??? Defective Atari 2600+ Console ??? or something else ???

[AgentOrange96]

1 hour ago, CapitanClassic said:

That's a strange concern. Other users have reported issues, but what percentage of 2600+ systems would you expect to be dead on arrival?

 

The first batch of PS2 systems had a failure rate of about 2%. With 500,000 shipping to the USA, that means approximately 10,000 broken PS2 systems shipped that first Christmas. Have you seen 200+ videos/posts of people complaining that their 2600+ was DOA?

Yoo that's BAD! RIP Sony's bottom line back in the day.

Okay, but to respond, that should not be the standard, and I highly doubt it is. Plus as others have implied I should have done, most people keep quiet about it and just do a return. So we can't expect reports to be equal to actual fallout.

My S/N is the new highscore on AtariAge. If we assume 55k units sold (higher than mine) and only the three reported faults, that's a 0.005% fallout for this issue. (Or 50 dead per million) The real number will be higher, and there may be other issues I'm unaware of.

This doesn't seem like a high percentage at face value, but it's going to depend on quality standards. This being a consumer gaming product (something I'm admittedly used to dealing with) that standard will be more relaxed than say if it were critical infrastructure or life saving equipment where lives are on the line. Overall, I'm glad though to see quality is being taken seriously and that this does matter to the team.

[AgentOrange96]

2 hours ago, 82-T/A said:

 

I think everyone is missing the obvious... the point isn't about whether or not this 2600+ failed, but how many views, clicks, and conversions he could get on his video to help him get to the point where he can monetize. I looked quickly at his channel, and he has a couple of other channels he created recently... one focusing on automotive videos, etc. When you see people creating separate YouTube channels for distinct "lines" of interest... and they have everything filled out as if you're going to the channel for content, then the intent is usually because he has dreams of creating a YouTube channel with which to live the life of Justin Beiber, Lauren Z-Side, and Mr. Beast.

 

Not making fun... but just emphasizing that while your average person would e-mail Atari support, he's doing this.

 

I admit the video is click-baity. It's not even the only one that's a little click-baity. I do enjoy having people watch the videos I make as I put effort into some of them. However, if you look at the upload times, you will see none of these channels are getting "professional YouTuber" attention.
Editing videos is a pain, that's why you'll see some one-shot take videos such as the one this thread is about and others where I literally just paused recording and restarted to avoid actual editing. People think full time YouTube is easy and do dream of becoming a professional YouTuber or just disrespect them for it, but it's real work.

If it were easy, then yeah maybe I'd give my channels a bit more attention and try that life. But it's not and I've known that for years. Rather I make videos when I get an idea in my head that I want to do and I have the time/motivation to actually do it. (Which isn't often.) I do not expect to ever make a cent off of YouTube.

Multiple channels is because I have some projects I want to document eventually, and I figured it'd make more sense to have a high level split for my automotive and electronics projects (two of my big hobbies) while letting the rest continue to fall into my main.

Hopefully this makes my thoughts and intentions clear. Not that it matters a whole ton, but whatever.

[+sramirez2008]

11 hours ago, AgentOrange96 said:

Here's my concern, mine is ~50K serial number, and I received mine quite late.

My S/N is 55098 (received mine a couple of days ago) and all of the carts that I've tested so far have worked each and every time that I have loaded them. FWIW, I'm powering the unit via my TV's USB port.

[82-T/A]

22 minutes ago, AgentOrange96 said:

I admit the video is click-baity. It's not even the only one that's a little click-baity. I do enjoy having people watch the videos I make as I put effort into some of them. However, if you look at the upload times, you will see none of these channels are getting "professional YouTuber" attention.
Editing videos is a pain, that's why you'll see some one-shot take videos such as the one this thread is about and others where I literally just paused recording and restarted to avoid actual editing. People think full time YouTube is easy and do dream of becoming a professional YouTuber or just disrespect them for it, but it's real work.

If it were easy, then yeah maybe I'd give my channels a bit more attention and try that life. But it's not and I've known that for years. Rather I make videos when I get an idea in my head that I want to do and I have the time/motivation to actually do it. (Which isn't often.) I do not expect to ever make a cent off of YouTube.

Multiple channels is because I have some projects I want to document eventually, and I figured it'd make more sense to have a high level split for my automotive and electronics projects (two of my big hobbies) while letting the rest continue to fall into my main.

Hopefully this makes my thoughts and intentions clear. Not that it matters a whole ton, but whatever.

 

I'm not trashing you... but I think it's important for people to understand the intent here since everyone was asking why you didn't just return it. We live in a new world today, and most of us are in our 40s and don't really understand the "put your life on the internet" perspective.

 

I have two channels that are monetized (neither of which have my face), and a third one I'm working on for my daughter. Getting to that point (at least on YouTube) is absolutely hard... I have a full time job, a family, and doing it all while getting another Masters degree. Video editing itself is not hard per se, just really, really, time consuming... and that's assuming your software works perfectly... which NERO does not. The cost rarely outweighs the benefit... so when creating a channel, you have to weigh the time / expense / benefit.

 

I'll give an example of one of my channels, but don't feel like advertising it so I won't post it here. I used to do watch repair as a hobby. I'd buy "lots" of broken / random watches in boxes off eBay. I'd sort out all the vintage mechanical Swiss, German, French, and US watches, and then repair them while filming it. This served two purposes... I could turn a $1 watch into a $75-$700 watch on eBay with usually not much more than 2 hours of time and $20-50 in parts. But then I had complete videos of them, mostly complete which required me only to narrate. I'd then included these videos with my eBay account so the people interested in the watches could see the restoration process and know they were getting what I said they were getting.

 

The videos worked to piggy-back off each other... which was part of my strategy. The videos on YouTube brought interested buyers to my eBay account where the watch in question was being sold, and then the embedded videos into eBay brought views to the YouTube account which resulted in new subscriptions. It took a little over a year and a few months, but I ended up with all the requirements and now I get $150 a month check from YouTube on that channel... haha... which is almost nothing. I also started getting people sending me free watches that I could keep as long as I did videos of them (and promised not to sell them on eBay), which was nice. I haven't posted a video in almost 9 months, and I still get ~$150 every month. So it's something. It's more frustrating than anything though during tax time because it's considered a side hustle... and when you have multiples like this, it's several forms you have to fill out manually in Adobe, even though I'm doing it through TurboTax.

 

Anyway, it's fine... people can do what they want and there's nothing wrong with it, I just thought it was obvious and figured people weren't getting it.

Edited December 11, 2023 by 82-T/A

[AgentOrange96]

1 minute ago, 82-T/A said:

 

I'm not trashing you... but I think it's important for people to understand the intent here since everyone was asking why you didn't just return it. We live in a new world today, and most of us are in our 40s and don't really understand the "put your life on the internet" perspective.

 

I have two channels that are monetized (neither of which have my face), and a third one I'm working on for my daughter. Getting to that point (at least on YouTube) is absolutely hard... I have a full time job, a family, and doing it all while getting another Masters degree. Video editing itself is not hard per se, just really, really, time consuming... and that's assuming your software works perfectly... which NERO does not. The cost rarely outweighs the benefit... so when creating a channel, you have to weigh the time / expense / benefit.

 

I'll give an example of one of my channels, but don't feel like advertising it so I won't post it here. I used to do watch repair as a hobby. I'd buy "lots" of broken / random watches in boxes off eBay. I'd sort out all the vintage mechanical Swiss, German, French, and US watches, and then repair them while filming it. This served two purposes... I could turn a $1 watch into a $75-$700 watch on eBay with usually not much more than 2 hours of time and $20-50 in parts. But then I had complete videos of them, mostly complete which required me only to narrate. I'd then included these videos with my eBay account so the people interested in the watches could see the restoration process and know they were getting what I said they were getting. But this also worked to piggy-back off each other... it brought views to my watches I was selling from YouTube, and views and subscribers from eBay to the videos I was creating. It took a little over a year and a few months, but I ended up with all the requirements and now I get $150 a month check from YouTube on that channel... haha... which is almost nothing. But I haven't posted a video in 9 months, and I still get it every month. So it's something. It's more frustrating than anything though during tax time because it's considered a side hustle.

 

Anyway, it's fine... people can do what they want, I just thought it was obvious and figured people weren't getting it.

That's fair. I'd agree it seems like most people don't seem to understand why I'd post a video rather than just quietly do an RMA.
In this case, as I mentioned before, it was a bit of a combination of things. I was already making a video. I saw others weren't taken seriously when they reported similar issues, and I found the failure mode almost comical. It finally loads the game but then immediately freezes anyway. So it seemed worth making a video about. But yeah, I think there's a generational difference in thought processes. I'm among the very youngest millennials.

Honestly props to you for getting your channels to that point! That definitely shows effort! Especially with what else you have going on. Getting $150/mo does go to show how insane it is when people can make their entire living off of YouTube. I think a lot of people aspire to that, but it's not easy. Obviously third party sponsors play a big role here.

Since I'm not making money, I'm using free software. The last program I tried completely butchered my video on export. I've just tried CapCut for desktop which worked well though for my needs. I'd prefer to use something FOSS that works well, but I haven't played around enough to know what's good. I'll probably just stick to CapCut since it works for now.

 

I've seen a few watch restoration channels! It's funny, because with the right presentation, you can get people interested who may otherwise not be. I wear smart watches. Before that I wore a Casio digital watch. But seeing how they're put together and worked on is just so cool! Especially when the presenter shows their passion and expertise. Maybe I've even seen your channel, who knows? (I'd definitely be interested to.)
But yeah, that's a solid system you had set up there. It also not only adds value to the watch in that the customer knows it's done right, but also in that the watch now comes with a tangible story. I wouldn't be surprised to learn your customers are sharing your videos around of their watches!

Anyway, I appreciate your insight!

[AgentOrange96]

28 minutes ago, sramirez2008 said:

My S/N is 55098 (received mine a couple of days ago) and all of the carts that I've tested so far have worked each and every time that I have loaded them. FWIW, I'm powering the unit via my TV's USB port.

 

55 minutes ago, AgentOrange96 said:

Yoo that's BAD! RIP Sony's bottom line back in the day.

Okay, but to respond, that should not be the standard, and I highly doubt it is. Plus as others have implied I should have done, most people keep quiet about it and just do a return. So we can't expect reports to be equal to actual fallout.

My S/N is the new highscore on AtariAge. If we assume 55k units sold (higher than mine) and only the three reported faults, that's a 0.005% fallout for this issue. (Or 50 dead per million) The real number will be higher, and there may be other issues I'm unaware of.

This doesn't seem like a high percentage at face value, but it's going to depend on quality standards. This being a consumer gaming product (something I'm admittedly used to dealing with) that standard will be more relaxed than say if it were critical infrastructure or life saving equipment where lives are on the line. Overall, I'm glad though to see quality is being taken seriously and that this does matter to the team.

 

Welp, my comment didn't age well. @sramirez2008 is the high score on AtariAge! Mine is 53928

I was going off another thread where someone said mine was the new highest they'd seen. But you have me beat by a lot!

[82-T/A]

2 minutes ago, AgentOrange96 said:

That's fair. I'd agree it seems like most people don't seem to understand why I'd post a video rather than just quietly do an RMA.
In this case, as I mentioned before, it was a bit of a combination of things. I was already making a video. I saw others weren't taken seriously when they reported similar issues, and I found the failure mode almost comical. It finally loads the game but then immediately freezes anyway. So it seemed worth making a video about. But yeah, I think there's a generational difference in thought processes. I'm among the very youngest millennials.

Honestly props to you for getting your channels to that point! That definitely shows effort! Especially with what else you have going on. Getting $150/mo does go to show how insane it is when people can make their entire living off of YouTube. I think a lot of people aspire to that, but it's not easy. Obviously third party sponsors play a big role here.

Since I'm not making money, I'm using free software. The last program I tried completely butchered my video on export. I've just tried CapCut for desktop which worked well though for my needs. I'd prefer to use something FOSS that works well, but I haven't played around enough to know what's good. I'll probably just stick to CapCut since it works for now.

 

I've seen a few watch restoration channels! It's funny, because with the right presentation, you can get people interested who may otherwise not be. I wear smart watches. Before that I wore a Casio digital watch. But seeing how they're put together and worked on is just so cool! Especially when the presenter shows their passion and expertise. Maybe I've even seen your channel, who knows? (I'd definitely be interested to.)
But yeah, that's a solid system you had set up there. It also not only adds value to the watch in that the customer knows it's done right, but also in that the watch now comes with a tangible story. I wouldn't be surprised to learn your customers are sharing your videos around of their watches!

Anyway, I appreciate your insight!

 

Which is true... and before I added a separate channel just for the watch stuff, I had people searching up the very watch I'd repaired... where all I did was just create a video of the back cover off with the movement running, and people would post... "I'm the proud owner of this watch, just bought it off eBay!" (or something to that effect) and it made me realize the potential there... which is why I ended up doing what I did.

 

For comparison... my watch channel only has 5k subscribers... and I get about $150 a month from that... so you can do the math. Again, I haven't posted anything in more than 9 months (just looked), but when I was regular with it... I was getting more than that. I don't know if the number of subscribers directly correlates (realistically) with the money I make, but I suspect that it improves the algorithm. If you don't post often, YouTube basically ignores you. Once in a while, they'll throw you a bone and one of your videos will be wildly popular, even if there's no reason for it to be. Anyway, I have about 5 videos with more than 40k views, and 7 videos with about 20k views, and then another ~100 videos with anywhere from 3,000 views to 200 views. When I looked at my analytics more recently... it's those top 15 videos that continue to generate the most revenue. Oddly enough, almost all of them are How-To videos, with the rest of the top 15 being specific watches that were popular (all newer watches). I also don't use deceptive thumbnails with hot girls or anything on them. Usually just a picture of the watch with a relevant background.

 

I also absolutely DO NOT have any politics or anything controversial in my videos either. At least nothing that people would have strong opinions on where they might irrationally hate you for holding an opinion on something. There's too much politics in our lives, and no one really gives a shit what my view is on economic models... it's certainly not why they came to watch my videos.

 

I am for sure not the most successful YouTuber on here... you have people like @Metal Jesus and others on here who have been doing it for over a decade. But with the exception of some early celebrities like the ones I mentioned previously, most people who are successful in YouTube tend to link their channel with their business... such as, you see a lot of car repair shops that have a YouTube channel, or a plumber who shows you some of the worst jobs he's had to do, etc. It is a lot of work, and requires consistency to get to the point where you can qualify to monetize. And once you reach that goal, the frustrating part is often that it's not from one day to the next you just start getting checks. There's a whole list of things you have to do before you're even eligible to get there. Just be prepared for that... it's not hard, just tedious. And then once the money starts coming in, you'll need to ensure that you have direct deposit set up.

[AgentOrange96]

18 minutes ago, 82-T/A said:

Once in a while, they'll throw you a bone and one of your videos will be wildly popular, even if there's no reason for it to be.

Literally a video of my old Acer booting Windows and Linux side by side is by far my top video and while I made it for fun, the reality is that's sooo boring!

 

19 minutes ago, 82-T/A said:

At least nothing that people would have strong opinions on where they might irrationally hate you for holding an opinion on something.

That's a good idea. I'd personally never post anything controversial or that may upset anyone. 👼

 

21 minutes ago, 82-T/A said:

Oddly enough, almost all of them are How-To videos, with the rest of the top 15 being specific watches that were popular (all newer watches). I also don't use deceptive thumbnails with hot girls or anything on them. Usually just a picture of the watch with a relevant background.

That's kind of cool, it seems like maybe people want to get into it themselves or have something they need/want to fix. In other words, you're probably helping people.

 

23 minutes ago, 82-T/A said:

such as, you see a lot of car repair shops that have a YouTube channel, or a plumber who shows you some of the worst jobs he's had to do, etc.

True! These are a lot of the best ones. These people are experts in their crafts and give insight you don't get to see often. They're often good examples of making the viewer interested too! I do watch some car repair videos, but that's an interest of mine. But I also watch HydroNYC's plumbing videos and I don't care a ton about plumbing. Or there's some truck driver who has been posting videos about his experiences recently which is fascinating.

[+sramirez2008]

41 minutes ago, AgentOrange96 said:

Welp, my comment didn't age well. @sramirez2008 is the high score on AtariAge! Mine is 53928

I was going off another thread where someone said mine was the new highest they'd seen. But you have me beat by a lot!

The “high score” thing is kind of funny. Sorry to hear that your unit may be defective, but I’m sure Plaion will make it right.

[AgentOrange96]

I have an update. Last night I said I'd fix the power supply issue on my Darth Vader and check the 10-in-1 cartridge on it. Since I'd had issues getting it to fit in the posted video.

 

I have done so. The 3.5mm plug I used on my power supply was cheap so I just needed to splash some solder on some formerly crimped parts. I got the 10-in-1 cart into the Darth Vader and it didn't work at all. I tried the first three games and just a black screen on all of them. So this is actually a worse result than I got on the 2600+ where eventually it at least showed the start of Adventure (Very crisply I might add) before freezing. I double checked the Darth Vader worked with a Breakout cartridge, and then switched to the 4-in-1 cartridge (which happens to be set to Breakout as well). The 4-in-1 works on the Darth Vader.

 

I then hooked the 2600+ up and put in the 4-in-1. I wish I had good news here, but sadly I do not. It's still mostly getting stuck on the Atari splash screen before even trying to load. (~75%) It got stuck a couple times trying to load, (~15%) and then once it did load I got a black screen. (~8%) Occasionally it doesn't even make it to the Atari logo and powers on to a black screen. (~2%)

 

After this I tried cleaning the contacts on the system and on the cartridge with 91% IPA. No change. I really wanted to see it at least get one game going. But I guess it's not meant to be. (At least not yet) I've genuinely put in a good faith effort to try an make it work.

 

I've gotten in contact with Ben as he requested earlier in this thread. It seems they plan to debug and repair it. It sounds like they test units that are RMA'd if I read correctly earlier. So maybe this isn't much different than had I RMA'd it through Atari. I don't know. Had the future FW update not fixed it, I would have gone the regulsr RMA route. But I feel good knowing it will be investigated and repaired rather than discarded as waste, with investigation hopefully leading to fewer RMA's and less waste in the future.

 

Thanks again everyone! I'll update here as necessary.

[Loccy]

I think you you just have a dodgy 10-in-1 cartridge rather than a dodgy 2600+.

 

How does the 4-in-1 fare on the 2600+ (rather than the Vader)? 

[PowerDubs]

3 hours ago, 82-T/A said:

 

I used to do watch repair as a hobby.

 

On the topic of new stuff being defective...it happens.  @82-T/A should find this interesting...

 

I have a new Swiss watch I bought about 6 months ago.  About 2 months of ownership- and only wound maybe 2 or 3 times (wore it enough to self wind mostly)- one day I went to put it on- unscrewed the crown...and the watch won't wind. 

 

Not wanting to force it- I just shake it by hand now before setting the time when I wear it.   Sure it's under warranty and I could send it in... but that's a pita and would probably be many months before I got it back as I am assuming it would go overseas.

 

I don't know anything about watch internals..I'm guessing a small bit of something left behind during assembly just jammed something inside.

[82-T/A]

1 hour ago, PowerDubs said:

 

On the topic of new stuff being defective...it happens.  @82-T/A should find this interesting...

 

I have a new Swiss watch I bought about 6 months ago.  About 2 months of ownership- and only wound maybe 2 or 3 times (wore it enough to self wind mostly)- one day I went to put it on- unscrewed the crown...and the watch won't wind. 

 

Not wanting to force it- I just shake it by hand now before setting the time when I wear it.   Sure it's under warranty and I could send it in... but that's a pita and would probably be many months before I got it back as I am assuming it would go overseas.

 

I don't know anything about watch internals..I'm guessing a small bit of something left behind during assembly just jammed something inside.

 

It could be any number of things. I'd need to know the make / model of the watch (and movement) before I speculate... but it could be a few different things. Normally, a crown (well, the stem) cannot be pulled out beyond a certain point without the removal of a screw that holds it in, or depressing something which allows it to come out.

 

But... if the tolerance isn't great, there's a little gear on the end of it which directly interfaces with the mainspring gear. This slides over the stem which is squared off, and when engaged (or disengaged as it would be), when you turn the crown, it winds the mainspring. Of course... there's a "fork" on this gear that engages / disengages the gear depending on whether or not you intend to wind the mainspring ... or set the time. I'm assuming that when you unscrew the crown, you can still set the time? If that's the case, then likely this fork dislodged from the gear, which is now likely sitting at the end of the stem... no longer interfacing with the squared off portion of the stem, so it just spins freely, and not catching. At some point, it probably does wind, but only after the point that your crown has already screwed down... making it pointless. 

 

It would probably be an easy fix, but I'm only just speculating. The thing about Swiss watches today is that all but the most expensive ones are actually not made in Switzerland. They actually make them in Hong Kong. There's some Swiss law that says you can call a watch a Swiss if at least 11% of the watch is assembled in Switzerland. I don't know the specifics on this because I restore watches from the 30s through the 80s mostly. You see faults like this more often in Tissot, Hamilton, etc... but it still happens in Rolex, Omega, and Breitling watches as well... or the next level Swiss watches with fancy names I cannot pronounce. Haha...

 

 

EDIT: I really like screw-down crowns for diving watches... but I really only like them for quartz watches. I find them frustrating for mechanical watches since unless you wear the watch every single day or put it in one of those stupid auto-winders, you have to unscrew the crown and set the time. The problem with a mechanical watch with a screw-down crown is you never really know how far to push it in before the threads engage. Pushing it in too far can cause that "fork" I talked about to pop free from it's little perch, which leads to the problem you have. Nothing is "broken" per-se, you just have to remove the crown / stem re-adjust the fork (need to remove the automatic weight and bridge) and then reinstall the crown / stem... and then it should be good. 

Edited December 11, 2023 by 82-T/A

[AgentOrange96]

1 hour ago, Loccy said:

I think you you just have a dodgy 10-in-1 cartridge rather than a dodgy 2600+.

 

How does the 4-in-1 fare on the 2600+ (rather than the Vader)? 

4-in-1 does not work in 2600+. I was trying to explain that I validated the 4-in-1 worked on the old 2600 but was still failing to work in the 2600+. I may not have been clear enough in my wording there.

[PowerDubs]

1 hour ago, 82-T/A said:

 

It could be any number of things. I'd need to know the make / model of the watch (and movement) before I speculate...  so it just spins freely, and not catching.

 

The thing about Swiss watches today is that all but the most expensive ones are actually not made in Switzerland.

 

EDIT: I really like screw-down crowns for diving watches... but I really only like them for quartz watches. I find them frustrating for mechanical watches since unless you wear the watch every single day or put it in one of those stupid auto-winders, you have to unscrew the crown and set the time. The problem with a mechanical watch with a screw-down crown is you never really know how far to push it in before the threads engage. Pushing it in too far can cause that "fork" I talked about to pop free from it's little perch, which leads to the problem you have...

 

It's my daily beater- Tudor Ranger.  I'd assume it's still 'real' Swiss.   Great watch- even 'broke'- I *adore* it.

 

It's not 'missing'- it's binding.  Unscrew and it's just locked tight on the wind detent.  Click out further and the time sets as normal.

 

Agreed I don't care for the screw down- but my Harrod's has it as well.  I prefer the action on my moonwatch or Murph.  Nobody is going diving with any of this.

 

But- I just posted to say- even 'luxury' items can be 'defective' and given your post- I figured you would get a kick out of the story.

 

If you want to talk more on it- hit me up on Twitter / Discord / Telegram / Reddit- don't want to derail here.

 

I would be interested in watching your channels though. 

 

 

[scifidude79]

9 hours ago, 82-T/A said:

 

I think everyone is missing the obvious... the point isn't about whether or not this 2600+ failed, but how many views, clicks, and conversions he could get on his video to help him get to the point where he can monetize. I looked quickly at his channel, and he has a couple of other channels he created recently... one focusing on automotive videos, etc. When you see people creating separate YouTube channels for distinct "lines" of interest... and they have everything filled out as if you're going to the channel for content, then the intent is usually because he has dreams of creating a YouTube channel with which to live the life of Justin Beiber, Lauren Z-Side, and Mr. Beast.

 

Not making fun... but just emphasizing that while your average person would e-mail Atari support, he's doing this.

 

Yeah, that's honestly not something I would think about. When I watch YouTube, it's channels where people try to create content that people will enjoy and/or find informative, not just creating videos trying to beat the algorithm. The channels I watch usually have subscriber counts in the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or millions because they've earned it. I do occasionally watch videos on small channels where people are actually trying to create good content, though. It depends on the content.

[Mockduck]

I think the only real issue with the video is the title, which seems to state that the "2600+ is bad" when the actual content of the video shows a very singular experience rather than an indication of the product as a whole. I mean, I'm sorry your unit lost the couple percent failure rate lottery, but it happens, and that's why there's a replacement process. But that doesn't mean the 2600+ is bad.

[AgentOrange96]

2 hours ago, scifidude79 said:

Yeah, that's honestly not something I would think about. When I watch YouTube, it's channels where people try to create content that people will enjoy and/or find informative, not just creating videos trying to beat the algorithm. The channels I watch usually have subscriber counts in the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or millions because they've earned it. I do occasionally watch videos on small channels where people are actually trying to create good content, though. It depends on the content.

This was a short video I made off the cuff while working on a legitimate high-effort video about the 2600+. (Which is linked in a previous comment here)
Midway through filming the other video, I tried to use the 2600+ and it didn't work at all. I looked online and saw others with the same issue who were never taken seriously and hadn't provided any demonstration of what exactly was going on. I also found the fact that when it did finally work, it'd immediately freeze anyway mildly amusing, so I played into it and created this spur of the moment video.

I feel like a broken record saying the same thing over and over here since I've already explained this several times here.

 

Just now, Mockduck said:

I think the only real issue with the video is the title, which seems to state that the "2600+ is bad" when the actual content of the video shows a very singular experience rather than an indication of the product as a whole. I mean, I'm sorry your unit lost the couple percent failure rate lottery, but it happens, and that's why there's a replacement process. But that doesn't mean the 2600+ is bad.

Critiquing the title in this way I can respect. I've admitted it's clickbaity. I don't plan to change it outright, however I will likely add a note in the title and thumbnail once I feel confident this issue is resolved fully. (Not just for me, but going forward)

I will stand by that this is not a very singular experience. As I've linked to earlier, this has affected other customers. However, I am confident that this is now on the radar for the appropriate people and that my example will be used to further look into this issue and prevent it.
 

My other video is a very stark contrast to this one as it's mostly me being impressed with the 2600+, though obviously there is no play-testing in it given the situation. I am committed to making at least one more video about this once I have the system back and functional.

[tradyblix]

On 12/10/2023 at 5:30 PM, Albert said:

Yeah, that's obviously not normal behavior, not even sure why you'd make a video like this instead of just exchanging it for another unit.

It's because people are terminally online now. I had a guy the other day interrupt his movie halfway through to explain his reaction to the first half on reddit and solicit reactions. lol. 

[MachoDrone]

I found this video several minutes ago on The You Tube.

I thought his commentary was funny. Especially the ending. To read into the video as some of these forum comments did is weird.

Edited December 12, 2023 by MachoDrone

[scifidude79]

1 hour ago, AgentOrange96 said:

I feel like a broken record saying the same thing over and over here since I've already explained this several times here.

I didn't read all of the posts in this thread because I don't really care. I was merely replying to @82-T/A because he replied to me.

[82-T/A]

10 hours ago, MachoDrone said:

I found this video several minutes ago on The You Tube.

I thought his commentary was funny. Especially the ending. To read into the video as some of these forum comments did is weird.

 

I can't help it... my family has two famous philosophers in the lineage, so I over-analyze everything.

[Ben from Plaion]

I received this machine back.

 

Its faulty.

 

Visual inspection I saw nothing of note...apart from the 4 screws holding the machine together were not factory tight. @AgentOrange96 Did you open up the machine yourself?

 

I had pretty much the same experience as agentorange96. Games did load occasionally, but a lot of the time it crashed when it should of booted.

 

Reflashing the machine didnt help which points toward a hardware malfunction.

 

I'm putting my money on a faulty RAM chip or Dumper chip.

 

Anyway, I've replaced the inner PCBs and it all works fine now. @AgentOrange96 I will send you back the machine tomorrow. The PCB will go to the factory for an inspection.

[scifidude79]

1 hour ago, Ben from Plaion said:

I received this machine back.

 

Its faulty.

 

Visual inspection I saw nothing of note...apart from the 4 screws holding the machine together were not factory tight. @AgentOrange96 Did you open up the machine yourself?

 

I had pretty much the same experience as agentorange96. Games did load occasionally, but a lot of the time it crashed when it should of booted.

 

Reflashing the machine didnt help which points toward a hardware malfunction.

 

I'm putting my money on a faulty RAM chip or Dumper chip.

 

Anyway, I've replaced the inner PCBs and it all works fine now. @AgentOrange96 I will send you back the machine tomorrow. The PCB will go to the factory for an inspection.

It's always nice to see a company stand by their product. Unfortunately, these kind of defects can happen with anything. But, it's good that you were able to troubleshoot it and send him out a new one.

[AgentOrange96]

12 hours ago, Ben from Plaion said:

4 screws holding the machine together were not factory tight.

Yes, in my second video where I do a hardware overview I open the system up. I note that it is after I've learned the system is faulty. (I wanted to make sure it was clear that this was not related, especially per warranty laws here) As I've mentioned before, I'm very impressed with it from a hardware perspective.

 

12 hours ago, Ben from Plaion said:

Reflashing the machine didnt help which points toward a hardware malfunction.

 

I'm putting my money on a faulty RAM chip or Dumper chip

If so, it sounds like perhaps another supplier that might want to look into that. Being in the semiconductor industry relating to QA, that one hits close to home. While I do not know if/how Plaion tests each board (I hope so) or what complexities relate to that, I know semiconductors typically each get tested before shipping out. So this could point to an issue in a supplier's processes.

On this subject, the paper note that's usually taped to the inside of an original 2600 is apparently the QA results. Their process for checking each board sounds quite manual compared to what I'm used to on the CPU side of things.

 

Thank you very much for looking into this and fixing it. I do really appreciate it! This whole experience has been a great display of good will and dedication to quality from Ben/Plaion, and that's super cool! I do hope getting the board back helps with investigating and preventing future issues.

 

I'll be quite busy for the holiday season, and it'll probably be a while before I'm able to validate anything, but I will commit to providing an update here as well as on YouTube when I get the system back and get a chance to try it out for a bit. Thanks again!

 

Edited December 19, 2023 by AgentOrange96