New pics of my Atari 2600

[Oldskool]

Here is my CX2600A. Purchased with about 40 games at a garage sale for $5 about 10 years ago.

I recently got a new RCA ----> RF adapter and the quality is good. I was using the Radio Shack TV/Game switch box. Garbage! Get this, much better! Of course it might not be as sharp as the Composite Video mod, but I think it's good! And my LCD doesn't like Composite anyways, RF tends to look better actually.

And the Genesis 6-button pad is THE best Atari controller ever! Except of course the Genesis Arcade Stick.

http://i754.photobucket.com/albums/xx188/mkennedy999/Misc%20Video%20Game%20Stuff/atarifrogger.jpg

http://i754.photobucket.com/albums/xx188/mkennedy999/Misc%20Video%20Game%20Stuff/atari_adapter.jpg

http://i754.photobucket.com/albums/xx188/mkennedy999/Misc%20Video%20Game%20Stuff/frogger2.jpg

[Enigmus]

Looks nice on that Polaroid LCD.

I used to have a 32 in. NEC RGB monitor I watched TV with, and it made Atari's RF look stunning. Too bad it burnt out when a tree struck a power line nearby and burnt a lot of our electronics. Oh, well, now I have a 27 in. Toshiba CRT and it still looks good.

[Oldskool]

Are you using the old style switch box or did you get the newer pass through adapter like the one I just got?

How did you hook it up to an RGB monitor? Was there an RF input on the back of it?

[General_Murdock]

It's almost the same Atari that I have, but mine does not have the wood color front panel.

And I'm looking for a official 6 button controller for my genesis, luck you that you have it. But the felling of playing in the single button atari controller is wonderful.

And the image seems pretty clear for the RF cable.
Have you ever thought of modding your atari for rca outputs ?

I'm very scared to do moddings but people say that the image quality is a lot better. And as I can see you have a HDTV television, so you should try it.

[Oldskool]

I don't think I am going to mod it for composite video. Might look better but I am pretty happy with the picture. And really with it not being super sharp, it helps to blend in the colors a bit and smooth things out.

Sounds like you have a Vader if it's the all black Atari. The Vaders are nice! I think they were trying to modernize the looks with that one.

As far as official 6 button controllers, yeah they are sort of hard to find these days. Ebay always has a couple up at any given time, but normally there are TONS of Chinese knock offs (They don't say Sega on them, beware).

I've collected a handful of the official 6-button controllers over the years. I have the one with the turbo buttons too, but I don't like the feel of it. The older 6-button control pads like the one shown "feel" the best. And the quality seems much better.

I've got a bunch of the original Atari joysticks, but I really don't like them. They wear your hands out very quickly since you have to move the joystick with some decent force to get it to do anything. Of course you can always remove the rubber around the joystick and it'll be better, but then what good is it.

[Enigmus]

Are you using the old style switch box or did you get the newer pass through adapter like the one I just got?

How did you hook it up to an RGB monitor? Was there an RF input on the back of it?

Yeah, it was a weird 1988 NEC 32 in. RGB monitor that had an RF input, two RGB ports for PCs and 4 other inputs that looked to be the old style of DIN inputs, about eight or nine pins.

It worked really well with the 1987 stereo I had that also got fried with the brownout caused by a tree.

Also, I use a switch box that came from Radio Shack in the 90s according to my dad and a coax cable due to the Atari switch box being MIA after 2.4 decades.

[Arcade Antics]

And the Genesis 6-button pad is THE best Atari controller ever! Except of course the Genesis Arcade Stick.

Whoa! Sega Genesis is great, Atari 2600 is great. But the Genesis controller has the worst D-pad in history. :)

The best 2600 sticks are the standard Atari branded stick and the Wico Command Control series.

[Oldskool]

No way man, the 6-button Sega pad has an EXCELLENT D-Pad. You might be thinking of the original 3-button controllers.

I have some original Atari branded Joysticks, I don't like them at all. Too stiff.

[Arcade Antics]

No way man, the 6-button Sega pad has an EXCELLENT D-Pad. You might be thinking of the original 3-button controllers.
The 3-button Genny controller has the worst D-pad. The 6-button has the second worst D-pad. For some games it doesn't make too much difference, but if you're trying to play 4-way games like Ms. Pac or Ultimate Qix with a Genesis D-pad, forget it.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

No way man, the 6-button Sega pad has an EXCELLENT D-Pad. You might be thinking of the original 3-button controllers.

I have some original Atari branded Joysticks, I don't like them at all. Too stiff.

Whenever I have the option to choose a 2600 stick, I always choose the EPYX 500XJ

http://www.pikamac.com/misc/epyx.jpg

And yes, I wear a leather driving glove too.

[Enigmus]

No way man, the 6-button Sega pad has an EXCELLENT D-Pad. You might be thinking of the original 3-button controllers.

I have some original Atari branded Joysticks, I don't like them at all. Too stiff.

The only thing I play my 2600 with is with a Flashback 2 stick. Looser and more reliable than the original.

[Oldskool]

Whenever I have the option to choose a 2600 stick, I always choose the EPYX 500XJ

http://www.pikamac.com/misc/epyx.jpg

And yes, I wear a leather driving glove too.

Dude, that's freakin' bad-ass! It's like the knight rider of joysticks.

Looks ergonomic too.

I do have some sort of an aftermarket joystick that's a lot better than the factory joysticks, but not sure what kind it is... ok I just looked. It's an ACE. Looks a lot like the factory joysticks. I'm not even sure I ever even tried it before.

[Greg2600]

Your RF looks a lot clearer than mine. I may need a new RF cable.

[Oldskool]

What setup are you running on yours?

[Greg2600]

Same as you, 2600 right to the RCA/RF connector into the HDTV.

[Oldskool]

Hmm.. yeah maybe you do need a cable then. Do you have a lot of electronic equipment near your TV? Especially anything with a radio frequency? Cordless phones, cell phones, anything like that?

I notice when my cell phone is near the 2600 and it's sending/receiving anything it displays garbage on the screen.

[Enigmus]

Hmm.. yeah maybe you do need a cable then. Do you have a lot of electronic equipment near your TV? Especially anything with a radio frequency? Cordless phones, cell phones, anything like that?

I notice when my cell phone is near the 2600 and it's sending/receiving anything it displays garbage on the screen.

Even when I use a shielded cable (an old gold-plated right audio cable that I have no match to) it displays garbage. It's all in what is nearby, such as my Wii being near my 2600 in my room and being near the wireless internet box in my living room. For now, until I AV modify my 2600 Jr., I'm just running Wii2600 off of my Wii with the games I already own carts to. So, unless you have an AV modded 2600, that's my suggestion if you can't fix the problem, Greg2600. Either that or a Flashback 2 with a cart slot modded on, which runs most games with a few exceptions.

[Greg2600]

Some games look fine. It depends on the games, and what colors they use. For instance, frogger had a lot of distortion, but super breakout looks perfect. It's perfectly playable, and that's all I care about. I do need to replace this ancient ac adapter I have, though, which could be affecting it. Mine is also one of the earlier "Heavy Sixer" models.

[Greg2600]

Just an update, I took my 2600 apart and used a common Composite (RCA) cable to connect to the TV via RF and the picture is crystal clear. The colors might not be exact, it's RF, but a new cable seems to make a huge difference.

[c0ldb33r]

What happened to your images? I'd like to see them.

[Oldskool]

What happened to your images? I'd like to see them.

Fixed. I moved them into a folder on Photobucket and it messed up the link.

[tom]

Whenever I have the option to choose a 2600 stick, I always choose the EPYX 500XJ

http://www.pikamac.com/misc/epyx.jpg

And yes, I wear a leather driving glove too.


Ah the British made Konix joystick, came in many flavours, even for NES, SMS, Genesis. Distributed in US by Epyx.
Yes, the same Konix who made the super-duper console with dozens of peripherals and a hydraulic chair, dead before arrival.

[Emperor Megas]

...the Genesis controller has the worst D-pad in history. :)You must have never used an XBOX360 controller. :|

[Arcade Antics]

You must have never use an XBOX360 controller. :|
What's an XBox 360?

[Oldskool]

I just got a flashback 2 yesterday I was thinking of trying the same thing...

The only thing I play my 2600 with is with a Flashback 2 stick. Looser and more reliable than the original.

[Blitzwing256]

i've had a hard time getting my 2600 working here (some sorta signals on channel 2-4 are too strong here)

where can I get the converter that you speak of ?

[Oldskool]

I got mine from radio shack if I recall correctly. But if you cant find one there they are all over eBay for around a Buck or so.

[martyg]

I just got a flashback 2 yesterday I was thinking of trying the same thing...

Hopefully it's not one of the pirate ones that was being sold recently.

[megasdkirby]

Does anyone know if the Super Action Controller for the Colecovision work on the 2600?

I would pressume so, but I can't test until I clean up a few I obtained recently. Would be awesome, as I can grab the controller without any issues.

Also, would it work on the SMS and Genesis?

[Oldskool]

Hopefully it's not one of the pirate ones that was being sold recently.

I don't think so. I didn't buy it new but who knows, it seems to work pretty reasonably well.

[Oldskool]

That I am not sure about. Does the connector look the same?


Does anyone know if the Super Action Controller for the Colecovision work on the 2600?

I would pressume so, but I can't test until I clean up a few I obtained recently. Would be awesome, as I can grab the controller without any issues.

Also, would it work on the SMS and Genesis?

[Yoder]

The image quality does look nice. I've been impressed with some of the Ataris I've had recently...but some have more RF interference and/or washed out color. Not sure if it's the generation/revision or just the age (capacitors, etc).

Note that these adapters won't do anything that the old switch boxes don't do...it just takes out the switch, which often goes bad, and it keeps you from having to get one of those 300 ohm to 75 ohm adapters to work with your "cable ready" TV.

I can't imagine how a "counterfit" RCA to Coaxial adapter would make a difference....or even make sense.

Lastly, you get them at Radio Shack for liek $3.39, so you really don't have to buy them from AtariAge, eBay, etc. I just bought 4 or 5 the other day to include with the 2600s I need to sell :-)

[Brianvgplayer]

I just got a flashback 2 yesterday I was thinking of trying the same thing...

I have my FB2 controllers hooked up to the 800 XL (with the FB 2 in the same room). They even work good for Robotron.

My dad found my FB2 at a yard sale in NC for two dollars a few days ago. I opened it up and it's definitely a real one.

[kool kitty89]

Ah the British made Konix joystick, came in many flavours, even for NES, SMS, Genesis. Distributed in US by Epyx.
Yes, the same Konix who made the super-duper console with dozens of peripherals and a hydraulic chair, dead before arrival.
The console itself WAS a peripheral too. I've never liked the concept of the Multisystem as such, but the hardware (chipset) employed was pretty impressive for the time: 256x200 256 color bitmap (also 16 color modes) driven by a blitter several times faster than the Amiga's, bit-slice derived ALU (mainly a multiplication coprocessor), custom (albeit primitive) 16-bit DSP, and generally quite capable 2D and 3D performance for the time -I think the DSP used may be directly related to the Super FX chip -similar description, and designed by the same engineer -Ben Cheese. (almost identical to Flare's early F;are 1 computer chipset, but merged into a single ASIC, added a 16-bit interface for the 8086 -prototype models supported the Z80 and 8088, and added a floppy controller)

Of course, Flare later went on to design the Jaguar chipset and partially completed the Jaguar II design.

Actually, you'd think a major joystick manufacturer would want to have a simple game console controller pack-in and lots of peripheral/accessory options rather than the built-in controller design they made. (especially seeing as steering wheels -or even flight sticks- were rarely adopted for game consoles back then, or today for that matter)





I have my FB2 controllers hooked up to the 800 XL (with the FB 2 in the same room). They even work good for Robotron.

My dad found my FB2 at a yard sale in NC for two dollars a few days ago. I opened it up and it's definitely a real one.
I got the impression that the FB2 joysticks were rather sloppy (in part due to using rubber dome switches rather than metallic tact switches) to the point that genesis pads were preferable.

[tom]

I've seen the Konix console at a computer fair in London at the time. It was sitting there at the show with a sign saying 'Not working at the moment'. We were all dying to try it out though.

I used to own the
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c173/thomasholzer/lipstikplus.jpg

which was available to buy for the C64 game Echolon.
You had to shout 'Fire', as the stick button was used for some other action.
Compatible with all VCS games too.
Great fun.

[martyg]

I don't think so. I didn't buy it new but who knows, it seems to work pretty reasonably well.

Then there's a good chance it's not then. The issue with the pirate ones is they were made with bad attempts to duplicate the custom hardware in the original (besides extremely cheap components and manufacturing). Half of them don't work, or do break down pretty quick. You'd notice extremely buggy games and/or some games not even loading right from the menu.


I can't imagine how a "counterfit" RCA to Coaxial adapter would make a difference....or even make sense.


Counterfeit Flashback 2 unit.


My dad found my FB2 at a yard sale in NC for two dollars a few days ago. I opened it up and it's definitely a real one.

Based on what?

[Brianvgplayer]

Based on what?

The thread at AtariAge. Plenty of pictures, and it's not like I opened up the system to check without something to compare it too...

Anyway, the Atari logo on the inside of mine looks like the real Atari logo with the correct letters rather than that off looking one in the pics of the bootleg, the font on the warning sticker is correct, the games all work as they should (quadrun voice too), and the system looks like it has been used for awhile.

[martyg]

The thread at AtariAge. Plenty of pictures, and it's not like I opened up the system to check without something to compare it too...

Anyway, the Atari logo on the inside of mine looks like the real Atari logo with the correct letters rather than that off looking one in the pics of the bootleg, the font on the warning sticker is correct, the games all work as they should (quadrun voice too), and the system looks like it has been used for awhile.

Ok, just wanted to make sure you weren't going by it just looking official (i.e. there's a manual inside, etc.)

[otaku]

this remeinds me I need a flashback or two and I need to get my 2600s working and modded so I can use all my games and such :)