-^CrossBow^-

Okay...so I am not sure how to put this into the category of repairs but let me tell you how I have managed to fix all my 5200 sticks I have seen come my way. You'll love this... So I am at home wondering how to fix a 5200 stick I have where the stick itself works great as do all the numpad buttons. But the fire buttons and the top row were shot. I first tried to super glue some small pieces of Aluminum foil. But, that didn't stay attached for long and soon I found that the buttons were dead again. I would open the stick up to find that the foil had indeed come off the carbon pads. So I then started to think about how to attached foil to the carbon dots more securely. And then it hit me. Foil tape would be perfect! But I didn't have any on hand so I had an idea. My 18 month old son loves stickers. And it just so happens that he has a package of Pooh Bear stickers that are foil backed. Well the surface of the sticker itself wouldn't conduct any electricity so I had to use some fine grit sand paper to go over the sticker surface enough to get the coating on the sticker off. Then the sticker was conducting electricity just fine. I think took a hole punch and punched out my new "Dots" from the sanded down foil stickers. I found that the sticker glue seems to stay great on the carbon dots compared to the super glue I was using. In fact I did this over a month ago and the stick is still working great. In fact the fire button maybe a bit too sensitive as I can just barely touch them and they will tag off shots. Either way I hope this well some of you out there. I also sanded the carbon pads to make sure there wasn't any residue on them that would prevent the sticker dots from attaching well. Take care!

I actually prefer my Colecovision version of Burgertime to the others...

Well..i don't know about variations from unit to unit...but I do know that the wood grain used between Atari and Sears Telegames units are totally different. I suppose it could also be possible for the woodgrain to differ between a 6 switch and 4 switch but I don't know that for sure either.

Mitch, As always, thank you for correcting me. Now we know why your a Mod here...hehe...

Alex, Exactly...and with that freedom Khryssun can also use some graphic tricks not usually possible in a 2600 game. I am not sure that all those colors would be possible in that screenshot on an actual VCS...???

heh, I have to live with the fact that my only copy of Track N Field I have ever found has the previous owner's last name "Seaman" written in Sharpie on the bottom of the label. So yeah... I hate that...makes me want to hurt that person pretty badly for screwing up such a semi rare game.

Okay, So we need to get it all straighten out. There was a modification that Atari made to the later revision 7800 boards (circa 88 or so?), which was done to allow some of the newer 2600 games (Only Dark Chambers comes to mind), to work correctly. However, this same design change in the 7800 also broke more games than it fixed such as some Activision games like Decathalon, Robot Tank and Shuttle. This same design change is also what made the supercharger adapter not function for those 7800s. Then in the quest to find out why, Chris Schell set about finding out why his Cuttle Carts didn't work on these newer 7800 either. Basically he found an extra resitor and capacitor and maybe an extra Sram installed which were causing the problems with the older 2600 Activision games. He basically cut that circuit by clipping the capacitor and had his cuttle cart and those games working on a newer designed 7800. I do not know all the full details of this since it was in fact Chris who did the investigative work on it. I can tell you that I have found more 7800s that work with everything than not. So to me the compatibility issue isn't that strong anymore.

Well..I am not sure how valid this is with Atari brand carts...but I know that alot of the 3rd party makes of carts such as Activision and M-Network. Well, their carts PCBs themselves were thinner than the Atari brand PCBs. I actually had to "Reform" the contacts on my 2600 and 7800 so that the unit itself made better contact with the carts not the other way around. I would say of most of the carts I have that Activisions appear to be some of the thinnest PCBs around. So, don't leave carts in the slots when you aren't playing them. If you want to keep dust out of the cart slot on the 2600 unit or your 7800 then keep a cart in there but just not pushed down into the slot. That way it will just sit in there and block that dust while not actually making contact with the cart slots contacts and hence over time pushing them away from the cart. Just something to think about. My 7800 was perhaps the worst of the lot as several Imagic games are still tricky to get working from time to time.

Well, Care to guess my thoughts about the game? Hehe..seriously, when I got the 7800 version in 88 that was when I started to go by my current handle that I still use today. Only back then I was simply known as Crossbow...then it was -CrossBow- and many other variants later...I finally settled on -^Cro§Bow^- Anyway, this game in the arcades really facinated me. It was the first game I had seen with semi violent content in it. I was in awe when I first saw my "Friends" go up in a pillar of fire and smoke to ashes all the while screaming bloody murder! Back in 82-83 when I first actually played it I knew that someday I had to have this game. I can't afford neither money nor space for the arcade cab of it in my home. But the 7800 version is really close enough for me. The 2600 version is excellent if not a little more difficult since the control seems more sensitive. But all the elements of gameplay including the hitting of the icycles and lava bridge boulder are present. Good game though I am partial to the 7800 version for it better graphics and animation.

Cap 'n Crunch is a cereal. Actually several cereals are made with this lovely short obnoxious little guy.

Tizoc: Apparently there were many red end labels left because I too have an NTSC copy of BallBlazer with the red end label. They actually aren't too terribly rare as I have heard of many who have them.

What you need to do it set the input on Atari800Win to have the mouse act as joystick. Then when you start up Gorf or any other game like this...ie space invaders...etc. You need to press F12 to do mouse capture. Then the mouse will act as an analog device allowing more precision of movement. It is still buggy but it does work for the most part.

Yeah...the rarest thing In found in the wild here was a Track N Field. Granted that isn't a bad find. But sorta expected to find more with the plethora of Atari in the area.

I would say the problem is that the switch box itself isn't supplying a strong signal for the TV operation mode. Does the static go away when you connect the ant straight to the TV? IN other words removing the RF box? Might just need a new RF box.

Rarity is subjective practically. Look on Ebay..there is almost always a copy or two of HERO but Secret Quest by itself doesn't show up nearly as often. It does come around often...but as often as I see HERO. That is my take. Besides rarity is one thing...but I like the fact that Secret Quest is sorta RPG like and actually has a save feature. Plus inventory etc... Just a really good game. HERO is as well...but once you get the pattern for the levels down. Well...the replay isn't quite as high with HERO imho as Secret Quest is.

$100 a cart...damn. I would have to wait for the out of season specials for it then. I really couldn't spend even close to that for any game. Well I could probably convince the misses to let me spend $30-$40 but that would be pushing it...

I would have to flip a coin between H.E.R.O. and Secret Quest. I like them both quite a bit. I would probably actually lean on the side of secret quest more as that game is above HERO on my wants list for the 2600 right now. Way to go on winning it Malix...good job!!!

The web sequence and the gathering of the extra men on the desert sequences are the toughest bits. On the web you have to time it so that when you jump the web will move under you. If you jump just before then you will actually hit and be stuck for a bit. You think the web is hard now...wait until is moves faster and reverses direction!!!

I actually like London Blitz quite a bit. I was never the worlds best at the game and it isn't the most graphically pleasing game ever. But the concept is fairly original for the time. Basically you run around a big maze which represent the city of London. I don't know the exact story line but for some reason there are time bombs being placed all over the city. You have a map you switch to that is an overhead view of the maze (city) and you will look for blinking dots or squares. These are the bomb locations. Getting to the bombs is fairly cool as it is done via 1st person perpective kinda like Tunnel Runner. You are not being chased by anything as your only enemy is time and the difusal of the bombs themselves. The difussing of the bombs is the hardest part. Basically it requires matching up some colored squares or sliders in specific patterns to difuse them. Problem is you can also set them off in the process and kill yourself. You only have one life IIRC. But then eventually as you difuse more and more bombs they become more numerous and the timers shorten. It is quite nerve racking which I like. I only realy sucked at this game because I could never figure out the exact secret to getting the switches to move to the colors I needed. so I usually ended up blowing myself up after about 6 or so being difused. I say it is fun. Just don't expect a graphic treat as the scenery and the bombs never change in appearance. [ 10-25-2001: Message edited by: -^Cro§Bow^- ]

Hell Yeah! I will vouch for Krull...so with Tempest and few others. This game is a classic sleeper hit. It doesn't look like much on the outside and the previous Atari/Movie 2600 translations haven't panned out very well in the past. But this game is very cool. First it has some visual effects that are really cool to see. The web sequence will make you dizzy. The game is also simple...and yet frustrating for the novice. But it keeps you coming back for more. To put it simply, I don't regret the 5.00 mine cost me.

Marco, Send that extra Shining Force and Axe Battler my way already would ya?! heheh..J/K...just let us know when you put them on the auction block so we can all have a fair shot ehh?

Actually the one game I can remember as always hurting my wrists (Only thing to get sore from playing...) was probably the game Solaris. See..on the later levels I would really give the stick a workout trying to dodge those Cobra fighters!!! Umm...that sounded bad...

Actually Nateo...just change your custom title to "Arcade Machine Master" And leave it at that...

This I am not sure about Wi1ycat...especially since the main board of the 3600 proto looks alot like the 7800 main board. Only the jumpers do not exist. Perhaps the Maria chip used in the graphics wasn't yet implemented? Since I have never seen any code or demos that were done up on a 3600 I wouldn't have the slightest idea. Anybody else know? [ 10-24-2001: Message edited by: -^Cro§Bow^- ]

Yeah..the INTV programming was 10-bit. although it could handle stuff up to 16 bits. But yeah...if 2600 programmers were afraid of the protos of the 3600s...I can't imagine what it was like. Good thing we eventually got the 7800 from it, however.