Airsoftman819 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 So I have amassed quite a collection of 2600's. My question is, out of all models made. Which console would be most reliable as a daily driver? I play Atari on a daily basis and I find myself struggling with the decision of which model I should use as my daily driver. I figured the newest console would be my best bet (Which is my vader, I refuse to buy a junior). But some input from you guys would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutsy Doodleheimer Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 My Atari 2600 console collection consists of the Heavy Sixer, Light Sixer, 4 switch woody, Darth Vader, and Junior models. I use the 4 switch woody as my every use console. They are the most common and easiest to find or replace, the longest lasting one, the parts are great, and the most cheapest to acquire. The negative is the color palette is not as good as the six switch models. So if you are on a budget and want the classic woodgrain look. Go for the 4 switch woody. A Vader unit will work just fine as well. Same parts as the woody but all black. I prefer woodgrain though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Light six Sears TeleGames is the shizznittle dee damn schizzle. My all time favorite console. Elegant, classic, functional, and sheer Atari perfection, IMO. The woodgrain is prettier than the Atari consoles, the light version is cheaper to acquire, and besides... Who doesnt want to use a 6 switch daily??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airsoftman819 Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 (edited) My Atari 2600 console collection consists of the Heavy Sixer, Light Sixer, 4 switch woody, Darth Vader, and Junior models. I use the 4 switch woody as my every use console. They are the most common and easiest to find or replace, the longest lasting one, the parts are great, and the most cheapest to acquire. The negative is the color palette is not as good as the six switch models. So if you are on a budget and want the classic woodgrain look. Go for the 4 switch woody. A Vader unit will work just fine as well. Same parts as the woody but all black. I prefer woodgrain though. I have a Light Sixer. Heavy Sixer. And a Vader. I've heard the Vaders are a bit more uncommon than the 4 switch woody's. So I should probably get a hold of one for daily use. But the video on my Heavy Sixer looks so gooood :-(. Oh well. I play all of my consoles from time to time. Nothing quite like firing up a 1977 Sunnyvale. But yet they also cost a small fortune so I want to keep mine nice lol. Not to mention my Telegames Heavy Sixer has died on me... So sad :-/ Edited September 17, 2015 by Airsoftman819 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutsy Doodleheimer Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I have a Light Sixer. Heavy Sixer. And a Vader. I've heard the Vaders are a bit more uncommon than the 4 switch woody's. So I should probably get a hold of one for daily use. But the video on my Heavy Sixer looks so gooood :-(. Oh well. I play all of my consoles from time to time. Nothing quite like firing up a 1977 Sunnyvale. But yet they also cost a small fortune so I want to keep mine nice lol. Yes and you are correct, the Vader was produced in much lesser quantities than the 4 switch woody. That is why I prefer the 4 switch woody. If it's dead it's easy to replace. I'm the same way, I occasionally play my Heavy Sixer but I want to keep it in fantastic condition and not put so much use into it. I can't argue with the picture quality, it is top notch. I use the Light Sixer a good chunk of the time also. I don't care for the Junior models. They feel and look cheaply made. And the parts seem to be off the shelf. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airsoftman819 Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Yes and you are correct, the Vader was produced in much lesser quantities than the 4 switch woody. That is why I prefer the 4 switch woody. If it's dead it's easy to replace. I'm the same way, I occasionally play my Heavy Sixer but I want to keep it in fantastic condition and not put so much use into it. I can't argue with the picture quality, it is top notch. I use the Light Sixer a good chunk of the time also. I don't care for the Junior models. They feel and look cheaply made. And the parts seem to be off the shelf. Yeah lol. The first time I held a Junior I was like "This cheap piece of s*** is a 2600?" I like my Light Sixer and it has a good balance of Cost/Video Quality. But it seems the Inflated Ebay Price craze has hit the Light Sixer now. It's hard to find one for a decent price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I use my heavy 6'er because it's the original. Has a nice picture, too. It's not any harder to fix than any other model if it breaks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloth-machine Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 With the Vader you can relax in style and comfort. With it's all new black casing, your grandfather's smoking jacket is not required. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 My Heavy sixer has a nice picture, but I miss my Sears Video Arcade 2. Nicely built machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 My Atari 2600 console collection consists of the Heavy Sixer, Light Sixer, 4 switch woody, Darth Vader, and Junior models. I use the 4 switch woody as my every use console. They are the most common and easiest to find or replace, the longest lasting one, the parts are great, and the most cheapest to acquire. The negative is the color palette is not as good as the six switch models. After a side-discussion with zylon a month or so back, I started digging through the Atari VCS Field Service Manual and lo and behold discovered a Tech Tip near the back. If you have a 4-Switch Woody with a Rev 14 motherboard or earlier, you can do a dead-simple mod on it (add one resistor to the bottom of the board) and get color output easily as good as a Sixer. It took me probably half an hour or less, and that incuded disassembly and reassembly time. Since I did that mod, my 4-Switch Woody has replaced my Light Sixer as my go-to daily use machine. Since I need to touch up the bezel paint and polish the switches on the Light Sixer anyway, it works out well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 My original Heavy Sixer lives on my display shelf. I use my newly S-Video modded 7800. Best of both worlds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitkraft Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 I am not a collector for collectings sake. My primary system is my Sears Heavy sixer. It's my best console so why not play the best? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high voltage Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Jrs, I'd say. I got 5 Jr consoles, 1 unboxed, which is there for my daily usage. Cheap and cheerful, works for PAL and NTSC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoss Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 For the longest time I used a vader, then a light sixer for awhile. However, until I get my TV cabinet situation sorted out I'm a little limited on space and switched out to a junior. Since the kids have started playing Atari, I feel a little better about them using the junior too. I won't be as upset if it gets a little beat up. I never really liked the junior models either but I have to admit, mine outputs a great picture and the looks are starting to grow on me. If you line it up with the 5200 and 7800 they make a nice set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiLic0ne t0aD Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 For a daily driver I use a expansion module #1 and CV 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algus Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Well of my Ataris, my 7800 is my daily driver. It's been modded for composite. It runs 7800 Asteroids if no cart is inserted and I have modded controllers for it. In short, I loves it. Later 8-bit era (NES, SMS, 7800) is also more my thing than 2600, which was kind of on its dying breath when I was old enough to game. I really like my Jr. for when I go to someone's house though. It is light, compact, and if it gets lost/stolen/broken I won't be to concerned (so far its held up though!) it is a neat little system and I liked Atari's black/silver/rainbow design. It just screams late 80s to me. I've got a light sixer as well but it is mostly a display piece now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airsoftman819 Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 For a daily driver I use a expansion module #1 and CV I've wanted to get a hold of a Colecovision... My goal is to collect every single 2600 variation. And I think a Colecovision with expansion module would fit in there somewhere . Of coarse there is also the standalone 2600 made by Coleco... The Gemini. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutsy Doodleheimer Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 I've wanted to get a hold of a Colecovision... My goal is to collect every single 2600 variation. And I think a Colecovision with expansion module would fit in there somewhere . Of coarse there is also the standalone 2600 made by Coleco... The Gemini. The Colecovision is one amazing system!! And one of my top favorites. And by the way, once you get yourself a CV down the road, do yourself a favor and get it modded by "Yurkie". He is the official Colecovision guru on atariage and he does outstanding work on them. He overhauls the system and cleans out the power switch and cart slot, AV modded, arcade knob joysticks, straightens the cord which will give more slack so you don't sit by the console, skip the BIOS loading screen by clicking the button on the controller, and a pause switch. It is amazing!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Daily driver is a modded 4 switcher. When that's not in use, I go to my 7800. Haven't been able to play much of anything lately though...too much travel for work these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy B. Coyote Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 (edited) For me it's always been a Vader with a Rev. 16 board. I've tried 4 switch woodies but I never liked the duller colors of the earlier board revisions used in them. Sadly my Vader broke down a month or two ago and it was the only 2600 system I owned at the time, so it's been a while since I played 2600 games on anything other than a Flashback 2. When funds allow my next daily driver is going to be either another Vader or a Light Sixer. I'm hesitant to buy anything other than a Vader with a Rev. 16 board because I like the bright vivid color output and the nice picture quality so much, but I've heard good things about Sixers (and my wife likes the aesthetics of them a lot more than the all black Vaders) so I might give one a whirl in the near future. Edited September 19, 2015 by Jin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 (edited) Get a cheap 4-switch. I'm telling you, the video fix I described above is the easiest mod you can possibly do with a soldering iron. ONE resistor between two nearby pins on the bottom of the board. Easy as can be. Edited September 19, 2015 by DrVenkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy B. Coyote Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Get a cheap 4-switch. I'm telling you, the video fix I described above is the easiest mod you can possibly do with a soldering iron. ONE resistor between two nearby pins on the bottom of the board. Easy as can be. Thanks for the advice, but the cost of good a soldering iron and solder combined with the price of a 4 switch woody with clean looking unblemished paint on the bezel (I have this OCD thing about only buying like new condition consoles) would be a lot more than a Vader or a even a Light Sixer. Maybe some day I'll pick up a soldering iron and learn to solder, but right now finances are just too tight for it. Thanks anyway though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zylon Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 For best regular use, I would choose L6er with channel switch with any 4sw using Rev-14 as close 2nd choice. For someone unable to solder, then the 4sw would be more appropriate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airsoftman819 Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 (edited) For best regular use, I would choose L6er with channel switch with any 4sw using Rev-14 as close 2nd choice. For someone unable to solder, then the 4sw would be more appropriate. I can solder.. I'm a trained PC tech. I just don't have an iron cause I wore my old one out. And my setup right now is a 4sw Vader ran straight through a VCR so it can output composite video without requiring an av mod. As I do not like modding my consoles unless it's for repairs. The picture is very crisp and clear. No fuzz on screen and crisp stereo sound ran through a surround sound system on a Zenith CRT Edited September 20, 2015 by Airsoftman819 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Good looking setup there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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