The 2600 cartridge that would not die

[megamaniaman]

A couple of years ago my teenage nephew was heavily into pot. One of the things he would do was go with his friends and just walk around the desert. One day while on one of his jaunts he came across an Atari cartridge lying out in the middle of the desert. Knowing that I collected Atari games he came over and brings the cart to me. It was a Centipede cartridge, but you would be able to barely tell from looking at it. It was evident that it was just lying in the desert totally discarded for atleast 10 years. All the color that was once on the label was now black and white. I noticed when I looked at the slot of the cart there was sand and small dead spiders that were inside. I knew that Atari 2600 cartridges had the reputation of being built like tanks but I was certain that all this enivoronment was too much for even for this old cart to handle. I decided as a fluke to see if I could plug this puppy in without even cleaning the connector. And to my suprise it booted right up without a problem. I Felt that I had just witnessed the equivelant of Lazarus rising from the dead. Every few months or so I will take the cart out just to see if it works and every single time it still works. By the way I still have not cleaned the cart to this day. I would not be suprised if someone 200 years from now will find this same cart in some old attic and be just amazed as me when it fires up perfectly.

[DefaultGen]

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[backguard]

great post :)

[DaBargainHunta]

I noticed when I looked at the slot of the cart there was sand and small dead spiders that were inside.

I decided as a fluke to see if I could plug this puppy in without even cleaning the connector.
You left the dead spiders and sand in there before booting it to your 2600??? LOL

[bangtango]

A couple of years ago my teenage nephew was heavily into pot. One of the things he would do was go with his friends and just walk around the desert. One day while on one of his jounts he comes across an Atari cartridge laying out in the middle of the desert. Knowing that I collected Atari games he comes over and brings the cart to me. It was a Centipede cartridge, but you would be able to barely tell from looking at it. It was evident that it was just laying in the desert totally discarded for atleast 10 years. All the color that was once on the label was now black and white. I noticed when I looked at the slot of the cart there was sand and small dead spiders that were inside. I knew that Atari 2600 cartridges had the reputation of being built like tanks but I was certain that all this enivoroment was too much for even for this old cart to handle. I decided as a fluke to see if I could plug this puppy in without even cleaning the connector. And to my suprise it booted right up without a problem. I Felt that I had just witness the equivelant of lazerous rising from the dead. Every few months or so I will take the cart out just to see if it works and every single time it still works. By the way I still have not cleaned the cart to this day. I would not be suprised if someone 200 years from now will find this same cart in some old attic and be just amazed as me when it fires up perfectly.

I liked this one!

[goemon]

A couple of years ago my teenage nephew was heavily into pot. One of the things he would do was go with his friends and just walk around the desert. One day while on one of his jaunts he came across an Atari cartridge lying out in the middle of the desert. Knowing that I collected Atari games he came over and brought the cart to me. It was a Centipede cartridge, but you would be able to barely tell from looking at it. [Confusing wording -- Goemon] It was evident that it was just lying in the desert totally discarded for atleast 10 years. All the color that was once on the label was now black and white. I noticed when I looked at the slot of the cart there was sand and small dead spiders that were inside. I knew that Atari 2600 cartridges had the reputation for being built like tanks but I was certain that all this environment was too much for even for this old cart to handle. I decided as a fluke to see if I could plug this puppy in without even cleaning the connector. And to my suprise it booted right up without a problem. I Felt that I had just witnessed the equivelant of Lazarus rising from the dead. Every few months or so I will take the cart out just to see if it works and every single time it still works. By the way I still have not cleaned the cart to this day. I would not be suprised if someone 200 years from now will find this same cart in some old attic and be just amazed as me when it fires up perfectly.

Fixed some stuff in bold for you. I get confused by "laying" and "lying" too, so you might want to ask an English teacher about that. Also, one sentence in particular was confusing and could be rewritten. I love the story, though -- dead spiders and all.

[Dire 51]

I've read this a couple times now, and I still think that's pretty damned amazing. Makes me wonder if it was a climate thing or if it was a quality thing on Atari's part, as I'd encountered a 2600 game that had been stuck in a shed in Florida for a couple years (Bump 'N Jump) that I knew had worked before it had been lost, but never worked again after it was found.

[hbkprm]

short but sweeeeeeeeet

[NE146]

Love to see it.. Got pics? :)

[Rogmeister]

You said you didn't clean it...I hope you at least got the dead spiders out of it :)

[stonic]

I noticed when I looked at the slot of the cart there was sand and small dead spiders that were inside.

Well, it IS a Centipede cart ;)

[mills]

[QUOTE=DefaultGen;1174525]http://www.infendo.com/uploaded_images/gameboy-775375.jpg

Photoshop.

I've seen the original picture and it was not booted up.