griz

What is Batari talking about? He actually does know what he's talking about and a highly valued member of this community. You're talking about color bit-depths as though the 2600 had a modern bit-mapped display. Apples and oranges. The Atari 5200 could generate 256 (gtia) colors on-screen long before the SNES arrived. Trying to compare the Atari's raster display to an 8-bit color bit-mapped display though is again Apples and oranges. What is all of this Random fact drivel? 2600's "master" palette? Never heard it described that way before but you're likely coming from a more modern perspective. Batari was merely referring to the width of the players and sprites in bits.

Good idea! Could this not be accomplished with joystick 'Y' splitter cables? Are the standard Atari joystick cables missing all the required pins to be suitable?

I am interested in a Satandisk.

Hi guys, Just quick update on where I'm at with my 2600A. I soldered in new switches (all 4), replaced the rf cable, tv switchbox and wall wort power supply. Without changing anything else the unit is now functional to my surprise! Thanks for your help and suggestions. I found some aluminium foil tape at my local hardware store and used that for the static strips as suggested (thanks Mr. Franzman). See the pictures below. Note that I also have foil tape between the switches and the rf shield in the finished version. Exactly!

Unfortunately no it doesn't. Just to bolster my shotgun approach I have ordered the following parts : - tia chip - cpu chip - i/o chip - 7805 voltage regulator - .22uF mylar capacitor - large axial 2200uF capacitor (C243) - new rf cable and switchbox - new switches (all 4) - new factory power supply With luck and some help from you guys I'm hoping to be able to bring this 2600A back to life. I realize it would be less expensive to just purchase another unit, but this was my first Atari and I'd like to learn some things along the way.

I agree it may very well be beyond my capability. I thought I would try some of the more common repairs and hope they work ("shotgun" approach). I would describe my level of electronics knowledge and experience as a little more than beginner at best. I do not own a scope but have a multimeter and can solder/desolder components. I'm attempting this if for no other reason than to learn a little along the way. Is there a way to confirm any of the above given the limited equipment and skills I currently have? Good to know regarding the color/bw switch and the foil tape. Thanks for your time Mr Franzman.

What is too high for the wireless sticks? No. It worked about a year ago but produced horizontal lines of static on the TV. Now when I power it up I don't get a picture but I notice an initial flicker in the static when it's turned on. No, I intend to just get it working and replace parts as needed. It's broken and yes that's what I'd like to do. Thanks for confirming. I get a steady 4.96 volts. From the top pin I am getting 9.8 to 10.5 volts. Power supply and voltage regulator are fine then? Solder mask - good to know, thanks. Power on/off and color/bw switches As you can see in the photo the color/bw switch is completely missing. Would this cause the 2600 to not display a picture? I have new switches on the way. The foil tape that connects the switches is no longer in stock at Best electronics. Can I get this from somewhere else or possibly solder some wire between the switches and the rf shield?

Hey guys. I am a beginner when it comes to electronics but would like to rebuild an Atari 2600A and hope to learn something along the way. Any help would be appreciated. Voltage Regulator Goo As you can see in the attached photo there is a white paste between the voltage regulator and the motherboard heat-sink area. Is this corrosion or some form of a thermal compound? If I were to replace the voltage Regulator how do you recommend I deal with the white goo? Power Supply While not the original 9 volt 500 ma wall wort that came with my 2600A, I have one from an Atari sx212 modem that claims (in white letters on the case) to be compatible with the 2600. It meters 13.5 volts. Is this a little too much, or nothing to worry about? Wrinkled Mobo I don't know the correct terminology but the green coating over the electrical pathways on the motherboard are wrinkled. Why would this be? Is it a problem?

Lol! Now I feel old. I wouldn't be living in the past would I? That display of color tvs and 2600s must have cost a small fortune back then.

Photographer Louis Psihoyos was suing Apple over artistic copyright infringement regarding a recent Apple TV advertisement. It used a wall of independent videos. The lawsuit has since been dropped. I thought it was interesting to revisit that old 1977 Sears Tele-Games commercial that did something very similar (showing 2600 games) twenty years ago. Perhaps Jobs was feeling nostalgic?

I am very disappointed to have been on the list and missed out on what may have been the last batch just because I didn't check my e-mail frequently enough. I think I'm going to go and cry now. Someone else has my Krokodile cart!

My two cents : I would be very upset to see classic hardware butchered to make a new product. I would much prefer enhancements/modifications to existing hardware or making all new hardware. Every time I see a 1200XL that's turned into a PC a part of me dies. Love the idea of furthering the hardware's potential though and can respect the difficult challenges in doing so.

Sure did, thanks. I've attached a zip containing the 600xl schematics converted to PNG format and I hope that's okay with the original author. 600xl.zip

Is there an easy way to view/convert those OrCAD PCX files into some other more accessible graphics format?

http://www.retrogames.co.uk/stock/assets/i...ed_Joystick.jpg

Yes, it would. This upgrade only adds the extended memory. I could make a version of this that would replace all the RAM in a 600XL, where in 512K mode, you would have 512K+64K full, and in 1M mode, it would be 1M-64K. Would anyone be interested in that? This new version that you could make - it would work with a stock 16K 600XL?

I know this would work: XL Memory Upgrade And, yes, I know my documentation sucks. I am working on writing up something better. I could offer help in installation, or even do it for you if you wanted to ship your 600XL to me. Great, thanks for the responses guys. MrMartian, Does that also require the 64KB upgrade to be installed first?

I would like to expand a new 600XL to 256KB of xe-compatible ram. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Is there anyone here who can perform such an upgrade (hardware+installation)? I know of some who could handle the installation, but what hardware schematics and/or products/parts are available/required? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for confirming this. I didn't realize there were different quality of keyboards on the 600/800xls. I am also planning on upgrading to an Ape Warp+ 32-in-1 OS. Will that provide 130xe compatibility? I've got an sio2pc and a flash cart on order!

I am getting back into the 8 bit Atari after many years. I selected an upgraded 600XL. It has the composite monitor mod and 256KB of ram. Basically just a smaller version of the 800XL. I see that some have mentioned how nice the keyboard is on the 800s. I've also read that the 1200XLs have the nicest keyboard of any Atari. Which is better?

yes yes yes yes yes!!!

Thanks Lemmi. I enjoyed watching these clips on Youtube. A few days later I wanted to show my girlfriend but they had been removed. Cheers.