RickR

Congratulations Everybody!
 
Congratulations everybody on your high scores! How was Pole Position II on the Fuji track? Pole Position II gets some hate on the Atari 7800 but I think it's a fun (and sometimes tricky!) adaptation of an incredible arcade game. I'd like to offer Gianna a very special welcome to the forums for participating in this Squad Challenge. You guys posted some seriously impressive scores on a very challenging track. You can bet we'll be back here this time next year to take on another PPII track. I hope everybody enjoyed our Summer Events this year, including the Pole Position II Grand Prix, Howard Scott Warshaw Day, and Pizza Party Weekend! We'll have some fun stuff coming up for the Fall and Winter too. Congrats to everyone who played! I'll post my new high score on the Scoreboard, and maybe this Challenge can continue on! 
Our next High Score Squad Challenge will be for the Sega Genesis!
 
 
 
2019 POLE POSITION II GRAND PRIX
FINAL STANDINGS
 
1   JUSTIN                                   71,450
2   KID A                                       70,500
3   RICKR                                     70,100
4   ATARI CREEP                        69,500
5   KAMAKAZI20012                 66,350
6   GREENWEEN                         65,550
7   LAUREN TYLER                    65,000
8   CONTROL ISSUES                64,750
9   TREK MD                               32,100
10   GIANNA                               30,610
 
 

 
 

I'll get back to you sometime this week. I think I have an extra. 

I've been looking at the TI-99/4a a bit and decided it's a computer I'd like to get into a little.
So looking for a working TI-99/4a with all the hook ups and The Joysticks! Must work.
Please, PM me offers if you have one. Not picky on model or Overall Cosmetic condition--- as long as it's not falling apart and held together with duct tape I'd probably be interested!
I got this a bit ago. Thanks guys!~

Yeah man, your mod looks awesome. 

Take that left turn at full speed at your peril.  If there's a car there, you will crash for sure.  Simply no way to maneuver.  Slow down instead and catch any cars on the other side of the curve. 
 

70,100
I'm playing on the MESS emulator.  This was my 5th try and I only crashed once on this run.  Never hit the brakes and only let off the gas to get past that sharp left turn. 
 

Your race car needs an oil change. 
 

My suspicion is a heat issue.  Most likely on the power brick.  Try pointing a fan right at the power brick as you play to see if that helps. 

It's a shame that Atari didn't use that same character in several games.  Scrapyard Dog, Todd's Adventure, Dracula, etc, would have made a nice complementary franchise if they all used the "Todd" character and he was developed further. 
 

70500. Played on my freshly AV modded 7800. Really happy with the picture quality!

Look what it looked like before. Very happy with the results!
No more squiggly lines!

You motivated me to download an Atari 7800 emulator onto my laptop so I could join the fun! Truth be told, on the second-to-last lap, I had just run out of time when I coasted over the start/finish line, qualifying me for the final lap.  Luck of the draw!
Oh yeah, my score is 65,000
 

70,100
I'm playing on the MESS emulator.  This was my 5th try and I only crashed once on this run.  Never hit the brakes and only let off the gas to get past that sharp left turn. 
 

Commodore 64 Chopper Command has arrived!! My Mini-review:
 

Well..I took the plunge about a week ago and bought quite a few new components for my new PC home workstation/server/gaming setup. Just ran the user benchmark and these are scores...

UserBenchmarks: Game 96%, Desk 152%, Work 129%
CPU: Intel Core i7-9700K - 105.1%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1070 - 84.2%
SSD: Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVMe PCIe M.2 250GB - 283.6%
SSD: Intel Raid 0 Volume 2TB - 177.7%
HDD: Intel Raid 0 Volume 2TB - 195.1%
RAM: Corsair CMW16GX4M2Z3600C18 2x8GB - 111%
MBD: MSI MPG Z390 GAMING PRO CARBON AC (MS-7B17)
 
So I should be good to go for awhile and ready for Cyberpunk 2077 next year!
 

Take that left turn at full speed at your peril.  If there's a car there, you will crash for sure.  Simply no way to maneuver.  Slow down instead and catch any cars on the other side of the curve. 
 

Hey, that was me!  So cool. 

Pole Position II
Atari 7800
Controller: CONTROLLER / KEYBOARD / PLAYER'S CHOICE
Difficulty Level: FUJI
Achieve high score to win challenge
Play on: Real Hardware / Dedicated Console / MAME / Emulation OK! ✔
Squad Challenge ends 11:59 pm PST August 31st, 2019
 
 
  OBJECTIVE: Play for the highest possible score racing on the FUJI Track in Pole Position II. Post a photo or video of your score in this thread. Scores must be achieved between August 15th through August 31st, 2019. Screen captures are not allowed as they are easily manipulated for falsified scores. Multiple submissions are permitted. The player with the highest score at the end of the competition is the victor!
 
  ELIGIBILITY: Anyone can join in. All players are welcome!
 
  PLAY RULES: Achieve high score to win Grand Prix Challenge. Games may be played on real hardware, Flashback or emulation, using any controller or keyboard, following rules and game settings as delineated in the Squad Challenge. Enhancements, rewinds and hacked versions of this game are not allowed.
 
  DIFFICULTY LEVEL: We are racing on the FUJI Track on Pole Position II. Players will select FUJI at the title screen.
 
  FAIR PLAY: Players should play fairly, be honest, and have fun! Falsified scores will result in your immediate removal from the site. It goes without saying that no use of cheats, hacks, cartridge frying, enhancements, rewinds, Photoshop, subterfuge, or any other unfair advantage is allowed. Everybody hates a cheater.
 
  MORE: To review detailed rules on how to play, please visit the High Score Squad page here: https://forums.atari.io/topic/1219-high-score-squad-how-to-play/
 
 

 
MESSAGE: Welcome to our 67th Squad Challenge, the 2019 Pole Position II Grand Prix! This will be our second Pole Position II Grand Prix Event! This year the Grand Prix will be a little different: This year's challenge will only be for half a month and we will only be racing the FUJI Track in an attempt to achieve your best high score! Last year the Grand Prix lasted for the entire month and we raced all four tracks for the best lap time. This year we are keeping things simple: We are racing for the best possible score on the FUJI Track. Pole Position is one of the most iconic arcade games released by Atari and was genre-defining for its time, setting a new standard of what racing gameplay could be like. Pole Position II of course was the pack-in title for the Atari 7800, and is often remembered as the first game 7800 owners played on their new game system. I have so many wonderful memories of playing Pole Position at Chuck E. Cheese's with my family, shifting gears and whipping around corners with a cheese stick in my hand and a cup of root beer on the floor under my feet. Pole Position II was also one of my favorite games to play at home and a wonderful memory on the Atari 7800. ROM and Instruction Manual are provided below. Good luck to everyone playing!
 
NOTE: Our next High Score Squad Challenge will be for Sega Genesis. Be there!
 
 

 
 
 
 
Pole_Position_II.a78 Pole_Position_II.pdf

70,100
I'm playing on the MESS emulator.  This was my 5th try and I only crashed once on this run.  Never hit the brakes and only let off the gas to get past that sharp left turn. 
 

70,100
I'm playing on the MESS emulator.  This was my 5th try and I only crashed once on this run.  Never hit the brakes and only let off the gas to get past that sharp left turn. 
 

I think it needs the whole engine...I think it blew.  "She can't take much more of this, Captain!"

You've done a really great job.  I think it's inspiring.  I'm still a couple of years out from trying something that nice (I'm waiting for the kids to move out).  Most of my good junk is boxed and stored in the attic and comes out one system at a time to play. 

This should be on my blog here on Atari I/O but I thought I would do one here that's easier to find.  I will do another more in depth review of these items for my blog.  In the meantime get your notepad and pen out.  You may want to take notes.
AC Adapter
First up is this fine AC Adapter.  For a China-made product it actually feels like a nice quality product and it does work with one limitation.  Look at the image below and see if you can spot something.

Look really hard...take your time, I'll wait.  
The issue is this adapter is advertised as being able to work with three consoles:  The NES, SNES, and Model 1 Genesis.  There's only two plugs.  The idea is to use the same plug for the NES on the Genesis.  However, someone must have fell asleep at the drawing board.  The NES draws AC power which is then converted to DC current inside the NES itself.  The Genesis is a DC-only system with it's power supply converting to DC for the console.  The adapter is outputting DC current and does work well with the SNES and NES consoles (I tested it on the NES but I have an original NES power supply so I will stick with that).  The NES and Genesis consoles, however, also have variants on polarity coming in to them through the power port.  If it hasn't sunk in yet the Genesis' polarity is opposite that of the NES.  Using this on a Genesis console can FRY THE SYSTEM!  
Bottomline:  For an SNES/NES power supply replacement this will work however I can't recommend it for the NES knowing its internal AC/DC nature.  For the Model 1 Genesis avoid this at all costs as it is being falsely advertised as working with that console when it does not.  The plug does fit but the polarity is reversed.  It's simply too risky to even attempt.
Off-Brand SNES Controller
Along with the adapter I picked up a controller.  This controller is not the Nintendo-issued one or of a decent 3rd party during the SNES' production cycle.  This is a cheap knock-off that does serve the purpose but also has a few issues that might be worth noting.  

The controller itself is comfortable and doesn't feel much different than the originals other than it might be a bit lighter.  The D-pad, four function buttons, and the Select/Start buttons do feel OK and perform well.  The button issues reside with the two shoulder buttons L/R.  These require a lot more force to use than those on the original SNES control pads.  And I used them a LOT playing F-Zero hoping that they would get broke in enough to soften up a bit.  Nope.  Never happened.  In a way that's a good thing but it would have been more comfortable to use if they would have softened just a bit.  
The second issue I had was plugging the controller into the console.  I am not sure what is off but the connector on the controller going into the console was such a tight fit that I almost thought I was going to break the control ports on the console loose somehow.  They are also very hard to unhook from the console if one wants to switch controllers.  I only recommend these for those that have broken or no controllers, the latter of which was my situation.  They are a cheap alternative to the more expensive used original controllers and they do perform well.  Just be aware of the issues I ran into if these become a part of your gaming collection.  Otherwise, try a different knock-off controller.  There might be some with buttons easier to use and will fit the console without trying to break it.
Final Thoughts
Both of these products work as replacements for anyone with a Super NES in need of them.  If used only for the SNES the adapter alone is worth the price at about $8 average brand new.  The controller could use some softer pads under those shoulder buttons and the connector really needs to be corrected so it is not such a chore to connect/unhook from the system.  Otherwise it performs well and as expected.  It will allow for some length game time on favorite SNES games.  For Model 1 Genesis owners, however, the AC Adapter is a buyer avoid.  

This came in the other day and it works amazing great and is easy to use. It came in a pretty neat 3D printed box I can store it in too. The only complaint I really have is the same complaint I have with similar products like 'everdrives', etc; that the loading time can be a little long. But that can't be helped given what such a product does. Overall. Everything I expected, a quality product delivered in a quality way. I would suggest purchasing one if you're on the fence.

For our 10th Anniversary my wife gifted me what I would need to play the Super NES again.  I finally have a power supply (which also powers the Genesis!) and a new controller.  Oh...and F-ZERO!  Which was the only reason why I bought a Super NES system when they came out.  I didn't care what other games I got back then as long as I had F-ZERO I was good.  I spent, more like wasted, lots of teenage months on that game.

The long wait is finally over.  The SNES is now complete enough to enjoy it.  I have to admit that I've missed F-Zero without actually knowing I missed it.  I'll have to try to get the other games I once had but, geez, for some reason people think Nintendo games are worth more than Atari games.  Earth Defense Force, Gradius III, Top Gear, Zelda (especially Zelda), Super Mario World, Super Metroid, all are not cheap no matter where they are found.  I know I had a few more BITD but I can't seem to remember what those were.  
OK.  Gotta cut this short.  The urge to play F-Zero is getting the better of me. We need another F-Zero Squad Challenge now that I will be able to participate.
 

So after 1 year and 4 months later (and me forgetting about this thread 😖),  here's the current setup in the gameroom!