Ever Wonder How Many Times

[BigThunder660]

Has anybody besides myself ever wondered how many times we've hit the Reset button. Ive been avidly playing the Atari 2600 now and MAN some of these titles are hard . I just bought a 2600 system at a Garage sale and some carts along with it and games like Stampede , Frostbite, Missile Command, and Demon Attack just whip me all the time . There must be some trick to getting better at these games not to mention the suffering this 2600 is taking. What are the longevities of 2600 systems ? I think ATARI should have made the 2600 systems with cushons on it so when ever we get mad at loosing on a particular title we could also take out our frustrations on it with out damaging the system. Im a larger man weighing over 600 lbs and believe me who needs slimfast or stackers 2 when all you need to do is play a game like Decathlon . That game will put anyones arms into shape.

 

 

Greg "Big Thunder 660"

[Video]

My 2600 has been serving me faithfully for 25 years now. And all the switches still work and everythings' original.

 

I think that's kind of funny myself. We paid like $250 for this thing in 77, and it still works like a charm. And I've got a Truck that we got in 91, and the switches that controll the windows and locks have gone out for yet a third time.

 

I figure Atari put in some good switches that are probably guaranteed to work at least 10,000,000 times, and possibly 100,000,000. If someone knows someone that still has repair parts, they probably have marked somewhere on them how many times they're guaranteed to flawlessly contact.

[Ehrbad]

My 2600 has been serving me faithfully for 25 years now.  And all the switches still work and everythings' original.  

 

I think that's kind of funny myself.  We paid like $250 for this thing in 77, and it still works like a charm.  And I've got a Truck that we got in 91, and the switches that controll the windows and locks have gone out for yet a third time.  

 

I figure Atari put in some good switches that are probably guaranteed to work at least 10,000,000 times, and possibly 100,000,000.  If someone knows someone that still has repair parts, they probably have marked somewhere on them how many times they're guaranteed to flawlessly contact.

 

I have often wondered myself how much longer my 1979 sixer is going to keep working. It's great that these old systems are still ticking, but in the coming years systems will become increasingly difficult to find in wild.......so, can I expect my Atari to last another 5, 10, 15 years?

 

I was wondering about the longevity of the brass (?) contacts on the ROM itself. Plugging the game in and out thousands of times must cause some erosion of the contact, eventually wearing it away, making the game useless. Can anyone comment on the longevity of these contacts? How difficult would they be to fix if "new" systems can't be bought to replace them?