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Atari "Video Chess" 400/800 Cartridge?


electronizer

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Today I saw part of a large Atari collection. One interesting item was an original-style, brown 400/800 cartridge with what looked like a factory label that said, "Video Chess CXL4003." Below that, in an odd, outlined font almost like the Impact font used in Internet memes, it said "10 Computer Games."

 

I know that the official CXL4003 cartridge released by Atari was Assembler Editor. Has anyone ever heard of/seen this Video Chess variant?

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Id be interested in seeing this. the only launch titles that didnt match up from the original press release to what officially came out was

 

 

CXL4003 Assembler Debug ---- Assembler Editor

CXL4005 LIFE ----- Video Easel

CXL4006 Super Bug ---- Super Breakout

CXL8001 Home Financial ----- Checkbook.

 

I think thats the full list of name changes and CXL8001 never was offically released but one member here has one.

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I wish I had taken a picture!!! My thinking was that it was a very early cart; they had the educational master cart and BASIC, so why not a game for CXL4003? And I've seen the "10 computer games" language on 2600 carts, so maybe that was a holdover from the VCS.

 

I may have a chance to see it again in January, at which point I'll definitely snap a pic.

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I wish I had taken a picture!!! My thinking was that it was a very early cart; they had the educational master cart and BASIC, so why not a game for CXL4003? And I've seen the "10 computer games" language on 2600 carts, so maybe that was a holdover from the VCS.

 

I may have a chance to see it again in January, at which point I'll definitely snap a pic.

Thanks.

Who owns it? Are they a member here on AtariAge or maybe ABBUC that we could get in contact with them to see it sooner and perhaps a dump?

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  • 1 month later...

Good news! The owner ended up having several garage sales to sell off his *entire* Atari collection, which was substantial. I ended up getting the cartridge! My 800XL isn't currently set up, but I will have some time to put it together soon and I am excited to see if there are any differences between this and the Computer Chess cartridge. Here's a picture:

 

post-43315-0-14232500-1487274736_thumb.jpg

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Good news! The owner ended up having several garage sales to sell off his *entire* Atari collection, which was substantial. I ended up getting the cartridge! My 800XL isn't currently set up, but I will have some time to put it together soon and I am excited to see if there are any differences between this and the Computer Chess cartridge. Here's a picture:

 

attachicon.gifIMG_2690.JPG

Can you dump this to confirm what it is?

CXL4003 belongs to the Assembler Editor...

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Sure looks like a fake label to me. First of all, the corners are cut at 45 degree angles. Second, the label is textured, seemingly as if it is made of paper. The rough edges also point to this. I just checked 3 of my brown label carts, all have identical type labels. Compare to the pic below (apologies for the flash - I wanted a quick example so used my cell phone)

 

post-650-0-48823100-1487282072_thumb.jpg

post-650-0-76704400-1487282069_thumb.jpg

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It certainly could be a fake, I'll have to play it/dump it for more information. I was also thinking it might be a very early prototype, created before Atari had standardized the label design, or finalized the initial cartridge number assignments.

 

BTW, I've never dumped a cartridge before. Does anyone have tips on how to do that with an 800XL? I do have an SIO2SD, so I'm hoping it will be relatively easy to get the file on my MacBook.

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Don't take me wrong, I just mean visually fake compared to Atari production carts. I have no idea about the contents or who may have created the label.

 

The first step would be to play the cart and compare it to the existing chess games for the Atari. You can picture some screenshots and post them here, and we'll help you, if you're not sure what to compare it to.

 

The "Maxflash USB Cartridge Programmer Kit" is the easiest way to dump carts. It will dump any cart over USB to your PC (Windows only).

Edited by MrFish
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It certainly could be a fake, I'll have to play it/dump it for more information. I was also thinking it might be a very early prototype, created before Atari had standardized the label design, or finalized the initial cartridge number assignments.

 

BTW, I've never dumped a cartridge before. Does anyone have tips on how to do that with an 800XL? I do have an SIO2SD, so I'm hoping it will be relatively easy to get the file on my MacBook.

 

Section 9.3 of the A8 FAQ has some info about copying carts.

 

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/atari-8-bit/faq/

 

Basic knowledge is that an 8k cart is either A or B. B is from $8000 to $9FFF and is rare.

 

A is from $A000 to $BFFF most simple carts.

 

Your fancy cart probably uses all 16k. And uses bank switching to boot (also).

 

You could use Omnimon OS to dump a cart. You'd still need to analyze the cart RUN address and INIT and

put a header on the dump. I forget what you use to edit a dumped file, like to defeat the copy protection.

Oh, it is a sector editor like ..... can't remember. But you need to be fluent in 6502C assembler.

A disassembler. 'DISK WIZARD II' sector editor/disassembler.

 

I no longer remember most of this stuff, if I ever knew.

Edited by russg
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It certainly could be a fake, I'll have to play it/dump it for more information. I was also thinking it might be a very early prototype, created before Atari had standardized the label design, or finalized the initial cartridge number assignments.

 

BTW, I've never dumped a cartridge before. Does anyone have tips on how to do that with an 800XL? I do have an SIO2SD, so I'm hoping it will be relatively easy to get the file on my MacBook.

I have not seen an Atari labeled cartridge without striations. Even the earliest of Atari carts, even made in the lab.

Can you open the cart and show the board inside it with the chips?

Chess wasn't the first cartridge released, so I would be surprised to see such a different design attempt on a label by Atari.

But it is cool, and if you can't show some screen shots, then open it up for us :) The chips and PCB will tell you a lot.

And the original owner would have more items indicating the validity of it I would think. You said you got the cartridge(s)?

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It's very odd. Back in the early '80s it would have been difficult to make something like that by hand so it must be somewhat modern (it looks a bit like the Castle Crisis labels I made on a laser printer and then laminated). There are a lot of things a faker could have done to make it seem more authentic. I've never seen the text crowded/overlapping like that. Are there any cartridges with a 10 (or any number) like that?

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I have to agree with those who believe it to be a "fake" label. The straight cut corners, the wrong CXL number, and just as glaring a proof, to me, the texture of the label and though not necessarily proof, but with the other facts here, is circumstantial evidence is the lack of light damage and the usual banding of brown shades often seen on cartridges with light induced fading.

 

The only other way it could be real, is if it is an Atari Prototype with a prototype label printed with different paper and ink than manufactured cartridges. But did Atari ever do that? Do prototype cartridges exist with similar labeling?

Edited by Gunstar
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Ok, I have some pictures. Here is "Video Chess" next to a production Computer Chess cartridge:

 

post-43315-0-93309500-1487363520_thumb.jpg

 

Here is a screenshot of Computer Chess:

 

post-43315-0-52063700-1487363570_thumb.jpg

 

Here is a screenshot of "Video Chess"

 

post-43315-0-80563900-1487363608_thumb.jpg

 

I played them both briefly, and couldn't see any difference between the two. Both had 8 levels and similar gameplay (e.g. cursor flashing, movement delay, etc.).

 

Finally, here is a picture of the inside of the cartridge:

 

post-43315-0-31778500-1487363736_thumb.jpg

 

There are two EPROMs and another small IC on its back. A few pins on the IC are wired up to pads on the PCB. One EPROM is labeled "CHESS 5-4 HI" and the other is labeled "CHESS 5-4 LO."

 

I'm learning a lot from this thread; interested to hear the continuing discussion!

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