Buyatari Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 Ok I finally got my hands on an Atari 2000 (blue version) and I have it sitting next to my Atari 2700. I am going to test it fully first thing tomorrow. What other prototype exisit in this lineup? Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjessop Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 As for 2600 based consoles that COMPLETE WORKING prototypes were made (and never released) you have the only models. Nothing else with both new plastic and electronics were made. Countless versions of PCB's were done, even some with very different features, but they were never married to new plastic. The Blue CX2000 you have was a later version vs the brown case one more "commonly" seen. In any case both were steaming piles of you know what You may find some minor trim changes on units, colors, clear plastic etc, but nothing major and then those products were released. Any other prototypes would be of plastic only and non functional. Yep......I can't think of anything else completed. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Mitchell Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 The koolest nonfunctional proto I have ever seen is the Kee Games rainbow VCS deck! Has anyone ever found a VCS prototype with the stereo speakers installed? Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco(2) Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 According to the Atari Historical Society there are also CX2200 prototype consoles. Cheers, Marco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buyatari Posted February 1, 2003 Author Share Posted February 1, 2003 Are the CX2200 and CX2500 working models or just mockups? Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buyatari Posted February 1, 2003 Author Share Posted February 1, 2003 Are the CX2200 and CX2500 working models or just mockups? Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjessop Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 there are also CX2200 prototype consoles. Cheers, Marco If you look at the PCB in the opened console, it's a standard 2600A and was nothing new. The plastic model itself was done by the New York group and did not come out of Atari Consumer Engineering in Sunnyvale. This was actually the fist mock up (I think) of "VAL" or what turned out to be the ill concieved CX2000. The 2200 is nothing more than a 2600jr with a different badge on it and some very minor switch differences. The 2600jr originally was coined the 2100 and went through a variety of names before ending up 2600jr. The "jr" was born out of taking a complete 2600A and with a band saw, cutting off as much plastic as possible and "hot glueing" it back together. Other than doing a very costly and time consuming integration of the IC's their was really no way to reduce the electronic production costs, it had to come from the plastic and packaging. From a design standpoint, the name or model number was never finalized until the product was completed. In the case of the 2600 chipset a new console and PCB was literally being designed every 90 days only to never see the light of day. Both of your examples still conform to my original post and statement. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjessop Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 The koolest nonfunctional proto I have ever seen is the Kee Games rainbow VCS deck! Has anyone ever found a VCS prototype with the stereo speakers installed? Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA Actually Rob, the Key games item was simply a replacement top housing and switch bezel for an original 2600. No complete console ever existed with it. No VCS's were produced or prototyped beyond the first breadboards that utilized the speakers to the best of my knowledge. If you look closely at an original 2600 top you will see the grills still there for them. When the channel "F" launched prior to the VCS it had "cool" modulated audio through the TV. This inspired the change away from the poorly seperated stereo with tiny speakers and no volumne control. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco(2) Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 Both of your examples still conform to my original post and statement. Hi Jerry, Please don't get me wrong, I wasn't trying to prove you wrong or anything. I was just pointing Adam towards two more models I had stumbled upon, as I thought he'd be interested in them. He's a collector, you see Cheers, Marco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjessop Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 Marco my friend.....I did not take your comments in a negative way as you may think . Just trying to offer up to what legit complete prototypes exists vs "mock ups" that were not complete, or cosmetic derivitives of released products. People should be very wary of anything labled a prototype so I hope the information is useful. For example, Rob mentioned the Key Games console. Somebody could have easily fabricated a replica of it, or with the actual top that exists, constructed a complete "fake" proto console. I'm certain an avid collector would pay FAR more for a complete console vs just the top cover, but that's all that ever existed. Fake prototype "loaner" cartridges have certainly surfaced so why not hardware. I know "BuyAtari" well and in fact as you probably know, the 2700 he has was mine originally. Come to think of it the CX2000 he has was probably mine at one time as well. Regards, Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t.skid Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 I know "BuyAtari" well and in fact as you probably know, the 2700 he has was mine originally. Come to think of it the CX2000 he has was probably mine at one time as well. Any photos to show us? I don't remember if I ever seen these protos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 Click ! http://www.atari-history.com/A2600.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t.skid Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 Thanks CPUWIZ, now I recall I've already see it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buyatari Posted February 2, 2003 Author Share Posted February 2, 2003 Points well made. That being said, I am also interested in the mockups and shell only units. Like the gold shell Dan Kramer just sold on ebay. As long as it is vintage and original. Atari 2000 Atari 2200 Atari 2500 Atari 2700 Kee Games Atari 2600 Gold plated Atari 2600 So is this it including working prototypes,mockups and shells? What about the missing numbers in between? 2100 2300 and 2400. Were these ever assigned and work ever done? Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buyatari Posted February 2, 2003 Author Share Posted February 2, 2003 Points well made. That being said, I am also interested in the mockups and shell only units. Like the gold shell Dan Kramer just sold on ebay. As long as it is vintage and original. Atari 2000 Atari 2200 Atari 2500 Atari 2700 Kee Games Atari 2600 Gold plated Atari 2600 So is this it including working prototypes,mockups and shells? What about the missing numbers in between? 2100 2300 and 2400. Were these ever assigned and work ever done? Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco(2) Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 I have a box from Canada that says it contains an Atari 2400. I only got the box, not the unit and the seller didn't remember if the unit actually said "2400". Cheers, Marco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjessop Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 I would be very suspecious of that box Marco, no "2400" in any shape or form existed to my knowledge. As for your question Adam regarding the model numbers. Projects were never assigned via model numbers, they were given code names and the model number assigned at the very last minute. Marketing had various console models constructed (non-working) and it's almost impossible to determine what was actually created, it certainly followed no logical order. What was the basis for the numbering scheme? On some products you can find some link, 5200 is double 2600, The 800 and 400 originally represented the amount of RAM each was to ship with, yes the 400 was supposed to be 4K. Marketing thought model numbers denoted higher quality to consumers and cited BMW and Mercedez as examples. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t.skid Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 I would be very suspecious of that box Marco, no "2400" in any shape or form existed to my knowledge..... Jerry I remember an eBay auction for the empty box of an "Atari 2400" (was identical to the 2600, but the number); maybe I saved the photo, try to find it on my Hard disk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Yes I vaugely remember this too. I thought we determined that it was a pirate system. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco(2) Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Yes, that is the box I was talking about. I has Atari all over the thing, if it is indeed a pirate system, they did a mighty fine job Cheers, Marco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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