[I think i found my replacement for the 4-switch 2600]

Yup .. the Sears Video Arcade heavy sixer is what we got back in fall of 1977.  I had to convince Dad that it was indeed the Atari.  He verified by asking the sporting sales clerk if it was made by Atari.  Purchase made over Mom’s objection!

[Sears game catalog? Sears cart Art?]

We all have seen the Atari catalogs for 2600 games .. some were cartoon style and some were the actual Atari art.

 

Did Sears ever put out a dedicated Video Arcade booklet of 2600 games??  Or just what they listed in the big seasonal catalogs??
 

Also who did the Sears box art?   I have the coffee table book of Atari art .. but I don’t think it has the Sears box art in it.

[Early Sears Brochure]

On 7/25/2020 at 1:19 PM, Atari_Bill said:

My earliest experiences with Atari all come from the local Sears.  That is a huge part of my nostalgia with collecting.

same here ...  even though my family bought the Sears Video Arcade in early fall 1977, I do not remember seeing this brochure.  Only Tank Plus was available when we made the initial purchase.  Every few weeks Sears would get another launch title in and we would buy it .. not knowing anything about what the next cart would be.  If I had that brochure I would have known what was coming to our store.  Only missing Chase and Math.

 

the others in this eBay package are 1978 and later releases.

[Hooking up heavy sixer via RF - channel?]

On 7/4/2020 at 9:07 PM, DrVenkman said:

Heavy Sixer's output on channel 3 (at least in NTSC-land). 

If you lived in a city with a local Ch3 TV station, you would get a Sears console which would output to a different channel.  In fall of 1977, we returned our Ch3 Video Arcade console and exchanged it for another.  (I cannot remember if it was Ch2 or Ch4 unit.)   Sears sales person said that they made a mistake by sending Ch3 units to my city, Chattanooga Tennessee, where WRCB Ch3 broadcasted RF.
 

I program all our old TVs to receive Ch2, Ch3 and Ch4 which covers all of the old RF systems.

[CX10 Hex Disc Question]

I was 15 when we got our Sears Video Arcade in 1977.  Ever though I took very good care of it, the aluminum Sears discs came off The tops.  One fell through the speaker grill top of the console and rattled around inside.  I called my cousin to ask if aluminum could conduct electricity .. I didn’t know for sure.  So I did open up the console very carefully and removed it.  I did glue them back on but they kept falling off.  Eventually they were in a box of childhood stuff in my closet.  Mom thoughtlessly threw out some stuff years later ..

 

I do have an Atari disc in my collection .. I have not put it back on a CX10 stick yet.

[Atari 2600 Pride!]

Well done .. 

[Most expensive games ever made]

Indy 500 (Sears Race) cost $40 in 1977 .. which is when we bought it.

[Coleco Combat teardown]

Recapped the PCB .. replaced old radial caps with new axial caps ..

[Beluga Dreams Vectrex Game]

Payment sent.

[Asking opinions on controller mod ports]

On 5/30/2020 at 10:27 AM, Lost Monkey said:

I wired in the male end of a controller extension cable and have it coming out the back where the original controller wires were.  Nice and clean.  Only caveat would be to use a vintage extension cable (or the official vintage Sega ones) because the quality of the wires was better than the newer ones.

 

Not done with this O2 - also did a composite mod and am now bondo filling the scratches etc so that it can be repainted. 

Nice

[Coleco Combat teardown]

Coleco Combat teardown ..

[Interest: Color Composite video of Coleco Combat?]

On 6/30/2020 at 10:08 PM, slydc said:

Just go here:

Yup .. that site is the inspiration .. now put that in Coleco Combat ..

[Interest: Color Composite video of Coleco Combat?]

[Interest: Color Composite video of Coleco Combat?]

Is anyone interested in a new circuit which puts out a composite color signal from Coleco Combat?

 

Rob Mitchell

 

[Vectrex Joystick Interface Board]

Work great .. there are some label errors on the PCB.   verify circuit via continuity meter .. 

 

Q: ask me ..I have built four ..

[Pimped up Atari Video Music]

I came across this pic of an extensively modified AVM.  Anyone know about this one??

 

[Microvision replacement screen project - pre-order & purchase here]

Interested as well for 2.

[Battlezone comic book ad]

1 hour ago, Nathan Strum said:

Sadly, in the very next panel, he was picked off by a sniper.

Haha!

[Battlezone comic book ad]

2 hours ago, Philflound said:

How much did you pay?

 

$10

[Battlezone comic book ad]

Found and bought off eBay .. 1983 Marvel comic book ad ..

[Radica Space Invaders > 7800 joystick]

I finally modified my RSI to be a 7800 controller .. I have a second one I might modify to work with the Vectrex. 

[Dedicated Battlezone Robot Tank tread controller]

Finishing up work on my dedicated Stramash Zone, Atari 2600 Battlezone and Robot Tank controller.  It will have two DB9 ports on the back for the two controller inputs.  I will add a switch to select fire to go out to pin 4 Vectrex or pin 6 Atari.  Gotta make some Combat! Stickers!

[Dedicated Stramash tank tread controller]

Finishing up work on my dedicated Vectrex Stramash Zone, Atari 2600 Battlezone and Robot Tank controller.  It will have two DB9 ports on the back for the two controller inputs.  I will add a switch to select fire to go out to pin 4 Vectrex or pin 6 Atari.  Gotta make some Combat! Stickers!

[Couple new items from Sean Kelly]

More stuff up on his page ..

[Stunt Cycle SC-450 teardown]

I chose not to take the rubber hand grips off their shafts because I was just cleaning things up and investigating the pot.   It went back together just fine.

 

Problem with Stunt Cycle is that the mechanism limits the range of the pot which on the Vectrex registered from 1/2 UP to full UP when I tested it.  Adding resistors changed nothing.

 

Some variable joysticks can be modified to work with the Vectrex with the addition of resistors to the outside tabs of the pots.