anyone seen this?

[crsdawg]

i just got in a bunch of pcb's today, most of which turned out to be common games, but 1 of em has a socketed chip and really doesn't have a game on it. here's a pic of what comes up.

 

 

 

if i mess with the controlers or flip any switches on my 2600 nothing happens. anyone have any ideas?

 

also in the lot was this one pcb that looks strange and will not fit into my console. the width is fine, same number of contacts, but there is a line of black goop that blocks the pcb from fitting(the goop keeps the traces, that are put on a thin film like material, attatched to the contacts). it's the one on the bottom.

 

[NovaXpress]

I think you've found Airworld!

 

Actually, that's gotta be from one of the kid's controller games.

[Albert]

I know I've seen that screen image before, from a diagnostic cart or something? As for the board with the blob, I've seen many production boards like that on the one side, but that back side with that second piece attached is very odd, I've never seen that before.

 

..Al

[+Mitch]

The screenshot looks like the error code screen from a 7800 diag cart.

Maybe someone was trying to hack it to work on a 2600. Do you have a way to dump it?

 

Mitch

[crsdawg]

funny you should mention kid vid games, i also got a proto/loaner cookie monster from the same guy.

 

As for the board with the blob, I've seen many production boards like that on the one side, but that back side with that second piece attached is very odd, I've never seen that before.

 

i should have done a better job of explaining, that picture is of two pcb's the glop top(the one on top) i was guessing was for a different system as it has a different pinout than the 2600 games. it just happens to be in the pic, i should have cropped it.

 

the pcb on the bottom is the weird one. the thin film that the traces are etched on is front and back and passes through a slit in the pcb.

 

Do you have a way to dump it?  

 

i'm afraid i don't.

[Saikyo]

Hmm wouldn't it be ashame it was awaiting input from a mindlink controller?

[Saikyo]

As an added note, do in any way the boards connect in any way?

 

Im thinking you might have an undiscovered prototype of an atari game

that requires triple the rom space.

Probably a stupid idea but I'm really confused by this!

[crsdawg]

As an added note, do in any way the boards connect in any way?  

 

Im thinking you might have an undiscovered prototype of an atari game  

that requires triple the rom space.  

 

nope all the other roms are pretty much run of the mill 4 or 8 k production pcbs(or they seem that way to me), with the exception of the ones i posted pics and what i'm guessing is a production dig dug pcb.

 

here's a shot of all them together.

 

 

after checking the page for the 7800 test cart it seems like they are the same.

 

http://www.atariage.com/screenshot_page.ht...areLabelID=1016

 

is it possible in anyway for a 7800 cart to display on a 2600? i'm guessing it's not. could this be a 2600 diagnostic program? basically what mitch said.

[Saikyo]

I doubt that a 7800 cart would read on the 2600, but the one thats already

been discovered is a version 1.0.

 

It seems your one is a version 2.0 as can be seen on the EPROM label.

 

BTW: when I asked did the boards connect, I meant those two funny ones

not the others as they are just other games.

For some reason I have a feeling the data on them is something as yet unseen.

And it's ashame they dont fit as I think the data contained on them is for the 2600.

 

Is there no one near to you who could dump them for you? then at least we

can see what's on those babies!

[+Mitch]

I doubt that a 7800 cart would read on the 2600, but the one thats already

been discovered is a version 1.0.

 

It seems your one is a version 2.0 as can be seen on the EPROM label.

 

The error code part is actually run in 2600 mode, so it could be test code from that part on that EPROM. It's a 2600 board anyway.

Here a pic of the 7800 screenshot from an emu for comparison.

 

Mitch

[Tsukasa]

@ crsdawg

What cocktail game are the boards sitting on? Did you get that with them too?

 

As for the strange board, try using a cart extender. Or remove the casing on your 2600 and plug it in.

[crsdawg]

What cocktail game are the boards sitting on? Did you get that with them too?

 

that is my missile command ct. i picked that up 9-10 years ago froma penny power ad........best 35 bucks i've ever spent.

 

As for the strange board, try using a cart extender. Or remove the casing on your 2600 and plug it in.

 

i don't have an extender, but i was gonna pull my 2600 apart tomorrow and see if i can plug it in, and if it i can, what comes up(if anything).

[Saikyo]

I doubt that a 7800 cart would read on the 2600, but the one thats already

been discovered is a version 1.0.

 

It seems your one is a version 2.0 as can be seen on the EPROM label.

 

The error code part is actually run in 2600 mode, so it could be test code from that part on that EPROM. It's a 2600 board anyway.

Here a pic of the 7800 screenshot from an emu for comparison.

 

Mitch

 

So what your saying here is that this a test board for the error code on the 7800

diagnostic cart that was originally programmed on a 2600 board to see if

they could get the 2600 mode to interact with a 7800?

[+Mitch]

I doubt that a 7800 cart would read on the 2600, but the one thats already

been discovered is a version 1.0.

 

It seems your one is a version 2.0 as can be seen on the EPROM label.

 

The error code part is actually run in 2600 mode, so it could be test code from that part on that EPROM. It's a 2600 board anyway.

Here a pic of the 7800 screenshot from an emu for comparison.

 

Mitch

 

So what your saying here is that this a test board for the error code on the 7800

diagnostic cart that was originally programmed on a 2600 board to see if

they could get the 2600 mode to interact with a 7800?

 

Something like that.

It's really hard to say though without comparing the code.

Could even be that Atari was thinking about making a new 2600 diag cart and reusing the graphics from the 7800 one. Who knows.

 

Mitch

 

Mitch

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I am interested in what that PCB in the middle is for in the first pic he posted? I check all the carts I have for systems of that era...and I can't find anything that uses 13 contacts on the pinouts. Most of my CV games only have 13..but there is actually room for 15 on CV carts.

 

In any case that middle PCB must be for something I am not familiar with. And I am not sure that even taking his atari apart is enough to fit that 2600 PCB into the slot. He will have to take the cover off and remove the shroud from the cart connector, which on the 2600, isn't easy. The traces on that board are just mounted too high and too close to the contacts for it to fit properly.Somebody get this man a High Score cart or send me one and that PCB so that we can dump the thing!!!

 

[Saikyo]

I suppose that PCB could be for the C64, but I doubt it.

[crsdawg]

here's a shot of the back of those two pcb's

 

 

a bit more hi res. for what it's worth, i just noticed today that the top one has the same pinout as the atari chips on the backside. i assumed when i saw this chip the first time that it was for an atari computer, but i don't have any 8 bit carts for comparison.

 

we'll see how disassembly on the 2600 goes today. if it doesn't work i'll be in the market for a cart extender or whatever will work to that end.

 

on a side note there is an off chance i could make it to the okge. i live in springfield, mo, which isn't to far away(it's in tulsa right?). i wasn't planning on going but i might be able to make it.

[Saikyo]

You know what? I think you have two boards for unreleased Atari consoles!

 

Unfortunatly we still need to find the actual prototype console to see whats on them!

[crsdawg]

sorry for the double post but i think this glop top is a regular atari 2600 pcb with an extra trace.

 

 

i noticed that last trace on the right is attatched to the second to last. and if you compare it to the other atari pcb i have, it matches up front and back. also the notches on the side are in the same place which would allow it to fit in a 2600 cart. the width sure is odd tho, maybe a pcb design from the korean plant sent to atari for testing?

[Tsukasa]

To use the one with the strange width connector, you should get a ribbon cable that has a cardedge connector on it and wire the thing up like that. As for taking the 2600 apart to use the other one, It's easy to remove the cart slot cover on a 6-switch design. I removed the dust flap on mine so I could play my eprom carts that are socketed. No desoldering is necessary.

There are two holes on the sides that you can stick a screwdriver in at an angle to unscrew the cart cover. Here's a pic to clear things up.

[Susuwatari]

I don't think that odd PCB is for Atari 2600 at all. On the side with the large blob, you can see 2 contacts are joined but 2600 cart slot don't have anything that can be joined side by side. The closest is the ground but that is on the opposite side of the cart connector, not side by side.

 

I'd still try with an adapter to connect with 2600 and if that doesn't work, reverse the board. If that still doesn't work, it's probably not for 2600.

 

We can rule out 7800 (it has 2 tabs on either side, that one doesn't) and 5200 (it's much WIDER) Maybe an Atari computer or something not Atari?

 

The other board is very odd, I have never see such design.

[crsdawg]

well i took my 2600 apart today and the dust shroud is pop rivieted on the main board. my unit is a sunnyvale sears light sixer and i'm really not wanting to butcher it up, so i just put it back together.

 

so i need a cart extender i guess, where can i get one? someone mentioned a high score cart, sounds like a cool thing, but i couldn't find any info on it(google or aa).

 

i could put together my own, but where can i find an edge connector(dead vcs?) and finderboard(scavenge from a common cart?) with the right pinout and spacing?

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Sorry..the highscore cart is only for the 7800. But is also acts as a very good cart extender since all the games can pass through it. The Highscore cart basically hooks up like a game genie would to a NES, SNES, or Genesis system.

 

At any rate the Highscore cart is only for the 7800 and I actually do not even posses one.

 

I knew the cart slot cover would be riveted to your main board...so the only way to get it loose is to desolder the main connector and pop the rivets...but you probably don't want to do that.

 

Would it be possible to solder some small equal pieces of trace wire to another common 2600 cart like a combat pcb or something and see if you can get your carts to use that as a bypass to hook it up?

[crsdawg]

well, i dug out my 7800 from storage last night to see if it's dust shroud had a wider slot. it did, and i was able to insert the weird looking pcb and test it. nothing really came up. just some random lines and a high pitched tone. i cleaned the boards contacts with q-tips and alcohol to no avail.

 

by looking at the size of the glop top on this board i really didn't expect much. what kind of chip could be hidden ther anyway? so i wasn't really disapointed and i think it's still a neat item.

 

it's going to be a wile before i'm able to check out the other one. i'll have to put something together to test it. i'll get back on the forums if anything interesting comes up.

[Saikyo]

When you say random lines, like how big are they? What colour are they?

And where do they usually appear?