Nateo

I currently live in Rochester (a little west of it, actually) but I'm originally from Southern California. I'm moving back to CA in late August/early September tho'. Cool! I'm a big fan of Rochester, but I'm sure that it can't really compare to SoCal. While you're here, you really gotta check out the Game Craze chain of stores. I'm friends with a couple guys who work there in the Eastview mall location, as well as the Galleria mall location.

The buttons and joystick are sanwa brand arcade sticks. It cost a bit more than Happ controls, but it was totally worth it. As for the casing, most of it is just plywood, but the top is pine with a bit o' staining.

Both fire buttons are the same, to accommodate both a right-handed and a left-handed player. The stock Atari sticks always felt like they were completely right-handed in design, and I happen to be left handed. I also grew up more accustomed to having the directional control on the left and the fire buttons on the right as opposed to the stock stick which is reversed in that aspect.

Thanks!

I had a semi-broken atari joystick knockin' around, and I decided to make into something more. Behold the results! It's a little clunky, but it does have a great feel; way better than stock 2600 sticks.

Wow, I'm surprised you all have had such trouble with floppy disks. Aside from my Commodore 64 disk drive, I've NEVER had any problems with disks.

it wouldn't have to be the 5 1/4 floppies, it could be the 3.5! The drives are still being sold, both internal and external, and very cheaply I might add, with disks also being very available still and very cheap!

Recently, I've found myself fascinated with the likes of the Famicom Disk System. I've seen recent additions to classic video game systems like the Super Game Module for the Colecovision as well as the Expansion Module for the 7800. That combined with the many flash carts developed for several systems got me to thinking... Why not a floppy disk drive for the classic systems? It would allow for easy load from a relatively more modern computer, yet still retain that wonderful retro vibe. Not only that, but homebrews for these systems could be sold in floppy disk form, making for a much less expensive venture. Anyway, I just think it would be real neat-o. What do you guys think?

I don't have the dimensions but I'd strongly recommend that you take questions of this sort over to a site that is centered specifically around MAME cabinet building and/or arcade controls. Go to www.byoac.com and that community will probably be able to answer just about any question you can dream up. Groovy. Thanks!

I'm looking to build a MAME cabinet for my summer project, and I was wondering if anyone had the dimensions for either the Asteroids or Missile Command cabaret cabinets. Thanks!

Wish I could be there this year - last year was a lot of fun! I'm sure it'll be just as good if not greater than last year.

Dude, these projects all sound awesome! Please continue to let us know on your projects with this!

Yeah! Seriously, those podcasts are wonderful. You strive to bring something new to the retrogaming community, and I think that's really important, since, as pseudo-historians/retrogamers, we're prone to going back over the same material again and again.

I know this is a bit late, but I loved this podcast. In fact, I love all your podcasts. Please, please keep doing what you're doing.

Love that rustic joystick. I've actually have a joystick that's still in the process of being completed. I've wired up the joystick and it works, I just need to finish the casing.

Dude, 13... that's when I first joined these forums almost ten years ago. It's strange to think that I've been visiting a website for ten years now... But anyway, sorry to digress Carry on!

I'm reading through Atari Roots right now... it's absolutely fascinating. Is it sad that learning how to add 2 and 2 in assembler is thrilling for me?

You know, I took a quick glance at that book on the atari archives, but I hadn't heard anything about it. But I think I'll give it a look!

Well, I've poked around on Atariarchives.org, especially with a book titled "Machine Language for Beginners". It's been really neat to go through it, however, it's not based on the A8 alone, so I have a feeling that there would be some interpretation that would need to be done, which I don't think would be adventageous for a beginner.

I have programmed in BASIC. I wouldn't say I'm highly proficient in it, but I get by I'm really just interested in how it works, and the different mindset assembler requires. I love the idea of directly telling the 6502 what to do instead of going through an interpreter. I more or less would just love to experiment with it; whether or not that leads to the creation of games or other applications, I don't know. It would just be neat for me to see the results of my tinkering on an Atari 800.

Hello all! I've recently developed an interest in 8-bit microprocessors and how they work, and I wanted to learn how to program one. So I thought, since I already have an Atari 800, I thought 6502 assembly would be a good place to start. What tools do I need to start on my long, sometimes arduous but ultimately enlightening path to learning and programming in assembler for the Atari 8-bit? Thanks all! Nate

I'd definitely go to this.

It seems that the latest episode of Retronauts is being described as the "penultimate" episode... I wonder if it that truly means its coming to an end?

I've heard of that, and have seen youtube videos of folks cracking open those carts and finding the converter inside. I have heard though that it's not always the case, and I'd rather not have to take the gamble and ruin a cart that doesn't deserve it @ Stoneage Gamer: Dang. I wish I had bought one while they were still true famiclones. Though I have been toying in my mind with buying a true-blue (well, red and white) Japanese famicom. After listening to the Retronauts talk about how much fun it is to collect for the Famicom, it's been hard to resist!

Well, even if we can't get a special CGE version, I'm sure it'll show up in the AA store shortly thereafter.