jaybird3rd

Curt stated in an earlier post somewhere in this forum that a testbed FB1 was equipped with an NES cartridge port at Atari. I posted a similar request some months ago because, like you, I'd love to use the FB1 for more than just the built-in games. I never got a response, so I can only assume that the modification hasn't been figured out yet by a third party. Now that the FB2 has been available for some months and the FB1 is essentially a dead product, I'm hoping that Curt or someone else can share this information with us; it can help remedy the biggest problem with the FB1 (which is its okay but subpar software).

I think there are actually four-pin passthrough cables (meant for low-voltage system fans) that can pull out the 5V for you.

First of all, welcome to AtariAge! I would guess that the fault is with the mechanism (does it sound like it's physically having trouble reading the disk?) My recommendation would be to swap it out with another working 360K 5.25-inch drive mech and test it. Just make sure that the DRIVE0 jumper on the drive mech is set correctly first; you'll know that it is if you plug it in and switch on the XF551 and see the drive activity LED flash on for a fraction of a second. If the other mech doesn't work either, you might want to take it out completely and look over the drive's mainboard and see if there's any obvious physical damage. You can also retouch the soldering on the SIO connectors, which is a frequent point of failure with the XF551.

It might be tough to use the ones from the Jr.; as I recall, the cartridge guide is molded into the case (it and the top half of the clamshell are all one piece), and the cartridge connector is soldered onto the mainboard.

This project somehow escaped my attention until now, but it definitely looks interesting! I've been retrofitting BallBlazer cartridges with SRAMs and using Eckhard Stolberg's DevOS, which has worked very well for me, but it limits me to 32K of onboard RAM. Having more memory is a definite plus, as is getting away from the parallel interface for uploading through the joystick port. I would definitely encourage you to pursue it further; perhaps you simply need to set it aside for a while and take a break. The 7800 homebrewing "scene" is still pretty small and it may sometimes seem that there's no market, but as tools like yours become available, I think the 7800 will become a less-intimidating platform for game development and will get a lot of support. EDIT: Here is a link to PacMan's site for anyone who wants to look it over; the RAMCart is in the "Projects" area.

That sounds great, Curt! No problem at all about the delay; I'm just glad to know it's on its way. Thanks also for including the HSC routines, which are a HUGE bonus. Will the new HSC design be compatible with the original routines (I'm assuming it would be if it's using the same code)?

How about computing the minimum number of steps that are needed to complete a given maze, counting the number of steps the player takes, and awarding a bonus (extra points, etc.) based on how close the player came to the minimum?

I think the "emulation" in that version of Classic Asteroids was done by Livesay Technologies, who also butchered the 2600 games in Activision's early 2600 Action Pack collections for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. Even though nothing beats playing Asteroids on a real vector monitor, Asteroids in MAME is far more accurate, and looks pretty close to the original at very high resolutions. I played Activision's Asteroids on the PC, and I thought it was cool the first two or three times I played through it, but after that there wasn't any replay value for me. It's amazing how the 3D remakes tend to come and go ("Galaga: Destination Earth," anyone?) while the originals remain in use and are as much fun as they've always been.

Oh, I am too ... until your post, I was actually afraid that mine might have gotten lost en route because the mail room at school has delayed getting things to me once or twice recently. As much as I'd love to have mine, I'm relieved to hear that they simply haven't been shipped yet.

I was going to PM Curt about it, but I figured he's probably busy so I decided to wait until the middle of next week. I am anxious to get mine, though.

It's a separate box. It's also the same power supply that the Atari 800 computer uses, as well as the 810 and XF551 disk drives. There's one for sale on eBay right now, in fact (the listing includes a picture): http://cgi.ebay.com/800-810-1050-XF551-Pow...1QQcmdZViewItem

Well, better late than never, I guess! I've finally documented the procedure I use to modify the Space Invaders sticks for the 7800. For anyone who's interested, I've also put my set of wireless sticks up for sale in the Marketplace forum; here is a link. Now, the list of steps. The wire colors I reference below match the colors of the Atari ProLine controller cable, so if you use a ProLine as a cable donor, these instructions should work verbatim. Other cables may use different colors, so be sure to find out which ones correspond to the Atari colors before you start. Preparation: Remove the nine screws on the bottom of the joystick and open it. Cut the red and black wires going to the battery harness. Cut all of the wires going to main circuit board and remove it. Cut the wires as close to the board as possible. Follow the black wires coming from the four action buttons to where they are attached to the microswitch terminals (inside the square joystick mechanism at the center). Cut them as close to the terminals as possible, but do not cut any of the other black wires also attached to these terminals. Remove the switch and power jack (attached to the black/yellow/red wires). Move aside the white/gray wires going to the menu and reset buttons. Action Buttons: Strip the blue and black wires going to the four buttons, and tie the pairs of blue wires together. Use a long wire to connect the blue pairs together. Install the joystick cable in the AC adapter opening. If the cable does not have a stress relief boot built in, you may wish to install a grommet or some other stress relief apparatus at this point. It may also be necessary to trim the stress relief boot slightly or enlarge the opening for thick cables (such as the Atari ProLine cables). Attach the ORANGE joystick wire to the blue wires from the right-hand pair of buttons (on the side of the controller closest to the power switch and joystick cable). Attach long wires to both of the black wires coming from the lefthand pair of buttons (on the side of the controller farthest from the joystick cable). Attach the black wires from the righthand pair of buttons to the long wires coming from the corresponding buttons on the lefthand side. In other words, tie together the black wires from the two inside buttons, then tie together the black wires from the two outside buttons. Take the RED wire from the joystick cable and attach it to the pair of black wires going to the inside buttons in the right-hand pair. Take the YELLOW wire from the joystick cable and attach it to the pair of black wires going to the outside buttons in the right-hand pair. Take two 620-ohm resistors and tie one end into each of the sets of wires that you attached in the previous two steps. At the end of this step, both of the resistors should have three wires attached to one side: two black wires, and one wire going to the joystick cable. Tie the two free ends of the resistors together, then attach two wires to them: the BLACK wire going to the joystick cable, and a long wire going to the ground terminal on the "down" microswitch (which should already have two black wires connected to it, one of them a very short wire that was cut from the main board). At this point, the action buttons should be working and should mirror each other. Plug the joystick into an Atari 7800 and test it with a 7800 game that uses both buttons (such as Asteroids) to ensure that the outside and inside buttons from both sides are functionally identical. You may also wish to test a 2600 game that uses the action button; in 2600 mode, all four buttons should be functionally identical. Directionals: Attach the BROWN joystick cable to the "right" microswitch (which should already have a short blue wire connected to it). Attach it directly to the terminal instead of to the wire, since the wire is too short to be recycled. Attach the GREEN joystick wire to the long blue wire coming from the "left" microswitch. Attach the WHITE joystick wire to the long orange wire coming from the "up" microswitch. Attach the BLUE joystick wire to the "down" microswitch (which should already have a short red wire connected to it). Attach it directly to the terminal instead of to the wire, since the wire is too short to be recycled. At this point, the directionals should be functional. Plug the joystick into the Atari 7800 and test it with a game that uses all four directionals (such as Ms. Pac-Man). Final Steps (aside for reassembly, all of these steps are recommended but optional): If the joystick cable is sitting loose within the AC adapter opening, you may wish to use hot glue to secure it in place. I typically apply the glue onto the portion of the cable that is resting atop the plastic bridge that supported the AC adapter, just inside the opening. Although the power switch is not used in this design, you may wish to reinsert it for cosmetic reasons. Trim the loose blue, black, and red wires on the microswitches (the red and black wires are on the "down" switch, and the blue wire is on the "right" switch). Secure the wires bridging the two pairs of buttons, and those going to the resistors and the joystick cable on the righthand side, with hot glue. Before reassembling the joystick, test the buttons and the directionals once more to ensure that no wires have come loose during cleanup. Reassemble the joystick if it tested successfully.

Those of you who frequent the 7800 boards and have seen the Space Invaders joystick thread may be aware that I have been modifying Radica's Space Invaders TV plug-and-play games and converting them into arcade-quality 7800 controllers for other AtariAge members for some months now. You may have also seen a post I recently made about taking that idea one step further: taking a pair of Space Invaders sticks and, using parts from Atari's large and uncomfortable Wireless Joysticks, rebuilding them as wireless controllers for the 2600. I'm pleased to say that my attempt at doing this was successful: Pictured above is my completed pair of wireless arcade controllers for the 2600 (and any other console/computer that can use 2600 joysticks). They are functionally identical to Atari's original wireless joysticks: after plugging the receiver into the console (it connects to both joystick inputs), you can switch on the joysticks and play using arcade-quality controls, without the hassle of joystick cables. The power switch on the side of the joysticks turns them on or off, and they are labeled LEFT and RIGHT on the underside to help distinguish them. In an improvement to Atari's original design, I have also added power LEDs to both joysticks (which are lit in the picture). I've tested these joysticks up to about twelve feet from the receiver and have had no problem using them. I've made some changes to the wiring of the buttons. The two outside buttons (the "A" buttons) map to the original 2600 action button, so left-handed and right-handed players can use these joysticks equally well. The two inside buttons to the immediate left and right of the joystick (the "B" buttons) map to the left and right joystick directionals. This closely emulates the Atari Track & Field controller and provides a more authentic control scheme for games (Track & Field, Space Invaders, etc) that used buttons in the arcade instead of joysticks; it's like getting an Atari 2600 joystick and an Atari Track & Field controller all in one! The joysticks are each powered by one 9V battery, which (due to the design of the joystick enclosure) must be installed inside the joystick itself rather than inside Radica's original AA battery harness. I'm looking to get $75 for the complete set, which includes the two Space Invaders joysticks, the wireless receiver, an AC adapter for the receiver, a new set of pre-installed batteries, and priority shipping to anywhere in the continental USA. This is about as much as I charge for a pair of new 7800-modified joysticks, even though the cost of materials (including the set of Atari Wireless Joysticks that I cannibalized) is significantly higher; I'm really just looking to recover the hardware costs because these were only built as an experiment. I'll be posting more pictures (including some shots of the interior) as soon as I can, but in the meantime, PM me if you're interested or if you have any questions. Thanks very much!

I usually jump over them and shoot them from the air (assuming they don't reach the rim before I can jump).

I've got a few 2764s and a programmer and could probably burn you an EPROM for a nominal cost (I'll even test it in my XF551 before I ship it). PM me if you're interested.

I like it ... almost as much as I like "Team Savage!" Seriously, though, my advice would be to concentrate on the basics for now; worry about company names and logos and such after you've learned to program and have a game or two under your belt.

He actually gave AGH an interview some years ago. Here is a link (with lots of good information about the contests): http://www.atarihq.com/2678/swordqst.html

Well, I wish you luck! I always tried to make time during my undergraduate years for experimenting with classic console development, but summer classes and other things kept stealing away what little time I had. I'm making much better progress now that I'm in grad school, even though I still don't have as much time as I would like. The C64 used a 6502 variant (the 6510, I think it was), so the assembly language resources I've mentioned should apply to the C64 equally well. I'm afraid I don't know of any C64-specific technical resources (I was never a C64 guy), but I'm sure it must have had its own equivalent of something like De Re Atari for the Atari 400/800 series.

I love 7800 Robotron! Outside of emulation, I think it's the most authentic version you'll find on any console. I actually like playing it better than the arcade original, mostly because the controller options on newer platforms (aside for something expensive like the Hotrod) dont't seem to me to be as well-suited for it as classic controllers. I used to have a pair of ProLines attached to suction cups for playing this game with two joysticks, but now I use a pair of my Space Invaders sticks. Their rubber feet and wide base do a good job of keeping them in place during gameplay without extra support, and of course they provide excellent arcade-quality control.

Two problems: there was no mention of the ColecoVision or Channel F controllers (both of which were much worse than the Jag pads), and the Intellivision and 5200 sticks should have been higher on the list. And no, my cables never fell off of the connectors, either.

I've given this thread a bump because I've been considering getting a Black Box. I've recently come across an old hard drive that might be compatible with it, and would like some feedback on that and on where I can get a controller. The hard drive is a Seagate ST238R, which was connected to a Western Digital WD1002A-27X controller inside an old Kaypro XT clone. I'm having trouble getting my 386 to recognize the drive/controller, but it powers up fine and I'm assuming it's in working condition. I know that this is an RLL drive, and I've seen mention of RLL drives in the Black Box documentation. Does anyone have this drive (or a similar one)? Does it work with the Black Box? Where can I get a controller for it (or does anyone happen to have an extra one)? I'm still seeing a bunch of USB2 cards when I try to look for an Adaptec 4000 on eBay, and I know that the controller I have isn't compatible with the Black Box.

If you're really commited to doing this, and if you really want serious help from the people on these boards, here's what you have to do first: Learn the basics of 6502 assembly. This might be a good place to start. Alternatively, you can look around online for some used 6502 books (I'd recommend the ones by either Zaks or Leventhal). Read this document and this document from front to back. Install the MESS emulator and a good cross-assembler so you can test your programs. Get your hands on some source code that you can learn from, and experiment with it. Here's a good place to start. Once you've got all that figured out, and once you've developed your gameplay ideas and can ask specific technical questions, let us know.

I'd just love to know what kind of class gives you a grade for a 7800 game. Even if such a thing existed, though, he wants somebody else to do all the work for him. Sad.

You know, I think that NES tissue box picture would make a much better avatar ...