RetroN 77

[+stephena]

OK, attached are the files required to update your system to Stella 3.9.3. Simply mount the SD card in your computer, and copy the contents of the zip file directly onto the SD card. Then re-insert into the R77 and turn it on.

 

You'll know if it worked since now when you select the License file, it includes "Using Stella 3.9.3" text.

 

Again, this is under no warranty. If if blows up your computer or kills your cat, don't come back to me That being said, there's very little that could go wrong, and in the worst case you can simply restore the original files and get back to working order.

 

r77_stella-3.9.3.zip

[SIO2]

 

Guess I'll be contacting Hyperkin for one of their improved units.

 

As I suspected, the handle insert is a hard and brittle plastic. Atari ones had some flex to them though they stress fractured with prolonged use.

 

 

Old inserts actually fit in the handle. May work? Might need contact knobs filed a bit but are close.

 

Update: old insert works. I had to take the tiny nipples off each leg of the old white insert but it does work.

Edited July 10, 2018 by SIO2

[NISMOPC]

IMG_20180710_170024.jpg

 

As I suspected, the handle insert is a hard and brittle plastic. Atari ones had some flex to them though they stress fractured with prolonged use.

 

Waiting for a response from Hyperkin. I spoke with a support person (Leslie) on the phone (909)-397-8788 and sent an email to support@hyperkin.com with details regarding the damage per her request.

 

Appears to be the same insert design as Atari. Wonder if the Atari insert would work.

[+remowilliams]

Appears to be the same insert design as Atari. Wonder if the Atari insert would work.

I was wondering how similar it was as well, these might be a possibility if it's near identical. I've printed these and repaired several Atari sticks with broken inserts.

 

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1112778

 

 

OK, attached are the files required to update your system to Stella 3.9.3

That is extremely awesome, thank you

[Jstick]

Appears to be the same insert design as Atari. Wonder if the Atari insert would work.

 

 

I was wondering how similar it was as well

 

old insert works. I had to take the tiny nipples off each leg of the old white insert but it does work.

[+remowilliams]

That being said, there's very little that could go wrong, and in the worst case you can simply restore the original files and get back to working order.

Did the update, works fine. No damage to computing devices or domesticated felines

[+stephena]

Good to hear that the update works. I figured it would, but you always need more people to test to know for sure.

 

As mentioned in another thread, I'm also pretty sure I know why the fire button sometimes stops working, and I have a pretty easy fix for it. I will get to that later this week, and then upload the source to all these fixes somewhere.

[ColecoJoe]

Was testing out my Retron77 that I received today. PacMan 8k, Double Dragon and Princess Rescue rom's. While testing out Princess Rescue, this happened...

 

RETRON77_Joystick_Damaged_20180710.mp4

 

Guess I'll be contacting Hyperkin for one of their improved units.

 

Yeah, Mine made a noise today playing Q-bert and I thought it was going to break. I feel I'll be contacting Hyperkin for a replacement soon ...

[Jim Pez]

IMG_20180710_170024.jpg

As I suspected, the handle insert is a hard and brittle plastic. Atari ones had some flex to them though they stress fractured with prolonged use.

IMG_20180710_171544.jpg

Old inserts actually fit in the handle. May work? Might need contact knobs filed a bit but are close.

Update: old insert works. I had to take the tiny nipples off each leg of the old white insert but it does work.

I am glad I got controllers from Best Electronics. Edited July 11, 2018 by jim1174

[Andromeda Stardust]

IMG_20180710_170024.jpg

As I suspected, the handle insert is a hard and brittle plastic. Atari ones had some flex to them though they stress fractured with prolonged use.

IMG_20180710_171544.jpg

Old inserts actually fit in the handle. May work? Might need contact knobs filed a bit but are close.

Update: old insert works. I had to take the tiny nipples off each leg of the old white insert but it does work.

Can someone please explain to me why 40 year old abs plastic in the original CX-40 joysticks is actually stronger and less brittle than Hyperkin newly manufactured abs plastic? It appears that 40 years of oxidation and uv exposure would have the opposite effect.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I am glad I got controllers from Best Electronics.

I'm glad I built my own out of real wood and arcade parts! No pics this time, sorry to disappoint all my fans out there...

[Keatah]

Can someone please explain to me why 40 year old abs plastic in the original CX-40 joysticks is actually stronger and less brittle than Hyperkin newly manufactured abs plastic? It appears that 40 years of oxidation and uv exposure would have the opposite effect.

 

Simply because cheaper plastic. Cheaper formula. Cheap-O cost-cutting.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Simply because cheaper plastic. Cheaper formula. Cheap-O cost-cutting.

Or simply wrong specs.

[SIO2]

Or simply wrong specs.

 

I think someone didn't understand the design was meant to flex and used the hard plastic. Looking at the 3D printed one, it doesn't look like it would flex but it also looks stronger. The problem is, the handle allows a person to put a lot of leverage on the switches. So, maybe it becomes a trade off. Do you want to risk damage to the insert or do you want to risk damage to the switches?

 

I remember seeing an interview with Nolan Bushnell where they talked about game pads vs joysticks and Nolan said the joystick was a bad idea really because they broke more than game pads. I was shocked to hear that because I like to play many classic games with a joystick.

 

One of the better joystick designs I think is the Suncom Tac 2. But that stick could could even be improved with tactile fire buttons. Also the wire to the shaft eventually breaks from flexing.

 

At any rate, Hyperkin can and should produce something better than their first attempt and then make those joysticks available for sale by themselves so we can buy tons of them.

Edited July 11, 2018 by SIO2

[Coolcrab]

You're very welcome Coolcrab, very unique and fun game! I have definitely never played a 2600 game like it! It's too bad Hyperkin didn't have any instructions for the homebrew games included in the system so I did my best at looking up the instructions online at the last minute. Thanks for the explanation of the scoring and tactics!

 

Here's the Twitch LIVE show that happened last night archived on our YouTube channel for those of you who missed our unboxing and built-in homebrew playthrough:

 

 

 

 

Thanks! I posted it on the main page.

http://pietrow.net/atari/astronomer/

 

I'm glad that you guys like it.

Edited July 11, 2018 by Coolcrab

[atarifan88]

 

One of the better joystick designs I think is the Suncom Tac 2. But that stick could could even be improved with tactile fire buttons. Also the wire to the shaft eventually breaks from flexing.

 

Funny you should mention the Tac 2 joysticks. I still have mine and they work as good as they did on day 1! Those are my go to controllers for most Atari games.

[Atari_Warlord]

Received the Retron 77 last night. I like it and here are my initial thoughts:

 

1. It was slightly heavier than I was expecting, felt like a solid build.

2. The screen ratio does stay to whatever you set it, even when turned off. Maybe the reviewer who said it didn't had a different earlier build.

3. I skipped using the included Joystick for now, instead I used the Edladdin Super Arcade Controller +.

4. I tested 67 carts. 45 worked and 22 didn't (67% ratio for now) I'll put the results in the other thread. The biggest disappointment was Activision games.

5. I decided to say thanks to the Stella team and sent a donation this morning for all the years I've enjoyed their work.

 

Some items that need some work to improve the product more:

 

1. Some of the carts that didn't load really should have. The dumper/cart port need some improvements.

2. Support for additional controllers beyond Joystick and paddles is needed.

3. Latest version of Stella

 

These adjustments could get the compatibility into the 90%+ range and from a ROM perspective, even higher.

[+remowilliams]

So what about the supposed 'bypass' method that was hinted at of adding more roms to the sd card than the paltry amount allowed?

 

This seems to be an immediate need considering the rather large amount of titles that are not working from cart (and those that likely never will)

[+swlovinist]

OK, attached are the files required to update your system to Stella 3.9.3. Simply mount the SD card in your computer, and copy the contents of the zip file directly onto the SD card. Then re-insert into the R77 and turn it on.

 

You'll know if it worked since now when you select the License file, it includes "Using Stella 3.9.3" text.

 

Again, this is under no warranty. If if blows up your computer or kills your cat, don't come back to me That being said, there's very little that could go wrong, and in the worst case you can simply restore the original files and get back to working order.

 

r77_stella-3.9.3.zip

 

 

Worked a little different with mine. First tried this with my test review unit. Had to unzip the file and then I replaced the files with the same name on my SD card on the R77. Wanted to ask what Stella 3.9.3 fixes on the console? Thank you for posting this!

[+stephena]

When I said "the contents of the ZIP file", I meant to unzip it and copy those files. That could have been clearer, I guess.

 

The changelog is here. See everything from 3.8 (Feb. 21, 2013) to 3.9.3 (Jan. 20, 2014). The most obvious fix is that Kool-Aid Man now works, but there was work done on several other bankswitching schemes as well. I did this simply because it makes sense to have the most recent 3.x version installed. Going higher than that will involve more work.

 

I also have a potential fix for the joystick fire button stops working, which I will include in a new build in a day or so.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

I just noticed that the 16:9/4:3 switch seem to zoom the picture. So in 16:9 not only the width is changed also the height increases, but not proportionally.

 

So it acts more like a fullscreen switch.

[Great Hierophant]

I know Best Electronics sold a replacement handle that was supposed to be more durable than most of the 2600 handles but they ran out of stock. At least one ebay seller has them. Would they work as a fix for the RetroN's stick?

 

Any likelihood we will see the RetroN 77 in retro video game stores? I know that traditional brick & mortar stores (Wal-mart, Target, Best Buy, Gamestop) are out of the question, but I have often seen Hyperkin products in the stores that focus on retro games beyond the previous generation.

 

Any shots of the RetroN 77 main PCB?

 

Why did they rename "Game Select" to "Mode"? I can understand changing "Difficulty" to "Skill", that was how those switches were labeled on the Sears Telegames consoles.

Edited July 11, 2018 by Great Hierophant

[Dionoid]

I just received the Retron 77 system today and I'm really happy with the device and the joystick so far - the joystick has a small throw distance, which I like. The device looks and feels sturdy.

I've tried around 15 PAL cartridges so far, and all work. I did notice some jitter when objects in games move horizontally - not at first, but this happens after a few minutes of game-play.

 

What I would like to see in a next release is support for the TV effects, like Composite, S-Video and Bad Adjust. Because when I play a game in Stella on my laptop, I always play games in Composite TV mode, as to me it feels much more like the real thing.

 

I just optimized my game Amoeba Jump for the Retron 77, which is going to be included in the next batch of systems (and probably included in a new system image).

[Keatah]

For those of youz wanting to play a cartridge that doesn't work, this what you do.

 

1- put the ROM on the SD. (It puts the rom on the card.)

2- insert the non-working cartridge half-way only so it doesn't really connect.

3- pretend you are playing the real cartridge!

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Any shots of the RetroN 77 main PCB?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vejWPVQ3H3gyGBm6A

 

Not mine.