ussexplorer

I posted a reply that I though would make a good topic. A few years after picking up my first Atari 2600 system I picked up another system with games I did not have. People at yard sales that don't like to seperate their systems and carts. This produced additional games I already owned. So when the local Youth Center was donated a television. I had no problem taking the extra unit and carts to the center. It was enjoyed for years even though outdated. Laters, Josh

1. Should I clean the item 2. Should I repair the item 3. Should I use new parts or vintage parts 4. Should I leave the item as is. 5. Etc, Etc, Etc. This is why I love watching the antique road show. Laters, Josh

Laser Discs (Used to be able to find them priced as records) CED Disks (used to be able to find them priced as records) Audio Equiptment (Reel to Reel Epsecially $10.00 now going for $100.00) Cameras ($5.00 for a camera you can purchase new for .99 cents) Books (Still not bad in most stores) Game Consoles Dishnework / Direct Tv Systems Items that seem complete (Like in boxes with manuals) I had one store Admit they started using a price guide. I watched one lady complain one day to a poor sales person. I looked at the item and it was priced correctly if you wanted to add it to your personal collection. But, forget making a profit on ebay. Laters, Josh

This reminds me of the Youth Center in the town I grown up in. They didn't have much eletronic entertainment. When the center was first opened the ideal thing was to shoot pool, play ping pong, air hockey and a few other games. Then almost over night a television was donated. I decided since I had two Atari units. I would loan the center one unit and all my duplicate carts. Yard Sales seemed to produce them when a person didn't want to break the system up. So for a year or so it was just that. One Atari 2600 system and a few games. Then came in the fully loaded C64, 128 systems. From people who had to have the newest stuff. I maintaned the system until I got a job at the local computer store. Basicly cleaning disk drives and making copies of disks/tapes to make sure the originals was untouched. Later on I went back to the center and found out the system stopped working since the media was trashed. Nobody else to make backups after I left. One final note the system I loaned to them ended up going out with one of the kids their. They brought in a bunch of games since their home system died. Then when they came to take the games they took the system too. I wasn't totally pissed since by that time they had over systems to play with. I just figured when they got tired of the Atari I would take it back and give it a good home again. Laters, Josh

I believe it was 12 Atari 2600 games that came used with the used wood grain Atari 2600 I picked up at the yard sale. Now to be honest if you are talking end of child hood. I did pick up a few more games. So to be honest let just say around 25. Got to include the few Nes games I had. Laters, Josh

Yes, I'm sure if it wasn't Nintendo it would have been Sega, or some other system. I learned to realize owning a peice of over priced plastic was just as is sounded. It was an overpriced peice of plastic that will soon be replaced. I just wish I would have realized that from the beginning. Might have helped me smile thiking how much those kids spent on a new system when in 5 years it is worth nothing. The Atari I owned should have hinted on that. It was out since 78 and I picked it up used not even 5 years later for next to nothing. I do have one guilty pleasure. I'm still trying to save up and purchase a Play Station 2. Thank You, Josh

Many years ago when my parents brought home the NES system. It was already out on the market for almost 2 years. I received it as a Christmas present and enjoyed playing Super Mario Brothers and Duck hunt for hours. Then reality kicked in. Most of the other children in the neighborhood already had Nintendo or Sega Genesis systems. So when I went to school and explained how I got a Nintendo system they would ask what games. I explained to them no games and I would just get ignored or laughed at. It seemed that In order to be popular you needed to have up to date games that my parents just couldn’t afford. The problem got worse when the Super Nintendo came out. My parents didn’t have money to go out and purchase the new system. They explained I just got the NES system and I should be happy with that. Now when I explained I had a Nintendo they assumed Super Nintendo. I corrected them and once again felt left out getting remarks of the tune of oh, that old console. I learned after that not to say anything or even deny I had a game system. Even when Atari came out with the 2600jr and 7800 so I could now brag I have an original Atari, I got laughed at. Before I got the Nintendo most kids referred to the Atari as something their dad played. So I was pretty upset over the whole matter. I learned to ignore all the mean kids and go about my own way. Searching yard sales for what I considered treasure. The Atari 2600 cart I did not have. One other note I remember playing Quarter machines, you know Super Mario brother, Air wolf, Operation wolf, contra, etc, etc. Just to remember kids putting the quarters up where the marquee is showing to show they have additional games to play. Just to do the same thing and get kicked off the unit? I had my money stolen a few times or they would just unplug the machine. I also would get the machine unplugged to clear the high score. They didn’t like it when a small kid could beat their score on the system. I even caught a few kids unplugging the unit just so nobody would play it until they would return the next day. Lucky for me I would turn the game on and start playing after they left. I did turn a few into the store manager at one place. He happened to have a security camera to watch over the games. To many of the units getting vandalized. So when I made a complaint the camera backed up my story. I hope I get the point across. It was not easy trying to explain how I felt during that time. It was many years ago and my memory is fuzzy. It is true that what you get told back then can still leave a burden now. I believe that is why I still hate Nintendo. Please feel free to submit your pain against not only Nintendo but also other gaming experiences. Thanks, Josh

I had my fill of NES when I was yonger. The super NES pissed me of. You have to think I was a kid and kids are cruel. When you explain after all this time you finally get a nes system and they laugh since it isn't a super nes. I was sortof personally bitter at Nintendo. That is a good idea for a post. So I stick with atari and genesis for collecting. We do have a super nintendo but don't collect games. My wife only plays a select few games, Zelda among other things. The funny part is I do have a nes emulator I use all time. I did ask one day if my wife wanted to get ride of the super nintendo. She was like no. So, I was like okay. If I had a few other things up here and wasn't so busy. I would do lunch. Pehraps one day when I get everything orginized. At least for you people in boise. Hopefully, I wouldn't boor anybody then. Laters, Josh

I have been looking around for a Atari 2600/7800 user group in Idaho. The information I have found on the net seems to be outdated or incomplete. Hopefully, this will be more fun than hanging out at a Linux Group. Something I only done a few times before I moved from Pocatello. Thanks, Josh Adventually when I get my master game list of games I own. I'll probably want to trade or purchase any carts I do not have for a fair price. Local people only. I'll try to get everybody up to date, it will probably be a few more months before I get everything going.

This was suspose to go under the 200,000 new Atari 7800 units. It looks like I pressed the wrong button. Sorry

After seeing all of the released stuff. Especially the games in the joysticks. Why not come out with the 7800 or some type of clone. I liked all the ideas I have heard. Composet/s-video, built in games, etc, etc. I just ask that it will be a complete system. Game, Controllers, power supply, and console. The display itself wouldn't even need to be impressive. The mfg. can even come out with some games to push the unit to the limit. Prey they all have the pokey chip. Maybe even add a compatibility switch to use some special designed games. I wonder if you could nail Intellivision and Colleco carts too. To bad Nintendo and Sega was so tight. I would like to see a system that plays old Genesis and Nes carts too. My two cents, Josh

I purchased a colleco vision that was dirt covered, dust bunnies. Probably in somebodies garage. So I decided to test the unit before cleaning. Unit worked just fine. Then I cleaned the unit and killed it. Best looking shiney case for a dead console. Also pulled a Sega Genesis 2nd release out of a trash bin with controller for parts.

It was located under their Star Wars Contest. Just scroll down. http://www.atariage.com/features/StarWarsC...test/index.html

Well I happen to live in a town with an arcade place called Pojos. Mostly a pizza place for kids and teens. Sure they have a few new games. But, mostly the game area is older machines. Can you say operation wolf among other things. Plus Serveral Atari games, can you say you drive like a grandma. The majority of the older game are one nickle. With the exception of say operation wolf that is a quarter. I enjoy seeing all the other people my age hang out in the place. Now if only they would get a few games that I could spend hours on playing. Like Super Mario Brothers or Pacman. One more thing I did own a full size Asteroid machine. To bad it was messed up and I didn't have a place to store it until it got fixed. Once again, years before ebay and most of the parts was dried up in this area. Well that is my 2 cents..... Josh

After scanning though Atari Age again. I noticed some scanned letters from Atari. I was wondering who else wrote Atari and received letters. During my Atari collecting I decided to type a letter to Atari asking them what items / carts they had left for the 2600. Sure enough, I received a letter listing the remaining items available for the 2600 system. I posted a more complete post in the atari 7800 group. This is the 2600 portion of the post. Thanks, Josh

After scanning though Atari Age again. I noticed some scanned letters from Atari. I was wondering who else wrote Atari and received letters. Atari: During my Atari collecting I decided to type a letter to Atari asking them what items / carts they had left for the 2600. Sure enough, I received a letter listing the remaining items available for the 2600 system. Nintendo: I submitted a few game ideas to Nintendo and received the standard rejection letter. Thanks to the Internet I was able to track a few others down with the basic generic letter explaining how they have in house developers to take care of game ideas and development. Other: I thought I would let people know that I didn’t realize the 2600 games would play on the Atari VCS system. This was quickly solved when I found my first label 2600 cart at a yard sale and plugged it into the VCS system. I also didn’t realize the Sega Genesis was a 16 bit system compared to the 8 bit Nes. So for along time, I thought Genesis was over priced. I didn’t realize how big Sega was until taking a trip to Toys R Us in a town 100 miles away. Most of the stores in the area had 90% Nintendo stuff. So imagine trying to find Sega, Atari, and 3do stuff among other things. If it were not for Sears, 2600jr & 7800 would have been completely missed. I didn’t even know the 5200 existed until it was introduced via a friend. The same goes for the Sega Master System. Thanks, Josh

I have only found a few atari 2600 items. The best haul was open/boxed 2600 games. I didn't purchase any of them since I don't have my master list of games I already purchased. I also don't need any repeat carts. I did find a open boxed sega master system and several genesis / sega cd games I did purchase. So if that helps.

Mostly used for price tags. I have had luck removing bigger stickers too. Sotimes the sticker to the cart starts to come off. But that is easily fixed. I have also tried a few other methods including some that ruined the original cart label. The only thing I have to worry about it how hot the cart gets. I have yet to ruin a cart from using a hair dryer.

I have ran into two common Atari 2600 console holders for the wood grain / Vader consoles. One was a black box with smoked plastic cover and wood grain sticker on front. The other was a newer style whit plastic unit associated with the NES system but could also be changed to fit an Atari system. After reading through the 2600 news group I noticed not much talk takes places about these holders or pictures. I notice an Atari system that was stored properly in these units seemed to look new when purchase used at a thrift store. I found an Intelivision II that looked brand new in a similar unit. So what is up with Atari age and not listing these critters and information about these units? I’m interested in reading about this stuff. If you have two cents, please add to this message. Enlighten me please. On the other hand I use to own one of these case with another Atari system. I think I picked up another case but I cannot remember. Most of my Atari stuff is still being stored at my dad’s house. I’ll post more information when I get my stuff up to my new house. Also I enjoy using a hair dryer to remove stickers from Atari carts. Thank You, Jake_Paws

Around early 1980 when I was a little kid I loved to go to yard sales. I cannot place the exact date but it was before Atari Junior/Rainbow, 7800 and Nintendo. At one of these yard sales, placed in a box with a price tag of $50.00 was a wood grain Atari wood grain VCS 6 switcher unit. Paddles, joysticks, numeric pads, driving paddles, and about 10 Sears’s games (All common titles). I was able to talk them down to $30.00. I rushed home, powered up the unit and chucked in the Pac Man carts. My first reaction was this was not Pac man. So I chucked in asteroids and space invaders. Oh, much better, closer to the quarter machines I played with. To continue on with history I remember drooling over a new 2600 junior with one joystick, and of course a 7800 but could never talk myself into purchasing the units since I already had a functioning system. I sent a letter snail mail to Atari to get a list of parts and games left for the Atari 2600. I ordered Moon Patrol new (Sadly that cart died). Around this time I ran into a friend who had an Atari 5200 system. I thought the graphics was cool but the system was big and controllers sucked compared to the 2600. I ran into another friend with a Sega Master System that seemed to kick rear. Now we are getting close to when my parents brought home a Nintendo system. The one with the light gun, controller pad, duck hunt and super Mario brothers. I was drooling over the game xegs system with detachable keyboard and light gun until I found out it didn’t play 2600/7800 carts. I always thought that was a mistake on Atari’s behalf. I did pick up an Atari XL system and unloaded it when I realized it didn’t play Atari 2600 carts. Yes, I realized that these were functioning computers but I already had a coco 1, trs-80 model 1 and an apple II+. Why purchase another computer system. Currently I have one Atari 2600 system (The original one I purchased), 7800 system with modified power supply (1/8 mono) instead of normal 7800 adaptor. Over 100+ different Atari Carts. Plus several other types of items like the RF wireless joysticks. This does not include the other systems I own. Hope you enjoyed the first part of this story at least. Jake_Paws