Harmony cart "THANK YOU!" thread

[Pioneer4x4]

All the 2600 roms I have so far fit fine on a old 256mb SanDisk SD card with plenty of room to spare. Now that I found Rom Hunters collection site I'll proably have to find a 1-2 gig.

 

I think every known 2600 rom will fit on a 32 mb card, probably less than that. Even if you organize them several ways, you will not need bigger than that 256mb.

[trent]

I just got two more, did not expect to get them so soon after I placed the order. Thanks!

[redman]

Got my Harmony cart yesterday. Plugged it in to a 7800 and it works like a charm. Really nice piece of hardware/firmware. It's nice to buy something that works straight out of the box.

 

Thanks a lot.

[jjsonique]

Received my Harmony cart earlier this week - works great! Thanks so much for realizing this excellent hardware feat!

[CannibalCat]

Got mine today... easy to get up and running... even switch between development and menu mode. Great job! Looking forward to the next iteration of this great piece of hardware!

[Mr SQL]

So we plugged the Harmony in... and the first thing I noticed was the sound - the games weren't just sounding better, they were sounding exactly like I remembered them, and playing like I rembered them. And on an old television, looking exactly like I remembered them.

 

Playing the games now became an experience which triggered rich memories associated with the precise audio visuals and interactive stimuli that had initially accompanied them. Made it feel like the 70's and the 80's again! Thanks for the magic

[RobotronEN13]

Another Thank you here..i love it ..greatest Atari device ever created besides the Atari itself..!!!

[Bo Brinkman]

Wow, this is an amazing moment. My first Atari program running on a real Atari. Thank you so much!

Edited January 24, 2012 by Bo Brinkman

[+frankodragon]

If you haven't got one yet, BUY IT! You'll pat yourself on the back later.

[ManCaveArcade]

I just recieved mine today and all I can say is WOW!!!!

 

A GIANT THANK YOU to all involved in the creation of this wonderful device. I would also like to say thanks to RomHunter for the excellent job of consolidating all the rom's in one download file on his website. The work you put into organizing them into catagories (just for this harmony cart, I assume because of the name of the folder) must have been very tideous. Within 15 minutes I was able to dowload the file, copy to the SD cart and play the games. That also shows how user friendly the harmony cart is!

 

This one cart made my Atari Arcade Cabinet complete and I never have to re-open a delicate Atari box again just to play a game!

 

This might just make me get off my butt and learn some batari basic so I can play my own programs on the real deal....................

[+littaum]

I just got my MicroSD version of the Harmony cart in the mail earlier this week. This is one fine piece of engineering. Now I need to update my Atari to use a connection better than RF!

[atarilovesyou]

Here's a HUGE thank you to the entire team responsible for the AWESOMENESS that is the Harmony cart. I had some issues with my first cart (it wouldn't fit without a lot of help), but I've got an older six switch and this can happen. The team sent me a super quick replacement (didn't even require me to mail this one back; at one point, I had TWO in my possession...that's something VERY rare to see, and I sure know I wouldn't do the same, given the amount of flakes out there), and this one worked quite a bit better but I wasn't satisfied with the cosmetics of the case. So, one last replacement (again, superquick and this time I sent back the first two) and it arrived today and is EVERYTHING it should be.

 

What a truly amazing piece of gear, and a great group of developers. Special thanks to Batari for taking the time to deal with my concerns personally, I really appreciate it.

 

I can't recommend it enough, even though getting it to fit in my machine was tricky. It's definitely worth it, considering the fact they have like four different types of Atari to get it to work with. And with customer service like this, even if you do have an issue, the team will make things right.

 

KUDOS to you all!

[+batari]

Here's a HUGE thank you to the entire team responsible for the AWESOMENESS that is the Harmony cart. I had some issues with my first cart (it wouldn't fit without a lot of help), but I've got an older six switch and this can happen. The team sent me a super quick replacement (didn't even require me to mail this one back; at one point, I had TWO in my possession...that's something VERY rare to see, and I sure know I wouldn't do the same, given the amount of flakes out there), and this one worked quite a bit better but I wasn't satisfied with the cosmetics of the case. So, one last replacement (again, superquick and this time I sent back the first two) and it arrived today and is EVERYTHING it should be.

 

What a truly amazing piece of gear, and a great group of developers. Special thanks to Batari for taking the time to deal with my concerns personally, I really appreciate it.

 

I can't recommend it enough, even though getting it to fit in my machine was tricky. It's definitely worth it, considering the fact they have like four different types of Atari to get it to work with. And with customer service like this, even if you do have an issue, the team will make things right.

 

KUDOS to you all!

I cringed when I read this as I KNEW someone was going to read this and take advantage of me. Within days, someone, let's call her "Linda" ('cuz that's her name) claimed her cart was broken so I sent another, and a month later there is no trace of the returned cart (I sent a return mailer, addressed and with a delivery confirmation sticker, and provided for return postage.) I put this "woman's" name in Google and numerous scam reports come up, and she's 53, so I suspect it's her basement-dwelling son using her account, but I digress. And, naturally, no response to emails.

 

While I appreciate your kind words, they have a certain irony. It always takes one to ruin it for everyone, so scammers be warned, I will be less trusting of people in the future.

[Albert]

I cringed when I read this as I KNEW someone was going to read this and take advantage of me. Within days, someone, let's call her "Linda" ('cuz that's her name) claimed her cart was broken so I sent another, and a month later there is no trace of the returned cart (I sent a return mailer, addressed and with a delivery confirmation sticker, and provided for return postage.) I put this "woman's" name in Google and numerous scam reports come up, and she's 53, so I suspect it's her basement-dwelling son using her account, but I digress. And, naturally, no response to emails.

 

While I appreciate your kind words, they have a certain irony. It always takes one to ruin it for everyone, so scammers be warned, I will be less trusting of people in the future.

 

That's a shame, really. Please send me the contact information you have and I'll see if I can dig anything up.

 

..Al

[Pioneer4x4]

It always takes one to ruin it for everyone, so scammers be warned, I will be less trusting of people in the future.

Just today at work I told a co-worker "No good deed goes unpunished", that sucks, that person will probably put it up on eBay now!

Are they anywhere near Pittsburgh? (I'll go knock on a door)

[atarilovesyou]

I shoulda just kept my mouth shut; my apologies, guys. I just wanted to share what excellent customer service I received. I should have just sent a PM, in retrospect...this is a shame.

[WSGEXE]

Not to derail your thread, as I'm sure I'll get flamed into oblivion but am I really the only one who thinks these flash carts are contrary to the hobby?

[Pioneer4x4]

Not to derail your thread, as I'm sure I'll get flamed into oblivion but am I really the only one who thinks these flash carts are contrary to the hobby?

Only, no, vast minority, yes.

[+batari]

Not to derail your thread, as I'm sure I'll get flamed into oblivion but am I really the only one who thinks these flash carts are contrary to the hobby?

To me, the "hobby" is just the love of the system itself, and it's hard to argue that this doesn't enhance that.

 

If by "hobby" you mean homebrewing, Harmony was conceived and designed as a developer's cart, and its base board, Melody, is used for homebrews. While it's true that any development system can be used just to play games, and it's clear that most are used that way, many are used to help develop games by testing on real hardware.

 

If by "hobby" you mean collecting - many collectors have told me that they love Harmony because they don't need to crack open their rare carts to play the games.

[WSGEXE]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say most Harmony cart owners are using the cart to play games they don't own.

 

The moral question there is another topic. I feel partly like I've earned my games, not just monetarily but by putting in the man hours tracking down copies on eBay, getting replacements for defective copies, looking in thrift shops and so on.

 

It's really just one step away from emulation. Doesn't the Harmony cart have save states and everything? I also wonder how "authentic" the code they're downloading is in all cases. (Unless they're directly coping games from their own carts.) Some games were released in more than one version and the downloaders are basically taking the uploader at their word that this is or isn't what they claim it to be.

 

I find the whole thing distasteful from top to bottom. But I won't derail the thread further.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say most Harmony cart owners are using the cart to play games they don't own.

 

The moral question there is another topic. I feel partly like I've earned my games, not just monetarily but by putting in the man hours tracking down copies on eBay, getting replacements for defective copies, looking in thrift shops and so on.

 

It's really just one step away from emulation. Doesn't the Harmony cart have save states and everything? I also wonder how "authentic" the code they're downloading is in all cases. (Unless they're directly coping games from their own carts.) Some games were released in more than one version and the downloaders are basically taking the uploader at their word that this is or isn't what they claim it to be.

 

I find the whole thing distasteful from top to bottom. But I won't derail the thread further.

 

Oh come on. look WE GET IT! Your not a fan, this was obviously not a thread meant for you, why even come into a thread that is about appreciation for the Harmony cart? You wont derail the thread further? Oh gee thanks, we are all so grateful. The moment I noticed you posted in here I thought "oh god, here we go!" and of course you do not disappoint. You have made a status comment, started your own topic "settle an argument" making your opinion and views known just as others have replied or commented why they either agree with you or don't. That just was not enough though right? Oh no, on top of that you simply must post in a thread about appreciation for the Harmony cart knowing full well it's not wanted here. A step away from emulation? Again, YOUR OPINION, It is simply another way to load the same data to our original consoles that happens to be convenient. It does not help that you do not even seem to know about the Harmony cart going by your comments.

 

You do not have to agree, you do not have to like it, you are not required to buy it, so could you please at the very least JUST GET THE HELL OVER IT? At this point now your really just coming off as someone who insists that they must be agreed with and trying to convince everyone they are wrong for liking, appreciating or praising the product. Yes you will from this point be known as "The guy who claimed he doesn't like the Harmony cart so much he just had to be an annoying ass about it" congratulations now please stop trolling.

Edited June 16, 2012 by OldSchoolRetroGamer

[Pioneer4x4]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say most Harmony cart owners are using the cart to play games they don't own.

 

The moral question there is another topic. I feel partly like I've earned my games, not just monetarily but by putting in the man hours tracking down copies on eBay, getting replacements for defective copies, looking in thrift shops and so on.

 

It's really just one step away from emulation. Doesn't the Harmony cart have save states and everything? I also wonder how "authentic" the code they're downloading is in all cases. (Unless they're directly coping games from their own carts.) Some games were released in more than one version and the downloaders are basically taking the uploader at their word that this is or isn't what they claim it to be.

 

I find the whole thing distasteful from top to bottom. But I won't derail the thread further.

A whole bunch of no's. This has nothing to do with emulation, it is a convience tool, a way to protect your collectioni, an excellent development tool, a way to run programs that could not ever have been done originally, access games that require hardware suach as the supercharger much more conveniently than loading via cassette. It can be as authentic as YOU the owner make it, you can make an adapter and read your own actual carts and use those roms only if you want. I sill plan on doing that,maybe even finding a new version of code in one of the 500ish carts I have. To sum it up in 1 word, "Tool"

[WSGEXE]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say most Harmony cart owners are using the cart to play games they don't own.

 

The moral question there is another topic. I feel partly like I've earned my games, not just monetarily but by putting in the man hours tracking down copies on eBay, getting replacements for defective copies, looking in thrift shops and so on.

 

It's really just one step away from emulation. Doesn't the Harmony cart have save states and everything? I also wonder how "authentic" the code they're downloading is in all cases. (Unless they're directly coping games from their own carts.) Some games were released in more than one version and the downloaders are basically taking the uploader at their word that this is or isn't what they claim it to be.

 

I find the whole thing distasteful from top to bottom. But I won't derail the thread further.

 

Oh come on. look WE GET IT! Your not a fan, this was obviously not a thread meant for you, why even come into a thread that is about appreciation for the Harmony cart? You wont derail the thread further? Oh gee thanks, we are all so grateful. The moment I noticed you posted in here I thought "oh god, here we go!" and of course you do not disappoint. You have made a status comment, started your own topic "settle an argument" making your opinion and views known just as others have replied or commented why they either agree with you or don't. That just was not enough though right? Oh no, on top of that you simply must post in a thread about appreciation for the Harmony cart knowing full well it's not wanted here. A step away from emulation? Again, YOUR OPINION, It is simply another way to load the same data to our original consoles that happens to be convenient. It does not help that you do not even seem to know about the Harmony cart going by your comments.

 

You do not have to agree, you do not have to like it, you are not required to buy it, so could you please at the very least JUST GET THE HELL OVER IT? At this point now your really just coming off as someone who insists that they must be agreed with and trying to convince everyone they are wrong for liking, appreciating or praising the product. Yes you will from this point be known as "The guy who claimed he doesn't like the Harmony cart so much he just had to be an annoying ass about it" congratulations now please stop trolling.

 

Nice to have such a devoted follower. I didn't read your wall of text and as I said, I won't derail the thread further so I won't address its contents.

[+Random Terrain]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say most Harmony cart owners are using the cart to play games they don't own.

 

Who cares? It's 2012. It's not like most of the companies are still selling their games. Of course, Atari or Activision will try to sell you some shitty emulated collection that is missing a lot of the games you want to play. And good luck getting your favorite Imagic games in one of those collections.

 

 

 

 

It's really just one step away from emulation. Doesn't the Harmony cart have save states and everything?

 

You'll walk across a desert and climb a mountain for a boxed Atari 2600 game, but you won't use a search engine and see for yourself? Here, I'll make it easy for you. Just click on this link:

 

www.randomterrain.com/atari-2600-memories-harmony-cartridge.html

 

I don't see anything about "save states and everything."

 

The Harmony cart is kind of like having one of these, but with hundreds of slots instead of a handful:

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 110896065837

 

http://www.toplessro...peripherals.php

 

 

 

 

I also wonder how "authentic" the code they're downloading is in all cases. (Unless they're directly coping games from their own carts.) Some games were released in more than one version and the downloaders are basically taking the uploader at their word that this is or isn't what they claim it to be.

 

Yep, it's an Illuminati conspiracy, but you can usually trust a collection like this one:

 

www.atarimania.com/rom_collection_archive_atari_2600_roms.html

 

Speaking of fooling around with ROMs, the Harmony cart lets you play hacks of your favorite games on a real Atari 2600. Play Pitfall II with invincibility, randomized River Raid, Multicolor Ms. Pac-Man, Arcade Asteroids, and more.

 

 

 

 

I find the whole thing distasteful from top to bottom. But I won't derail the thread further.

 

I find the whole thing wonderful. The Harmony cart gives non-hoarders a chance to play Atari 2600 games on a real Atari 2600. That encourages people to drag out their old consoles and newbies to buy their own Atari 2600s. Some people will buy the actual carts after finding out what they like using the Harmony cart.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

 

 

Nice to have such a devoted follower. I didn't read your wall of text and as I said, I won't derail the thread further so I won't address its contents.

 

Oh nice, no of course you wont because you already disrupted and derailed the thread, you accomplished your goal, I still take the time to read your post and reply to it but you cannot extend the same courtesy and respect, not like I am surprised. You didn't read my "wall of text" (exagerate much) which is just a bit exaggerated yet you have still taken the time to make enough of a reply to be an ass and of course apparently you digested just enough of my reply to make your assumption. Nice to be able to come in a thread, make a post but then not accept any responsibility on the content of it. Wow, ok then your replies can speak for themselves, there is no reasonable reply expected from you then, I will keep that in mind.