Atari 7800 vs. Atari Lynx

[Atari 7800 vs. Atari Lynx]

There are more homebrew selections for the 7800 here at AA than the Lynx. I'm not sayin'--I'm just sayin'.

 

 

*shrug* I'd work on getting both. 7800 may be easier to come by than the Lynx. You could get that first and search for a nice bundle of Lynx stuff later.

[CGE Releases and AA T-Shirts Available for Purchase]

Just received Juno First and Turbo! Both are superb! I love the enhanced version of Turbo... it's totally rad. I like that the objects are slowed from the original prototype to make the game very playable. Nice touch on the digital font. From the squeal of the tires to RACE OVER. I love it. The packaging is top notch. The box feels very substantial and the whole package just feels like an original Coleco product.

 

And Juno First? Well it's still as awesome as the day it was released too.

[Memories of where and when you first played/saw this game]

Venture: Troy Hattlestad's ColecoVision in Lakeville, MN. Incidentally, they had the only ColecoVision in the neighborhood. Don't think I've ever played the Atari version.

 

Never saw a pac-land.

[reset switch for heavy sixer]

You're right. I thought about them after I posted this. I want to get replacements for the three main ICs also since it has compatibility issues with a couple of games, so Best is the way to go.

 

I'll call them tomorrow or Friday. I wonder if they have a long hold time or if I can perhaps call them during a short break at work...

 

It's usually not a matter of hold times... They're in CA so if you're out there your golden. But they have weird hours.

[reset switch for heavy sixer]

I wiped out the reset switch on my heavy sixer with one of those 24 ounce Arizona Iced Tea cans. When it landed on my Atari, it snapped the reset switch off right at the base. I tried to glue it on, but all I've managed to do is stick the chrome shaft to the broken part of the switch.

I'd prefer to get the whole switch and just solder it into the board.

 

The best place to get this is here:

 

http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/

 

Just call the guy and tell him which switch you need. They're pretty cheap and they're NOS.

[Expansion Module game sneak peek]

Great work. I'm not a fan of Gauntlet on home machines. Honestly, it bores me to tears. But the work is awesome! I love the boot screen. I miss the days when every great programmer got credit on the main screen.

 

Thanks for the compliment. As I've mentioned numerous times already its not going to be Gauntlet.

 

Your welcome. I'm sorry. Should have read a little more rather than just scan...

[Retro gamer Issue 79]

O. Good idea to throw the pdfs on my iPad... Simply Drag and Drop of The pdfs?

 

Sorry for the late reply... If you get GoodReader ($.99) you can drag and drop them in iTunes. There are directions on the GoodReader site.

[Orders only>>5200 Thumbstick style controllers. Ready ones gone for now!]

Bump!

 

Any chance you can re-post pics?

[Memories of where and when you first played/saw this game]

The Pizza Factory in Farmington, MN (now long gone.) My dad gave me two quarters. One for the jukebox and one for Donkey Kong. I picked, "I Love a Rainy Night" by Eddie Rabbit. I died on the first board in DK.

 

That's my first real memory of playing a video game. Though I'm sure I played Asteroids or Space Invaders prior to that.

[Poll: New Module Name....]

NM.

 

[Atari 7800 Forum Description]

Well, it looks like we finally have a new forum description:

 

The Atari 7800 came out after the 5200. It has a black, plastic case.

 

 

 

That's great.

 

[CGE Releases and AA T-Shirts Available for Purchase]

Paypal sent for Turbo and Juno First.

[Expansion Module game sneak peek]

For those of you not attending CGE 2010 here's a sneak peek at my Expansion Module game Dungeon! :-

 

 

Many thanks to sh3-rg for the fantastic graphics (as per usual). The title page has been hand edited because its a 160C image (it looks very close to that image on a TV). Its a single player, 8 way scroller that allows 25 colours per video scan line (the maximum the 7800 can do). Graphics are provisional and may change in the future. There is still a great deal of work to do on it. Hence there is no fixed release date and no binary available at this time.

 

Great work. I'm not a fan of Gauntlet on home machines. Honestly, it bores me to tears. But the work is awesome! I love the boot screen. I miss the days when every great programmer got credit on the main screen.

[Arcade Adaption]

 

On topic, I'd never even heard of Juno First as an arcade game, but now it's my favorite 2600 game.

 

--Will

 

Heheh. Ironically, I have a Solar Fox arcade cabinet with a 48-in-1 in it which has Juno First on it as one of the games. :-)

 

Solar Fox is pretty cool and a very good adaptation of the original arcade though it's missing a couple of things. The main thing is you can't fire at your enemies. In the arcade version, there are 3 fire buttons. One on the stick (which was the same as a Tron joystick) and one on either side of the main joystick. Unlike Donkey Kong, this game was Ambidextrous! The graphics on the cabinet are rad too.

 

Some say that the 2600 port of the game is better than the Arcade game. (Though I'd wager they didn't play the Arcade version much.)

[easier 7800 Composite video mod]

Glad you were able to fix the POKEY issue. I was holding off on doing this mod until the POKEY issue was resolved. Are you going to update the instructions with the fix?

 

Good Idea. I just updated the instructions (Post #14) to include the POKEY audio fix and the resistor change.

 

 

 

Has anyone seen these?

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 300444248112

 

I'm wondering if they take into account the Pokey chip sound and if anyone has actually tried this kit?

[Retro gamer Issue 79]

As for Retro Gamer, I've got a subscription going and I'm collecting the old mags off eBay.

 

I love that rag and subscribe as well. Somebody set us up the bomb.

 

Here is another option (though I can appreciate wanting the physical copy) you can get the archive that they release which has all of the last year's subscription in PDF format. Great reading on an iPad with GoodReader.

 

I do have a couple of complaints about the magazine though: 1. Wish they didn't pimp the Amstrad, Spectrum and BBC Micro so much... but I realize it's a UK rag. I wish I could get some backers in the U.S. to publish a competing magazine. I'd love to write for it.

[Interest Check: CD-I Digital Video Card]

Bump. Only one left. Details updated in top post.

 

Thanks to everyone who looked! You guys rock!

 

I'm gonna throw this last one up on the eBay!

 

So moderators, if there is a way to close this thread please feel free.

[Halloween demo cart stolen from AA at CGE 2010!]

Who ever ends up with this will claim ignorance. "I bought it from sumguy." Even if it is they themselves that took the item, if it surfaces ignorance will be claimed. If it is ever found, I don't care what the justification for the who or where, it should be returned to it's owner. It's not like the download wasn't on AA to begin with if anyone wants the file. An ill gotten prize is worthless. Shame on who ever did this, or keeps it one second longer once they find out it was stolen.

 

AX

Claiming ignorance doesn't matter under the law. Recieving stolen goods is just as much a crime as stealing it yourself.

 

This is just plain stupid. Who has friends that are gonna be impressed that you stole a prototype cartridge from AA? If I found out my "friend" had done this I'd steal the cartridge from him, punch him square on the jaw and mail it back to Al--stat. Maybe not in that order. If it by some miracle does show up on eBay--the guy is a complete idiot.

 

Any chance it could have been a young kid? Too young to know better?

[8-Bit to 5200 Adapter?]

I think that it would be far easier to do a software conversion for the different address map and controller input than fit an A8 into a plug in module for the cart slot.

 

I wonder if an emulator cart could be made. Though it seems a waste of time, really. And I didn't realize that the address map would be an issue.

[7800 Piggyback Expansion Module comes to life!]

Okay, just drove back from North East CT. this morning...

 

 

Finished giving the sample plastic a simple satin coat, I need to clean it up a bit tomorrow, some fine sanding and cloth wipe it down to get more of the shine off of it and then place a temporary breadboard into it and ports, screw it together firmly so its ready for showing at CGE next week...

 

 

 

 

My brain has 'sploded. This is awesome.

[7800 Piggyback Expansion Module comes to life!]

Okay, haven't slept since yesterday, but here we are, this is the 7800 Expansion Module:

 

 

 

 

Very tired....

Curt

 

 

Wow. Would love one of those.

[8-Bit to 5200 Adapter?]

Being that there is such a nicely sized homebrew community here, I was wondering if anyone has made an adapter that would allow you to play 8-bit Atari carts in a 5200 or is that just not possible?

[7800 Expansion Module]

Hey guys! Aside from programmers, how would this be of interest to the "average" 7800 user?

 

Thanks!!!

 

AdeptRapier

 

 

My interest is high.

[Best cord to go from system to TV?]

Could you just use a sega or nintendo adapter?

 

Just wondering as Ive never tried to....

 

I'd bypass the RF box completely and plug directly into the Coax connector on the TV with the Coax/RCA adapter. See if that helps with the fuzz. If that's not it and upgraded cable doesn't fix it maybe mod it since you have another working machine.

[Atari 7800 Forum Description]

I think the proposed description is a good improvement over the current one. Let me suggest a slight revision (based on information gathered from Curt Vendel's 7800 page), to try to avoid antagonizing 5200 fans:

 

In 1984, the Atari 7800 was to become the company's flagship game console. Based on extensive feedback from 5200 customers, the 7800 featured a more streamlined design, backward compatibility with the 2600, a powerful new graphics processor, and simplified controllers.

 

I like that. :-) It improves the description while not taking a "pot shot" at the 5200.

 

And on a side note, I love this from that page: "The first MARIA chip was numbered GCC1701. GCC's engineers were big fans of Star Trek, so with the Enterprise being NCC-1701, they made their chip the GCC-1701. The final production chip: Maria II was GCC1702B."