atari2atari

...These are the best necro-bumps of ancient, long-dead posts that I have seen all day! If that Canadian who hasn't actually even logged onto AtariAge since July of 2013 still has that sealed NES game from 2010 . . . that will be amazing. (Just joking with ya' ! But seriously . . . 2010 was a loooooong time ago!)

Nice work! I like the before and after on-screen comparisons of the sharpness and colors. Oh, and I dunno, I'm kinda a fan of circuit board and solder photographs . . . This is on my to-do list, the boards from electronicsentimentalities.com are excellent. I have enjoyed the 2600 video boards and he was a HUGE help on my 7800 video mod! Thanks for sharing!

Can't wait to see it, Christoph - - you guys turn out some very high-quality products! I will be very interested in the details of re-engineering the NES hardware from the ground up, too. Fascinating! Four player without an adapter, as well, nice touch. Any matching Analogue Arcade Stick controllers planned for it, or some sort of special matching controllers for the console (inspired aluminum versions of the small originals)? An aluminum "NES Advantage" would be nifty (and make a great blunt weapon in a pinch!).

Thanks for giving that a try - - and your webstore is amazing, too, by the way, thanks for that as well! You are probably aware of the "competing" project under development (unfair to call it competition, since it's actually the best and most likely game in town), but if not, here's the most recent post on the development forum - - http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?39733-quot-Let-s-make-GD-ROM-emulation-happen-quot-Facebook-group&goto=newpost They are moving rapidly forward! Having you as a distributor would be amazing, and guarantee a high level of reliability - - if they were interested in it, that is! While a very friendly group so far, and open about progress, it still does have a slight "scene" feel to it. In the end, I don't care where it comes from, I just want sweet, sweet Dreamcast gameplay without the GD-ROM grinding away in the background. I have lost count on the number of drives I have replaced on various DC units and lasers I have recalibrated . . . -a2a

The practice of providing unsolicited pricing advice in someone else's thread is also grouped under "thread crapping." It's great to step up and provide some obvious caution for certain things (<ahem>ludicrously priced VGA-graded copies of extremely low-value games), however every single post with a few cartridges or systems does not require comments on the value, or that you think you saw it on eBay for less, or found it at a yard sale for $3, so it must be $3. Something is overpriced? Excellent, let it die quietly and move down the page . . . if the Original Poster asks "why isn't this selling?" it might be time to provide advice, but in general, most people don't want or need other folks commenting on their price choices. Mind you, not everyone shares this opinion, but many major trading forums have adopted it and tend to abide by it. And, those forums tend to be the ones that see the most posts and the higher-quality items.

Very cool, thanks taking the time to type all that up! I agree, this could be a valuable sticky for the forum. Maybe add in something about being respectful and not thread-crapping, too, in the On Pricing and Perfection section? -a2a

Thanks for all the interest in this thread, fellows! It's a topic I've been thinking about for a while, so I appreciate the renewed conversation. It's sometimes hard to make progress just thinking in your own head! Lots of good comments and suggestions here. Among them (thanks, e5frog!) is the one that I tentatively decided on back when I was initially working on it last year - - a simple hard switch. Just a good old physical ON/OFF for the onboard ROM. I got the switch idea from reading about another mod, the "Flashback 2" modification for a cartridge port. Very similar idea - - built in games, and the desire to override those when you insert a cartridge. Your comment, efrog5, made me go back to look for a build-log I had seen of almost that exact same switch you show in your post. I remembered someone adding it into the cartridge port to turn of the internal games. And, as luck would have it, I didn't find that page, and instead came upon a discussion on a website I had previously missed regarding an "automatic selection circuit." I think that circuit would work here in this situation! He uses either a CD4016 or CD4066 CMOS transmission gate to build the circuit. http://www94.pair.com/jsoper/flashback2.html (and, here's a PDF of that page, just in case some day it gets taken down Flashback 2 Cart Mod - Autoswitch.pdf ) HOWEVER, even that author states that "some cartridges still didn't work." So, in the end, I am starting to lean towards the best solution just being a physical switch. Not as classy, but very effective. I agree with you both here, it's not safe for the board or cartridges until some sort of circuit or switch is built - - (Hey, thanks for jumping into the conversation, batari, by the way - - your perspective and engineering mind are very appreciated!) My plan now is to try that CMOS transmission gate circuit, just for fun, and then also that hard switch from cartridge pin 24 on the cartridge slot to ground (as discussed here, which you also quoted - - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/170809-motherboard-differences/?p=2113944). Regarding the hard switch, as I understand it, couldn't you also disable a standard masked ROM by taking pin A12 and grounding it, or "pulling it low" - - that's the correct terminology, yes? Is that also a valid method? Is it a better method than a switch to ground cartridge pin 24? Thanks again for the conversation, I appreciate it . . . !

In general I have discovered, both from reading and from experience, 2k is the max, no bankswitching. If you just simply solder the masked ROM to the board, it's NOT 100% compatible with "everything else" (some carts will work, some won't). Your game you attached directly to the board will always work with no other cartridge in the 2600, and some games inserted in the cart slot will boot, some won't. I recommend soldering a socket to the board, soldering the masked ROM to ANOTHER socket, and then using THAT to test various masked ROMs stolen from cartridges. This lets you "undo" anything that doesn't work, and makes the project modular. I used this list to make a first-pass of potential ROMs to use: http://www.classic-games.com/atari2600/bankswitch.html Here's some example pictures - - (Last shot here, you can see the "stacked" sockets that make it modular. That is me playing Combat, directly off the board) ** If anyone wants to help figure it out, the secret to this whole problem lies here, in these words - - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/107504-heavy-sixer-pcb-question/?p=1301954 He even later says there's a way to make 4k games work, too - - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/170809-motherboard-differences/?p=2113850 Anyone know? It'd be a great thing to figure out! I'm just not a good enough electrical engineer to know WHERE to solder the resistors and make the circuit! I need specifics, not theory! -a2a

Ugh, no, I'm stuck! There's some way in which the ATARI can recognize when a cartridge with a ROM is inserted, and so NOT attempt to run the soldered-on ROM. But I don't know what that "switching circuit" is or requires! AJ Franzman mentions it here, but never details what it is, exactly - - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/107504-heavy-sixer-pcb-question/?p=1301954 The "switching circuit" is the "pullup" that he mentions. I'd love to finish this project, I've got several boards now with soldered-on ROMS, it's lots of fun to just power it on with no cartridge and play PITFALL or DONKEY KONG, but I'd love to be able to insert any cartridge and have the ATARI "sense low" and ignore that soldered-on ROM! Any help would be very welcome! -a2a

Wow, that's a lot of excellent sealed games! Some TurboGrafx games, too, very cool, and even a few fun things, like transparent shells for other consoles. Those customs horror-stories sound terrible, though - - ripping open sealed games, in the name of the War on Drugs . . . what a waste. -a2a

Not 100% sure, but I think that might be the accessory gun to a NES-on-a-chip pirate system like the "Power Play Super Joy" or other similar systems - - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Player_Super_Joy_III I can't find a good image example online, but I know that I had one of those systems with a light gun just like that, including the connector, pass through my hands at one point... -a2a

Oh, THAT'S where I buried this body! Glad you dug it up, was wondering when I would see it again...gotta check the pockets, see if I forgot anything... -a2a

Unfortunately, Yurkie, FreeMcBoot does not unlock the ability to load non-original PS1 games. It is apparently not feasible based on the type of exploit used by FreeMcBoot to "hook" the hardware and boot. An original PS1 disc is still required to start the boot sequence for the PS1 hardware. Pity, as that would be an excellent feature . . . ! FreeMcBoot is still an excellent piece of software, however, highly recommended. -a2a

Dave's got an active sales thread for NES games over at NintendoAge, too, with some recent successful transactions and positive reviews - - http://www.nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=6&threadid=97435 Nice looking NES stuff there, Dave. Good luck with the sales! Shoot me a PM if you ever figure out what are on those ROM ICs . . . -a2a

All gone, just dropped the package off at UPS, actually. Sorry! Thanks for the interest, though! If you need fresh switches, check out BEST ELECTRONICS in California. Nice, shiny, like-new ones for sale there - - the ones I was offering are (sorta) working pulls from machines I have refurbished. -a2a

Last call - - I'll just craigslist "free" post it here shortly if no ones wants it . . . The craigslist "free" section amazes me - - doesn't matter what you post, someone always calls and wants it, usually within minutes. Kind of strange, but incredibly useful. Let me know!

R6 and R7 also added ATARI 7800 support, as well as ATARI 5200 ! R8 is out as of yesterday, but mostly it appears to be additional testing efforts and bughunts for lightgun support. Don't get caught up in the "arms race" of CoinOps revisions. Definitely Stick with Mark's advice to select and stay with stable CoinOps builds until other "power" users who have time to burn in testing give the thumbs up for advancing forward to the next benchmark. R6 seems like the best, most current build until the lightgun kerfluffle gets figured out. Very exciting, though - - lightgun support it will make a LOT of great games actually playable! Engage Mark's services, get an XBOX today! You won't regret it . . . -a2a

Everyone love FREE STUFF, right? Here's the deal - - - Several Ziploc bags of parts from my refurbishing work over the last few years - 2600 joystick tops, bottoms, cords, slider switches, joystick PCBs, potentiometers from paddles, cart shells, etc. A partial 7800 controller. - One VERY yellow SNES that I salvaged some parts from - Everything was replaced for a reason, so switches, wires, etc. are likely to have defects! I hate to throw stuff away, though, so I have been saving it. Maybe you want it? HOW TO GET THE STUFF - - All or nothing deal! If you are interested, **YOU** will generate a shipping label, make it into a PDF and send it to me. I'll package it up and drop it off at the Post Office, UPS, or whatever it is that you choose. That's the ONLY way I'm running this - - the person who contacts me first and is willing to generate the pre-paid label themselves gets the goods! 14 pounds, which includes box/packaging and padding, coming from ZIP code 80401 Hope somebody can use it! -a2a

Check Assemblergames.com's forums - - they seem to have a very active XBOX dev sale and trading group! http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?8-The-ASSEMblergames-User-Marketplace -a2a

SOLD to a nice gentleman "across the water" - - THANKS!! Don't hate! I know some of you are emotional about the re-selling of homebrews . . . However, I just simply decided not to keep the copy that I bought. All I want is what I have in it! It cost me $115 to get it here, and that plus the cost of whatever it takes to ship it to you is all I ask, including fees, bribes at the border, personal messenger pigeon delivery costs, etc . . . First in with money in hand, no drama or hold requests, etc., gets it! This is one of the fully boxed, sealed copies that comes with manual and coloring sheet - - number "B7" THANKS! -a2a

Very cool, excellent work - - thanks for the nice work-journal with pictures, too! I always enjoy reading these. -a2a

Thanks, I appreciate the reply and offer! Yeah, I just traded away my DS "phat" last month for screen size/game library reasons, so I'll pass on the DS Lite for now . . .

What color is the 3DS? -a2a

Very cool, and very nice! Thanks for sharing! The "Promotional" aspect of the set is interesting. I'm sure you'll have no problem getting a good trade for it. Might wanna put up what your trade interests are - - more 7800?, more 2600 games?, Nintendo?, etc . . . -a2a