The Atari 2600+ is live for preorders!

[DEANJIMMY]

19 hours ago, Dbug said:

Hmm, I tried a German version of Joust 7800, I get the Atari logo, the "loading game" then it switches to black screen and stops there.
I thought it was on the list of supported titles?

It is the same for me with Joust and other 7800 PAL games.

 

Joust PAL black screen.

Choplifter PAL black screen

Xevious PAL crashed screen

Commando PAL resets when you press fire to start.

 

All cleaned, all PAL.

All carts work on my real 7800.

 

I belevie to have had the Commando issue maybe on Retropie... maybe used the NTSC ROM to fix it...

 

Cleaning helps very much on my 2600 games but there seem to be issues with some 7800 PAL games, even listed as supported (Xevious is not on the compatibility list).

Will clean them again but hope fades.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

9 minutes ago, chad5200 said:

Question for the more technical people here... What are the odds that Circus Convoy will work in a future update?

Should be no major problem. The bankswitching is easy enough to detect and dump.

[Dr Karnov]

6 minutes ago, DEANJIMMY said:

It is the same for me with Joust and other 7800 PAL games.

 

Joust PAL black screen.

Choplifter PAL black screen

Xevious PAL crashed screen

Commando PAL resets when you press fire to start.

 

All cleaned, all PAL.

All carts work on my real 7800.

 

I belevie to have had the Commando issue maybe on Retropie... maybe used the NTSC ROM to fix it...

 

Cleaning helps very much on my 2600 games but there seem to be issues with some 7800 PAL games, even listed as supported (Xevious is not on the compatibility list).

Will clean them again but hope fades.

I have 7800 Joust, Choplifter, Xevious and Commando, all PAL versions.

 

I'm due to get my 2600+ tomorrow so I'll post on here if I can get them to work

[82-T/A]

9 hours ago, Albert said:

You should send in the registration card.

 

 ..Al

 

Ok, so here's my question. Obviously they no longer own the Sunnyvale, CA offices... and the office in Benelux, Netherlands is vacant too... so if you fill out the registration card, where does it go? Does it get re-routed to Atari's current address? And... since you work for Atari now... have you guys ever gotten (that you know of) these old registration cards being sent in? ... finally, what happens IF you get a registration card? Hahah... 

 

 

[82-T/A]

I still have a "Pre-Shipment Label Created... awaiting shipment" ... for 2 days...

 

Hahah... oh well. I'm sure I'll get it at some point. This is still better than the days of...

 

"Please send check or money order to... P.O. Box, blah blah. May take 2-3 months for delivery."

[Albert]

7 minutes ago, 82-T/A said:

Ok, so here's my question. Obviously they no longer own the Sunnyvale, CA offices... and the office in Benelux, Netherlands is vacant too... so if you fill out the registration card, where does it go? Does it get re-routed to Atari's current address? And... since you work for Atari now... have you guys ever gotten (that you know of) these old registration cards being sent in? ... finally, what happens IF you get a registration card? Hahah... 

Not sure, given the amount of mail I get for previous recipients where I live, they may just deliver it to those addresses, if they still exist.  After that, they'd surely just get thrown out by whoever is occupying those buildings.  There's no chance they'd actually get forwarded, since there would not be any active forwarding orders from those addresses to Atari's current US address in New York City.  And surely the same is true with the Netherlands address.

 

I wouldn't put it past someone to have sent an old registration card to the current Atari address.  If that's happened, I don't know what they would have done with it.  I can ask, though.

 

 ..Al

[+jeremiahjt]

1 hour ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Ouch. People have confused A(dvanced)/B(eginner) in the past. It looks like this happened again.

 

At least this problem can be fixed by the users.

Maybe now people will start on the easier levels on some of those third party games that had the difficulty switch positions reversed like Masters of the Universe. Assuming that one does not use the currently unsupported M Network bankswitching method.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

13 minutes ago, jeremiahjt said:

 Assuming that one does not use the currently unsupported M Network bankswitching method.

It does.

[protomank]

Does anyone tested with a PAL60 game?

I am curious if.Polyvox (brazlian official releases) work with the plus, as I plan to buy one when (I'm hopeful) it starts selling here.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Totally different change of subject here. It seems the cartridge slot on the 2600+ is not having any fitment issues with the 3rd party games. Imagic, M-Network... etc? How is the actual sleeve attached within the system and is it possible to have new molds made that could be sold separately for use on actual 7800s? many 7800 cartridge slot sleeves are very tight fitting for many of the 3rd party cartridges. So if a new sleeve were possible, it would be a pretty awesome thing to have.

 

[chad5200]

I can't believe that "Signal Tracing Cartridge" remains untested!  Do you realize how many purchases hinge on this?

[Alarm]

I have tested my PAL 7800 carts:

 

Barnyard Blaster - loads.  Cannot 'shoot' one or two player start as light gun incompatible with HDTV.

Commando - loads.  Can change settings, but fire button does not start game (maybe need to press the second button?).  Pressing reset resets the game, does not start it.

Desert Falcon - playable.  Had to insert the cart twice for it to load.

Galaga - playable.

Jinks - playable (debatable).  First load had corrupted audiovisuals.

Mat Mania Challenge - playable.  Had to insert cart three times for it to start loading.

Pole Position II - playable.  Cannot accelerate as my controller is resting with the 7800 in a box somewhere.

Super Huey - playable.

Tower Toppler - playable. The game uses colour blending, which do not blend here - rendering background tiles and others to look not as good as the original.  Might be a problem when outputting to a HDTV?

Xenophobe - playable.

 

[82-T/A]

1 hour ago, Albert said:

Not sure, given the amount of mail I get for previous recipients where I live, they may just deliver it to those addresses, if they still exist.  After that, they'd surely just get thrown out by whoever is occupying those buildings.  There's no chance they'd actually get forwarded, since there would not be any active forwarding orders from those addresses to Atari's current US address in New York City.  And surely the same is true with the Netherlands address.

 

I wouldn't put it past someone to have sent an old registration card to the current Atari address.  If that's happened, I don't know what they would have done with it.  I can ask, though.

 

 ..Al

 

Can you? This has been one of those "Urinal Moments" where I'm in deep thought about something totally random... and it's always come up... one of life's deep mysteries... hahaha...

[+karri]

3 minutes ago, chad5200 said:

I can't believe that "Signal Tracing Cartridge" remains untested!  Do you realize how many purchases hinge on this?

I have lately been assembling some brand new carts and on my old 7800 I found out that sometimes the connector does not make contact. A very gentle push on the cart towards the back makes all the difference. My guess is that on old connectors the pins do not have the same tension as they had 30 years ago.

It may also be that the carts were not perfectly straight due to bad 3D prints...

[Bakasama]

55 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Totally different change of subject here. It seems the cartridge slot on the 2600+ is not having any fitment issues with the 3rd party games. Imagic, M-Network... etc? How is the actual sleeve attached within the system and is it possible to have new molds made that could be sold separately for use on actual 7800s? many 7800 cartridge slot sleeves are very tight fitting for many of the 3rd party cartridges. So if a new sleeve were possible, it would be a pretty awesome thing to have.

 

I’d say Atari/PLAION made sure carts would at least fit the in the slot. As to the 2600+ cart slot, I don’t think it possible because the cart slot and bezel are one unit.

 

I recall Curt did reengineer the 7800 cart slot to fit every cart years ago when he was working the XM. However, since he passed, I’m not sure if there is a way to get those now.

Edited November 18, 2023 by Bakasama

[Blinky]

2 hours ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

I am not sure what can updated besides the dumper.

I saw in @Ben from Plaion framed 2600+ image there are two MCUs on the IO board. I'm pretty sure all I/O is handled by those two chips and is 'formatted' into a more convenient format for the main CPU.

[Blinky]

I received my 2600+ today too! it's just a bit bigger then the 2600 junior. Looks very neat
Been testing my games and most work after cleaning them. Pole Position PAL colors are off but that's already known. PAL games don't play that great yet.  The dumper slot seems to be sensitive though I even managed to crash/ reload a few games while playing with the black and white switch. The joystick ports pins are a bit too thin for my original controllers (except the CX-78 which makes a firm connection). Both my driver controllers don't work except the fire button. Not sure if it's poor contact of the connector or a software issue. Anyway beside these things I'm very pleased with my 2600+

[Dr Karnov]

39 minutes ago, Alarm said:

I have tested my PAL 7800 carts:

 

Barnyard Blaster - loads.  Cannot 'shoot' one or two player start as light gun incompatible with HDTV.

Commando - loads.  Can change settings, but fire button does not start game (maybe need to press the second button?).  Pressing reset resets the game, does not start it.

Desert Falcon - playable.  Had to insert the cart twice for it to load.

Galaga - playable.

Jinks - playable (debatable).  First load had corrupted audiovisuals.

Mat Mania Challenge - playable.  Had to insert cart three times for it to start loading.

Pole Position II - playable.  Cannot accelerate as my controller is resting with the 7800 in a box somewhere.

Super Huey - playable.

Tower Toppler - playable. The game uses colour blending, which do not blend here - rendering background tiles and others to look not as good as the original.  Might be a problem when outputting to a HDTV?

Xenophobe - playable.

 

Have you been hotswapping carts or power down -switch cart - power on?

[+-^CrossBow^-]

49 minutes ago, Bakasama said:

I’d say Atari/PLAION made sure carts would at least fit the in the slot. As to the 2600+ cart slot, I don’t think it possible because the cart slot and bezel are one unit.

 

I recall Curt did reengineer the 7800 cart slot to fit every cart years ago when he was working the XM. However, since he passed, I’m not sure if there is a way to get those now.

Okay, that is what I was curious about was how it was attached to the console inside.

 

As for the 3D printed replacements from Curt, they are good...but not perfect. They don't line up up quite right and required the use of washers on the bottom of the mainboard to attach them in place. I just serviced 3 7800s that had these installed in them from Curt. Also...there were still a few carts that didn't fit well. Like Konami and the Pluscart I have with a 3D printed shell. Also, Super Chargers with static pegs that don't recess just like some Tigervision carts wouldn't fit for the same reason they don't fit on normal sleeves. The plastic on the bottom that the screws go into to hold the sleeve tight against the board, prevent the pegs from going in deep enough for proper contact.

 

[Alarm]

33 minutes ago, Dr Karnov said:

Have you been hotswapping carts or power down -switch cart - power on?

Hotswapping carts, saves a bit of time.

[+Philsan]

Someone knows if two version of CX40+ exist? @Ben from Plaion

 

The one bundled with my console (left) seems better than spare one (right).

Stick has a shorter travel and edges are better placed (check out red hexagons different position).

BTW, CX40+ edges are a bit more angular than CX40 and you can't rotate rubber.

 

[+sramirez2008]

2 minutes ago, Philsan said:

Someone knows if two version of CX40+ exists?

 

The one bundled with my console (left) seems better than spare one (right).

Stick has a shorter travel and edges are better placed (check out red hexagons).

BTW, CX40+ edges are a bit more angular than CX40 and you can't rotate rubber.

 

I don’t know about multiple versions, but I like your red hex discs.👍

[SparkleFork]

My 2600+ was abandoned on my doorstep in the early hours this morning. I had no idea it was there until I saw Amazon's message to say it had been delivered.

 

Absolutely loving it so far. Down to 11 carts that won't work (including one that sparks up intermittently) out of the 150+ so that's not too bad. The Activision ones seemed a bit temperamental the majority are up and running now.

 

In case anyone is still stressing out over the compatibility list, I can confirm that PAL Basic Math & Fun with Numbers both work. Phew.

[DEANJIMMY]

3 hours ago, Alarm said:

I have tested my PAL 7800 carts:

 

Barnyard Blaster - loads.  Cannot 'shoot' one or two player start as light gun incompatible with HDTV.

Commando - loads.  Can change settings, but fire button does not start game (maybe need to press the second button?).  Pressing reset resets the game, does not start it.

Desert Falcon - playable.  Had to insert the cart twice for it to load.

Galaga - playable.

Jinks - playable (debatable).  First load had corrupted audiovisuals.

Mat Mania Challenge - playable.  Had to insert cart three times for it to start loading.

Pole Position II - playable.  Cannot accelerate as my controller is resting with the 7800 in a box somewhere.

Super Huey - playable.

Tower Toppler - playable. The game uses colour blending, which do not blend here - rendering background tiles and others to look not as good as the original.  Might be a problem when outputting to a HDTV?

Xenophobe - playable.

 

Many thanks for sharing!

It looks like PAL people find quite a few 7800 games which are listed as P but fail if they are PAL.

 

"Commando - loads.  Can change settings, but fire button does not start game (maybe need to press the second button?).  Pressing reset resets the game, does not start it."

 

Yep, with single button joystick you can't start it. With a two button pad or joystick it resets the game once you press the button

 

[MittyOz]

I had a copy of Enduro which wasn't working, however after cleaning the contacts with isopropyl it's now working fine.  Sadly the 2600+ does nothing about the crappy label for this particular copy which I bought on Ebay.  I need to print up a new one.