Second Generation Appreciation Thread

[ElkinFencer10]

My daughter has really been into the Atari 2600 lately.

The console launched 36 years before she was born.

Smart girl. Must have a smart daddy.

[fastbilly1]

My 2600 and my main 7800 are both having issues now:
2600 - no image displayed, but the tv registers that something is turned on
7800 - garbage all over a B/W version of the image
All I wanted to do was play Halo. My gut is that the 2600 is toast and the 7800 might just have a lose wire to the video out. Both consoles are unmodded. Any ideas?

[ElkinFencer10]

My 2600 and my main 7800 are both having issues now:
2600 - no image displayed, but the tv registers that something is turned on
7800 - garbage all over a B/W version of the image
All I wanted to do was play Halo. My gut is that the 2600 is toast and the 7800 might just have a lose wire to the video out. Both consoles are unmodded. Any ideas?

I'm no hardware expert by ANY means, but from my own various hardware difficulties over the years, my guess would be that your 2600 issue is going to be that an A/V chip on the motherboard died. 7800 definitely sounds like a loose wire to me.

However, I'm as incompetent as they come when it comes to hardware, so take everything I said with a grain of salt.

[ApolloBoy]

I'm no hardware expert by ANY means, but from my own various hardware difficulties over the years, my guess would be that your 2600 issue is going to be that an A/V chip on the motherboard died. 7800 definitely sounds like a loose wire to me.

The 2600 has no video encoder and the 7800 doesn't have wires inside so those can be ruled out. Sounds more like it could be a TV problem, have you tried them on a different TV?

[marlowe221]

The 2600 has no video encoder and the 7800 doesn't have wires inside so those can be ruled out. Sounds more like it could be a TV problem, have you tried them on a different TV?

Yep, the 2600 bascially draws directly to the CRT. As I understand it, 2600 emulators have to simulate the console AND the television itself in order to function properly.

The TV would be my first guess too - especially since you are having trouble out of multiple consoles...


On another, unrelated note - is the TI-99 worth my time/money?

[chuckster]

This thread has got me itching to dive into the second gen and really see what it's made of. I played on the 2600 only briefly during visits to my grandparents when I was very young, and so have very little experience with real hardware. I was surprised there wasn't a "defining games" or "hidden gems" on the RB website for the 2600 or other second gen consoles.

I have a black 4-switch 2600, but it was stored in an outbuilding by my grandparents for years, so now that I have it, I'm not too hopeful of it working.

It's looking like Wii emulation will work out best for me, since that will give me access to all of the consoles to compare. Is the flashback a good enough step up to recommend it over emulation? What is the best way to emulate all of the different controller options?

What accessories/controllers should I definitely look to get if and when I do go for the Flashback or real hardware?

[prfsnl_gmr]

What accessories/controllers should I definitely look to get if and when I do go for the Flashback or real hardware?

You will definitely need paddle controllers. Some of the best games of the generation - Kaboom!, Super Breakout, Warlords, etc. - can't be played without them. Moreover, trying to play emulated versions of these games with traditional controls doesn't do them justice.

[CRTGAMER]

My 2600 and my main 7800 are both having issues now:
2600 - no image displayed, but the tv registers that something is turned on
7800 - garbage all over a B/W version of the image
All I wanted to do was play Halo. My gut is that the 2600 is toast and the 7800 might just have a lose wire to the video out. Both consoles are unmodded. Any ideas?

On the 7800 since you have a what I guess is a snowy image and channel select already verified, most likely the internal RF box or cable connection. My 7800 internal RF box has a "break" inside the sealed metal box caused by the flex of the stiff RF cable attached. Remelting the RF box contacts on the PCB underneath did not resolve it so I did the basic under Ten Dollar Composite Mod. No need to go SVideo or higher, composite such an improvement over RF.

As to the 2600 since no picture and channel select already verified, perhaps the game cart slot needs cleaning?

[samsonlonghair]

On another, unrelated note - is the TI-99 worth my time/money?

Howdy Marlowe,

I'm kind of a nerd for the TI-99/4A. I really dig the hardware, and I'm not alone here. There's an enthusiastic user group that nerds out about the eccentric TI hardware regularly.

Hardware
If you are considering one, I advise you get the "A" model. The Original TI-99/4 had a funky keyboard; the TI-99/4A had a much improved keyboard. I like the tactile feel of the big game cartridges sliding into the front-loading cartridge slot. I dig the weight of the machine. It's hefty with lots of metal parts.

The hardware is a bit of a rabbit hole. In addition to the main computer itself, there are endless peripherals and expansions including video modulators, cassette decks, and floppy drives. There are even modern expansions to load things like USB ports and IDE hard drives.

Software
As for the software, there are a FEW really good titles. I would say that it's a much smaller library than the Atari 8-bit line, but a better quality library overall. Chisholm trail adds a bit of strategy to berserk-style shooting. Wumpus is cool. Parsec is a pretty neat horizontal shoot 'em up. Tunnels of Doom is a first person dungeon crawler. Moon Mine is a first person tank shooter. Space Bandits is an action game set on a isometric play field. Demon attack is vertical shoot 'em up in the style of Space Invaders, but with larger, more detailed sprites. Munch-Man is a Pac-Man clone with a neat pseudo~3D isometric angled maze. A-Maze-ing is a classic time waster, and a good way of trying something new in the maze genre that Pac-Man started. Speaking of which, there was also a legit port of Pac-Man that looks good, but plays a little slow. Donkey-Kong and Q*Bert are also featured on the TI-99/4A, and they look great - almost NES quality.

TI-99/4A has long been emulated. If you want to try some of the software before buying, everything you need is just a cursory google search away.

[fastbilly1]

I'm no hardware expert by ANY means, but from my own various hardware difficulties over the years, my guess would be that your 2600 issue is going to be that an A/V chip on the motherboard died. 7800 definitely sounds like a loose wire to me.

The 2600 has no video encoder and the 7800 doesn't have wires inside so those can be ruled out. Sounds more like it could be a TV problem, have you tried them on a different TV?

Tried both on three different tvs, same issues. TVs showed every other console fine.