player 0ne

hey darklord. man i still havent made it to your bbs. i gotta figure out if my router is blocking it. looking forward to registering..

wow. suprised this is the first reply you have gotten. hey creel. I would love to see a modern version of the gameline or the compumate. yea, check that compumate thing out. i dont have one (yet) but it looks as though it could have done alot more. in fact i read they planned to do alot of non-game stuff with the atari. i dont see why there isnt more aftermarket and non-game stuff. ive seen very few non-game titles. maybe when i get my harmony cart and DL some homebrews ill find more. i heard of redbox/bluebox, and there is the old BASIC Programming cart (currently en-route from ebay).. and the software that is on the CM. atari planned for a keyboard with cart passthough that sat on top the atari, but a mockup is supposedly as far as they had gotten. anyway. since no one else has posted bout this, i bet someone is real bored of hearing me repeat 20 year old hardware names. but really im AM trying to open up avenues. and non-game carts were an idea i had when first saw a video game system. kept waiting to see a commercial or see an app or book cart, it just never happened. When you finally get your childhood toy back, follow the old goal. ( recently found an old BB gun as well)

i plan on taking a FB2 and putting it into a 2600 vader case. using 2600 switches and everything. so it looks stock , and has LOTS of room inside for a battery, mods, speakers, and maybe an lcd. since the cart port is on wires i plan on installing it backwards. ide rather see the label.

after the mod i mentioned, the AV sound would still work and the powered speakers could be turned off.. most computer speakers will not use the powered speakers if a headphone is plugged into them. they have a headphone jack on the front of them and the circuit switches off the speakers. at least thats how several i have seen work. this could be an advantage with old tvs. for portables. better sound than some single speaker crap. it may be great for use with a sythcart. someone sells a sythcart modded 2600 with no video output. this way you wouldnt even NEED some external sound equip. besides, if you want a headphone jack thats got volume control a set of used computer speakers hooked to an av mod seems cheap. since you would have the speakers why not mount them anyway. since atari thought about putting speakers into them anyway.. would this be such a bad mod. it was the companies idea, and they didnt follow through with it,. why shouldnt we? and i want the power supply in it as well. there sure is alot of free space in them things. if your wall wart is external then it is using electricity ALL THE TIME. oh sure, just unplug it or switch off the external surge protector. why can the power supply be in the atari, and the power switch cut off the AC supplying the transformer. when you turn off the power the atari uses NO juice. you would not have to deal with an external wall wart. Im sure there was some lame reason they didnt to this. like liability or ease of replacement. but there is no good reason for us not to do this. If the FB2 HAD a cart port i wouldnt be modding one in. if atari hadnt stopped working on the 2600 i wouldnt be trying to come up with new ideas. its only some bastard hack cause they arent paying me. then it would be called development. we wouldnt be trying to reverse engineer things if they were open about how they are made.

Im doing the mod to mine right now. pad 20 and a11 have no continuity. so mine is prolly like this, right? if it wasnt for you pointing this out i would have never figured it. i mean, its labled, why wouldnt it work. thank you soo much gnnash

well. i may have mentioned in the other thread. I hooked up a pair of headphones to the a/v audio out port on the FB2 and it played the sounds at a reasonable level. if you had them on your head. just sitting on the FB2 they werent very loud. it would be just enough to get by. so you could just add a headphone jack to FBs. and you could just add it to 2600s that have the a/v mod. i doubt that headphone speakers use enough juice to cause damage. anyone know better? Doubt the FB could drive very large speakers. and doubt the mod could either. if you mess around with powered computer speakers you will notice they are DC powered. usually between 7-15 volts. i plan on putting my atari 2600s power supply INSIDE the case, with only the ac cable comming out the back. i dont like separate wall warts. if i did this i could use a bigger power supply and use some of the 9v to power the internals from a set of computer speakers. you would have volume control, and a headphone jack. wire the a/v audio out from the atari to the speaker driver. mount with volume knob and headphone jack accessible. if you were able to add a switch (of knew it wouldnt damage av mod) you could add another jack and have it so you could hook up you mp3 player or computer and still use the speakers. kinda like using your new atari powered speakers as regular speakers. dont worry too much about the voltage the speakers use. I did this same mod to my moped. added computer speakers and use the 12v from the bike to power the 9v speaker circuit. The speakers were free as the power supply took a crap. the 12v doesnt cause the 9v speakers any harm. close enough. Oddly enough the only moped speaker systems ive ever seen were car stereos wired into mopeds. oversized, use WAAAYYY too much power, expensive. and are usually the lowest quality car stereos ive ever seen. never met anyone whos worked or liked it. and this is how they are sold new.. not even mods. thanks for the creds, mark t.

i got the basic cart cheap. didnt know the single large keypad wouldnt cut it. just ebayed 2 controllers and "hunt and score" so far its the only non-game cart ive heard of. can anyone think of any more. why?

Three keyboards could link together. instead they plug into the cart. maybe then the cart plugs into the controller port. fredder, have you made any progress? I think if someone mocked up the hardware it would help inspiration. someone posted pics of the inside of the compumate cart. the gameline for atari was eventually to have email forums news ect. why are there no usefull carts? applications? books? relay controller cart? does the atari actually know the resistance of the paddles? if so couldnt an atari tell you approximate resistance in a range, or be used for displaying the rotation of some attached device? someone please come shoot my ideas out of the water. otherwise ill have to start threads and bore people with ideas everyones allready had. I never got around to learning any programming. so i thought it would be fun to learn atari basic. I know there are drastic limitations, but i would love to work with some hardware people. would new hardware for an old machine sell? im buying a harmony cart asap. do homebrew carts sell? has anyone made mock ups of new hardware? any other ideas for new hardware?

ok. so who wants to throw down? is it worth it? did someone say it wasnt worth $20?? the field service manual for the 2600/2600a isnt very good. and the diagrams only ok. is the sams repair manual worth $20. Ive got 4x 2600 with a black screen and 1 with sound but black. Does it give any hint on how to pull those large ICs out without damaging them? is it in color?

trashpicked a broken one when i was 7. took me a long time to figure out how to fix it, just a broken power cord, but i was only 7! cut me a break! loved defender. traded it for outdated nintendo with more games. 20 years later i got a 2600a and FB2 to mod out. the harmony cart will save me from trying to collect carts (unless stupid cheap) and the crazy aftermarket stuff and homebrews and new hardware should keep me entertained. plus, if i can learn any programming that would be cool

great. didnt look like much on the IC. so maybe the keyboard can be replaced with a home made that will last longer. also, all i need to do is get a compumate with a broken keyboard. then maybe it will be in my price range. thanks amstari!

Im very interested in any hardware made for the 2600. this is pretty cool! If you could make this into a pass though cart. like you stick it in the atari and stick the game into it. and it has like 3 leds and it just displays whatever info it can grab, lives remaining, speed, ect. even if it just blinks when you shoot or the leds move with the sound. very cool man. ide love to talk to you more about hardware!

i would love to see modern or hacked hardware for the 2600. but it will definately require programming as well.. would the 24key double keypad arrangement like use with the basic cart be enough to type? some people type on a phone! what about simple communication from a jack on the cart?

bumping for othello

oh yea,, you could whack it hard. works on dead cell phones sometimes.

when yall clean connectors has anyone used a fiberglass pen like from radio shack? i get the metel waaaay cleaner than just alcohol. I mean if you are going to open it up. I repair lots of electronics and the fiberglass pen removes paint, varnish, oxide, makes soldering easier, refreshes pcb button contacts. and any plug in IC could use re-pressed down.. you'll hear it crackly when you do.

i got an old copy of alphabet zoo by spinnaker software. at least that it what the taped on damaged label says. I would like to kick it down to a forum member who has allready displayed an appreciation for c'64 stuff. I'de appreciate the shipping cost back, but ill mail it first as i'm the new guy here. I'm fond of trading. dont need this cart (Im 2600a material myself) this seems like a good way to start off in the marketplace. Im gonna kick back and play joust till someone PMs me about this thing! I havent played it . dont have a 64. cant tell you if its any good or not. but the google pics of the game look nice. good educational game for little kids.

peeee eemmmmm

i wired a 9 volt battery connection into mine. easier than the cord. been playing for days on 4 AA batteries in an adapter with a 9v connector on top. it also worked with a 9v battery, but i wanted to use up some extra AA i have. uses less electric and generates less heat. the wall adapter is allways on and makes heat. so go scrap a 9v connector and wires. or find a connector that fits the FB and just jam the wires onto a 9v and tape it. Im gonna make a hole for the 9v battery inside the FB2 case..

thanks man! good inspiration! that mattel cart sure is dainty.

thanks for the wav file tips yall. I am looking forward to playing with this when i get one.

i'de liek to have a briefcase. something i can transport easy, pop open, have speaker and lcd and powersupply built into it. just open and grab a controller and play. or plug into tv for bigger play.

a UV led, with some of the cart case scroll sawed out into an atari logo, with glow in the dark tape or paint on the inside. so when played it glows an erie green.. rather good idea. first one to beat me to it gets props.. can anyone show a pic of a similar mod? would anyone like a mod like this made for a homebrew cart?

faicual, that would be nice if your drop in a bucket could help the rest of us. $20 is ALOT of money to me... I'll be saving up for a long time for the sams 2600a repair manual.

im trying to find the best speakers i can put in my FB2 that wont need boosting. earphone speakers are a little weak. im gonna see if they will work with av at the same time or be too much of a draw. it would be cool to have headphone speakers, a jack, and a/v . then you could a/v out the sound if you wanted or just use the tiny built in speakers. few games NEED the sound anyway..