jeff20 Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 I got a thank you for my deposit Dec 15. Should I have gotten an email on my "place in line" or does that happen later? No rush. Just wondering. https://youtu.be/BGEAiUeiaKs?t=80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 So yay, my Concerto arrived! I’ve got a POKEY sitting right here to put into it, but I can’t get the cart shell open. I’ve removed the screw - what’s the secret for popping the thing open? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Trebor Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 6 minutes ago, DrVenkman said: I’ve got a POKEY sitting right here to put into it, but I can’t get the cart shell open. I’ve removed the screw - what’s the secret for popping the thing open? I honestly thought I was going to break my shell prying it opened. I swore it had to be glued on. It is just a super tight sealed /connection between the two halves. Having a case mechanism on that locks that tight, indeed the screw will never be needed. When you open it, you'll see the six tabs/notches holding it together. P.S. Oh, yeah...my Concerto arrived today too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 You may want to test it and make sure the firmware is up to date before you install the Pokey. Mitch 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrZarniwoop Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 Received. Formatted SD card and added ROMs. Added POKEY. WOW! Pretty freaking amazing for a pre-production product. Love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrobits Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 Tried to pry mine open today very carefully, but ended up breaking off 1 out of 6 plastic tabs. I'm really hoping I never have to open this again. Now to install the pokey... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rey Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 Would it be possible to get the cart without the socket to solder a pokey one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tep392 Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 When I open these, I slip a credit card under the tab at the cart opening and slide it back to the label end. I rarely break tabs doing it this way. These cart shells can get brittle with age though, so sometimes it just happens. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Got mine today. Broke two pins off the Pokey desoldering it from the BB cart, but a 555 timer gave up two of its limbs to save my Pokey. Cart works great! Can't get Asteroids deluxe to run, but everything else I tried works. Pokey works too. I also finally got a chance to try my AV mod on a modern TV. Nice clean picture but I get some flutter until the games start. Overdriving it perhaps... Thanks Fred! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NISMOPC Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 (edited) Received mine today. It wasn't hard to open at all. I just pressed in on the top outer shell sides on the open cart end side of the cart. Then I slowly pulled up as I pressed on the middle sides, then the rear sides. It came apart quite easily. Same with my $5 Ballblazer flea-market find that's getting it's Pokey transplanted this evening into the Concerto. My other spare Pokey was already used for dual-Pokey stereo on my 130XE. Pressing in while pulling up seems to be the trick. If not, you are putting direct upward force on tabs which will break them. Edited January 5, 2021 by NISMOPC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 14 hours ago, Zonie said: Can't get Asteroids deluxe to run, but everything else I tried works Odd, asteroids deluxe works fine on my pal and NTSC 7800s on fw .93 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 37 minutes ago, mimo said: Odd, asteroids deluxe works fine on my pal and NTSC 7800s on fw .93 Yeah, that one was one I actually spent some time playing last night. Bob knocked it out of the park with that one. My Concerto came with firmware version 0.95. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangest Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Is it still possible to reserve one? I don't seem to be able to from the site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cjherr Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 This is a wonderful piece of work! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 48 minutes ago, orangest said: Is it still possible to reserve one? I don't seem to be able to from the site. It doesn't seem so at this time. I've been clicking for a couple of days now. But I'm sure once Fred is back to the point where he feels he can take reservations again, he'll open them back up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoyx Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Will an Atari 400 Pokey chip work in the Concerto? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Yep. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+batari Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 On 1/4/2021 at 1:48 PM, DrVenkman said: So yay, my Concerto arrived! I’ve got a POKEY sitting right here to put into it, but I can’t get the cart shell open. I’ve removed the screw - what’s the secret for popping the thing open? Don't pry the carts. It's too easy to damage them this way. The secret is to put your left palm on one side of the label side of the shell with your fingers on the other, and your right hand to grasp the back side of the shell in a similar manner for leverage. Then use some squeezing force with your left hand to compress the label size of the shell just enough to get the tabs off and pull the cart halves apart. You can practice on a common 2600 cart until you get it down. I will attempt to attach a video where I do this several times in a few seconds, watch carefully how the top half of the cart shell moves in relation to the bottom half: IMG_1830.MOV 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Trebor Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 22 minutes ago, batari said: I will attempt to attach a video where I do this several times in a few seconds, watch carefully how the top half of the cart shell moves in relation to the bottom half: IMG_1830.MOV Oh, that's just bull$***... Now I know how my wife feels, when she hands me a jar to open and I do it with ease, after she struggled trying to open it. ? ? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 I Got a "detected F4" message at the bottom but also noticed that my Asteroids deluxe file has a .bin not a .a78 extension. Every version I download has the .bin. Changing it didn't help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoyx Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 (edited) The Pokey from my Atari 400 is in my Concerto. Getting sound from Ballblazer and Commando when I fire them up. Yay! Edited January 6, 2021 by Zoyx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 25 minutes ago, Zonie said: I Got a "detected F4" message at the bottom but also noticed that my Asteroids deluxe file has a .bin not a .a78 extension. Every version I download has the .bin. Changing it didn't help... That’s because the .A78 isn’t just a naming convention here. It means the file has or should have a valid cartridge header describing the rom itself. The files in Trebor’s ProPack all have valid .A78 cartridge headers and should be good to go. Search for that collection in this forum. Shoul be easy to find as it was updated less than a week ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonie Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 (edited) Nevermind. found a different rom and it runs now. Wow. I need to rewire my asteroids controller so the shield button works as the second button on a 7800. I'll do a select switch so it still works on the 2600 as down. Edit: found Trebor's page and typed this while you were LOL. Edited January 6, 2021 by Zonie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+batari Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 On 1/4/2021 at 2:33 PM, Rey said: Would it be possible to get the cart without the socket to solder a pokey one? If the problem with POKEYOne is that it's too tall, then yes, I would be willing. I am not sure the problem is with height, though, it may be that POKEYOne is wider than a POKEY chip? I don't have a POKEYOne so I can't say for sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 7 minutes ago, batari said: If the problem with POKEYOne is that it's too tall, then yes, I would be willing. I am not sure the problem is with height, though, it may be that POKEYOne is wider than a POKEY chip? I don't have a POKEYOne so I can't say for sure. I have a PokeyOne in my 1088XLD beta board as the right channel stereo sound source, where it works perfectly. It’s very similar in size to an ordinary DIP-40 IC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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