Madaracs

I just posted a little article about the module on GridCycle--a small community gaming blog largely populated by Minnesotans. There's a little propaganda between the lines but the facts are gathered from here and the Legacy website. Who knows, maybe some of our local peeps will be more interested in getting one of their own now.

My order is in! I'm totally psyched.

I have two of them. ADAM hog.

Thanks, man. Now if I could only make it so there was a working tachometer...

I bought these key-switches today. They're not as nice as say... an Alco branded one, but they look appropriately toy-like and vintage for the Module. I think one of these will do nicely.

Well, there's a lot of issues with not fact checking and crossreferencing on things. For example things like claiming that Atari Coin and Consumer were in connected buildings, or screwing the timeline of Syzygy/Atari and claiming Larry Bryant was involved when they went to file for the Atari name, different numbers and figures, etc. Lots of great quotes, and the book itself covers a very wide period - which I think was part of the issue. He spent so much time and resources on gathering up the material for that wide of a spectrum, and less on vetting all of it. As far as with regards to Atari, no, not at the moment. That'd be the one on the market right now with the most info. Zap is Atari specific, but even worse in it's fact checking. Cool. Thank you very much for the info.

Sorry to drift off topic, but can you elaborate on this? What reports? This (the NY launch being a "failure") seems like an interesting tidbit that you're not going to see in any retrospectives. For example, there's this one from the Philadelphia Inquirer (Jan 14th, 1986) that also covers the relaunching of the 7800: Strangely, Atari also showed a lineup of its old video games and announced that a new game machine, first shown two years ago but never shipped to stores, would be reincarnated in a sleeker unit with a smaller price - about $80. Atari vice president Michael V. Katz, who formerly worked for Mattel and Coleco, two other fallen video-game giants, said that the machine, the Atari 7800, would be aimed at a new generation of 5-to-10-year-olds who were too young to participate in the nation's Pac-Man craze of several years ago. Katz declined, however, to identify any retailers that would carry the 7800, or game cartridges for it. Nintendo, a Japanese company that attempted to introduce a new video-game machine over Christmas, failed miserably, retailers say. Video games may be a tenuous proposition in 1986, but in other segments of the electronics market, the feeling is bullish. ". . . Plummeting prices may be behind us," said Alan Schlosser, spokesman for the Electronic Industries Association, the show's sponsor. In addition to press coverage, there's also Kent's direct talks with Arakawa and Lincoln of course, where they stated as such as well. The Feb '86 LA test launch was much better, and by the June '86 CES the media and retailers were looking at the NES very differently. You mentioned awhile back that you felt "The First Quarter" was a good resource full of lots of information about the entire industry but not entirely accurate. (I think, that was you.) Is there another book you might recommend with in-depth Atari history?

It was suggested at work I add a key switch. I think I might do that. So you have to "start the car" to turn it on.

That's when these come in handy. Ooh I like that. I just remember buying a handful of single-ones at IKEA & using them whenever the need calls. Really, the wall-wart thing is a cost cutting measure by companies I know, but it's a big pain in the ass. Not only that, I swear electronics manufacturers pay extra to make sure the product it plugs into is never EVER mentioned on the off-the-shelf power supply. Heaven help you if you mix them up. I'm now resorting to a piece of masking tape & labeling them. The ColecoVision wall-wart is a particular nuisance. The thing I love about it though is the gasps that it invokes when you pull it out to plug it in. It's also one of the few power bricks to have a support stand/nub in attempt to keep it at a 90 degree angle when plugged into the outlet so it doesn't end up pulling itself out of the wall.

Thanks!

That's when these come in handy.

Below are some photos from the mod I completed yesterday with a friend of mine on the ColecoVision Expansion Module #2. I went to Unique Thrift Store in Crystal, MN to get some old parts and a 6V AC Adapter. We ended up cannibalizing a portable CD player for the mini-plug interface ($1.40) and found a Bell phone charger with a mini plug that ran 6V ($2.99). 2+ hours later we had de-soldered, soldered and mounted a miniplug power interface to the Expansion Module as well as adding a vintage looking lamp to the dash to show that the power was running. It also gave us opportunity to troubleshoot a new test monitor I had purchased and clean up this particular module as it had some battery corrosion and hadn't really been tested. We tested out Turbo while we were at it... and it was quite fun. Like a dummy I forgot to take a photo of the miniplug mount on the back. So I'll do that later. Flickr Set

CPU murdering? Perhaps he could program someone out of existence. Like TRON or something. I like G&W, but the thread title said something about the price, if I recall, before it was edited. You are mistaken. The thread [sub-heading] said something about it being back-lit.

I have Yurkified controllers. They work awesome. You should give them a try next time you're over.

Dood, Z. Maybe you shoulda just chucked the game... But I feel your pain. You need a new CV? I got a few extra...

Played Stay Frosty for the first time. I absolutely love it. All the games are fantastic on the Stella's Stocking collection. Of course most everyone here already knows that. I have to say I was impressed with the quality of each game. My two favorites are Stay Frosty and Grandma's Revenge.

Cool. +1 for the speedy reply and tip. I think I have a way to dump my current cart's ROM so that might potentially fix it. I just dumped my copy of Buck Rodgers and it is identical to the ROM that's out there. It has the same 240 scanlines; so it must be a programming "bug". Mitch Crap! :!:

I wouldn't be surprised if someone decided to release the "Ultimate Pac-Man Collection." Maybe Super Pac-Man could be added and the Pokey sound upgrade. I'd pay $50 for that. Maybe, if there is room, throw in Jr. Pac, to bring the whole family home. (Baby Pac, the pinball variant, being a different challenge altogether) Right on. Man, baby pac... what a terrible and awesome machine that was. I remember seeing it for the first time at Showbiz Pizza in St. Paul.

This game kicks my ass. I get to the first save point and cannot seem to get beyond that. Is there a booby prize for lowest Pitfall II score?

Is that really a threat? Electronic or not, I'd watch what you say here.

First, that is awesome. 2nd: Your monitor needs a cap-kit. And before I drone on about it... I'm just gonna second Crazy Climber's post. Also, get a manual if you don't have one already and find out the make of that monitor. I don't know how much experience you have with arcade machines--and I'm sure you already know all about this but be careful when you're monkeying around in the cab not to mess with the neckboard or get zapped. Are you in MN, too?

Cool. +1 for the speedy reply and tip. I think I have a way to dump my current cart's ROM so that might potentially fix it.

It might be a little high for all of us bargain-basement pickers/hunters but it's probably worth it. I know there is a large variety of collectors here... so it's worth a shot. *shrug* If you're just lookin' to unload it I'd drop the price to $20 shipped and let her go... If it were me which it's not. Is bumping a thread to compete bad form? In the case of reminding someone you have it for cheaper I don't think it is...

Perhaps it should have been posted elsewhere but... Whoa! Cool your heels, Ted. Wasn't tryin' to get yer boots... dusty. And the word was piece, my man. Not price. I enjoy seeing all of the threads people post here about eBay and I'm not particular whether it's in auction or not. But if it annoys you that much, maybe an admin would be so kind as to pop it into the Auction thread so we don't ruffle any more feathers.

Is there a bad Planet of Zoom bin out there or has someone else possibly seen this? When I used my Harmony cart for the first time last night to play a bin of a game I already own: Buck Rogers and the Planet of Zoom, the ROM loaded and then I saw this: Once into the game it appears to work alright. I was also playing on my 7800. So I was thinking this might be a game that plays better on the 2600. Anyway, if anyone has experience with this issue--I'd appreciate advice!