x=usr(1536)

I'll know more when the boards arrive, but based on what I've read so far, using a 27c256 (32K) or 27c512 (64K) should allow for this to work. 27c256s seem to be thin on the ground right now, at least at a price I'm willing to pay for them, so chances are it'll be a 64K EPROM configuration. Both ICs have two CE/CS pins. The jumpers on the board control pin selection, permitting up to 4 BIOSes to be run from it. In theory, it should also be possible to have a two-position jumper which would allow for two 32K BIOSes on a single EPROM, but that's getting ahead of things a bit. The plan is to use a BCD switch to select the BIOS to use. Power off, set the switch, power on, et voilà. Should be pretty simple. Before any of this happens, though, I need to replace my previous EPROM burner, which apparently disappeared the last time we moved house. Probably going with something USB and minipro-compatible; don't want to throw a ton of cash at this since I'm just experimenting right now.

Preface: I'm not interested in the 2600+ as something to acquire and use, but am mildly curious as to how the hardware implemented the emulation. As regards the latter part, I think we now have a fairly decent grasp on how it goes about doing that. As for the former: it's not that I love or hate the device, but rather that it's just not for me. While it does do some things differently to the Flashback units that came before it (7800 support, cartridge slot), it ultimately doesn't do anything that I can't do on original hardware or in emulation. It seems to be aimed more at the casual and collector end of things, which is fine, but that's not really where my interests tend to lie. If someone likes it and picks one or two or eighteen up, fine by me For me personally, though, it's just not something that falls into must-have territory. As for how this relates to the Retron 77: much the same applies. It's a neat device, but just doesn't do much that I can't already do elsewhere. More power to anyone who wants or buys one, but it's just not for me.

Memo to self: lift R14 in the CX55 to prevent audio mixing in with Composite; take audio off from same point. Pin 30 on 5200 cartridge port (2-port) for audio in; pin is unused by CX55.

Interesting that they just tossed the original unit in a different box and didn't even attempt to put the Atari name or logo on it. Really nifty artifact. Thanks to both of you for sharing them

All of which are valid points. However: While I agree with the general idea, the hard core base is also the one most likely to own the original hardware. That makes it difficult to see where the appeal is for that particular group.

You'll probably have better luck posting your request in the Wanted forum.

E.T. and Pac-Man caused The Crash™. If only Atari had teamed up with Nintendo to sell the NES after that they'd be where Nintendo is now.

This really was an excellent interview. @Cousin Vinnie & @Silver Back, thanks for putting it together - and thanks also to @TailChao for the insight into the development process behind the game! All I can say is that that's serious dedication, and it shows.

Not 'a problem', but it is one of those topics that always garners the same types of responses, tends to devolve into the same sorts of arguments as a result, and has happened repeatedly over the years. Just noticed that you're new here. By all means participate and be a part of things, but you may want to take a look around to get a feel for the place.

Seeing this topic exhumed over and over and over again and generating the exact same responses and arguments each time.

Huh, those were made by Sansui. Interesting; they made some really good hifi equipment at one point.

If you really want to have some fun, check out Project MF. It's essentially a blue-boxable telephony playground, though I'm not aware of any modems being reachable once you're on it. Works great over VoIP using a tone dialler app that supports MF.

That and bringing back the PCBWay thumbs-up still image

Robomechanik. Love the combination of puzzles and action, and really like the music (some of the best on the system, IMHO). Looking forward to perhaps seeing a finished version one day. That's not to say that the current version (WIP 4, IIRC) is broken or anything - just that it'll be interesting to see how it shakes out in the end.

That's the idea, yep. I've been poking at the idea on and off for a while, but finally got around to ordering boards to experiment with. Need to figure out a BCD switch to use, but I'll work on that once the boards are here in a few weeks. The BIOS can be found at https://github.com/7800-devtools/7800OpenBIOS . It also removes the NTSC protection check and changes the splash screen.

Thanks for that. The 27C256 looks to be pin- and electrically-compatible with the 2333 and 23256, but, more importantly, is available and cheap. I kinda knew this from the Kiloparsec BIOS, but wanted to confirm.

This is good advice, but I'd add one caveat to it: practice first. What I mean by this is that picking up a bag of junk electronics from eBay or the like that can be soldered, desoldered, and generally abused before diving in to the broken machine that actually needs repair is a good idea. Not saying this to discourage anyone from doing their own work by any means, but (and I speak from experience on this) it's really easy to make things much worse in the process of attempting to make them better if you're unfamiliar with how to undertake diagnosis and repair, or haven't been at it for some time.

Some days are more cogent than others

Note 5 on that schematic basically just answered everything I needed to know (for now). Thanks

Yeah, I didn't really make that clear. I meant the holes that the IC is soldered to. But yes, what number pin is what was the overall question. That works, and thanks. FWIW, this is for the multi-OS project. Just want to make sure that everything is going to be pin-compatible with the boards that I've ordered.

Does anyone happen to have the pinouts for the 7800 BIOS, or the pads on the motherboard? I've been trying to dig this up for a while but am hitting a total dead end.

Can three-direction presses be polled for? I'm thinking that something like UP+DOWN+LEFT would be a lot less likely to happen in normal use than just UP+DOWN, for example. This could also potentially open up more function buttons on the controller for projects that may need them.

It'd be interesting to see how the joystick mechanisms were implemented. They would have needed to stand up to a lot more abuse than controllers in the home, and from looking at those two it appears as though they may self-centre. FWIW, I used to see these (and other) demo kiosks pop up occasionally at arcade game auctions in the early 2000s. Kinda kicking myself now that I didn't pick one up.

There is definitely interest in these, and it's looking surprisingly complete. What was the backstory on how he ended up with it? IIRC, the Pac-Man cartridge is basically a glued-in shell, the controller storage area doesn't open, and there's a plastic strip over where the controller ports would have been. Nifty. Where are you located?