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the official Channel F thread!


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At the risk of being semantic, that's not necessarily true. #26 (Alien Invasion) turns up far more frequently than #22 or #25, probably even #24. There's at least one copy on eBay at almost any given time. And #19 is probably the rarest of all.

 

I get what you're getting at, though. :) Generally, yes, #19 on up are going to be the really collectible ones (except #21 and #23, which are borderline common).

 

#15? Meh. It definitely isn't common (to the extent that any Channel F cartridge can truly be called "common"), but you can snag one with some patience. And probably for not too bad a price, either, since it's not one of those "A-list" games.

I don't know. I waited an eternity for #15 and still paid up $50+ for it. I think 15 is right up there in rarity for whatever reason.

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  • 1 month later...

Ok, not sure if this is the right place for this, but I thought I would post. Feel free to redirect me.

 

Here is my tragic/wonderful story-

 

1. So I won a boxed Fairchild Channel F off of eBay (system only) for what I think is a good deal. It has no sound. No worries, I think its probably the speaker (any other ideas would be a great help) and if it is I think I can fix it. Still no worries.

 

2. I start looking for carts and find 8 for a remarkable deal.

 

3. The wonderful part-turns out 1 of the 8 carts is the demo cart 1, YAY! right?

 

4. Get the FCF in and plug it up, no sound but amazing picture on my flat Toshiba-I mean stunning. I'm like what do you mean FCF is behind all the others in hardware, right !?!

 

5. Plug the thing up and get my cart 2 to play and both of the internal games, Rock and Roll!!! BTW these are actually loads of fun.

 

6. Plug Robot War in and YES, @#$& YES this game is cool! You say play Battlefield or whatever and I say play ROBOT WAR and cut the bull...

 

7. Ok, video check, fun check, time for the luck check. Does the Demo Cart 1 work? I slot it in and it works!!!! YES, now I have one of the rarest FCF carts for peanuts and a working FCF *crowd goes wild* WILD STALLIONS ROCK!!! Carry on my wayward son! Superfly..! etc. etc.

 

8. Luck runs out. After inserting Demo Cart 1 and running the demo my FCF now plays games for a short time and goes to a gray screen. :-( Anyone know what happened? I cannot figure it. I mean Demo 1 does not do any updates, right? I mean it was 76 man, what the @#$& was an update.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I was having so much fun and I want it back. I mean the cart message says to have fun and I was having it. HELP??? (P.S. also the speaker issue)

Edited by Bludax
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Are all the "Zircon" labeled carts worth more?

 

 

I assume you mean the Zircon reprints of the earlier videocarts?

 

I'd say probably not, despite what some eBay sellers might have you believe. They're not really very sought-after since the labels typically look cheaply printed and not especially attractive. Furthermore, most gamers probably don't know the difference anyway.

 

Only the hardest-core of hard-core Channel F collectors are likely to be willing to pay a premium specifically for Zircon carts. And there are probably a half-dozen of those people in the entire world. :P

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I took a sticker off a Zircon cart to make a KVT cart of it. As I began to peel off the front label, there was the usual label underneath it. Why make a whole new label? Why not just put the Zircon label on the back and be done with it?

 

Legal reasons.

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  • 2 months later...

Wait I bit.

I own two Chess carts, I paid less then 30€ for each. Well, I got one for something like 27€,and the other was with a bunch of other carts.

It's not THAT rare. It's just that people make it sounds like it's very super rare, but I see a new for sale almost every month.

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Yeah, the Chess overseas exclusive isn't tough to find. There seems to be a copy available plenty of times per year. Not all of those are in perfect shape and often seem to be missing the manual, but quality copies can be had for under $100 without too much waiting. The real issue is getting somebody to buy it for you and to ship it over the Ocean. I got mine by arranging help from a fellow AA'er from Germany. For those that really want a #20: Chess, just keep an eye on the German Ebay and do regular searches for 'SABA Videoplay". You'll have it soon enough.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Is it?
Don't remember paying much for one, they're perhaps a bit less common.

This one seems fine, it's in the wrong part of the world though.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/222585297280

 

If you're happy with a loose cart, get a lot, pick what you want and sell the rest. It's also a good way to improve the condition of your collection.

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Is there a reason why #10 Maze is so expensive?

 

There's a loose one for $15 and a complete one for $40 which I feel is overpriced since I got mine complete a few years ago for $17. I see that with FCF games sometimes, inflated prices for no reason. Years ago when I needed Bowling; the few games were priced about $70 and even though no one bought even one for over 6 months the prices never dropped...one day a new vendor listed one reasonable and complete for $20 and I snagged it. There's so much on eBay that's way overpriced and the few guys that have them just won't go down on price even though those games just sit there, month after month. Seriously? I used to think i'd be able to get the complete set but I'm 4 away and I fear it will never happen...hopefully I can grab them once us old dudes start dying off and no one even knows what a FCF is anymore...lol.

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  • 1 month later...

OK, I get it. I have to find the boats. Well, I kept shooting and shooting and not once did I find one. My Channel F picked a two player game automatically so I kept plugging and switching the controllers into the correct ports and I didn't see any ship at all.

Edited by atari2600land
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You don't get to see the ships unless you hit them, if I recall correctly- after you fire, you need to listen to the number of pings you get coming back- less pings tells you how close to are to a ship. It's been awhile since I played it, there's a specific ratio of number of pings to number of squares away, but I forget what it is.

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