliability. It was a trade off, but I'd heard too many tales of trouble with the other drives. I've always had Atari equipment, and I've never had a single repair call.
Safe in the knowledge that, if something did go wrong, I could bring it right down the block for service, I plunked down the cash and carried it away. This was my second drive; the joy of freedom from disk swaps overshadowed all else.
But, after a time, the joy of it all began to fade, and jeaslousy crept into my heart. You see, there are several friends who threw caution to the wind and got one of those other drives. You know, the double density ones. Oh, I hid my jeaslousy, but I had thoughts of selling that 1050 and picking up a real drive.
As fate would have it, another road opened up. While looking through an issue of ANALOG Computing, I saw an ad for the US Doubler. It promised the ability to write in any format - single, one-and-a-half, or true double density ... for about $69. I grabbed the phone and ordered one on the spot. A few days later, I received a package. The promiseof greater storage in my hand, I set to work.
Opening the package reveals two replacement IC's, two manuals and a disk. Though I didn't know it when I ordered the Doubler, it comes with a free copy of SpartaDOS, which - among other things - allows the 1050 to read and write three times faster (when using a drive enhanced with US Doubler).
The DOS is very rich in features and a great pleasure to use. In fact, a separate review would be necessary to cover it in the depth it deserves. The manuals are very clear, giving step-by-step directions for the entire installation. At each point, the manual tells you what you should see - and exactly what to do.
I have a bit of experience with kit assembly, which may have helped. But, if you give yourself a a large work space and keep track of all your parts, there will be no problem. If the idea of taking a screwdriver to your drive makes you weak in the knees, ICD will install the chips for only $15.00, including UPS ground shipping one way.
I usually glance at the manual and tear right into such a project, but that technique has, more than once, caused me heartache. I needed someone to keep me following the directions. For this reason, I enlisted the aid of my brother (a man with years of experience in telling me what to do). With his help, the installation took only thirty-five minutes, from removal of the first screw to powering up for the test.
In the tests, the UltraSpeed I/O worked as stated, with the increase in speed quite noticeable. Load and save times of a 100-sector file were cut to nearly a third of the unmodified drive. The old bleep-bleep-bleep of POKEY is replaced by a staccato rush that sounds more like machine gun fire. Far from annoying, this sound brought a smile to my face, as well as to the faces of my friends.
I've tested the US Doubler in all three formats and am happy to report that it performs as promised. Single density and Atari double density work as they did before. Most importantly, using the true double density afforded by this enhancement, I've attained compatibility with my friends' disks, as well as reducing my disk count by half.
With the new low prices of the Atari 1050 and the addition of this product, an Atari owner can now enjoy true double density operation at a price lower than the double density drives now on the market. For those of you who've already bought a 1050, this new ICD enhancement will upgrade your drive to match the current crop of high tech, high storage drives.