Dastari Creel

I just got the 7800 that I bought on ebay in the mail. I have a couple of questions. I see the expansion port. I believe that I read on the internet that that was never used for anything. Is that correct? Has anyone ever homebrewed anything to go in there? I see a thread on the 7800 forums regarding someone designing something to utilize that slot but is he the first one?

Or do you need the plastic part ? Well, the plastic part would be nice but just knowing that the connector is a part that can be bought from normal distributors is an excellent piece of information. Basically I have a project that I'm starting now where I'm actually trying to build a hand-held system from scratch rather than the Ben Heck "destroy a system and and a portable TV to make a portable game system" method. Not that I don't respect what Ben heck has done. My work will build on his but I really hate the idea of destroying a piece of history to create something new. I'd rather use new parts and try to get them to work in the same method.

Oh lets not turn this into a systems thing. Even when I had an Atari and everyone else in my neighborhood did, there was plenty of blowing into the cartridges as well. Its how people learned to do it for the NES after all. I'm going to need to do some more reading. By the way Mitch, you seem fairly knowledgable. Could you comment on some of my other threads that I have here. I'm trying to get started with my Atari and I've got some questions and need some direction to where I can find answers if the answer is to long to go in the forums.

Like Rybags said, there is no need to make any mod, as the game code itself can be modified to work on the XL/XEs. Additionally, 99% of all 5200 games have already been fixed to work on the XL/XEs. Do you mean that there is a hardware "fix" that can be applied with the cartridges to work with the Atari 8-bit computers or that they've been converted to a disc acceptable by the Atari 8-bit line. I'm just curious about the nature of this fix. I may end up getting an Atari 8-bit and it would be nice if I could play 5200-only games (like Adventure 2) on it.

Sorry for dropping out of this discussion suddenly but my computer crashed and is still out. Its just right now I can make use of someone else's computer. Unfortunately those of you who are really familiar with what you're talking about are talking about things as if they're well understood but they aren't for me. So let's back up a few ticks and also add a few more questions that I've come up with from things that I've been reading recently. 1.) Someone mentioned that they preferred the 800XL to the XE. Why is that? Isn't the XE the "last" of the Atari 8-bit computers? Did it lose some capability that the earlier computers had? 2.) If I understand correctly, Atari 8-bit computers can use disks but also have cartridges is that correct? I guess my confusion over the XE and thinking it was a game console comes from the fact that I've never heard of a computer using cartridges and the fact that the commercials definiteluesy tried to show it as a competitor to the NES. 3.) Everyone keeps mentioning that its a computer instead of a game system. Fair enough but other than adding word processing what does that really mean, especially from a games standpoint? I guess it makes saves easier on floppy disks but other than that, what does making it a "computer" instead of a video game do? 4.) My understanding is that the 5200 used a lot of the same hardware as the 8-bit computer line but the games are not cross compatible. Has anyone ever made a mod to make 5200 games playable in the 8-bit computers? 5.) Is the XE 100% backwards compatible with the rest of the 8-bit computer line so that if one were purchased you could play all disk and cartridge games released for the line on the XE? I may think of more later but I'd appreciate any responses to these for now. I didn't mean for this to devolve so much into a 7800 vs computer thread even though I asked about that initially. I'm more curious to understand all the features that these offered now.

Now that I have Atari games and I'm building my collection, how should I store it? All my NES games are encased in hard plastic shells that are fairly dust tight. Basically when I buy a game, I give the cartridge a thorough cleaning and then encase it in the shell (you'd be shocked at some of the things I've seen inside carts, I swear one guy must have been keeping one in a chimney). Obviously I'm going to clean my new 2600/7800 games as well but then what do I do with them? Has anyone made hard plastic shells for these games? How do you store your collection?

Was the keypad compatible with Atari computer systems? I'm kind of confused on how there could be a BASIC Programming with an Atari cartridge seeing as how you wouldn't be able to transfer the program anywhere... Also what is the kid controller and how many games did it have?

Now that I have Atari games and I'm building my collection, how should I store it? All my NES games are encased in hard plastic shells that are fairly dust tight. Basically when I buy a game, I give the cartridge a thorough cleaning and then encase it in the shell (you'd be shocked at some of the things I've seen inside carts, I swear one guy must have been keeping one in a chimney). Obviously I'm going to clean my new 2600/7800 games as well but then what do I do with them? Has anyone made hard plastic shells for these games? How do you store your collection?

Sounds like you've been using the wrong kind of alcohol. 100% isopropyl alcohol is what you want to use. Though 70% or higher will work. The higher percentage the better. Mitch That's odd...I've never heard of anyone dispute that alcohol would be bad for the copper, just a lot of people that said that they got away with it and hadn't had a problem yet. I've never experienced the problem because I'd been warned away by enough people when I started taking care of my games but this is a discussion that I see come up time and time again over on the NES forums. Everyone seems to agree that alcohol is bad in the long term but I guess the real question is how long it takes for the problems to show up. I'm guessinng its long enough that some people don't care.

I just purchased a 7800 with 24 games (mostly 2600 style) that he's had in storage for some time. All the games are filthy. I'm familiar with cleaning NES games which I've been collecting for years but I can't find a screw on the Atari cartridges. How do I open up the cartridge to get at the board? Also, I was a little disappointed to find that the 7800 has no dust cover over its cartridge connector. I'd like to give the whole game system a thorough cleaning. Is there any kind of cleaning tutorial for cleaning the system? Is it relatively easy to take apart and put back together again? Are there decent diagrams and/or pictures on this process? I definitely want to clean the connector out but I'll probably take some canned air and blow out the insides as well. This thing is really dirty. I'd love to get your cleaning advice.

I just purchased a 7800 with 24 games (mostly 2600 style) that he's had in storage for some time. All the games are filthy. I'm familiar with cleaning NES games which I've been collecting for years but I can't find a screw on the Atari cartridges. How do I open up the cartridge to get at the board? Also, I was a little disappointed to find that the 7800 has no dust cover over its cartridge connector. I'd like to give the whole game system a thorough cleaning. Is there any kind of cleaning tutorial for cleaning the system? Is it relatively easy to take apart and put back together again? Are there decent diagrams and/or pictures on this process? I definitely want to clean the connector out but I'll probably take some canned air and blow out the insides as well. This thing is really dirty. I'd love to get your cleaning advice.

Best Electronics sells the Atari 2600 cartridge connector. Does anyone know if this is a reproduction that is being manufactured or if they're tearing about old Ataris to do this? Does anyone know of anywhere else where these could be obtained (preferably as reproductions, I hate the idea of destroying existing machines for parts even if those machines are currently plentiful).

I just got the 7800 that I bought on ebay in the mail. I have a couple of questions. I see the expansion port. I believe that I read on the internet that that was never used for anything. Is that correct? Has anyone ever homebrewed anything to go in there? I see a thread on the 7800 forums regarding someone designing something to utilize that slot but is he the first one?

I have a lot of information on the 2600 and 7800 on my web site http://www.atarihq.com/danb/ along with links to a lot of other good pages on the f si2600/7800 hardware. There are also good 2600 and 7800 message boards here at Atari Age frequented by a lot of knowledgeable people who can answer any specific questions you might have. Dan Thanks for the response. I just wanted to find where the "repositories of knowledge" are before I started asking a lot of questions that may sound stupid to old timers. I find that on a lot of technical forums they're a lot happier if you've read the existing material before you start asking questions. I have a project idea that has been niggling at me for a while. It may take a lot of time and effort but it would be really awesome if I succeed.

Does anyone know the answer to the question above. Its kind of key to a project I may want to undertake. Basically "under the hood" is the Atari Flashback 2 the exact same as a 2600 except with the cartridge slot removed and something added to store the ROMs for the games included in the system? Or it basically a clone (or a chip based emulator) in a 2600-looking housing. I'm guessing its the latter but would like some confirmation.

Does anyone know the answer to the question above. Its kind of key to a project I may want to undertake. Basically "under the hood" is the Atari Flashback 2 the exact same as a 2600 except with the cartridge slot removed and something added to store the ROMs for the games included in the system? Or it basically a clone (or a chip based emulator) in a 2600-looking housing. I'm guessing its the latter but would like some confirmation.

I realize that it seems that your slot is unfixable but I did want to point out one thing. Even though alochol will clean your game or cartridge slot in the short term it is a VERY BAD solution in the long tem. Alcohol is corrosive to copper. It will cause the copper to corrode and even if your slot had started working after your cleaning it would have only been a matter of time until it was no longer useful. Sorry I had to get on my soapbox for this one. I've been cleaning games for years now and every time someone mentions that they use alcohol I shudder a little inside. I'd use the NES solution. Its a little pricier but it won't rot your games away.

I basically asked the same thing on the 8-bit computer board so I guess for completeness I should ask here. I grew up with a 2600 and now I own a 7800 that I got with 24 games for $40. The 7800 lets me have the 2600 nostalgia along with some new games I never played before. I know nothing of the 5200. I was aware of it when I was little but never knew anyone who owned one. Since then I've heard that it was a flop but the only reason I've read for that is that the joystick sucked. Is that the only reason? Why do 5200 fans love it so and what are the best games? Basically I'm trying to determine if its worth me getting one.

Just a simple question...was there ever any game made to use the Atari keypad other than Star Raiders? This can include any homebrews as well. Also does anyone know where I might be able to pick up the overlay that came with Star Raiders? I recently came into possession of a 7800 complete with Star Raiders and the keypad but no overlay. I remember having it from when I was a kid and was wondering if anyone knew where to get one without having to buy another copy of Star Raiders from someone. I know I could dummy something up but it wouldn't be the same. Thanks!

Yeah but...everyone has a different answer...that's to be expected of course but I was hoping that someone may have created a poll or something to combine many different sets of opinions to try and distill the games that a large number of people all agree are great.

Has there ever been a poll of the best game for the 2600? If so, what won or what are the contenders that constantly rank near the top if there are many winners. I've just gotten an Atari after 2 decades without one and I want to pick up the best games. This can include homebrews.

Does anyone know if there's ever been a ranking of the best game for the 7800? If so, what game won. This could include homebrews.

First off, let me thank everyone for all of the replies to my introductory post. Second off, let me apologise for my lack of response. My computer died on Sunday the 4th so I have not been able to reply until now when I'm using a borrowed machine. Interestingly this has given me time to read my new book: From Pong to Pokemon: The Ultimate History of Video Games. I'm right at the crash of '83 and so far the history has been fascinating. Its a great read and I recommend it to anyone interested in video gaming history. Oh that is kind of neat but I'd still prefer something that plays actual cartridges. I did not realize that, but how would I play them then? I realize that one of the systems that had ten games in a joystick-only (forget what it was called) had several paddle games that you could play on the joystick but playing circus atari or breakout just doesn't work with a joystick. Its also sad to me that they didn't build a cartridge interface to add expandability for those who had cartridges of games other than those built in but ah well. I think I'd rather have an actual system. I googled Ben Heck. Sounds very interesting. He makes a living off modding machines. Here's my problem, I never like destroying a machine to make another one. That's why I'd prefer to learn how to make a clone. For instance, I assume that the FC Mobile II (look here to see what I'm talking about http://stoneagegamer.com/fcmobile2portablenes.aspx) isn't built by people taking apart a factory-full of NES's and turning them into a new system. That's someone whose learned how to make something new that will play 95% of the NES library. Now, hacking an existing machine may be a start to teach me the ropes and the Atari is probably a good candidate because there are so many units still out there but ultimately I'd like to learn all about its hardware and software so that I could reproduce it myself. I'm an engineer by trade and I've had this itch for several months now to figure out how games work on all levels (hardware and software) so that I can homebrew. Actually I was hoping to find a website that works as a "repository of knowledge" of such documents so I wouldn't have to pester people on the forums. Now this book on modding that Ben Heck has produced may help somewhat and I see that there are tutorials on the programming forums for learning assembly programming of Atari games but I would hope to find tutorials especially on making reproduction carts. I don't want to rely on others. I'd like to learn this skill for myself. My main question at the moment is if the homebrew Atari carts are made by destroying existing games or if someone has a process like the retrozone guy uses for NES of creating new boards and blank cartridge shells. I'd prefer not to destroy a game to make a game. This left me curious. Does this mean that the 7800 is not fully backwards compatible with the 2600? Is there a list somewhere of games that are not compatible or did you mean that you modded it so that it can play more than just 7800 and 2600 games?

Thank you for the homebrew repository! I have no interest in a true clone. I was thinking of a hand-held clone like the FC Mobile II for the NES. Basically that system is hand-held but you put regular NES cartridges into it so you can play on the go. Something like that for the Atari would be awesome even if it were only limited to the 2600. Besides, if you were going to make a full clone then why wouldn't you clone the 7800 which is more rare? Then you'd be able to play 7800 games and 2600 games on it, but I get your point about the rugged durability of Atari manufacturing. That's why I'd just be interested in a handheld. With modern technology I doubt it'd be hard to one for the 7800. It'd just be a matter of someone reverse engineering the 7800 and the difficulty of that depends on how much work has already been done in that field and whether or not there are loads of technical specs on the thing.

Oh it is definitely pretty darn good, sir and thanks for the well wishes. Besides the retro-gaming which I am VERY VERY into (just ask my wife), I've been wanting to get into hardware and software design of gaming systems for a while and thought I'd start with Nintendo but I may end up starting with Atari for several reasons. Its an older system and one presumes, simpler. It appears that less has been done with cloning and emulation, so there's probably more that I can do that would be original work. I'm hoping that I can find where some technical specs for the various systems and the cartridges has been stored. I see that there are already some programmers around for both the 2600 and 7800 so that shouldn't be as difficult to figure out. It seems that in my life I always come back to the 2600 so you're right. I probably will keep playing these games forever.