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I like tech toys, but I NEED an excuse to get something other than playing games. With all new supporting technology available, PCB design programs, companies that make the designs a reality and the things that could be mounted on one of those cartridge boards, I believe it's possible to make the Atari 2600 more than a simple retro-game machine. I see all kinds of potential ideas, and even a limited niche market for such cartridges.. if someone did it. Just a couple of ideas come to mind right off the top of my head... 1) A cartridge that could use your homes WiFi to get the weather and display it on your TV. 2) A cartridge that could monitor Atari.io for new messages and let you know when there is a new post in any of the threads you follow. Now when it comes to gaming, how about two player games via WiFi/Internet to another player, or even large games that work with a server due to their size or interactive nature? Would it generate some buzz and excitement? Even people buying the newer recharged models that can accept a cartridge could participate. You tell me, does anyone find the concept interesting? I'm thinking it could add a few more years of renewed excitement to the 2600 platform.

Someone has a creative mind, probably someone I'd enjoy chatting with.

Cool, looks 3D printed. I also found other variations, << HERE >>, << HERE >> and even for the 7800 << HERE >>, but as my luck would have it, nothing for the 5200. I might have to rectify that situation.

Hey guys, << HERE >> is a real cool one that will get you some brownie points with the old lady... assuming you choose the right photo! You might even get lucky.

I'll also say something here that would get me into trouble on another site... If you don't already have an F18A, don't put off buying one in a unknown wait for the Mark II, as lord knows if or when it'll ever be released. It's been quite literally years since it was announced. Now the current F18A, when last I polled people years ago, showed that more people (at the time) used an F18A over the other display methods, and now it's available from multiple sources, and seems to have saturated the market, so I wonder if/when the Mark II is ever released, how well it would even sell, let alone have things written for it. If I remember correctly, it took more than a couple of years to get more than a few specialty items written for it's capability, I can only assume the same would be the same for the new device... and I don't know if I'll even live that long... or if the programmers will. So in short, DON'T DENY YOURSELF THE PLEASURE OF GOOD GRAPHICS TODAY, FOR THE UNKNOWN AND YET UNFULFILLED PROMISES OF TOMORROW.

If you ever plan to do a 5200 podcast, please let me know, I'll watch it.

Well if you can turn it off and immediately back on, it's not a thermal issue. It's the timing that interests me, could it be locking up when trying to access the disk drive?

@RickR I like it, but it does not go with my decor. 😔

I'm Cookie Peppermint, but I'd prefer to go by my last name first because Peppermint Cookie sounds better.

What kind of diagnostic tools do you have?

Question @RickR, have you been able to do anything like run a simple two line program with the 30 seconds? Have you been able to access the disk drive? Can you post a small video of what happens? How long is the recovery time after lockup until you can get another 30 seconds out of it. Is the time exact on the lockup every time?

Boss, I don't think I'll be able to get to work today, the road is blocked.

Yup, I will not play my 5200 without it!

Sadly no, the TIPI cannot emulate memory. When it came to the cards, I removed both the RS-232's, one with the HDX mod, as they were no longer necessary with the WiFi capabilities of the TIPI/RPi. Yes, I do have a few specialty cards that keep me tied to the P-Box, but honestly for what little use I get from them, 95% of the time, when I actually use my TI, I could get along just fine with the TIPI/32K sidecar setup. If I were to make suggestions to people just entering the TI world, my suggestions would be, in order of purchase... 1) FinalGROM cartridge 2) TIPI/32K Sidecar 3) F18A VGA video upgrade ... then later ... 4) Speech Synthesizer

USB Video Projectors are getting inexpensive, like << THIS ONE >> at Amazon. 1/2 off at $50.00, deserves at least a peek. Can you imagine playing Berzerk or Missile Command with this?

I whole ❤️edly love my RetroGameBoyz joystick for my Big Sexy 5200, so I know how much you probably like that one as well. BTW, it's highly gratifying to me to see that someone else prefers the joystick on the right (proper) side! ☺️

All part of the nostalgia! I remember having the B&W monitor built into the TRS-80 that I upgraded to a green screen... a couple of months before I sold it. For some reason the green really appealed to me and seemed easier on the eyes during those late night sessions. Oh yeah @TrekMD, times sure have changed! On the PC lines in the early days I traveled the path of CGA, EGA,VGA, SVGA... Funny thing, I've stopped myself from going any further than running 1920 X 1080. For video both my Sony Handycam and Canon T7i have native resolutions of 1920 X 1080, so I run both my computer monitors at the same resolution as well as my TV's. When I think of how many thousands I'd have to spend to upgrade everything to 4K, it's simply not worth it to me. Besides, 4K (IMHO), takes up too much file space and drastically increases upload times. So in the end, I've become like my grandfather who still had a Victrola in his house. When I was around 9 or 10 years old I asked him why he didn't have a more modern turntable for his records, he replied, "I can use this when there is no electricity".

Actually you can get a TIPI board to go inside the PEB, which will still let you use all the peripherals you already own, assuming you have any peripheral cards you cannot live without. If you want a small format TIPI (limited to 32K RAM) for the storage, PDF and Internet/Network aspects, the TIPI/32K sidecar version that fits in a speech synthesizer case is the least expensive way to go, although it limits future growth unlike the PEB.

Did you have a piece of hardware for your TI that you once considered the best thing ever, but now it's been YEARS since you've used it and now collects dust on the shelf? Decades ago, and as little as seven years ago, I used to use my "Super Cartridge", but then the FlashROM 99 was released, and I never had a reason to use the Super Cartridge even again, a year or so after that, the FinalGROM 99 was released and now my FlashROM 99 is only a dust collector as well. It's been so long since I've use the old Super Cart that I've actually forgotten how to use it!

I really don't want a whole year to go by without an update. Does anyone have or know of anything new to add?

I'd like to hear your input on it when you get it. I seriously need something to re-ignite my TI fire. With so little related activity here, my TI remains setup, but not hooked up since I move in six months ago. My TIPI has has the old chip, and I'm even forgetting how to do some things. My memory has been declining over the past five years and if I don't do things often, I forget how.

@Justin your listing suddenly makes me feel really old.

Oh, @RickR, are you going to replace the 5.25's with a modern SD card based storage device?

AWESOME FIND! You know if it freezes after warming up, it could be something as simple as a thermal problem with old dried out heat sink compound. When you open it up, look for white dried out paste between a chip and a heat sink as your first target. With a machine that old, it's a common problem, especially if it works fine before warming up.