Looking to buy a 7800

[Sapicco]

BTW, a word of warning, owning an Atari 7800 may spark a collector's streak in you.

This happened to me in less than 1 month (I was on a somewhat limited budget.

 

Isn't that the truth! My tg16, jaguar, lynx, and ngpc collections skyrocketed in the past year!

[ataritiger]

I tried a 3 button genesis controller in my 7800 and it did not work properly. I guess that is why adapters are made for a genesis to 7800 hookup?

[Jinks]

If anyone has another 7800 or two that works(all buttons etc.) and is rf pm me I should have a couple more for spares as I only have 1....

[+slx]

Good plan thank you and I do use best albeit I find it hard to communicate with them, but actually I would like a pal version. Are all the homebrews on the AA store pal compatible?

 

The best PAL models are the French ones with SCART/Peritel connectors built in. They are best found on French EBay but not that cheap. Saves you an AV mod, though.

 

As for the carts on AtariAge, some are available in PAL and some are not. If there's a PAL version you'll get a PAL/NTSC choice in the detailed description.

[Guitari]

That's good advice thank you. What would happen if I were to plug an ntsc home brew into a pal console with a TV that recognises ntsc?

[Jinks]

That's good advice thank you. What would happen if I were to plug an ntsc home brew into a pal console with a TV that recognises ntsc?

Colors would be off and screen roll is my guess. Or 16 bit graphics mode would be achieved? Hard to say..

[Guitari]

Kind of annoying that some are not pal since the market their aimed at has a large % of pal users.

[Shawn]

PM sent to the OP. I have a couple different 7800 machines I could sell.

[+Mitch]

Kind of annoying that some are not pal since the market their aimed at has a large % of pal users.

 

Depends on the cart too. Some autodetect NTSC/PAL and change to the correct mode, so only one model is needed.

 

Mitch

[Shawn]

And so the uninformed are not led astray, this whole business about the 84 expansion model being the uber compatible king console is not true. Nearly all 7800 machines play all games. Incompatibility is the exception not the rule.

[Rhomaios]

And so the uninformed are not led astray, this whole business about the 84 expansion model being the uber compatible king console is not true. Nearly all 7800 machines play all games. Incompatibility is the exception not the rule.

 

Do we have numbers? I messaged the guy to whom I sold my old one to see what the model number was on it, since I remember it not playing Imagic games.

[Shawn]

 

Do we have numbers? I messaged the guy to whom I sold my old one to see what the model number was on it, since I remember it not playing Imagic games.

 

I'd love to see proof of that as I'm more inclined to believe it was just the cart didn't fit well into the glide and not that the system would not play the game.

[Jinks]

All carts fit mine. Just ram em in!!

[Shawn]

All carts fit mine. Just ram em in!!

 

Bingo!

[7800fan]

So the 2600 cart Ram It will fit and work for sure?

[Shawn]

So the 2600 cart Ram It will fit and work for sure?

 

Ram It in there and find out!!

[Rhomaios]

 

I'd love to see proof of that as I'm more inclined to believe it was just the cart didn't fit well into the glide and not that the system would not play the game.

 

I tried, none of the Imagic games would fit without making some incisions. I sold it though, so I can't prove anything. All I know is that it didn't fit those games, and this one fits them perfectly with no jamming needed at all.

[Sapicco]

How do I know which version of the 7800 will fit all games looking at just the box? I sent messages to some sellers if it had the expansion port, but they never responded.

[+Trebor]

How do I know which version of the 7800 will fit all games looking at just the box? I sent messages to some sellers if it had the expansion port, but they never responded.

 

By looking at the box - you won't. I have AT84, A1, A3, and X serials - all of which fit Imagic carts just fine.

 

Pick up a Harmony Encore cart and run all Atari 2600 games including Starpath Supercharger, Imagic, and any possible compatibility issues are gone. It's as easy as copying the Atari 2600 ROMs to the cart('s SD card), and you're good to go.

 

If you want an Expansion port model, here is a general guideline, listing oldest to newest serial number "starts":

Full open slot with Expansion Port present:

EP

AT84

AT85

A1 7?*

Partial Expansion Port/Slot or completely missing:

A1 8?**

A3

X

*There are exceptions. Likely many in the second half of '87 are only partials.

**There are (few) exceptions. I own a A1 88 with full open slot/expansion port.

The two characters that follow A1 (and A3) model serial strings denote year then month, as demonstrated in the following listing:

71 - January '87

72 - February '87

73 - March '87

74 - April '87

75 - May '87

76 - June '87

77 - July '87

78 - August '87

79 - September '87

7A - October '87

7B - November '87

7C - December '87

81 - January '88

82 - February '88

83 - March '88

84 - April '88

85 - May '88

86 - June '88

87 - July '88

88 - August '88

89 - September '88

8A - October '88

8B - November '88

8C - December '88

[Jinks]

How do I know which version of the 7800 will fit all games looking at just the box? I sent messages to some sellers if it had the expansion port, but they never responded.

Dont worry about it. They all fit. I have 140 2600 games and all fit and work. Some imagic are tight but I think the carts like it that way.

[BassTrek]

All this talk about Imagic carts made me check. For reference, according to the list, mine was built in Jan '87, has the expansion port. M-Network carts fit. Parker Brothers carts fit. Activision carts are extremly tight, hard to get working. Imagic didn't fit. But seeing so many people say it will, I tried a bit of force...it fits now. The chamber cracked, bet the Activision carts fit better now. Wonder how many are like that, and if the explains the varying reports on if carts fit.

[Jinks]

All this talk about Imagic carts made me check. For reference, according to the list, mine was built in Jan '87, has the expansion port. M-Network carts fit. Parker Brothers carts fit. Activision carts are extremly tight, hard to get working. Imagic didn't fit. But seeing so many people say it will, I tried a bit of force...it fits now. The chamber cracked, bet the Activision carts fit better now. Wonder how many are like that, and if the explains the varying reports on if carts fit.

Yup it is 7800 cherry poppin goodness.

[Sapicco]

Finally pulled the trigger! Eagerly awaiting in the mail!

[Sapicco]

Ok, now that I almost have my system, I have some more questions for the experts!

 

I have a few 7800 and 2600 joysticks. But I don't have any paddles. Do the joysticks work on the paddle games?

 

Also, I hear there are light gun games, like alien brigade and crossbow. Do those only work with the gun, or can you move the "site" and aim with the joysticks?

 

Most games I'll pick up won't have boxes or manuals, so I want to be best prepared for countless hours of enjoyment.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

Joysticks will not work with the paddle games. But getting a pair of paddles costs about $10. Alien Brigade and Crossbow the Light Gun Is not required. You can play with either the light gun and use the controller. Hope you enjoy the 7800! I really enjoy it, plus there's some great homebrews for it as well!