8 Rare Atari 2600 Replacement Prototype Game Chips NOS

[atari70s]

Ive been gone for a while but i saw this and had to bid on this and it kinda got me back into atari again. im rather sure these arent regular release chips. but like usual ebay rules items untested. they were bought in part with some other non released titles. that were sold over a year ago . this was last of the chips they had. So heres the question

 

1.) Prototype chips? ( reguardless if its a early or late proto)

 

2.) is replacement game chips another name for protos?

 

3.) the dates on the games listed seem like late in testing chips

 

4.) are they protos or maybe eeprom burned games? like Romox did with 8 bits? i didnt see glass chips on these.

 

 

heres the link http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

 

opinions suggestions gladly excepted

[Bruce Tomlin]

heres the link http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

 

opinions suggestions gladly excepted

Those aren't "prototypes". They're glop-tops, which are a high production volume form of chip. It's a bare chip die, with wires connecting it right to the board, then a glop of epoxy on top to keep them safe.

 

There are a one or two unreleased 2600 games which actually got a glop-top manufacturing run, but those all look like games that were quite plentiful. The only uncommon thing about them is that I didn't realize some of those titles got glop-topped. So it's possible that these are post-crash re-releases. That would be hard to tell without a date code, which is probably stamped on the board somewhere. But it's nothing you can't get by breaking apart regular cartridges and selling the innards... I shoulda thought of that! I know Albert probably has a bunch of bare boards, but he prefers the older style locking carts, so most of his junk boards are probably regular DIP chip boards.

 

(I've attached the picture so that it will stay with this thread after the auction is gone.)

[Delicon]

I cant really see all that well through the plastic bags, but they look like epoxy blobs or surface mount chips. I am pretty sure that both these technologies are younger (or least before they became common practice) than the carts offered here. And if they arent, I cant think of any reason why you would epoxy blob your prototype (too much trouble). Also the traces on the boards look really nice. I have seen defenders and asteroids production PCBs, and they look like a 3 year old drew them (almost ).

 

Vern

Edited March 22, 2006 by Delicon

[atari70s]

what shoudl i look for or do when i get them to help me figure out what i got? the baggies with the labels look old school ( maybe someone did this in the mid to late 80s))? well i havent seen these before that i can remember but i guess ill see the dates . what should i look for when i they come in? at least for as dates on the board?

[Bruce Tomlin]

Try to look for a date code on the boards stamed in white or black ink. It will probably be something like "8635" for the 35th week of 1986.

 

As to what they are, the hang cards do seem to date to the '80s, and most are typewritten, but two are dot matrix. I suspect that they are exactly what the auction claims they are, except for the word "prototype": they're "replacement" chips for when a customer gets a bad cartridge and wants the broken cartridge "repaired". They probably had a bunch of them hanging on a wall in a service shop. They're a bit interesting for that, but nothing special otherwise.

 

Delicon: you just haven't taken enough cartridges apart. They are all clearly glop tops, but I've mostly only seen the "steering wheel" type on the lower left.

Edited March 22, 2006 by Bruce Tomlin

[sku_u]

Damn. I literally have 100s of extra commons. I should remove the shell and start selling them bare in baggies too.

[atari70s]

Hey Update time

 

i got those chips in the mail and i want to read to u what they say im thinking early release or late testers.

 

 

1.) Pro Football <realsports> ( cx2668?) back says 3601 320 Singapore CA018185-68. Atari 1982. CO16468-P03

 

2.) Super Breakout (cx-2608) back says R35017. 8233(33rd week of 82.) CA018185-XX atari 1981. 018185A-23. Says on front HT0L3.

 

3.) Math Game (Cx-2658??) back says 8332A540. 8226 ( 26th week of 82). Japan. Ca018185-XX. atari 1982. CO12058-02

 

4.) Maze Cx2635? nothing on the chip. the chip on the front has a stamp 17

 

5.) Sword Quest ( Cx-2656) back says C89007. 8235 Singapore. Ca018185-56. atari 1982. 0108456-09

 

6.) Defender nothing on chip or rom.

 

7.) MS Pacman Cx2675. white stamp on the back 1075. the front says CA018185-01

 

8.) Asteroids says on back 8364A910. 8226 Japan. CA018185-XX. atari 1981. CO 16449B02.

 

 

 

Decoders anyone please decode

 

sounds like regular releases anyone have official release dates?

[+RandomPerson]

Hey Update time

 

i got those chips in the mail and i want to read to u what they say im thinking early release or late testers.

 

 

1.) Pro Football <realsports> ( cx2668?) back says 3601 320 Singapore CA018185-68. Atari 1982. CO16468-P03

 

2.) Super Breakout (cx-2608) back says R35017. 8233(33rd week of 82.) CA018185-XX atari 1981. 018185A-23. Says on front HT0L3.

 

3.) Math Game (Cx-2658??) back says 8332A540. 8226 ( 26th week of 82). Japan. Ca018185-XX. atari 1982. CO12058-02

 

4.) Maze Cx2635? nothing on the chip. the chip on the front has a stamp 17

 

5.) Sword Quest ( Cx-2656) back says C89007. 8235 Singapore. Ca018185-56. atari 1982. 0108456-09

 

6.) Defender nothing on chip or rom.

 

7.) MS Pacman Cx2675. white stamp on the back 1075. the front says CA018185-01

 

8.) Asteroids says on back 8364A910. 8226 Japan. CA018185-XX. atari 1981. CO 16449B02.

 

 

 

Decoders anyone please decode

 

sounds like regular releases anyone have official release dates?

 

 

There is nothing special about these boards at all. IMO it was a waste of money to even buy them in the first place.

[Albert]

I've opened thousands of 2600 carts and have come across a fair number of boards witih all three of these types of chips. Of these, the most common ones I see are the of the square variety. Nothing special about these as far as I'm concerned. Probably only see them in about 1 out of every 200 carts.

 

..Al

[lemoncurry]

So, wouldn't that mean a glop-top Combat is 200 times more rare than a normal Combat?

[Zwackery]

So, wouldn't that mean a glop-top Combat is 200 times more rare than a normal Combat?

[MattG/Snyper2099]

There are a couple that I purchased quite a while ago that are certainly different than anything I've ever pulled out of a production cart. I'll get some detailed pics in this thread soon...

[atari70s]

i guess i got rusty after being out of the atari game for a while. i must look foolish for getting them but i havent seen any atari 2600 chips looking like these all too often. the text on the back also is different than usual

[MattG/Snyper2099]

i guess i got rusty after being out of the atari game for a while. i must look foolish for getting them but i havent seen any atari 2600 chips looking like these all too often. the text on the back also is different than usual

Since you've been out of the loop, NTSC motorodeo and ikari warriors is now dirt common tradebait.

[+RandomPerson]

i guess i got rusty after being out of the atari game for a while. i must look foolish for getting them but i havent seen any atari 2600 chips looking like these all too often. the text on the back also is different than usual

Since you've been out of the loop, NTSC motorodeo and ikari warriors is now dirt common tradebait.

 

 

Sad but true, Sad but true.