Rob Mitchell

I had a Starpath Supercharger years ago and sold it .. I would like to get back into that gameset and play ... PM me if you have one for sale ..

claimed.

just stumbled across this blog .. I learned backgammon in the middle east while traveling. The BG cart is curious but I could not wrap my brain around the orientation of the board on the CRT. I will revisit the cart now and turn the monitor on its side to get the feeling right for me.

2600 Basic Programming overlay set .. condition is good except someone put a small amount of blue nail polish on them. Could be cleaned. Free . just give me $1 for shipping in the USA.

What's the status of this project ?

Anyone have a non-function studio II motherboard from which I can get ROMs? I'm trying to fix a console and only 3 of 5 built-in programs work. Bowling crashes and Freeway starts then crashes. The two doodles and Addition and all carts work fine. I plan to socket the ROMs and document as I proceed. thx.

I've got all the USA releases and have replaced the screen on my two battery unit. Super Block Buster is too $$$ for me. I do like the idea of the Tetris homebrew.

What was the problem? I've thought of rebuilding one of mine with new Sanwa 24mm buttons after the fire button wore out. Re: Astroblast: you install one AA battery and when you push the fire button it autofires .. I wonder why they didn't use a P7 wire which would have delivered +5v to the controller ..

Wow! and 2nd Wow!

recap needed ..

I would be happy to take a look. I have both the Wico Keypad and joysticks .. and can replace the cord if necessary. PM me.

Hi .. need an unloved RCA studio II for parts to fix my friend's console which has a bad ROM. Thanks!

.. with adapters these controllers can be wired up to work with other consoles including the 5200 and Vectrex.

Those were genuine Sanwa buttons you tried .. I'm glad you liked it!

Thanks Dane for selling the enclosures to me so that I could install genuine Sanwa buttons and Sean Kelly's repro Vectrex cable. (I chose the Red/Black button for V4 so that newbies would presume that it is Fire!) It was a hit at the Vintage Computer Festival section of the Southern Fried Gaming Expo.

"Son .. sit down in front of the TV and practice your math with the joystick." FYI back in the 1990s the thrift stores in Vegas were full of 2600 Blackjack and Casio carts.

thanks! i just ordered from Digikey!

I installed my non-lit screen and cleaned the pots and it has life! thanks for making these available!

Does anyone know of a replacement cart connector? digikey or mouser part #?

i have one also .. there are two models of O2: one with wired joysticks and one with detatchable controllers. one uses one power plug and one uses the other plug. My guess is that they decided to avoid disappointment with customers getting the wrong PS so they made it for both.

In fall 1977 - 1980 Sears in Chattanooga was the only place that sold the console and games. I don’t remember any other store with Atari branded games before 1981.

The boxed Democart went for $865 on eBay.

I’m going to reply out of courtesy .. a paddle is a potentiometer for a game like Pong. There are great 2600 games which use the paddles .. a spinner is a rotary digital switch which was first available for the 2600 in 1977 as a pack-in for the Indy 500 / Race game. there are some vintage, commercially available controllers which have both paddle and joystick in one handheld controller. One made by Atari is for the Sears Video Arcade II. You turn the joystick to control a paddle. The other is the Coleco Gemini clone which has a paddle below the joystick. The issue with these is that Joystick Fire is not the same as Paddle Fire. add to the fact is that *most* games are either joystick or paddle ... so why have a combo? If you don’t want to plug / unplug into the console, then use an extension controller cable. The Bally Astrocade has an all-in-one controller which the joystick knob is the paddle. Only one game uses all the functions which is the built-in game: Gunfight which is a brilliant game.

Engine Analyzer is nothing more than a light pen based demo .. I imagine that they were thinking of using the Vectrex as a diagnostic tool .. but there’s nothing anywhere about any hardware to connect it to a vehicle. 11. What is the Engine Analyzer good for? This program is an educational tool and has no real functionality. However, it does show an auto mechanic's example of good and bad graph functions that suggest certain problems with a particular car engine under analysis. I presume that GCE was thinking of marketing the Vectrex as a diagnostic tool to mechanics and this program was to be part of the training package. Of course the real Engine Analyzer program has never shown up, nor has the equipment for attaching it to the spark plug wires and ignition coil of a car.

The Atari paddle requires modifications which include two resistors and a new cable. That results in one Vectrex Paddle. So if you offer alternating 2 player option, I suggest sharing one Vectrex paddle. https://www.playvectrex.com/