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I did, thank you for the reminder. I've just replied back.

Some good advice there. I'm taking notes. BTW - Did you get my email?

A gamer/reseller in a local group is having a garage sale today. Turns out he lives only 5 minutes from me, so I stopped by this morning. There was an in-the-box Odyssey 2 for $20 that was calling me, but I paused to think about my collecting rule not to go older than the 2600. While I was thinking about it, someone snagged it--how rude 😆 but moral crisis abated 🤣 I've been on a Dynasty Warriors kick lately. When I mentioned that I enjoyed the combat in Drakengard, someone recommended that I give Dynasty Warriors a look. Turns out he was right. I'm currently playing Dynasty Warriors Gundam on the Xbox 360.

I think you're on the right track. You might also consider a video highlighting the various "new" controller options available. From the ikonsgr module to the retrogameboyz controller and pad, there are a lot of inexpensive ways to fix the main issue for collectors (finding good working controllers).

Well, I think if you want to impress new comers to the 5200, showing them some of the common games and how they compared to the 2600 is one way to do it. After all, that is exactly what Atari did in their marketing for the 5200 back in the day. The difficult part of this will be to convince them on why they should with a 5200 over one of the 8-bit computers since they share much of the same hardware and games between them look nearly identical in most instances. But if you want to wow them here are few suggestions: - The Last Starfighter (Never released for the 5200 although the game was completed.) It became the basis for what would become Star Raiders II for the 8-bit line. - Blaster (Also completed but never finished.) It would have been an exclusive in the 5200 library and it is a shame this didn't get released. It is really impressive and fun. - Star Raiders (Playing this in emulation is what made me want to get a 5200 because the 3D effect of the explosions is crazy impressive for the hardware.) - Tempest (Although I don't own it, I hear this is great conversion of the arcade classic. Especially with the trackball controller.) - Rescue on Fractalus (Another game that made me want to get a 5200.) Visually amazing then and still impressive now. - Motion video (Yes there are motion video demos that can be played through the AtariMax Ultimate SD version). There is the usual Bad Apple Demo and my favorite being Dragon's Lair videos.

I haven't been able to improve my score--but I've been trying every day 😄. Closest I've gotten so far is 55k today.

I'm planning on making an Atari 5200 video to post on YouTube, and am requesting your input for "side topics" to include that might draw in new people. Also, I'm planning to include a few screenshots of games for the 5200 that can "grab someone's attention". Of course I'll include one or two standard games, but I'm curious about what third-party or homebrew games you would recommend being showcased. After thinking about it so far, the main topic will be the UAV modification and associated information, with honorable mentions going to the Atarimax cartridge and Atari.io... but is there anything else you would include? The 5200 can give one an awesome "bang for the buck" with a limited investment (compared to other systems), so why not tell the world?

3 SMS sports games. They must be great, since they all have the word "great" in the title, right?

Thanks, but I figured I'd take the before images right before I disconnect the unit, then again on the same screen once it comes back. I have a lot of video and camera equipment, but have not had much of a chance to use it all lately, I'm kinda chomping at the bit to make a cool 5200 video.

Let me know what games you plan to film as a before, and I can get you direct captures from the After through my AV setup.

You know, this might actually be a decent topic for my first Atari 5200 video. Sure, the UAV has been out there for a while, but not everyone has one even knows about it. Heck, some of my TI videos shook a few TI users out of the bushes over the years. If a few YouTube watchers stumble over the video in the coming years, who knows, they may have one in the basement all ready to be put back in service. So, I'll also include a plug for Atari.io too! So I guess I'll have to film a before and after.

I got it and will get you the estimate invoice out later when I'm home from work. And I was serious above about shipping it without the top half of the shell. If you have ever removed the top cover of the 5200 before, you will find that 75% of the entire main board is pretty much within a large RF shield. So if you remove the top cover, it is easy to just use some painters tape or other masking tape to tape it all down from the RF shield and then around the sides to the bottom of the console to help keep it all in place and then wrap that up in bubble wrap. This way, the controller cover and front controller cover plastics aren't at risk for getting damaged in shipping. And in the case of these older consoles, softer padding using material that can absorb shocks is best. I've had a few clients send me their 5200s and other consoles using stiff Styrofoam, and then wonder why the consoles arrived in pieces.

Got it and replied! Thank You so much! 👍

I like that game a lot, @HDN! Very cool pickup. Anytime you take a classic like SMB and add more levels and features, that's a very good thing. I know people like to complain about the smaller screen size...but I think it takes an old classic and adds a little bit of challenge.

That is good info, thank you! You know, I have an LTO cart for Intellivision. I guess I could find the diagnostic rom images and try out this theory myself. And you're probably right about the controllers. It's weird, though, that I never really noticed the controllers were "wrong" before. It doesn't bother me in any way. I think it makes my system a tiny bit more interesting.

@- Ω - I will send you a PM on this with the specifics of requesting services. Thanks!

My guess on this is that these controllers were not part of the system originally. There ins't any difference between the controllers of the SVA and the standard 2609 other than the cords themselves. But those are EASILY swapped out. So I'm sure these are standard 2609 controllers that someone put the sears cords into. As for the diagnostics failing...hehe. The actual SVA units have a slightly different rom and character set in them. As a result, the fonts are a little different on the title screens and games that used the font characters. And the Mattel presents... portion in most of the title screens doesn't appear on the SVA units. Point is, a standard MTE-201 test cartridge will show failures on two of the rom chips in the SVA because of the differences. To properly test the SVA you need to use a newer version of the Rom diagnostic. I can't recall which one, maybe v3? I have an actual v1 MTE test cart and my SVA fails that test. I have a rom image of the v4.1 test cart and all variants of the Intellivisions will pass in that test as it knows the difference between the various models.

I love this game. I’m happy to finally own a copy.

Yeah, I don't think I had seen a SVA with brown controllers before yours!

Oh man, your controllers are white too! I must have gotten a weird one. All I can say is that my controllers do detach and they look original.

I got my Sears Super Video Arcade 2 years ago now. It's in good shape and I really do like the design more than the original Inty.

@CrossBow I think the UAV would probably be adequate for my taste. It may not be "VGA sharp", but it's still better than the blurry fuzzy RF. Do you accept PayPal? Please PM me with a quote and details for a two port unit, it just might be time to upgrade my 5200! I'll can wrap it with tons of bubble wrap!

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