different 7800 systems

[AtariMan1976]

I was reading in one of the posts about different 7800 units. The only thing i ever noticed different is one has an expansion port and one dont. How can u tell the difference between units and how many different ones are there?

[Shawn]

I was reading in one of the posts about different 7800 units. The only thing i ever noticed different is one has an expansion port and one dont. How can u tell the difference between units and how many different ones are there?

 

 

There is alot of different models. Some the differences are only noticable when you get inside at the guts to see rev numbers,ect.

[atwwong]

Here's a couple links in AA's 7800 FAQ section to get you started:

 

http://www.atariage.com/7800/faq/index.htm...mID=7800#cat2_0

 

http://www.atariage.com/7800/faq/index.htm...mID=7800#cat3_3

 

Cheers,

Tony

[AtariMan1976]

I was reading the faq and it mentions 3 different ones. the third has a small mark on the shell somewhere. Where would i look for this mark? On the inside maybe?

[ApolloBoy]

I was reading the faq and it mentions 3 different ones. the third has a small mark on the shell somewhere. Where would i look for this mark? On the inside maybe?

 

It should be a blemish on the outside of the bottom shell, where the expansion port would be. Most 7800s I've seen don't have it, though, so the FAQ should actually mention 4 variations, not 3.

[shadow460]

I've heard of three main ones (not counting the white ones).

 

If you're thinking of compatibility, it's hit and miss, with 98% hit and like 2% miss.

If you're thinking of mods, it's all hit. I've modded mine quite a bit (including socketing two chips), and everything was soldered down, not socketed. Now the MARIA and BIOS chips are socketed.

[AtariMan1976]

is modding a 7800 a good idea for like video out and other things or should i have an extra unit on hand to keep in original condition?

[+Mitch]

If you are talking NTSC 7800 main boards there are only two revisions. The original and the revised version that included the infamous timing circuit. At some point Atari stopped populating the area for the timing circuit on the revised boards so, at that point, it was basically equivalent to the original boards.

The expansion port doesn't affect anything other than helping to identify the earlier boards, nearly all of the original boards included it, very few of the revised boards had it. Likewise, for the presence or lack of the hole in the shell for the expansion port.

The only other difference that affected anything was the cart slot collar. The later 7800s had a slightly smaller collar that made it more difficult to insert and remove some third party 2600 games, most notably Imagic.

 

This doesn't include PAL 7800s which are totally different.

 

Hmm, I probably should rewrite both of those sections in the FAQ about the 7800 revisions.

 

Mitch