hookem

Well, the case bottom is definitely heavy sixer. I'd say you could feel OK selling it as a Heavy Sixer, if CPUWIZ says some have the channel select switch. What does the serial # look like? It would be interesting if it were a high letter one... possibly indicating later production, possibly mixing in some new parts at the factory. You could also look at the circuit board... might have a date, "Innovative Leisure", or rev # that you could compare with some of the pics on this thread - http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=76656 ... which might help you confirm.

What I typically will do- * Take it apart, wash the plastic parts with mild soap and water, dry quiclky * Clean circuit board(s) with compressed air * I use Radio Shack "TV Tuner cleaner" (prolly just 90% isopropyl alcohol.. haven't checked) on switches, joystick ports, and cart port * Remove the RF cable, clean that connector with the TV tuner cleaner and possibly replace * If the RF cable wasn't properly routed around the stress relief, when I put it back I will route it the way I think it was originally supposed to go.. around the stress relief and as far away from everything else as possible. If it looks like the chips (TIA and 6502 mostly) may have loosened up a bit (like if the Atari was stored in a place that gets very hot or cold), I may go ahead and reseat them. If some of the solder points look bad, I might hit them with the soldering iron. And that's about it.

That's about the same thing I would do... no trickery, but the pizza place we went to would give you 25-30 tokens if you put in a five. You'd also get some free with your food order, the amount varied. A little like D&B now, where when you buy credits you get a random amount extra.

This would probably fall in the category of trying too hard This is one of those "best leave it, unsolved..." situations. But I guess you could organize a classic gaming convention there? That would probably cause weeks of press, maybe someone would see something. Would be a neat place to have a con... sort of like the UFO conventions in Roswell. First Annual Atari Landfill Adventurers Classic Gaming Convention? In fact, there are some neat things to do nearby Alamogordo... there is Roswell, casinos, and skiing at Ruidoso only about an hour or two away. So the attendees would have other stuff to do.

I don't understand why the original reporter would make it up. Was it the first day in April? 945705[/snapback] I tend to wonder about the same thing... so I'm in the camp that believes it's true. Not that I would dedicate a lot of effort into proving/disproving it. I mean there is the real newspaper story, and some reprints in other papers. There is a Snopes entry saying that it is true. For something like this, that's enough for me to believe it's true. Arguments against it's truth seem weak to me: Newspaper article is made up to sell papers - If so, why pick such a strange thing out of the blue to "make up"? Was there some big landfill craze around that time? Why would they think that would sell papers vs. some other sensational made-up story? Now I could definitely believe that it was embellished... maybe there weren't a million carts, or a bunch of 18 wheelers.. but there was some truth to it, and Atari did dump some inventory in the landfill, but it was really nothing spectacular. The photos are poor, no one can find the reporter or anyone that was there, etc. - These arguments have a simple answer: No one really cares. It may have been a fairly mundane event for those involved, only hyped up for the people that read the story which makes it sound more interesting. Hence the actual people involved probably don't even think about what was a very forgettable episode, yet the people who remember it were just citizens there that remember the hype. So any actual witnesses are not at all thinking "I need to tell this story", and those looking for those actual witnesses/involved people just haven't expended the energy necessary to find them. Why destroy a bunch of ETs if you plan to re-release it in 1986? - Companies don't do much planning that far ahead. Especially ones that have grown very quickly. As I recall, lots of software was being destroyed, it was (is) very common. It could easily be a one-year or even one-quarter decision, made for the benefit of the books. Furthermore, with a licensed deal like ET, they may have been able to avoid paying royalties by destroying the product. So if they had excess inventory, it is completely logical that they would need to destroy it. They wouldn't sit on it for even another year, if they could avoid the licensing fees and reduce their tax liability. So, if you believe they had too many ET carts in the warehouse, you really have to believe they were physically destroyed and disposed of. That only leaves 1 thing to question -- where? And why not a landfill 2 hours down the highway? Makes sense to me. So, I guess if the story was false, I wouldn't believe it was because the newspaper writer made it up... I suppose with other evidence, I could believe that Atari made up the story, in order to prove they destroyed the inventory... when they really re-used the components or saved the inventory. But without such evidence, there is really only one reasonable verdict: It's true. Perhaps the details in the story aren't completely true, but where there is smoke...

Picked up at Goodwill in Dallas: Sega Dreamcast, with modem and 1 game inside (no power cord, but it isn't proprietary) - $3.99 Sanyo Beta HI-FI VCR - $19.99 Both with Goodwill's 10-day electronics warranty

Regular HEB, the one at Far West near Mopac. Corner of aisle 17, in the center of the store. Next to the Halloween stuff. It seems odd it would be at a smaller HEB, but it is in the middle of a college student area... I could easily see them selling quite quickly as impulse buys.

Well, there is the potential that the RF adapter or cable is bad.. did it come with a TV/Game switch, or did you buy one seperately? I guess you could be using one from a 2600 you already know works... Might also be the power supply. I've bought several 5200s, and haven't come across a dead console yet (although I'm sure it could happen)... with 2600s, I have gotten a couple with bad TIA chips, which end up giving no video. In that case, I can swap one out to verify, then call Best Electronics for a replacement (if the console is worth it).

The way I recall, we all knew the 2600 graphics generally stunk (before we learned to appreciate them, of course) and the "enhanced" screenshots were just an acknowledgement of that fact. Plus, the new games were always sold as though they were each the newest, most advanced technological breakthrough to hit the 2600 since it's release. So, they couldn't rightly show a screenshot that didn't look much better than combat, could they? That's the way I remember it...

I'm going to sell a bunch of these, but currently I have 2 Heavy Sixers (1 sears, 1 atari) 1 Atari 2600 light-sixer supposedly manufactured in sunnyvale 1 4 Switch promo unit 2 Vaders 1 Regular Atari 4 switch 2 Jr's 1 Sears Video Arcade II What I will probably end up keeping: 1 Atari Heavy Sixer 1 4 Switch promo unit 1 Sears Video Arcade II

I noticed FB2s for sale today at my local grocery store, HEB! It's mostly a Texas chain. They sometimes have various non-grocery impulse items, such as DVD players, TVs, small appliances, etc. Still, I was suprised to see it there.

Hey BeerGnome, I too have a great interest in those console stereos. I have one that I am in the process of repairing (no 8-track unfortunately, just radio and phono). I always remember them sounding a little different than the "seperate" hi-fi systems of the day. They tended to sound a little deeper and muddier, which I liked, but most hifi buffs would have scoffed at... Anyway, I now theorize that what I was hearing was the tonal quality of the larger wooden enclosure.. it wasn't tuned, like a good speaker, but still imparted a tonal quality... like a guitar body would.

I smell an ET hack coming...

Hey Jay, Stopped by earlier but failed to find anyone who knew where you were at; I'll drop you a PM, if you still need an Atari, just let me know. I'm only a couple of minutes from the hotel.

I was thinking about stopping by the con tomorrow morning. I could bring a 2600 in case the 7800 falls through... wonder which 2600 console would be most appropriate for this cart? 1982 release date? Maybe a vader? Or a 5200 w/VCS adapter?

I'd probably steer clear. I wouldn't be real pleased with a request to "take my word that the payment was sent"... Anyone who would ask that is either a)dishonest or b)clueless. Plus, he already walked away from the deal once. I'd tell him he can bid on the item if he so chooses, and he will get the terms of the auction just like anyone else. Shipped when payment is received, sent to only paypal address, etc.

They turn up on ebay every so often. Not particularly hard to find.. I see them about as often as a rarity 5 cart might come up. I have nearly all issues (I'm missing one) that I've hung on to since I was a kid.

Allsome. Absolutely allsome. The famous G Whiz from ATHF speaks, and it is allsome.

They probably didn't move the label, more likely they put old-style guts in a newer case, or replaced a broken case bottom (assuming it's possible to break just the bottom of a heavy sixer case It looks exactly like someone put the old-style guts in a newer case. Hence my repair theory... unless you are suggesting it came that way originally? Also, I don't think it would be the bottom that broke, as whole case is a "light sixer"... AFAIK, the parts are not compatible. So the whole case would have been replaced if either the top or bottom were broken, which made me think repair & moved label. But I'll post some pics, maybe I'm missing something obvious. It has open slots; but I am certain I've seen open slots on other "light" sixers...

Thanks, it appears I did not search enough. That's just what I was looking for. Guess we can close this thread.

Thanks! I was wondering about that.. didn't see two ROM versions in the database. I guess there is really no significant difference other than the title.

When I was testing a couple of Asteriods carts today, I noticed one displayed the "C 1981 Atari, Inc" screen at the beginning and one did not. Is this a slight rom difference, or something that could be caused by a dirty connector? Both carts appear identical otherwise. Sorry if this has been answered before, my quick searches did not yield anything...

Atari Heavy Sixer - #87521E Sears Heavy Sixer - #70468U I also have a Sunnvale "light" sixer, has heavy sixer internals (no channel select switch) and the standard white Sunnyvale serial # label. It might have been a repair, but if it was they took great care in moving the label over. #73146N

FWIW, I've also bought with topol777 and had a good experience. As for reselling items he buys from ebay, I don't really see a problem with that. Although the way he quotes himself is kinda weird... Seems to me there is a simple solution to this (not that it matters anymore): just make Auction Central off-limits to members that don't have at least 50 (or some amount) of posts on other forums. This is regularly done with political/general topic forums on other sites. It would prevent people from posting nothing but auction ads. And in topol777's case, I'm sure he would have plenty to add to other forums responding to questions and such... he's certainly had quite a bit of hardware pass through his hands.

Sure there aren't any more rare carts in there? I'd keep the R5 "I Want my Mommy" and sell him the rest back for $50. $35 is not a bad deal (would be like buying it for $20 on ebay, then paying shipping). However, $50- for a Vader w/only one joystick and rarity 1 games, that is A GOOD DEAL (for the seller!!)