Used to own a 7800, thinking of getting one again, questions

[sirlynxalot]

I used to have a 7800 that I got from a yard sale in the 90s and foolishly got rid of in the 2000s so I could get more money to buy dreamcast games. I had a substantial yard sale based atari 2600 collection and that was most of what I played on the 7800. I remember imagic games literally not fitting in the cart slot - which is a bummer b/c imagic made some fantastic games. Am I remembering this about the cart slot correctly? And if so, is there some easy way to mod/file the cart slot so they will fit, without making the plastic look all rough and crummy? (Bonus question, does the Atari 2600 jr suffer from this issue as well?)

Separate from that issue, I see a fair amount of 7800 systems for sale without hook ups and AC adapters. I kinda forget how the 7800 hooks up, I assume it takes some kind of external co-axial video cable, is it hard to find this part or is it relatively common/used among multiple devices? I also remember people saying there as no good aftermarket AC adapter for the 7800 due to its unconventional plug... Well back in the day, my yardsale 7800 did not come with an ac adapter and I basically attached it to a universal adapter by jamming some alligator clips onto the power connection. Sometimes the power would cut out because the alligator clips were frankly too big to cram in side by side on the console side and would periodically come undone from the connection - is there a better solution these days? Are there any aftermarket AC adapters that would be suitable?

Finally, the system is pretty dang old in the scheme of things now a days. Are 7800s coming into issues with leaking or dried out capacitors, or do the systems seem to be holding up alright these days assuming they were kept in a decent environment and not mishandled in some way?

Edited March 8, 2017 by sirlynxalot

[Jinks]

7800s dont fail often. Only the power switch needs contact cleaner. Same rf as the 2600 for the way it is hooked up to a tv.

[8th lutz]

I used to have a 7800 that I got from a yard sale in the 90s and foolishly got rid of in the 2000s so I could get more money to buy dreamcast games. I had a substantial yard sale based atari 2600 collection and that was most of what I played on the 7800. I remember imagic games literally not fitting in the cart slot - which is a bummer b/c imagic made some fantastic games. Am I remembering this about the cart slot correctly? And if so, is there some easy way to mod/file the cart slot so they will fit, without making the plastic look all rough and crummy? (Bonus question, does the Atari 2600 jr suffer from this issue as well?)

 

Separate from that issue, I see a fair amount of 7800 systems for sale without hook ups and AC adapters. I kinda forget how the 7800 hooks up, I assume it takes some kind of external co-axial video cable, is it hard to find this part or is it relatively common/used among multiple devices? I also remember people saying there as no good aftermarket AC adapter for the 7800 due to its unconventional plug... Well back in the day, my yardsale 7800 did not come with an ac adapter and I basically attached it to a universal adapter by jamming some alligator clips onto the power connection. Sometimes the power would cut out because the alligator clips were frankly too big to cram in side by side on the console side and would periodically come undone from the connection - is there a better solution these days? Are there any aftermarket AC adapters that would be suitable?

 

Finally, the system is pretty dang old in the scheme of things now a days. Are 7800s coming into issues with leaking or dried out capacitors, or do the systems seem to be holding up alright these days assuming they were kept in a decent environment and not mishandled in some way?

What I can tell you is Imagic Carts are an issue with the system. I got an Atari 7800 for Christmas back in 1989 and it still works.

[Osgeld]

cart slot can be removed with two screws and 2 clips, where you can mod it how you wish without effecting the external case appearance (bonus question no ish its tight but not impossible)

 

RF attachment is standard fare, its RF output on a female RCA jack, get a male RCA to female F connector and done (heck I have one or two laying around if you want one for the cost of postage)

 

the power adapter is a bit of a pain but its 9v dc so if you can solder a couple jumper wires its not a huge deal to redo it to a standard dc plug

 

7800 could and can suffer electrolytic cap problems, but they were still made back in the era of "caps wernt crap" sooo while not 100% a sure fire thing, its pretty rare

 

the worst thing you will get on a decent condidtion working 7800 without refurbishing or mods is a wonky power button and some dirty contacts for the most part (outside of the joysticks being a bit crap)

Edited March 8, 2017 by Osgeld

[H454]

Power adapters new Atari $15 from bestelectronics.com - power switch is $1.50.

For RF, use a shielded cable - Try to avoid a switch box. Like Osgeld said- Use a rca to coax adapter.

And you buy one online, make sure the seller bubble wraps the crap out of it. The cases are REALLY brittle.

Ask me how I know

And for worn controllers -

https://console5.com/store/parts/joystick-parts/dome-switches.html

Bad caps are rare - the 7805 would probably be the first thing that burn out, but due to bad power - like jamming alligator clips in it!

 

Don't be afraid to buy an "as-is", "broken" or "for parts" - most just need a good cleaning.

[sirlynxalot]

Thanks guys. It looks like I just won one on eBay. Looking forward to being able to play my old Atari carts that I kept from when I sold my system.

[kyle]

Some 7800's have no problem with imagic carts and others do. I own two and both have no trouble with imagic carts fitting. As said before Best Electronics has new 7800 power supplies for $15 and there is a third-party option available on Amazon .

Edited March 15, 2017 by kyle