I Played Atari (Rebuilt 2600 +Pics) Today

[Aamp]

It was over 10 years since I last owned a working 2600. I joined AtariAge which really helped me troubleshoot, learn, and decide what to do next after finding a console in need of diagnosis and repair. I went with a board from Best Electronics as the most fail safe fix. Plus Bradley had been a big help with all my parts questions. I had too many "what ifs" with the unit which I was suspecting had a bad chip; turns out it's not.

 

Replacement arrived from Best:

 

 

I gave it a once-over before installing and was tempted to test my chips on this board. I didn't know if the warranty stickers are for my order or from the 80's but I didn't like how that disc capacitor somehow made it's way between the socket underneath CPU so I used that an an excuse myself to void the warranty:

 

 

I put all 3 chips from my dead unit into the replacement and was going to change them one at a time with the new ones until finding out which is bad, but they all worked! Means something like the cartridge port or something under it, or something that I can't see is still causing the problem, but it's beyond me. Dumb thing is, when I switched the CPU, I did the same thing and pressed it on top of that cap in the above pic, arr , so I pulled it up again, but stressed one of the pins a bit trying to be careful around the cap. I moved it out of the way and left the old cpu installed with the new TIA and RIOT. All reseated:

 

 

Here's the case prepping and cleaning. I removed the paper sticker and used Chlorox disinfecting wipes and rinsed it in the shower. I didn't take any before shots of when it was dirty, but it was dirty, like outdoors covered in dust and full of rain spots dirty:

 

 

I had planned to possibly leave the RF shielding off to the chips thinking it'd be no big deal but I was shocked at how necessary it is to have on. The picture quality is vastly improved with it! I didn't have the metal tape strips to go from the shield to the switches though. Here I decided to make a couple of small modifications. A little dab of arctic silver cpu paste on a small added heatsink to the voltage regulator and if you look closely at the pic below you'll see it, and rerouted the RF cable to a small jack on the back, which is pictured further below. The hot glue is used to remind me not to remove this cable in future disassembly and to insulate my solder points at the back. the inside of the case was full of what looked like spilled liquid, dried leaves, and a spider's nest, all rinsed out, mocked up and ready for testing before closing up:

 

 

Much cleaner. The photos really don't really show how nice it is in person . There is noticeable wear on the trim paint around the switches:

 

 

Here's the RF jack for a detachable cable. I never liked having the cable stuck to the system and I was somewhat reluctant to drill this hole since I didn't want to mod the case, but with all the different stuff I was putting into it already.. Plus, even though I imagine it, I don't think the value is ever skyrocketing and going to be assessed on this 4-switch the way I'm treating it like it will be on the Antique's Roadshow someday or something years from now . I'm re-building it to play! However, If I was to do this again, I would have put a bit more thought into it and put the jack somewhere where it wouldn't protrude from the system, even if it is in the back, like, maybe in the base part where it is smaller than the overall shape so it wouldn't be poking out, but I was thinking more of the cleanest route to run the cable from the inside of the console. Most AV mods I've seen in images had the jacks sticking out like this too:

 

 

And that's it. As you can see from this photo, the 2600 is probably the most modern looking thing in this part of my house as much of it's styling fits into this era or sooner. With the new board, it really looks, feels, and works like new. I didn't get into gaming until the 16 bit consoles were already a few years in, so the Atari 2600 was often known to me as the game system in the back spare bedroom or rec-room where the kids go play when visiting relatives. Maybe we got to play it on the living room TV if the parents were all in the kitchen or dining room, often a 12" TV, and covered with a fine dusting of cigarette ash. It had a grainy picture with finicky cables, but offered a fun and imaginative playing experience. I have never seen one this clean or working so well in a long time, and I am happy to have it:

 

 

Now I'm interested in the Harmony Cart I've read bits about..

 

And Vanguard seems pretty cool too. The picture quality I'm getting through RF is very good! I was a little sketched about the comb at first lol and I would have liked it if I didn't have to move to shoot, but continues, really, from here? That's ahead of it's time, well, maybe to me.

 

Anyway, Thanks everyone for your help, getting me in the right direction, through answers to my limited posts, and through all the info I could get in search results

[nukeshed]

I love it when people do competent photo journals Thanks for sharing!

[Unbeliever]

Nice, and thanks for sharing your Atari 2600's journey.

[Master Phruby]

I like the furniture and wallpaper in the background of the last picture. It makes the 2600 look right at home.

[+Nathan Strum]

Nice write-up. I need to order a new board for my Sears six-switch from Best.

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

The result is pretty cool!

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Great job! Always does my heart good to see anyone take time, effort and restore a classic console and then even go on to appreciate what it has to offer, good for the environment and good for the soul. Then you see the opposite end of the spectrum losers on Youtube smashing, microwaving, melting perfectly good consoles simply for shock value and views and as much as I despise them I think sometimes I hate the ones who actually subscribe, comment positively etc encouraging them to continue.

[Unbeliever]

Great job! Always does my heart good to see anyone take time, effort and restore a classic console and then even go on to appreciate what it has to offer, good for the environment and good for the soul. Then you see the opposite end of the spectrum losers on Youtube smashing, microwaving, melting perfectly good consoles simply for shock value and views and as much as I despise them I think sometimes I hate the ones who actually subscribe, comment positively etc encouraging them to continue.

 

That reminds me of a video I saw when the Xbox 360 first came out. I was appalled, and certainly did NOT give him a positive to smash another one. He took his newly bought Xbox 360 out to where the line was waiting for theirs, and smashed it right in front of them. I almost cried. And he laughed and smiled the entire time. He said, "Oh, I already got one, this is one I just got to show everyone in line that I could do this and not be affected by it." I think the shock in the line was pretty outstanding. And of course some of them in line cheered. Wish I had that type of money to waste like that. NOT.

[+Nathan Strum]

That reminds me of a video I saw when the Xbox 360 first came out. I was appalled, and certainly did NOT give him a positive to smash another one. He took his newly bought Xbox 360 out to where the line was waiting for theirs, and smashed it right in front of them. I almost cried. And he laughed and smiled the entire time. He said, "Oh, I already got one, this is one I just got to show everyone in line that I could do this and not be affected by it." I think the shock in the line was pretty outstanding. And of course some of them in line cheered. Wish I had that type of money to waste like that. NOT.

 

Eh... probably just saving it from an eventual RROD anyway.

[Unbeliever]

Uhm.

[Aamp]

Thanks guys !

 

Great job! Always does my heart good to see anyone take time, effort and restore a classic console and then even go on to appreciate what it has to offer, good for the environment and good for the soul. Then you see the opposite end of the spectrum losers on Youtube smashing, microwaving, melting perfectly good consoles simply for shock value and views and as much as I despise them I think sometimes I hate the ones who actually subscribe, comment positively etc encouraging them to continue.

 

Yeah, I was searching these forums in between jobs today and found one of these videos and first thing I wondered is where they got them all from. Wouldn't they have to collect them? I was surprised how tough the VCS is though.

 

I'd like to restore one, like switches apart and all for some reason, now that I'm more comfortable with them. I seen some very detailed work in searches done by others. I have to something about the joystick. Actually, I have 2 but one is really bad and trashed up by a previous owner's attempted repairs. They have big cracks in the plastic, and wear but the working one is still ok to use, I just felt like I was getting into the games, learning new moves and starting to wrench on it some; like rotating it constantly while holding the fire button in Vanguard is probably a good way to kill it.

 

So for now I did the NES mod. I'm not partial to NES controllers, actually the one I used donated its original cord to a SNES controller which I use for NES; since I grew up with that controller. At first I wired it up kinda stupid and quick last night. Made sure today to leave lots more room for patience. I found a much better way to wire it here, more carefully, and instead of making only one or both buttons fire, one button is wired the same as up which another member did that I thought was pretty neat. I think I was better at playing with the CX-40, but I can beat on this contraption in the meantime. The extra up can be used to drive in Asteroids or at the same time as down on the D-Pad while rocking back/forth in Vanguard to shoot all over the place. Pacman owns on the NES controller.

 

Having some fun this evening hooked up now to the LCD TV! But I can see how people would want to do the composite mod. And Defender seems cooler than I remember. It's dim lit, but you might see a NES controller, hidden Joystick, Colecovision, Video Pinball, etc. :

 

[Atari2600Lives]

Good job Aamp!