CatPix

Hello all! I would like to know more about the Professionnal Arcade/Astrocade PSU. I found pictures on the net, of which give two different voltage (the first is for the Bally Professionnal Arcade and the second for the Astrovision Astrocade). So, what does it mean really? Can I replace a dead Bally Professionnal Arcade PSU with a simple 12V AC, as it seems to be what it is for the Astrocade ? If so, which wires will be paired as "live" and which as "neutral"? A more tricky question : can the PSU support 50htz? I know it's meant to, but I heard many time that most PSU made for 60 Htz are fine with 50 htz.

I spotted this on eBay : http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574883395&toolid=10001&campid=5336500554&customid=&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.fr%2Fws%2FeBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItem%26item%3D400473872131%26ssPageName%3DSTRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT%26_trksid%3Dp3984.m1423.l2649 I don't know what it's worth, but I heard it's probably Intellivision ported either on NES or Master System on chips.

Chas10e gave me two reset/select switches for an Atari 2600 to fix (found the VCS on Internet, was sold "as is" and the switches were damaged). Quite a deal obviously, and shipping was fast, given it was an international transaction.

It's probably just the fact that it's designed to output a different resolution? I'm not expert in programming nor in hardware, but I'm looking for this kind of stuff because I like to know how things works. Could it just be that because of different timing, collision detection may get off by one pixel here and there on PAL version? What about the missing color palette? It doesn't sound like it should be a big deal, but on such limited hardware...

The more I get involved on AtariAge (on the forums, that's all) the more I get interested in the good old VCS. Nothing new here, I was interested before, but... The VCS is an old system and never reached in Europe the following / Classic system fame it can get in the USA. In fact, most retrogamers I know aren't interested, doesn't want to own one and doesn't even dare to try playing some games. So I was casually collectiong some carts here and there. And grew more interested in the system, until I decided to make the next step and found an NTSC system. Well, I don't plan to have all the variations that exist, so I though "hey, why not getting a sixer AND a Sears at the same time?" Because if I have to search and find one, why not picking something that is totally unknown in Europe? And I did. Here it is... with the lil bits needed for a good working in SECAM country. The official VCS AC adapter on top of its European counterpart. I don't know why it's twice as big. The lil bits on the system is your standard phono to F connector, provided by the seller. But, oops, Europe use the F connector for satellite only! Thanksfully there is a F connector to Euro RF connector. I'll later add an AV mod to the system anyway. And the games I got with it : Classic, yet as they are old programs, they aren't that common in Europe (remember, the Atari VCS was released in PAL version in 1980). And anyway, I need to feed that baby isn't it? Even if I can add some more recent releases : (yeah, quick'n'dirty setting, but I don't have much TVs able to take RF NTSC)

I played on my freshly received Sears (so NTSC system) well apart from the obvious colors that feel a bit better (only a bit, but I guess that even if I have one TV able to receive NTSC-M, they are not meant to receive an old standard full analog NTSC signal. I think I read that in the 80's or 90's, they changed slightly the NTSC norm for better color restitution, so European sets must use that one only. And there is no hue correction available) I felt an improvement in gameplay, with less collision bugs, especially with ennemies. Still it's largely playable on a PAL system.

TRy pressing the reset button more? I have an Intellivision that is gone so bad with it, I can get it working only once every 10 presses (more like tapping) on the reset button.

My favorite dedicaced game system have to be the Pizon-Bros Visiomatic 111, AKA Alcatel Visiomat 11. Lil strory is that in late 73, Pizon-Bros engineers (probably after seeing either the Odyssey or ITT Odyssee) decided to made their own Pong system. They were unable to do it themselves because of the "Robot" function, so they asked Alcatel to conceive the electronic part, while they'll focus on the case. The result is something unique and awesome : Aluminium casing with painted pictures, professional-like phone standard buttons (they really have an unique feeling that is hard to explain) two player mode of course, and one-player-versus-computer mode. Of course the big thing is being able to play alone. The manual recommand to play on fast speed and larger angle to put on some challenge in this case. The only drawback is that the system is black-and-white only, but I suppose that at the time, color would have made the price skyrocketing beyond any reasonable limit...Especially that when the system hit the market, cheaper Pong systems including the first AY based clones were coming.

Funny to know that the 1292/Interton VC 4000 works the same. From what I read, it's because of the RAM : In the mid 70's, processor-compatible RAM was extremely expensive, so a design idea was to put a minimal amount of RAM to load a piece of code that will allow to use the video RAM as regular ram (same thing in the Colecovision, that's why it got 1ko of RAM and 16ko of VRAM).

European collectors are way more likely to ask for boxes than Americans...

I like PC game because of the keyboard/mouse combo. It's usually more responsive IMO than a gamepad, that always seems to miss one or two buttons, that isn't 100% compatible with analog controls, etc... Well taoday it's not true anymore, but still... PC games that play well with a gamepad are often horrible to play on keyboard. And the recent switch from the controlets keys to the WASD scheme is indeed a throwback in the Speccy days. But finding a game that plays with the direction keys is a total pleasure.

The more I see games for the Astrocade... the more I want one >.< I can't believe nobody cared to make an Astrocade II... with jsut the Hi-red mod od the Astrocade avalable, and more RAM. It would have kicked the Colecovision's butt.

I don't understand. Is it about the GBA or GB? Back in 1989, the cost of having a color backlight screen would have been too high for the Gameboy to sell as much as it did, plus the battery drainage problem.

I also think that the seller got eventual buyers afraid by putting a start price of 30$, and a "Buy it" price of 80$. On the other hand, there was a picture of the unit plugged to a TV and working, so I bought it anyway. Sears unit doesn't exist here so... Yeah, I couldn't have just gotten your regular NTSC Atari

Like the Supervision, the Gamate is designed to work with the GameBoy AC adapter. I also can tell from experience that the Gamate will not fry from reversing the polarity, or to feed it a lower than expected power. They are quite nicely designed, with better quality than the Supervision, almost on par with the Game Boy. You can also use 1,2V rechargeable batteries, it will works nicely, and will greatly reduce your battery bill

Remember, people. James Rolfe plays a character, and even if he isn't really the AVGN on this video, he know that most people watch him for the amusement and raging part. So, I don't know him, never saw out outside of his AVGN videos (well I did watch some other videos of him where he shows some of his favorites moveis, and he doesn't drop any swearing) but remember, when he get close to video games, he is expected to swear. That's the character he is now, and he can't betray it that easily.

Also, keep in mind that PAL channels are wider to accomodate a 625 line signal. US channels are 6mhtz wide, European channels are 7 or 8 mhtz wide, depending on the system used and the band. PAL B/G systems are 7Mhtz wide on VHF and 8 on UHF PAL I, SECAM L and PAL/SECAM D/K are 8 mhtz wide on VHF and UHF. So, you have to get a TV with fine tuning, because as you can expect, European channels 2, 3, and 35/36 will not be on the same US frequencies, and probably between the two. And it get worse when you know that most systems in fact doesn't have a precise tuning and that they aren't really on PAL 2 or PAL 3 or 35/36 but somewhere between the two. (probably they didn't care much because all Euro TV had radio-style tuning unlike USA TV set with their rotary selector).

Actually, it sounds like a good idea... Making a retro game machine, putting together all the best pieces of the 8 bits era ( a Z80 or 6502 based machine, with a POKEY sound chip (maybe with a good old AY-3-8912 to provide more variety), 128Ko of RAM, a MOS 8563 video chip or any equivalent of the late 8 bits era. Or, yeah, making a cheap machine with huge limitations could be fun, too. Seeing how much one can pull from a system that could have been made in 1976, 1977, 1978 using standard component so you don't have to learn to program on Signetics or Fairchild chips. But even improving a machine, like with the Super Game Module for the Colecovision, is making a NEW machine. If you add color to the RCA II, if you add RAM, if you add anything... It's NOT an RCA II anymore. Yeah. Many machines missed maybe ONE thing, that one thing that MAY have pulled it out from being ordinary or crap to being awesome. But you can't change the past, only the present. The RCA II is what it is, and no matter how much you like or hate the machine, it won't change this fact. It's still interesting to see what it could have been, tho

At I mentionned, the NTSC version plays on PAL system; you will just have some colors going a bit odd; Mario isn't red, but more like reddish brown, and bricks aren't of the right colors everywhere; and you need a 60 Htz compatible set (which would be the case for the PAL60 version coming up anyway).

So you mean that I got incredibly lucky when I found all my Intellivision games in box? And all the Interton games in box? What about the games I exchanged at school? My goodness, all kids I knew were so careful that they kept their boxes? That's a lot of 1%. And again, no, I don't look for CIB games that much, because they are more expensive usually. Right, there is a lot more Nintendo game loose, but that's because used good shops do threw the boxes at the time to save space.

The colors aren't scrambled so much, they are just a bit "out of focus" as if the gamma/saturation was reduced or thhe red level mainly reduced. Anyway, I have a Sears system coming up so I'll be able to play it with real colors I regret not being able to get the boxed version. It doesn't feel like having a new game. Adding the option to buy the box separately would be nice.

One workaround may be found with some DVD burner... I have one with component output and RF/composite/S-video/SCART RVB input; so you can use it as a converter to display any analog source on your TV. (there might be a delay making play hard or imposssible). Or any video equipment that take analog signal in and output component or HDMI may be used.

Well, maybe in USA, but a good share of European and most Japanese gamers kept their boxes. I mean, just look at the Videopac boxes versus the US ones : How can you get the idea of throwing them? Same goes for the Interton VC 400 boxes, even if they are made of (sturdy) cardboard : Even the ads of the time suggest you to keep them : See? Side labeled boxes to read them. And it's made on purpose, because on Interton boxes, only one side of the box is labelled. To be honest, Japan was helped because of the higher quality of their boxes. Super Famicom boxes feel more solid that their European counterparts. But only from a logical point of view... Like when the AVGN asked in one of those videos "why can't people keep their game manuals" just after saying that throwing the boxes is fine... Well that's what the box is mean for, right? Just look at the Sega Master System and Megadrive/Genesis boxes, it just doesn't make sense to throw them! Even Intellivision boxes. It might sound strange, but so far, on the 20 games I have, they are all with the box. And I didn't looked for them, it's just that I have yet to find someone selling loose Intellivision carts.

I got one Sears light sixer with 12 games (4 Telegames carts) on eBay for 30us$ might be a glimpse of luck, but I do think it just mean that the demand is either not high or that the prices aren't that high either. (probably the demand being low. Also the lot was all loose and one third-party controller)

I saw and bought my first Atari 2600 in 2011. A Darth vader SECAM model, with some games with it. The 2600 is nothing but a classic here so you cant really find one in the wild.