RickR

I think you'll love it! I'm a southern boy and they do a pretty good job of what southern food is.

You might need a nap after you leave though.

Yeah

Yes, the PS2 can play PS1 games, I believe. And many models of the PS3 can play PS2 and PS1. Lots of people were upset at the lack of backwards compatibility on the PS4.

When you say "RF Switchbox", do you mean one of these?

Or one of these?

Because I might be able to help you out. I have an extra of the latter, and one of the former I can't use. Not sure if the screw-in one works as I have no way of testing it.

The latter, but I do have one of those.  I also have one with push buttons and 8 inputs.  But like I said, it's a wiring nightmare.  I think I may stick to my "no RF" policy in the gaming credenza. 

(The 7800 has been composite modded :) )

No RF policy? That's strange. Over here, RF is my best friend. None of my CRTs used composite until I found one at a rummage sale that had it. I still haven't found a use for that thing yet.

Here's what the RF wiring setup is over in the gameroom:

FLATSCREEN                                                                     CRT

                                         \CABLE SPLITTER/

                                                     |

                                                   NES

                                                     |

                                                   SNES

                                                      |

                           RF MODULATOR (COMPOSITE ADAPTER)

                                               /                               \

                                  ATARI 7800                      XBOX

In my room, it's like this:

CRT

   |

VCR/DVD COMBO

            |

RF MODULATOR

            |                                          \

ATARI 2600                         WII U

I love RF. The picture isn't great (at all), but I'm able to daisy-chain the things together. And, I can use a CRT, which is how most of these games were meant to be played. RF on a flatscreen looks like garbage. Convenience and not having to plug in and out all my systems is much better than picture quality in my opinion.

PSN account is free and needed if you want to buy stuff from the store. PS Plus is what you need for online gaming, and that's a paid subscription.

GTA is a highly regarded series. I haven't played any of the GTA games.

I initially thought GTA 4 would be too violent for my taste...but the story kind of sucks you in.  It feels like our hero is "reluctantly" violent.  That gives it depth that I wasn't expecting. 

GTA IV is actually more "tamed" than 3 was.  I haven't beat it but what I have played of it I enjoyed.  If you like GTA then definitely keep an eye out for any Saint's Row games.  3, 4, and Gat out of Hell are the better ones in the series.  And I would recommend GTA 5 if you liked 4.  

Of course, if you like driving games, there's some sort of law that says you can't have a PlayStation without picking up Gran Turismo.  I had GT5 and was blown away!  I have ModNation Racers.  It's kind of along the lines of Mario Kart except you can build your own race tracks.  You use to be able to share your creations online but I think Sony shut those servers down.  I had a blast with that one as well.

I tried a demo to Uncharted once.  It was fun but I never had a PS3 long enough to get those. I wanted to try The Last of Us because it looked like it would be good but I missed it.  Yep...the PS3 when I had one was a great console.  I only went with XBOX 360 because when I tried to get another PS3 (while they were still in production) no one had one locally.  All I could find was a 360.

First score and YIKES! I’m bad. But I did well at the 1500m I think. Almost got the musical tribute. @RickR wins the first round!

Rick wins round two and the battle! Good game!

I’m going to try for that patch. This is a great game. However I know I’m going to feel this tomorrow.

Thanks, Harry.  That was fun.  We should pick another game or a rematch of Decathlon some time.

Where is the Odyssey 2?

O2 is in a box.  I'm trying to decide what will go on the shelves. 
For sure:  7800, TG16, Nintendo 64, Atari VCS
Also:  Replace Intv with Intv2

Once I get that done, I'll evaluate what space remains. 

Strong candidates:  O2, Colecovision, C64 

I'm going to pick Colecovision.  I miss the one I had and I should have never sold it.  But...I had to see what the 5200's competition had to offer.  I didn't really care for the controllers.  Mine seemed a bit mushy.

Thanks for the kind words.  I'm trying to find a way to have some kind of outlet.  My STe is out for the moment.  I had a hard time deciding what machine to setup for a while.  The less cords right now the better so the STe won.  

It's a harmless hobby really.  They don't take up much room, and only $1 if you find something you like.  I also am one that opens the packaging and puts the cars on the shelf. 

I will open duplicates sometimes.  And I already see an unopened case of HW cars in my future Wife found a 24-car case cheap she's been hounding me about.

I agree about it being a harmless hobby.  When I was working in at a die casting plant making good money I would actually buy a case of HW cars from Wal-Mart with every pay check.  I only had to give a small portion to my grandmother for bills the rest was free game.  I spent more on HW than video games and any duplicates I held on to for trade or selling to other collectors.

I'm once again finding myself hitting the HW section every time I go to Wal-Mart.  We don't have a Target locally so it's either Dollar General, Dollartree, Walgreens (over a $1 per car there, though), or Wal-Mart.  Wal-Mart has the biggest pile of course but they also poured them in a metal bin.  Next time we go I'm going to have to take two carts with me.  One to hold the cars we want, the other just to move the other cars out of the way.

That works!

We may also make it multi-platform with the 5200 version, which is brutally hard. 

@RickR I agree, I was thinking along similar lines. Definitely would open it up to Berzerk and Berzerk Enhanced so everyone can play. 5200 is super hard. How does scoring on 5200 compare with 2600?

I'd have to examine it further, but I think the scoring is very similar.

And Berzerk Enhanced is NOT the same game.  When I was playing last night, the robots can shoot diagonal.  I don't think they do on original 2600 Berzerk.  It makes the game harder. 

Wow!  I need to go where you went.  I can't see with or without my glasses lol

I know, right?  It is pretty amazing.  I'm told they remove the cateract and replace your lens with a "permanent contact". 

I still wear glasses too.  But I don't have cateracts.  Yet.  My eyesight isn't terrible.  I can see without glasses.  But I have one eye near, one far-sighted.  They always joke "you'd make an excellent fighter pilot".  One eye on gauges, one out the canopy. 

I try to look at things close up and I have to remove my glasses. To look at things far away I have to put them back on. 

OH!  And the fitbit smartwatch has also been a huge help.  See?  Old dogs CAN learn new tricks.   

I think I am inspired to get myself a jump rope now!

That's nice WFH became a permanent option. The company I work for has gone back and forth about returning to the office. There was a set date this month but it was cancelled. I am now required to work in the office just one day a week, personally I love WFH so I am happy I only have to go in one day!

Yeah, I'm grateful.  My supervisor is on the other end of the country and essentially says "I don't care where you work as long as you get your work done".   That and the private executive washroom @ WFH. 

@RickR "Cutting that tie?"  How would I ever make it through the day without calling into Atari.io at least once a day?  

I tells ya, life can really slow down if you give up the internet for a week.  I read books, played gameboy, walked a lot, swam, and had very much fun. 

Seriously, I'd suffer from major withdrawal symptoms.  

Oh my... didn't realize how bad it was. If you need anything, don't hesitate to reach out. I'm only 3 hours away.

I will be praying for your safety, man.  Crazy.  Hurricanes on one side, blazes on the other, and snow up north.  2020 has not been a good year.

I hope you're doing okay Rick. Please update us when you're able to.

You are too kind, thank you.  My collection is nice, but it is just stuff.  I was just thinking that when this ordeal is over, I should probably get rid of a lot of this stuff so I don't feel so anchored or attached.  I have two backup drives with all our pictures and taxes and files.  They are packed and ready by the door. 

Thanks very much.  I'm a "spiritual lot" too, so I believe it helps.  THANKS!

Guys, a good update.  Things are turning positive today.   The wind has died down, and the temperature is lower.  They are now saying the fires won't spread any further.  We'll have plenty of smoke still, but that's OK by me. 

THANKS for the well wishes.  It does help!

Great news, Rick! I believe it helps, too. I'm glad that it's starting to die down. Any updates so far or is it still going OK?

You are so right, @MaximumRD.  There are so many games on this system that aren't perfect, but really do bring back the best memories.  Donkey Kong plays kind of slow now, but I remember how amazed all the kids were when the CV came out and this was the game they demoed in the store.  Incredible!  Zaxxon is another.  It's clunky, but still the best home version there is. 

Absolutely. So many greats, Venture, Ladybug, MouseTrap ! And though I own a Atarimax cart (sadly the original USB type) I gave away most of my original carts but I could not part with one loose cart that was in amazing shape as well my all time favorite Mr. Do! 

I would love one of those carts. They are just so expensive. I had heard about $200.00 for one.

The mail person left me a personal note apologizing for marking it "delivered" the day prior and delivered the box yesterday.  All is well.  Never panic, things tend to work out.

The cost is $180.  While that is expensive, it's much less daunting than the cost of the actual "must-have" games at this point.  Also, Jag emulation stinks, so it feels like a very good option to me. 

Well, it is a better option than emulation, for sure. Good point about the cost. They're just so scarce, and that's another problem, possibly due to the chip shortage worldwide. Glad you got it. :O)

Thought of you today @RickR! Hope Mrs. R's journey has been a safe and productive one and all is going smoothly ☺️

Appreciated. She is on a plane home now. Success, a difficult task almost complete. 

I'm glad it went well! I'm sure you'll be happy to have her home 🙂

Exactly Rick. The "sign in with Facebook" doesn't work either.

i check in just not that often anymore

Haha!! I finally remembered it!

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it went to you, Rick! Small world indeed, Rows!

Nice.

Whew, thanks.

Nothing stops you from buying the games still.  They still look good on display.  They will last longer if not used.  Heck, I have three of these things, and I bought a boxed Video Pinball today.  Put your worries away and have some fun. 

Hey @RickR-- how do you update the firmware on the Unocart? Been having some problems with a few games (not the big homebrews like you mentioned, but other games) and figured I'd try that. Thanks.

Well, I'm glad you asked.  Because I just did it, and I had to learn. 

First of all, check out what version is shown at the bottom of your screen.  Does it say "R.EDWARDS 17"?  If yes, you have the latest.  Since yours is so new, I'll bet you do.

In any case, you go here to get the latest, and there are instructions on what to do.  To summarize, you put an update file on the root directory of your SD card, and then the UnoCart will see that and have a menu choice for updating the firmware.  Choose that and BOOM...done.  Easy.

https://github.com/DirtyHairy/UnoCart-2600/releases

That's crazy! So great to see new friendships like this happening in the forums!! 

That’s awesome, guys! Hope you guys had a ton of fun. 

We have a spot at the table for you too, @HDN, and also any other Atari.io members. 

Yeah, I can see that would make is special. I found my old records and really loved the big giant beautiful covers and inserts. Why don't they do that anymore? Photographs and artwork were so awesome back then. It's kind of like we've lost part of the artwork these days.

I feel the same way with downloading games instead of having something real to hold onto!

Yeah, like those great large DOS game boxes I had. And for vinyls, I also still expect the pops when listening to old records on new formats.

Very fun idea @RickR !

Yeah, inkjets clog, drain your bank account with expensive ink, almost the same price/weight as gold... a huge rip-off (IMHO).  If you don't use them all the time the ink can dry in the lines and ruin the printer.  I went though quite literally a dozen inkjet printers before I got smart and bought a laser printer.  I've had the same printer now for four or five years and it's still going strong.

I agree with you, but this printer we have has been rock solid.  I just printed photographs on photographic paper earlier this week with no issues.  It's just this print that went bad, and like I said, I'm not too worried. 

My wife prints A LOT for her work, so this thing stays busy.  Probably just a slightly clogged head or bad blue cartridge. 

I find it in the 2 for 1.50 candy bags in local stores.

I got a 4oz box full of individually wrapped candies...was $1

See, you can't beat that deal for a chewy treat.

If you guys need any advice converting your analog videos into digital, let me know. I've done that before too.  There are many ways to do it, but I found the easiest for me was to feed the 8mm or VHS output to a MiniDV camcorder.  Record onto MiniDV tape, and then transfer from MiniDV to a computer over firewire.  The quality doing it this way is excellent, but it is time consuming. 

What's cool is that once you get it onto a computer, it's easy enough to edit, chop it up how you like, or add music and star wipes. 

How much did your film scanner cost you? I wouldn't mind doing something like that myself. Someday, anyway.

The movie/film scanners aren't cheap.  New, they are about $300.  Used, well $200 is the most you should pay IMO.  This one was less, but had missing parts.

Most of the conversion companies charge by the foot of film.  That makes it hard to estimate.  Plus shipping film back and forth both ways. 

I have a lot of great memories with this game! That's nice gift.

RickR to be clear, I was not being a smart ass (I certainly can be 😜) but yeah, my console since receiving it has what can only be described as a weird plastic "toxic" or "chemical" odor, like turpentine or a fresh black marker or something 😆something, and I mean STRONG, which seems to come from the paint or plastic itself (I have a RED model as well) consider I have a poor sense of smell but I noticed it immediately but assumed it would dissipate over time but to my surprise to this day it has barely subsided. I have seen others mention the exact same thing so not just me, I suspect a certain percentage that came off the assembly line may of had this issue that was later resolved. 

Well that sucks.  I have a very sensitive nose, so that would really bother me too.  

For a long time, something in my cabinet smelled like tacos.  Not a bad smell, but weird.  After months of wondering, I found it by process of elimination when we got new carpets and I had to empty out the cabinet.  It turned out to be a video camera bag that was inside a cardboard box!