Black Atari 2600

[Draikar]

I seen people say the black Atari 2600 "Darth Vader Model" with the gold words "video computer systerm" above the Cartridge Slot is harder to find then in silver "video computer systerm" above the Cartridge Slot ?

 

Are the ones in gold print early ones ? Why are there ones with video computer system in gold and others in silver print ?

 

I know this is a stupid thing to ask like why Nintendo made systems without the TM after "entertainment system" words but found out that was done in trial / first year runs... Anyway back to the "video computer systerm" in gold / silver print.... WHY ?

 

You all must know, so tell me.... TELL ME NOW !!!! :wink:

[Synthead]

(1977s model) The dirst and original Atari system was what is now called the "heavy sixer." The plastic casing on the system was very thick, and all of the switches besides the 2-3 channel switch was on the dashboard. The L and R player difficulty was on the very left and right of the cart slot, and the other switches were moves aside for it. All of the writing that was easily visible on the system was in lowercase letters besides the Atari logo that was printed on the right-front side of the woodgrain.

 

(1978s model) After that, Atari shaved off a few grams by not using so much plastic in the casing. Everything else was left the same way as it was. This almost visibly indistinguishable trait differs the "heavy sixer" as a 6-switch Atari. But if you look very closely, the plastic for the bottom casing that surrounds the woodgrain area is thicker. So it is somewhat visible, but to the point where if photos of the Atari were in bad quality, you couldn't tell.

 

(1980s model) The next model was the four switch Atari. Atari, noticing that the A-B difficulty switches weren't being used all too often, moved the switches to the back. In accomidation, they also moved the remaining 4 switches close to the cart slot, thus named a 4-switch Atari. And all the undercase letters on the dashboard were shifted to uppercase letters.

 

(1982s model) Then, Atari decided to change the look of their system to a completely black scheme, the "vader". The woodgrain look, found on the previous models, was abandoned, and all of the orange paint used to ornate the system and controllers was too. The paint on the "TOP" ring around the joystick controllers and around the dashboard was removed. In disgarding the style of the woodgrain look, the front of the system looked rather bland. So in return, Atari put their logo and the 2600 model name nice, bold, and in silver right on the front.

 

Those are the major differences between the 2600 in constraint with it's classic look. The Jr model came later, and although it functioned the same, it looked nothing like a classic 2600. History goes on from there.

[Synthead]

Oh BTW - Most people try to seek out a heavy sixer because of it's originality. The other models aren't really that dominant to collectors because they can be found almost everywhere. The vader model wasn't produced in as large of numbers as the others, so they are a little more on the rarer side, but still isn't considered too valuable.

 

One more thing I forgot to mention - the grill on the Atari was originally a place to put stereo speakers into. If you look on the 6-switchers, you'll see holes in the grill where they were supposed to be. Atari abandoned this idea of internal speakers at a late state, so the holes in the system remained. The 4-switch system's speaker spots were patched, so there were no vents.

 

Another factoid - in the idea of stereo speakers in the Atari, they also integrated stereo sound to the circuitry. And it's still there! However, the L and R channels were combined. If you modify the Atari correctly, you can actually break apart the L and R channels to have true stereo sound. But most games were only programmed for mono audio, so unless you have a very unique game or a special homebrew title like "Synthcart," you aren't going to get stereo audio out of it.

 

One more - the NES and the 2600 uses variations of the same CPU, the 6502 processor. It looks like a regular microchip by today's standards. Why do NES systems have more detail in their games? Well, other hardware, definately. For example, the NES has 16kb of RAM ... well ... the 2600 has 128 BYTES. Yeah. RAM was not cheap in 1977.