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Dripfree

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Everything posted by Dripfree

  1. My parents had a fire in 2002 I lost my computer and Dreamcast. When I decided to replace them I realized I was using both mostly for emulation of older machines. Rather than replace them I started buying the real thing and I never looked back. I did eventually get another Dreamcast that I use as a Dreamcast and my computer I now just use as a computer. I have stayed current with Nintendo handhelds however just because there are so many games that play like the old games. I always say video games have not gotten any better over the years, they just look better.
  2. Interesting to think how people hold on to these NIB items that are more valuable having never been opened. But inside the box they may be getting destroyed. Its kinda like Schrodinger's Game Boy until the box is opened the Game Boy is perfect and destroyed at the same time.
  3. Sorry for your loss man. I know little about Vectrex repair but I would assume that is one of the easier parts to come by. Just cuz flyback transformers were very common. It's probably not as unique as some of the chips in there. I may be way off though. Every time I turn on my Vectrex there is a little fear that this is going to be the time where smoke pours out of it. Part of me wants to wrap it in bubble wrap and put it in a box where I know it's safe. But the only thing worse then a broken Vectrex is a working Vectrex thats not getting played.
  4. Well we have had a few threads on the "sexy" and best looking old computers. Those were some of my favorite threads. I really enjoyed looking at the pics of all the awesome looking computers. A lot of them I didn't even know existed. I started toying around with this thing again yesterday. It's a neat little machine but I think its the ugliest computer I own. I know it's made to be totally utilitarian but when you fold up the keyboard it's basically a cinder block with a handle or a "lunch box" which is another nick name for this thing. Setting it up is kinda like playing with the worlds crappiest transformer..... "Look it transforms from a lunch box into a computer!! Well I guess it kinda looks like a computer." Anyway I hope to see some other pics of some purely utilitarian beasts. Maybe even start a little friendly controversy. I've got some more opinions on some ugly old computers that I know some people on here will disagree with but I'm not going to go there just yet, I want to see what else gets posted first. Oh and it's got to be judged on looks alone. Some of the computers I consider ugly I actually enjoy using very much.
  5. Yes Cardiff and Giant are just phony names. At first I had thought that it was most likely loosely based on a real company and a real computer. I am now under the impression that it's almost %100 fiction. I think it probably takes bits of truth from many different company's, and combined them into one dramatic storyline. Still a very good show just not a history lesson. I did see what the "Giant" looks like now and it's nothing like my "luggable" Sharp although the specs are somewhat similar. I'm also curious about the OS they have designed. It's like a text based SIRI. I've never heard of anything like that existing at that time. Is that just pure fiction also?
  6. I'm 5 episodes in and I'm really enjoying it. I Know it is a lot of fiction but I'm wondering if the company or the computer they are making is based on anything real? I picked up this little guy a few years back from salvation army for $7. It's a sharp PC 7000 and everything they keep saying about their computer seems to fit. Size, weight, handle, lcd screen, and disk drives. At first they were saying they were going to use a 286 but now they're saying they switched to the 8086 so it still seems to fit. I'm not to sure of of the rest the technical specs of this thing so maybe I'm way off but it's got me curious.
  7. I like the title screen alot. After that looks like there isn't all that much strategy. Then again it still looks like it takes more strategy then space invaders. Kinda looks like Gyruss in reverse if that makes sense.
  8. I actually did make a joystick but never posted it. I took one of those namco tv games joysticks and riped out the guts. I then wired another usb keyboard circuit into the joysticks directional switches. The pi just thinks its a second keyboard hooked up. The joystick triggers the keyboards arrow keys for direction and the left ctrl key for the button. To be honest the joystick sucks. I just used what I had laying around and this thing is a really crappy toy. I want to do the same mod to a gemstick. I know thats not a great stick either but it's what I used on my gramps c64 as a child, and I'm kinda trying to recreate that experience.
  9. I notice your new to AtariAge so I thought I'd do a little shameless self promotion of a similar project of mine that may interest you. I must admit I used no original circuit design and no original coding either so it's very amateur in comparison to your work. It's simply a raspberry pi in a custom enclosure that I have set up to emulate a C64. I have made quite a few more additions to it since I started this thread but never posted them. I may do that when I get some more time. I'd also like to make a sweet little video like yours showing some actual game play. I've been spending allot of time playing space taxi since I finished this thing... I love your work it is a thing of beauty in both form and function. Anyway if your interested check out this thread. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/223209-my-brand-new-vintage-computer/
  10. Nice video. I actually started a thread a while back wondering what options were out there cuz I was planing on starting an inventory of my stuff. I found most people do use spreadsheets which was an option I had been considering. Maybe I'm being a little OCD but I never found an option I really liked and have to admit even your list doesn't seem to do what I want. My issue is I don't want to use stock photo's. I wouldn't mind putting in the time it would take to make a photo inventory of all my games. The reason is, I want to see my actual games so while I'm out thrifting I can check to see if I have that particular label variation. Or perhaps I'll find a game with a pristine label and I wonder "I know I have this game but maybe it would be worth picking this one up cuz maybe my label has some kids name written on it". Anyway I'm actually kind of surprised something like this doesn't already exist. It seems like it would be a great thing to have for any collection, or maybe just to inventory my whole house in case of a fire or something. I kinda wish I was some kind of a programming wiz. I think you could make some real cash off an app like that. I started a spreadsheet but never finished cuz it didn't do me much good on the go. I think I'm going to give some of your options a try and see how they works.
  11. I would just want a Game Genie for my life. Give myself unlimited lives, money, all the weapons with unlimited ammo..... Well this list could go on forever.
  12. Simply amazing! Awesome work. Seeing projects like this is my favorite part of Atari Age.
  13. I think you'd have open it to find out for sure, but most likely I think it would be a keyboard hack. I think any decent hacker who did a large amount of coding would almost have to hack the 400 keyboard. Problem for you would be that to use another keyboard with it you would have to hack a keyboard in the exact same way the original user did. I'm not sure if there was any standard method for doing this in the day but I have read many stories of people doing this hack. But it could be any number of things. I hacked an external 25 pin for the sio port on my 800xl just cuz when I build things for my atari its easier to get my hands on then an actual atari sio cable.
  14. Never seen this one before but it does look kinda cool. I love stumbling across old electro mechanical games while thrifting, and I have found quite a few. I'm curious if this game is actually as old as I think it is? The box reminds me of the NES clone boxes of modern day's. Or is that just kinda what Japanese game boxes have always looked like.
  15. This was my solution when I trying to do the same thing as you. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/212935-belkin-sio2pc-rs232-usb-data-switch/. I decided that I would have to house it in something else and cannibalize a sio cable from a 410. When it came time to start cutting I just couldn't do that to my 800xl. If you are using the 14c89 chip it is very easy to convert rs232 to usb. I cannibalized an adapter cable I got from ebay for a buck.
  16. Well good news my PEB seems to be fully functional. Thanks to Ksarul for sending me the extended basic cart and manual. I also bought a disk manager disk off Ebay. The extended basic cart loaded the disk manager 1000 flawlessly the first try! I was also able to perform some basic disk functions. So it seems there was never anything wrong with this PEB, I just needed the tools to use it. Now I just have to get myself set up start making some disks of my own. I have also been watching For RS232 cards for the PEB. A week or so ago 2 went for about $25. Now there is just a buy it now for $40 plus shipping. If I see one going for about $25 again I'm going to bite. These are not extremely uncommon correct?
  17. Thanks for the post. I've been a little pi crazy lately and this is a project that I have been meaning to tackle. I've been sitting on a level shifter for a little while now but I've had to many irons in the fire to get around to this one. Hope to get around to it soon and this is going to be very helpful.
  18. Thanks for the help I it was a joystick port issue. I feel a little silly that it was so simple. It just never crossed my mind that I would be playing a 1 player game from port 2. I guess thats just my inexperience with the c64. Any particular reason the games were designed this way it just seems kind of non intuitive?
  19. I'm running an emulated C64 on a raspberry pi. The specific emulator is VICE if that matters at all. I'm having a problem playing some games. I feel like the only problem is that I'm not pressing the right button. Some games like bird mother I load the rom, when the title screen appears I press the joystick button and I'm playing the game. Other games Like Mayhem I load the rom the title screen appears with music playing, I press ever key including the joystick and I just can't get past the title screen. I have even tried pressing every key on the virtual keyboard. This is my first experience with VICE, and I don't even know what you would have to press on a real C64 as I was a very young child when I played these games last. Even back then my grandpa did all the work until I was actually in the game. I think something that maybe causing the problem is that I have the emulator set to read key sets as the joystick since I don't have a joystick that the emulator recognizes. I don't think the problem has anything to do with it being a raspberry pi so I'm hoping someone with some experience with VICE can point me in the right direction. Thanks Tony
  20. I noticed that it looked like desk also. I had desks just like that in elementary school too. I see those desks at goodwill from time to time. For a moment it crossed my mind that maybe I could reproduce it in someway because I really love the look of that thing. Is there a chance this thing is just some sci fi movie prop made from a school desk, or perhaps a one off prototype made from a school desk? I assume its actually more of a terminal and thats the mainframe behind it that is if it's not a prop.
  21. WOW! That is truly a work of art. The icing on the cake is the image of 810 drive it displays. One of the best Atari projects I have ever seen.
  22. It looks like what was old is new again. I saw this on the news tonight and I thought it may be of interest to this community. Sony has developed 185 TB cassettes for backup purposes. Looks like there going to market it towards internet companies that have a lot of data to back up. The tapes can store data reliably on a medium that takes up less physical space then more modern options. If I went back in time and showed some Atari users a 185 TB tape would anyone even know what a TB was? I figure the term terabyte would come off sounding like a jiggawatt or a bazillion dollars! Just some made up term to describe an unimaginable storage capacity. http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=023001IFGAYJ
  23. Ah yes it is strait out of the Jetsons, thats a perfect description. My GF is ok with my old computers as long as I keep them in my game room and away from her. She loves vintage furniture and knick knacks. I showed her that pic and jokingly told her I had bought it. She told me that one she would even love to have in the living room just as a piece of art.
  24. WOW! I love these two. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a piece of technology that I find more beautiful then that beast!
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