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Where Did You Get Your First Atari 2600 and What Type Was it?


TheAtarianGuy

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Got mine for Christmas... I want to say 1980 when I was 5 years old. I'm not sure if it was the heavy or light sixer but it was definitely a sixer. Came in a HUGE box with Combat, paddle controls, 2 joysticks, etc. Also unwrapped a bunch of games for it like Street Racer, Canyon Bomber, Outlaw, Superman, etc. My Dad hooked it up and showed me how to use the switch box. LOL!

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82? I think. Well, I'd begged for one for christmas, but my older sister got one and I didn't. A Coleco Gemini! It came with Donkey Kong and Mousetrap. I collected games for it over the next few years as she lost interest. Eventually both joysticks quit moving left and I'd replaced them with cheap Gemstiks from K-Mart. Years later when we were both teens and fought over everything, it became VERY apparent it was her machine, so I mowed a few lawns and purchased my very own newly released 2600 Jr.

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Been retro collecting starting with NES in 2003. My first Atari came 9 years later: After years of Atari bashing due to the proported inferior graphics compared to NES, I decided to see what the fuss was and I bought one in May 2012. Woodgrain 4-switch. Ebay lot + 8 games, and another lot with 16. It's been a great ride, buying up classic carts on the cheap, as well as brand new homebrews from the AA store.

Edited by stardust4ever
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1981 or 1982. I had to wait a year due to the price tag, which was high for us in '79-'80. For christmas, my mom bought me a 4 switch woody with Combat and a boxed Asteroids purchased and wrapped separately. I think Circus Atari was bought weeks or months later to have an additional paddle game. Pac-Man was a big deal with layaway and waiting lists at the major department stores and I got that cartridge most likely from J.C. Penny's. At some point, I joined the Atari Club and got Atari Age magazine through which I read about the 5200 Supersystem and ordered the exclusive early release of Defender for 2600. I'm not sure of the order this happened, but I saved up for Pitfall and Keystone Kapers cartridges and really had fun with those two. The bulk of my cartridges were found in later years from thrift stores, although I do rememeber grabbing many new boxed games for 50 cents each, after the crash. The TV was a 1970's J.C. Penny/RCA 27" wooden console, really a piece of furniture with plenty of room on top for rabbit ears, VCS, and a box of cartridges.

 

I bought and repaired a light sixer in recent years through ebay as I have always wanted the six switch version from day one! Both consoles are in Sterilite tubs, waiting to be taken out and played. The 4 switch works, but needs a new color/bw switch. I also have a 7800 which is used more frequently, but that is drifting off topic....

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I got my first Atari in 2011 (in fact I had years expecting to get one.) Atari 2600 Jr. for $3 at a flea's market, no games, no joysticks and no power source. It was brown of dust.

 

I cleaned it carefully, in fact inside it was like new. I bought the joysticks at $1 each one, three games for $2 and one universal power supply.

 

I tested it, and it doesn't worked
:(
, I was about to trash it when I tried again one of the games, and it appeared on screen briefly
:)
. Simply the contacts were dirty and the other two games didn't worked.

 

I was lucky to choose a working cartridge for the final test. Otherwise I'm pretty sure I would have trashed it.

 

By the way, this is my current Atari cartridges collection
:)
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mine is kinda similar to OP's, I never had one as a kid, but I played my cousin's all the time. I might have been 6 or 7, so the games didnt make much sense to me. I was an NES kid, and got my first woody 4 banger maybe a year ago now, always wanted the 2600, and just now getting around to finding one in great shape on ebay

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  • 4 weeks later...

Got a broken 2600 jr from a 2nd hand store with Pitfall II and Dig Dug in 2011. Late 2011 I won an eBay bid for 3 Jr Consoles, 1 Vader, 18 games, paddles, 3rd party joystick, 2 driving controllers, kids keypad and manuals. I use the vader mainly and have around 111 games now.

 

How much was the winning bid?

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  • 6 months later...

I already had Intellivision and loved it. But in 1982 when Coleco came out with the Gemini I got one for Christmas. It's interesting to me that I didn't go for the Colecovision to "upgrade" from Intellivision. But I think it was hard to argue with the amount of games that were out there for Atari. Sure, a lot of them were horrible. But I'm sure that was my thinking. Go for the system with tons of games to choose from. I certainly enjoyed the Gemini. Loved that the paddle and joystick were one controller. I remember playing Joust, Crystal Castles and Mario Bros for hours. Sure, looking back they might not seem too impressive. But at the time, they were great. (oh, and yup, I'm new to this forum….)

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I grew up in the late 70s early 80s I always liked the Atari alot, I was about 5 or 6 when my parents got a 6 switch Light Sears Tele Games 2600 (about 1982-1984ish)

I never bothered to play my sisters nintendo NES very much, I moved on to other interests...now 30 some years later I'm back into it!

 

We had 8 games and I still have them,

Target Fun - 27 telegames

Pacman

Space invaders

Street Racer

Home Run

Football

Math Grand Prix

Barn Storming (I really love the old Activision Games)

 

My friend accross the street (in the 80s) had a colecovision and I rember the games he had were really pretty cool

Sir Lancelot

Spy Hunter

Congo Bongo

Qbert

and a few others I dont rember

 

When we moved to our new house my new friend in the new neighborhood had bought a 2600jr new arround 1986, I remember playing the heck out of that in his basement.

River Raid

Chopper Command

Atlantis

Donkey Kong

Pole Position....fun times I loved that game.

 

I was just at a flea market and picked up , congo bongo for $5 , Qbert for $2, and Atari's Superman for $1 (It would be my luck that spyhunter & sir lancelot are friggin rare & expensive.)

 

About a week ago I dug out my families old light 6 switch "Sears Tele-Games - Video Arcade" i got it working again by cleaning the game contacts with a q-tip & rubbing alchohol

The system works really good on an old tube type TV my wife had since highschool.

I used a coax to RCA adapter from radio shack and it works well...the joy sticks have a lot of wear & slop so i have to rebuild them someday but they still work.

 

I consider myself lucky to still have the exact same console I grew up playing.....who knew in the 1980s they would be considered "classic"

-Jason

Edited by rack776
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At some point in 1978 my parents got it. 6 switch Atari unit. Not sure what happened to it after I lost interest in it roughly 1984.

 

Recently reacquired an Atari light sixer refurb with composite out mod from Best. The output is awesome and the unit looks brand new. Elated!

Edited by Ripdubski
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