Atari2008 Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 I just wanted to share that I've gotten my first Heavy Sixer and I love it! I've had a 4 switch woodgrain since I was a kid, and had a 2600 Jr. briefly, but this is my first time playing a Heavy Sixer. Wow it really lives up to its name, it's quite solid and has a good weight to it. I appreciate and like the subtle differences between this version and the 4 switch. I'm also learning that some carts like Defender II in this pic fit quite tightly. Anyways just wanted to share and if anyone has any suggestions or tips from owning one feel free to pass it along. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delmero Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 The Atari cartridges do fit tight on heavy sixers, I recommend you to get the Harmony cart to protect your games, the labels and the cartridge itself can be damaged with the puting and pulling frequently. Enjoy!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted September 28, 2019 Author Share Posted September 28, 2019 2 hours ago, delmero said: The Atari cartridges do fit tight on heavy sixers, I recommend you to get the Harmony cart to protect your games, the labels and the cartridge itself can be damaged with the puting and pulling frequently. Enjoy!!! Thank you for that suggestion! There was one cart yesterday that I really had to pry loose and I noticed it marked up the cartridge a bit. I hadn't thought of the Harmony cart, after hearing about it on here for so many years, I'll finally get one. Thank you! And I have been, I'm loving playing the Heavy Sixer. ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 My first Atari was a heavy sixer, one that I got about a year ago. I didn't realize how much cheaper could a 4 switch be until I got one. Also, heavy sixers are easiest to use, since it has the diff. switches in the front. The only major problem is, like delmero said, is the cartridge-fitting problem, but my heavy sixer seems to fit carts just as fine as my 4 switch. I have a PAL Solaris cart that barely fits in both my heavy sixer and my 4 switch, and is way more difficult to pull out than pull in, and my solution to that is a ColecoVision EM1, but I'd recommend buying a harmony cart if you don't have a ColecoVision. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 I find that the Sears Heavy Sixers don’t grip the cart as much. Congrats on getting a Heavy. I won’t play on anything else. Unless it’s an emulator. I don’t emulate very often though. Most of the time I like playing 2 player games with my kids on the console. Or taking turns on great single player games and homebrews. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted September 29, 2019 Author Share Posted September 29, 2019 I'm really digging the Heavy Sixer. I don't have a Colecovision, so I'll go with the Harmony cartridge. I'm excited about that as it'll mean I can still play the games that fit too tightly on the Heavy Sixer. I'm just trying to figure out which version of the Harmony cartridge will work out the best for me. Quote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 I wish someone would make a cartridge adapter that would fit any 2600 console or clone perfectly, and would have a cartridge port on the other end, so people could actually play Solaris on a 2600. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Strangest Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 I've seen a local Heavy Sixer and was thinking about picking it up, but I prefer to play on my actual cartridges so I'm hesitant. I've got a light sixer that fits cartridges fine, but the colors are off on some games. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted September 30, 2019 Author Share Posted September 30, 2019 I'm just curious, are there specific types of carts that don't fit well in a Heavy Sixer? I'm just trying to see if there's a pattern I should look out for, although I will be getting a Harmony cart, the Encore one, and I'm pretty psyched about that. But with the carts, I've noticed the ones Atari released later on in the 80s like the red label B&W image ones seem to fit super tightly. Earlier released carts and 3rd party ones like Activision and Parker Bros. work fine. Also it gives a very nice image on my TV, I'm always impressed with how durable Atari's are. The Heavy Sixer has definitely rekindled my interest in the 2600 which I'm had to say had been dormant the last few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwalla Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 Beautiful console. I've had one for about 30 years and it one of the crown jewels of my (now slim-downed) collection. A classic is a classic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted September 30, 2019 Author Share Posted September 30, 2019 1 hour ago, chuckwalla said: Beautiful console. I've had one for about 30 years and it one of the crown jewels of my (now slim-downed) collection. A classic is a classic. 30 years, NICE! Funny I plan to slim down my collection a bit too. Nice Heavy Sixer and that Videoplexer is so cool! I actually didn't know what it was and just looked it up, really neat! Didn't know such a thing was released back in the day. The 2600 is full of welcome surprises. And I agree the 2600 is truly a classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted October 4, 2019 Author Share Posted October 4, 2019 I have a question about hooking up the Atari 2600 to a modern TV. Or rather I have it hooked up to a new TV via the coaxial connection, and I have to admit the image quality isn't great. I've been forgiving since it's an old console obviously but I started wondering if there are other set ups that would help improve the image? My TV picks up on the 2600 signal fine after I do a channel scan but a lot of the games look "snowy" for lack of a better term like there's a lot of interference. I definitely don't get a crisp clean image. I have it connected using one of those coax adapters the ones that look like a lil bullet so there's no switchbox introducing interference. Would something like connecting the 2600 to the coax on the VCR and VCR to the TV through AV help? If not it's cool, I'm honestly glad it works with the TV, but couldn't hurt if I could improve the image a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DimDug Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 On 9/30/2019 at 12:05 PM, chuckwalla said: Beautiful console. I've had one for about 30 years and it one of the crown jewels of my (now slim-downed) collection. A classic is a classic. I believe that’s a light sixer. Still nice tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerx Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 On 9/30/2019 at 2:05 PM, chuckwalla said: Beautiful console. I've had one for about 30 years and it one of the crown jewels of my (now slim-downed) collection. A classic is a classic. That's... not a heavy. I'm guessing there must have been manufacturing variances. I only had a heavy sixer for 25 years and never had any problems with cartridge snugness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Strangest Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 On that note... did they ever make Heavies with the Light Sixer corners on the front like that? I found a boxed 2600 once that showed a Heavy Sixer design 2600 on the box picture. The serial number of the machine matched the serial number of the box. It was heavier than my light sixer. But it had those non-rounded corners that you see on light sixers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerx Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 Atari would rather infamously use whatever parts were laying around, so there will be variation with internals and whatnot. What makes a heavy a heavy though is that think, rounded base. You could throw them on a scale, but there really shouldn't be much difference between any 6-switch unit with the thinner, angular base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 On 9/30/2019 at 9:05 AM, Atari2008 said: I'm just curious, are there specific types of carts that don't fit well in a Heavy Sixer? I'm just trying to see if there's a pattern I should look out for, although I will be getting a Harmony cart, the Encore one, and I'm pretty psyched about that. But with the carts, I've noticed the ones Atari released later on in the 80s like the red label B&W image ones seem to fit super tightly. Earlier released carts and 3rd party ones like Activision and Parker Bros. work fine. Also it gives a very nice image on my TV, I'm always impressed with how durable Atari's are. The Heavy Sixer has definitely rekindled my interest in the 2600 which I'm had to say had been dormant the last few years. The later red labeled carts don't seem to like the heavy sixer, and the Coleco carts(Donkey Kong, Zaxxon, Venture, etc.) isn't as bad, but it is a tight fit also. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 On 9/30/2019 at 12:05 PM, chuckwalla said: Beautiful console. I've had one for about 30 years and it one of the crown jewels of my (now slim-downed) collection. A classic is a classic. That's certainly a light sixer. The heavy is more round and less agile-looking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 12 hours ago, bluejay said: The later red labeled carts don't seem to like the heavy sixer, and the Coleco carts(Donkey Kong, Zaxxon, Venture, etc.) isn't as bad, but it is a tight fit also. I thought I was noticing a pattern with the red labeled carts, thank you for verifying. Yeah I have Smurfs and while it fits okay it is also tight. Definitely getting a Harmony soon as I don't want to damage the system or the carts. Also I noticed another difference between the Heavy Sixer and my 4 Switch Woody hadn't before, the Heavy seems to have 2 circular vents on it. Was that because initially Atari was going to put speakers on there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejay Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 11 hours ago, Atari2008 said: I thought I was noticing a pattern with the red labeled carts, thank you for verifying. Yeah I have Smurfs and while it fits okay it is also tight. Definitely getting a Harmony soon as I don't want to damage the system or the carts. Also I noticed another difference between the Heavy Sixer and my 4 Switch Woody hadn't before, the Heavy seems to have 2 circular vents on it. Was that because initially Atari was going to put speakers on there? I'm not sure but I think so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 Yes, those were to be for speakers that they never incorporated. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted October 11, 2019 Author Share Posted October 11, 2019 Now my Heavy Sixer has developed issues with the colors in games. The colors are all off and kinda flicker. I've attached photos. Any ideas what could've caused this? The system was working fine until now. I've had it for about 3 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 Electrolytic capacitors and possibly the voltage regulator need to be changed. Lots of info about this stuff here and take a look at www.console5.com for restoration kits. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted October 11, 2019 Author Share Posted October 11, 2019 17 minutes ago, save2600 said: Electrolytic capacitors and possibly the voltage regulator need to be changed. Lots of info about this stuff here and take a look at www.console5.com for restoration kits. Thank you for that! This site looks great, full of info. I'll look into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted October 11, 2019 Author Share Posted October 11, 2019 18 minutes ago, save2600 said: Electrolytic capacitors and possibly the voltage regulator need to be changed. Lots of info about this stuff here and take a look at www.console5.com for restoration kits. Also random question, but just wanna rule out that I screwed anything up, it can use the same power supply as a 4 switch 2600 right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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