Collecting for the 2600+

[+GoldLeader]

When it comes to controllers,  I certainly wouldn't want to discourage anyone from buying or trying anything.  My personal opinion?   Put in the $$$$ and go first class!...After you're done figuring out that a ColecoVision controller is ASS and a Pro-Line is WORSE,  you should be ready to step up and get an Edladdin.   They are smooth as butter!  The Cadillac of controllers!

 

(Look,  you didn't bat an eye when buying a 2600+ that doesn't even play all the games,  so why look sideways at spending some cash on a serious controller that you can use for the rest of your life?...Just my 2 cents)

 

Here's what's Great for 7800!

 

 

 

And if you also have a ColecoVision (and I hope you do),  you might try this!

 

 

I put mine* up on milk crates in front of a couch and it is Perfection!!

 

*I think mine might have been a prototype of sorts for this...It was a custom order idea back when Ed mostly did Left or Right handed controllers (with the joystick on one side or the other).  I also asked for just 2 buttons per side,  as I don't care about the Super Action Controller buttons,  and I knew it would see a lot of 7800 use...Here's some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

So to compare,

 

 

Here's a stock ColecoVision controller:

 

Neat for its time,  It will control Atari 2600 using the button on the left for fire.  It will also work for 1 button games on 7800.  (Not 2 button games).

 

Now,  when it first came out,  not gonna lie,  I loved it.  It was an insane workout for the hands,  but most things were back then.  And one advantage it had was the short joystick and wide base,  which means you can leverage some force by the way you hold it.  For example,  going Right:  Your thumb is pushing right,  but if you look down,  your fingers are also pulling everything Right.  (Unfortunately moving the stick also requires a lot of force).

 

 

 

Next up the Pro-Line that came with the American 7800.

 

 

 

While it looks kind of neat (something different),  the lower skinny base doesn't give much (any?) leverage.  Feels kind of like holding the joystick in midair with your right hand while holding on for dear life with your left hand while trying to push the buttons...Side Effects may include Carpal Tunnel and screaming cusswords...Still,  everyone should have one as a historical artifact...

 

 

The Europads are Better,  and any converted NES pad is Better yet.  A tiny step up from that would be an X-Arcade controller with a TTK PlayStation to Mega Drive converter (I assume they still sell these), or (better yet) a HORI PS1/PS2 Arcade stick with a TTK converter...But these are still Left Handed (as far as I'm concerned) joysticks/gamepads.

 

The Edladdin is another step up because it is Ambidextrous.  And I use mine Right Handed more often than not...It really is The BEST controller I own (and I have a lot of controllers!)... :0)

Edited July 24 by GoldLeader
Edited since pics disappear sometimes...

[shane857]

33 minutes ago, GoldLeader said:

When it comes to controllers,  I certainly wouldn't want to discourage anyone from buying or trying anything.  My personal opinion?   Put in the $$$$ and go first class!...After you're done figuring out that a ColecoVision controller is ASS and a Pro-Line is WORSE,  you should be ready to step up and get an Edladdin.   They are smooth as butter!  The Cadillac of controllers!

 

(Look,  you didn't bat an eye when buying a 2600+ that doesn't even play all the games,  so why look sideways at spending some cash on a serious controller that you can use for the rest of your life?...Just my 2 cents)

 

Here's what's Great for 7800!

 

 

 

And if you also have a ColecoVision (and I hope you do),  you might try this!

 

 

I put mine* up on milk crates in front of a couch and it is Perfection!!

 

*I think mine might have been a prototype of sorts for this...It was a custom order idea back when Ed mostly did Left or Right handed controllers (with the joystick on one side or the other).  I also asked for just 2 buttons per side,  as I don't care about the Super Action Controller buttons,  and I knew it would see a lot of 7800 use...Here's some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

So to compare,

 

 

Here's a stock ColecoVision controller:

 

Neat for its time,  It will control Atari 2600 using the button on the right for fire.  It will also work for 1 button games on 7800.  (Not 2 button games).

 

Now,  when it first came out,  not gonna lie,  I loved it.  It was an insane workout for the hands,  but most things were back then.  And one advantage it had was the short joystick and wide base,  which means you can leverage some force by the way you hold it.  For example,  going Right:  Your thumb is pushing right,  but if you look down,  your fingers are also pulling everything Right.  (Unfortunately moving the stick also requires a lot of force).

 

 

 

Next up the Pro-Line that came with the American 7800.

 

 

 

While it looks kind of neat (something different),  the lower skinny base doesn't give much (any?) leverage.  Feels kind of like holding the joystick in midair with your right hand while holding on for dear life with your left hand while trying to push the buttons...Side Effects may include Carpal Tunnel and screaming cusswords...Still,  everyone should have one as a historical artifact...

 

 

The Europads are Better,  and any converted NES pad is Better yet.  A tiny step up from that would be an X-Arcade controller with a TTK PlayStation to Mega Drive converter (I assume they still sell these), or (better yet) a HORI PS1/PS2 Arcade stick with a TTK converter...But these are still Left Handed (as far as I'm concerned) joysticks/gamepads.

 

The Edladdin is another step up because it is Ambidextrous.  And I use mine Right Handed more often than not...It really is The BEST controller I own (and I have a lot of controllers!)... :0)

Nice bro. 👍🏻 I'm still gonna try the pro-line thou. Just out of curiosity...

[Brad_from_the_80s]

2 hours ago, JetmanUK said:

A couple of CIBs, both NTSC.  

 

 

Pressure Cooker is Overcooked before Overcooked existed. Fun game. 

 

With Starmaster I am glad to have a manual now.

Who likes Starmaster more than Star Raiders? 🤔 Of course Star Raiders is not currently playable on the Plus. 

Pressure Cooker is a lot of fun, just a great little game and impressive for the 2600 really.  Programmed by Garry Kitchen it is extremely well done.  I also love the art work, and Activision didn't often do this type of art.  I also prefer Starmaster, although the later Solaris may be the king.

[Microjak]

2 hours ago, JetmanUK said:

A couple of CIBs, both NTSC.  

 

 

Pressure Cooker is Overcooked before Overcooked existed. Fun game. 

 

With Starmaster I am glad to have a manual now.

Who likes Starmaster more than Star Raiders? 🤔 Of course Star Raiders is not currently playable on the Plus. 

Love pressure cooker,gets really frantic and funny as it gets faster 😀

[shane857]

1 minute ago, shane857 said:

Nice bro. 👍🏻 I'm still gonna try the pro-line thou. Just out of curiosity...

I get Carpal Tunnel from playing guitar anyway, and It's good to swear and curse at games. 😂

[DEANJIMMY]

1 hour ago, GoldLeader said:

When it comes to controllers,  I certainly wouldn't want to discourage anyone from buying or trying anything.  My personal opinion?   Put in the $$$$ and go first class!...After you're done figuring out that a ColecoVision controller is ASS and a Pro-Line is WORSE,  you should be ready to step up and get an Edladdin.   They are smooth as butter!  The Cadillac of controllers!

 

(Look,  you didn't bat an eye when buying a 2600+ that doesn't even play all the games,  so why look sideways at spending some cash on a serious controller that you can use for the rest of your life?...Just my 2 cents)

 

Here's what's Great for 7800!

 

 

 

And if you also have a ColecoVision (and I hope you do),  you might try this!

 

 

I put mine* up on milk crates in front of a couch and it is Perfection!!

 

*I think mine might have been a prototype of sorts for this...It was a custom order idea back when Ed mostly did Left or Right handed controllers (with the joystick on one side or the other).  I also asked for just 2 buttons per side,  as I don't care about the Super Action Controller buttons,  and I knew it would see a lot of 7800 use...Here's some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

So to compare,

 

 

Here's a stock ColecoVision controller:

 

Neat for its time,  It will control Atari 2600 using the button on the left for fire.  It will also work for 1 button games on 7800.  (Not 2 button games).

 

Now,  when it first came out,  not gonna lie,  I loved it.  It was an insane workout for the hands,  but most things were back then.  And one advantage it had was the short joystick and wide base,  which means you can leverage some force by the way you hold it.  For example,  going Right:  Your thumb is pushing right,  but if you look down,  your fingers are also pulling everything Right.  (Unfortunately moving the stick also requires a lot of force).

 

 

 

Next up the Pro-Line that came with the American 7800.

 

 

 

While it looks kind of neat (something different),  the lower skinny base doesn't give much (any?) leverage.  Feels kind of like holding the joystick in midair with your right hand while holding on for dear life with your left hand while trying to push the buttons...Side Effects may include Carpal Tunnel and screaming cusswords...Still,  everyone should have one as a historical artifact...

 

 

The Europads are Better,  and any converted NES pad is Better yet.  A tiny step up from that would be an X-Arcade controller with a TTK PlayStation to Mega Drive converter (I assume they still sell these), or (better yet) a HORI PS1/PS2 Arcade stick with a TTK converter...But these are still Left Handed (as far as I'm concerned) joysticks/gamepads.

 

The Edladdin is another step up because it is Ambidextrous.  And I use mine Right Handed more often than not...It really is The BEST controller I own (and I have a lot of controllers!)... :0)

Very nice, arcade components are the best way to go🤙

 

I built mine from a DIY case, Seimitsu Joystick and Sanwa buttons (red).

The black buttons are B for 7800, C64 and Amiga, the white button is UP aka Jump😊

Yellow is left/right for Decathlon, Asteriods, etc.

[DEANJIMMY]

My NTSC Frogger cart arrived🤙

[+sramirez2008]

3 hours ago, GoldLeader said:

When it comes to controllers,  I certainly wouldn't want to discourage anyone from buying or trying anything.  My personal opinion?   Put in the $$$$ and go first class!...After you're done figuring out that a ColecoVision controller is ASS and a Pro-Line is WORSE,  you should be ready to step up and get an Edladdin.   They are smooth as butter!  The Cadillac of controllers!

 

(Look,  you didn't bat an eye when buying a 2600+ that doesn't even play all the games,  so why look sideways at spending some cash on a serious controller that you can use for the rest of your life?...Just my 2 cents)

 

Here's what's Great for 7800!

 

 

 

And if you also have a ColecoVision (and I hope you do),  you might try this!

 

 

I put mine* up on milk crates in front of a couch and it is Perfection!!

 

*I think mine might have been a prototype of sorts for this...It was a custom order idea back when Ed mostly did Left or Right handed controllers (with the joystick on one side or the other).  I also asked for just 2 buttons per side,  as I don't care about the Super Action Controller buttons,  and I knew it would see a lot of 7800 use...Here's some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

So to compare,

 

 

Here's a stock ColecoVision controller:

 

Neat for its time,  It will control Atari 2600 using the button on the left for fire.  It will also work for 1 button games on 7800.  (Not 2 button games).

 

Now,  when it first came out,  not gonna lie,  I loved it.  It was an insane workout for the hands,  but most things were back then.  And one advantage it had was the short joystick and wide base,  which means you can leverage some force by the way you hold it.  For example,  going Right:  Your thumb is pushing right,  but if you look down,  your fingers are also pulling everything Right.  (Unfortunately moving the stick also requires a lot of force).

 

 

 

Next up the Pro-Line that came with the American 7800.

 

 

 

While it looks kind of neat (something different),  the lower skinny base doesn't give much (any?) leverage.  Feels kind of like holding the joystick in midair with your right hand while holding on for dear life with your left hand while trying to push the buttons...Side Effects may include Carpal Tunnel and screaming cusswords...Still,  everyone should have one as a historical artifact...

 

 

The Europads are Better,  and any converted NES pad is Better yet.  A tiny step up from that would be an X-Arcade controller with a TTK PlayStation to Mega Drive converter (I assume they still sell these), or (better yet) a HORI PS1/PS2 Arcade stick with a TTK converter...But these are still Left Handed (as far as I'm concerned) joysticks/gamepads.

 

The Edladdin is another step up because it is Ambidextrous.  And I use mine Right Handed more often than not...It really is The BEST controller I own (and I have a lot of controllers!)... :0)

I can vouch for the Edladdin controllers. As of this writing, I have a new one on order. 

[+sramirez2008]

Btw, this is my favorite way to play 7800 games. However, I do own several pairs of CX78s, as some came with my CIB 7800 consoles. 
 

Game on everyone!

[Maztr_0n]

6 hours ago, tradyblix said:

The AudioTechnica design, which seems to be used by both AT and Pioneer DJ for some of the decks, has a problem with the tonearm height adjustment, it's too low at it's maximum height. you can kinda fix this by doubling up on a few slipmats to get the tonearm more level. it should be level. Other than that, I've had a decent experiece with it. It's too bad the choices for turntables are 1.) junk 2.) boutique expensive audiophile belt drive decks or 3.) expensive pro dj direct drive decks with not much in between these days, unless you have a decent piece of legacy hardware from the 70s

yeah i guess so, that could be my issue, i mean i got it because i do not think i can go through that hassle of aligning carts/heads/styli or whatever....

[+sramirez2008]

4 hours ago, Brad_from_the_80s said:

Pressure Cooker is a lot of fun

Pressure cooker is really good.

[Sean_1970]

5 hours ago, Brad_from_the_80s said:

I feel like every controller that shipped with consoles before the NES/Famicom was terrible in some way.  Of course any controller is going to have people who don't like it.  The CX-40 is iconic of course, and even though it is not exactly ergonomic, the truth is with regular use you can acclimate to it within a few days, even find it borderline comfortable.  I do anyway, and enjoy gaming with it.  However if I get out of practice for a few weeks it will go back to causing mild hand pain/cramps.  But most of the rest from that era just doesn't hold up very well, and that is likely when the Pro-Line was originally designed.  The CX-78 is an odd, stylized, almost transitional design, but it works fine and makes a reasonable peer to NES and SMS controllers.

I find the CX40 is fine with the base on a table, but prolonged use without the base is digging into my palm. I always preferred that to rival consoles of the era though: having a joystick and fire button was pretty boss 😁

[2LTIME6100]

9 hours ago, DEANJIMMY said:

My NTSC Frogger cart arrived🤙

NTSC looks good. It's unfortunate that I bought a 2600jr a year before the 2600+ and bought most of my games as PAL versions.
At that time, NTSC games would often have been cheaper in Germany. Does the NTSC version work for you without the problems discussed with the PAL version?

[Lucy willis]

I've notice you can get some bargains in Germany. I think my next two purchases might be coming from there...

[JetmanUK]

2 hours ago, Lucy willis said:

I've notice you can get some bargains in Germany. I think my next two purchases might be coming from there...

I have bought many mnay carts from Germany, PAL & ntsc, it seems to be a hotbed of 2600 goodies.

[JetmanUK]

13 hours ago, DEANJIMMY said:

My NTSC Frogger cart arrived🤙

I only have the NTSC version of Frogger, but I recently compared it and the PAL version by running two versions of STELLA side by side.

I was impresed to see the same screen size (well a slightly larger PAL screen! Slightly) and good colour choices. Speed doesn't look to be a perfect match, but work has clearly been done, they both play well. Why couldn't more PAL versions be like this! Time is money, I know, sh*t out a PAL cart and take the money. Meh 🤦🏻

 

Me complaining about an issue from 40 years ago 💁🏻🤣. Thankfully modern devs and PAL60 have saved us from this nightmare 🤟🏻.

Edited July 25 by JetmanUK

[Lucy willis]

There's a couple of game I want. I donno if they're good, but they look 'cute' to me. Having seen the prices elsewhere, I could never afford them.

 

But eBay has then from Germany for cheap....

Edited July 25 by Lucy willis

[DEANJIMMY]

4 hours ago, 2LTIME6100 said:

NTSC looks good. It's unfortunate that I bought a 2600jr a year before the 2600+ and bought most of my games as PAL versions.
At that time, NTSC games would often have been cheaper in Germany. Does the NTSC version work for you without the problems discussed with the PAL version?

I guess so.

I never really had the issue with the PAL version.

On one TV the disappearing frog never happened and on the other just twice in several  months, reseating the cart fixed it.

 

Yeah, NTSC were cheap in Germany and some still are, as the colors on original hw are wrong. So I bought NTSC versions of my favorite games like Pitall(2), Seaquest, Empire strikes back, ... when ever the additional speed or better look (Battlezone!) made sense.

For River Raid or Enduro it is probably better if the max speed is a bit less😉

[+Intellivision Master]

19 hours ago, tradyblix said:

It's better than the CX40 but yeah. When you got brand new CX78+ out there and amazing custom controllers on etsy people make for more arcade like experiences, we are in a golden age of options. not to mention the hyperkin stuff for 2600. (they don't have a 7800 controller yet) 

I find the CX-40 to be comfortable.  I have the new CX-78 and it's a nice controller.  Also, I have a custom NES 7800 gamepad too.  It's interesting that Hyperkin didn't make a 7800 controller yet.  Maybe they will one day.  I do have their Trooper joystick.  Which works very good.

[+Intellivision Master]

14 hours ago, sramirez2008 said:

I can vouch for the Edladdin controllers. As of this writing, I have a new one on order. 

I would have gotten one from the AA store, but the shipping cost is high.

[+Intellivision Master]

13 hours ago, Sean_1970 said:

I find the CX40 is fine with the base on a table, but prolonged use without the base is digging into my palm. I always preferred that to rival consoles of the era though: having a joystick and fire button was pretty boss 😁

The Trooper joystick by Hyperkin doesn't have the sharp corners.  So it won't dig into your palm.  Also, it has 2 fire buttons for playing left or right handed. 

[+Intellivision Master]

14 hours ago, sramirez2008 said:

Btw, this is my favorite way to play 7800 games. However, I do own several pairs of CX78s, as some came with my CIB 7800 consoles. 
 

Game on everyone!

That's neat looking.  For me, I'd have to have the joystick on the left side.

[tradyblix]

16 hours ago, sramirez2008 said:

Btw, this is my favorite way to play 7800 games. However, I do own several pairs of CX78s, as some came with my CIB 7800 consoles. 
 

Game on everyone!

Is the photograph flipped or is this really joystick on right hand side (Left handed user maybe ?) 

[+sramirez2008]

20 minutes ago, tradyblix said:

Is the photograph flipped or is this really joystick on right hand side (Left handed user maybe ?)

It’s right handed. You could have ordered a left handed one also.

[JetmanUK]

3 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

It’s right handed. You could have ordered a left handed one also.

This is how sticks should be. My evidence, look at the CX40. 💁🏻