Scored a prototype in the wild (I think)!
I first posted this on AA yesterday, since I couldn't seem to get in here for some reason. It seems to be generating a bit of debate on whether or not it's an actual prototype...would love to hear what the experts here think.
Rich
P.S. It sure is nice to finally have fruit by my name...something always bothered me about having "INSERT COIN" floating above my particular avatar.
Rummage Sale Prototype Brag!
Went rummaging Saturday morning, with the rummage that advertised “video games” at the top of my list. Arrived 20 minutes early, and they had already opened for business. I walked right up and found a Gamegear in a soft case and 4 common games with books. All in great shape, but with the stickered price at $30.00, I didn’t even bother making an offer.
Picked up a big, $5.00 tub of legos for my girls, and as I was going to pay, I noticed a Vader 2600 sticking out of box under a table. Under the 2600 was one of those woodgrain game holders with a hinged, smoked plastic lid. Inside were 25 games, and manuals for all (well, almost all) of the games tucked neatly into the side slots…I wish everyone took care of games the way these people did.
Quickly scanned the titles, and the closest thing to an uncommon was Journey Escape. But then this cart with a blank, red end label caught my eye. Pulled it out of the slot, and it was just more red paper running up the length of the cart until I got to the small white paper label that read:
TAPPER
ATARI 2600 – STK #010-01
SEGA CONSUMER PRODUCTS
And I thought, Hot Damn!…this looks like a prototype…but what’s it doing in a standard 2600 rummage lot in Milwaukee? I calmly put it back in the box and took it and the legos up the the cash box. The 2600 box hadn’t been priced yet, so I asked how much for the games…and didn’t dicker when she came back with “5 bucks?”
Raced home to try it out, and (for the first 3 screens anyway) it seems identical to my stock 2600 Tapper. The case has no screw, so it was easy to open up and find this inside…pretty much easing my fears that the label was a fake:
Oddly enough, the chip at the top center of the PCB has its top, rightmost pin not socketed like the other pins on the chip…is this common to protos? Never thought I’d find one of these in the wild as I’m fairly distant from Silicon Valley…but persistent rummaging has paid off for me again. Don’t know if I can afford to start collecting protos, but it sure is nice to find one of these things that everyone is always talking about.
Rich
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It looks like a proto to me. I'm not too sure about the label and the case, but the PCB looks legit.
Originally Posted by Videogamerdaryll
