1985 Atari Computer Robot (Andy by Axlon)

[1985 Atari Computer Robot (Andy by Axlon)]

That's great to see them side by side. I didn't realize the eyes were different and Andy sits higher on his wheels too. I remember seeing a picture of the underside of FRED. It had one motorized wheel mounted on a disk that would turn close to 360 degrees to change his direction. That way he could move instantly from front-back and left-right at any position. I think that's why the pen is in the front and not centered with respect to the drive wheels.

 

I think it's really cool how they re-used the Parts from FRED to build ANDY. Many of the Androbot robots were scrapped or lost, at least some of theses made it into the real world! Thank you again for sharing this info.

 

Yes Andy is taller because of the wheel style FRED had the original ANDROBOT wheel system mounted in the front and the pin sat in the middle of the wheels, the wheels have a lower profile.

 

I had found a picture somewhere but cant find it now ANYWAY here is a scan from page six of a ANDROBOT brochure that shows how the wheels were designed

 

 

Here is another ad showing the full size TOPO and wheels

 

 

 

BTW here is a new EBAY sale for just the empty head 200.00 Says its a prototype probably is one of the trys Andrew Filo was

working with for the ANDY, as you can see they were adding the eyes. Either that or it was drilled wrong (CNC set-up mistake)

and they cut it open to salvaqge the usable parts

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 120546886186

[LochJaw For Sale!]

Considering he didn't pay eBay 9%+ or around $30 it sold in the window it should have and I think he did well. There were 700 views before it ended and obviosuly the largest market for this game was right here in this forum. So based on that, I think the accurate value for a loose LJ is right around $300.

 

Here is a list of sold items on GG - http://www.gamegavel...=&sort_by=price

 

All this stuff was sold and I didn't get a dime for any of it. I am trying to do right by the 6000+ people who have signed up to this point. And trying to keep growing this despite some of the negativity spewed in this forum, which I have been doing my best to support, buying home brews, plugging new home brews on my podcast, RetroGamingRoundup, etc.

 

I will support anyone trying to better this hobby.

 

Thanks Mike

 

I for one do appreciate all your effort in trying to offer an ebay alternative and trying to keep the cost down, I dont understand the negativity that some

have expressed but I guess your always going to get that, can't please everyone.

 

On record as a supporter to any ebay alternative

[1985 Atari Computer Robot (Andy by Axlon)]

Now that I know Axlon was a Nolan Bushnell company, Andy seems more interesting, born to go with the 800!

 

Is this the same Axlon that made 800 memory upgrade cards too? If it is, that is also interesting, I didn't realize those where also Bushnell products!

 

read somewhere they produce a Axlon Ramdisks (cardridge form) but cant find it now ?

 

[the pictures are awesome! thank you. This is the best I have ever found on Andy, and I have been looking at Androbot / Axlon info for years. Can you create an ATR image of the disk? I think it is important to have the software archived. There aren't many copies left.

 

having the schematic is awesome too! Do you have a higher resolution image of it? I could design a replacement robot that would work with the same software! sort of an Axlon Andy reboot. lol

 

Thanks, while trying to find information about the Andy I did not find many pictures either and nothing to do with what was originally included or how the software and Andy interfaced with the 800XL

 

BTW here are some pictures I found on the internet that show how the FRED and ANDY compair, ANDY was made from left over FRED's after Androbot folded as mentioned by Andrew Filo in the article that can be read using the link on my ANDY web page, also I included a picture of the inside showing how the PIN compartment had been cutaway to allow the battery compartment to be installed in FRED

 

 

[1985 Atari Computer Robot (Andy by Axlon)]

Nice find! There's a thread I just started about it a couple days ago: http://www.atariage....le-personality/

 

WOW What are the odds, I picked this up off craigs list on the 8th and did a search here for info about a

day or two before your post

 

BTW I did find two listings on ebay the one you mentioned that sold for 205.00 but had loose parts and no software

another that did not meet the reserve with a BIN of 1150.00 again no software and another that sold in a news group for

350.00 and again no software

 

This one was purchased from the original owner with all the originaly included items as well as the Sales receipt from

"Smartoys" here in Sunnyvale. He can be controlled with a joystick in port 1 and pushing the fire button will make him

Whistle, the included software needs to be running however. The other methods of control are through BASIC or using

the Personality Editor from the Included software

[1985 Atari Computer Robot (Andy by Axlon)]

Check out the cool Robot I picked up. It was made for use on the Atari 800, 800XL or 600XL with 48K Expansion (also Commodore 64)

It was made by Axlon in 1985 by Nolan Bushnell's second Robot Company AXLON. Controlled through the second Joystick port, Uses

Joystick or included software package

 

Here is a link to page I put up with many pictures and information links. All pictures can be enlarged with double click (will open new

window with enlarged picture that can then be closed to return to information web page)

 

Link to my Andy Robot page below

http://fndcollectables.com/CHANNEL_F_INFO/INTERNATIONAL/Adman_Grandstand/Notes/AndyRobot/andyrobot.html

 

 

 

[The First Video Game System News Letter]

 

 

Another first attributed to the Channel F, The First Video Game System News Letter

 

 

I was beginning to think this was just a rumor.

 

I had read in Clinton R. Dyer & Chris Webb’s Channel F FAQ (last updated 1997)

about a Channel F News letter from 1977 but since I have been collecting for the

Channel F even before this FAQ and have never found, seen or heard of this news letter

anywhere else except in this FAQ I had dismissed it as a Rumor.

 

Here is a cut and past from the FAQ

 

=================

4c. Fairchild newsletter

 

First and only known newsletter, featured descriptions of carts 1-9, with preview

descriptions of carts 10-12. Dated October 1977. Mentions that Carts 10-12 should be

out by November 1977.

=================

 

Again since I had never been able to find one I was beginning to think it must have been something else

like an in house memo or maybe a company announcement but not an actual newsletter. I was wrong as

I have finally found what appears to be the second issue of this news letter, its pictured below and you can

see at the top it states "January/Febuary/March 1978" and on the top right is says, "Volume 2 Number 1".

 

So there you have it Fairchild was the First to issue a Video Game News letter

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

If anyone can locate the First 1977 letter I would like to either purchase it or obtain a scan Please contact me to discuss either

 

Other First for this Game System

 

First Video game system to have an expandable library through the use of interchangeable Programmable ROM Based Videocarts

 

First Video game system to have a game with an Easter Egg

 

First Video game system to have a Pause

 

First Video game system to have color

 

First Video game system with Black jack

 

First Video game system with AI (Spitfire)

 

First Video game to be used in a T.V. game Broadcast (POW)

[Worst use of sealed]

By this definition they could put the items in a cardboard box tape it shut and state "Sealed Boxed Un-Opened"

[5200 gone :(]

Keep an eye open on your local Craigs List Ad's some of it may show up there

[5200 emulation]

While Dumping and checking my 5200 Prototype collection I used three emulators for the 5200

 

Jun52 V1.1 Win32/SDL

 

MESSUI 0.130 (March 10 2009)

 

AtariWIN PLus 4.0

 

The first two listed above were very finiky and would run only about 75% of the games, between the two I think I could play about 90%.

The AtariWIN PLus 4.0 was nearly 100% so of the three the best choice I found to be this one

 

Here is a link to the home page of AtariWIN PLus 4.0

http://a800win.atari-area.prv.pl/ you will need to click on the little British flag lower left of page to see the page in english

[Ebay: M.A.D. Eggomaina, Squeeze Box and 4 others CIB]

24 hr to Go Bump

[Bad Trader Alert]

any one know this member syntexerror

 

he owes me $80

 

 

i sent him some items first after dealing with him the first time seemed like a nice guy

 

 

i may attempt to go to his house which is 3 hours away but my cousin is 1 hour away from him

 

any thoughts on what i should do if i do confront the guy and he pretends he dont owe me anything

 

i have a ideal but want to hear everyone elses reaction

 

Have you Emailed / Called / PM'd him to try and resolve this ? Could be just an honest mistake

[WTB: TI-99/4 (not 4a)]

I have one but it comes with the original Large Zenith T.V. that was part of the original package in 79

Where are you located as I am in California and shipping would not only be risky but expensive so I am

looking to sell local

[Ebay: M.A.D. Eggomaina, Squeeze Box and 4 others CIB]

Yes my Auctions 7 CIB NOS US Games Titles.

 

Great collector condition

 

only issue would be some Glue Residue Stains on front of a few of the

boxes otherwise Look Near New

 

Links below, Thanks for looking

 

Eggomania CIB

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 130633376958

 

Sneak'N Peek CIB

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 130633380056

 

M.A.D. CIB

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 130633379059

 

Squeeze Box CIB

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 130633377862

 

Name This Game CIB Includes Entry Form

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 130633376028

 

Gopher CIB

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 130633374872

 

Commando Raid CIB

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 130633373441

[LochJaw For Sale!]

30 Day Auction - Remind me in 3 weeks

[Tempest 17.5 inch side art origianl Atari special run ?]

This was some sort of mock up and they actually built one as I did find a small picture of it hidden in the paper workd

I had another thread going over at Game Gavel with much better pictures and close ups along with the small picture

I found, its shown in the #17 post at the link below

 

(in case you dont want to follow the link I added the picture and a copy and past of the forum post i had made when I found it)

 

http://www.gamegavel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5076&p=29460#post29460

 

 

----- Copy Past from Game Gavel Post -------

 

Well it looks like they indeed did build at least one small model. Been going though

some of the other items I had gotten from this lot I found this old sadly very dark

Polaroid of one of the small Tempest models. its very hard to make out as its so

dark but you can see the angle of the shot is in the upward angle and there is

what looks like the edge of a table top at the bottom of the model ( looks like

the model is on top of a table ) it would be very hard to get this angle if the

tempest was standing on the floor also I dont see any cion door or slots.

Coincidentally it looks like this picture was taken sometime around holloween as I

think I can make out a Jack-a-Lantern about 2/3 of the way up the left side of

the picture

 

BTW The white marks at the bottom left side of the front of the Tempest in the

black area below were the Coin door would be is just lint on my scanner , in the

original picture it is totaly black

 

EDIT today 11-21-11

While looking at the picture below I notice it does not have the speaker

opening next to the "attraction Panel " at the top of the machine, and as you

can see in the picture and negatives of this sticker that I had gotten it was removed

and not included. this again seems to help show this picture is of a small 17.5" special

cab that was put together for some reason.

 

 

[Need to borrow 5200 Cart Dumper]

_{Dumped 01-07-2012}

_{---------------------------}

_{Rescue on Fractalus 02-84}

_{Dig Dug 185}

_{Pengo 08-29-83}

_Ballblazer

_{Soccer REV A}

_{Mario Bros 9-8-83 REV C}

_{Tennis 343 (Dec, 09, 82)}

 

 

_{Dumped 01-06-2012}

_{---------------------------}

_{Baseball 7-28-83}

_{Star Raiders (PAM)}

_{Jr. Pac Man 046 2-15}

_{Kangaroo 021-01}

_{Jungl Hunt 4-7}

 

_{Dumped 01-05-2012}

_{---------------------------}

_{Pac-Man (No Date)}

_{Berzerk 212-08}

_{Missile Command (No Date) NTSC}

_{Choplifter 01-04-84}

_{Choplifter 02-29-84}

 

_{Dumped 01-04-2012}

_{---------------------------}

_{Track and Field 5-7-84}

_{Qix 11/Nov/82}

_{Last Starfighter 05-08-84}

_Stargate

 

_{Dumped 01-03-2012}

_{---------------------------}

_{Vanguard 084 (March 25, 1983)}

_{#3 Cartridge 01-20-84 (Rescue on Fractalus pre-Behind Jaggi Line Date)}

_{Baseball 4-21-83}

 

_{Dumped 12-30-2011}

_{---------------------------}

_{Golf 2-10}

_{Baseball 7-26}

_{Last Starfighter 6-28}

_{Atari Open (RS TENNIS) 11-19}

_{Frisky Tom 020}

_{Microgammon 7-11 or 7-14}

[Need to borrow 5200 Cart Dumper]

_{5 more DUMPED the list is now}

 

_{Dumped 01-05-2012}

_{---------------------------}

_{Pac-Man (No Date)}

_{Berzerk 212-08}

_{Missile Command (No Date) NTSC}

_{Choplifter 01-04-84}

_{Choplifter 02-29-84}

 

_{Dumped 01-04-2012}

_{---------------------------}

_{Track and Field 5-7-84}

_{Qix 11/Nov/82}

_{Last Starfighter 05-08-84}

_Stargate

 

_{Dumped 01-03-2012}

_{---------------------------}

_{Vanguard 084 (March 25, 1983)}

_{#3 Cartridge 01-20-84 (Rescue on Fractalus pre-Behind Jaggi Line Date)}

_{Baseball 4-21-83}

 

_{Dumped 12-30-2011}

_{---------------------------}

_{Golf 2-10}

_{Baseball 7-26}

_{Last Starfighter 6-28}

_{Atari Open (RS TENNIS) 11-19}

_{Frisky Tom 020}

_{Microgammon 7-11 or 7-14}

[Need to borrow 5200 Cart Dumper]

4 more DUMPED the list is now

 

Dumped 01-04-2012

---------------------------

Track and Field 5-7-84

Qix 11/Nov/82

Last Starfighter 05-08-84

Stargate

 

Dumped 01-03-2012

---------------------------

Vanguard 084 (March 25, 1983)

#3 Cartridge 01-20-84 (Rescue on Fractalus pre-Behind Jaggi Line Date)

Baseball 4-21-83

 

Dumped 12-30-2011

---------------------------

Golf 2-10

Baseball 7-26

Last Starfighter 6-28

Atari Open (RS TENNIS) 11-19

Frisky Tom 020

Microgammon 7-11 or 7-14

 

 

 

MORE on the Way Soon

[5 2600 Lab loaners, non atari titles]

_{Question I took one of the images and enlarged it 400% and then did some contrast adjustment and can see a lot of pixilation around the words in}

_{the areas of the writting ? is this normal}

 

_{I went ahead and did the same type of enlargment and contrast work on one of my own Protolables and dont see anything like this ?}

_{could this just be the difference in camera/scanner resolution or something else ?}

 

_{Here are two screen captures of what I noticed the first two are the pictures from the auction the last one is from my own scan}

_{you may need to look at these at 100% size to see the pixilation}

 

 

 

[Need to borrow 5200 Cart Dumper]

Man what a pile of protos...how'd you find all those?

 

Tempest is gonna be busy these next few weeks...

 

Some were found at a Garage sale some at flea markets here in the Bay Area others

from RGVC before the World Wide Web (www) some through Ebay others picked up

here at Atari Age or Digital Press even had one given to me by Curt V. as a thank you

for running down a seller who was not sending the games and others by talking to people.

 

It’s probably a 20-year collection heck just got a 15-year Member certificate from Ebay

and I was collecting for years before that

[Need to borrow 5200 Cart Dumper]

Three more DUMPED the list is now

 

Golf 2-10

Baseball 7-26

Last Starfighter 6-28

Atari Open (RS TENNIS) 11-19

Frisky Tom 020

Microgammon 7-11 or 7-14

 

Dumped 01-03-2012

---------------------------

Vanguard 084 (March 25, 1983)

#3 Cartridge 01-20-84 (Rescue on Fractalus pre-Behind Jaggi Line Date)

Baseball 4-21-83

 

MORE on the Way Soon

[Anti-piracy for 2600 games for roms in emulators. how could it be done?]

Available in Limited Quantities (limited to the number we can sell)

[Anti-piracy for 2600 games for roms in emulators. how could it be done?]

Pre-pay, and offer the potential customers a refund at any time or after a pre-determined time if the quota is not met. There would need to be an incentive, because people will simply wait till it is released and then download for free.

 

What happens if the quota's not met?

 

If quota's not meet return money, re-evaluate cost and number of items and try again ? or accept what is offered and continue

 

"Re-evaluate the cost" certainly means "raise the price" at which point you're likely going to turn off and lose the customers that had originally pre-paid at the original price. "We're refunding your money and raising the price. Still want the game?" is not a good business strategy.

 

Pre-pay, and offer the potential customers a refund at any time or after a pre-determined time if the quota is not met. There would need to be an incentive, because people will simply wait till it is released and then download for free.

 

What happens if the quota's not met?

 

See above message.

 

The only option implied in the above message was "don't release the game". I'm not sure that's an option for most homebrewers who spend thousands of hours on a game. Especially when most of them do it for the love of it, the challenge, and the opportunity to share a creation. Not profit.

 

The third option as stated in the original response was "or accept what is offered and continue"

[Anti-piracy for 2600 games for roms in emulators. how could it be done?]

There could also be another approach for incentive. There could be a STICKY post in the HomeBrew forum

Named something like "Honor roll of HomeBrew Supporters" or some such title where we could list a running total

of user names of the users who have supported the community with support by buying the pre-pay games thereby

helping out the community to get these games released free to the rest. Each time a user buys/donates to the

Programmers they get another Star and the top supporters will have bragging rights to their support.

 

I suspect most of us don’t have the time or expertise to write our own games but this way the average user

could get some credit for his or her support in this way.

 

Of course there should still be a certificate to go along with this honor each time a pre-pay is purchased

[Anti-piracy for 2600 games for roms in emulators. how could it be done?]

If its the time/investment compensation we are talking about You could protect your first run with PRE-PAY then release all at once

 

I like this. Pre-pay, and offer the potential customers a refund at any time or after a pre-determined time if the quota is not met. There would need to be an incentive, because people will simply wait till it is released and then download for free.

 

What happens if the quota's not met?

 

If quota's not meet return money, re-evaluate cost and number of items and try again ? or accept what is offered and continue