7800 Serial Number List

[Leonard Smith]

Picked up another 'untested' console on eBay for a good price (mainly because it came bundled with a few good games like Dark Chambers).  Also came with some Gemini paddles and two ProLine Joysticks that are very bad cosmetic/unusable shape.  The console works fine, but the power button can be a bit sticky so I'll likely need to open and do some cleaning based on how dirty some of the components looked.

 

It's serial# A1775926215

 

Has a 'hole' for the expansion port too

Edited August 2, 2022 by Leonard Smith

[Leonard Smith]

Yeah, so I opened the unit and it was absolutely DISGUSTING and FILTHY inside.
Dirt, dust, hairballs, rust.  You name it.

The metal RF shield was rusting badly and started to fuse itself to the board, but luckily was able to pry it off gently.

I gave the casing, motherboard and RF shielding a very good bath and let it dry in the warm sun.  I put some Deoxit on the buttons and switches and now I have the rusty bits (motherboard edge and metal shield) soaking with some Evaporust.  End result will be a 7800 console that's squeaky clean (this one seems to have very good RF video output) and in great shape considering it probably spent its life in some dusty basement.

 

I may open my other 7800 systems up and give them a similar cleaning (and to double check for any rusted parts).  Just a PSA in case you have multiple systems that have spent lengthy periods of time in storage.

 

 

[+-^CrossBow^-]

hehe... I've seen quite a few in much worse shape. Aside from the buttons needing replaced out, they were working fine otherwise!

 

[Leonard Smith]

The cleaning and de-rusting process is complete on my new, previously filthy 7800.

Came out very good...probably the cleanest and most refurbished console I own.  
Evaporust really works well too...it got rid of all the built up rust on the metal shielding (right edge) and most of the corrosion on the mother board.  

Really pleased to have saved this one from further deterioration.  

 

 

[Drobotic]

A1 78 5980673

 

Has expansion port, no expansion port sticker, works, no mods

[Leonard Smith]

Question on this one. 

Is this an "El Paso" console?  

I'm thinking YES due to the ultra low serial #, the Warner Communications logo, and the "EP" marking.
But I'm not sure since it still says "Made in Taiwan"....

Can anyone confirm?

 

[+Mitch]

Yes, that is an EP unit. I think all of the EP 7800s say made in Taiwan, both of mine do.

 

Mitch

[Leonard Smith]

Just now, Mitch said:

Yes, that is an EP unit. I think all of the EP 7800s say made in Taiwan, both of mine do.

 

Mitch

Thanks Mitch!

I did a little re-reading of this thread and similar labels appear in some of the responses.
I was a little unsure since I thought the EP units were limited to 5,000 and this serial is well past that.  

[+Mitch]

It is actually 10,000, supposedly the first 5,000 were built for the test market.

I suspect that the 7800 parts were built in Taiwan and assembled in El Paso. I could be wrong about that though.

 

Mitch

[Leonard Smith]

EP  007965 has arrived and is now safely in my collection.  Got it for a laughably good price, though it was just for the console.

Was a bit dirty with all kinds of sticker residue on the metal bezel, but a few applications of Goo Gone and some cleaning with Simple Green has it looking good.  I'll give it a proper cleaning, but this one so far is leaps and bounds better than the rusty dustbin console I acquired earlier this month.  

Gotta say, I do love the bezel color scheme on these earlier units.  Yeah, it's a rainbow and all that, but it looks better than the scheme they used on the later models.

It fires right up and even plays the Ballblazer cart on first try that normally gives me trouble on my other units.  The cart connector seems to have more pronounced metal teeth/prongs at first glance, so maybe it just makes better contact with the cart's PCB.

 

Just for kicks I took comparison photos of a 1987 era unit (case and board).

The 1984 unit (top) has almost all of its chips socketed, but the board design is largely unchanged in later revs.

[sirlynxalot]

Here's my recent buy from eBay.  It was great to see that it still had the protective plastic over the metal strip (it was dirty and torn up so I've since removed it), just wish there were a way to flatten out the small dent toward the top of the metal strip.

[sirlynxalot]

Here's one that I previously owned and sold in 2017.  It was advertised as broken when I got it, and I bought it on the hunch that maybe the guy just didn't know how to hook it up. It was in fact broken, I could never get it to show a game on the screen.

 

 

 

And here is another one that I previously owned that had an AV mod. I later foolishly sold it to help me justify buying some other expensive video game stuff.

 

 

 

 

I actually owned yet another one, which was my childhood one, but looking back on the pics I took of it when I sold it, I didn't think to grab a shot of the underside at the time.  Looking back on it, I wish I had just kept that one   The childhood one had the '87 era box and no expansion port, so it wouldn't have been anything super low or unusual probably.

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by sirlynxalot

[ianoid]

Here is my unit. Bought it from a member here, AV and power modded. It doesn't work well. 

 

Are there PAL 7800 units or are the consoles region independent and 220v?

[+x=usr(1536)]

31 minutes ago, ianoid said:

Are there PAL 7800 units or are the consoles region independent and 220v?

There are PAL 7800s.  I'd estimate that 99% of them shipped with 220V power supplies since the number of PAL regions that use(d) 110V is extremely small.

[SiLic0ne t0aD]

I've been thinking about getting a 7800 for a while now and have already gathered a few accessories in anticipation of eventually landing one (Concerto cart, Robotron dual controller, mod/refurbishment parts & components, etc).

I thought about grabbing one off eBay but held off due to the steep prices.

 

Anyway, flash forward to last weekend, when a good buddy of mine/fellow retrogamer & collector tipped me off that a local antique shop had a boxed 7800 sitting in the back for a mere $55. 🙀

Upon hearing the news, I zipped on out there and snagged it up immimmediately! At that price, I figured it was worth the gamble and would be a win-win either way.

 

It came with a couple (trashed) controllers, paddles (also trashed), PSU, a Pole Position II manual and 8 loose carts. Jackpot! 😎

 

I was nervous it wouldn't work, but I fired it up when I got home and it works just fine! However, I'm not a big fan of RF output nowadays, after being spoiled by all my other RGB, VGA, HDMI modded consoles the past few years, so I immediately ordered a UAV board and BIOs mod kit from the Brewing Academy, plus a couple other goodies from Best Electronics. I also ordered the s-video add-on board for my OSSC, so I should be totally covered. I'm hoping to mod it and do some gaming with it this weekend!

 

I also posted about this on The Atari Club facebook group, where a couple guys alerted me that I might have an early unit. Not exactly sure what the signs were, as far as that goes (I'm a bit of a 7800 noob), so I figured I better do some research here. After reading up on this thread a little bit, it turns out that I do indeed have an early unit, which is pretty cool! It has the expansion port too.  

 

Serial #: AT8419176

 

I'll post some pics below. 👇

This package isn't in mint condition or 100% CIB, but it's not bad either and I'm sure I can find an owners manual, etc to make it complete/CIB.

I'll have to do the metal strip restoration thing I've read about too. Happy gaming! 🍻

 

 

 

Edited August 24, 2022 by SiLic0ne t0aD

[sirlynxalot]

Your metal strip almost looks like it still has the protective plastic tape over it. If it does, I'd peel it off now to see what condition the metal really is in.

[SiLic0ne t0aD]

I wish it had the protective plastic on it still.. Unfortunately there's only oxidation in my case. 😕 

 

I'm going to try some polishing techniques outlined in this thread.

 

 

Pretty sure I can get it looking better after a little scotch-brite, steel wool & some elbow grease.

[Leonard Smith]

I wouldn't use steel wool.  That's too abrasive.

Try some Barkeepers Friend or Brasso powder (just a little on a damp sponge) and see if that helps.  The metal strip has some texture to it, and I fear that anything too abrasive will make it look even worse.

[sirlynxalot]

Seems like it would be very easy to rub the colored line off too.  Not exactly the same thing, but I was testing using a clorox wipe on a moldy 2600 cartridge and found that the wipe would gradually fade/wipe off the graphics and text from the label if I was using it for very long. At first I was seeing gunk come off onto the wipe, but after a little while, realized the "gunk" included the dye/ink from the label. At least it wasn't anything too valuable

[Leonard Smith]

44 minutes ago, sirlynxalot said:

Seems like it would be very easy to rub the colored line off too. 

Indeed.  Definitely should apply some painter's tape or something similar to the rainbow line before starting the cleaning process.
 

 

44 minutes ago, sirlynxalot said:

Not exactly the same thing, but I was testing using a clorox wipe on a moldy 2600 cartridge and found that the wipe would gradually fade/wipe off the graphics and text from the label if I was using it for very long. At first I was seeing gunk come off onto the wipe, but after a little while, realized the "gunk" included the dye/ink from the label. At least it wasn't anything too valuable

Clorox wipes are great, but yeah, they can be harsh on labels and some plastics.  I mean, look at how well they degrease!
For mold or mildew, I would recommend a bleach free cleaner specifically for mold.  Home Depot has something called "Moxie" and it works great.  Just a small spray on a towel and clean away.  

 

[alortegac]

Hi! 
Not sure if this is of any significance, but I just realized one of my consoles is number #000573.

 

thought to take a pic. 

 

 please let me know. 
 

thanks! 

[+Mitch]

14 hours ago, alortegac said:

Hi! 
Not sure if this is of any significance, but I just realized one of my consoles is number #000573.

 

thought to take a pic. 

 

 please let me know. 
 

thanks! 

 

Nice! One of the first 7800s to roll off of the assembly lines in '84.

 

Mitch

[alortegac]

Excellent. Thank you! I hope it makes to list for the record.

 

 Thanks!

[madmax_2069]

Hello

Picked up two 7800s from Ebay

The first one is pretty beat up, and pretty dirty inside and out, but fortunately the case isn't cracked or broken. It has some corrosion on the RF shield and unfortunately on some of the legs on two chips, but fortunately didn't eat though the legs. I gently scraped as much of the corrosion I could off the legs (after I took the pictures) to see if the legs still existed, fortunately all the legs are still there and connected to the chips and solder pads. Cleaned the cart slot and popped in a 2600 game (still waiting on a 7800 game to arrive) and it fired right up, the RF signal is pretty horrible on this unit, haven't replace the Caps and Vreg yet

 

 

Here is the second 7800, it's in far better shape. no expansion port but has the hole in the case for it. Replaced the Caps and Vreg, cleaned it up and gave it to a friend's mother for Christmas along with Mr Pac-Man, a Sega Genesis controller and a a Seagull 78, as well as the stock Joystick. The RF output on this unit is really good. 

[+x=usr(1536)]

26 minutes ago, madmax_2069 said:

The first one is pretty beat up, and pretty dirty inside and out, but fortunately the case isn't cracked or broken. It has some corrosion on the RF shield and unfortunately on some of the legs on two chips, but fortunately didn't eat though the legs. I gently scraped as much of the corrosion I could off the legs (after I took the pictures) to see if the legs still existed, fortunately all the legs are still there and connected to the chips and solder pads. Cleaned the cart slot and popped in a 2600 game (still waiting on a 7800 game to arrive) and it fired right up, the RF signal is pretty horrible on this unit, haven't replace the Caps and Vreg yet

Interesting - I was keeping an eye on both of those as well; the seller had five or six of them for sale at the same time, IIRC.  Good luck with the first one; hopefully it doesn't turn into a cascade of trouble.