I Am Now The Proud Owner Of An Atari 2600! ^_^

[atarilovesyou]

...one of the things about the Atari is that, tough old machine that it is, it's still an OLD piece of gear....I found this out when I picked up a couple old light sixers.

 

The first one looked FANTASTIC...very good condition. Played some games well, but because my fire buttons on my joytsticks weren't working, I figured I needed new sticks. Then THOSE sticks had the same problem, and some of my games didn't have the right colors!...so, off to the atari repair dude it went. Even he thought it was in great shape, cosmetically, but these machines do encounter problems. I'm awaiting it in the mail, and he assures me all works fine now...I ended up paying some bucks for it, not really cheap considering, but it's a hobby I'm prepared to spend bucks on so I don't mind.

 

You may luck out and find a perfectly working machine...and that's great. But sometimes, you can pay a high price (I'd say 90 bucks is a high price, unless it was pristine and you got in box games with it) for a seemingly perfect machine until you bring it home and find out otherwise.

 

Still, know that there are guys out there who do repairs. Video 61 and Old School Gamer (in Canada) will bring your old machine back to 80's gold! Good luck.

 

By the way, I think Starship is by far the WORST game for the VCS.

[BuzzTron451]

The first one looked FANTASTIC...very good condition.  Played some games well, but because my fire buttons on my joytsticks weren't working, I figured I needed new sticks.  Then THOSE sticks had the same problem, and some of my games didn't have the right colors!...so, off to the atari repair dude it went.  Even he thought it was in great shape, cosmetically, but these machines do encounter problems.  I'm awaiting it in the mail, and he assures me all works fine now...I ended up paying some bucks for it, not really cheap considering, but it's a hobby I'm prepared to spend bucks on so I don't mind.

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That's the exact some problem I am having! I have now gone through 4 controllers, and the buttons won't work! I thought they were just inert buttons at first, but then when I tried the third controller, then the fourth controller, I knew something else was wrong besides the joypad. So what could I do to fix this problem? Here's something interesting, though. My Paddles work perfectly, buttons and all, but the four joypads' buttons I have gone through don't respond. Is it something wrong with the unit itself, or could I have just gotten 4 faulty joypads (which seems unlikely...)?

[+Nathan Strum]

then the fourth controller, I knew something else was wrong besides the joypad. So what could I do to fix this problem? Here's something interesting, though. My Paddles work perfectly, buttons and all, but the four joypads' buttons I have gone through don't respond. Is it something wrong with the unit itself, or could I have just gotten 4 faulty joypads (which seems unlikely...)?

 

Joypads? Not joysticks? So are these not stock Atari joysticks? That could be your problem.

[BuzzTron451]

Erm... I meant Joy-Sticks...

[PCBored4404]

and for a great price, as well ($90!).

 

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$90 DOLLARS??!!??? thats too steep, man, im buying 4 atari's, 7 games, 2 controllers, 2 paddle cotrollers, a case that holds it and the games, and a lot more for $90, and they all work

[Atarifever]

Hmm... I just heard that, pretty much everywhere, E.T. was the worst game ever made.

 

This is actually the first time I have heard someone not say it is terrible and retchid.

 

Yes yes yes, here's the thing. Probably none of those people who told you or wrote articles stating that ET was the worst game ever were old enough to recieve ET when it first was released or had even played Atari 2600 when it was THE video game system. They....like you... heard it was the worst, and therefore...that was good enough for them, because they were too busy playing NES to care about an out dated console anyways.

 

You have ET.... Give it a go. Now find you a copy of Bugs.

 

See what I mean?

 

Now try Skeet Shoot.

 

Wow ET's looking pretty damn good hu?

 

Fire Fly? Donkey Kong Jr? Laser Blast?

 

ET (as you will soon find out) is a damn good looking and fun game.

 

For more ET love, check out this most excellent site:

 

http://www.randomterrain.com/a2m/r7et.html

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Yeah, and if you read the rules on Random terrain's website and use the map he has there, the game really becomes a lot of fun. I've actually gotten all the phone pieces now. I think if it were a little easier to stay out of the pit once you floated over the lip and if everyone who bought it used the instructions, then it would be remembered as a favorite of most people. It is a good adventure game, and a decent job of turning ET into a game (which, lets face it, is pretty hard to do. The movie is hardly full of action).

[BuzzTron451]

All I want to know, is if an Atari 2600 can recognize a joystick's stick-part, a paddle, button and scroll-thing altogether, but NOT a joystick's button. Because if it's my unit, then I don't want to waste time searching for joysticks, IF this is a possibility. However, if I've just coincidentally found 4 joysticks that have had faulty, unresponsive buttons, then I suppose I WILL have to look for some new ones. I tried AtariAge's store, but they don't have any for sale. My next step would be to try eBay, even though I dislike the bidding-system, or a store here locally...

 

-Cheers,

Brad

[+Nathan Strum]

All I want to know, is if an Atari 2600 can recognize a joystick's stick-part, a paddle, button and scroll-thing altogether, but NOT a joystick's button. Because if it's my unit, then I don't want to waste time searching for joysticks, IF this is a possibility. However, if I've just coincidentally found 4 joysticks that have had faulty, unresponsive buttons, then I suppose I WILL have to look for some new ones. I tried AtariAge's store, but they don't have any for sale. My next step would be to try eBay, even though I dislike the bidding-system, or a store here locally...

 

Well, based on the 2600 pinouts, it appears the joystick uses pin 6 for the fire button, and the paddles don't use pin 6 at all. So yes, it's possible your Atari could read paddles and everything else, but not the joystick's fire button.

 

Here's what I'd try... disassemble one of the joysticks, and pull the fire button wire off the circuit board (its connector should just slide off the board). Start up a game which uses the fire button (Asteroids would be fine) and touch the fire button connector directly to the ground on the joystick's circuit board. If the wires are good (and they probably are) then the game should fire. In that case, the problem lies with the joystick. Specifically, the little bubble switch on the PCB. They get oxidized (or worn) and just stop working after a lot of use. There are different fixes available, but I'd just order a new PCB ($2) from B&C ComputerVisions. I've ordered from them before, and they're great. I bought a complete joystick rebuild kit, but you probably don't need that.

 

And if touching the fire button wire to the ground doesn't work, then either the joystick's cable is bad (and I'd have a hard time believing all four would have bad cables) or the 2600 has a bad connection inside it someplace.

Edited July 7, 2005 by Nathan Strum

[BuzzTron451]

All right, I FINALLY determined what the problem that started this whole ordeal in the first place. It is actually the UNIT which isn't working properly, NOT the JOYSTICK. So, what I need now is a method of some sort to fix the problem. My Atari 2600 Left Joystick Port cannot read the port's 6th pin. There must be something faulty about that pin, since it is the pin that reads the fire-button. However, what ultimately made me find out the problem was that I tried the RIGHT PORT, to test the joysticks in order to see if they were the problem! Well, THEY WERE NOT!! They played superbly! So, if anyone could find a link or just give an expalanation on how to fix a crappy pin, that would be greeeaaat, thaaanks.

[+Nathan Strum]

Well first of all, do you know how to use a soldering iron?

 

If you do, then it's (probably) just a matter of opening up the 2600, and checking inside for a broken solder connection or circuit board trace somewhere. A multimeter would be extremely helpful in checking for where the break has actually happened. Without one, you'll just have to squint a lot.

[Christophero Sly]

Did you check to make sure the pin wasn't just bent over?

[moycon]

My Atari 2600 Left Joystick Port cannot read the port's 6th pin. There must be something faulty about that pin, since it is the pin that reads the fire-button.

 

That is what I was afraid was the problem Tele-Machus. It's a shame that your first foray back into the goodness that is Atari was plagued by a slightly defective unit. I really cannot offer any more advice other than opening the sucker up and checking the pins. If you cannot get your current Atari working my offer still stands just PM me and let me know what's up.

[Mockduck]

I should mention something here: I picked up my first 2600 a few months ago and it was in pretty bad shape (ebay purchase - system, joysticks, 1 set of paddles, 19-games, rf switch, power supply - $20). It took a major, and i mean truly major, cleaning to get it to work, but work it does!

 

I also had a problem with the controllers and thought i was just buying bad controllers from a store locally. But after I cleaned out the board with rubbing alcohol and gave the rest of it a major cleaning, the joysticks began working.

 

I don't know if I cleaned some gunk out of the board, and that got the joystick connection working, or if i solved it by cleaning out the actual pin connector on the outside of the system unit (not sure what it's called - the place where you plug in the controllers). I did take a q-tip covered in rubbing alcohol and kind of worked it around the controller port. Might be a cheap something to do before doing something more costly.

[BuzzTron451]

Hey guys, which is more rare: An Atari 2600 or Atari 2600A?

[atarilovesyou]

Hey guys, which is more rare: An Atari 2600 or Atari 2600A?

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I don't know...I was actually contemplating just buying a Jr instead of getting my sixer fixed...anyway, I sent my sixer to Video61 and Lance got it working great. Of course, I still have to treat it with the utmost care, and I can still get it to reset if I wiggle the AC jack in a certain way....the bottom line is, unless you really know what you're doing, swapping parts may just give you a major headache. I paid for my sixer, and paid for the repair. Now it works great (and I'm going to resolder the AC jack just to make it TOTALLY solid...that is, if it gets worse) and I'm living the good life.

 

I did the same stuff everybody here mentioned. Yes, it's true that cleaning can do wonders and to be honest, I thought that my system was flawless...just needed new joysticks!..I even went so far as to take apart a NEW CX-40 , removed the tape on the fire button...finally, it was while playing Midnight Magic that I really was stumped...plus, during the winter scene in Enduro, you couldn't see your car!

 

Repair costs are quite reasonable in my opinion, and shipping sucks if you're here in Canada like me....but still, people spend tons on other hobbies, and this is pretty much a one time expense for an Atari that should last a long time.

 

Sorry about the length of this post!

[BuzzTron451]

Why I asked which model was more rare is because...

 

Well, this is what I did. I swapped in the old, defective Atari 2600 for a working 2600A. So far, I haven't had any problems with it. The wood-frame on the front is a little dinged up, and the pin-sliders where the cartridge is located is a bit grimy when you try to slide it, but other than that, it's in pretty good condition.

 

Thanks again for all the help you provided...