Jump to content
Have You Played Atari Today?
2600|5200|7800|Lynx|Jaguar|Forums|Store  

sonick

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    10

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by sonick

  2. Posted · Edited by sonick

    Hello all,

     

    I have an 800xl that I play quite frequently, but I am still using the crumby RF output with a coax adapter to TV..

    The poor signal is really starting to bother me, especially when i see the lovely pictures online from the s-video conversions. I long for clear display.

     

    I want to do an S-Video mod to my 800xl, but I am not proficient enough with an iron to assure a successful conversion; without murdering my beloved 800xl.

     

    I was wondering if there was anyone in the east valley, or phoenix in general, that has strong proficiencies in this area that would be willing to help for either $, trade, or whatever we could hash out ?

     

    Thanks for your time!

    J

  3. Posted · Edited by sonick

    I am kicking myself for not checking the forums or the yoomp site to catch all of this in time!

     

    Marcin sent me an email as soon as the sale started, but I was too slow (over 15 hours!)

     

    If Yoomp! ever has a second production run, I'm definitely IN.

     

    GREAT JOB on everything guys.

     

    Zaxon: great pic, I am insanely jealous!

  7. Posted

    Thanks for the reply; you weren't kidding, nearly everything in socketed.

     

    I have no idea how it happened, but on close inspection on the bench it revealed endless corrosion, and various pins of some IC's were literally shorted with rust. It was stored in a humid illinois basement for years upon years, which occasionaly had water problems (not in direct contact, but apparently enough to cause condensation)

     

    I cleaned everything up the best i could until it was sparkling and all contacts clean, but the damage has been done :(

     

    Far too much potential damage to pursue any further. And I had just replaced all the belts in my 410, daggone it.

     

    Thanks again,

    Jayson

  8. Posted

    Greetings,

     

    I have the original Atari 400 from my youth on which i played endless hours of star raiders and ghost encounters.

     

    I pulled it out of storage awhile back and hooked everything up, but I am not getting a picture.

    I get a very clean, static-free black screen and the power LED comes up, but nothing else.

     

    No sound either when the Star Raider cart is plugged in (known good cart by testing on my 800xl)

     

    I've done a good bit of searching, and can't find any good docs on atari 400 repair or even basic troubleshooting paths.

    It's frustrating because it seems like the Commodore machines have endless amounts of sites dedicated to detailed repair methodology, but nothing for our beloved 8-bitters.

     

    So, I'm just curious if anyone has experience troubleshooting the 400, and if they might have any ideas on how I should approach a fix ? I've already reseated the mem cards and such... I have not reseated any IC's, though I don't think any of them were socketed anyhow. I'll have to re-check. I did check the solder joints to the best of my ability and nothing obvious there.

     

    I hear mention of RAM from time to time on these machines, perhaps that should be my next approach ? I'm mediocre at best at soldering so I'd like to try the simpler stuff first. I don't even know if RAM is available anymore for the 400 ?

     

    Sorry for the flurry of info. Thanks for any insight you can provide; it'd mean a lot if I could play my original ghost encounter tape on my original 400 in the retro room i've under construction (shag carpet, old zenith TV, rain lamp, faux wood paneling, chipboard/wood veneer TV stand, the works! :)

     

    Thanks,

    Jayson

  9. Posted

    I couldn't agree with you more.

    While I greatly enjoy discovering and playing new (to me) games, it's the games that I remember that I heavily favor and will always default to.

     

    For me, the nostalgia and emotional triggers are every bit as important as the gameplay itself. Perhaps even a little more.

     

    I've even gone so far as to decorate a dedicated retro room in period orange/brown shag, with a rain lamp, orange plastic herman miller chairs and all 70's/80's decor and tv stand from the thrift store. The only modern piece in the room is the television, but I plan to transplant a new set into an old Zenith chassis from back in the day.

     

    I am a total escapist and proud of it :D

     

     

    I really do believe that the experience of playing classic 2600 games works as a TRIGGER ... for many people on this forum ... the experience of playing 2600 games brings back the feelings people had at the time in their lives when these games were popular. It's like when I listen to the music I listened to when I was in high school. It's not that the music was so terrific .. but the memories and recollections that are forever linked to a particular song that was playing on the radio at the time.

     

    And that's why new games on the 2600 feel somewhat strange to me. Because there is no 'linkage' involved when I pick up a 'new' game. Even though the game is done in the 'style' of the old games, it's just totally different than the feeling of popping an old chestnut like Space Invaders in ... the title screen looks not very different than a familiar old friend. Holding the Atari joystick in your hand takes you back to a special time in your life, it's like you can almost feel the blisters that used to be there from playing so much ... maybe your stomach clenches up in anxiety that you just KNEW that any moment your mom would walk in and make you turn it off because it was time for bed, and you were SOOOO close to getting to next level for the first time. When I listen to SuperTramp on my Ipod ... it's not that the songs are so great .. but the memories of where I was and what I was doing when those songs were popular, that make them such 'feel good' songs.

     

    Curious how people on this forum feel about this ... is it the classic GAMES that you like so much .. or is it the warm memories that are triggered by the familiar play patterns, and particular sights and sounds?

AtariAge
Forums
Store
General
Follow AtariAge

Copyright ©1998-2021 AtariAge

×
×
  • Create New...