Havok69 Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 (edited) So I'll be ordering a Harmony cartridge once I recover from my Christmas expenditures. I have a light sixer and a Flashback 2. Originally, I was not going to bother modding the FB2 to accept cartridges. However, now with the Harmony cart, I am reconsidering this. I'd have the advantage of AV outputs and modern hardware that will theoretically last much longer than my original 2600. However, I know that some games do not work on the modded FB2; for instance Star Raiders.(or at least the pad doesn't work) Since this is the case, I was just wondering if the Harmony cartridge is compatible with a modded FB2. Does anyone out there have a modded FB2 and the Harmony cart? If so, does the Harmony cart work with it? Since that is the only reason I would bother modifying the Flashback, I'd appreciate it if someone out there would be able to confirm this and potentially save me the hassle. Thanks! Edited December 28, 2009 by Havok69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Harmony's hardware and software is tailored to the original Atari hardware, and the Flashback is known to be not 100% compatible. So before anyone successfully tested it, I would heavily doubt it will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herbarius Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 It could be the Harmony Cart just works like normal, but those games which usually don't work with a modded FB2 won't work if put on the Harmony Cart, either... But, like Thomas Jentzsch said, before someone tested it, you can't tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevEng Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 batari has already stated that the Harmony menu software will not work in an FB2, due to the FB2 missing an "undocumented" opcode. He also mentioned that it theoretically could be "fixed" in a future rev, but its not a priority at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havok69 Posted December 28, 2009 Author Share Posted December 28, 2009 (edited) Whoops - didn't realize there was a separate forum for Flashback. And looks like I found my answer: No. http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/150596-harmony-to-be-released-at-portland-retrogaming-expo/page__p__1844117entry1844117 So, time to mod the original 2600 for AV instead! Edited December 28, 2009 by Havok69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
player 0ne Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 ok, i havent read the OTHER thread yet.. but i modded my FB2 with a cart port, and the menu on my harmony cart works. ide say about half the roms i have work, and the other half dont, no matter what bankswitch extension i rename to. i think i may have read about this (here on atariage) before i got my harmony... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerSpaceFan Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 ok, i havent read the OTHER thread yet.. but i modded my FB2 with a cart port, and the menu on my harmony cart works. ide say about half the roms i have work, and the other half dont, no matter what bankswitch extension i rename to. i think i may have read about this (here on atariage) before i got my harmony... I have a Harmony cart and a modded FB2 and the success rate for working roms is much higher for me. Way more than half work, I'd say 99% work. Plus some roms (like H.E.R.O.) that are not supposed to work in a FB2 actually do work via the Harmony so I'm thrilled. Unfortunately all is not rosey. Frantic will not work. (sad face) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keilbaca Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 It all depends on the model of the FB2. I have a Rev. A, and I didn't cart mod it because it was one of the first versions that didn't work with voice, with Quadrun. You might have a revision A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
player 0ne Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 did we all get our rom files from the same place? here on the atariage forum? Im gonna hafta separate the roms that work and make a collection of them, unless someone else did? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombidragon Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Has anyone figured this out yet? I am really wondering if this will work. If anything I can just put a cartridge slot on mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+batari Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Yes, Harmony does work with a modded FB2, but not all games will play (due to the FB2 hardware itself, not the Harmony.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombidragon Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Like 90% compatibility or like 30%. Sorry to bother everyone but I really would like to know before I dive in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 AFAIK about 99% for old games and below 50% for modern homebrews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombidragon Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Hmm Maybe this might happen. I heard there are multiple revisions and some are better than others, Any info? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Like 90% compatibility or like 30%. Sorry to bother everyone but I really would like to know before I dive in! The FB2 does not handle certain instructions in a fully compatible way. You'd literally have to scan through each game and identify whether it has those unsupported instructions. A safe bet is a real 2600 suffice to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombidragon Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Has anyone documented compatitbility? I really want to know before I drop all of the money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Has anyone documented compatitbility? I really want to know before I drop all of the money yep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombidragon Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I looked at this list. Does compatibility go up with the Harmony Cart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omegamatrix Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 I looked at this list. Does compatibility go up with the Harmony Cart? Nope, as the harmony has nothing to do with compatibility for the FB2. The problems with compatibility are strictly on the FB2 side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 The problems with compatibility are strictly on the FB2 side. That's because the FB2 chip was designed and tested to work with the FB2 games. And in the end, some smartass made some "fixes" to what looked like bugs to him. He removed the HMOVE blanks, which are needed by many (e.g. Activision) games to hide objects. This was fixed in Flashback Rev C. Still it lacks support for all "illegal" opcodes, some are used by modern homebrews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombidragon Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 That's because the FB2 chip was designed and tested to work with the FB2 games. And in the end, some smartass made some "fixes" to what looked like bugs to him. He removed the HMOVE blanks, which are needed by many (e.g. Activision) games to hide objects. This was fixed in Flashback Rev C. Still it lacks support for all "illegal" opcodes, some are used by modern homebrews. So is the revision number on the board? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHart Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 So is the revision number on the board? This is an old post, and the question has been answered elsewhere, so I don't know if my replying is helpful. But anyway, what people refer to as "Rev C" can be identified by playing Quadrun. If you hear the voice saying "Quadrun Quadrun Quadrun" on startup, then you have "Rev C". Otherwise it's older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaz321123 Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 My Harmony works with a modded flashback 2 (I bought at Midwest Gaming Classic). It is true not all games work (supercharger of course), but I haven't encountered many that don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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