MaximRecoil

That's the way I group them too. The Intellivision is closer to the VCS than to the ColecoVision, both in terms of release date and performance.

They were probably counting the original Odyssey and Pong consoles as the first generation. Those were a different breed of cat than consoles as we know them today, which started with the Fairchild Channel F, and were made famous by the Atari VCS (both the first of their kind). The difference is that they were programmable via interchangeable ROM (something which continues to this day with current generation consoles), whereas the Odyssey and Pong consoles were not. The Odyssey had interchangeable "cards", but they only functioned as switches; all of the game variations were contained within the console itself, the same as with any Pong-type console.

NES is third generation; ColecoVision is second generation. That's how it is generally accepted today anyway.

Interesting. It is not a case of snow though, it just has more interference patterns than the 7800 does (faint shadowy ever-fluctuating lines): The first picture is the 2600, and you can see the shadowy lines throughout the image. The second picture is the 7800; no lines; much cleaner. The 7800 occasionally gets those interference lines (as most RF devices do from time to time), but they are less noticeable and they only last for a second or two. You would probably consider my 7800 colors to be too dull too. Some people like highly saturated colors like my 2600 has, but I'd like to tone it down a notch. A saturation level somewhere between where it is now and where the 7800 is would be about right.

That uses a Trinitron tube (aperture grill). Any CRT type looks great with classic video games, assuming it is standard resolution. The chassis and yoke (and their settings/positioning) are more important than the specific tube type when it comes to picture quality. By the 1980s, CRT manufacturing was already a very mature technology. The most recent CRT TVs and CRT arcade monitors from the '00s are especially good in terms of picture quality straight from the factory, even the cheap ones.

I know. I could make a cut in each corner of the cartridge guide to fix the problem (it would have been nice if someone at Atari and/or Activision could have figured out how to use a ruler properly in the first place), but I don't want to hack the machine. Plus, regardless of the Activision thing, I still want to use the 2600 for 2600 games; I just wish I could improve the picture quality to at least match the 7800.

I have a "light sixer" 2600 and a 7800. The 7800 has less interference (using direct RF connection, no TV/Game switchbox with either one). In fact, the 7800 has hardly any interference at all; almost as good as the RF from an NES frontloader, while the 2600 has interference that is quite noticeable on most colors of screens (aside from solid white or black screens). I've even tried using the exact same RF cable for both of them, and the results were the same. Is there any way to fix this? Would replacing the 2200μF/16v filter capacitor in the 2600 make any difference? The 7800 has less saturated colors (which I prefer). The 2600's colors are over saturated; reds look almost orange and blues are too light/bright. The over saturation also results in more color bleed, which further degrades the picture quality. I've adjusted the color pot that is accessable through a hole in the shield, but that only seems to affect hue rather than saturation. Is there any way to adjust the saturation (I don't want to do it through the TV because that would mess the settings up for every other game console, DVD player, etc)? So why don't I just use the 7800? I like the 2600 because of nostalgia, its convenient difficulty switches, and the fact that all of my catridges fit perfectly in the slot. The 7800 doesn't like Activision cartridges. It will play them but the fit is so tight that it feels like something is going to break every time I put one in the slot

The purpose was to create an interesting effect. It makes it appear as if the game's graphics are hovering in mid-air, almost like a hologram. The Space Invaders upright cabinet is the most famous example of this.

15 KHz, spherical tube, RGB triad shadow mask. That is what all of the classic standard resolution arcade games used, and it is what a standard TV from the classic video game era used as well. Standard CRT TVs and standard CRT arcade monitors are fundamentally the same thing (same type of tube, same scan rate); the main difference being that an arcade monitor accepts an RGB video signal input (the highest possible quality for an analog video signal) while standard TVs back then (in the US at least) only accepted an RF signal.

Absolutely. See my previous post. No. That is an optical illusion. You're used to seeing 4:3 monitors mounted horizontally, and when you see one mounted vertically it looks like a longer aspect ratio. This is my Ikari Warriors machine: This is my Street Fighter II machine (currently running a Double Dragon boardset): Those are identical monitors. They are both Happ Vision Pros; I even ordered them at the same time from the same place. The only difference is how they are mounted (vertically vs. horizontally). Those are even the same cabinets (Dynamo HS-1); they are made to allow for horizontal or vertical mounting of the monitor without any modifications.

The original gray NES Zapper's design had nothing to do with an uproar (or whatever) over realistic looking toy guns. It was made to look futuristic and match the NES console color scheme. The later orange Zappers were a product of whatever happened some time in the early '90s, when orange started appearing on all toy guns. Wow, I'd forgotten all about those. I had one that looked more or less like a MAC-10 or a Micro-Uzi (I bought it new in '87 or '88). Here's a picture of one like the one I had. They were indeed made by Larami, the maker of the Super Soaker. They weren't that great as a squirt gun, and they were a real battery hog; I liked mine just because it looked so much like a real gun.

Here's a before and after picture, starting with dirty contacts: In the "before" picture, that is after cleaning with 91% isopropyl alcohol. The alcohol cleaned it somewhat, but once the Q-tip came back clean, the contacts were still dirty, as can be seen in the top picture. The "after" picture is after about 30 seconds per side with Bar Keepers Friend.

Thanks for checking that. I guess mine is okay then.

Okay, I have that fixed. I have another question: the AC adapter that came with this is generic; it is 9VDC, 500mA with the right type of plug for a VCS. It works fine, but I tested the voltage on it with it unplugged from the VCS, and it is 14.88 VDC. That seems high, considering it is rated for 9VDC. What does an original Atari AC adapter measure for voltage when plugged into the wall but not plugged into the console?

I got this light six switch VCS in the mail today and tried it with a Combat cartridge and the cartridge went into the slot fine, and worked. The machine was pretty cruddy, so I took it apart to clean it. When put back together, cartridges won't go into it, because the raised portion in the center is too close to the bottom of the cartridge guide that is molded into the aluminum shielding. It doesn't make any sense. There is only one way this thing can go back together.

Then use a VCR to output the composite (RCA) video that your capture device needs.

That won't work. As has been said, that box is for converting a digital over-the-air broadcast to an analog video signal; for use with TVs that don't have digital tuners. All you need is an old VCR which I'm sure you can find for free or cheap if you don't already have one. Connect the Atari to the coaxial RF/Antenna input on the VCR, and then connect the VCR to your TV with its RCA outputs. Or better yet, get a real TV (also free or cheap these days). Classic consoles look like crap on digital TVs.

Any Atari cartridge can be thoroughly cleaned without taking it apart. If the old standby alcohol and a Q-tip isn't enough, then the contacts are probably oxidized and/or corroded. In such cases I use a thin solution of Bar Keepers Friend and water with a Q-tip (the active ingredient in BFK, oxalic acid, quickly cuts through oxidation/corrosion). Or, you could also use an actual "contact cleaner" product (typically more expensive and harder to find than BFK); which also contains an acid; usually oxalic or oleic, to chemically remove oxidation/corrosion.

Exactly. When I was 10 years old I bought my first Atari 2600 ("Darth Vader" version) new in 1985 for $35, and games were in a bin by the checkout aisles for $.99 each. They were big name games too, like Berzerk, Yar's Revenge, Missile Command, and Defender; even Star Raiders with the included keypad controller. This was at Kmart or a similar department store. At the time my older brother told me how our neighbors Ross and Jeff's parents had payed $200 for an Atari 2600 a few years prior, and how Jeff had saved money from shoveling driveways all winter to buy Missile Command for $50.

You can do that if you want to. I already know it is appropriate since I've used it for a couple of years on quite a few sets of plated connectors without issue. The point of contention here is whether or not it will remove gold plating. It doesn't; not when used as I described anyway. "Passive aggressive"? Say what? I quote the excerpts that I am replying to because it is the easiest method of providing proper/unambiguous context for the reply. It is a standard method of replying in text form on the internet.

Yes, it is an underrated game in my opinion. I watched a where the reviewer complained about how easy it was; no challenge or replay value. After making the video, he added the following annotation: So maybe a lot of people never tried it on the harder difficulty settings. That's interesting. I wonder how that would have affected its (and the Atari 2600 version's) popularity had they used the Battlestar Galactica title.

To me, your tone suggests otherwise. That "tone" is the same as in any post where I reply to blatantly false information. It is "scientific" enough for something as simple as, "Did it remove the gold or not?", and it is more scientific than your anecdote. Of course not, because the gold is still there after cleaning with Bar Keepers Friend. Do you think they could do any better than you at discerning the "before" from the "after" picture? Now, given that BKF does have a mild abrasive component to it (or so I've read), if you used a thick enough solution and/or scrubbed for a long enough time, I suppose you could remove the very thin gold layer; but the same could be said of a pencil eraser (given enough rubbing) or simply inserting and removing it from a card edge connector enough times. However, using a thin solution (as I stated in the OP) and rubbing with a Q-tip for maybe 30 seconds per side, does not remove the gold layer.

I've also done the exact thing I'm describing obviously, and it did not remove any gold; nor does shiny copper look like gold. In fact, I did it just now and took pictures: In the top picture, is a Duck Hunt cartridge after scrubbing with a Q-tip dipped in a Bar Keepers Friend solution, and with the solution still on there for the picture. The two remaining pictures are before and after (or after and before). Can you tell which is which? According to your claim, "after" should be the one without the gold, since Bar Keepers Friend "definitely" removed it; right? I didn't take it as a "personal attack".

No, it doesn't doesn't do that at all. It is funny that you used the word "definitely" when your statement is 100% false. I've used it on plenty of NES games and arcade boardset card edge pins; no damage whatsoever.

I believe that Ajax and Comet are primarily abrasive cleaners (they contains quartz as the abrasive component - link and link). Bar Keepers Friend does most of its cleaning with oxalic acid (link). I believe it does contain a mild abrasive, but it is not nearly as abrasive as Ajax/Comet. This means it cleans metal quickly with not much "elbow grease" required. Bar Keepers Friend is specialized as a metal cleaner/polish which makes it ideal as a contact cleaner. Ajax and Comet type products are general purpose cleaners that usually require a lot of scrubbing to get the job done. According to this site, oxalic acid is also the cleaning ingredient in "DeoxIT", a popular contact cleaner: “DeOxit” is your best friend here and in later attempts. It removes the oxidation on terminal ends by the action of oxalic acid, its active ingredient… it doesn’t hurt to supplement this magic spray with abrasion of a very fine emery cloth or a pencil eraser. Real contact cleaners are great, it is just that they are expensive and are only sold in specialty places.