tetrode kink

Disagree, but only because of personal taste. If/when I ever get around to doing an A/V mod on my Precious, I would have no problem having A/V outs on the back, as long as they're all lined up (not mounted all jabberwocky). My problem is, since it's my own system, I'd probably take the lazy way out and just solder one end of an A/V cable onto the board and run it out the original RF cable hole.

Why not? That rounds out to $2.23 per cart, including shipping. You could (and people do) pay more for commons. Considering it's eBay, that's really not bad.

OA, as others have mentioned, you really shouldn't dismiss emulation out-of-hand. Emulation can serve a purpose, even for those who prefer playing on the Real Hardware. Once you try different games in emulation you can decide which ones you really want to have in cart form - via Albert's 'put any ROM on a cart' service here; subject to developer exemption, of course. Alternatively, you could skip the expense of the ROM-on-a-cart service by just buying a Harmony Cartridge and downloading the ROMs you want to play. If you use the harmony, you're gonna need ROMs.

Seems like a cool site, but I could never get anyone to answer or approve me so I could post, reply, or anything. Pity, as I love Sega. AX Had to have been an oversight by the admins. Maybe they were extra-busy that day. Also, once you're registered at Sega-16, you have to post at least ten replies in existing threads before you're allowed to start a new thread. To keep that rule and still allow new members to ask questions, there is a dedicated "New Members Ask Questions Here" thread stickied at the top of the Tech Aid subforum.

Are you a member of the Sega-16 Forum? Check the Tech Aid subforum there. I'd bet Demons to Diamonds someone there can point you in the right direction.

The difference in the Flashback repro sticks is that the fire button and directions are much easier to actuate - no more thumb fatigue on frantic shooting jags! I've never used the 500XJ, but I'm not surprised your "fire" finger gets tired. The ergonomic design is great as far as the stick fitting naturally in your hand. But constant firing action with your index finger curled around to the fire button like that? Total disaster. That's just begging for a severe case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome if you're the type - and gamers are definitely the type - to ignore pain for extended gaming sessions. The problem is simple: Your thumb, since it has to oppose up to four fingers to grasp things securely, is stronger than your other digits. This makes the thumb the best candidate to stand up to continuous and repeated firing action. Individually, the other fingers just can't compete. If Epyx had just moved that fire button around to where the thumb naturally rests on the 500XJ's body, I have a feeling that it would have been the perfect stick: Easy to hold securely (no more edges of the CX-x0 body digging into your hands), nice short-throw stick, well-placed and (hopefully) easy-action, thumb-actuated fire button.

...Or in the Consoles section of the AtariAge Hardware Archive...

Agree. While the Wicos are well-made sticks, they actually degrade player performance (albeit slightly). The problem is throw distance. Since the stick is so big, one has to move the stick a longer distance to actuate the direction switches. This is exacerbated when one needs to "throw" the stick in one direction, then immediately in the opposite direction. Since the "throw" is physically longer than on a smaller stick, especially if you hold the stick near its top, it actually takes longer to move the stick, potentially degrading the player's game performance. Granted, the difference is minute, perhaps not even noticeable by the player. But do you really want to take the chance that you're handicapping your own performance? I mean, just how serious a gamer are you, anyway? Yes, you could hold the stick nearer its base to shorten the required throw distance, but doing so increases the effort necessary to actuate those monster arcade-quality leaf switches, due to decreased leverage. Anyway, that's why I prefer a stick with a short throw. The CX-40 is decent, though I prefer the feel of the Flashback repro sticks. I'd like to try a Slik Stik someday.

Heh, couldn't have said it better myself. And that's saying something, 'cause one of the things [i think] I'm really good at is saying things better myself!

Wow, nice rant! In an age when journalists with integrity are a dying breed, it's nice to know there are still a few trying to keep the flame alive. Also, I didn't realize GameGavel.com had grown to more than just a video game auction site, that it actually has editorial staff. Guess I'll have to check it out!

While I agree with your point, eBay is a little more complex than just running some servers. They have to create and maintain a vast, specialized program to run auctions. On a lot of servers. Another thing to consider is payroll bloat - eBay has entire "teams" for each aspect of eBay: Buyer "Experience," Seller "Experience," Search "Experience," etc. Yes, and isn't it interesting that when Yahoo Auctions, eBay's closest competitor, went under, it didn't take long for eBay to jack up fees and jack boot their policies. Now that eBay has no effective competition, they're a monopoly.

What do you like about them, OA?

IMHO SpiceWare (Mr. Medieval Mayhem) explained it best. The only way I would improve on his explanation is to complete the metaphor: The hot-spot the programmer hits when he wants to switch banks (turn the page) is a apecial "corner" of the ROM, or the corner of the page you reach for when you want to turn the page.

Um, jibbajaba? Why did you link off-site for the Harmony? Harmony Cartridge information is always pinned at the top of the Atari 2600 Forum. [edit] Oops, the info is there but it isn't so easy to find. Here's where you get the Harmony Cartridge: http://harmony.atariage.com/ [/edit]

AtariLeaf, if you do follow orpheuswaking's advice, at least put them in plastic bags before you swallow them. I'm not sure that your eventual buyers would enjoy receiving games covered in stomach acid.

If I heard a stick talking about rabbits, I'd be worried.

Maybe people just need to be motivated... OK YOU MAGGOTS, GET UP OFF YOUR FAT, LAZY POSTERIORS AND BUY PHAXDA'S STUFF! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? DO YOU HAVE YOUR MOMMA GO OUT AND BUY YOUR ATARI STUFF FOR YOU? YOU PUKES MAKE ME SICK TO MY STOMACH!! PHAXDA IS A BETTER MAN THAN ANY OF YOU WORMS! YOU SHOULD BE BEGGING HIM TO TAKE YOUR MONEY!! IF YOU PANTY-WASTES DON'T STEP UP AND BUY PHAXDA'S STUFF, YOU ARE JUST A POOR EXCUSE FOR SNAIL EXCREMENT!! NOW MOVE IT! MOVE IT! MOVE IT! Hmm, not strong enough?

Can't remember when, but a different picture of that prototype has been posted in these forums before. [edit] It was similar to the top picture, and it was posted within the last year. [/edit]

Sorry, your qualifier doesn't necessarily negate the reason for your admonition. I can still think "8-bit wood" and stay comfortably in the gutter, thank you. I suspect that, though you may have meant "8-bit wood," the wording of your thread title wasn't an accident...

Heh, Stan, you're a riot. I don't mean a 6532 RIOT, unless you want me to mean that. Considering where we are here, one could certainly be called worse... Anyway, I mean you crack me up. Every time I pass by this thread in the "Marketplace" forum, I can't help but chuckle at your thread title. Then your sense of humor continues in your posts. Sorry, I'm not interested in your crap, but I sincerely wish you the best of luck unloading your crap! lol I'm sure it's insufficient compensation, but I'm giving you a rep +1. Thanks for the laffs!

I think we all agree on those points! Though, I'd probably hack a CX40 to make it work with this if need be. It's got lots of potential. Just like the Flashback 2 had lots of potential. I had a FB2 for about a year and sold it because really... whats the point if you can't expand or plug in an original cartridge? If they made an FB2 with an expansion USB/SD port or some other awesome thing like that I'd buy it all over again in a heartbeat! Ah, but you can add a cartridge port to a FB2. Then, if you really want SD card support on it, just plug in a Harmony Cartridge.

Somehow I think 80% is a bit high. Yes, color TVs were common then, but they were also very expensive, especially for the larger screens. Some people just couldn't afford a color set in those days. Add to that the fact that even into the '80s, there were still a lot of vacuum-tube TVs in use (in my brief encounter with formal training in electronics in 1980, we had to learn vacuum tube theory before we moved on to transistors). Some people would simply not buy a new TV unless they had to, so they used their B&W TV until it died, exploded (exaggerating), or when they no longer had to look up the number to dial the repair shop. Even when a family got their first color TV, if their B&W was still working it would be put to use in another room. Add to that the fact that B&W tabletop portable TVs were still being sold in the '80s. Given all that, I estimate that of all the TVs in use in the late-'70s, color sets made up closer to 50%, and I'd bet lower.

Certainly, Asteroids qualifies. All the game elements flicker except the score/lives line at the top. Because the initial asteroids are so huge and there are so many of them once you start breaking them up, at times the whole screen becomes a flickerfest. Flicker doesn't bother me at all, but I don't recommend Asteroids for the seizure-prone!

I don't see flicker as a problem. Flickering in Atari games never really bothered me when I was younger. Now that I know why it happens, i.e. flicker being a method of displaying more objects on the screen simultaneously than the machine was explicitly designed to, I don't even consider it an issue.