Bankswitch pcb in AtariAge Store

[Bankswitch pcb in AtariAge Store]

Are the 2600 bankswitch pcb's in the AtariAge store the same for 8/16/32K eproms? Or is there a separate pcb for each size eprom?

There is a different PCB for each density of EPROM. When you purchase one of their PCB's, you select what size EPROM you will use with it.

--Selgus

Not quite - the PCB for each size is identical, but the PLD has a different fusemap for each size.

whats a pld.

[benheck's NES 72 pin replacement]

UPDATE: I tried fabricating the connector Ben used, but the contraption I made fell apart in my hands as soon as I tried a Color Dreams cart on it. It's off to Game X Change to see if they can't sell me another ZIF slot. I know why the one I have isn't working--it's because I can't reach the upper set of pins with anything...and they must have finally gave out.

 

I also want to see if I can find a pinout for that lockout chip and maybe learn how it works. If not, eventually I'll throw in a toggle switch to enable or disable it.

you can extract the pins if youre carefull and steal ones from a old nes connecotor then there is a super hard but effective way to hold back and push w super small jewler screwdriver then remove and replace making a part bent in a way that still works but stick down more!!! you might need 3 connectors to do it but its worth it..

[benheck's NES 72 pin replacement]

What I was wondering is if there's a way to disable the CPU reset, though. Currently the only way I know is to cut pin 4. I took the entire pin off of my first lockout, so while I had the NES open tonight I replaced the chip. Pin 4 is now folded up out of the way.

 

However, if there's a way to interrupt the reset after it comes from the chip, then the lockout chip can sit there trying to reset the CPU all day and nothing will happen. You could then leave the chip enabled, which allows an NWC cart to load automatically instead of having to throw a switch on the console itself.

 

I sanded down the original 72 pin unit and put it back in. It works a little easier, but it will have to be replaced soon. I think the part number for the replacement is CX-7800, right?

acroding to ben hecks page you just leave chip intact then ground that pin4 now do what i always did hold reset wilst powering on and it will stick most times!!!!!!!!!! sometimes i put a dime in reset button to remind myself dont push dime in all way or you have to go get it the holding reset should work..

also just use a blow game genie and solder the connector to the pcb w jumpers so it can wiggle all it wants I did this w my b/w portable seethrew tv on its power input plug its still stock plus jumper wires so the traces can be loose and it still connects..

[NES FC Yobo Game Console Question]

I bought this FC3 (new) a couple months ago and it sucks. All the games are compatible that I've tried (NES / SNES / Genesis....don't have any G-Factor), but the controllers are proprietary and the screen clarity isn't as good as an original NES or SNES or Genesis using normal RF connectors, much less RCA plugs.

 

Since I own all the original systems I'm planning to just keep using them. This thing feels....dirty....somehow.

whell hacking a nes controler is pretty easy but you might need two wire holes cause you need 9 wires up dn l r a b select start...

on mine i scrathed the non grounded mesh on the board for the a b buttons and used wires to SWAP them then soldered so a and b are normal!! this improved sysytem also did you try a genisis controler to see if it worked?.

I wouldnt expect you to try to ruin a nes controler but mabie the joystick input chip is same as nes just differnt plug if so you could buy used nes on ebay cheap even if its broke and steal joystick connector and add one then you would esentally have a top loader!! ..

[How to make Atari 2600 8K homebrew carts (Telegames)?]

I bought some Telegames carts (PAL versions of Intellivision games for the Atari 2600) to put homebrews/hacks on them. The carts have eproms instead of roms on the board so you can desolder the eproms, delete them (or use new ones) and burn other games on it.

 

It was easy for the 4K Eproms (2732) but it was not for the 8K (and higher – 2764, 27128). No picture on my Atari 2600. Is it probably a bankswitching problem or is it something else?

 

The original games on the 8K Eproms are "Kung Fu Superkicks" and "Quest for Quintana Roo" and I want to burn "Galaxian ND" based on "Atari Galaxian" on it.

 

(I have a PAL console.)

 

Can someone help me to make 8K carts?

The banks in these carts are swapped. You will need to break the 8k image into two 4k chunks, and concatenate them in reverse order.

 

If you wish to use 27128 or 27256 EPROMs, you need to make sure Vpp is high (cutting traces and/or soldering jumper wires might be needed.)

I have a cart i got from dreamcatcher I think thats his him anyway the cart says chris wilkson on its silk screen and has a pal on the back side witch says

whell 1st off it has a amd symbol on it then numbers are PALCE20V8H-25PC/4

then 9506cba J

I had him put snoopy on it cause i hadnot played that in a long time I one day got the burner working and made a copy of my hackomatic II hacked asteroids basicly © 1981 atari asteroids it worked but I havent been able to do it again since does the bank switch rom like those types or can they get stuck????????????? ...

or do i need to concatenate witch I get even more confused.

then DO I SEND in hex at 9600 bps to old 1980's burner then switch to binary and push program any help would be apreciated there is a 27512 in it w asteroids and it still works the original one he used is a SSS M2764 so since its running a copy on a 512 and both work I think i must be forgeting something as to what i send or how..

question does win98's hyperterminal work better than winxp's or should i use something else I did it at 7,1,none and it said file done witch means it took it properly I just dont know if i sent it correctly do any of you know of a smaller file I should try that is easyer to get working I can send a picture of burner if needed..

[TV PLUG AND PLAY Devices Stand alone.]

Here is product new last time I was on amazon they had new ones I know this should be in auctions but amazon is not actually acution..

http://www.amazon.com/Namco-Plug-Portable-...iews/B00025YP9K

[NES FC Yobo Game Console Question]

5 times better then the cheaply made knock-off Famicoms that the Nintendo company made in the 80's.

 

That makes NO sense what-so-ever

 

Nintendo cannot "knock-off" their own design. There are only 3 designs, Famicom, NES, NES/Famicom 2. Those are the official ones.

 

Something makes me wonder if you're just acting anti-japanese, which is not acceptable. You've already made a comment on how fantastic the Yobo console was simply because it was Chinese manufactured, and I know that the Chinese do not look favourably on the Japanese so I think I have a valid cause for potential concern.

 

Of course, you may simply have made some sort of mistake, but that stands to be seen, what do you have to say for your comments?

not acceptable? he is anti nintendo ! youre right famicom just means family computer I agree DID YOU ALL NOW THE TATIO MINI VADER PCB I GOT ON EBAY was to be included with all TATIO arcade jamma cabinets STATED BY LAW mabie all Japanese COIN OP JAMMA CABINETS HAD TO have the TEST device so mabie japanese video game law is super strict in how you come out w a new console for export.... not to offend anyone but the other day i saw a nintendo famicom PONG unit so I am in belief that famicom means familycomputer and is a nintendo word... I always thought it was famicon cause of my dislexia...

[NES FC Yobo Game Console Question]

What??? The Famicom was always a Nintendo console IIRC. I really don't understand what you're talking about. I have a Yobo, and if it's five times better than anything, I'd be amazed, the controllers are weak, the console is made of cheap plastic, and the compatibility isn't great.

 

Writing this I'm wondering if I'm feeding a troll...

 

 

Wrong Nintendo ran off a Famicom IIRC; you got it backwards N8LITTLFIELD... NES was an american remake of the popular Super Famicom upgrade in Japan. Nintendo adapted the tech and added a new feature, a "block chip" thats why the screen goes green everyonce in awhile.

green mine goes blue or just flashes game start for a couple of secs

[NES FC Yobo Game Console Question]

What??? The Famicom was always a Nintendo console IIRC. I really don't understand what you're talking about. I have a Yobo, and if it's five times better than anything, I'd be amazed, the controllers are weak, the console is made of cheap plastic, and the compatibility isn't great.

 

Writing this I'm wondering if I'm feeding a troll...

does a nes to famicom finger board actually work?????????????????? yes i agree the plastic is crap i had to rip the door off and when i opened it as the guy gave it to me he said dont expect mutch from the plastic and said the card pcb would boot w out cart plastic I already scratched the jumper so i had to remelt the cart back anyway,,,... as far as the original nes lock chip it just pissed me off as the swing crock... being that galoobs mail address is stacy mn no wonder they used gold plated pins like NINTENDO should have .. nintendo lost big when they had to give out the replacement conectors what a cheap gesture they shoud have given us famicom's not the remaning stock of crap they wernt going to use any way after we caught them price fixing nes tetris vs the atari tetris and the fact that atari was dumbenough to actully use the seal of quality I smelled crock Atari was big on © in the 1st place just look at asteroids ©1982 vs the original one witch instaboots... it just made all atari tengen® games worth five times more than a Nintendo tetris ok exept for now mabie TERTIS it self might be worth more cause its fun and addictive.

my thing looks like a knock off playstation and sais game station nothing else only cost me $ 10. had to meet some local yokal at gas sataion was a craigs listing I was SACRED the whole time ...

[NES FC Yobo Game Console Question]

...which I just realized is also in his signature as well.

...which I just realized is also in his signature as well.

It amuses me that even though I've set my preferences to ignore the silly little boy, all 14 lines of his multi-color signature still shine through.

hmm I am glad im already a member so i can just log on and reply!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! anyway there is a way around the nintendo flashing chip you can solder two pins on a chip I forget witch one my dad was looking at there patent one day for some other electronic thing i forget but he was only interested in the ©ting of and how the pattent protection worked and i said Atari forgot to remove the nintendo's quality seal witch was tradmarked I went HMM a nother Ploy to control video game market w encrypted crock alerts anyway you just short those two pins then power on holding reset down then let go and it mostly didnt flash its like authing a hacked cable box ( wonce turned on and it works it stays untell you power off and LOSE ) auth.. lame but if its a normal cart then its probably the connectors nintendo was the fkn stupedist company by making a switching cartridge connector that has to be the most dumest design I ever seen you DONT half unconnect a cartridge when its on the switch should have held the reset but no they were so concerned about bootleg witch only helps sales of the original machine like the atari 2600 once it had the mini jr's more sales continued in the US untill they ran it into the gnd thinking ms had competing witch were completly differnt platforms and had no reason to think someone would actually use a atari to run any thing more than a game on or simple things they were soley made for fun and still are!!!!! l,,,

anyway I had and wish i still did a AJ game action replay one of the 1st see threw nintendo game rewinder carts w 6 year battery then i permmantly mounted into nes removed METAL LAME BAR OF CROCK and screwed the game genie into that cartridge and since it was screwed in pushed down farther than normal it never flashed EVER plus my new free settelment connector from TETRIS NINTENDO price fixing settelment based on my serial # being low enough flashed more than the one i bent the pins on !!!! I wish i had had the $ for a top loader famicom back then as nintendo was dumb for not doing that top load w gold connectors in the begining shows how obstenant nintendo actually is changing donkey kong and all the plexiglass marquees along w having © 1983 the © didnt bother me but to change not being able to stand under ladder made the game so lame i didnt want to play eventually any operator who wanted to make $ changed the roms back!!!! but kept the original marquee for them selfs so its like nintendo by mistake makes collectables .. so just permantly mount youre game genie then you should have no problems since the game genies connectors are gold and if that still dont work just do a wire wrap mod to permanltly jumper all connections from game genie to pcb this way it can move all around and who cares!!!!!!!!! hmm i wonder if game genie needs cleaning mine dont work!!! I also just got a bootleg nintendo

so called GAME STATION no words on box exept pictures of shrek and a green 2 complete w princes picture witch has absoultly nothing to do w knock off famicon the sound is the same but someone must have spent hours on pika ( super mario brothers 8bit hacked to look like rabbit they changed bricks and music exept when you can shoot after 2nd flower it sounds same) there were subosed to be 9,999,999 games on it but guy who sold it to me said like 10 it actually only has 3 games on it and a lot of differnt starting points for TRACK AND FEILD

it has pika (super mario hack) same game play then duck hunt then variations skeet shoot starts duck hunt right on skeet shooting then it has high jump long jump all trak and feild start points then i screwed around w jumper and changed it back to say 19 games instead of the 9,999,999 games but i wonder if the chip in the blob on the cart can hold 9,999,9999 or does it just repete them cause i think mabie it at the most probably holds 79 I actually saw a joystick that did hold 79 nintendo games it said 79,999,999 i bet that jumper could be scratched off too so now since it has 60 pins and the japan famicom has 60 pins im on the look out for famicom carts or pinball or a famicom converter finger board!!!! ....

the bad things about game station 1st off its a piece of crap the plastic crumbles if youre to rough on it I bet im going to have to mount cart hole pcb onto a peice of wood just to keep it from breaking and the joysticks are only 2 feet long so as the rca and its MONO ok so is nes the other pin is subosedly RF i never even tried and the gun for sakes sakes is only 2 feet if you get close enough to the tv w the infra red led the game falls off anything and the power pack plug is 2 feet to so unless youre right next to a 13 inch tv youre sol I did however use a set of long rca cords and a extention cord and was able to put onto table im afraid the power pack will pull it down off table it it will crack in half its so brittle im thinking of making my own MAKE type box for it so i can mount the cart connector better If i get a famicom converter I will probably permantly solder it so i can wiggle all i want and it wont screw up .. I do however like the rapid fire sometimes althogh I had to solder reverse the a and b buttons cause YOU JUST CANT UNLEARN 8bit super mario after years of playing the a and b buttons have to be where there subposed to be!!! the mod was easy i just scratched the non gnded a and b buttons off then resoldered them w wires backwards it worked.. I was able to get farther in pika smb1

[WTB: Working DK Board]

Picked up a minty DK Jr cabinet recently, and want to put a DK board in it. Must be in working condition, don't care if it's an original or double DK. Looking to pay normal prices, not ebay prices. PM me!

try mikes arcade.com they have dk jr boards and high score pcbs and double dkong mods too I would get one there cause you would know it would work.... it would be expensive but not to bad.

[Say, did you guys hear about that Adventure 2 game?]

I dont know whats wrong w atari age but it would not update posts untill the next day thats why i made multiple posts to a post I already posted to!!!

[What's your favorite stand-alone console?]

Pacman Mini Plug play device..

[TV PLUG AND PLAY Devices Stand alone.]

I decided to make a new topic on Plug and Play devices here is some pictures of my plug play pacman and my atari joystick on the pacman Joystick I included pictures of where to hook a 6vdc power pack to pcb...

I decided to show the serial # 2194-TN-N its a Pacman Plug and play.

also there is pictures of the 1 pl paddle witch i added 2player paddles an original atari paddle set.

[namco pacman pocket edition]

I actually bought one of these they are cool I play it a lot it seems its exactly like the regualr pacman ones but smaller and more collectable I havent seen one again so i am glad i got it..

[Atari Super Pong Power Adapter?]

I just used a compaq computer power supply cause i needed 5v for the pong unit steady 5v w no ripple makes the paddles not move around the screen by them selfs and i needed 12v dc for the monitor for my pong unit...

you can use any computer power supply on new ones the green wire on the big connector gets gnded to wake power supply up older 286/486 ones come on when you switch the power switch on... I also like the computer power supply cause if it shorts out it can just be unplugged and plugged back in wout damage from quarters rolling around the cabinet..

here is some pics

[Atari PnP TV Games Joystick Parts Useful?]

Oddly enough, I think the rubber-cap carbon dots would be activated in the same manner, by the same mechanism, in this case, if you follow me.

 

I have one of these sticks, I just ran a thread about it recently. I had the entire thing open, and repaired one of the failed carbon dots with a left over carbon dot from an RSI SI stick. When I had it open, I remember noting that the stick handle core itself was pretty much like the original. But, again, without opening it again, I couldn't quote you that it was *exact*. It was very similar, though. White plastic, a ring at the bottom, with reinforced areas of plastic where you would put pressure on the directional switches as you moved the stick in one of the 8 diretionals.

 

But it doesn't use the metal click domes.

 

For $3, If you want to pick it up for me, let me know. I'm willing to repair these things... and the games are decent, if not perfect.

yeah just buy it then look for a 6v dc power pack and rip apart solder the power pack to the battery

terminal input wires and you have a instant plug play atari joystick that actually works i suggest you buy a extention cord so you can actually plug the power pack into the outlet and still have the thing infront of the tv as most power packs are short wired but for $2.95 thats less than the one i got for $4.95 so youres would be ½ off to mee I would get it just to get the built in games..

[Joystick with Pong]

here is my homebrew desktop PONG unit the unit is made from a normal atari Pong unit the last picture is what it looked like before I modded it although the PONG unit is intact the one inside the homebrew arcade unit is actually a differnt one but was the same exact model!!! I never made a coin door so i have to unscrew drywall screws to get to the $ I dont play very mutch since all my freinds played it ONCE and then said lame but at 1st they wanted to play I had to fork out the 25¢ but didnt mind I was thinking i could sell it but then thought it would make a better peice of furnature than a sellable device besides noone plays pong anymore at least not in the bar ..

But I bet if i could have made one of those a long time ago it would have made some real $.

the paddles I used came from a local thrift store They used to have a whole box I said hmm I always wanted to make my own PONG unit so i did... the box of paddles has sold out ... I luckally got two before they were gone...

the good news is even though i didnt know the compaq power supply was sideways till now is that now i know it is mabie some day i will mount the power supply but since it never moves I dont worry about it to mutch I do however still like the orange screen I was going to put space invaders in it but it wont fit and I didnt have the \keychain when i made the project.. the real reason did it was to use the 25¢ unit.... I got the 2nd pong unit from the same good will in hopkins MN both were less than $10 I think one was only $2.00 how could I pass that up!!!..

[Questions about Pong Cocktail table]

Wow, a four-player Pong doubles game!

 

Is this unit coin-operated (or meant to be)? If so, this should be posted to the Arcade Coin-ops forum. Even if it was not made as a coin-op, it looks enough like one that it may have much in common with similar coin-op units.

 

Regarding cleaning: yes, if you can remove and disassemble the potentiometers (a.k.a. pots) in the controllers and clean them, there is a good chance that the jumpiness will go away. If you're lucky, they may even be of a form factor that is still available (unlike those of the VCS paddle controllers) so you could replace them if cleaning doesn't help.

 

Regarding "gotchas": I only know of the one big gotcha that anything with a CRT picture tube in it has -- the CRT itself is in effect a big capacitor, which can store a charge of several thousand or tens of thousands of volts, even after the unit is unplugged for months. This can kill or seriously injure anyone unfortunate enough to contact it. There is a thick wire that goes to the CRT anode contact, under what looks like a rubber suction cup at one end of the wire. This wire, and the opening in the side of the CRT under the "suction cup", as well as the flyback transformer at the other end of the wire, are where the high voltage is, so don't mess with them if you don't know what you're doing.

 

sounds like you have a 1st generation maganavox oddsy1 witch had joysticks w two paddles one for up down and one for left right so you could take the joysticks out and either replace the pots or re adjust the wipers on the pots then put the joysticks back in the panel... this would require you to unsolder joysticks modules and fix the pots then replace and resolder wires so i would lable all input wires as to what there connected to now w small peices of tape so you know what wires goto when you remove joystick or paddles to repair or clean them the wipers on the pot variable reistors can be rebent down but be carefull not to break the wiper but if you clean w paper towel and windex then rebend the wiper in the pot then put pots back together then replace to game unit it will work like a new paddle for a atari!!! most joysticks pre 1982 were just two pots one for up down and the other for left right but now they opticle but some computer joysticks still use analog pots!!..

[Atari Keychain Games from "Basic Fun": Stay Away!]

Well, I thought they would at least make fun Christmas tree ornaments, and they do!

 

I know I've paid more that $15.00 for a lot of the ornaments we have, so I didn't mind. I wish Hallmark would make actual Atari ornaments, that would be pretty sweet. You could have a tiny heavy sixer, maybe some mini carts......

I modded a tv to permanltly take a keychain and put a zenith Cable box rf modulator inside the battery compartment pic2

I forgot to post the pictures of my tv mod

1st pic is paddle infront of tv its stealing power from in menu.

2nd is zenith rf mod.

3rd pic is of warlords one of my favouirte games.. even though it does suck compared to the PADDLE jakks version it still is a cool game for keeping the tv instead of throwing the tv away I now have a use for the tv again since the analog tuner inside the tv is useless At least i had a reason to Steal A rf modulator from a cable box... the tv is only b/w but it gets a good picture w the rf mod going directly into the antenna connection soldered plus it still gets regular tv for now at least.

SO even though it cost $14 I figured it gave the tv a new lease on life and since the keychain modlue battery compartment steals power from the tv's power pack I dont ever need batteries again. Plus the tv is 12v and i could run off car lighter plug or 1amp hour battery so they are the perfect mod for this tv when and if i find the asteroids keychian/atrari joystick I will post a update picturre to this post the previous post I forgot to opload pictures to so i put them here.. I didnt mean to say I wasnt mad that the games sucked I just figured they were trying to get them out for that christmas season cause in 2006 Atari hype was rampent w the plug play joysticks and the FB II's so I think the keychains must have been relesased to early before they could be rev F instead of rev a witch we all know sucks but since they failed basic fun probably lost money on the whole keychain so they probably wont release a fixed version but that would be cool if you could buy a 1 game keychain for $10 that actually has a REAL game on it I would buy one.. as far as the realistic look of the keychain they look real enough.. what do you expect from a keychain it wouldnt fit into a gumball machine cause of the battery pack so if not for the batterypack crock the game probably would have been a better version but they probably ran out of budget mabie they made the meny 1st and ran out of time before christmas to revamp game versions or the sound emulation jsut wouldnt fit into the small form factor who knows But you can bet it had to do w $ remember if the keychain costed $25 it proibably would have had 10 games in it the fact they had some at target for $14 but the keychains i only saw at wallmart I was happy they had them cause I didnt even know they had even made a keychain so they suck but at least in 20 years i can say i have a working Atari keychain witch actully plays warlords and break out as for the pong w out 2 players why even bother to turn it on..

[Atari Keychain Games from "Basic Fun": Stay Away!]

I was thinking about learning to mold parts and do an improved inside for better mini sticks. I don't have a clue right now how to go about this.

just do what i did rip off the joystick throw it away and the rubber ring too then take a REAL atari joystick and wire it to the buttons since the atari joystick has a longer cord the wires hanging out shouldnt matter if its for PLAYING then the keychain wont matter I did this w a gemstick a atari compatible knock off atari joystick and it works great the menu and reset buttons are intact and i use it w my b/w tv w the built in zenith rf mod built in so I can change from asteroids w the modded atari joystick permantly soldered to the mini keychain joystick and fire button inputs and swap to the paddle keychain leaving the video /battery pack permantly soldered to the TV's tuner 5v line I stole the 12v for the zenith rf mod from the input power pack for the tv its b/w but asteroids color only makes the rock colored anyway and since the tv signals are going static I figured the keychain would be a good hack/mod for this tv I decided to take some pictures I cant seem to find the joystick but If I find it after my brother remodels his basement I will post picture I did however find a

joystick a centipede /yars revenge in the package oh whell at least the tv still has a use now ..

[Atari Keychain Games from "Basic Fun": Stay Away!]

I was seriously considering buying the Paddle Keychain online, but because of the comments on this thread, I decided not to. I love buying things for my keychain and I carry all kinds of weird things on it: a flashlight, a compass, an electronic blackjack game, etc. I also love classic gaming, especially Atari (I bought FB2 even though I already had a 2600 with 150+ cartridges). I am pretty much the target market for this product. I guess Atari & Basic Fun blew it.

 

What I can't comprehend is the decision to go to the "NES-on-a-chip" route, which required programming "simulated" versions of Atari 2600 games in an NES environment. I may be speculating here, but didn't this decision for short-term savings actually cost more in the end? (in terms of lost sales, and the cost for paying a programmer + QA team to oversee the coding, etc).

 

Curt's FB2-on-a-chip that only required 1 internal AA battery sounded much better. If the size of the unit was such an issue, a AAA battery could have been used instead (the drawback being that the battery life is reduced, of course). Instead, you have this poor NES-on-a-chip immitation that needs THREE AAA batteries plugged to the unit from an external pack. I don't think this makes the unit very portable.

 

If I was Atari/Basic Fun, I would have done the following:

 

-FB2 on a chip (no need to re-program the games)

-Only 1 AAA battery needed

-10 original 2600 games for each of the joystick version

-10 original 2600 games for the paddle version

 

Sell it for $14.99 and people on this forum would have enthusiastically bought this quality product at that price. This model would probably cost less than the one that was put out because there would be no need to write new code (save for a menu system) or require the external battery pack.

 

 

I found the email from the Basic Fun representative laughable. Typical "pass-the-buck" mentality BS that permeates modern corporate culture these days, reminds me of a boss that I used to work for who underpaid everyone, and kept blaming the company's problems on ex-employees who had the gall to quit for better prospects.

that would be cool but if you could figure out how to produce a product for $14 that actually woudl do that then tell them how to do it I like the FB II idea I dont know why they didnt just make a joystick 10 player type w a SD stick hole and a 2nd joystick port or jsut reuse the FB case It would be nice just to beable to buy flashback joysticks even w out games to get the joysticks for my atari collection but to expect a company to produce a product from idea to production using cheap china proccess would probably be way harder then we would think i bet it cost more than it was worth to make those keychain joysticks but on the other hand the sound in fb frogger cart sound same to me so youre all right wtf couldnt they just get more sound into asterioids I think i know why 1st off the joystick breaking whell DUH ITS a keychain about $3 worth of a keychain probably was subposed to cost $20 witch failed mysrably cause we could care less about the keychains cause we snapped up the flashback II's mabie its a good thing i didnt open the 3rd keychain cause its still mint in the package witch is what i bet they expected them to be anyway I bet they ran out of memmory cause they had to make that fuken stupid menu witch i think was the dumest thing they could ever have done they could have just had a game select menu that simply said basic fun then game 1 game 2 to let all extra avalible memmory for sound I bet that that asteroids game is 3k cause its not the same you cant have as many rocks on the screen at the same time and the sound never stops the sound emulation is just lame mabie if they picked a game not so suckky like milipede witch used a little more memmory than asteroids mabie they could have used the FB asteroids version witch i know is 8k cause my bootleg REal cartridge can be swapped and it dont even lock up.. so I agree the games could have had more better sound

and the joystick could have just as easly had a namco pacman mini type joystick witch not the same as a real atari joystick would have worked better but I think they were just what they were subposed to be a desk item paper weight or keychain the joystick should have just had a long rubber peice instead of the plastic witch just breaks off in pocket at least the paddle can be used as a keychain at 1st i thought the paddle was cool untill i had to plug it into the battery pack witch i had to take apart and fix the switch and I even had to replace some of the crappy china wires witch broke and needed soldered again I did however like the battery design witch would be good for a camping trip but didnt like the crappy asteroids game they could have just put adventure in there its only 4k but mabie the paddle and keychian games are actually nes ports!!!!!!!!!!!!! chomped onto the F/b menu system as a playable menu game instead of loading stella into a nes cart memmory hole witch explanes the crappy sound and the lame game play..... why didnt they at least get the sound right for asteroids and not have 2 games I would have been satified w asteroids if it was REALe emulation and yars revenge on the FB II the other yars game locks up all the time and deluxe asteroids flips on some of my tv's anyway I just like the keychains for modding purposes and got exactly what i expected a puny keychain w a puny game.. I didnt even expect the games to be as crapy as they were But the asteroids game is kind of fun HMM i wonder what the crappy original atari pacman would have sounded like.. I bet you could pass threw the ghosts.. I think basic fun should just let us download a emulator for the keychains as a reward for having to settle w more games instead of real emulation AT least the FB II lets you put a cart hole and even gives you the pin outs and it actually works the sound even sounds right.. but what do you expect from a $10-15 keychain you have to remember they had to design the thing prototype it make the custom chip blob and then make the button menu reset button and the battery/video pack and they also had to make pal/ntsc too I was amazed the product even made it to production let alone survived wall mart long enough to actually be a product.. whell i guess ET did the same thing but I wouldnt buy et even if you paid me to..

[Atari Keychain Games from "Basic Fun": Stay Away!]

If by "boycott" you mean "don't buy it," well -- yeah. That's my default setting for poorly-made, exploitative crap. In case you haven't noticed, that describes lots of the retro game cash-ins we've seen over the years. Quality toys like the Flashback 2 are the exception to the rule.

You're right ... those of us who care that these are poorly-made and untrue to the original games have already made up our minds not to buy. But even those who don't care about those things should still refuse to buy them because of the unfair comments Jacob Rose cited above. Any company that spreads lies like that doesn't deserve anyone's hard-earned money, even if it is only $15 to $20.

 

A "boycott" isn't going to be particularly effective. Why? Because the people who buy this crap from Wal-Mart and Hot Topic aren't scouring the AtariAge boards for opinions and reviews before spending fifteen bucks on funny little toys. Basic Fun knows this and they'll make their $$ with or without us.

True, but people are being ripped off, and I still think it's only right to do as much as possible to get the word out. Fortunately, nobody has to scour the AtariAge boards to be duly warned: if you do a Google search for the words atari keychain right now, this thread shows up at the top of the list. It's possible that those who don't even know about AtariAge can find their way here just by doing a little research.

wow i cant belive youre actually giving them crap think about the fact that the chip that they fit into the keychain is so small the i was impressed they actually got it to work PLus the fact that have you ever made a product and got it to production and then sold it to wallmart I bet that would be harder than you thought anyway I like the mini paddle game I know the sound sucks for asteroids but hey its a $14 keychain what do you expect from a single chip blob besides i needed a small video game to put inside my 4 inch b/w tv witch will be useless after june cause the tuner is now worthless I decided to put a Zenith cable box rf modulator inside the battery compartment and then hook a keychain battery compartment permanantly into the tv so now i can just plug the paddle into the tv and it steals power from the tuner and I also took a crappy gemstick atari compatible joystick and fixed the crappy asteroids joystick witch broke 10 minnutes after opening the thing my brother broke it instantly I basicly knew that would happen and actually expected it I think they thought they would be more of a collector item than thinking someone would actully play the thing or even open it thats why my other paddle is mint inside the plastic not opened and i plan not to open it the asteroids joystick I ripped appart to see the blob and was not impressed exept that they got the whole thing onto that mini chip I did however find two test jumpers one just makes it go black or PAL mode and the other one makes orange and brown rainbow pattern so i decied to hook the joystick keychain to the bootleg real atari gemstick SO now it has a regular sized original type joystick and it is actaully easyer to play the game is slow as hell and has no difficulty settings and millipede sucks and centipede would have been a better game to choose you would have think they would have just used adventure witch at least would have made the keychain worth buying I only bought mine cause wallmart was remodling and i thought they were clearing them out and thought cool mabie those would be cool to hook to the b/w tv I dont play them anymore and probably wont uness i get super board.. I do like the paddle version cause the break out game is kind of fun

[pong system repair]

i recently bought an old pong system and iv been having some trouble wih it, its not an atari one, its called APF tv fun im pretty sure, but i was hoping id find some help her anyways, when im playing it the paddle often jolt up and down randomly, its not to big a problem and its still playable but it just gets annoying when it screws you up every once in a while. i think the contacts for the knobs are just dirty but i took it apart and they werent exposed, i thought id get some feedback before i do anything else to it because i really dont know alot about it and dont want to break it. any help is apreciated, thanks.

From what you've described, I agree that the potentiometers in the paddle are in need of cleaning.

 

Take a look around this site for the keywords "paddle" and "jitter" to get some ideas on how people go about cleaning potentiometers in the Atari 2600 paddle controllers. Your potentiometers are likely to be very similar.

If youre very carefull you can use a snippers to bend the cover off the pot then whipe ring w paper towel be carefull then carefully bend the whiper down a little more then wipe this off carefull not to kink metal then when you put back to gether use a large needle nose to bend tabs back this will work like at least one time and make pot tight as new mabie better than new... this will definanlty fix the gitter problem.... mostly the wipers get carbon gunk on them making it slip cause the grease they use to make wiper spin more easly gets on the wiper and all over the pot ring making a carbon mess and making the pot gitter I have done this with my atari paddles and some volume pots before and it always makes it work way better just dont bend wiper to far as it will scrape and break then you are sh out of luck although you could always just get a atari paddle off ebay and take the 1meg ohm pots out and use them in the pong unit witch would probably work just as good as the ones it came with..

[Atari 2 Player Paddle Plug and Play Manual Needed - Thanks]

I can print them off from here. I just thought there may be a site with them scanned or typed in - thanks!

It would seem in minnesota In the summer and other times of the year the atari joysticks disspaier but near christmas they mysterously re appier . ALSO I have actually done a hack to the one player paddle and the menu in the game says p2 not avalible but since i soldered the p2 jumper and added a real atari paddle to both inputs and unhooked the built in one it works in 2 player games its cool all i did was remove the fire button and use that hole for the 2nd player and the p1 inputs there is also a PAL jumper.. anyway most of the games are original atari games and you can get insturction from those from atariAge also the orignal 2600 warlords game seems to be more fun than the arcade version .. circus atari works way better w REAL atari paddles... also i noted the plug play paddle uses reverse connections and solderes the two connections on the pot together witch normal atari's use only the two with out soldering the end of the pot leaving one connection on the pot unconnected.. I didnt notice a differnce but decided to leave it like they had it .. using a repaired atari paddle makes the games way more fun than the crappy paddle that comes w the plug play noting the one they used was not even a 1meg ohm pot witch makes all the difference in playing atari Paddle(0) games you always want REAL thing not a 500OHM but a real atari 1meg ohm pot... I bet you could swap out hardware and solder a real atari paddle to the connector the one you have and you would notice a REAL performance inprovement... ..

anyway the color/bw option works as is the diff switches too ...