Commodore History videos on Youtube

[Commodore History videos on Youtube]

I've been browsing YouTube for a while now and came across videos from 8 Bit Guy regarding Commodore history. I thought they were pretty informative and I enjoyed the restoration techniques that he used to bring old computers back to life. It reminded me that I have two c64s and also a pair of monitors and disk drives. I've just never gotten around to restoring or powering it up. 

 

Thought I'd start this topic. I'm sure that I'm not the first person to notice these videos and I don't come by often anymore.

[Goodbye Hollywood Video]

They're going out if business or the store near you just closing? The one we had in Beloit is long gone come to think of it. Nice store that had lots of cool gaming items. Sucks if they're going under.

 

Maybe there's more than one Hollywood Video? Either way, the last two of those stores in VT (Milton and South Burlington) were good places to find classic games.

 

The owner is retiring and probably didn't want to bother to try and find someone else to keep it going. That kind of pisses me off because they had a dedicated service department and would often sell plenty of hard to find items along with tons of DVDs.

[Family Dollar Flashback unit]

I sold the only FB unit that I found in the wild last year. It was nice but it was NOT (and never will be) a 2600.

 

I believe the one I found had the buttons (like the 4).

[Goodbye Hollywood Video]

Last week was probably my last ever visit to Hollywood Video, a local video store with an awesome collection of classic games. Over the years, I have bought and sold my share of games and systems there.

 

Here are some of my last purchases there.

 

 

A Yobo FC Console and a regular Sears Sixer.

 

I just tried out the FC Console. I don't like the fact that the games get stuck in the slot. Any tips on how to fix that?

 

As for the sixer, it supposedly has been sitting in there for 12 years. It's shrinkwrapped with the words "Tested 12/4/02" on it. It should work without a hitch. The FC Console was $20 and the sixer was marked down to $10.95.

 

I'm going to miss Hollywood Video. There simply aren't any other places to find classic games around here, outside of lawn sales and a few thrift shops. They had a boxed 7800 but wanted way too much for it. They also had a Jaguar.

 

I don't forsee myself buying much more for classic games and consoles in the near future as I must clean my apartment up and organize what I already have.

 

RIP Hollywood Video.

[TRS-80, Commodore PET spotted in wild]

Unfortunately, not for sale.

 

But the shop they're at has a mini museum type of thing that also includes an older Apple MacIntosh and IBM computer as well.

 

Pic quality isn't the best but the computers themselves are solid.

 

 

[We're in a console rut... Forbes Magazine]

I give a resounding "NO" to the new Microsoft console.

 

Thinking PS4 here. I think that GTAV will be the last 360 game that I purchase.

[THE OFFICIAL ATARI 2600 HEAVY 6-SWITCH LIST]

This time, I've got another real sixer. It also came with a loose copy of Rubik's Cube w/th the silver label!

 

 

 

 

 

NTSC

TELEGAMES Unit

MFD by Atari Inc, Sunnyvale CA

S/N: 98467T

Me: Brad, South Burlington, VT

A/B Channel Slot: No

A/B Channel Switch: Not sure

Functional: Should be. Cords in great shape. Ditto for system. All switches functional

Bought on EBay recently

Refurbished: Nope

Manufacture Date: N/A

Additional Label: "STOP - DO NOT ATTEMPT GAME REPAIR. THERE ARE NO USER ADJUSTABLE PARTS INSIDE..."

[THE OFFICIAL ATARI 2600 HEAVY 6-SWITCH LIST]

Yea Brad I agree with Lodmot...the console to the right is a heavy 6'er. Would you mind adding info about that console? Or do I already have you on the spreadsheet for that one?

 

It's already on the spreadsheet.

 

I have another (this one looks like a heavy!) coming in the mail. Auction wasn't cheap but it looks in good shape and probably needs some cleaning, etc. The one I bid one HAS the thick sides.

[Here we go . Atari 2600 vs Intellivision]

The Intys I had were ok but they didn't have the nostalgic draw of Atari that I so crave.

 

Would not mind giving that system another try as well as the Colecovision.

[THE OFFICIAL ATARI 2600 HEAVY 6-SWITCH LIST]

Yea I was about to say...Brad2600 do you have a less close up pic? Showing the entire unit. The way you can tell if its a heavy/light 6 switch is by the thickness of the top left and right side of the console.

 

 

 

I feel like crap now as it LOOKED like a heavy sixer on EBay. Dammit. Hey, at least I have another variation!!!

[THE OFFICIAL ATARI 2600 HEAVY 6-SWITCH LIST]

Brad2600: Do you have a front pic of the console? I can verify for you that it is a heavy and not a light sixer.

 

Indeed I do:

 

[THE OFFICIAL ATARI 2600 HEAVY 6-SWITCH LIST]

 

Just bought this off of EBay. Might buy another (Atari) heavy sixer to compliment the 2 Telegames units I own.

 

NTSC

TELEGAMES Unit

MFD for Atari by Dimerco Electronics in Taiwan

S/N: 82001561

Me: Brad, South Burlington, VT

A/B Channel Slot: No

A/B Channel Switch: Not sure

Functional: Should be. Cords in great shape. Ditto for system. All switches functional

Bought on EBay recently

Refurbished: Nope

Manufacture Date: N/A

Additional Label: "STOP - DO NOT ATTEMPT GAME REPAIR. THERE ARE NO USER ADJUSTABLE PARTS INSIDE..."

 

Might not be a heavy sixer? It's heavy but not as heavy as the other unit. Perhaps a variation of sorts?

 

Also,

 

My other heavy sixer actually came from a friend of mine so it was not EBay.

[Name changes?]

Ok, I've subscribed.

 

Yet, I still can't figure out HOW to change my username.

[Recommend me an Atari 2600 game]

Tapper

Spitfire Attack

Dragster

Miner 2049er

[THE OFFICIAL ATARI 2600 HEAVY 6-SWITCH LIST]

Dude, the RF cables are actually regular single RCA cables. Go to Radio Shack and find one for like 6 bucks.

 

Thanks for the tip. Radio Shack seems to be carrying less and less necessities but I'll check.

Not a problem. ^^

Also, I'm not sure if you're new at fixing Atari consoles or not, but in case you're not:

On the older 2600 models, the RF cable looks like it's hardwired to the console, but when you take the system apart, you'll notice that the RF cable actually plugs in on the inside as well, which means you don't have to cut the wire and solder anything, which is awesome.

 

I have not tinkered with many electronics. I'll keep this in mind when I do.

 

Thanks!

[Name changes?]

Not sure who to PM about this.

 

Would like to change my name. I feel it's outdated and I'd rather go by my real first name as part of my username at this point. I'm older too.

[Vintage games on Pawnstars, Auction Hunters, ETC]

This whole reseller show thing is just one big fad. So many people watch Storage Wars Pawn Stars and the countless other reseller shows to know what to look out for. But they don't realize that the estimates are always way over what the stuff is actully worth, and these people pulling numbers out of there a## have no idea what there talking about. So a lot of people are out there buying every piece of junk and storage locker they see thinking there going to make a fortune, only to find out they just threw their money away. If you have a lot of money to "invest" just buy something you want instead, don't waste it. The sooner people realize that the better. All these shows and reseller wannabes do is just make the prices go up, and make collecting harder. Because of things like Darrell Sheets saying SNES is worth $200, and all of these overpriced BINs on ebay. It's starting to get hard to find decent deals outside of ebay, because people just choose to sell there stuff on there, or ask outrageous prices for stuff. This fad will probably blow over soon, I really hope it does. Seriously how much longer can these shows last?

 

As long as people are paying attention to them.

 

They're very pathetic though. I don't see the thrill in buying someone else's stuff and they don't have any control over it.

 

And yes, they are morons. Ditto for those on PawnStars. Must be made by the same company.

[THE OFFICIAL ATARI 2600 HEAVY 6-SWITCH LIST]

Dude, the RF cables are actually regular single RCA cables. Go to Radio Shack and find one for like 6 bucks.

 

Thanks for the tip. Radio Shack seems to be carrying less and less necessities but I'll check.

[THE OFFICIAL ATARI 2600 HEAVY 6-SWITCH LIST]

Hopefully I won't derail this but where can replacement R/F cables be found? I need to replace several on my systems, including my Sears Heavy Sixer and even my original family 2600. I also need to replace a switch on my heavy sixer as well.

 

Edit: Nevermind! I didn't realize that the AA store carries these cables! Yay! Not sure about the switches though.

[Why Atari 2600 boxes are so important. Collect them all!]

I agree with ya!!

 

I think alot of the problem is that the boxes just take up so much more room then just cart only.. My collection takes up 6 times the room since I collect the boxes. My room is almost blown out and maybe looking into a 2nd room to start putting the collection into

 

that's my 2 cents!!

 

It's true that boxes do take up more room. I don't have many boxed 2600 games. However, I managed to hold on to some of my boxed 5200 games.

 

If I had a proper bookcase, I would look for boxed games.

[THE OFFICIAL ATARI 2600 HEAVY 6-SWITCH LIST]

Here's mine as well with attached image:

 

 

NTSC

TELEGAMES Unit

MFD for Sears Roebuck and Co.

S/N: 30855T (very hard to read but my best guess)

Sunnyvale

Me: Brad, South Burlington, VT

A/B Channel Slot: No

A/B Channel Switch: Not sure

Functional: Cord is frayed. Cannot test, have no tv with rf adaptor at the moment. Also, appears that Game Select switch needs replacement. I believe I got this in a lot on EBay a few years ago.

Refurbished: Nope

Manufacture Date: N/A

Additional Label: "STOP - DO NOT ATTEMPT GAME REPAIR. THERE ARE NO USER ADJUSTABLE PARTS INSIDE..."

 

Mine has the same additional label as Lana's Heavy Sixer. I would really like to restore and use it.

[Picked up a Flashback 2 today and...]

in the FB2's defense, it's the second best thing to real hardware. all those anthologies on other systems are crap.

 

That's true.

 

And another benefit is that it may encourage those who want to explore Atari's offerings to buy the real deal. That may be why Atari games are going back up in price (as mentioned in another thread).

[Sudden price jump in atari items]

I'm glad I held on to the majority of my 2600 games and consoles. I was just going through the box I had and realize that I still have about 75-85 games left and I kept a lot of the uncommon ones.

 

Can't say that I'd get back into collecting at this point but what I really need is to create the ultimate man cave with hookups for all my systems, storage, etc.

[Picked up a Flashback 2 today and...]

I like that these things exist, but yeah - they're definitely no substitute for the real thing. I do like the controllers on an original 2600 though. Good feel and pretty reliable so far...

 

They're kind of "gelly" but still work better than the old, crusty ones I have.

 

Looks like I'm stuck with the Flashback 2 until I can fix my A/V modded 2600s.

[Troubleshooting A/V Modded 2600s]

So, been really really sick for the past 4 days and out of boredom and inspiration from the Flashback 2, I tried to fire up my A/V modded 2600s but to no avail.

 

No power at all. No noise. Connections are tight. I wonder if it's the c64 monitor I plugged them into? I checked those connections too, nothing unusual there.

 

I'm really bummed here. One of those 2600s was modded by kielbaca a few years ago. Does anyone repair them or know where I can get another modded one?

 

Thanks.