Is a 7800 a complete replacement foe a 2600?

[marc.teeters]

Hi I'm Marc and I have a problem. JK, I'm sure everyone here has the same issue. I have consoles with the ability to play games from 13 systems so I love versatility as it saves space, wiring and sometimes money. However I am looking to get into 2nd gen consoles from scratch. I know I want a Colecovision and 2600 at the least. I was wondering if the 7800 can completely replace the 2600. If it can do everything the 2600 can I will hold out for one of those. What percentage of the games work on it, what is the controller situation like, is it a bear to find tv connectors for? Just basic questions before I trek all over the midwest to find one.

 

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[accousticguitar]

Probably 99% of 2600 games will work on the 7800. The connector situation will be identical to the 2600, they are not hard to find. 2600 joysticks will work on the 7800 but will not work for a few 7800 games that require 2 fire buttons. There are a few 7800 games (like Centipede and Food Fight, among others) that make the 7800 well worth buying.

[BydoEmpire]

Welcome!

 

I haven't had a 2600 plugged in in years, so for me personally, yes it's fully replaced the 2600. Which games don't work on 7800 seems a little fuzzy from an end-user perspective, as even games that may have problems do work for some people. Tigervision carts apparently don't fit in the slot.

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/74897-which-2600-games-dont-work-on-a-7800/

http://www.atariage.com/7800/faq/index.html?SystemID=7800#cat3_3

 

Controllers - fully compatible w/ the 2600 so no issues. I tend to use a stock 2600 stick most of the time, even for 7800 games unless they need 2 buttons.

 

You can use a variety of connectors, including the default RF switchbox. I've recently converted over to these little adapters, which work a lot better than the switchboxes:

https://smile.amazon.com/DHT-Electronics-coaxial-adapter-female/dp/B00CVTRTUC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1503351737&sr=8-4&keywords=rf+coax+adapter

 

You can also get A/V mods.

 

There are reasons to having a 2600, nostalgia among them, but in terms of actually playing carts I've been pretty happy with the 7800 as my main console.

[+slx]

Get yourself a 7800 and only start looking for a 2600 once you come across a cartridge you absolutely want to play on original hardware but can't get to run on the 7800. Even if that may keep you out of the market for a very long time you should still be able to get a VCS at a reasonable price given the millions made.

 

(I do have a 2600 woody and Jr. as collector's items but never use them for playing.)

[marc.teeters]

What is a fair market price for a working 7800?

 

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[DrSidneyZweibel]

out of the 700+ original first party 2600 releases, and thousands of homebrews, hacks, and knockoffs, the number of 2600 games reported to occasionally not work with the 7800 is 5ish.

 

Certain 7800 consoles have issues playing these Activision 2600 games: Robot Tank, Space Shuttle, Decathlon.

 

Kool Aid Man might also not work with a given 7800, depending on revision. No worries, it's fairly rare, and a horrible game.

 

The Starpath supercharger may also have problems with a 7800. Again - fairly rare.

 

All of the above listed games can work on affected 7800 consoles by disconnecting a capacitor on the 7800 mainboard (there are instructions how to do this on the board, use the search feature), which was added to make the 2600 version of Dark Chambers work. It has no effect on the 7800 version of Dark Chambers.

 

There are some carts that might be a tight fit in the 7800 console's cart cup. You can modify the cart cup by making small cuts into it on either side, to open it up a bit.

 

And the solution to all of this without needing to modify the console at all is to buy a harmony SD cart. It makes all the previously unplayable 2600 roms playable on a 7800, with no modification.

[DrSidneyZweibel]

What is a fair market price for a working 7800?

 

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with console, power supply, & controllers - +/- $30 is fair.

[marc.teeters]

Wow

 

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[accousticguitar]

$30 would be a great price. I would expect $50 or more.

[marc.teeters]

I have only ran across one in my area and that was last year when I wasn't looking.

 

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[marc.teeters]

$30 would be a great price. I would expect $50 or more.

I'm seeing 70-100 for eBay completed auctions. Unless they have tons of games or the box.

 

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[+sixersfan105]

I'm seeing 70-100 for eBay completed auctions. Unless they have tons of games or the box.

 

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Yeah, that's about eBay market rate these days. Hell, the OEM power supply alone often goes for $30 on eBay. I actually might be able to help you out and perhaps save you some money on a nice 7800 bundle. Shoot me a PM and we can get a convo going. Cheers.

[marc.teeters]

Yeah, that's about eBay market rate these days. Hell, the OEM power supply alone often goes for $30 on eBay. I actually might be able to help you out and perhaps save you some money on a nice 7800 bundle. Shoot me a PM and we can get a convo going. Cheers.

Pm sent.

 

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[RamrodHare]

I have a 7800 a Vader 2600 and a 2600 Jr. I also have a Harmony Encore, so my 7800 plays everything the other two do. I composite modded my 7800 and my Vader. I'm still using RF on the Jr, since it has excellent picture quality. I'm using one of the mentioned adapters, with the standard RF cable. The 7800 joysticks are something that you may find to be annoying. They can be very uncomfortable to use. You can mod controllers from multiple other systems to have 2 button functionality on the 7800. I did the mods on a Genesis, NES and Sega Master System gamepad. The Genesis seems to be the crowd favorite. Edladen makes adapters that allow you to use the Genesis gamepads without modding them. I also found that shortening the sticks on the 7800 joysticks makes them feel more responsive, but it doesn't change the fact that they make most people's hands cramp up due to their horrible shape and button positioning. Of course you can also make or buy arcade quality controls. There are members here who sell them, including Edladen. When you buy a 7800, be sure it comes with a good power adapter, since they can be rather expensive. As mentioned earlier, some 2600 carts don't fit well in the 7800, but it is an easy fix, especially if you have a small rotary tool, like a dremel. Of course 2600 joysticks do work fine with the 7800 on 2600 games and on quite a few of the 7800 games.

 

If you just want to play 2600 games, you will be happy with any 2600 system that works. The number of games is insane for the 2600. If you want to collect the games, you're in luck, because the common ones are really cheap, but some of the rare one may be to expensive. If you aren't a collector and just want to play the games, then getting a Harmony Encore is your best bet. It will play all the official games, the hacks and the homebrews. You just fill an SD card with roms, put it in the Harmony and bam! Off you go with all the games you could ever want on one cart.

 

If you want to get into 7800 games, they are more expensive, but there were only around 60 official games. Most are affordable, but a few aren't. There are some nice homebrews for it also. Right now there isn't a Flash cart (like the Harmony) for the 7800, but it's in the works. For now, Mateos makes a nice Multicart that will allow you to play 7800 games that you might otherwise not be able to find or afford. Depending on the size of the roms, it can hold either 8 or 16 games at a time.

 

If you are on a budget, study up on the Harmony Encore and the Mateos Multicart. While the initial investment seems high, it's much cheaper in the long run than buying a bunch of carts, unless you want to collect them. I do suggest that you show support for the guys making the awesome homebrews we have, by purchasing the carts in the Atariage store.

 

So, Hopefully I answered some questions, without rambling on too much. Welcome to AtariAge!

[marc.teeters]

I have a 7800 a Vader 2600 and a 2600 Jr. I also have a Harmony Encore, so my 7800 plays everything the other two do. I composite modded my 7800 and my Vader. I'm still using RF on the Jr, since it has excellent picture quality. I'm using one of the mentioned adapters, with the standard RF cable. The 7800 joysticks are something that you may find to be annoying. They can be very uncomfortable to use. You can mod controllers from multiple other systems to have 2 button functionality on the 7800. I did the mods on a Genesis, NES and Sega Master System gamepad. The Genesis seems to be the crowd favorite. Edladen makes adapters that allow you to use the Genesis gamepads without modding them. I also found that shortening the sticks on the 7800 joysticks makes them feel more responsive, but it doesn't change the fact that they make most people's hands cramp up due to their horrible shape and button positioning. Of course you can also make or buy arcade quality controls. There are members here who sell them, including Edladen. When you buy a 7800, be sure it comes with a good power adapter, since they can be rather expensive. As mentioned earlier, some 2600 carts don't fit well in the 7800, but it is an easy fix, especially if you have a small rotary tool, like a dremel. Of course 2600 joysticks do work fine with the 7800 on 2600 games and on quite a few of the 7800 games.

 

If you just want to play 2600 games, you will be happy with any 2600 system that works. The number of games is insane for the 2600. If you want to collect the games, you're in luck, because the common ones are really cheap, but some of the rare one may be to expensive. If you aren't a collector and just want to play the games, then getting a Harmony Encore is your best bet. It will play all the official games, the hacks and the homebrews. You just fill an SD card with roms, put it in the Harmony and bam! Off you go with all the games you could ever want on one cart.

 

If you want to get into 7800 games, they are more expensive, but there were only around 60 official games. Most are affordable, but a few aren't. There are some nice homebrews for it also. Right now there isn't a Flash cart (like the Harmony) for the 7800, but it's in the works. For now, Mateos makes a nice Multicart that will allow you to play 7800 games that you might otherwise not be able to find or afford. Depending on the size of the roms, it can hold either 8 or 16 games at a time.

 

If you are on a budget, study up on the Harmony Encore and the Mateos Multicart. While the initial investment seems high, it's much cheaper in the long run than buying a bunch of carts, unless you want to collect them. I do suggest that you show support for the guys making the awesome homebrews we have, by purchasing the carts in the Atariage store.

 

So, Hopefully I answered some questions, without rambling on too much. Welcome to AtariAge!

I actually found one at my lgs on lunch today. I wasn't fully ready to pull the trigger but it was guaranteed to work and had 2 7800 sticks, 2 2600 sticks and 5 games for 50 bucks. I couldn't pass it up for that price. I live in a college town and anything older than ps3 is retro and 16 bit consoles are the stone age. Now I just need to get some decent controllers and check out the homebrews. Any rpgs for this system?

 

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[+sixersfan105]

I actually found one at my lgs on lunch today. I wasn't fully ready to pull the trigger but it was guaranteed to work and had 2 7800 sticks, 2 2600 sticks and 5 games for 50 bucks. I couldn't pass it up for that price. I live in a college town and anything older than ps3 is retro and 16 bit consoles are the stone age. Now I just need to get some decent controllers and check out the homebrews. Any rpgs for this system?

 

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Nice! Congrats. Midnight Mutants is an awesome game that is sort of RPG-esque! It's not cheap but is well worth every penny.

[marc.teeters]

Nice! Congrats. Midnight Mutants is an awesome game that is sort of RPG-esque! It's not cheap but is well worth every penny.

Btw i tried to pm you but I can't access my mailbox right now for some reason.

 

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[marc.teeters]

I just had another guy unload a box of 2600 games and 2 weird joysticks. They are black abd yellow with two buttons on the base and a trigger and top bottom on the stick. Never seen them for Atari but I remember a similar style for NES and Pc's back in the 8p'd

 

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[RamrodHare]

I just had another guy unload a box of 2600 games and 2 weird joysticks. They are black abd yellow with two buttons on the base and a trigger and top bottom on the stick. Never seen them for Atari but I remember a similar style for NES and Pc's back in the 8p'd

 

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I think your phone is doing some crazy autocorrect stuff.

How bout some pics of the joysticks? It's hard to tell what they are by that description.

[marc.teeters]

I think your phone is doing some crazy autocorrect stuff. [emoji14]

How bout some pics of the joysticks? It's hard to tell what they are by that description.

Yes and I can't figure out how to edit.

 

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[RamrodHare]

OK, the Gemsticks. I've heard that quite a few people like those. I've never owned any of them, so I can't really say anything about the quality. The next set, I'm not sure about. There were a lot of companies making sticks that looked similar to that. It looks a lot like the Quickshot. I think CCE made a few that looked like that too. Again, I can't say much about their quality either, but if they work and you like them, that's all that matters. I'm glad you found a good deal on a 7800!

 

We all have our own opinions on which joysticks are the best, there are some interesting threads on here about them. There are a lot of cheap made joysticks out there and some of them are actually pretty good. Some will need cleaning and restoration, others were built like tanks. It really pays to do some research on the subject. Some of the old joysticks cost more now than they did when they were new, even some of the cheap ones. There are also different variations on some of the more popular joysticks, like the Competition Pro. Of course, custom joysticks can be made to order with the buttons and stick that you choose or you can save some money by building them yourself. Don't be afraid to ask questions here on the forums. 99% of us are more than happy to help.

[adamchevy]

Not for me, the only game on the 7800 I want to play is Robotron. I recently purchased Midway arcade classics for the PS3 and I like playing Robotron better with a dual shock. There are many 2600 games I enjoy playing. I love my 2600.

Edited August 26, 2017 by adamchevy

[RamrodHare]

Not for me, the only game on the 7800 I want to play is Robotron. I recently purchased Midway arcade classics for the PS3 and I like playing Robotron better with a dual shock. There are many 2600 games I enjoy playing. I love my 2600.

You do realize that the 7800 will play 2600 games, right?

[adamchevy]

You do realize that the 7800 will play 2600 games, right?

I've owned a couple 7800s over the past few years. I had them both modded by Joe over at Electronicsentimentalities.com, which I highly recommend if your looking for an excellent Svideo solution. I had two CX-80 trackballs hooked up and played two player centipede quite often with my kids. I also had an Edladdin Super Twin 78 to play Robotron 2084, which I also highly recommend. I had my 7800s hooked up to a 36" Sony Trinitron, and some Logitech z680s in dual stereo mode. It was awesome! I played both of my 7800s quite a bit for the first month or two that I had them. I then started playing many 2600 games on the 7800. I had sold my modded Sears Heavy Sixer 2600 to afford the purchase of my 7800 the first time. The second time I had an Atari Heavy Sixer fully modded that I sold. I am now making my way back to a Sears Heavy Sixer. I'm having it modded with Component this time around by a guy I found on eBay named Kevin Smith in Emerado North Dakota. He has good feedback, so I expect everything should go well with the mod. I have found that I missed playing on the original console, because their were more games I liked. Even though the 7800 is backwards compatible, it just never felt quite the same. I'm not sure if it's the aesthetic difference, or what. But I really am found of the Sears 2600 Heavy Sixer. I never owned one as a child. My first system was an NES. I find that I like the 2600 more than any other system that I have ever played or owned. And I have owned 3 Vectrexs, 2 colecovisions(One of which I had modded by Yurkie here on Atariage, excellent work! Another I highly recommend), 3 Nintendo entertainment systems( one of which was RGB modded by Yurkie with a palet switcher, it was also amazing), 1 Super Nintendo , 2 Sega Genises systems, 2 2600s, 2 7800s, 3 PS3s, 2 Xbox 360s, an Odyssey 2, 2 Gamecubes, 3 Wiis, several gaming PCs, 1 Wii U, 3 PS Vitas, 2 New 3DS XLs, 1 Nintendo Switch, and a JVC X'Eye. I may have missed one or two, but anyway I still find myself gravitating strongly towards the 2600. I think it's the simplicity, and amazement of how the Video game console business really got moving with the advent of Atari and the 2600. I also really enjoy it's history and current Homebrew scene. It's just a spectacular thing to own. Edited August 27, 2017 by adamchevy

[marc.teeters]

I've owned a couple 7800s over the past few years. I had them both modded by Joe over at Electronicsentimentalities.com, which I highly recommend if your looking for an excellent Svideo solution. I had two CX-80 trackballs hooked up and played two player centipede quite often with my kids. I also had an Edladdin Super Twin 78 to play Robotron 2084, which I also highly recommend. I had my 7800s hooked up to a 36" Sony Trinitron, and some Logitech z680s in dual stereo mode. It was awesome! I played both of my 7800s quite a bit for the first month or two that I had them. I then started playing many 2600 games on the 7800. I had sold my modded Sears Heavy Sixer 2600 to afford the purchase of my 7800 the first time. The second time I had an Atari Heavy Sixer fully modded that I sold. I am now making my way back to a Sears Heavy Sixer. I'm having it modded with Component this time around by a guy I found on eBay named Kevin Smith in Emerado North Dakota. He has good feedback, so I expect everything should go well with the mod. I have found that I missed playing on the original console, because their were more games I liked. Even though the 7800 is backwards compatible, it just never felt quite the same. I'm not sure if it's the aesthetic difference, or what. But I really am found of the Sears 2600 Heavy Sixer. I never owned one as a child. My first system was an NES. I find that I like the 2600 more than any other system that I have ever played or owned. And I have owned 3 Vectrexs, 2 colecovisions(One of which I had modded by Yurkie here on Atariage, excellent work! Another I highly recommend), 3 Nintendo entertainment systems( one of which was RGB modded by Yurkie with a palet switcher, it was also amazing), 1 Super Nintendo , 2 Sega Genises systems, 2 2600s, 2 7800s, 3 PS3s, 2 Xbox 360s, an Odyssey 2, 2 Gamecubes, 3 Wiis, several gaming PCs, 1 Wii U, 3 PS Vitas, 2 New 3DS XLs, 1 Nintendo Switch, and a JVC X'Eye. I may have missed one or two, but anyway I still find myself gravitating strongly towards the 2600. I think it's the simplicity, and amazement of how the Video game console business really got moving with the advent of Atari and the 2600. I also really enjoy it's history and current Homebrew scene. It's just a spectacular thing to own.

I think I will eventually get my 7800 modded. I did happen to check out electronic sentimentality but he has taken a hiatus as his wife has cancer. I will check out the guy on ebay.

 

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