Atarius Maximus

I've never actually seen Antiques Roadshow before. Was there a show featuring an Atari 2600 that was appraised at $1000 or something? Someone please fill me in. AM

I've got a copy of the single ender Xonox game "Robin Hood", and the label is in excellent conditon. It's a Rarity 8 game, and I was wondering if anyone would want to do a straight up trade for a different game of similar rarity? I would love to get my hands on a copy of Crazy Climber, Boing!, or maybe Miner 2049er II. An no, I don't want to sell it, I want to trade! I can post a picture of the game later tonight if anyone is interested. AM

This guy wants $10,000 for a "bulk of video games", and doesn't list what games he's selling? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&item=800184924

I didn't know that those games didn't come sealed. The first time I read the auction, it seemed odd that someone would open up an (implied) sealed game just to test it for an auction. I stand corrected. I'm sorry. AM

This guy had a sealed copy of this game, and just opened it before the auction so he could "test it". No further comment. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&item=800481164 AM

Heh. I actually owned this cart as a kid when it was new, and played it quite a bit. I remember liking it back then. I've still got my original copy in my collection....maybe I'll stick it in the next time I fire up the Atari.

Only in the UK. Over here in the USA, it is definitely spelled "color". See this link: http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=color AM

Heh. I'm never one to back down from a challenge, but I don't have a Wico bat controller to even attempt that. I'm sure it could be done, though. If you know where I could find a wiring schematic of that controller, I'll look in to it. Or, you could send me one of your spares, if you have one. I couldn't have finished the Proline to CX40 mod without the schematics that I found on the internet. AM

Just take the paddle apart and shoot some WD40 in the pot. Worked great for me.

I usually only use my big screen for about 10-15 minutes at a time for video games, and never had a problem with burn-in. For the most part, I just use my 27" regular TV. AM

It is absolutely true that you can cause damage to a big screen TV playing video games. Do a random search on the internet, and you'll find plenty of reliable sources explaining why this happens. If you read the owner's manual to your TV, you'll probably find a warning about this problem. Here is an excerpt from Widescreen.org: "Widescreen TVs are just as susceptible to "burn in" as regular TVs. This is why many TVs come with warnings about excessive video game usage - it is possible that playing a game for excessive amounts of time, particularly games where scores or other information are located in the same areas of the screen, can damage your screen. The best way to prevent "burn in" is to reduce the exposure of an unchanging image. It is very possible for continual viewing of widescreen images to damage a TV by causing uneven wear on the phosphors. Just make sure that you get regular use of your entire screen and your TV should not be damaged." I have a 10 year old 60" big screen TV, and I've always used it for gaming and never had a problem, I just always kept my video game sessions on that particular TV relatively short. Just be careful and you should be OK, just be aware that damage can occur. AM

As far as I know, there aren't any games that actually require both buttons to be pressed at the same time. As I mentioned earlier, I'm no expert on this stuff, but I believe that's just how the fire button behaves with how the wiring is configured in my diagram. AM

That's my favorite joystick. I've had one since the early 80's and used it on my C64 and my 2600, and it's still working fine after 20 years. They're cheap and plentiful, I recently bought an extra one on Ebay for $3. AM

No, I never got around to posting any instructions, so I'll do it now. I'll do my best to explain how I did it. Please keep in mind that this joystick modification was created by a very non-technical person who just likes to take stuff apart and tinker with it. It may or may not work for you, so I take no responsibility for you turning your perfectly good joysticks into piles of useless plastic! If all goes well, after you finish this project your joystick should have 3 working buttons. The wiring was designed so that the original button on the CX40 will emulate pressing both 7800 buttons at the same time, and the two new buttons would emulate the left and right buttons on the 7800 Proline joystick. I haven't tested it with very many games yet, but it appears to be fully functional. Equipment I used for this project: 1 Donor Atari 7800 Proline joystick (used main cable & resistors from it) 1 Atari CX40 2 Small Momentary-switch buttons from Radio Shack Tools I Used for this project: Soldering Iron Drill Wire cutters Electrical Tape Getting Started...Prepare the donor parts: 1. Disassemble the Proline Joystick. Carefully remove all wiring from the circuit board, and remove the main cable. This cable will be used in the CX40. 2. Remove the Resistors from the Proline circuit board. These will be re-used in the CX40. I simply clipped them off with wire snippers. You can also buy new resistors from Radio Shack if you prefer, they’re 520 Ohm. Prepare the CX40: 1. Disassemble the CX40. Carefully put aside the fire button and the spring underneath the fire button, that spring is really easy to lose. 2. Remove all the wiring from the circuit board (just slide the clips off). 3. Remove the existing main cable from the CX40, you won’t be needing it anymore. After you remove it, install the main cable from the 7800 Proline in it’s place. The cable from the Proline joystick has the extra wiring we’ll need to install the 2 extra buttons. 4. Remove the screw cylinder from the top left of the base (In this case, “remove” really means “break it off ”). This needs to be removed in order to make room for the new buttons. I removed it by latching on to it with a pair of locking pliers, and twisted it until it finally popped off. Nothing scientific there! 5. Drill holes for the two switches. I positioned them based on the placement of my hand. The switch farthest to the right should rest comfortably under the tip of your left index finger. 6. Cut the circuit board. Be VERY careful doing this! This step is necessary to make room for the buttons. See the picture at http://www.stevesfiles.com/joystick1.jpg (or just look at the bottom of this post) to get an idea of how I did this. 7. Install the buttons. Place them in the holes you drilled and secure them in place. 8. Based on the wiring diagram at http://www.stevesfiles.com/wiringdiagram.jpg (also posted below), connect all of the wires (using the main cable pirated from the 7800 stick) to the circuit board. You will need to solder in the resistors, as seen in the diagram. Putting it all back together: 1. After you have installed all of the wiring, carefully place the circuit board back in to the base unit. In my joystick, it was a very tight fit along the top of the circuit board, where I had cut the board to make room for the back of the buttons. You may have to twist the buttons to position the wires just right. 2. Put the firing button and the spring back in, and carefully place the top of the joystick back on. 3. Hold it tight, flip it over, and put the screws back in. It will only take 3 instead of four now, as we removed one of the screw cylinders. 4. Test it! Now, sit back, and enjoy all of your 7800 games the way they were meant to be played. With a CX40 Joystick!

Well, I don't speak German, but I tried to translate it using AltaVista's translator. Here's what I got: "What are the girls called, if those of dirndls get?" Doesn't make much sense, I know. Oh well, I tried.

I got my first Atari for Christmas in 1981. I believe my parents purchased it at K-Mart. They also bought Activision's Fishing Derby for me at the same time...that and Combat were my only two games for quite a while!

I just made a joystick similar to what you are describing, and posted my results in the 7800 forum. Look here: http://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13074 I've got links to pictures and a wiring diagram of how I did it. I added two buttons to the front of the CX40 to be used with your left index finger. AM

Thank you, I appreciate the kind words! This was just an evening project, I don't really have the time (or spare joysticks) to make these and sell them. I'd be happy to provide you with more detailed instructions on how to make your own, though. I'll post again after I've had the time to test the joystick with all of the games. I am by no means an expert on things like this, but it looks like it will work OK. I left for vacation shortly after my original post ... I'm far from home, way up in the green mountains of Vermont right now, trying hard to enjoy my vacation! (no Atari up here ) AM

I thought I'd share my latest project with everyone. I modified an Atari CX40 to use with my 7800, adding two additonal fire buttons. IMO, the Proline joysticks are terrible, they are painful for me to use. I had to come up with an alternative! The top button functions normally (it's the wired to be the same as pushing both buttons simultaneously), and I added two more buttons on the front of the base, which are both used with your index finger. Just as you'd expect, the left button functions as the 7800 Proline's left button, and the right button functions as the Proline's right button. I haven't done much testing with it yet, but it appears to work fine so far with One-on-One. This was a somewhat difficult mod to do, I had to cut the circuit board and remove one of the plastic screw cylinders inside the joystick base in order to make room for both additional buttons. I spent several hours working on this. I pirated a 7800 stick for the wiring and the resisitors, I had an extra broken one anyway. If you'd like to take a look at some pictures, go here: http://www.stevesfiles.com/Joystick2.jpg http://www.stevesfiles.com/Joystick4.jpg http://www.stevesfiles.com/WiringDiagram.jpg AM

Holy Crap! I had no idea that game was so valuable. I bought it new, played it, and gave it to a friend's little brother about 4-5 years ago. I may be making a phone call to that old friend tonight!

Yeah, I don't think it's all that uncommon. I have a Donkey Kong Jr. cart that came out of the box with the end label upside down.

Early 90's? Wow. My first experience was at a friend's house back in 1979, we played combat for hours! I begged my parents for the next year to by me one, and I got my first 2600 for Christmas in 1980. My first cart (besides the combat pack-in) was Activision's Fishing Derby, followed by Kaboom & Space Invaders.

Thank you for all of your suggestions. I didn't know about the Multi-Cart, I just contacted Sean about buying one. I'll probably still end up trying to find all of the original carts anyway, due to my obsession with collecting original carts! I'll probably take Cafeman's suggestion and build a dual-stick holder out of cardboard and duct tape. It's funny how a roll of duct tape can solve so many of life's problems! AM

I've been a long time 2600 fan, and finally decided to pick up a 2-port 5200, trackball, and 10 games from ebay (both joysticks that came with it actually work!). When I first unpacked it, my jaw dropped to the floor when I saw how BIG this beast really is! Sheesh! It looks really cool, though. I'm really impressed so far, the graphics on the games I've played are outstanding (compared to my favorite 2600 titles), and I actually thought the joysticks were kind of cool. I got the hang of using them to play Pac-Man & Galaxian pretty quickly, but man, Super Breakout is amost unplayable with a joystick. Centipede with the Trackball is just awesome! Since I'm a new 5200 owner, I was wondering if anyone could recommend a "definitive" 5200 title that I should look to buy first. I've already got Pac-man, Galaxian, Super Breakout, Popeye, Centipede, Defender, Kangaroo, Baseball, Football, and Soccer. AM

I remember many of the closeout sales after the crash, too, back in late '84 and '85. I bought lots of crappy games at Kay-bee toy stores for $1-$5, many of them U.S. Games, Mythicon, and Apollo titles, and ended up returning them, well, because they sucked. I guess it was easier to return opened games back then, huh?