Question From a New 7800 Owner

[MAUL]

Hello. I purchased an RCA modded 7800 from ebay & I have a question.

How exactly to you swap cartridges? Do you need to turn off the power before changing carts each time?

I just assumed you swap carts & hit the reset button but that doesn't seem to work on my unit. I can't change to a different game cart & get it to work without cycling the power. Is that normal or do I have a faulty system? I never owned a 7800 so I don't have a reference for how it's supposed to operate. I'm using 2600 games as I don't have any 7800 carts yet.

Thanks.

Edited April 2, 2018 by MAUL

[+save2600]

Yes, on cartridge based systems, you insert the game - then power on. Turn system off, remove cartridge, insert different cartridge, then power back up when you want to play that game. Had to double check the date of your post. Thought it might have been an April Fools thing. Sadly, it wasn't.

 

http://videogameconsolelibrary.com/images/Manuals/86_Atari_7800-Manual.pdf

[BassGuitari]

Welcome to AA!

 

Hello. I purchased an RCA modded 7800 from ebay & I have a question.

How exactly to you swap cartridges? Do you need to turn off the power before changing carts each time?

I just assumed you swap carts & hit the reset button but that doesn't seem to work on my unit. I can't change to a different game cart & get it to work without cycling the power. Is that normal or do I have a faulty system? I never owned a 7800 so I don't have a reference for how it's supposed to operate. I'm using 2600 games as I don't have any 7800 carts yet.

Thanks.

 

Yes.

 

Your system is normal, but you can damage it and/or the cartridges by hotswapping them like you've been doing.

 

Serious question, out of curiosity: Have you never used a cartridge-based game system before?

Followup serious question: If not, what made you interested in the Atari 7800?

[MAUL]

Nope, not April fools. I legit did not know. We had a 2600 when I was a young kid but I could not recall that specific detail. I tried to google it .

Honestly, it's not as easy as I'd hoped to track down cheap 2600 carts where I live let alone any 7800 games. Checked every game shop & they don't have or care to have them.

I'm starting to think maybe emulation may have been the better the way to go.

Edited April 2, 2018 by MAUL

[BydoEmpire]

Where are you located? You can get games very reasonably on eBay, and of course many of the AA homebrews are fantastic.

[MAUL]

I'm in NC & I have bought a few NIB games on ebay just because I wanted the experience of opening them. I'm not going to buy every game sealed but I just wanted to do it as it's something that I never have done. I opened missile command & actually just now opened Xevious 7800. This will be my first 7800 game I've played.

7800 games go for more than I expected on ebay. I have one more store to check that's a half hour away that may have 2600/7800 games. If they have them I think they'll be cheaper than ebay as it seems there is no interest in my area other than buying them to sell on ebay. I do prefer to own physical & the homebrews was a determining factor in purchasing the 7800. I also figured the 7800 was newer & I'd have the 7800 games to play.

Edited April 2, 2018 by MAUL

[+slx]

You can play almost all VCS games using a Harmony/Encore SD Multicart available here. A 7800 version has been in development for some time but isn't available yet.

[MAUL]

Thanks for the link Stargunner. I will have to get one of those soon for the 2600 games & maybe pick up some of my favorites on cart. Does the hamony play the games exactly like the cart? I would assume it does since it's playing on original hardware?

 

I'm currently playing my 7800 connected to my HDTV as it's just the easiest route for me & there's no way I'm going back to a CRT. It doesn't look the best on my TV but hey, I can see it, it works & I don't have a huge CRT taking up space.

Edited April 2, 2018 by MAUL

[gorfcadet]

Sometimes you can get the picture a little cleaner by passing through a vcr or dvd recorder first. DVD recorders usually up the res to 480 so the tv doesnt have to think about it and solves some image issues.

I also recommend getting a Genesis game pad adapter so you can play 2 button games with a better controller than the pro line.

[SIO2]

 

I'm currently playing my 7800 connected to my HDTV as it's just the easiest route for me & there's no way I'm going back to a CRT. It doesn't look the best on my TV but hey, I can see it, it works & I don't have a huge CRT taking up space.

 

They did make smaller CRTs. I played a game of Mario Bros. on a 5 inch portable color CRT the other day and had a great time.

Edited April 3, 2018 by SIO2

[MAUL]

I have the system connected to my AVR which looks Ok, not sharp but OK on a 55" plasma. If I ever own a collection worth getting a CRT then I might consider it but until then, convenience wins ").

[Swami]

I'm in NC & I have bought a few NIB games on ebay just because I wanted the experience of opening them. I'm not going to buy every game sealed but I just wanted to do it as it's something that I never have done. I opened missile command & actually just now opened Xevious 7800. This will be my first 7800 game I've played.

7800 games go for more than I expected on ebay. I have one more store to check that's a half hour away that may have 2600/7800 games. If they have them I think they'll be cheaper than ebay as it seems there is no interest in my area other than buying them to sell on ebay. I do prefer to own physical & the homebrews was a determining factor in purchasing the 7800. I also figured the 7800 was newer & I'd have the 7800 games to play.

You might find a lot (group) of carts on eBay where a group of 15 or more games goes for $5-10 on average. Try Atari 7800 games lot under video games or check for 7800 games in our marketplace. There are a few left here:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/275586-selling-collection-will-update-regularly-to-add-more-great-for-starters/page-1

[+slx]

Thanks for the link Stargunner. I will have to get one of those soon for the 2600 games & maybe pick up some of my favorites on cart. Does the hamony play the games exactly like the cart? I would assume it does since it's playing on original hardware?

 

I'm currently playing my 7800 connected to my HDTV as it's just the easiest route for me & there's no way I'm going back to a CRT. It doesn't look the best on my TV but hey, I can see it, it works & I don't have a huge CRT taking up space.

 

Stargunner is a forum title (earned by posting I assume), my handle is slx

 

Games should play the same on Harmony as they do on real carts as the harmony feeds the VCS/7800 with the data that would normally come from the cart.

[MAUL]

Thank you Swami. I will definitely check those out.

My mistake sIx, I see that now. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions & for answering my question.

[deepthaw]

Nope, not April fools. I legit did not know. We had a 2600 when I was a young kid but I could not recall that specific detail. I tried to google it .

Honestly, it's not as easy as I'd hoped to track down cheap 2600 carts where I live let alone any 7800 games. Checked every game shop & they don't have or care to have them.

I'm starting to think maybe emulation may have been the better the way to go.

 

My trick is to ask the shop owner if they have any Atari stuff they don't display. It sells so poorly that they probably list it on eBay and have it tucked away in storage rather than taking up shelf space. Going in to my local shop this weekend to test out some 5200 trackballs I found out about this way.