Ian Primus Posted September 18, 2001 Share Posted September 18, 2001 I finally found an Atari 7800! After lots of searching, I found one at a computer show of all places. There was a booth at the Dayton Computerfest selling nothing but classic game stuff. I bought a bare 7800 console for $5 (no power supply). I found instructions on the 'net for modifying it to use an Atari 2600 PSU, so I plugged in my soldering iron and replaced the oddball jack with a standard one like on the 2600. It worked great. I already had a handfull of games for the 7800 that I had picked up with 2600 carts over the years, and I must say that I am impressed with the graphics. The reason I am posting this is to ask a couple basic questions about the 7800. What games actually need a two button controller? I have just been using my standard 2600 sticks with the games and they seem to work. Should I get a power supply that puts out more than 500 amps? I read Crossbow's post about it, and I was wondering if it will cause a problem. I am, however, using a 2 year old PSU I bought from Radio Shack when I first got my 2600, it has the same specs as the original (9v, 500ma), but it isn't 20 years old. Is it just me, or is it REALLY hard to insert/remove carts on the 7800? It seems like it is a lot harder to plug games into the 7800 than it is to plug games into my old Sears heavy sixer. What games are not compatible with the 7800? I have heard that there are a couple 2600 carts that won't play. I haven't had any problems yet. Which ones don't work? And, is there anything else I should know about the 7800? Thanks, Ian Primus ian_primus@yahoo.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cousin Vinnie Posted September 18, 2001 Share Posted September 18, 2001 Most games that aren't classic arcade game translations require two buttons. The only thing else I think you should know about the 7800 is that it was the coolest system of all time! Check out http://www.bigfishusa.com/7800 For more updates on the system... Cousin Vinnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted September 18, 2001 Share Posted September 18, 2001 Sark: Best bet is to actually modify the power jack and set it up to use a more common 5.5mm barrel jack. That way you can use a Sega Genesis power supply which meets the 7800 specs much more closely. As for using the 2600 power supply. True mine is old...but the 7800 when in 7800 mode draws off way more amps at least 800ma I would say and so while that 500ma will work...it will wear it out much quicker possibly. As for the 2 button controller bit. Cousin Vinnie basically stated it correct in that almost all the classic translations only need the one button. But get something more advanced like Ikari Warriors, any of the flight sims, or even Xenophobe. Those games will be pretty much unplayable without the 2 button sticks. The sticks aren't that expensive and I know there are places on the web which show you how to modify an old Sega Genesis or Sega Master System controller for dual button use on the 7800 games. Check out Cousin Vinnie's site for reviews on most of the 7800 games. We still have a few to complete yet...but many of them are done. Also feel free to ask me or anyone else here on how they feel about a game and we will give you an honest answer. On the carts being hard to stick in and get out...blame the smaller cart opening on the 7800 console. Many Imagic carts..and some M-Network and other 3rd party game makers carts have a really tough time getting in there. No real fix unless you want to expand the opening of the cart port on the case by using a dremel or similar tool. As for which games (2600) which do not work correctly. There aren't any anymore that don't work. Now that a simple mod fix has been found to get those games working there really isn't any compatibility issue with the 7800 any longer. Welcome to the 7800 club!!! [ 09-18-2001: Message edited by: -^Cro§Bow^- ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted September 18, 2001 Share Posted September 18, 2001 quoteWhat games actually need a two button controller? Here's a list: http://members.aol.com/~Atari7800games/7800list.htm/ Have fun with your 7800. Mitch http://atari7800.atari.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mot Posted September 19, 2001 Share Posted September 19, 2001 Mitch, Karateka is listed as a 1 but I don't have a 7800 joystick and I can not get the guy to hit with the standard joy. Also, Hat trick, I could not get the puc off the stick but I only played it once. quoteBest bet is to actually modify the power jack and set it up to use a more common 5.5mm barrel jack. That way you can use a Sega Genesis power supply which meets the 7800 specs much more closely. I though I was the only one that thought of this. I actually used my Sega Master System transformer. This one has the exacted specs as the 7800 (I belive 1Amp). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted September 19, 2001 Share Posted September 19, 2001 quote: Mitch, Karateka is listed as a 1 but I don't have a 7800 joystick and I can not get the guy to hit with the standard joy. Also, Hat trick, I could not get the puc off the stick but I only played it once. Umm... both Karateka and Hat Trick are listed as needing a two button joystick. Are the rows not lining up correctly for you? Mitch http://atari7800.atari.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted September 19, 2001 Share Posted September 19, 2001 Mitch: the rows are not lining up right...and I am using 1024x768 resolution. It would appear the buttons are one row behind the actual item they go with. FYI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mot Posted September 19, 2001 Share Posted September 19, 2001 Mitch, They are now lining up correctly, both are 2 now. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted September 20, 2001 Share Posted September 20, 2001 quotethe rows are not lining up right...and I am using 1024x768 resolution. It would appear the buttons are one row behind the actual item they go with. Cro§Bow, what browser are you using? I've tried it on various resolutions and different browsers and it always lines up correctly. Mitch http://atari7800.atari.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted September 20, 2001 Share Posted September 20, 2001 Currently using WinXP build 2600..so that would be the Final build of IE 6... I haven't checked back since Mot mentioned it was working now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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