Gunther Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 (edited) "Our solution for this was to make a multi-mapper that could handle the discrete hardware demands of almost any Atari 2600 game. The multi-mapper replaces five variations of three existing mappers, so we can manufacture one board rather than 15+. Now, we are able to make all of our games from a single PCB." ATARI XP, 01.27.2022 https://atari.com/blogs/atari/inside-the-cartridge-the-new-atari-2600-pcb Edited August 25, 2023 by Gunther 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M-S Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 1 hour ago, Zonie said: Define "Very Cheap". To fab a new chip, or even an old one, one must manufacture masks, develop a process, tape it out, build a probe card, etc, etc... Find a foundry fab that can actually do such old stuff on newer technology. I can think of only a handful, but then those only do military/govt chips and only their own. You can buy a UMC 6502 or a 6507 for less than 2U$, a RAM I/O Timer goes for around the same price, and that's if you want to buy one of them second hand, if you were a big company you could probably buy a box with hundreds of chips directly from the manufacturer. The TIA would be the only issue, but there have been some mods that replace some of the functions of it, the 2600RGB is the first one I can think of, the entirety of the video signals are produced by it while the TIA handles the rest, mostly the audio. But honestly I don't know if it is an FPGA mod like the NESRGB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M-S Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 (edited) Double post Edited August 25, 2023 by M-S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blinky Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 1 hour ago, Gunther said: https://atari.com/blogs/atari/inside-the-cartridge-the-new-atari-2600-pcb Nice! With some educated guesses I'd say it supports 4K/8K/16K/32K games with or without ram. It also looks very hackable (annotations are my educated guesses) but to get back on topic. I'm very exited about the 2600+ even though it will play a limited collection of games. I think the 80% size will make it look cute and the lit up Atari logo 'Power LED' is awesome! Saw it is also available for pre- order on Amazon US, Amazon UK and Amazon DE Also found out the 2600+ is a colaboration between Atari and Plaion (Koch Media) (hopefully there is some good German quality under the hood ) 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Blinky said: Also found out the 2600+ is a colaboration between Atari and Plaion (Koch Media) (hopefully there is some good German quality under the hood ) Thanks, I had already thought so. Actually the Stella team got contacted by Koch Media mid of last year. Since we had no time to actively participate, we (the Germans ) gave our best advice, especially based on our experience with the R77. And their feedback was positive. We even got offered a prototype for testing earlier this year, but that never went through. They are definitely using Stella. And based on our discussion, it seems the dumper MCU can be reprogrammed.🤞 Edited August 25, 2023 by Thomas Jentzsch 23 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMaddog Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 I don't care about emulation, SD flash carts or ARM-based homebrews.... I need something to play my existing Atari carts on my flatscreen with working joysticks & paddles. Plus it compliments my existing Flashback by swapping power and HDMI cables. Maybe I will preorder it, especially since it'll be shipped in time for my birthday. Maybe if AtariAge can create a FPGA based 7800 that's better than the 2600+ for playing homebrews, then you can convince me to hold off... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakasama Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 I have two 2600s and a 7800. All three of them use RF and the 7800 has a messed up power cord. If nothing else, I might finally be able the b*nq cart that was gifted to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Spriggy Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 10 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said: They are definitely using Stella. And based on our discussion, it seems the dumper MCU can be reprogrammed.🤞 So sad it's not FPGA based, even though as I previously aforementioned, such a weird marketing move either way. Just another ATGames unit .... with no inbuilt games! Anyways ... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 I did preorder one, but did request a review unit and will do my best to test the 2600+. I also have a Retron 77 and am currently updating it to Stella 6.6. There is a lot of buzz about this console. It may not play everything, but I am excited to see what it DOES play. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 1 hour ago, swlovinist said: I did preorder one, but did request a review unit and will do my best to test the 2600+. I also have a Retron 77 and am currently updating it to Stella 6.6. There is a lot of buzz about this console. It may not play everything, but I am excited to see what it DOES play. I am sure everybody is looking forward to your findings. For testing the dumper, maybe have a look at the R77 compatibility list. Some games fail, even though the dumper should support them. This is because of a flawed cartridge port design and we should verify that Atari did not make the same mistake. Also the supported controllers would be interesting (not sure if that part can be updated). How well do the paddles work? Driving controllers? Keypads? Trackballs? SaveKey? ...? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_79 Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 (edited) 17 hours ago, Blinky said: (annotations are my educated guesses) The pads on the T-shaped extension of the board are actually for the LEDs that some of the new cartridges use. Edited August 26, 2023 by alex_79 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blinky Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 1 hour ago, alex_79 said: The pads on the T-shaped extension of the board are actually for the LEDs that some of the new cartridges use. Ah the T-shaped part makes more sense now. Cool there are/will be carts with LEDs (I guess that's where R1 is for then). Do you happen to know if the carts are reprogrammable through the cart slot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_79 Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 5 minutes ago, Blinky said: Do you happen to know if the carts are reprogrammable through the cart slot? I don't know for sure, but by looking at the traces visible in the official pics, one of the two GND pins seems to be repurposed for some other function, so that's very possible. https://forums.atariage.com/topic/327234-atari-sa-releasing-limited-run-2600-cartridges/?do=findComment&comment=5123038 The "Melody" boards used by many homebrews are programmable through the cartridge connector, and they also replace one of the GND pins with an additional I/O pin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blinky Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 19 minutes ago, alex_79 said: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/327234-atari-sa-releasing-limited-run-2600-cartridges/?do=findComment&comment=5123038 Thanks for sharing that link. The pictures there reveal a bit more. R1 is not a current limiting resistor for the LEDs but a pull down resistor connected to cart pin 12 so it can be used for card detect too. Can't track where it goes from there but I'm sure it will go to the CPLD. If the CPLD would just invert the signal then it could be used to control the write enable pin of the EEPROM/flash 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 3 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said: Also the supported controllers would be interesting (not sure if that part can be updated). How well do the paddles work? Driving controllers? Keypads? Trackballs? SaveKey? ...? I’m most interested in the this. I picked up a VCS800 and primarily use it for emulation. The adaptors from 2600/5200-daptor allow me to play 2600, 5200 & 7800 with my favorite OG controllers, including trak-balls. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 5 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said: I am sure everybody is looking forward to your findings. For testing the dumper, maybe have a look at the R77 compatibility list. Some games fail, even though the dumper should support them. This is because of a flawed cartridge port design and we should verify that Atari did not make the same mistake. Also the supported controllers would be interesting (not sure if that part can be updated). How well do the paddles work? Driving controllers? Keypads? Trackballs? SaveKey? ...? I have lots of original and aftermarket things that I will test with the unit, if I do get one to review(not guaranteed). Now I just have to update my Retron 77 to Stella 6.6. Is that easy to do if I have already updated it past 6.0? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 52 minutes ago, swlovinist said: I have lots of original and aftermarket things that I will test with the unit, if I do get one to review(not guaranteed). Now I just have to update my Retron 77 to Stella 6.6. Is that easy to do if I have already updated it past 6.0? Thanks! Updating the R77 is always the same process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 23 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said: They are definitely using Stella. 🤞 Good news: I just got confirmation from Plaion that it is the latest version 6.7. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 38 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said: Good news: I just got confirmation from Plaion that it is the latest version 6.7. Thank you for confirming this Thomas. This is certainty a Pro.👍 <Edit> Anyone have any news concerning the 7800 emulation? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoyous Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 (edited) 5 hours ago, swlovinist said: I have lots of original and aftermarket things that I will test with the unit, if I do get one to review(not guaranteed). Now I just have to update my Retron 77 to Stella 6.6. Is that easy to do if I have already updated it past 6.0? I'd like to know if the paddle response is consistent when, say, moving the paddle in Breakout all the way across the screen. Like, one full revolution will (hopefully) always move it X% across the screen. Edited August 26, 2023 by Zoyous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Zoyous said: I'd like to know if the paddle response is consistent when, say, moving the paddle in Breakout all the way across the screen. Like, one full revolution will (hopefully) always move it X% across the screen. That's how Stella works on a PC. With the R77 we have two problems with the front ports (OTG paddles work perfect): the paddle signal is really bad, the paddles affect each other slightly (the code is trying to compensate this as good as possible) we currently have a bug in the paddle code which we have not fixed yet, the paddle jumps on the right side of e.g. Breakout and Kaboom! Edited August 26, 2023 by Thomas Jentzsch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wongojack Posted August 26, 2023 Share Posted August 26, 2023 8 hours ago, swlovinist said: I have lots of original and aftermarket things that I will test with the unit, if I do get one to review(not guaranteed). Now I just have to update my Retron 77 to Stella 6.6. Is that easy to do if I have already updated it past 6.0? Thank you, John for continuing to cover these devices and post here with us on AtariAge. I did a small bit to help you afford the 2600+ by becoming one of your Patreon's. https://www.patreon.com/swlovinist Imortally yours . . . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunther Posted August 27, 2023 Share Posted August 27, 2023 (edited) Edited August 27, 2023 by Gunther 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMMS Posted August 27, 2023 Share Posted August 27, 2023 On 8/23/2023 at 2:08 AM, 7800Knight said: Un Atari + serait bon pour ceux qui ne peuvent pas obtenir une console originale. in fact you summed it up 🙂 and in addition the Atari 2600+ is better 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m.o.terra kaesi Posted August 27, 2023 Share Posted August 27, 2023 10 minutes ago, PMMS said: in fact you summed it up 🙂 and in addition the Atari 2600+ is better 🙂 Nope. If it wont play Homebrews and SD carts properly you'll be way better served with original setup. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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