The Enhanced Cartridge Interface or (ECI) was a 14-pin extension to the cartridge slot on Atari 8-bit XE computers. This allowed external devices access to the system's data and bus lines. It was functionally compatible with the Parallel Bus Interface (PBI) on the XL computers. Atari built a series of 8-bit home computers based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU, starting in 1979. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Parallel Bus Interface or PBI is a 50-pin port found on some Atari 8-bit XL computers. ...
The ECI was found on the 65XE (European version) the 130XE and the 800XE.
Behind the open cartridge door of the Atari 800 were two latches (later replaced by screws) which when opened revealed an expansion bay within the top of the Atari 800.
While their use was primarily for joysticks and paddles used with games, the ports were interfaced to the Parallel Interface Adapter (PIA), a powerful and versatile chip that allowed for output as well as input.
Called the PBI or Parallel Bus Interface, all of the major signals from the chipset inside of the computer were brought out through this interface.
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