Ian Primus

Yes. Radio Shack sells the adapter for a few bucks. The only problem then is that you'll have to manually plug and unplug the Atari/cable TV to switch, or buy an external cable switchbox. Again, Radio Shack should have those. The picture is generally better with this option, since you won't have as much interference. Those old switchboxes leak RF like a sieve. If you use the existing swithbox, you need two different matching transformers to wire it in line with a cable TV signal, and plug it into a modern TV. But then you'll be able to switch. The picture might be fuzzier too. I use the switchboxes in a few places simply because I already have a bunch of them, from accumulating video games for the last fifteen years. That, and if you have a really old TV, they're easier. One thing nobody has mentioned - since you have the Atari 2600jr, you'll need an RCA cable to connect it. Avoid the really cheap ones, be sure you use a halfway decent coaxial RCA cable. The cheap ones lack the shielding necessary for RF video, and the picture will have interference. -Ian

Exactly. And it also really depends on how badly the console was treated in a past life. I've brought some incredibly nasty, filthy consoles back from the dead. I had one where about half the connector was corroded, to the point where the corrosion had damaged the edge connector on the console's logic board. I had to take drastic measures to clean up the mainboard, and repair it's connector fingers before fitting a new connector. The casing got a good scrubbing in soapy water. After putting it all back together, it worked and looked like new. An NES that was just well-used but otherwise undamaged can be brought back to life with a simple cleaning and pin-bending, and should work just fine, provided the connector was fixed carefully, and no pins were bent crooked or too much. Another thing that kills Nintendos is the Game Genie. The circuit board is thicker than a standard game board, to allow it to make contact without being clicked down. Repeated use will cause the pins in the connector to get bent out of shape. Sooner or later, games only work with the Game Genie. Just goes to show that cheating doesn't pay And cleaning the games had become a ritual. I come home from the flea market with a couple 'new' games, sit down at my desk and take them apart, clean them up and put them back together. It's amazing how cruddy some games can get. I fixed more than a couple games that had food gunk on the connector and in the end. A Super Nintendo cartridge that someone clearly spilled a Coke in took quite a lot of cleaning, but I had that one working like new too. It's really a personal preference what kind of console to get - the toploader is overall more reliable 'as-is', and it's easy and small. The 'toaster' can be very reliable... if maintained and cared for. It also produces a better picture. The Famiclones work reliably, but the hardcore game geek can tell the difference... Or, just get all three, and decide for yourself -Ian

That fixed it! Thanks! -Ian

Tonight I've noticed that every time I refresh AtariAge, the timestamps on the recent posts change, going back exactly one hour. Then, refreshing it again brings them all to the proper time. Refreshing it a third time brings the post times back an hour again. And refreshing the fourth time fixes it. It's like the daylight savings time gets out of whack every other refresh. I'm using Mozilla Firefox on a Macintosh. -Ian

Here's a couple more pictures on how to connect the switchbox. The first one is on the back of the TV in my bedroom. It's an older model with the standard twin lead antenna termninals. The switchbox screws onto the VHF terminals. There is the other sort of 300ohm/75ohm matching transformer attached to the switchbox. A Nintendo RF adapter is screwed into that. Aplogies for the glare on the adapter. it's hard to get behind the TV. Here's a more modern TV, a small 12" jobbie that I use for testing. OK, so "modern" is a bit of a stretch, this is still late 80's, but it has the standard 75ohm F connector. This is the same sort of switchbox, just with the 300ohm to 75ohm matching transformer, plugged into the set's input. A nicer method is the F connector to RCA adapter, available at Radio Shack. I don't have one that's easy to show you right now. The only problem with this is that you lose your "switching" ability. -Ian

You need a 300 ohm to 75 ohm mathing transformer to use that switchbox. Here's what it looks like connected to the switchbox. You can get the black connector (300 ohm to 75ohm matching transformer) at Radio Shack. An alternative, you can get an RCA to F connector adapter, which replaces the switchbox entirely. There's another matching transformer that connects to the screw terminals marked "Connect to Antenna" on the switchbox. It had the two screwleads on one end, and an F connector recepticale on the end, that you can screw your cable connector into. -Ian

It really depends on the deck and the condition of the connector. I've had several that were developing corrision on the pins. I've even had a couple where the pins on the connector were corroded on the logic board end! Yeah, I could sit there and bend all the pins, and try to clean them, and hope for the best, but I've found that replacing the connector just works better, that's all. Personal preference really - I've bent connectors to fix them too, but it just never seemed to work or last as long as a new part. Also, when you bend the pins, it's easy to bend them crooked or too far, which can scratch the plating on the game cartridge fingers. For me, it's worth the extra couple bucks to have a reliable console. I may be an Atari geek - but I still love my Nintendo. -Ian

I grew up with the Gemstick and the Epyx 500, we didn't have any official Atari sticks. I liked both of those equally well, although I think I got most used to the Gemstick. I actually like the standard stock Atari controllers about the best though. So, these days, I use either the stock Atari stick or my homemade joystick constructed from arcade parts. -Ian

They could just be game carts without their cases, or they could be something else. Post pictures of them, and we can probably identify them. I haven't worked as much with the 7800, but on the 2600, the ROM chip faces the back of the console (where the wires connect), and the solder side faces you. I'm almost positive that it's the same for the 7800, but do check first -Ian

Yes. You just can't play the games without a controller Any Atari 2600 stick will work, you will only have the one fire button though. Sega Genesis controllers will also work - the B button is the primary fire button, and the other buttons won't work. Sega Master system controllers will also work - but I forget if both buttons work or not. -Ian

I know that this has already been menitoned - but the sound problem on the Famiclones is a big deal. Everything sounds tinny and harsh. When you get to the end of a level in Super Mario Bros, theres supposed to be the ringing as the time counts down, but on the Famiclone it's an annoying whiney tone. The Famiclone I have is a Yobo, sold as the "Retro-Bit". But I've heard the others are all pretty much the same. The cart slot is WAY too tight, and I worry about it damaging the connector fingers on the games. The controllers were terrible, but at least it accepts standard controllers. I came so close to buying the FC Mobile. But I didn't, partially because of the reversed buttons - even though I knew that swapping them would be a fairly simple hack - but mainly because of the afforementioned sound problem. It's really annoying, and I don't think I would be able to use it for long because of it. The cartridge slot, from the pictures I saw, seemed too close to the top of the unit. American NES carts are really tall compared to Famicom carts. I'd like to see the slot placed closer to the bottom of the unit, so it doesn't stick out as far. -Ian

The toploader is a nice unit, and works pretty well. But for me, nothing can replace the good ol' toaster. Put a new connector in it, and take good care of it, and it'll work well for you. But here's the number one rule of NES-ing : CLEAN YOUR GAMES! Never plug a dirty game into your deck. When you get home from the flea market with those games, clean them before you play them. You don't know where those cartridges have been! To clean an NES game, dip a q-tip in isopropyl alcohol and scrub one side of the connector vigorously. Be sure to clean the entire contact area. Flip the q-tip around and scrub it dry. Flip the game over and repeat on the other side of the connector with a fresh q-tip. Repeat until the q-tips stop coming out cruddy. Ensure no cotton fuzzies remain. You can't hurt the connector by scrubbing too hard with a q-tip. Use only isopropyl alcohol, the purest you can get - 91% is common and works well. Stay away from denatured alcohol, it's harder on the plastic. NEVER use abrasive cleaners such as Brasso or cooktop cleaner. They will strip the plating off the connector pins. Never use abrasives of any kind to clean a game - this includes erasers as well as sandpaper. For even better results, take the game apart and really scrub the connector. This requires a special tool for most carts - but some can be opened with a small flathead. Clean all your games thoroughly, and clean any new acquisitions before playing. This, combined with a new connector in the deck will reduce your problems to nearly zero. With my NES, I just throw a game in and it plays. No fiddling. This is good practice for all consoles, really, but it's almost required for the NES. The retro duo or similar famiclone is seriously a last resort, stranded on a long business trip with a serious need for a Nintendo fix sort of a solution. The sound is pretty awful, it's all tinny and harsh. I bought a Yobo FC a while ago. Worst $25 I ever spent. -Ian

You can definitely solder to coin cells - I've done it before. You just have to solder quickly. I was having a hard time getting the solder to stick, so I had to heat it more - and in this case, too much. I was aware of the potential danger, and was wearing a face mask. We don't have "Batteries Plus" or anything like that around here. Closest thing is Radio Shack, and they don't carry solder-tab CR2032's - I checked. I know that overheating the battery like that was stupid. But, it was a stupid move with planning - I had the proper safety equipment. I posted this so that other people are aware of the things that can happen when doing things like this. But if you're careful, and take safety precautions, you'll be fine. That said, yeah, if at all possible, avoid soldering to coin batteries. Get the ones with the solder tabs already fitted - you won't have to worry about exploding those when installing them. Or, if possible, use a battery holder. The problem with using a holder in a game cart is that the battery might come loose if the game is dropped - erasing the save. I might try fitting a holder to this game though, and doing some testing to see if it is possible to erase a save that way. -Ian

Update - I just checked my Sony monitor. Mine is a 1343MD, so it might be different, but mine doesn't have the internal/external sync option. Some do, some don't - and mine doesn't. So, that might not even be on your set. -Ian

There should be a switch on the back for sync - INT and EXT. Make sure it's not set to EXT. Otherwise, when a signal is detected, it'll be looking for the sync info on the dedicated line, and it won't display anything, becuse it has no sync signal. Wiggle the switch back and forth a few times, it might be dirty. Does it do it on all inputs? -Ian

Well, I just had a scary experience. I was givin a copy of "Mario All Stars" for the Super Nintendo that would not save. Upon opening the cartridge, I was suprised to find that the battery was actually still very strong - 3.2v - but the spot welds on the top that connected the positive terminal to the solder tabs had broken. "I'll just solder this back together, and it'll be fixed" I thought. Now, I've soldered to batteries plenty of times before, and never had a problem. It normally worked just fine. But not this time. I removed the battery from the board, and roughed up the top of the battery so the solder could sick. I then tried tinning it - but the solder refused to flow. It just balled up. Tried roughing it up more, cleaning it with alcohol, and tinning again. Still no go. It was at this moment that I thought to myself. "You can't overheat batteries - I read that they can explode!". So I put down the soldering iron, retrieved my full face mask, and put it on. More attempts to solder to the battery were failing, and I tried heating it even more. It was starting to look encouraging - the solder looked like it was about to flow. Then, PFOOOF!!! - the battery exploded. Bits of black battery crud went everywhere, along with the molten solder. I heard a 'plink' as the top of the battery landed on the floor. I stared at the bottom half of the battery on the bench for a minute, in disbelief. I took off my face mask and went to get the vacuum. I cleaned up the battery crud, and found the top cover of the battery, as well as the battery tab I was trying to solder to it. It never stuck. I was starting to think of other ways to get a battery onto this board when I looked over at my face mask on the bench. It's covered in molten solder drops. I'm definitely glad I took the time to use the proper safety equipment. Never, ever solder to batteries without wearing a mask. You can always buy another mask for ten bucks at the hardware store. A new face would cost a whole lot more. -Ian

Yep - you put it freshly back into my mind, and then when I bought this pile-o-games, I got annoyed all over again. I'd never owned any third party 5200 carts, and it saddened me to see that they didn't do any better than Atari did. Especially CBS Electronics - they came so close... then stuck the labels on backwards. -Ian

Hehe - they definitely do look awesome. If I track down some good adhesive paper, I'll definitely try these out. Actually, if anyone wants to send me all these carts, I'll gladly print out the labels, stick them on, and take a photo of how awesome they look -Ian

Different adhesives have problems on different surfaces. I have several boxes of these form-feed address labels that I bought at a Radio Shack clearance sale in the early 90's. They're Tandy brand labels, so who knows what the manufacturer is, and they cost me all of fifty cents a box. I've been using these labels for everything for years. All of my parts drawers are labeled with them, cut down to fit. Any time I need to stick a label on something, I use these. They stick great on everything... except floppy disks. I don't know what it is - but stick them to a disk, and they fall off in a couple weeks. So I went and I bought a package of Avery floppy disk labels. And those don't freaking stick either!!! Even on brand new disks, they fall off in less than month. They don't stick to video tapes either - I tried. I've had a similar problem with most other modern labels - except they fall off everything. And in at the office, we had some new packs of Imation disks - and the labels that come with those fall off too. I don't get it. It's like in the last ten years, everyone has forgotten how to make adhesives. Those Dymo labels fare pretty well, but the problem is that the letters it makes aren't quite small enough for descriptive labels. "Space Invaders" would fit, but "The Dreadnaught Factor" would be too long. -Ian

Ah. OK. 'cause, you had me really worried there. I post these things to try to help people with their Atari problems - not cause them! If you caused a short, you might have blown the voltage regulator. Just because it gets hot, doesn't mean it's working. If you had a multimeter, I could walk you through it. These carts use mask PROMs. They are not erasable. It is possible to fry one, but it requires some serious frying. Now, if you shorted the voltage regulator and sent unregulated 9v down the 5v rail, you could very well have killed it. But, again, that's still pretty unlikely. I once tried to kill one, I took it apart and held the boad in my bare hands. I was wearing socks, and shuffled up and down the carpeted hall about five times (winter time). I then held the board up to the light switch cover, and got it to draw an inch long blue spark from some of the ROM pins to the screw. Plugged it back in, damn, still Pac-Man. I did this four times - it died on the fourth try. So, if you managed to kill a cart with a dismantled Atari, you are now the first person I have ever known that has done that. I keep a couple of "test carts" on my workbench - Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Combat. Combat is great because you can easily test all the directions and the fire button, and you don't have to worry about dying in the game. Space Invaders is great for testing the color/bw switch, and the difficulty switches. Pac-Man is good for adjusting the color pot. And any of the three will do an admirable job of keeping my coffee from leaving a ring on the bench. Well, now you know what's in an Atari. I'm sorry that you killed Pheonix - that's a very good game. But, if you are interested in learning basic troubleshooting, borrow a multimeter from someone and I can walk you through checking the voltage regulator. -Ian

You sure you connected the right pins, and on the right chip? Those two pins are simply the buffer for the controller's fire button. The absolute worst you could have done would be to damage the TIA chip, and you'd have to have had a pretty good static charge to do that. Unless you connected the two pins at the lower _left_ which could have killed something. These are the pins you connected, correct? (circled) Now the console doesn't work at all? Does it just display a black screen, or does the power switch do nothing? I seriously doubt that you killed the cartridge. That would be a real feat. I once tried purposely to kill the ROM in Pac-Man, it's quite hard to do. Try cleaning the connector and trying it in a known good Atari. I'm sorry you damaged your console - I should probably have drawn pictures, and not relied on text to explain these sorts of things. I really should put together an "Atari repair faq", with pictures and pinouts. -Ian

I was thinking more along the lines of: Simple, fast, neat. And they fit on the end of the cart. Also, since they're pretty sturdy plastic, you don't have to worry about them getting all wrinkled from the seam in the cartridge housing. -Ian

Take the thing apart, and examine the joystick connector solder pads. Resolder them if they look at all dull. If they're good, then you have further digging to do. Remove the shielding from the board, and hook the bare board up to the power supply, TV and joystick, and put in a game that uses the fire button. Look at the board - there are three large chips, and one small one. The small chip should say "CD4050" or something very similar. It has sixteen pins. Examine this chip. It has a notch in one end. Look at it so the notch is to the top. Using a small flat-blade screwdriver, a paper clip, or similar bit of metal, connect the two pins at the lower right (pins 9 and 10). While connecting these two pins, push the button on the joystick and see if it works. -Ian

474? You sure? I always thought that the number of offical 2600 games was "a whole bunch". <grin> -Ian

The funny thing is that about half the time when I find 5200 carts, they are sporting a homemade end label. The games I picked up in this lot all had end labels that were made from that cloth tape, with the names of the games written in red pen. Last few carts I bought had typewritten labels, made by taping bits of paper to the cartridge with scotch tape. I'll probably just use the Dymo label maker and make some legible end labels. -Ian