Atari2008

These are great suggestions! Wow I'm really excited to get quite a few of these. I'm glad there are so many homebrews to pick from, it's great that the 2600 is still very much alive. ?

Great, thank you. Yeah the power supply is still working, I used it on my 4 Switch Woody after the Heavy Sixer's colors got messed up. Good write up. The power supply I have is the one from the picture in the article which they say dates to 1981. Still working well though. I can't recall exactly but I got it new from Atari Sales I think a few years back. Also nice write up on the Heavy Sixer on that page too.

It's been a really long time since I've bought a homebrew and there looks to be many great ones to choose from. Which ones do folks really like and highly recommend almost like must haves? Been playing my 2600 a lot lately, and would like to get it something brand new.

Also random question, but just wanna rule out that I screwed anything up, it can use the same power supply as a 4 switch 2600 right?

Thank you for that! This site looks great, full of info. I'll look into it.

Now my Heavy Sixer has developed issues with the colors in games. The colors are all off and kinda flicker. I've attached photos. Any ideas what could've caused this? The system was working fine until now. I've had it for about 3 weeks.

I thought I was noticing a pattern with the red labeled carts, thank you for verifying. Yeah I have Smurfs and while it fits okay it is also tight. Definitely getting a Harmony soon as I don't want to damage the system or the carts. Also I noticed another difference between the Heavy Sixer and my 4 Switch Woody hadn't before, the Heavy seems to have 2 circular vents on it. Was that because initially Atari was going to put speakers on there?

I just learned of these overlays from a friend and WOW they look so cool! Makes me want to get a Vectrex now!

I just got an O2 again after having first owned one a few years back. I do appreciate the simplicity of its games, I find it fun to play a few of them at night as a way of winding down. I got an AV modded unit with a cool LED light so those elements also make it more fun for me. And I've started getting in on the homebrew action, I just ordered Dungeon of Eternity and Happy Bird so I'm looking forward to seeing what homebrewers are doing with the system these days. Overall I like the O2 and it's hooked up currently since I got it not that long ago and it still has that new wow factor.

I have a question about hooking up the Atari 2600 to a modern TV. Or rather I have it hooked up to a new TV via the coaxial connection, and I have to admit the image quality isn't great. I've been forgiving since it's an old console obviously but I started wondering if there are other set ups that would help improve the image? My TV picks up on the 2600 signal fine after I do a channel scan but a lot of the games look "snowy" for lack of a better term like there's a lot of interference. I definitely don't get a crisp clean image. I have it connected using one of those coax adapters the ones that look like a lil bullet so there's no switchbox introducing interference. Would something like connecting the 2600 to the coax on the VCR and VCR to the TV through AV help? If not it's cool, I'm honestly glad it works with the TV, but couldn't hurt if I could improve the image a bit.

30 years, NICE! Funny I plan to slim down my collection a bit too. Nice Heavy Sixer and that Videoplexer is so cool! I actually didn't know what it was and just looked it up, really neat! Didn't know such a thing was released back in the day. The 2600 is full of welcome surprises. And I agree the 2600 is truly a classic.

I'm just curious, are there specific types of carts that don't fit well in a Heavy Sixer? I'm just trying to see if there's a pattern I should look out for, although I will be getting a Harmony cart, the Encore one, and I'm pretty psyched about that. But with the carts, I've noticed the ones Atari released later on in the 80s like the red label B&W image ones seem to fit super tightly. Earlier released carts and 3rd party ones like Activision and Parker Bros. work fine. Also it gives a very nice image on my TV, I'm always impressed with how durable Atari's are. The Heavy Sixer has definitely rekindled my interest in the 2600 which I'm had to say had been dormant the last few years.

I'm really digging the Heavy Sixer. I don't have a Colecovision, so I'll go with the Harmony cartridge. I'm excited about that as it'll mean I can still play the games that fit too tightly on the Heavy Sixer. I'm just trying to figure out which version of the Harmony cartridge will work out the best for me.

Thank you for that suggestion! There was one cart yesterday that I really had to pry loose and I noticed it marked up the cartridge a bit. I hadn't thought of the Harmony cart, after hearing about it on here for so many years, I'll finally get one. Thank you! And I have been, I'm loving playing the Heavy Sixer. ?

I just wanted to share that I've gotten my first Heavy Sixer and I love it! I've had a 4 switch woodgrain since I was a kid, and had a 2600 Jr. briefly, but this is my first time playing a Heavy Sixer. Wow it really lives up to its name, it's quite solid and has a good weight to it. I appreciate and like the subtle differences between this version and the 4 switch. I'm also learning that some carts like Defender II in this pic fit quite tightly. Anyways just wanted to share and if anyone has any suggestions or tips from owning one feel free to pass it along.

These suggestions sound awesome! I'm glad to see that the O2 has quite the library of games. I'll look for these. Also thank you for the suggestion on the Voice module, it's one thing I've never owned even when I've had one before but always thought it looked cool and was intrigued by the idea. Also looking to get some of the Odyssey Adventure magazines since I think they'll add a nice dimension of fun.

So I just got an Odyssey 2 again recently after having first owned one maybe 10 years ago. Back then I didn't explore the original library much with the exception of the KC games, the rest were mostly homebrews from Revival Studios like Mage. I didn't have an O2 when it was originally out, so I've never taken a deep dive into the system. I forgot how fun it was the first time I had one. Any suggestions on any must have titles or accessories? What would you recommend essentially for a newbie? ?

With Alien Invasion you can turn it down on the console by pressing 3. I agree though the system is really loud. I wish they had included a sound off/on switch like the RCA Studio II or at least a way to adjust the volume. I avoid playing it at night since it's so loud.

Oh awesome! Definitely let me know. I'll be on the lookout for a Studio II in the meantime.

A few years back I bought the RCA Studio II multi-cart which came with the AV mod for the RCA Studio II. I have no technical skills whatsoever, so I was wondering, if I were to buy a spare RCA Studio II console, would someone here be willing to install the mod for me? I would send the console and mod components to you, of course I would also pay for shipping both ways as well as parts and labor, just name your price. Let me know and I'll start hunting down a Studio II on eBay as I'd like to keep my current unit in original form.

Omg this makes me want to get a Jaguar again. Had one back in the day.

Thank you for this! Sorry for my super late reply.

Oh I do have one more question. I have been turning off the console, unplugging the power supply and removing the multicart after I'm done. But I was wondering, would it be okay to just leave the multi-cart in the console? I don't have any original carts yet so I'm not going to be plugging in any other carts any time soon. But I wanted to check in and see if there is any potential to do damage by doing that given the age of the console. Thank you!

Connected the jumper to the two pins to the left and OMG it works so far!!!!!!!! Yayyyy!!! I'm so excited. I've been waiting for years to play games like Space Invaders on the RCA S2. Thank you everyone!!!! :-D :-D