Alamogordo approves Atari excavation

[mkiker2089]

I'm thinking they won't find anything. The costs involved propably will stop them from getting started. That said the retro gaming community is quite large now so if someone wanted they could try a crowd funded project.

 

Nothing will be salvageable anyway. It has always been said that garbage was crushed and compacted so the carts are broken.

[Andromeda Stardust]

And if uncrushed stock exists, the traces will likely be rusted out or corroded beyond recognition.

[+Random Terrain]

Nothing will be salvageable anyway. It has always been said that garbage was crushed and compacted so the carts are broken.

And if uncrushed stock exists, the traces will likely be rusted out or corroded beyond recognition.

 

Like I've said in various threads . . . bracelets, necklaces, paperweights and so on can be made that have broken pieces of Atari junk from the famous landfill sealed inside of plastic. It doesn't matter what condition the broken stuff is in as long as it was made by Atari and it was found in the landfill. Every bracelet, necklace, paperweight or whatever would come with a certificate of authenticity.

[CatPix]

And if uncrushed stock exists, the traces will likely be rusted out or corroded beyond recognition.

AS long as the EEPROM itself is good, you don't need the cart PCB; unless it's a prototype using various and undocumented bank switching chips, DSP and all this kind of stuff... and even here, as long as you can link a trace to point A to point B, you don't need the original PCB.

[esplonky]

Like I've said in various threads . . . bracelets, necklaces, paperweights and so on can be made that have broken pieces of Atari junk from the famous landfill sealed inside of plastic. It doesn't matter what condition the broken stuff is in as long as it was made by Atari and it was found in the landfill. Every bracelet, necklace, paperweight or whatever would come with a certificate of authenticity.

 

I would rock all of these every day of my life.

[moycon]

I would rock all of these every day of my life.

Hmmm So far I haven't seen any crushed ET trinkets for sale. Wonder what gives!

[+Random Terrain]

Hmmm So far I haven't seen any crushed ET trinkets for sale. Wonder what gives!

 

I was contacted a few days ago by a person working for the producers of the upcoming documentary to see if I would do an audio or on camera interview and I said no thanks, but I could answer questions by e-mail if they want. That might be a sign that they are getting closer to digging time.

[oldjd]

This reminds me of that car that was buried in a time capsule in Tulsa Ok.

50 years,wrapped in cosmoline,put in a cement bunker.

Then they opened it.Big TV coverage,wowee this was going to be good.

But it was not to be.Apparently the cement bunker cracked at some point,water got in and when Miss Belvedere was

pulled out it was a rusted out hulk.

[Retro Rogue]

I was contacted a few days ago by a person working for the producers of the upcoming documentary to see if I would do an audio or on camera interview and I said no thanks, but I could answer questions by e-mail if they want. That might be a sign that they are getting closer to digging time.

They contacted us as well.

[Andromeda Stardust]

They contacted us as well.

I hope you replied. I read you're book where you said the real loot was buried in California, but your answer as to the location was, "we'll never tell".

[Retro Rogue]

I hope you replied. I read you're book where you said the real loot was buried in California, but your answer as to the location was, "we'll never tell".

That is not what was said. There's a full two page explanation of what the Alamogordo dump really was, followed by a subtext paragraph mentioning that Atari's warehouses around the country were emptied of a lot of stock and shipped back to Sunnyvale for disposal, and that we're not telling where because we promised not to tell the location to avoid people trying to dig in the location. Not anything about "the real loot" (as in 3.5 million ET carts that the legend in this thread was discussing) and not simply "we'll never tell."

 

I also don't see what the dumping in Sunnyvale would have to do with their project, which is about digging up the Alamogordo dump to see what's there. We did talk to them about what's actually there and what they'll find, but nothing beyond that.

[Jinks]

Maybe we can play hot/cold??

[sqoon]

I still do not buy that uncrushed, non-corroded stock will not come from this dig. Air pockets surely existed, and even though crushers compacted these piles of refuse, the top layers will be crushed while the lower levels will not. Lots of treasure will be had when they get down to it.

[kenjennings]

Landfills are filled in layers. spread out a layer... drive the compactor over it. do another layer. compact it. This is done to prevent air pockets.

 

The compactors are big and imprecise, though. Think a big tank. Unless the carts were intentionally fed into something meant to break up trash of that size given the size of cartridges and their designed durability, there probably can be some intact carts. The rest depends on how much concrete was poured in and how often that was done.

[Seethransom]

So did I. That was 2 hours of my life I will never get back...unless I manage to somehow win a contest which forces Geraldo Rivera to perform some mundane 2 hour chore on my behalf, preferably something that I hate to do. Something like peeling labels off of Atari silver label carts. Two hours of watching Geraldo do that would be redemption in my book. Dare to dream!

I was robbed too.

[Seethransom]

 

I actually watched that when it was on TV the first time.

 

My whole High School dorm saw that. Ugh.

[Seethransom]

"They're digging in the wrong place!"

[Serguei2]

Could be possible that the site is dug without knowledge to everybody?

Edited September 9, 2013 by Serguei2

[Retro Rogue]

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/216611-alamogordo-new-mexico-dig-producers-asking-to-talk-to-atari-fans/

[AtariDude]

Well if they do find some Atari related items that could be put on a necklace, I think i would probably spring for one. I have a necklace with the Ankh symbol which is similar to the one that is worn by the Avatar from the Ultima series of games.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Why do I get the impression if I pull a cart (or even just the PCB if the cart is crushed) out of a landfill, that's been buried for 30 years, clean it off, polish the contacts, and insert it into my Atari system, what are the odds that I'll see anything onscreen besides blackness or vertical bars? Corrosion is real, folks...

[+Random Terrain]

Why do I get the impression if I pull a cart (or even just the PCB if the cart is crushed) out of a landfill, that's been buried for 30 years, clean it off, polish the contacts, and insert it into my Atari system, what are the odds that I'll see anything onscreen besides blackness or vertical bars? Corrosion is real, folks...

 

Feels like I missed half of an argument. I thought we were talking about making things like jewelry and paperweights with corroded pieces inside?

[Joe Stella]

<< gets out a brick and an ET cart. eBay here I come

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

Feels like I missed half of an argument. I thought we were talking about making things like jewelry and paperweights with corroded pieces inside?

People will hit carts with a hammer and then bury them in their own back yard. Next they will wait a year and dig them up, and possibly seal them in enamel to preserve them, and sell them for high dollar on eBay as "landfill souvenirs"

[+Random Terrain]

Like I've said in various threads . . . bracelets, necklaces, paperweights and so on can be made that have broken pieces of Atari junk from the famous landfill sealed inside of plastic. It doesn't matter what condition the broken stuff is in as long as it was made by Atari and it was found in the landfill. Every bracelet, necklace, paperweight or whatever would come with a certificate of authenticity.