BigO

Then you're down to the one-off type of build. So if it's not Ben Heckendorn who made the portable 2600 then it's whoever the individuals are who happened to have built their own, I think.

For someone with the tools and experience, shortening that type of extension cable should be a fairly straight forward task. I would probably cut the cable and replace the pin (male) end with a standard 9 pin socket and hood to make a fairly clean job. But that standard connector would have ears on it. Some people wouldn't like that. Shortening the cable by cutting a chunk out and putting it back together would end up with heat shrink over a slightly lumpy set of splices. Some people wouldn't like that. The upside of either method that you could get a pretty precise length. Or, you might be able to find some sort of split loom to cover up your folded up existing cable, if that aesthetic is acceptable in your application.

I'll bite. If it's not (functionally) an extension cable, what is it? Would an extension cable be okay if it were 18 inches or less in length? Depending on your budget, there are a number of people around here who could put together a cable matching your stated restriction.

I don't know about "the" portable Atari 2600, but I'm pretty sure Ben Heck made one of the earlier "one-off" units. Atari 2600 Portable Hand-built | Web Portal for Benjamin J Heckendorn (benheck.com) Commercially, there is this Flashback portable, which is more likely what you're thinking of: Amazon.com: Atari Flashback Portable Deluxe Edition - Hand Held Console : Video Games

PM Sent.

I thought I got rid of this after I tried to sell it previously. Either I had 2, or never donated this one. You pay shipping to US only from 85051, (and wait for me to have time to ship it) See pictures here:

Conceptually, an old school "DB-9" A-B switchbox seems like it would do the job nicely. I see such switchboxes at thrift stores occasionally, but it's been a while since I have seen one. Looks like they're available on Amazon and eBay for around $35. I was thinking about a "Y-cable", but I imagine that the Harmony would see what it thinks are paddle inputs from the keypad controller. Though still requiring the tedious controller switching, I agree that a 9 pin extension cable would be a reasonable way to avoid repeatedly applying force to the frail 2600 controller port. (I'd really want to fix whatever's going on with that port, but that's not everyone's cup of tea.)

For a second there, I was hoping you really meant "historical record" and that you were working on Galaxy Quest 2600. Pig lizard, Gorignak, beryllium sphere miners, the chompers, Saris, mine field, somersaults, departing space dock...seems like reasonable content for a game.

Says "TV BOX" on it. No recognizable brand, but I must have used it at some point with Sabrent drivers, as evidenced by me writing "Sabrent" on the front of it. I also wrote "TV-USB20" on it for some reason. I guess I left breadcrumbs to get back to a place I don't ever want to go to again. Looks like I bought it in 2014 at Goodwill.

Weren't the trackballs really made/marketed for the computers? (Computers which also happened to not-so-coincidentally have controller ports that match those of the 2600.) The 5200 trackball is a very different beast and isn't compatible with the 2600 (except with the homebrew add-on/upgrade kit that was made available briefly by that one fantastically ingenious weirdo dude on AtariAge).

I *think* all CX22s worked in joystick emulation mode. This mode allows the use of the CX22 with joystick games. Theoretically, that would include any joystick game. A subset of CX22s had a mode switch to let them operate as a "real" trackball. Only in this TB mode would the CX22 work with these hacks. In trackball mode, the CX22 outputs a pattern of digital signals that I would call direction plus clock. One pin per axis represents which direction the ball is rolling (or most recently rolled) and the other pin for that axis puts out pulses at a rate directly correlated to the speed at which the ball is spinning. In joystick mode, the CX22 translates motion to output signals on the four standard joystick Up, Down, Left, Right pins to represent which direction the ball is rolling. It creates proportional (speed) movement by pulsing these directional signals according to the speed the ball is moving. As ball speed increases, the pulses on the directional signals get progressively longer until, at maximum ball speed (as determined by game software), the pulse becomes a steady signal. With respect to "real" trackball signals, there's a simpler, more "raw" mode than is outlined above. This method essentially directly passes through the signals from the motion encoder hardware. This scheme, known as "quadrature" and/or "gray code" is a bit more work to interpret in software. (This type of signal is the result of the most straightforward mod one could do to the Atari trackballs in question.) To the credit of the developers who adapted these titles, they managed to support both of the aforementioned "real" trackball encoding schemes plus a variant that changes on which pins the signals feed into the console. Techn-nerd-ery aside, the boys did an excellent job with these conversions and the games are way better to play in the trackball versions than in the mass-market-driven, original joystick versions.

Having made the transition from bound, paper language references and code samples to the modern online resources, I support this statement. I have learned languages best by wading in the shallow end and panic-splashing in the deep end at the same time. My deep end is a project that is over my head with respect to my current knowledge level. The shallow end is reading through reference material (functions, commands, syntax, etc.). Great search capabilities coupled with boatloads of example code and technical references made both ends of my learning process much easier.

Use it. Use it. Use it.

Sorry but I don't follow. "Recreate" indicates creating a thing again after the thing has already been created previously. That would mean to me that your project is done. I'm lost regarding the intent of your post. It's a lucky thing that you don't need me to help you move forward. 😀 Good luck with your project. Please post any progress here.

So you have a Kid Vid, and know the signals required, and have the equipment to generate the "control" track, and now need to just create a tape to accompany your game? Or?

Maybe the switch is bad? Once it's booted, does it crash if you bump or tap on the switch? If you're a solder-er, you could put a jumper across the switch and see if it boots every time you plug it in.

I think I need to bust out Toyshop Trouble. For me, Stampede is a Christmas title, albeit a bittersweet one. We received Stampede as a Christmas gift from my mom. As was her habit, she started her Christmas shopping early. We still got Christmas gifts from her after she had passed away in early December after a month long illness. I suppose this 40-some year old memory is one of the reasons I'm still attached to the 2600. ...just in case you were wondering if anyone had any sad Atari Christmas stories.

How do you go about applying the necessary physical agitation/polishing of the contacts down in the slot? I've used card stock, fabric wrapped around credit card plastic, chamois covered swabs, and probably other methods I can't recall to apply tech grade IPA and Deoxit. I have never ended up feeling comfortable about having actually cleaned the contacts well.

I have one of those. It's much better in the hand than the iconic square-cornered controller. [Edit] I just looked at pricing on those. Uh, yeah. I'd almost expect to buy a complete system for what some people are asking for these dogbone controllers. Maybe I should check pricing on systems and ultimately clear out some closet space.

Do you have a specific question that isn't answered by the video? In the first seconds he pretty much gave all the necessary technical information (which matched what thought I had read at some point so I assume he's correct). He said that the two types of controllers produce the same signals. Therefore, the adapter will be a completely passive device which serves to route the compatible signals to a connector which is mechanically and electrically compatible with the target console's connector. Further, I think he was suggesting to splice together the appropriate ends of controller extension cables for the two systems. I stopped the video at that point. If I were to do this for myself, I'd acquire connector spinouts for the two systems. Then I'd acquire the referenced extension cables. Then I'd cut the extension cables in half. Then I'd strip back the outer sheath of the cables, and about a half inch of the insulation on each of the wires in the cables. Then I'd use a multimeter to trace out which color wire matched up to which function from the pinouts and make a table of that information. Then I'd use the data from the table to tell me which color of wire from one cable half needed to connect to which color of wires in the other extension cable half so that the signal made it from the controller end to the correct spot in the console end of the cable. Then I'd probably wonder why I did all of that work to play a console that I wasn't all that fond of. 🙂

It doesn't explain why Grand Prix and not other Activision games, but I once was told that Activision circuit boards are thinner. At the time, I was inquiring about problems I had with Activision games. I don't recall the numbers now but did confirm via digital caliper that Activision's boards were thinner than others. Maybe both Grand Prix cartridges in question used an especially thin batch of PC board material?

I wonder what became of the 2600 SOC intellectual property from the FB2. As far as I know, it wasn't used in any subsequent FB's. I think I sorta remember it belonging to Curt Vendel. Though not perfect, it seemed quite serviceable, and was likely as close to "real 2600" (non-emulation) as we'll see.

I'm not quite sure how I should feel about that. So many levels...

There is/was a thing called a "Redemption Adapter". That may start you down the appropriate rabbit hole.

Depending on how well or poorly the original mod was done, this could/should be an easy fix. If I were local to you I'd take a look at it. But, otherwise, I wouldn't commit to a positive outcome without seeing what I had to work with. The expense of shipping speculatively just wouldn't be worth it. Maybe you'd find a willing repair-er if you opened it up and posted pictures? This might be the ideal project on which you could learn to solder. It should be relatively simple.