RetroN 77

[Keatah]

I like the idea of running the roms and using a fake/empty cart. The easiest cart to do this to Harmony, believe it or not. Make your fake Harmony label and just use the rom selector screen!

[Jim Pez]

I have been enjoying my retron 77 and I don't regret getting one.

[SIO2]

I like the idea of running the roms and using a fake/empty cart. The easiest cart to do this to Harmony, believe it or not. Make your fake Harmony label and just use the rom selector screen!

 

It keeps the dust out of the contacts too.

[cybercylon]

I suspect the haters hate because they want to see a product that can potentially be improved actually BE improved. They hate when it's left to languish.

 

I don't hate the Retron 77. I was just annoyed that it came out with so many problems that could have been avoided and the community had to fix them. Shouldn't have to do that with off the shelf products.

[Keatah]

I don't exactly hate it either. I believe there's a difference in hobbyists improving a product for fun or pushing the product to new heights, and hobbyists having to finish working on it to make it operate like expected.

 

IDK, maybe by most definitions it IS substantially functional.

[Zaltran]

 

I don't hate the Retron 77. I was just annoyed that it came out with so many problems that could have been avoided and the community had to fix them. Shouldn't have to do that with off the shelf products.

Well actually is does do what was it was intended to do, play cartridges. Not all cartridges are compatible, but with any moderately priced system, you will have that. Most all of the clone systems out there are not 100% compatible with all the cartridges. Hopefully Hyperkin will improve the OS on the system, but that does take time. Thankfully the community build was made available by some enthusiasts that love the product and the idea behind it.

[+GoldLeader]

 

I don't hate the Retron 77. I was just annoyed that it came out with so many problems that could have been avoided and the community had to fix them. Shouldn't have to do that with off the shelf products.

 

 

I don't exactly hate it either. I believe there's a difference in hobbyists improving a product for fun or pushing the product to new heights, and hobbyists having to finish working on it to make it operate like expected.

 

IDK, maybe by most definitions it IS substantially functional.

 

 

Well actually is does do what was it was intended to do, play cartridges. Not all cartridges are compatible, but with any moderately priced system, you will have that. Most all of the clone systems out there are not 100% compatible with all the cartridges. Hopefully Hyperkin will improve the OS on the system, but that does take time. Thankfully the community build was made available by some enthusiasts that love the product and the idea behind it.

 

I have to agree with all of these points...It's easy to hate for the obvious reasons, ...It's also hard not to want one. I haven't had time to take mine out of the box yet, I just got a modded Wii I need to see to first ... I hope it's not hard to *fix*...Or I may leave it as is, at least at first...

 

My thought is... They came so far, but started their victory dance before they got across the goal line...If this is the rough draft, Maybe next year we get the product we all wanted. Unfortunately that keeps Hyperkin on par with Retrobit or ATGames...When we thought maybe they would be elevated above...

 

 

 

 

 

Kevtris, if you're listening,...You know what needs to be done...

[Atariboy]

I have no issue with Hyperkin letting the community take this the extra mile. The only embarrassment I saw was the fire button issue. Otherwise it basically does what it's supposed to do. And since this sounds as if it was a small test run, I'm even willing to cut them a tiny bit of slack with that issue with the fire button.

 

If hobbyist game programmers around AtariAge can routinely outperform in their spare time what paid programmers were accomplishing back in the 1980's at major developers like Atari, it only seems fair to recognize that the minds behind stuff like the Stella emulator in our community have the potential to take this much further than Hyperkin can financially justify doing in-house.

 

Hyperkin seems to realize they have limited resources that they can justify dedicating to this device, yet grasped that there was a lot of potential there to take it further than they were going to themselves. I think it's great that they've not only lived up to the licensing terms of Stella despite community fears in the months before release that they'd fail to live up to their obligations, but also left it open enough for community updates to be easily possible.

Edited August 18, 2018 by Atariboy

[cybercylon]

Well, at least it exists and mostly works at this point. I can give them credit for that. On the other hand, there is that other Atari based project that needs a taco post from me....

[+swlovinist]

Just wanted to say that I have attempted to reach out to Hyperkin for an update and have heard ZILCH from them. Very frustrating communication at times.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Does anyone have an idea how well the console is selling? If it should be selling bad, then I don't think we can expect much from Hyperkin. Else, we should insist for improvements.

 

The missing communication is really a problem. It could indicate that the project is considered done by Hyperkin and that the people have (been) moved to the next project.

[reallybrett]

On July 18th they tweeted that they sold out of the 77, link below it is the first pinned tweet:

 

https://twitter.com/hyperkin?lang=en

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Still out of stock. Hm...

[Mr SQL]

If the devs were more friendly to Hyperkin there might be more communication. Some of their reviews seemed overly critical but programmers may not make the best reviewers; Metal Jesus and the Immortal John Hancock's reviews were more relevant and worth watching.

 

The Retron 77 is a lot of fun, I'll keep supporting it with new releases - both the SuperCharger version and the Flashback Portable version of GATECRASHER MELLOWMIX are compatible. The only major issue is the screen tearing occasionally and there is a workaround for that - putting one of those remote button pressers posted about earlier on the consoles aspect ratio button would be an even better fix!

 

[AtariLeaf]

Just wanted to say that I have attempted to reach out to Hyperkin for an update and have heard ZILCH from them. Very frustrating communication at times.

 

My guess is high profile youtubers such as yourself and MJR were used by Hyperkin to help get the word out and sell these thing quick to an unsuspecting public. Even though your reviews were even handed they definitely helped push some to buy these the day they were released. Hell I would have if they weren't US only. This is one time I'm glad being Canadian prevented me from buying something.

 

BTW, at least here in Canada, these can still be bought through places like Best Buy and Amazon.ca (at $100 a pop). I'm sure the same is true of other sites in other countries. They're probably just sold out through hyperkin themselves.

[marcallie]

Hi all! I have an issue with my Retron77. At least, I think it’s the Retron77. It might be my paddles, but I’m not sure. I’ve got one paddle game, Super Breakout. I bought a set of paddles with improved Pots to use, and when I tried them, the cursor thing (what the ball bounces off of) jerks left and right. Not a little kneeling, either. We’re talking back and forth about double the width of the cursor. The game is basically unplayable. I thought maybe the paddles were bad, found some at a flea market. Same issue. Looked it up, took the flea market set apart, cleaned it, reassembled, and still the same issue. (Plus now my fire button doesn’t work lol n00b!) I can’t help but think there’s an issue with the Retron77. Anyone else have any similar issues?

[+stephena]

If the fire button stops working, then you should upgrade to the community edition of the software. I see that you posted in that thread after the post here, so perhaps you've already got it all working now??

[+remowilliams]

I bought a set of paddles with improved Pots to use, and when I tried them, the cursor thing (what the ball bounces off of) jerks left and right. Not a little kneeling, either. We’re talking back and forth about double the width of the cursor.

 

Paddles have more jitter than they should on the R77, but not that much. In Super Breakout you shouldn't be seeing any jitter larger than one movement increment, if my R77 is anything to judge by.

[marcallie]

If the fire button stops working, then you should upgrade to the community edition of the software. I see that you posted in that thread after the post here, so perhaps you've already got it all working now??

 

I actually did the community upgrade a couple days ago. The fire button issue, I’m afraid, is that I messed the button up somehow when I opened up the paddles to clean them.

[Robotube]

Hi all! I have an issue with my Retron77. At least, I think its the Retron77. It might be my paddles, but Im not sure. Ive got one paddle game, Super Breakout.

Yes, I have the same problem. I used my Flashback Paddles which are basically brand new and I get unacceptable jitter.

 

This SHOULD be repairable with a firmware update, implementing a threshold of some kind. But yes, I dont think youre alone.

[+stephena]

I actually did the community upgrade a couple days ago. The fire button issue, I’m afraid, is that I messed the button up somehow when I opened up the paddles to clean them.

 

OK, the "joystick fire button stops working" is something else, which is fixed in the community edition.

[Coolcrab]

My r77 doesn't seem to want to read carts all of a sudden... I was testing my library and put in about 40 carts in one hour. Now they all give weird noises and don't work, even the ones that did work a moment ago.

 

I looked inside and it seems that 3 pins are bent? Or should it be that way. I'd like a confirmation about whether or not those 3 should be there before I start poking the slot.

Edited August 20, 2018 by Coolcrab

[Robotube]

My r77 doesn't seem to want to read carts all of a sudden... I was testing my library and put in about 40 carts in one hour. Now they all give weird noises and don't work, even the ones that did work a moment ago.

 

I looked inside and it seems that 3 pins are bent? Or should it be that way. I'd like a confirmation about whether or not those 3 should be there before I start poking the slot.

 

Not supposed to be that way.

[Coolcrab]

Yea just grabbed a magnifying glass...they are bent and squished......

 

I am beyond annoyed.

 

Is there a smart way to fix them?

[Robotube]

Yea just grabbed a magnifying glass...they are bent and squished......

 

I am beyond annoyed.

 

Is there a smart way to fix them?

 

I believe the console is fairly easy to crack open. I would't try to bend them back into shape through the cart slot, but that's just me.

 

If the machine is open, accessing those pins should be easier and you can bend them back easier.

 

BE WARNED, though, that if you do open it up, you're probably relinquishing your rights to get a replacement from Hyperkin, if you want to go that route.

 

If you do fix it yourself and get it back in order, you may want to use a lubricant of some kind of those pins to help prevent this from happening again. There are some that are recommended for contacts like that, but unfortunately I don't know what they are. They've been recommended here several times.