DragonmasterDan Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 I've read that some VCS/2600 games do not work with the 7800 (or certain models of the 7800). Does anyone have a list of what games are known to be problematic and does anyone know why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophero Sly Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 According to the 7800 FAQ, these games might be problematic. Robot Tank, Decathlon, Space Shuttle, Time Pilot, Kool-Aid Man and the Supercharger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 You may also have trouble with Activision cases and Imagic cases fitting into the slot. In addition, TigerVision carts will not fit the slot at all. With a little patience, however, a 7800 can be made to load and play any 2600 cart. The only thing mine doesn't do is TigerVision, and that's because I have no Tiger carts yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 I've read that some VCS/2600 games do not work with the 7800 (or certain models of the 7800). Does anyone have a list of what games are known to be problematic and does anyone know why? The latter 7800 broke compatibility when they modded the board to work with the 2600 version of Dark Chambers. Here is the fix: http://www94.pair.com/jsoper/7800_compat.html If you have a Warner Atari 7800 with the expansion port then odds are it will work with everything (although I don't know about 2600 Dark Chambers). Mine likes the Supercharger fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 Maybe I should make this topic sticky since this question come up fairly often. There are two reasons for the compatibility issues. The first one is related to the collar around the cart slot. On the original 7800s the collar was better designed and pretty much everything worked except some incorrectly assembled Tigervision games. The later 7800s have a redesigned collar that is too small for several of the cart shells used by some of the third party companies (Imagic games are probably the worst). There are various ways to fix this mostly by cutting away some of the collar. The second reason is related to a timing circuit built into some 7800s. The original 7800s did not have the extra circuit but it was added in the middle of the 7800 lifetime due to occasional problems with a few 2600 superchip games made by Atari (Most notably 2600 Dark Chambers). Unfortunately, the new timing circuit caused problems with some Activision games that used the FE bankswitching mode (Robot Tank, Decathlon and Space Shuttle) and the Supercharger. There was also a bug in a late run of TIA chips (both PAL and NTSC) used in some 2600jrs and 7800s that caused problems with Kool-Aid Man. Then we have the "aging electronics" problem that will only get worse as the years go by. As electronics get older they can start to slowly fail and cause timing to drift off enough that some games will fail or have other issues. Probably more than you wanted to know. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonmasterDan Posted September 20, 2007 Author Share Posted September 20, 2007 Maybe I should make this topic sticky since this question come up fairly often. There are two reasons for the compatibility issues. The first one is related to the collar around the cart slot. On the original 7800s the collar was better designed and pretty much everything worked except some incorrectly assembled Tigervision games. The later 7800s have a redesigned collar that is too small for several of the cart shells used by some of the third party companies (Imagic games are probably the worst). There are various ways to fix this mostly by cutting away some of the collar. The second reason is related to a timing circuit built into some 7800s. The original 7800s did not have the extra circuit but it was added in the middle of the 7800 lifetime due to occasional problems with a few 2600 superchip games made by Atari (Most notably 2600 Dark Chambers). Unfortunately, the new timing circuit caused problems with some Activision games that used the FE bankswitching mode (Robot Tank, Decathlon and Space Shuttle) and the Supercharger. There was also a bug in a late run of TIA chips (both PAL and NTSC) used in some 2600jrs and 7800s that caused problems with Kool-Aid Man. Then we have the "aging electronics" problem that will only get worse as the years go by. As electronics get older they can start to slowly fail and cause timing to drift off enough that some games will fail or have other issues. Probably more than you wanted to know. Mitch I have a few Imagic games that don't boot, maybe that's why. I've had no problems with my activision titles though. I've actually had pretty good luck with it all things considered, I have a four switch that is in a box unused so I could use that to potentially test if I have bad carts or it's the 7800. I'm guessing mine is a later model due to the lack of the expansion slot (or any sign of where it would be) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted September 20, 2007 Share Posted September 20, 2007 I have a few Imagic games that don't boot, maybe that's why. I've had no problems with my activision titles though. I've actually had pretty good luck with it all things considered, I have a four switch that is in a box unused so I could use that to potentially test if I have bad carts or it's the 7800. I'm guessing mine is a later model due to the lack of the expansion slot (or any sign of where it would be) Yeah, it sounds that way. Your Imagic carts are most likely failing because of the small cart slot collar issue. I probably also should have mentioned in my earlier post that Atari removed the extra timing circuit from the last couple runs of the 7800. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 I tried plugging in this 2600 cart i found recently into my 7800 "MASTER BUILDER"IT WAS TIGHT AS HECK,to the point i started hearing a cracking sound,god that was awful,i am careful now,if i insert a cart and it has the slightest hint of being too tight,i mark it as a cart that wont fit into the 7800 with a piece of tape across the back or something,dont want to crack my precious carts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 I tried plugging in this 2600 cart i found recently into my 7800 "MASTER BUILDER"IT WAS TIGHT AS HECK,to the point i started hearing a cracking sound,god that was awful,i am careful now,if i insert a cart and it has the slightest hint of being too tight,i mark it as a cart that wont fit into the 7800 with a piece of tape across the back or something,dont want to crack my precious carts. Yep, see reason number two above. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-in-NJ Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Now that the casing on my 7800 has been cracked -- a 2600 cart fell on it! -- many third party games don't work at all on it, and I've got no 2600 as a back-up. I think it'll soon be time to head to the Digit Press store and pick up another 7800... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dauber Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 (edited) What 2600/VCS games don't work with the 7800? [bRAG] In my case...NONE! Including the Supercharger. [/bRAG] Edited September 22, 2007 by Dauber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godzillajoe Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Me too! What 2600/VCS games don't work with the 7800? [bRAG] In my case...NONE! Including the Supercharger. [/bRAG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 (edited) You guys get the pause feature to work in 20th Century Fox games yet? Get Phaser Patrol to let you turn off the shields? I did! Oh, and how's Miner 2049er working? 2600 Dark Chambers? Maybe I should make this topic sticky since this question come up fairly often. I think you're right. Edited September 22, 2007 by shadow460 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercat Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 2600 Dark Chambers? My 7800 never had any trouble that I noticed with Dark Chambers. What was the exact issue, technically, and why would Dark Chambers have been different from any other cart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 2600 Dark Chambers? My 7800 never had any trouble that I noticed with Dark Chambers. What was the exact issue, technically, and why would Dark Chambers have been different from any other cart? Something to do with that timing circuit...but I'm not sure what. I don't have the 2600 version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 2600 Dark Chambers? My 7800 never had any trouble that I noticed with Dark Chambers. What was the exact issue, technically, and why would Dark Chambers have been different from any other cart? Something to do with the Superchip RAM timing. Stargate/Defender2 is slightly affected as well but only on the title screen. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PressureCooker2600 Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 I played Robot Tank with no trouble at all on my 7800. I was just testing it though. I basically play VCS games on my 2600 and 7800 games on my ProSystem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jboypacman Posted September 23, 2007 Share Posted September 23, 2007 The ones i have problems with are Imagic and Tigervision carts.I know with the Imagic carts its the shape of the cart and with the Tigervision games i have its how there were put together inside at the factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godzillajoe Posted September 23, 2007 Share Posted September 23, 2007 The ones i have problems with are Imagic and Tigervision carts.I know with the Imagic carts its the shape of the cart and with the Tigervision games i have its how there were put together inside at the factory. Just open up the cart and flip or remove the "key" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jboypacman Posted September 23, 2007 Share Posted September 23, 2007 Ah its ok i just play them on my 2600. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted September 24, 2007 Share Posted September 24, 2007 Ah its ok i just play them on my 2600. There's actually a way to modify the cartridge port so that it accepts the faulty Tiger carts. MattG/Snyper2099 knows how. As soon as I get a Tiger cart or two, I'm going to learn how to do it myself. That way I don't have to open up any R5 plus carts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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