krisjohn

The Mega Drive (Genesis, whatever) 1 is a big fat, wide thing, with bonus headphone connection and volume slider. The MD 2 is a small unit, with smaller rear connections (this becomes important). The original Mega CD 1 was a tray-loading device that sat under the MD 1, with a connector going down the right hand side from one device to the other. It was released before the MD 2 was created. The Mega CD 2 was a flip-top unit that sat under and to the side of the MD. A complete boxed unit will contain an extra hollow plastic extension so that it looks good under a MD 1. If you want to connect a MD 2 you screw a metal plate onto the bottom of the MD 2 for spacing (and shielding), but you don't need that extra length underneath. A MD 2 may or may not connect to a Mega CD 1 -- I think there's a spacing issue. Meanwhile, the 32X will connect to a MD 1 or a MD 2, but the MD 1 needs an extra adapter cable for the video connection, since the MD 1 has a larger A/V connector than the MD 2. There is a plastic collar that fits on the underneath of the 32X if you want to use it with a MD2. This collar is not needed on a MD 1 because the case rises up a little higher at the cartridge slot. The metal shields included in the 32X package are not needed for normal operation, only to fit FCC rules. HTH.

Thanks. I've decided to upgrade the 800XL instead -- which should make things easier. Have you used the Warp+ OS? Given the choice between a disk-based OS, a ROM-based OS and a cart-based OS, is something like Warp+ a good option? Or perhaps the Ultra Speed Plus OS by CSS. If I get the Black Box anyway, postage might make USP just as cheap.

River Raid and Barnstorming were my favourites as a kid. Now I just play whatever I find.

First after what event? First when you get home, first when you decide to spend a few hours playing, first when you get a new console, first when you download a bunch of ROMs? I need a trigger. I'm typically screwing around with anything recently mentioned on the forums, or something I'm doing a review for, or something I've recently bought or downloaded. Last night I "played" (loaded) Archon, Pitfall 2 and Buck Rodgers on an Atari 800 emulator. My interest in that family comes from the 800XL I found last weekend. I tried them out because they were in the packages I downloaded and I recognised their names. (As an aside, I actually remember playing Buck Rodgers as a young kid on a rich friend's PC. Something tells me it predates even the beginning of my personal collection of copied games I had when I was a kid. I now believe it's a shame I deleted all those old games, even if they were copies.)

Best? By what critera? I still think that the most innovative console ever created is the 32X. It was an upgrade to a popular console, you could still use your existing library of games, if you had the CD expansion you could play new CD-based games that used the new hardware in it. It was perfect, right up until the point where not enough people bought it and the developers bailed. The overall best (as in most popular, biggest library, most developers) is probably the Playstation, I'm sorry to say. Homogenised for your protection -- no nasty innovation here. Fav. 32X game = Virtua Racing, but I haven't played Kolibri. Fav. PSX game = Wipeout 2097

Xonox, definately. For other funky carts, try the Codermasters Genesis/Mega Drive J-cart with two extra joystick ports. http://www.genesiscollective.com/ShowPage....hp?GameLink=640 Or the Sonic and Knuckles piggy-back cart that lets you replay 2 & 3 with a new character. http://www.genesiscollective.com/ShowPage....hp?GameLink=126 There's also the HES Piggy-Back carts for the NES, but they're a bit ugly and only for coping with licencing lockouts http://consoledatabase.retrofaction.com/companies/hes/ I actually own examples of these three carts. I should pickup a Xonox one of these days...

Funny, I thought it did, but just looked ugly.

From memory: 2600: Cuttle Cart NES: Smash TV 800XL: Atari Writer XEGS: Ball Blazer Saturn: Disk 1, Cuttle Cart Underground SNES: Darius Twin N64: Empty PS2: Cover Disc from latest Australian OPS2. Dreamcast: Audio CD, Silence is Deafening by Sonic Animation Mega Drive, Mega CD, 32X: Empty BTW: Add another couple of hours per week to my "How much do you play Atari?", more possibly when I get my SIO2PC cable.

Anyone got a diagram for these? I'm sure I'll get there eventually, but I'm a visual person. Also, can someone who knows what they're doing confirm that the first link actually contains the full instructions that I need. It references an article and doesn't appear to, for example, tell me whether I'm swapping RAM or adding RAM.

Morning folks, what's u... hey! Stop having these contests overnight

Thanks, I'll pop the shielding off before I order any chips then. "Pop" was the wrong word, but they're all socketed. I guess I shouldn't have to order a kit for an upgrade, if I can just find some plans and source some RAM locally. Anyone got a helpful URL for an 800XL RAM upgrade that just replaces chips and maybe has a couple of extra wires to solder in? TIA.

All I've found at Best Electronics is the "800XL Wizztronics 256K / XE Upgrade" on page: http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/800xl.htm Is this the only RAM upgrade they offer offer? Any opinions on it? MyAtari.com don't appear to have anything suitable.

Thanks, I'll pop the shielding off before I order any chips then.

I'm still waiting for my QB and Thrust+ second prizes. I don't mind, I just want to know if I need to go to the post office and fill in a missing package form.

I found: An Atari 800XL, with disk drive, tape drive, printer and Atari Writer cart. Everything but the disk drive is boxed. Everything works as far as I've tested it (haven't got a disk or tape to test the drives, but they power up). A$50 (~US$27) (http://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11722) I've already orderd a SIO2PC cable, and I'm shopping for a ROM upgrade with an OS, a RAM upgrade and possibly the black box hard drive and IO upgrade.

Sounds funky. I picked up an ST mouse a number of months back. Don't know if it works, but this sounds like a funky way to find out. Meanwhile, sod the XEGS, why didn't anyone tell me that it and the 800XL are basically the same computer, but the 800XL has socketed chips and an expansion port So, what's the Black Box and The Ultra Speed Plus OS like? And what RAM upgrades are still available? TIA.

Should be safe to sell them in Australia now. I'll be modding my old PSX some time next month hopefully. Only so I can play imports, I hate copies. I'll probably get a translucent orange case for it at the same time.

I'm after a SpartaDOS X cart. Working. Manuals preferred. Exact version shouldn't matter too much. I'm located in Australia and can pay by credit card or PayPal. Or I can swap some interesting PAL 2600 stuff for it. TIA.

I tend to look at it from a different direction. If two people independantly develop similar submissions, it's not fair to the second one who now looks like they've copied someone else's idea. That's why, for competitions that do post entries before the finish, I post my entries to the messageboards as soon as possible. (So I don't look like I've copied someone else, not so other people look like they've copied me.) Jeez, even I can't follow that last bit, and I just wrote it

I've found a couple of places offering SpartaDOS 3.3c. Is there a page somewhere that lists the differences between 3.3c and X? Most pages I'm finding are just cart lists, or big FAQs, neither of which have enough detail specifically on SpartaDOS cartridge options. Do both version have a piggy-back slot on the top? Are there any RAM expansion options that suit a slot like this?

This is the guy? http://strony.wp.pl/wp/j131atari/ And this is the software? http://www.tcainternet.com/wa5bdu/sio2pc.htm Prices sure do look more sane. Thanks.

Okay, quick clarification. Sony aren't telling the charity/community organisations that run the swap-meets that they can't sell legitimate secondhand games. However, several markets have already been prosecuted because stall holders have been selling illegal copies of games. I do not contest the fact that most playstation games sold in swap-meets are illegal copies. Since these swap meets are run by people with little or no technical knowledge in the electronic gaming area, they simply can not tell a copy from an original. Seriously. Not even a bit. Also, they can't afford to be prosecuted. The end result of bullying and ignorance is that secondhand computer games get banned wholesale.

Is the Warp+ OS upgrade compatible with the XEGS? Also, what are people's thoughts on APE? The software looks interesting, but I'm worried about the price in two places -- the cable and the 98 vs XP split. Over A$100 for the serial cable is mighty expensive. Also, while I have an aging Win98SE system at the moment, I'm looking at building up an XP system in the near future. So, if I get something now, the upgrade later will cost another A$60. Because of excessive shipping costs from the US to Australia, I'd be wanting to get a bundle of useful stuff all at the same time, but APE, plus cable, plus Warp+ will cost A$300 - A$360 (depending on what I do about my pending OS upgrade). Any thoughts? Any alternatives? Since APE + cable will cost at least US$95, I'd be just as interested if someone has a USB 5.25" floppy drive designed to read and write 8-bit formatted floppies (especially if it can do C64 as well). TIA.

A few months back I saw I sign at a swap-meet that said that anything even resembling Playstation games was banned from sale. I was never able to qualify that statement (Does it include Dreamcast games, Mega CD, N64, Atari, all software, CDs, what?) but was still frustrating to see that Sony had basically bullied a charity organisation into being afraid to allow anyone to sell any secondhand games because they don't have the expertise to spot a copy. This weekend I was told, and saw a sign, in a two different charity shops that (on the advice of laywers) they will not be selling any electrical or electronic equipment any more. Nothing that has a current running through it. This definately includes consoles, but also technically includes cartridges. CDs, tapes, disks, fine - carts not so much. Apart from some charity shops and swap-meets that are slow to change, this only leaves reputable pawnbrokers (able to test equipment) and garage sales. We only have two major chains of pawnbrokers locally, neither of which are interested in the old stuff. I get the feeling that my hobby is being pushed underground due to corporate self-interest and clueless politicans. Anyone else noticed the same thing, and anyone got ideas what to do about it?

It's a safety thing. I just read mention of it with regard to a piggy-back DOS cart. You have to override the door switch to use the piggy-back feature on an 800. I almost know the answers to your other questions, but I've only today picked up my second 8-bit Atari system. The first was an XEGS with limited non-gaming function. Today I scored an 800XL with tape, disk and printer. I expect to be rummaging 'round the 8-bit Atari world for the next few weeks...