Jump to content
Have You Played Atari Today?
2600|5200|7800|Lynx|Jaguar|Forums|Store  

RamrodHare

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    666

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by RamrodHare

  3. Posted

    I can't recall the year I first played a 2600. I know it was after the NES had came out. My friend had a 2600 in his basement, hooked up to an old B&W TV. We played Combat and I was hooked on it. Of course I didn't know where to find one and didn't have the money for one, so eventually, I got over it... Or so I thought! Fast forward many years later, after playing on every system from the NES to PS3, I was introduced to the Atari Flashback 3. YAY! I could play Combat again, plus, I had now discovered a lot more games I liked. I got a job working at a local Collectables/Comic shop where I was paid in store credit. There I found 2 2600s, around 80 games, 60 instruction manuals, a boxed 7800 and a huge lot of assorted joysticks. I also got a few hundred dollars worth of Star Wars figures, but that's another story. Anyway, when my health and lack of actual pay caused me to quit working there, I started spending most of my free time on these forums and playing 2600 games. I'm not sure that's the kind of answer people wanted to see, but that's what I wanted to write! ;)

    • Like 1

  4. Posted

     

    Do they have a self-service kiosk? If so, use the self-service kiosk, even if the post office itself is open. Not only is the line often shorter, you'll get a straight answer on what's the cheapest way to ship for every package.

    Nope, That's what I mentioned in the last post. There's no kiosk. These are really small Post offices out in the country. There's only one employee and no kind of automated self service stuff at all. I didn't even realize there were self service things at ANY Post office. I've lived here all my life and I don't travel, so the three Post offices within driving distance of my house are the only ones I've ever been inside. The main Post office in Greeneville is the biggest one and it only has 3 employees at most. That's one at the front counter and the two in back sorting the mail. Greeneville is the town tourists drive AROUND on their way to "literally" anywhere else. :grin:

  5. Posted

    I understand not being able to use the online services... The only shipping service you can't buy at a kiosk...

    Trust me, I always ask what the cheapest method is and the answer for anything in a box, no matter the size or weight, has been Priority. Being totally honest, I think the post office closest to me (Afton) has been ripping people off for years. Now it's only open on certain days of the week and even then, it's only open until noon. The next closest is Chuckey, which is where I go now. I don't think they are any better. There have been a few times I've mailed something from Chuckey, after checking the cost at Afton and found it was cheaper than what I was quoted. Afton also charges for tracking or insurance on anything other than Priority, that's still how they were doing it last week when my Father stopped there to ship a package for me.. I just found out today (at the Chuckey Post Office) that first class has free tracking. Today I mailed out some manuals in a bubble envelope and it was cheaper than what small boxes had been costing, so I can adjust what I charge for just manuals now. As far as kiosks, there's no such thing at either post office. The last time I was in the main post office on the other end of Greeneville, they didn't have a kiosk either. Since I'm on the upper end of town, that post office is too far for me to drive to ship something I only charged $10 for, since it would take most of that to put gas in my vehicle to get there. :P

  6. Posted

    FYI, if you have your own boxes or envelopes, you can ship lighter stuff by First Class. A couple of manuals or even a single cartridge should weigh less than 13 or 16 ounces (13 is the cut-off regular rates, 16 is the cut-off for discounted rates like those offered by eBay or PayPal).

     

    Priority Mail boxes have to be shipped Priority Mail, so that's your only option if you're using the free boxes. Nothing against using the free boxes, just be aware of the restrictions since the Post Office really doesn't like it when people try to cheat with the freebies.

    I use my own boxes. I've asked about cheaper ways to ship and I'm always told the same thing, Priority mail is the cheapest method availible. Priority also has insurance and tracking. Both of those cost extra if you ship any other way, running the price of First class up higher than priority.. I don't have a printer or scales and I don't sell enough stuff to justify buying them, so I have no way of getting the discounted rates that are offered online. I'm just hoping to get these games and manuals all sent to good homes so I can stop dealing with USPS for a while. :P

  11. Posted

    Maybe? I'm not sure what replacing the voltage regulator would do for video signal so it never crossed my mind.

    I'm not sure if it would cause your specific issues, but if it's not providing the correct voltage to the board, it's possible it could be having an effect on the signal. My suggestion may be of no help, but it was the first thing that popped into my head. If you have a multimeter, check the output of the power supply and then check the output from the voltage regulator. You also didn't mention the main capacitor, again, may have nothing to do with it, but they do go bad too. If that stuff is all good, my only other idea would be that one of the chips is going out. I'm thinking I read a thread a while back where a guy had an issue with the video being "weird", kinda like you described. If I remember correctly, it turned out to be the TIA chip. I'm just trying to be as helpful as I can, until someone else jumps in with more technical knowledge. :)

  12. Posted

    I'm not sure my answer will be much help, but the one thing you didn't mention was replacing the voltage regulator. I'm guessing yours is a 4 switch "woody". I've never seen a revision 8 board, my oldest one is a revision 12, so I don't know what components it has that may need replacing. I'm sure someone with more information will post a reply soon. ;-)

  13. Posted

    Hey Ramrod. Love the NES Mod. I tried that long ago and failed pretty bad. My first ever use of a soldering iron... you happen to have a diagram handy :)

    Thanks. The modded NES gamepad in my pic was the first one I ever did. I still have it. I sold a few, but I wasn't making enough to justify the time I put into them. I don't have a diagram, I just looked it up online somewhere. If I can recall where it was, I'll post a link.

  17. Posted

    Look, I get that games can sometimes be frustrating, but so can life. It's amazing that after all the drama over not finding an easter egg, you still manage to throw it into this thread. I honestly feel bad for you, so I don't want to sound rude. The fact is, if video games really stress you out so bad, you NEED to stop playing them. I'm saying this out of concern for your health. It's clear that you get extremely worked up over very insignificant things, which puts a VERY real strain on your heart, among other things. I know it's been suggested already, but I think you should consider seeking some help from a support group or possibly seeing a mental health professional. There's no shame in admitting you have a problem and it's the first step to finding a solution. I know you feel like other members here are being jerks, but after months of complaining about something, people tend to get tired of hearing about it. It doesn't mean that these people are jerks, it just means they have been pushed to their limit. They are feeling the same type of frustration as you seem to get from gaming. Almost every forum member who has replied to your threads, offered advice, because they wanted to help. Time after time, their advice was ignored. If you can't accept help from the people willing to give it, then there's no use in posting complaints. People come here to talk about something they enjoy, with people who have similar interests, not to read countless complaints about a game being too hard or not being able to find an easter egg. I hope you can take this as constructive criticism or helpful advice and not as an insult. You have made some rather good contributions to the community here, but they are being overshadowed by the negativity you've been bringing here lately.

    • Like 6

  18. Posted

    I have only had issues with a couple of games. It wasn't the fault of the Harmony or the console. Every time I had an issue, it was because the Vizio Smart TV I was playing on didn't like the signal it was getting. I didn't have any issues with any of my "Dumb" Vizio TVs, just the "Smart" one. If you are trying to play on anything other than an old CRT TV, it's very possible that's your problem. Every rom I have works on the Harmony, with either a 2600, Jr. or my 7800. Of course, you do have to know if you are using PAL or NTSC, since that's rather important. Also, something important to note, even a modded console won't help if your Tv has an issue with a game. Without knowing all the technical stuff, my understanding is that some games used "blank" in place of "black" and that's where the problems happen with my smart TV. When the game tries to use that, the TV just drops the picture, but continues to play the sounds. Skeleton was one of the games that had this issue. I found a modified version of the rom, now it plays just fine. There is the off chance that your console could have a bad chip, since it seems under the right conditions, the TIA chip can fail, but only show signs on some games. I'm sure some of the programmers and more tech savvy folks can help more than I have, but I thought I'd share what little knowledge I have. :grin:

  19. Posted

    Glue sticks are the preferred method for most vintage toy enthusiasts when it comes to sticking vintage labels back without damaging the plastic. Of course if you aren't worried about keeping things vintage, reproduction labels are the best bet. While cyanoacrylates (super glue) will stick stuff together, it's not something you can easily remove, so I don't recommend it.

     

    I recently (yesterday, as a matter of fact) found a roll of tape, that isn't actual tape. It's 2 inches wide and on a roll. It looks like a dark brown wax paper. When you apply it to something, it sticks, but the brown paper can then be peeled off, leaving a nice even coat of clear adhesive. I don't know where I got it or how long I've had it, since I found it while going through some junk I had boxed up in the spare room. I figure this stuff would be excellent for adding a sticky back to any type of paper, sadly, I don't have any more info than what I've given. I have a feeling it came from a box of assorted industrial tape that a friend of mine in maintenance at a local factory gave to me a few years ago..

    • Like 1

  20. Posted · Edited by RamrodHare

    I've edited the original post and I'm now willing to sell single items or small lots. PM me with what you are interested in and your zip code. I'll get back to you with a price ASAP.

     

     

    Removed more sold items. List is now current. I'm trying not to lose money on shipping, so there's not much wiggle room on the shipping price, but feel free to make offers on the items. These are all just games and manuals I don't need, so I'm very flexible on the price. :-D

  22. Posted

    That's a prototype game and as of now, only one cart exists. The game is also incomplete, since it lacks any sound. It has never been dumped or produced, so there is no rom or Label. If you are looking to reproduce this cart, it's not going to happen.

  23. Posted

    So it’s my understanding that the original Supercharger games which had multiply loads on audio tapes, were modified to be one big rom image to work with the Harmony Encore SD cartridge and a Windows PC ATARI 2600 emulator. If these Supercharger games are now public domain, what website does one go to download them? Now if the Supercharger games still have valid copyrights, then since I own almost the entire Supercharger game collection on original audio cassettes in my personal collection, then legally I should be able to download the Supercharger rom images under the fair use laws for making a backup copy. In addition no encryption is being broken or violated since none of the ATARI 2600 games on cartridge or cassette used encryption (except for the Gameline dialup videogame service for the Atari 2600 which had an encryption option built in the modem).

     

    I guess what I am asking is for a good link to where one can download public domain and commercial rom images that one already owns in their personal Atari 2600 collection. I have almost all the Supercharger games and many Atari 2600 cartridges, however it saves wear and tear on my cassettes and cartridges if everything runs from one cartridge like the Harmony Encore or Windows PC Emulator.

     

    Below are some pictures of proof of ownership of just a small portion of my Atari 2600 collection that I run on a Coleco Expansion module #1 with a Coleco cartridge extender.

    I'm not sure what the forum rules are on posting links to rom sites. I'm also unsure of the copyrights on these. When hunting for roms, doing a forum search will bring up some interesting threads.. Also, a quick google search will bring up quite a few sites that you can download these from. That's how I got mine. :-D

  24. Posted

    I swapped the old red LED in my 7800 to a nice new RGB (color changing) LED. :P I organized all my 2600 carts and put them on my display shelf in the living room, so everyone can see them!

    Last, but not least, I painted the ugly red and yellow buttons on my Flashback 3. Now they are gloss black and it looks SOOOO much better. It looks so good I'm thinking about doing it to my Flashback 4. :-D

    • Like 1
AtariAge
Forums
Store
General
Follow AtariAge

Copyright ©1998-2021 AtariAge

×
×
  • Create New...