TomBrazil Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 Hello guys, I just added this to my collection. It's the first Onyx console I've been able to find, and my fellow collectors think this is the rarest Brazilian Atari ever made. It was manufactured by a company called "Microdigital", which used the name "Microsoft" in its products. That is, untill Microsoft did something about, so, obviously, those are not real Microsoft products. Anyway, the console looks great, it seems like just bought from a store, you can see by the pictures that it looks brand new. I also managed to get 2 games, and the unusual power connector probably indicates that I have an original power adaptor. I never saw this silver connector before. Wonder if you guys can give me an idea of rarity and value for this console, I don't plan to sell it but I'd like to have an idea. Other question: is this the only Atari 2600 with a "pause" switch? This is a highly desirable feature, I only saw this in the 7800 console, but it seems not to work with 2600 games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasty Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 Nice score! The silver connector looks a little like a replaced part to me, but I may be wrong. Can you take pictures of the controllers? They look interesting! Regards, Rasty.- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBrazil Posted April 3, 2005 Author Share Posted April 3, 2005 Can you take pictures of the controllers? They look interesting! Hi, I don't have the controllers very sad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindfield Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 Y'know, I've seen pictures of that unit before, but it just dawned on me: That case is almost a dead ringer for the Atari 600XL, excepting that it's a little more narrow, the side vents are slightly different, and it's green. I have a couple of Onyx/Microsoft carts, but I've never found a unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic George 2K3 Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 "This is your standard issue Atari 2600 game system, soldier! Take good care of it!" "Yes, sir, sir!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charin Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 Congratulatins, your Onyx Jr looks great. If I remember well I paid approx. US$70-80 for one loose with one controller in eBay. I think the power supply isn't original, it looks like been made in Taiwan. But I never saw the original one, so... Sergio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FujiSkunk Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 Other question: is this the only Atari 2600 with a "pause" switch? Probably. None of the official 2600 models have one, nor does the VCS adapters for the 5200 and the Colecovision, nor does the Gemini. This is a highly desirable feature, I only saw this in the 7800 console, but it seems not to work with 2600 games. The pause button on the 7800 is the 2600 color/B&W switch in disguise. Left alone, it's in the "color" position. Held down, it's in the B&W position. You can see this for yourself by plugging in one of the older 2600 games that makes use of different color palettes (Combat, Space Invaders, etc.). Some of the later red-label 2600 games actually do make use of the pause button, since by then the 7800 was out and Atari assumed people would like the pause feature. When these games are played on a 2600, you have to set the switch to B&W and then color to pause the game, and then set it to B&W and back to color again to unpause the game. For something like the VCS adapter for the 5200 that doesn't have a color switch, you're out of luck. I would imagine the Onyx's pause switch works at a lower level, perhaps locking the CPU in a no-op holding pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasty Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 Can you take pictures of the controllers? They look interesting! Hi, I don't have the controllers very sad Ouch! Sorry to hear that.. ! I would imagine the Onyx's pause switch works at a lower level, perhaps locking the CPU in a no-op holding pattern. Implementing a pause on the 2600 is probably one of the least trivial tasks to do, due to the lack of a framebuffer, and doesn't just involve pausing the CPU. But theoretically, the Pause switch could just set a bit on some register that the games have to read and make use of in software. I somehow doubt that this is what this unit is doing, but you never know...! Regards! Rasty.- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 Can you take pictures of the controllers? They look interesting! Hi, I don't have the controllers very sad They look like modified CV controllers to me. -Bry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBrazil Posted April 3, 2005 Author Share Posted April 3, 2005 Hey guys, Thanx everyone for the nice inputs. skunkworx, nice explanation about the pause feature. Unfortunately, I wasnt able to test my Onyx system yet, it's in my game room waiting for me but I'll make some tests. rasty, someone told me it's very easy to simply freeze the CPU, well, I'm not tech savvy enough to discuss this, and I'm yet to try Onyx pause button with some games, probably in 10 days from now since I'm business travelling. Finally, I can say to Mindfield that I'm interested in some "Microsoft" carts to enhance my collection. If you are willing to trade them, please LMK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasty Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 skunkworx, nice explanation about the pause feature. Unfortunately, I wasnt able to test my Onyx system yet, it's in my game room waiting for me but I'll make some tests. From your first post I understood you tested it already.. well, let us know when you actually do, this is interesting!! rasty, someone told me it's very easy to simply freeze the CPU, well, I'm not tech savvy enough to discuss this, and I'm yet to try Onyx pause button with some games, probably in 10 days from now since I'm business travelling. Freezing the CPU may be easy, but pausing a 2600 game from the hardware requires more than just that!! Keep us posted... Regards, Rasty.- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindfield Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 Finally, I can say to Mindfield that I'm interested in some "Microsoft" carts to enhance my collection. If you are willing to trade them, please LMK. I don't have any spares to offer, but you might want to check here for them; Luiz is a well-respected Brazilian collector/seller whom a number of us have bought from in the past. Always good service and good titles. And since you're already in Brazil shipping ought to be cheap. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBrazil Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 I don't have any spares to offer, but you might want to check here for them; Luiz is a well-respected Brazilian collector/seller whom a number of us have bought from in the past. Always good service and good titles. And since you're already in Brazil shipping ought to be cheap. :-) Hey thanks, Luiz Bonaccorsi is a fellow collector, I made some business with him before. I'm not in a hurry to pursue "Microsoft" titles, but I'll keep my eyes opened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister_pal Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Wow! That is an amazing console. I wish I had a 2600 with a pause switch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keilbaca Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Mind cracking it open and take pics of the pause switch inner workings? I was in the process until I moved here to get a pause switch like the Onyx Jr. and I would like to see if it is just a modified CPU or if it is an actual circuit to actually freeze the processor to make it pause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tomlin Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 I'll bet the pause switch is just another input to the HALT line. Wow, that thing is beautiful. I love the military theme. It makes for a great design. Seeing as how the controllers were obviously made using copies of the Colecovision controller mold, I wouldn't be surprised if the case was a copy of the Atari 600XL or some other Atari system. Making plastic molds is expensive enough without having to make an original master design too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keilbaca Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 I'll bet the pause switch is just another input to the HALT line. Wow, that thing is beautiful. I love the military theme. It makes for a great design. Seeing as how the controllers were obviously made using copies of the Colecovision controller mold, I wouldn't be surprised if the case was a copy of the Atari 600XL or some other Atari system. Making plastic molds is expensive enough without having to make an original master design too. We'll see, but me and CPUWIZ already tried the HALT and it just locked up. That's why I'm so interested (and I bet CPUWIZ is also) to figure out whats inside of it. Besides, if we can uncover the pause switch, I'm sure it'll be a big relief to the atari community for this very beautiful invention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBrazil Posted April 5, 2005 Author Share Posted April 5, 2005 Mind cracking it open and take pics of the pause switch inner workings? I was in the process until I moved here to get a pause switch like the Onyx Jr. and I would like to see if it is just a modified CPU or if it is an actual circuit to actually freeze the processor to make it pause. not a problem. but I'm travelling right now. So I plan to do this next week. I'll keep you guys posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 We'll see, but me and CPUWIZ already tried the HALT and it just locked up. That's why I'm so interested (and I bet CPUWIZ is also) to figure out whats inside of it. Besides, if we can uncover the pause switch, I'm sure it'll be a big relief to the atari community for this very beautiful invention. I wonder what would happen if you could stop the clock to the RIOT (while VBLANK is on). Since games wait for the timer to expire before starting the next frame, this would cause the same time value to be read over and over, stalling the game. This would only work if RIOT is fully static, and wouldn't lose its settings without a clock. -Bry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keilbaca Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 We'll see, but me and CPUWIZ already tried the HALT and it just locked up. That's why I'm so interested (and I bet CPUWIZ is also) to figure out whats inside of it. Besides, if we can uncover the pause switch, I'm sure it'll be a big relief to the atari community for this very beautiful invention. I wonder what would happen if you could stop the clock to the RIOT (while VBLANK is on). Since games wait for the timer to expire before starting the next frame, this would cause the same time value to be read over and over, stalling the game. This would only work if RIOT is fully static, and wouldn't lose its settings without a clock. -Bry If it wasn't for the fact that I have none of my atari stuff here yet, I'd try it. however, I think right now its just best to wait for TomBrazil to post some pictures of the board. Now you got me all excited, I sure hope my atari stuff comes in soon from TMO, and I get a room anytime soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tomlin Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 I wonder what would happen if you could stop the clock to the RIOT (while VBLANK is on). Since games wait for the timer to expire before starting the next frame, this would cause the same time value to be read over and over, stalling the game. Not everything uses the RIOT timer for vblank. It's just as valid to count scan lines with WSYNC during vblank. All the RIOT does is save you the trouble of counting scan lines if you need to do a lot of computations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari_Warlord Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 I have two of these units that I haven't been able to get working because of lack of proper equipment and lack of knowledge. I opened one up last night and took some pictures of the top of the board. This is the first time I'm posting pictures to the forum, so please forgive me if I do something wrong. I don't know how to add more than one per post either. The pause switch is the fourth from the left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari_Warlord Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 A closer shot of the left side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari_Warlord Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 A closer shot of the right side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Monkey Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 Those are good pix.. and based on what I see in the "top" pix, we would need to see the bottom as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.