RickR

I think it would be fun to do a two-week ST challenge. It may attract some new members if advertised on Facebook in ST groups. Plus, no one is doing them, so it would be unique.

Yes we should. And hopefully, we'll get new members and more participation with a little more lead time.

Well, that sucks. But it always pays to do the right thing. Hopefully, your replacement computer works great. Also, I hope the seller gives you a little something extra to make up for their mistake.

Me! (raises hand)

I wanted to share a little project I just finished. I had a pink DS-Lite with a broken hinge and decided to swap out the case with a gold Zelda case. It turned out very well. But it ended up being very difficult. There's so many delicate parts inside the DS that it took me several hours to get this done properly. Those shoulder buttons are a pain to get back in properly. And that ribbon cable for the top screen....OMG. It turned out nicely and works well. I'm most likely going to list this on ebay soon. If anyone here is interested, PM me. Special deals for atari.io members.

I could not find the old thread, so I'm staring a new one. Post any free game links you find here. SOMA for PC is free until Jan 3 from GOG.com: https://www.gog.com/game/soma The game gets very good reviews and looks very fun.

I've had some die just like that before. Best thing I can offer is to keep trying to clean the pins. I've had good luck with a soft toothbrush and warm soapy water when q-tips/alcohol don't work.

I'll have to give SYSINFO a try on mine. But it will have to wait. The ST is "put away" at the moment. Maybe once our home is empty of guests again.

How exciting! Looks like you found a gem.

Same to you, and everyone else here. Please enjoy this as my contribution to the Atari.io holiday party:

What an awesome gift!

Merry Christmas to you! We are happy to have both adult children home this year. And Grandma from British Columbia. So a full house. Our plan is to have Christmas eve dinner at my brother's house. On Christmas, my wife's family comes over. I am making a turkey. I tend to get a little overwhelmed with so many people around, so I hide in my garage and work on projects when things get too much. In the meantime, my sons and I have been playing a lot of Smash Bros (on Switch) and some crazy computer game called "Ultimate Chicken Horse". Both are really good. Although Dad seems to come in last place a lot more than I remember...

WOW! Nice one. It will look really nice once you clean it up, I'm sure. I have a 520STFM, but I'm not sure what the difference is. It looks identical. Congrats on the new addition, and enjoy the process.

I have an old laptop that works with Win 7 just fine, but Windows 10 can't find proper video drivers. So I've left that one on Win 7. Absolutely zero of my PC's -- even my main rig -- do very well on the "gaming" part of this benchmark. I think the highest score I've seen there is 30%. Still, you can clearly see differences in scores due to different components.

Oh man, I would have loved that trailer and manual. I'm sure you made somebody very happy with your generosity, Willie! If you ever have good stuff you no longer want, I'd be happy to pay for shipping to Oregon. Meanwhile, after a few hours of playing, my fixed front axle gave way and cracked in the same spot. So I've re-glued with a fabricated metal clip over the wound. I'm going to let it cure over a few days before I put er back together. Merry Christmas everyone!

The bulb is fixed now too. Turns out it's the same type of bulb you'd find in a penlight. I had a few spares once I took the time to look.

Make a post with pictures. I love that kind of thing, as you can guess.

Cleaning complete. Re-assembly complete. Should we take a poll about whether it works? Naw! It works! It works nicely. The only thing wrong at this moment is that the "laser" light bulb is burnt out. I'll need to find a new one, and it's kind of a strange bulb. The repaired front axle appears to be fine. I am stoked!

Update. This thing is really dirty. I opened it up, and replaced the battery connector. On/off switch needed cleaning. Now, it turns on, but I'm not sure what any of the buttons do. I guess I'll have to read the manual. At this point, I have everything drying. All pieces have been washed. Including carefully cleaning the circuit board. I had to re-solder the speaker wires and glue the speaker down. Once everything is dry, I'll put it all back together and hope that it works. By the way, it uses 1 9V battery and 4 "D" cells.

I think the secret was that the Sony patents on their Trinitron tubes finally ran out, so copy-cat technology finally came to be. You gotta be careful, though....some manufacturers would just add a flat glass cover over a rounded tube. The flat tubes are most definitely the way to go. They look great. But boy-o, they sure do get heavy the bigger you go. I have a friend that was offering up a HUGE Toshiba tube tv that had the flat tube, was about 42", and it even had HDMI inputs! So sweet. I couldn't do it, though. The thing must have weighed 200 lbs.

Long Beach is my guess. My son lives in an apartment in downtown Los Angeles, but his view is not so nice. From his room, he looks directly onto an 8 lane freeway! Ha ha ha. But he's happy and doing well. Southern Califormia is really a beautiful place.

I totally get what you're saying Justin. I remember not really trying Mario 64 until after some of the 3D computer classics like Descent, Wolfenstein, Doom, Magic Carpet, etc. So I'm kind of in the same boat. The game itself is a technical marvel, but the gameplay seems a little dry and maybe even tired. Still, it's the presentation that makes the game a masterpiece. The opening screen with Mario's giant 3D head and voice is still amazing to see. Nintendo knew how to dress-up their games, that's for sure.

I just purchased a Milton Bradley Big Trak on ebay. It was in broken/parts/as-is condition. The price was right, and I thought it would be fun to try and restore it. For those that are unfamiliar -- the Big Trak was an electronically programmable toy vehicle from 1982. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Trak I always wanted one, thanks to commercials like this: I thought I could skip the apple and deliver a beer to my father. Alas, the budget would never allow for this purchase. Until now! Well, the Big Trak arrived yesterday. As advertised, in pretty sad shape. Lots of dirt and grime, a broken battery terminal, and worst of all, a broken front axle. So I immediately got busy. I took apart the wheels and applied some epoxy to that broken axle. Everything removed got washed. Next steps are to take the top off and see what's going on with the electronics. And replace that battery terminal. I've got mixed expectations. I think at the low end, I may end up with a Big Trak that is cosmetically good, but doesn't work. I'd be ok with that...it will look great on a shelf. Best case, I get it fully working. The main body section, not yet opened: Broken battery connector: Fixing Axel Foley. Using a lot of epoxy will make it stronger, and it will still fit in it's slot. Removed parts have been washed.

That TV looks pretty nice. Very flat picture tube. 👍

We are here for you, man. Best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2019.