tetrode kink

Oops, sorry, was playing wannabe VCS programmer and discovered I didn't know what the frak I was talking about. Nothing to see here. Move on...

Could be because PMs were down, but it also could be because he hasn't logged in for over two days. Maybe he had a family/personal emergency. I'll give him some time before I start worrying.

Diabolical? Yes. Out-of-character? No.

Yeah, I was just going by your very recent join date and relatively few posts. I could have surfed to your profile, then found your first post from there, but I guess laziness set in.

Damn, another misleading topic title. When I first read "5200 bottoms" I thought to myself, "Damn, that's a lot of tail to tap!" Guess we all know where my head's at. :/

Yeah, considering it came through eBay that's not bad for an R5. And, welcome to AA! Usually the first line when you introduce yourself to other AA'ers is, "Hi, I'm atariUCLA24, and I'm an Atari-holic."

What I am asking is I am noticing games that would normally go for $30 - $40 loose a few years ago, being sold for around $5. And it's not a one off deal, but seems to be the norm. What I don't get is if those are gamers, why not drop $80 on a Harmony and be done with it. I have a hunch that items like the Harmony cart depress the prices of loose carts. I personally collect both CIB and loose as well as label variations. Playing games on a Harmony just doesnt have the same nostalgia value and plugging in the physical cart for gamers and collectors. The Harmony is awesome, as it allows people to play games they otherwise would never be able to afford/find, but it wont replace the need for gamers and collecotrs to collect games For me, the nostalgia/enjoyment hit doesn't come with inserting an authentic original game cart in my VCS as much as actually playing the game. Sure, I have about 100 original game carts and a couple homebrews, but what really does it for me is playing the game, not simply plugging in a cartridge. I expect to own a Harmony one day, and when that happens I imagine my cartridge accumulating will come to a screeching halt. The single exception to that will be that I will continue to buy homebrew carts, because I want to support homebrewers' efforts.

With my extremely limited Atari tech experience stipulated, I've never seen two RF modulators that produced the same signal. RF being a dark art and all, maybe that one is just a little "off" in one or more possible infinite combination of factors.

I am truly sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the NIB PowerBack is also going to be dead. One of the unfortunate facts about rechargeable cells is that they have a finite shelf life, even when never used, and the clock starts ticking as soon as they leave the factory. The top three killers of rechargeable batteries, in order of most common occurrence: Not being used Constant charging past full charge, or constant charging without discharging (charging and not using) Reached 800-1000 charge/discharge cycles, where it will begin to lose capacity (less usable energy per full charge), i.e. it has actually been used to its full natural life Notice that the last entry is the preferable life cycle of a rechargeable cell, and it is also the least-common one. By explanation: The first mode, "Not being used," results from the fact that rechargeable cells need to be used to remain useful. My favorite analogy is they are like muscles; they need exercise or they will atrophy and become weak and eventually die. Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd) cells, for example, need to be charged and used every 30 days or they will start to lose capacity prematurely. Nickel Metal-Hydride (Ni-MH) cells, such as those in the Nomad PowerBack, can sit dormant for as much as six months without such damage, but I don't like to let a set sit for more than 90 days between charge/discharge cycles. Rechargeable cells can sit on the shelf a few years and still work, but it doesn't take long for their capacity to drop precipitously. They can also be damaged by overcharging, which is why it is best to charge them in a smart charger, which will cut off the charge when it senses the cells have reached full charge. They can also be damaged by constant charging but rarely discharging, such as in a cordless phone that sits on its charger but doesn't get used very often. Again, the point is exercise - full charge then full discharge whenever possible - to maximize rechargeable battery life. Don't get me wrong, rechargeable cells are great. One set can save its user hundreds of dollars over disposable batteries, and save the landfill from all those batteries once they're dead. But they definitely need special attention to get the most performance out of them. They're like the hot-house flower of the battery world. Well, with that out of the way, I would like to buy all three of the PowerBacks. I rebuild them with new cells, and dead packs aren't getting any easier to find. Lest you think that that whole preamble was hot air and just my way of convincing you to part with the NIB PowerBack, I would settle for the two loose ones you already removed from your post. Expect a PM forthwith.

I believe this thread will eventually get that for which you ask.

I doubt it. From what I understand, the Harmony's sole purpose is to feed the VCS data at the rate at which it asks for it - i.e. at the rate the 6507 CPU in the VCS expects it. If the Harmony sent data to the VCS any faster, the VCS couldn't use it. In order for more shots to be onscreen at once, the game program will have to be modified, and that wouldn't necessarily involve the Harmony to run it.

I'll admit right up front that I'm only a few months into my rediscovery of Atari (after 20+ years of "downtime"), so my perspective is limited, but since you brought it up... For what it's worth, I thought Pac-Man was great when I originally had it, as did my brother, all my cousins, and all my friends. I don't ever recall anybody saying "Ahh, Pac-Man, what a disappointing arcade port!" Then, the internet comes along, and all of a sudden it appears to have become almost an "in-joke" to pile on Pac-Man as a monumental disappointment, an unplayable mess, a hack job, choose your pejorative. I can't help but get the impression that there's a bit of "group think" going on. Am I far off here? Probably not, but I definitely remember being disappointed by Pac-Man for the 2600. Somewhat for the graphics, but especially the sound. But we did play it.

It probably belonged to a tinkerer or professional tech who wanted to mod his VCS, and that's a connector he had in his parts bin, so that's the connector he used. As to what the mod actually is, a couple ideas come to mind: It's a composite A/V mod; just enough terminals in that connector, one to spare if he used a common ground. The previous owner discovered that the TIA actually outputs two sound channels and decided to run the separated audio out to his stereo for some hi-fi blasting in Asteroids. Our enterprising tinkerer, whose day job is at the copy shop, fancies himself as a hi-tech guru. You see, he's warm to basic modding and while running off collated copies of last quarter's financial statement for the tool-and-die company next door, he started daydreaming and hit upon an idea for a video game - Convoy 2600! The video game version of the movie of the same name. You see, you control a trucker in the game and you "talk" to your good buddies over the CB mike you plug into your modded VCS. He got his friend and coworker involved and they formed Team Truckerz. They even have a little runnable code, the in-game timer. They don't have the rights from United Artists to use the "Convoy" name, but that should be no problem, right?

It's a Sixer (if it were a 4-sw unit the controller ports and power jack would be positioned higher, on the back of the bezel). I don't know for certain if it's a Light or a Heavy, since I don't have a 6-sw Light to compare with that pic. But it matches the back of my Heavy perfectly, right down to the "CONNECT TO GAME SWITCH BOX" message which the mystery connector partially obfuscates. Do Light-Sixers have that same embossing? Look at the lip around the upper edge of the unit. If it's thick, then it's a heavy. If it's thin, then it's a light. Not around the switch area, around the rest of the unit. Huh? Who are you talking to? I'm not the OP, all I have to go on is the pic everyone else sees.

1. I must thank you, wood_jl, for blowing up my browser cache with all your photos. I suppose the phrase "browser cache" is an anachronism to all you new-fangled broadband users. Really, since you knew you were going to post so many pics, couldn't you have made them web-friendly, i.e. each pic no larger than 150K? 2. I must thank you, wood_jl, for including so many photos and an extensive, honest description. What a refreshing change from the usual fare from sellers, where "it's a didgital camera." comprises the entire description, and you're lucky if you get one bad photo to look at. 3. The only photo I would say is missing from your vast array is one of the camera actually working; like maybe a shot of the camera aimed at a background object, so that the object is visible both directly in the photo and on the subject camera's screen. 4. I'm not in the market for a camera, but if I were I would seriously consider buying yours, because of item #2 as already stated, and because of the positively bloated kit of accessories included for the price, and because you're offering it here on AA. 5. I sincerely wish you the best of luck in selling the camera; I'm sure you won't have a problem selling it at that price. 6. Baba Booey.