Happy 1050 Upgrade for Atari 1050 Disk Drive
$39.99
The Happy 1050 Upgrade Board adds true double density, high speed backup, copy protected disks, and much more to Atari 1050 disk drives. Easy solderless plug-in installation!
Additional information
| Weight | 6 oz |
|---|
AtariMax
Atarimax is a destination for enhancing Atari and ColecoVision gaming and computing experiences. Atarimax offers hardware and software solutions designed to maximize retro systems.
The Maxflash Flash Cartridge Systems for Atari 8-bit computers allow users to create and manage multi-game cartridges with the Maxflash Studio software and USB programmer. The Ultimate SD Multi-Carts for the Atari 5200 and ColecoVision have onboard CPUs, high-speed SD card interfaces, and support a variety of ROM formats. The ColecoVision Ultimate SD Multi-Cart is the most advanced cartridge made for the system.
The APE (Atari Peripheral Emulator) allows Atari users to leverage PC resources for disk drives, modems, and printers, among other features https://www.atarimax.com/. Atarimax also offers the Happy 1050 Upgrade for the Atari 1050 Disk Drive, SIO2PC interfaces, and MyIDE-II CompactFlash Interface for the Atari XL/XE.
Atarimax is dedicated to retro gaming and computing experiences. Products are professionally produced and designed for ease of use. Visit to explore expanded possibilities for retro gaming.
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Questions and Answers
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stushug (verified owner) –
I installed the upgrade, and it gave my old 1050 new life and way better performance!
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Steve Godun (verified owner) –
I remember when this was a $300+ upgrade that required soldering. I couldn’t afford it back then (and TBH if it was still $300 I wouldn’t buy it today) so back then I settled for the less-capable but still impressive US Doubler to improve my 1050. Over the years I acquired a number of (stock) 1050s in various states of disrepair. Recently I decided to overhaul all of them, and when I discovered this $40 solder-free Happy 1050 upgrade I just couldn’t say no. I bought five of them. 🙂
After doing a bunch of cleaning and repair work to the 1050s I installed the Happy 1050 upgrade, replacing the previous US Doublers as appropriate to my situation. Installation was dead-simple as all of my drives have socketed chips; remove two chips, install the board, done. I expected I/O performance to be equal to my US Doubler upgrade but I was surprised to discover the Happy upgrade was even a bit faster. Not by much, but it was measurable. I used CopyMate (my favorite disk copying program) to time how long it took to read and write a disk on my US Doubler drive and compared that to the Happy 1050 drive and found there to be about a 1 1/2 second improvement in both reading and writing. Now, I admit my test wasn’t exactly scientific as I was using my iPhone’s stopwatch and the Happy drive also benefited from a full set of replacement power regulators and capacitors, but even the slight boost over the US Doubler drive is worth mentioning.
I have encountered no compatibility issues, and the Happy 1050 board doesn’t interfere with the RF shield inside the 1050. The inclusion of a bootable Happy diagnostic floppy was a thankful touch, as was the inclusion of a Fireball candy and a pack of trading cards. 🙂
As someone who has been using Atari 8-bit computers for the past 40 years, if you have an Atari 1050 there is no reason for you to NOT get this upgrade. While I’m used to the performance boost due to my past US Doubler upgrade, I still vividly remember the first time I booted up my Atari with SpartaDOS on the US Doubler drive and was absolutely blown away by its performance. If you’re running a stock Atari 1050 with Atari DOS, you owe it to yourself to see what a Happy 1050 and SpartaDOS can give you.
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ve3iyb (verified owner) –
Back in the day I had a US Doubler drive and Sparta Dos. At one point I lost my freaking mind and sold everything. Now 40+ years later I have everything back. I made up some US Doublers but then saw the Happy 1050, solderless and a drop in board? Why not? Drive works flawlessly and maintains 288R.P.M.
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samhain (verified owner) –
I have used Indus GT Disk Drives for decades although we always had an Atari 1050 laying around for backup, Just liked them better. I had always read about the Happy Upgrade for the 1050 but never took the time to try it out. Finally, I took the plunge and purchased one and WOW! What a difference! The Upgrade was easy to install and now the Old 1050 Disk Drive absolutely Screams! It now sets front and center of my Indus GT. I am defiantly going to be upgrading more 1050’s in the future. The only thing I regret is not upgrading it years Ago!
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Davin McHenry (verified owner) –
Item is great. Just a warning you will pay separate shipping for this and it doesnt really explain why (appears they sell for another company.) Wasnt clear and when I asked about shipping status, the response sounded like I was bothering them with my inquiry.
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Admin 8-Bit Classics –
Sorry for the issues. All AtariMax items ship directly from them which is stated in the shipping policy. Our store used to state AtariMax was sort of a store within our store, but an update must have removed that. We will look at adding this to all of their listings.
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