Satoshi Matrix Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 About a month ago, on a residential side street in Toronto, I came across...an unusual find. Standing on the ground near the sidewalk was an old plastic case holding 14 Atari 800 games, and also an Atari 2600 Joystick. I don't own an Atari 800 to test any of these but here's what I got: Pole Position RX8034 Star Raider CXL4ON Pac-Man CXL4022 Donkey Kong RX8031 K-razy Kritters ATR1001 Soccer THB 12003 Joust RX8044 Space Invaders CXL4008 Centipede CXL4020 Qix CXL4027 BASIC Computing Language CXL4002 Pitfall II CZ-011 and finally H.E.R.O CZ-007 Are these worth anything? Probably not but I know next to nothing about the Atari 800. Even still, I know enough to know there's something odd about the copy of H.E.R.O I have. It doesn't look anything like the others. In fact, I wonder if it might even be a prototype? Here's a picture. Can anyone provide some insight for just what I might have? There's a single screw holding it together, but even after removing the screw, I can't figure out how to get the shell apart to take a look at the pcb. If the label is correct, I suspect to see an EPROM chip without a window. If so, should I cover it with black electrical tape before taking a pic? I'm a total noob when it comes to Atari 800. As much info as you guys can provide would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Says "sample", so my guess would be that they produced early copies of the complete or near complete game that were sent out for review. Creating a dump of the cart could tell us if it's the final version or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satoshi Matrix Posted April 25, 2011 Author Share Posted April 25, 2011 Says "sample", so my guess would be that they produced early copies of the complete or near complete game that were sent out for review. Creating a dump of the cart could tell us if it's the final version or not. I dont even have an Atari 800, much less the equipment to dump it. Do you have any idea of the value? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qix_maniac Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 I'd say put on ebay and let us bid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 The case of that cart looks more like a 2600 cart to me by the way.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobus Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Not sure what part of TO you live in, (I'm in Oakville). PM me if you want to meet up and have me look at (and test) the cartridge. It should sell for more if you can say it was tested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satoshi Matrix Posted April 25, 2011 Author Share Posted April 25, 2011 Not sure what part of TO you live in, (I'm in Oakville). PM me if you want to meet up and have me look at (and test) the cartridge. It should sell for more if you can say it was tested. That would be great, but I don't actually live in Toronto, I was merely there visiting family. I actually live closer to St. Catharines. That's probably further than you're willing to travel, but hey, the invitation does stand if you've got a Atari 800 to test these on. Does anyone here know how to open up Atari 400/800 cartridges? I see they're held together by a single screw, but even unscrewing that doesn't make the cartridge come apart. I really would like to take a peek inside the cart, but I can't figure it out. The shell is the same with the other commercial dirt common games like Qix or Donkey Kong. More images to come..and you what guys? As weird as it seems, I wonder if the copy of Pitfall 2 I've got here is also a protoype? It's got a very different label than I would expect to see. More pics forthcoming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianC Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 (edited) Does anyone here know how to open up Atari 400/800 cartridges? I see they're held together by a single screw, but even unscrewing that doesn't make the cartridge come apart. I really would like to take a peek inside the cart, but I can't figure it out. The shell is the same with the other commercial dirt common games like Qix or Donkey Kong. My dad opened up the A800 Space Invaders since I couldn't get it working (we found out the problem was a loose eeprom, so it was an easy fix). From what I remember, only the screw in the back needs to be removed but the back part needs some pushing to come off since it's part of the top part that says "left cartridge". I don't remember how we got it off exactly, but the front label is intact. Maybe you should show the other side in that pic? I have an officially released cart that looks similar, but isn't like the pre-XE Atari carts since it doesn't have that metal part of the cart (though it does have a place where something like that would go) and those ridges aren't on the Atari style carts either. Edited April 25, 2011 by BrianC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Well it's an Activision cart, but it doesn't look like a a8 activision shell, more like a 2600 shell... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devwebcl Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Although it looks like an a2600, the serial code (CZ-007) looks more similar to 8bits: River Raid has CZ-001 code: http://www.atariprotos.com/8bit/software/riverraid/riverraid.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satoshi Matrix Posted April 26, 2011 Author Share Posted April 26, 2011 Sorry for the wait. Here's some photos of the entire lot. All 14 games H.E.R.O proto(?) compared to Kaboom for the 2600, also by Activision Comparison of the edge connectors. H.E.R.O on top. The back of the H.E.R.O proto. Pitfall II also looks exactly like this. Here's Pitfall II. It lacks the extra info H.E.R.O has, but considering it's age, the top sticker could well have simply fell off and I didn't notice it. H.E.R.O and Pitfall II carts The tops of both H.E.R.O and Pitfall II completely lack end labels. Most of the others say <- Left Cartridge. Not these. So this presents the question: Do I have two prototypes here? They look so very different from the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 You're right. Those are Atari computer cartridges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianC Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Your description confused me a bit. Those carts look just like the store bought Kids on Keys cart I have for the 800, not like DK or Qix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Standing on the ground near the sidewalk was an old plastic case holding 14 Atari 800 games, and also an Atari 2600 Joystick. Wait, WHAT? Just sitting on the ground near a sidewalk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djpubba Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 You definitely lucked out on those. They're pre-release samples. If they're different from the retail versions they could be worth quite a bit. If you open them, do you even have a way to dump the EPROM to compare with the release? If not, don't even bother opening them. If they're glued shut and break the case, you'll devalue them. It's not even necessary to open them to dump, so it's best not to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanallan Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Nice find, and a great way to start getting a collection together if you are wanting to do that. Else as tradebait or for sale they'd be neat for somebody to have. But yeah, don't open them. Best to do is have an A8 person who has the computer check them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobus Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Not sure what part of TO you live in, (I'm in Oakville). PM me if you want to meet up and have me look at (and test) the cartridge. It should sell for more if you can say it was tested. That would be great, but I don't actually live in Toronto, I was merely there visiting family. I actually live closer to St. Catharines. That's probably further than you're willing to travel, but hey, the invitation does stand if you've got a Atari 800 to test these on. Toronto is a nice place to visit. Well, I don't go out towards St. Kitts very often, but I will let you know if I'm going anytime soon. In the meantime, an alternative (but probably no closer) is the Brantford Computer Museum - you can try the cartridges on any of the Atari's they have running there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labrat Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 (edited) I recently got a similar cart with a home-made label. I initially thought someone had just re-cased a PCB from a damaged cart, but I got curious and opened it up... Should I not have exposed the windows? I read this thread after taking the pictures. Edited May 4, 2011 by labrat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloopy Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 I recently got a similar cart with a home-made label. I initially thought someone had just re-cased a PCB from a damaged cart, but I got curious and opened it up... Should I not have exposed the windows? I read this thread after taking the pictures. nice... they should be fine, just dont expose them to sunlight for a long period of time (10-15 mins can give bit errors in strong sunlight...) sloopy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djpubba Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 The Atariwriter does not look like a proto at all. That's a production PCB that someone took the original ROMs off and soldered in sockets so they could burn anything they wanted on it. In other words, a pirate cart. Win some loose some. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labrat Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 The Atariwriter does not look like a proto at all. That's a production PCB that someone took the original ROMs off and soldered in sockets so they could burn anything they wanted on it. In other words, a pirate cart. Win some loose some. :/ Yeah, I suspected it was a copied cart rather than a proto. I'll probably try to put something more fun than atariwriter on there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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