To open or not to open?

[nesman85]

I know that in order to open a lot of atari protos you have to puncture or peel back the label or never be able to see the insides, so the owner has to make a choice. now i am in the same position. my double dragon 2 nes proto has an acclaim company label on the back that covers up the middle screw. the screw hole is right where the letter "r" in the word "revenge" is. i want to just stick the screw driver in there and open it up and see what type of board its on and what's written on the eproms, but also don't want to mess up the label. what would you do/have you done?

[CRaCKeRJaCK1980]

I would leave it. You know its a proto.

[TRM]

Is the label stuck tight to the cart? If it's loose, you could pry it back enough to remove the middle screw then put it back when you are done. Though if it's stuck on tight, it could lead to ripping :(

[MattyXB]

:o
Not open it.

I would only open it, when the screw is already free from the lable. But I would never remove the lable and open it then. It looks not good after you have done it one time. :/

[Buyatari]

Unless you can safely remove the label by steaming it back no way would I touch the label. Leave it alone.

Adam

[Li Wang]

I've never understood the paranoia over prototype stickers. Big deal, a tiny hole in it. The proto itself is just something some employee slapped together to send out. The collectibility of protos almost always has nothing to do with cosmetic condition, so why do people make a big deal over a tiny, clean sticker puncture?

[Mr. NEStalgia]

I've never understood the paranoia over prototype stickers. Big deal, a tiny hole in it. The proto itself is just something some employee slapped together to send out. The collectibility of protos almost always has nothing to do with cosmetic condition, so why do people make a big deal over a tiny, clean sticker puncture?

I can't say I've ever had the money to get protos of my own, but one thing that intrigues me with them is the variety of the labels...

While the proto itself is the real treasure, the label gives it character and originality.

That's just a poor man's opinion,

-=Mr. NEStalgia=-

[Starcade]

Don't risk messing it up, leave it alone.

[Tempest]

I know that in order to open a lot of atari protos you have to puncture or peel back the label or never be able to see the insides

Actually that's not true. If it's a real Atari lab loaner it shouldn't be screwed shut, it should just snap open. Some protos (such as PB) have screws under the labels though.

Tempest

[nesman85]

thanks for the info tempest. i don't collect atari protos, just have read some posts where people have said that they don't want to open them because they will ruin the label. i guess i'll leave this one shut unless i find a good safe way to open it. the label is not "mint" looking as it is, but i'd like to keep it preserved in its condition as much as possible. its going to drive me crazy wondering what the eproms say, but i'll live with it. ;) thanks for the replies.

[Ed Oscuro]

I wonder if there's anything like a Super Wildcard for Atari protos? It doesn't seem impossible, after all, to make a system that could intercept what's coming from the Atari device. Unless there's some crazy memory mapper in there it shouldn't be too hard to map it out either.

[rbudrick]

A hair dryer will heat the label enough to loosen the glue in 9/10 cases. Give it a shot.

-Rob

[DogP]

Heh... just carry it on an airplane next time and look at their xray screen :D .

DogP