Vernoman Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 So, how can you tell repros from non-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Atari Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 As the replies in my thread said, the paper quality is a giveaway, as is the production date that's stamped into the end label of most Atari releases. Now that I think about it (and I just thought of this due to my other thread), wouldn't you need an eprom/eeprom (is there a difference between the two, or did I just hear wrong?) to make a repro cart? If so, then the weight of the cart is also a giveaway. If it's light like other carts, it's authentic (it has a PCB), if it's heavier, it's probably a repro (it has an eprom). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vernoman Posted September 4, 2003 Author Share Posted September 4, 2003 All that sounds great, but can you really tell through an auction? I guess that's a pretty dumb question. Aside from asking the seller and hoping he/she is honest, there's probably not too much you can tell. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 As the replies in my thread said, the paper quality is a giveaway, as is the production date that's stamped into the end label of most Atari releases. Now that I think about it (and I just thought of this due to my other thread), wouldn't you need an eprom/eeprom (is there a difference between the two, or did I just hear wrong?) to make a repro cart? If so, then the weight of the cart is also a giveaway. If it's light like other carts, it's authentic (it has a PCB), if it's heavier, it's probably a repro (it has an eprom). Yes there is a difference between EEPROM's and EPROM's, the EEPROM's can be electrically erased and EPROM's have windows and need to be erased via UV light exposure. Also, one other thing you can't forget is that some companies used EPROM's to make their games and some companies used both ROM's and EPROM's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Atari Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 All that sounds great, but can you really tell through an auction? I guess that's a pretty dumb question. Aside from asking the seller and hoping he/she is honest, there's probably not too much you can tell. Thanks. Yes, you'll have to go by the picture (if there is one) and the seller's word. Feedback is a good (but not full-proof) indicator of how reliable the seller is. Also, one other thing you can't forget is that some companies used EPROM's to make their games and some companies used both ROM's and EPROM's. Right. My Double Dragon cart actually has an eprom in it, you don't even need to open it. What I meant was, could some scumbag use an actual PCB, or are eproms all that's available now? If I remember correctly, eproms are what they use in the AA store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 What I meant was, could some scumbag use an actual PCB, or are eproms all that's available now? If I remember correctly, eproms are what they use in the AA store. You mean use a PCB with a mask ROM in a repro ? I don't think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 ...some companies used EPROM's to make their games... Can you identify those companies? Would this have been done as a cost-saving measure? (That is, by a small company with small production runs?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanriostar Posted September 5, 2003 Share Posted September 5, 2003 ...some companies used EPROM's to make their games... Can you identify those companies? I own company-made EPROM copies of Time Pilot and Tapper, and have seen (I.E. opened) Spy Hunter, and Front Line. Oddly enough, every copy of Time Pilot I've ever seen is EPROM! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 5, 2003 Share Posted September 5, 2003 Weird. I wouldn't have expected Coleco to do it. For some reason, using EPROMs just seems to me like what a small-potatoes company would do... sort of like someone today using CD-Rs instead of getting professionally-pressed CDs. Now maybe someone like Mythicon, for instance... that's who I'd expect to use EPROMs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted September 5, 2003 Share Posted September 5, 2003 Mythicon used the blob style exclusively. There is more, like Froggo, Apollo, Spectravideo/vision and some more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 5, 2003 Share Posted September 5, 2003 Sorry if I'm clueless... what is "the blob style"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted September 5, 2003 Share Posted September 5, 2003 Like XONOX carts ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 5, 2003 Share Posted September 5, 2003 OK... so is that what we're seeing in the other thread pertaining to Moon Patrol, etc.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted September 5, 2003 Share Posted September 5, 2003 Yes, that was a similar technique that was actually a bit more reliable than this style. These XONOX/Mythicon blob carts die pretty easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 5, 2003 Share Posted September 5, 2003 OK, well to carry on my end of that other thread here... the Moon Patrol I ripped open had a little blob very much like what you showed with the Xonox cart, but as my "Chiclet" description suggests, the blob is a rounded square, rather than a circle. I assume it's basically the same idea though. BTW, that particular Moon Patrol cart works fine... I spent an hour or so playing it during my 3-week retreat at "the farm" last month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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