socrates63
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Posts posted by socrates63
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I need to let my son know that I like other things besides the Mandalorian 😂 This is the third Mandalorian thing he's gotten me in addition to the Mandalorian t-shirt and coffee mug set. Not only is this the third Mandalorian gift, his past three gifts have all been Mandalorian. I thought I told him that I canceled our Disney+ sub. Not complaining! Just thought it was funny.
The coffee and tumbler were Father's Day gifts from his girlfriend.
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64,670
passed the 60k mark! 🦾
- Marco1019, Smell Dawg and RickR
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Whelp... that SCART switch doesn't work for my setup, and I have no one to blame but me. I failed to read the following text that was only highlighted in yellow 🙄 in the product description page 🤦♂️ Please note that this will not work on a SCART TV, at all. As this doesn't supply the necessary detection voltage needed by a TV to switch to RGB mode.
Luckily, another local gamer was looking for something like it and wants to buy mine. At least I will get most of my money back. Whew!
By the way, RGB looks ah-mazing. Here's a screen shot of the PS2 config menu. I've never seen my PS2 looking this good. I'm sure the TV being refurbished and tuned by a TV tech played a big factor as well. SNES also looked superb. I couldn't get my Genesis to work (TV showed a blank screen) so will have to figure that out.
I just ordered the second option that I had found during my previous research. It's from a seller on Ali Express. It's another passive switch and should be as good as the one I originally ordered from the UK based on the reviews I've read.
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Last year, my wife agreed to move out her piano from my den and into the living room. This freed up an entire wall in the den. I've been planning on setting up my CRT based gaming setup there for a year now (interrupted by health issues for about 8 months). With the arrival of this SCART switch, it is almost done 🎉
I got a taste of RGB last year when I bought an Intellivision from @CrossBow of the Ivory Tower Collections. I had an OSSC lying about unused, and curious to see what all the hoopla about RGB was about, I connected the Intellivision to it and to my 65" 4K TV. Wow! Now I understand. I have seen the light.
Last month, I bought a 27" Sony which was modded for SCART RGB input and component input. It was refurbished and modded by a former TV station tech (Josh) in the area. Initially I didn't buy the Sony because of the SCART input. However, when I went to pick it up, Josh told me that many consoles support RGB output natively with the use of a cable. That was extremely exciting revelation, so, I immediately ordered the RGB SCART cables for SNES, Genesis, and PS2. I'm also going to look into a cable for the Jaguar and Dreamcast.
With me wanting multiple RGB capable consoles connected to the TV at any time, I needed a switch. The highly regarded GSCARTSW switch is $300 and thankfully out of stock, so I didn't have to struggle with the idea of plunking down 3 Benjamins. I searched some more and found a review that touted this switch as the best budget switch. For 60 pounds British, I took the plunge.
I am super excited that this setup is nearly complete. The Sony will serve up:
- SCART - SNES, Genesis, PS2, NES (in the process of getting RGB output mod). Hopefully, the Jaguar and Dreamcast will join the party.
- S-Video - Atari 2600, 5200, 7800
- Component - a Pioneer region free DVD player that I bought last month to use with this TV
A Denon home theater receiver will serve as the hub for the s-video and component inputs. I am going to look into feeding the SCART audio to the receiver for an upgraded sound.
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I guess my memories is failing me. Being a Spectrum Holobyte game, I always thought GATO was considered a classic back in the day. I've never played it myself although I've always wanted to.
- RickR and DegasElite
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Joe makes good stuff. This is the first sign that I bought, and I am very happy with it.
I've been asking him to make a cartridge holder for Cosmic Commuter for a long while, and he replied to my Facebook post today that he will work on it pronto. My cartridge needs a nice home, and a boxed copy is a little too rich for me 🙂
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I ordered this sign from an Etsy store. I had my eyes on it for a long time and finally pulled the trigger as show of support for the owner who just retired from his courier job. I've ordered 2600 game cartridge holders from him before.
I have a love/hate relationship with the Atari ST lineup. Being an Atari fan, I naturally moved up to the 520ST from the 800/800XL/130XE line. I had a great time using my 520ST. I even got a RAM upgrade for it. I have many memories of gaming and writing my college papers on it (Ami Pro for the win).
However, the fact that it was a product developed by Jack Tramiel's Atari is what always bothered me. I mean, just the physical quality of the machine is, well, sorely lacking when compared to the 800 and even the 800XL. Am I being petty? Maybe? What can I do? I am forever a fan of the original Atari.
A few years ago, I learned that the engineers behind the Atari 800 designed the Commodore Amiga. Oh, the irony!
I have no intentions of acquiring the ST, so this is as close to having an ST as I'm going to get for my collection. The sign looks even better in person than the photos I saw online. I'm very happy with it and glad I can at least give a nod to a part of my computing past in cool fashion.
- RickR, TrekMD and OniDensetsu
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Mail Order Monsters -- my latest addition to my EA folio collection.
My favorite top games for the Atari 400/800 are filled with Electronic Arts' earlier games -- M.U.L.E., Archon, Seven Cities of Gold, One on One. Because of those sentiments, I started collecting other EA games and products released in the folio style packaging. I have around 18 or 19 (photo below). Other companies were also releasing their product in similar folio packaging, and I've picked up a few of those as well.
- RickR and Sabertooth
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Wow, that Honda is extremely clean, I mean extremely clean 😮. It must have been kept in the garage most of its life. The exterior chrome is in amazing condition.
I'm not sure why this is considered the genesis of the mid-size sedan though. My first car, the 1979 Volvo 264 GL, was very similar in size. I can see how the Accord may have popularized the size since Japanese cars shot up in popularity during the 80s for their quality. But the video makes it sound like any car before this were all behemoths. That was mostly true for American cars but certainly European car makers weren't exporting giant cars to the US back then.
I miss the buttons on the dash. I am not a fan of dials although many years, a car salesman told me that I was in the minority as far as market research showed. "You must be a computer guy" is what he told me when I said that I preferred buttons to control the cabin air flow. Yup, you've got me pegged.
One thing that scares me about this accord is the massive sun roof. My Volvo had a sun roof and it leaked. That experience has since traumatized me when I see sun/moon roofs.
Fun trip down memory lane!
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I don't think any of the Atari consoles gets as much love in the way of homebrews and hacks as the 2600. Just going by what I see available on AtariAge, the 5200 receives the least amount of support. The 7800, especially recently, has been getting a steady stream of new releases. The Jaguar gets some love, but man, Jag homebrews are expensive.
My favorite Atari console is probably the 5200 for two reasons. One, I love the design. It's the pinnacle of 80s aesthetics and reminds me of K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider. Two, the 5200 being essentially a console version of the Atari 400/800, I love the game graphics and sounds. The Atari 800 is forever my first love. Having said that, I haven't spent much time with it. Hopefully, that will change this summer. I am expecting to have my new gaming setup finished later this month.
About the TG-16, I acquired one 2 or 3 years ago specifically to take part in the I/O high score challenge. I ended up getting a PC Engine Core Grafx from a local gamer/reseller. It's much cheaper than the TG16, and I think it even looks better. It's certainly more compact so takes up less physical real estate. I also got the Everdrive for it as I have no desire to collect games for the system because of the high game prices.
- Sabertooth, - Ω - and RickR
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10 hours ago, Sabertooth said:
Wow @socrates63! Amazing score!
I think we can allow the 2600 version with an asterisk since the ROMs are slightly different.;)
And I hope you enjoy your VCS. Some new users encounter difficulties with the updates, as there have been so many since launch. If you do, be sure to reach out here or on the AtariVCS Discord. It's an easy fix.
Oh I wasn't submitting a score 🙂 Please don't include my 2600 score for the competition. I intend to submit one from the VCS version.
Thank you for the tip. I did read on reddit about possible difficulties with updating the system. Fingers crossed.
- Sabertooth, Justin and Dinobot711
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I picked these up earlier today from a local gamer/reseller. He ran a sale in the local FB group last week.
The DS library has so many interesting games beyond the obvious/popular ones. In that way, it reminds me of the PS2 library. I had Broken Sword on my wishlist for a long time and found it in the wild a few times but always passed on it. I finally got it because the price was good. I know I have the game for the computer, but I haven't played it yet. Since I've been into handheld gaming lately, I think the DS version may be my first time playing it. The other DS games all received good reviews and they were inexpensive--my favorite kind of game.
Tetris 2, on the other hand, is not so well regarded from what I've read. However, it was an opportunity to add an inexpensive CIB Game Boy game to the collection, so I grabbed it although I already had the loose cartridge.
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This is my high score from three years ago, but it's the 2600 version. I need to set up my VCS that I bought during the Memorial Day sale (still in the box).
- Dinobot711, Sabertooth and Justin
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Super Mario Bros. 3 is a birthday gift from my son and his girlfriend. They thought I had an NES, but I don't. I told my wife that I now have a reason to get an NES 🙂
The others arrived today from three different sellers. I've so far held back from collecting many Atari computer games but I have a soft spot for Atari releases especially the pre-silver box older games and their box art.
- Sabertooth, RickR and TrekMD
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Amoeba Jump on the VCS? Rock on! This is one of my top 2600 homebrews--one of those easy to learn but hard to master type games.
- Sabertooth and Justin
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Wow! RGB via the cartridge! That's definitely a selling point for me. I just got a Sony TV which has been modded for RGB input.
- Sabertooth, DegasElite and RickR
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@RickR I haven't played this one yet. I'm not too sure that the disk will even read. It's wavy, so maybe heat damage?
Regardless, I actually need to set up my 800XL along with all the consoles that will be connected to my new-to-me Sony TV. Now that I'm healthy again (dealt with back issues and sciatica the past ten months), next month, I am hoping to set up my office where the CRTs will sit. I got shelves for the room last year but they're still in the boxes unopened.
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I have an addition to my Synapse collection -- Blue Max 2001. I'm not sure why I never knew about this game back in the day since I was a big Blue Max fan.
This is my 13th Synapse game, most for the Atari and a few for the C64. Like this one, some Synapse games contain both the Atari and C64 versions on the same floppy (different sides).
I think in terms of the box, this one is in the best condition. I mean, it's in great condition and looks like it just came off the store shelf.
One of these days, I hope find Alley Cat and maybe Rainbow Walker for a decent price.
Recent Pickups -- (Non Gaming)
in Retro
Posted
We have an electric grinder but don't use it every time. When we feel lazy or are pinched for time, we go with Keurig. Having said that, my current favorite brewing method is using the moka pot.