Solomon_Man

Agreed, Our local post office is delivering after dark. They are dressed in blue and high visible reflector bars. On the Logistics of things...I have a gift I ordered on November 30th for the wife...Said would be to me by the December 3rd. Then got a notice that would not be to my home till February 15th. I was blown away but that gives an example of todays Logistical problems. There are jokes on Facebook etc that say they should allow Chick-Fil-A to take over the mail then all mail would be delivered on time. Thanks Chris

All, On the Tesla automobiles its an interesting situation which I compare it to the Early days of Atari/computers. For Atari, It was the early movement (computers/game systems/etc) and anything could be released and lets be honest it was. The game crash kind of showed that in my opinion. Some of this was then probably a "learning curve" or engineering cycle as mentioned previously. Today its probably the same for the EV vehicles. In the automobile realm, one thing for certain is cars are going electric. So much in fact that mandates by governments are now commonplace. It only took 100+ years for it to happen. Even Ferdinand Porsche raced 4 wheel electric vehicles in the early days of automobiles. Anyways from my viewpoint, automobile manufacturing, is doing the same thing. GM Volt, Bolt - Nissan Leaf are two other examples, along with Tesla to get anything to the Marketplace and the people will buy. Companies, as previously mentioned, are in fact joining forces to reduce development costs. Some OEMs are actually sub-ing out complete automobile manufacturing (BMW->Magna). Again being an early adapter, not to mention a 100 mile round trip commute daily, I have ran a Sub Panel, over the Covid shutdown, to my Garage to support 2 EV vehicles. plus a future expansion to my barns. Just my two cents, Chris

TacoDon, What is you order number curious to see if they are following any pattern? I believe someone mentioned they are not. Thanks Chris

I will mention my Apple point previously for the cost perspective. Another thing I feel is this is really not a typical commercial product. Its start was by fans (crowdfunded). Keep in mind every product has release issues. The amount of money thrown at testing, support, and finally delivery (logistics) is not the same as the XBox,Playstation or even possibly the Original VCS 2600. It should be actually expected, in my professional opinion, that there will be some hiccups. I will not mention Covid-19 as a excuse but come on folks we have ran out of Toilet Paper and Meat in some areas. Then think about all the software that is released today. Commonly software comes out as a idea. Its developed. First release occurs the public pays a certain amount of money. Over time bug reports come in. They come in trust me on this one. Fixes are put in for the critical ones. Non critical or possible small enhancements are commonly corrected but not released. Then the next release comes out of the software, commonly based on the non critical and enhancements from the earlier release, the public again pays a similar amount or possibly a upgrade fee for next version. This continues indefinetly until the product life cycle is interrupted. In software commonly the most money is made in Support not in the sale of product. Now take todays Atari. Their stock is at less than a dollar a share I see from a previous post. How much money do you think Atari has to throw at testing, support, and finally delivery. Hiring top talent? What are the stock values of Sony and Microsoft? How can Atari improve its releases in the future... by investing its previous financial gains in testing, support, and logistics. How can it get there... by consumer support. My two cents, Chris

godslabrat, I think the possibility of this being a one-off/abandonware destiny is the responsibility of the target group (Atari/Retro Fans). I grew up with Atari from beginning to the fall basically. In the Toledo area the computer shows where very common. Not to mention there were actually Atari Resellers (computer stores that sold Atari only). What I saw originally was a strong community of the different computers available at the shows. The Atari booth people sat with the Atari people, Commodore with the Commodore, etc. There were Atari and many different Computer groups in the area. There was a healthy competition between the groups but also a great "respect" for the early systems/businesses and each other. Over time other "Options" came out. First it was the 16 bit machines (Atari ST/Amiga/Macs) this caused a small split between the groups and also a mass abandonment of the earlier hardware. This abandonment was natural...the machines were "better"...but the turn over killed the earlier hardware (supporters). This hardware change fragmented the groups and sometimes there were computer shows just for the new hardware. Over time the "options" had people change groups (Atari to Apple, Atari to Commodore, Commodore to Atari etc.) as the earlier split (8bit - 16bit) upset people on there original choice. Then the IBM and Compats came out. This led to a tremendous amount of Options (Peripherals etc). Then there was (MAC and Windows (PC Compats)) and this was the new supporter base. Linux plays a big factor now (phones/IOT/etc) but also when the MAC and Windows arguments were the big separation. The internet killed the Computer Shows but brought large groups of people with similar interests together. This has fragmented things but the strong groups get newer hardware/software and options. (ie Atari 2600 games) So my feeling is many people are nervous about the AtariVCS and it being just another abandonware product...Yes poor management by Atari led to its fall but also the time period plays a great factor as well. Early computers and their success were supported by its user groups. Early on it was limited to a small number of options. As these options grew there was a change of support by users. Think about Apple. The products are pricey to say the least. This pricey point keeps themable to be pumping out products. Some good some not so good but ultimately their survival is based on User base (Apple Fans). This product and the Atari fate will be no different. Thanks Chris

All, I bought a Pre-Order one. I also put money down on a Amico and I have bought a few Retro-N products. Not to mention the slew of adapters to make the old hardware run on new TV Sets/Monintors etc. You can call me a fan-boy and I am ok with that label especially considering the forum I am writing this response. But I am the ones that will help keep the Retro-Computing Scene healthy financially so people will have options. Now and in the future. This is not the 1970s-1980s if you think it is you are just showing your age. One thing that the naysayers cant argue with is its out. Yes its late/delayed but its still out. (My only complaint would be maybe a little more communication and more public communication (TV Commercials)). My Expectations are not of a PS5 or the newest Xbox. I can buy those as well. Just another option for entertainment. Personally I believe how this is broadcasted to the masses will seriously influence its adoption to the standard Joe and its success rate. I have been in my fair share of Software Releases over my 23 year career (7 of which was with Microsoft) and delays happen and sometimes for really stupid reasons...Larger companies (deep pockets) throw resources at it and I am not talking small money here...things I have seen to get a product out would completely shed a new light on the Atari VCS financials. Now whether the product is worth the costs...Look in your driveways...the automobile. Cars are all over the cost spectrum but there have been studies done of what an actual car cost in materials and manpower and I will tell you its not anywere near what you paid. I will give you an example on a typical 2021 fender with modern sensors (proximity etc). I know these costs because another 7 years of my career have been in the Automobile sector for one of the Largest Tier one providers. The cost from the dealer to the consumer/Tier 1 supplier to OEM fender on the car is somewhere in the neighboorhood of $350 to $700 range loaded. The cost to make (parts and labor) is well under $80 dollars. In fact the sensorless ones commonly range sub $40. These are painted and ready to go on a vehicle delivered to sequencers. People still go out and buy Cars (15.2-18.4 million cars a month). A car is a car the price differences between them is commonly separated by brand/how many are made (size of company). So the cost comparison of a Laptop/Pi/Computer to this device is really not in most peoples radar. Remember not everyone can setup a machine or wants to play with them constantly. Also some people $400 is nothing to spend. I know people who spend that on a Friday night out. Its not me at least not me currently with 5 kids, mortgage, and a wife. As far as AtariAge not supporting (no new forum(s)) the AtariVCS I am somewhat disappointed. I know sites will pop up supporting it but I would think AtariAge supporting it "could" significantly breathe new life (interest) in the Older systems and bring new fans of Atari which I would assume would increase the bottom line for AtariAge. Just my two cents, Chris

All, I ended up getting a new Raspberry Pi 4 and reinstalling everything at it just worked....So I guess I am good now...I am sure I will have other questions in the future. Thanks for the help, Chris

Zaxxon bin yes. 5200 Cart. Did select the Buck Rogers a few ROMs back before I realized it was stuck. Official Image. I ended up removing the .lr-atari800.cfg line that referred to the Buck Roger ROM (it was listed under a piggy back ROM). Not sure why it was listed but once removed...it stopped displaying the Buck Rogers line in the RunCommand.log line. I have tried and retried many 5200 ROMS and I now get it to go thru the normal runcommand.log display when loading a ROM to go to a black screen. The runcommand logs show nothing out of the ordinary now. If I press F5 (Warm Boot?) when the ROM is at the black screen I go in to a "testing" mode which is similar to the option key pressed on a old Atari 800XL upon turning it on. Where it tests memory etc. On entering where to look for the BIOS files.... I assume thats in the lr-atari emulator. Once the ROM is loaded (Black Screen) I press F1 and then F1 again and I am in the Emulator where I select the Configuration Settings. For the 5200 I see selected the AT_5200.ROM found in the Bios folder. Similar situations for the respected other machines and Bios ROMS. I am wondering if I have bad ROMS either in the Bios ROM or possibly Game ROMS. The Game ROMS are 7z files (zips) that evidently contain more then one file. Is there a way to test things more verbosely (Diagnostically/more logs)? Thanks for the help Chris

mksmith/all, Here is the finished result. Thanks Again, Chris

mr_me, Thanks for the help! I have read thru the documents (got a basic understanding) and downloaded the BIOS Roms from here (2 places as the second did not include the 5200 Bios ROM); 5200 https://atariage.com/5200/emulation/index.html?SystemID=5200 AND the others; https://atari800.github.io/download.html Also got the exit function to work on the keyboard. Placed the Bios ROMS in the BIOS folder (\\RetroPie\bios) Have a few Game ROMS in the Atari 5200 folder (\\RetroPie\roms\atari5200) Rebooted the retropie (more than once). Tried a 5200 Game or two and things either went to a black screen after the standard ROM load screen about the RunCommand.log etc. or the system put me back at the Game ROM selection screen (like nothing happened). Upon looking at the RunCommand.log I see the following (included image); Please note that the game inserted error (line) was/is not the one selected to play. Seems to be stuck on the tmp/retroarch/Buck Rogers... file. I have even tried uninstalling and reinstalling the the lr-atari800 package...Still get the same error. I have even deleted the runcommand.log file and upon the selection of another Game Rom I get same situation...the Game ROM file to execute is not matching the ERROR line. Rebooted the PI multiple times as well as emulation station. Looking for ideas on how to handle....Suggestions? Thanks for the help, Chris

All, Setting up a RetroPie for the first time. Downloaded a rom or two and have had good luck with most of the systems/roms but I tried a group of Atari 800 ROMS (downloaded a large set of ROMs) and am having trouble getting the Atari 800/5200 roms to work. Basically once I select the ROM it pops up the normal ROM loading screen but it immediately goes back to the list of ROMS available. It appears that the lr-atari800 is the emulator of choice being used by Retropie. No visible error message ...My guess is I need a Atari 8bit Bios or additional Atari ROMS (XL ROMS) but what is the process to get this to work properly? I remember there being some process/hoop in the old MESS/MAME setups....but I could be wrong....its been a while. Also is there anyway to back out of a running ROM game through the keyboard attached to Raspberry Pi. It seem the controller I have is possibly giving me grief as once a game starts it seems impossible to back out....probably a configuration thing. Also I am using retroUSB adapters to play with the original controllers (NES/ATARI/SNES/SEGA/N64 ones) is there a way to setup multiple controllers? I have been using a Super NES one that I had close by in a drawer. Thanks Chris

MitKraft, Thanks for the tip! I will have to ask my step-dad about this more (seems easy enough in theory and to just create one) as he works on vintage radios all the time. (He was a electrical engineer in the Air force for 20 years and refurbishes/brings back from the scrap heap old/very old radios.) He belongs to some national club etc. I can see where I will use this tool quite often for a couple other projects. Thanks again, Chris

Guys, Thanks for the info! I will probably pick up a Harbor Freight One...There are 3 within 20 minutes of my place. Looks like the price jumped on the unit even with a 25% off coupon...but still is reasonable. I will let you know what I find out on the monitors. Thanks Chris

All, The process is very similar to what I have been doing just far on electronic board cleaning. UltraSonic Cleaner was mentioned...been considering one...What is a good size unit for Retro-Activities and what should I look for in a unit? Thanks, Chris

All, Thanks for the replies. Do you think a quick blast of air on both monitors and maybe Q-Tips with 91% Alcohol on bad areas would work...Or is there something better? I have used WD-40 Electrical/Contact Cleaner with good sucess in the past usually for switches/contacts/small board areas. Do these monitors suffer from Capacitor Issues? Any good maintenance advice on these old Monitors. Thanks for the help, Chris