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SnapCraft

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Posts posted by SnapCraft

  1. Posted

    finally figured it out...

     

    I bought it as a package deal so I assumed that the monitor out cable was for it. Well it turns out it's a mono Sega Genesis cable. And like I read on another thread, it kind of works. The cables are swapped (didn't put 2 and 2 together until later on), white was video (poor) and yellow was audio.

     

    So I'll be RF'n it until I get my cable.

  2. Posted

    Mine was also a little washed out. From memory, I had to replace the transistor array due mostly to cross talk between the transistors on the chip for audio. also from memory, I had to play around with the values on the the mother board or disconect the audio carrier inject circuit on the mother board due to feed back from that part of the circuit.

    Have included a circuit diagram from the relevent part and noticed that there is no 75 ohm resistor for the composite or the chroma. Maybe I fitted a 75 ohm resistor in place of L104 and L105. Has been many years since I done this and memory is very dim at this moment......

     

    P.s. ignore the circle I drew on the schematic. Was for something but cannot remember.......

     

    James

     

    What about the S-Video cables on eBay, would that take care of it? Anybody ever use one of those?

     

     

    BTW: It cleaned up real nice. Keyboard is shiny. Latch springs up super fast (little WD-40). Probably in better condition than my original 800. I'm am now a fan of MAGIC ERASERS!

  3. Posted

    Got my first 800 and it's great! Very impressed how Atari products are built so well.

     

    2 questions

     

    (1) The Atari is missing pin #1 for the peripheral connection (apparently the Clock Input). I plugged in the 1050 Disk Drive and so far, so good [so the guy wasn't lying on eBay :) ]. I haven't done any writing tests, but the reading is great. So the obvious question: how important is this missing pin? I have a broken 850 that has the same part -- but I'm not a soldering guy.

     

    (2) I read a little bit about the monitor output. I have the cable and it looks washed out on the TV. Is this normal? Do I probably need to hunt for one of those Commodore 1702 monitors?

     

    Thanks

  4. Posted

    I couldn't find these in earlier threads. If they exist, please redirect me.

     

    (1) I used to type in the Compute! magazine games into my Atari 800. I wanted to run them on the emulator AtariWinPlus 4.0. Yeah, I got Basic, DOS...but how do you load a ".bas" file?

     

    (2) Is it possible to transfer ROMs to floppies to run on an actual Atari 800? If possible, how much of a pain is this?

     

    Thanks,

  5. Posted

    I didn't (back then). My best friend had an Atari, and I made fun of him all the time.

     

    I had Intellivision, then Colecovision, then got the Expansion Mod #1 for SEAQUEST. Then after a week I thought I wasted my money (or burned a good Christmas selection [can't remember]).

     

    Ironically, the Atari gets more playing time (presently) than the Colecovision.

     

    Don't get me wrong, sports on the Intellivision were dead on (loved baseball). But I never really realized that Atari was faster paced and handled arcade games quite nicely. River Raid, Galaxian, Chopper Command...yeah.

  6. Posted

    The graphic design guy where I work is a pretty nice guy and we talk some. Anyway today out of the blue I ask him if he ever played Atari much as a kid. He says yeah I did I loved it! He said even got one of the new atari 2600's with the games built in a couple of years ago. So I ask him what his favorite 2600 game was thinking he would say something like frogger or Miss Pac-Man. But he says Lock n Chase and Pitfall 2! Anyway just found it cool to talk to someone from some place other than Atariage that knew a little more about Atari than just Pac-Man and E.T.

     

    As crazy as this topic is, I have actually experienced happiness in delivering a "good deed"--recruiting a late twenties (NES gen) co-worker into Atari. He vaguely remembered it. He had Atari Flashback for the 360 and thought that was good enough. I told him, no, no, no...

     

    He was shocked by the difference in game play with just the paddles alone!

     

    I also showed him the Vectrex (I have yet to run into someone who remembers this). Only a true gamer can appreciate the value of the "trail" effect in vector gaming--impossible to emulate. Everyone else: "so it's just lines?"

  7. Posted

    Yes, it's called "frying". This can often yield crazy benefits.

     

    I accidentally found "Stage 0" on Miner 2049er (Atari 800) by frying. I was only able to bring it up only a few times. I remember writing the company and they acknowledged it and said it was supposed to be taken out, but it comes up every once and a while.

     

     

    This is the first I've ever heard of that. What is it like? Is there any more info about this anywhere? I did a search but didn't come across anything. I would love to see this but there's no way I'm going to risk killing my 800 over it.

    Out of curiosity, is stage zero actually beatable?

     

    Yes. It was easier (possible?) than Stage 1. It is absolutely true. I still have the letter. I'm doing some summer cleaning, if I come around to it I'll scan it and post it (I was happy they responded even though it was only 2 sentences).

     

    It was very difficult to repeat. I remember sitting for a long time ON-OFF-ON-OFF waiting for it to come back.

     

    Of course I don't remember the details of the stage, but it was there. Is it possible to emulate it?

  9. Posted

    I'd have to go with Activision's Laser Blast.

     

    For it's time the graphics were cool but the game play sure gets repetitive real fast.

     

    Second that. What a major, major disappointment. It's a shame to put it with the others, but a collection is not complete...

     

    ALL Activision titles kick major buttocks, but what happened with this one?

  10. Posted

    Since I'm doing some rearranging and sorting I thought I'd snap some pics of the collection while it's visible. So below are some snaps of a small part of my "collection" for your viewing pleasure, enjoy :)

     

     

    2 things: (1) need anymore room? and (2) is the wife/girlfriend OK with this?

     

    I've been classic collecting for about a year, and I already feel the "what's this leading to" pinch.

  11. Posted

    I need help with this desperately.

     

    Obviously this site is great for all things Atari, but I need the best for the other main consoles (Coleco, Odyssey, SMS, Genesis, Sega CD, TurboGfx, ???). Up to, but not including, PS1. Polygon graphics, barf!

     

    I'm a visual learner, I need the corresponding pictures of the boxes/carts. The ability to breakdown by company is key too. Everything else is icing: manual scans, reviews, etc. For instance, my current obsession is all early EA Genesis titles.

     

    Aside from this site (props), this is the best Intellivision site to help me with my collecting needs--

     

    http://www.intvfunhouse.com/mattel/ (I know he has others, but they are not complete)

     

    Perfection--nice, neat, organized. Are we spoiled with these two sites? Or are there other great ones out there? Namely: Colecovision.

     

    Thanks,

  12. Posted

    And like a chick, take it slow. Rush, and you could ruin everything.

     

     

    I'm sorry, but that doesn't make any sense to me since I frequent slashdot. Could you repeat in the form of a car analogy?

     

    Of course: Rev it and you could get Goo(gone) everywhere, slow and patience wins the race. This ain't Dragster , you know.

     

    (Yeah, I actually put thought into that one :) )

     

    It's true though. These "unknowers" put these big obnoxious bleeding red stickers on the label of the cartridge. They smear at the drop of Googone (or competitor) or strike back at you by taking some of your cartridge's label with it as you peal. Your first instinct is to get that mother off and free up the beautiful label, but patience is required for the big pay-off.

  13. Posted

    Cool! Thanks for the tips! Wish me luck - it'd be a shame to spoil it seeing as it looks so pristine otherwise - I'll post a pic once I've removed the offending sticker :D

     

    And like a chick, take it slow. Rush, and you could ruin everything.

  14. Posted

    Blame both...

     

    Atari did rest on its laurels. They had a good run of some crappy games.

     

    Colecovision's biggest error was going with the Adam instead of the "Super" Expansion Module #3. Save high scores! Donkey Kong Pie Factory level. I still get teary eyed talking about this.

     

    Adam Computer. Tape storage, are you kidding? I remember even back then what a horrible idea it was. "Yeah, but, these are a little different--they're faster."

  15. Posted

    - Had a good run on River Raid when my cousin walked by and hit the reset switch.

     

    - My ex wife was playing Majora's Mask one day when the cat decided to walk on my N64. The cat looked at her purposely, then stepped squarely on the reset switch. There went two hours of game time...

     

    Love this post! You gotta pet the cat every once in a while. Pause (paws--eh??) the game for a couple of minutes and give that pet some attention, it's worth it in the long run. That cat ... knew exactly what it was doing.

     

    The cousin did this intentionally? Dude, if it's a guy, tell me this led to a fight. "Unwritten Guy Code" specifically states if you are pissed at someone playing a video game don't reset the game, instead walk in front of the screen a few times. If it's girl, that's low--worthy of a Barbie decapitation.

  16. Posted

    1) Seaquest - The sounds!

    2) River Raid - No brainer.

    3) Ms. Pac-Man - Addictive. I'm in the 0.001% who finds Pac-Man tolerable (inches away from "barely acceptable", but hey let's go with the better port)

     

    I didn't have a 2600 growing up. I had the Intelli and Coleco (yeah, spoiled). This led to debates between my best friend who only had a 2600. I eventually got the converter solely because of SEAQUEST. Awesome game. River Raid for the Intelli is an embarrassment. It's one of those rare games that's better on the 2600. Even I know graphics aren't everything.

  17. Posted

    I voted ColecoVision, not really because I'm partial to the system, but because I feel the carts offer the best ratio of dimensions versus content, from a classic gaming point of view. I've always felt that NES carts were uselessly bulky, while GBA and DS carts are generally way too small for their own good (they're easy to misplace). Inty carts are flat and dull-looking, Odyssey2 carts look like they were designed for little children (although the games in the carts were quite diverse and not all for little kids). Atari 2600 carts were quite nice, but I prefer ColecoVision carts.

     

    Right! Colecovision! Black labels on black carts! The only color used is for the arcade logo. Stands out beautifully.

     

    NES = Bulky, gray, and what's that off-center squeeze handle? Yuck.

    Intellivision = No art work.

    Odyssey2 = No color. Handle???

    Atari 2600 = Nice, but you know a Colecovision cart could beat up an Atari cart. Look at them side-by-side. Activision A+, Atari Text Labels & Imagic F-.

    Vectrex = Very nice. Second place.

    SNES = Is that a garage door?

    Genesis = Good. Very colorful, but lack personality.

     

    Admit it. Colecovision is the best. Keep the bias out! I don't care if you just love Atari. You know Colecovision carts look good! Leave the mechanics out too. Atari is #1 for durability (love that trap door!). To me coolest "looking" does not equal coolest "working".

  18. Posted

    Lots of modern game developers seem to think they're in the movie business. I thought that stuff was cool when Ninja Gaiden did it, but now I just get impatient trying to skip over all the "storyline" garbage.

     

    I like how game reviewers these days shoot down a game if is doesn't have a good storyline.

     

    I agree. Storyline--tisss...not too important, what's the game like?!?

  19. Posted

    I mean, come on, no RIGHT cartridge port.

    Yeah, but there wasn't really anything that used it. It's really not much of a loss, considering that all the other 8-bits except the 800 don't have it.

     

    Kidding, of course. But I remember my family looking, researching, and deciding between the two. The RIGHT port--very important. At least maybe that's what the salesman was saying. ;)

     

    What was for it? Monkey Wrench or something like that?

     

    Besides, everyone knows bigger is better.

  20. Posted

    I guess some it has to do with bragging rights.

     

    That's part of it. For me (and I'm sure this goes for others too), it's all about finding the $100 game for $5. Thinking, "Man! I just made a profit of $95. I just got sooo lucky. You know what I could do? I could sell this and buy more games!"

     

    But will ya? Naaaa. That would be stupid because then you'd have to re-collect that one. So you find another. Can you sell that one? Nope that's now a back-up. By the time you find a 3rd, you'll be dead. Too bad we can't take our "toys" to heaven, because who really cares about these old games once you die, other than a serious mental collector.

  21. Posted

    I really love the looks of the 400.Especially the membrane keyboard, ok its pretty crap to type on, but really adds to the sleek 80's wedge shape of the 400.

    It should be displayed as a piece of art :D

     

    Ewww...might have to disagree. Growing up everyone knew how vastly inferior the 400 was to the sleek 800. Every time I see the 400, I look with disgust. I mean, come on, no RIGHT cartridge port. Membrane keyboard. Yuck.

     

    I'm looking for a 800 (with all keyboard keys, thank you). An 810 would be nice, but 1050 is more reliable.

     

    I can't wait to get scared again with a 2049er death.

  22. Posted

    Avoiding the obvious--

     

    #2 Donkey Kong Jr. for Colecovision (Donkey Kong, of course, is #1)

    I could make a small fort with the amount I have. Any homebrewer's out there who need some shells???

     

    #1 Auto Racing for Intellivision (I've actually seen more of this than the packed in Las Vegas Poker. Did people trash these?)

    I am so sick of Auto Racing for the Intellivision!

     

    And following the rules given...

    #4 Fishing Derby for Atari 2600 (Pac-Man #1, 'Stroids #2, Combat #3)

     

     

    Stating the obvious...

    Parsec (TI-99)

    KC Munchkin (Odyssey2)

     

    Sorry, one last thing. You ever notice how often you run into a packaged game (Star Raiders [2600], Turbo [Colecovision], etc) solo? It's like the game survived, but not the accessory. It's like, what am I supposed to do with this?

  23. Posted

    Let me get this straight... you WANT RF interference in your video games? I modified an Atari 2600 to add S-video, just to get away from all that ugliness. It didn't work too well, and I went straight back to playing 26K games on emulators.

     

    Classic gaming and a CRT,

     

    Like beer and pizza.

  25. Posted

    The sixers have a resistor between pins 6 and 9 of the TIA chip (620 Ohm IIRC) to boost the saturation. Most if not all other models omitted this resistor. You can increase the value of that resistor until you get an image that you like. I would recommend experimenting with a 100k pot to get an idea of what you like best. Then measure the pot's value and install a fixed resistor of that value (closest match). You can of course just remove the resistor all together with no problems for the least possible saturation level. But that always looks washed out to me.

     

    OK, woah, you lost me. I do appreciate the help, but can you give me a picture (and close up) of the area your talking about? I checked the Field Manual, and I couldn't find the TIA chip.

     

    Two things: I'm glad I was probably right in my thinking, and #2, I don't know if I want to start altering the inside. As a collector I want to keep it as pure as possible.

     

    It's probably not the RF metal box, eh? That would be trouble. If it is the way it is, so be it. However, I've heard on these boards that the Heavy Sixer is supposed to be the standard of what all other 2600's aspire to be. Anybody else have this over-saturation "problem"?

     

    Thanks

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