Got it !

[oldric]

I've just received my 2600 !

As expected it's a SECAM one ...

First of all : DUST, DUST, DUST !!!! Dust on cartridges, dust on the console, dust in the box.

Should i open the console to clean it ?

What's the best way of removing it ?

[+Nathan Strum]

Compressed air. Blow as much out with air as you can, then go in with a soft, clean paint brush. Only after that should you consider using contact cleaner if it's needed on the switches (otherwise the dust will turn into gunk).

[Starhopper]

Compressed air. Blow as much out with air as you can, then go in with a soft, clean paint brush. Only after that should you consider using contact cleaner if it's needed on the switches (otherwise the dust will turn into gunk).

I must emphasize, too, that the brush be a china bristle, and not poly. Very effective, yet very gentle. Also, they make a precision kit for shop vacs that allows you to get into hard to reach places with small angles and even brushes. That would be the best thing I could suggest for removing the largest part of the dust, as the compressed air is going to create a small cloud over your workbench (and it has to land somewhere).

[+Nathan Strum]

I take stuff that's really dusty outside for that initial blast of air/inevitable dust cloud.

[Starhopper]

I take stuff that's really dusty outside for that initial blast of air/inevitable dust cloud.

Going outside would be the smart thing to do. I never said I was the fastest chip on the board.

[rjchamp3]

Compressed air. Blow as much out with air as you can, then go in with a soft, clean paint brush. Only after that should you consider using contact cleaner if it's needed on the switches (otherwise the dust will turn into gunk).

I must emphasize, too, that the brush be a china bristle, and not poly. Very effective, yet very gentle. Also, they make a precision kit for shop vacs that allows you to get into hard to reach places with small angles and even brushes. That would be the best thing I could suggest for removing the largest part of the dust, as the compressed air is going to create a small cloud over your workbench (and it has to land somewhere).

 

good point there, I never thought of that thanks

[Zonie]

Soooo, if you are in France, what's wrong with a System Essentially Contrary to American Method unit?

[oldric]

Soooo, if you are in France, what's wrong with a System Essentially Contrary to American Method unit?

 

LOL ! It's because of wrong colors with PAL games on SECAM console. Must find a PAL model later and not far from France.

Just in case, if one of you come to France with a PAL 6 switches, i'm your man.

[YOK-dfa]

LOL ! It's because of wrong colors with PAL games on SECAM console. Must find a PAL model later and not far from France.

Just in case, if one of you come to France with a PAL 6 switches, i'm your man.

Start only collecting SECAM games then There are not so many of them but it would be a nice goal to get all the games released in SECAM

[alex_79]

Should i open the console to clean it ?

What's the best way of removing it ?

 

I usually open them so I can remove the dust from the inside, spray the switches, the cartridge port and all the connectors with a contact cleaner, and clean the case more easily (I use a wet microfiber cloth, without detergents).

I also remove the oxid on the metal switches of old models using a dremmel tool with a felt wheel and polishing compound.

On the woodgrain consoles I retouch the orange details (border of the switch-panel and joystick's ring) which usually are faded away.

 

Here is the last "light sixer" I've bought, before and after the "cure" .

 

[ProperRogue]

On the woodgrain consoles I retouch the orange details (border of the switch-panel and joystick's ring) which usually are faded away.

 

Alex,

 

Is there a special paint you recommend for detailing the orange ring? Something like Testors Model Paint or similar?

[alex_79]

Is there a special paint you recommend for detailing the orange ring? Something like Testors Model Paint or similar?

 

Sorry, I'm not an expert, but I think that any paint for plastic model-kit will do the job.

 

I used an acrylic touch pencil I bought in a bricolage shop (I'm not good using paintbrush). I tried on a broken joystick first and since the result was good I detailed all my faded joysticks and the 2 woodgrain consoles I own.

It's easy to use and it has a nice glossy effect, but it's a bit too bright in my opinion.

[oldric]

Is there a special paint you recommend for detailing the orange ring? Something like Testors Model Paint or similar?

 

Sorry, I'm not an expert, but I think that any paint for plastic model-kit will do the job.

 

I used an acrylic touch pencil I bought in a bricolage shop (I'm not good using paintbrush). I tried on a broken joystick first and since the result was good I detailed all my faded joysticks and the 2 woodgrain consoles I own.

It's easy to use and it has a nice glossy effect, but it's a bit too bright in my opinion.

 

 

Nice !!

[+HatNJ]

Wow That does look nice wish I could detail like that

[oldric]

Finally first switch on and....Great !

Was really surprised by the games, i enjoyed playing with them despite the "historical" graphics !

Moon Patrol is nice, centipede not bad, winter games funny but with horrible colors !

Combat has a strange behaviour, i can just select the game type but nothing else...

I think i'm going to collect more games in the futur.

[alex_79]

Combat has a strange behaviour, i can just select the game type but nothing else...

 

Maybe you have a non working "reset" switch on your console. The other games you mentioned can be started with the joystick fire button, while combat require the reset switch to be pressed.

Try if you can start a new game in Centipede or Moon Patrol by only pressing that switch.

[ProperRogue]

Is there a special paint you recommend for detailing the orange ring? Something like Testors Model Paint or similar?

 

Sorry, I'm not an expert, but I think that any paint for plastic model-kit will do the job.

 

I used an acrylic touch pencil I bought in a bricolage shop (I'm not good using paintbrush). I tried on a broken joystick first and since the result was good I detailed all my faded joysticks and the 2 woodgrain consoles I own.

It's easy to use and it has a nice glossy effect, but it's a bit too bright in my opinion.

 

 

Nice !!

 

I definitely second that! Looks absolutely amazing.

[oldric]

Combat has a strange behaviour, i can just select the game type but nothing else...

 

Maybe you have a non working "reset" switch on your console. The other games you mentioned can be started with the joystick fire button, while combat require the reset switch to be pressed.

Try if you can start a new game in Centipede or Moon Patrol by only pressing that switch.

 

You were right ! The Reset switch was a little be lazy. I opened the console and blew pressured air inside the switch while moving it.

I realized that my console may have never been used before because there was in fact really few dust inside , the PCB is clean.

 

Now my Reset switch is ok and i can start or restart any game !

 

Grazzie mille Alex_79 !

[A.J. Franzman]

Soooo, if you are in France, what's wrong with a System Essentially Contrary to American Method unit?

LOL ! It's because of wrong colors with PAL games on SECAM console. Must find a PAL model later and not far from France.

Just in case, if one of you come to France with a PAL 6 switches, i'm your man.

 

Start only collecting SECAM games then There are not so many of them but it would be a nice goal to get all the games released in SECAM

Actually, ALL games will show wrong colors on a SECAM console! And if you didn't know it, YOK-dfa was joking, there were no games made specifically for SECAM -- the PAL versions of the programs were used in France. So technically, everyone already has a complete SECAM game collection!

[oldric]

Soooo, if you are in France, what's wrong with a System Essentially Contrary to American Method unit?

LOL ! It's because of wrong colors with PAL games on SECAM console. Must find a PAL model later and not far from France.

Just in case, if one of you come to France with a PAL 6 switches, i'm your man.

 

Start only collecting SECAM games then There are not so many of them but it would be a nice goal to get all the games released in SECAM

Actually, ALL games will show wrong colors on a SECAM console! And if you didn't know it, YOK-dfa was joking, there were no games made specifically for SECAM -- the PAL versions of the programs were used in France. So technically, everyone already has a complete SECAM game collection!

 

I took it as a joke but just have a look here : PAL / SECAM 2600 Games

[alex_79]

Actually, ALL games will show wrong colors on a SECAM console! And if you didn't know it, YOK-dfa was joking, there were no games made specifically for SECAM -- the PAL versions of the programs were used in France. So technically, everyone already has a complete SECAM game collection!

 

I took it as a joke but just have a look here : PAL / SECAM 2600 Games

 

I have a GORF cart from CBS with french label which says "SYSTEME TV SECAM EXCLUSIVEMENT", but it's only a label variation, since the colors on my PAL console are the same ones I get on emulators with the PAL rom. (This cart is actually the first game I received in Christmas 1985 together with my console, so they were available also in north Italy, where I live)

 

I think that most of "SECAM" games were only label variation of their PAL counterparts, but at least Activision released some "real" Secam games.

Here there is an old topic with some screenshots from "H.E.R.O", "Keystone Kapers" and "Decathlon" (see post #15). There's also a picture of the carts with an "S" sticker on them.

 

 

These pictures show how the PAL roms should appear on a SECAM console (I used z26 with "-b" and "-c2" flags):

Edited January 16, 2007 by alex_79

[A.J. Franzman]

OK, after comparing your emulated screenshots and reading the other thread, I'm convinced that Activision changed colors (and apparently some text!) in some of their games for SECAM versions.

 

However, this seems rather odd since they only did "half-assed" conversions in the first place when they made PAL versions of their games originally programmed for NTSC. It is fairly well-known that they only did color and number of scanlines correction, but did not adjust playing speeds, so PAL Activision games run too slowly. I'd also like to know if the SECAM games are just minor hacks to the PAL versions (and also run too slowly), or if the speed was corrected too.

Edited January 17, 2007 by A.J. Franzman

[alex_79]

However, this seems rather odd since they only did "half-assed" conversions in the first place when they made PAL versions of their games originally programmed for NTSC. It is fairly well-known that they only did color and number of scanlines correction, but did not adjust playing speeds, so PAL Activision games run too slowly. I'd also like to know if the SECAM games are just minor hacks to the PAL versions (and also run too slowly), or if the speed was corrected too.

I agree. Another odd thing is that older PAL Activision titles (boxing, tennis, fishing derby) which have few colors without shades and a b&w palette aren't adjusted for SECAM.

 

It would be interesting to know how those SECAM games look on a PAL console, since I've read somewhere in the forum that the "juniors" sold in France were PAL only and I know they were available in Europe in 1984 (the copyright of the games in the other thread is 1983/1984).

[Rom Hunter]

According to the other topic, Space Shuttle, Ghostbusters and River Raid were also released in SECAM.

 

Does anyone have a picture of these three?

 

[alex_79]

I found these on ebay:

H.E.R.O.

River Raid