Atari 5200 Guy

Ready for some pics?

This is the AMD model. Date on the cooling fan is from October 2006 so it just celebrated it's 13th birthday (Ooooo...13.  Evil number LOL).  The processor is an AMD Sempron 3200+ (I pulled the fan to check) running at 1.8 GHz (I finally got an AMD setup).  RAM is missing which is DDR 400 MHz unbuffered non-ECC up to 4 GB so 1 GB per slot is the max.  It was made for HP/Compaq computers.  This one was by itself and already pulled.  It does have on board video but not exactly sure what kind.  With this having the ATi architecture it is possible that the video is some form of ATI graphics.  It has a parallel port, too, which is often missing in more modern machines.  4 USB (2 are 2.0), SATA, IDE, Floppy (yep, saved one of those, too), and on-board AC97 audio.  Standard stuff.  I will have to replace the 2032 clock battery.
  
That's the only thing majorly wrong with it.  I can snip those at the board level and be OK.  The motherboard won't even know it's missing.  It's a shame someone damaged the board like this but I won't be using it any way for my needs.  I can repurpose this without that being an issue.  At least the board is clean.  I didn't have to clean it.  I will put fresh CPU thermal paste on it when I get ready to fire it up.  The processor has already been cleaned free of the old paste.
So I only need the following:
DDR 400 MHz RAM (I don't think I have any but will have to check) 2032 battery I saved a power supply that supports this board.  I also have plenty of hard drives which I can dedicate one to the OS and another to all the arcade stuff.    

We got a can of Pringles Tortilla chips once from a neighbor who got them from a local food bank.  Southwest something or rather.  Had just enough heat to not be overbearing.  Unfortunately most of the writing on the can was not English or Spanish and it's a flavor not available in the USA.  Go figure.
As for hot sauces...I'm good.  I don't do much spicy foods at all.  I do, however, like to put a packet of Taco Bell's Mild sauce in my beef Ramen to boost the flavor.  

You're welcome.  I still can't believe I found a BurgerTime My Arcade for $5 at my local Wal-Mart.  I wish I would have known about it as I might have been able to nab a Dig Dug one as well for the same price.  I have no clue what happened to the other My Arcade systems they had that are not there any more.  Inquiring minds want to know!

Awesome finds!  Are they any good?

Since there were threads for thrift store, ebay, and craigslist finds I thought about starting one for those times when we find things on the clearance racks.  Because sometimes, without warning, famous retail outlets will put things on those racks that are of great interest.  And there are those rare circumstances where things go on clearance in the least expected areas of a store.
To start things off I was at Wal-Mart tonight getting things to make sure my car was weatherized since we are expected to get snow next week...and my car needed some antifreeze.  As much as I tried to avoid it I simply couldn't bypass visiting the electronics section to see if there was anything new.  Yep, there was but it wasn't merchandise.  More like a shrink down.  The are where My Arcade and Tiny Arcade items once were had been replaced with Pop Vinyl figures followed by accessories for PlayStation, Switch, and XBOX all contained behind a locked glass cabinet now.  So I did a search around the rest of the area for the missing items.  
On the other side where CDs and movies are our store started carrying vinyl records full bore.  Next to those are the Arcade1UP arcades.  Above these are where I found part of the missing items.  Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Galaga were the only My Arcade systems I found.  Galaxian, BurgerTime, Dig Dug, and the other My Arcades were still missing.  Next stop, an area next to the Photo section that is generally set aside for some electronic items on clearance.  Right before I got there was a rack setup containing one of the missing items...

BurgerTime found I checked out the rest of the rack.  A spot where Galaxian and Dig Dug once were but were now gone.  Next to the machines I found two metal signs that I simply couldn't pass up.

I grabbed them up...I couldn't pass these up.  But I had to make sure I had enough left to finish weatherizing my car first so off to the checkouts I went.  Yep, calculations correct and home came the clearance items I found.  Damn Wal-Mart.  You ought to give a week's warning when you are going to put things like this on clearance.  I might have missed Dig Dug but at least I got BurgerTime now.  I haven't tried this one out yet.  I already had to return the first one I grabbed because the D-Pad did not want to work.  There were at least a dozen BurgerTime machines when I grabbed that first one...when I went back to get an exchange only 3 remained.  I was going to grab another one and keep the better of the two should any of THOSE have problems but while I was thinking about it someone came along and swooped up the remaining 3.  There went that idea, eh?  I might be $7 less than I went in the store with but I came home with small treasures I will enjoy for a long time to come.  Now I have to figure out where to put those signs on my game room wall after I test this BurgerTime.  

She likes Hocus Pocus.  Thanks for the suggestion!

She likes Hocus Pocus.  Thanks for the suggestion!

Ms. Pac-Man
Arcade
Difficulty: Default (High Speed Machine)
High Score: 205,910
October 19, 2019

Since there were threads for thrift store, ebay, and craigslist finds I thought about starting one for those times when we find things on the clearance racks.  Because sometimes, without warning, famous retail outlets will put things on those racks that are of great interest.  And there are those rare circumstances where things go on clearance in the least expected areas of a store.
To start things off I was at Wal-Mart tonight getting things to make sure my car was weatherized since we are expected to get snow next week...and my car needed some antifreeze.  As much as I tried to avoid it I simply couldn't bypass visiting the electronics section to see if there was anything new.  Yep, there was but it wasn't merchandise.  More like a shrink down.  The are where My Arcade and Tiny Arcade items once were had been replaced with Pop Vinyl figures followed by accessories for PlayStation, Switch, and XBOX all contained behind a locked glass cabinet now.  So I did a search around the rest of the area for the missing items.  
On the other side where CDs and movies are our store started carrying vinyl records full bore.  Next to those are the Arcade1UP arcades.  Above these are where I found part of the missing items.  Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Galaga were the only My Arcade systems I found.  Galaxian, BurgerTime, Dig Dug, and the other My Arcades were still missing.  Next stop, an area next to the Photo section that is generally set aside for some electronic items on clearance.  Right before I got there was a rack setup containing one of the missing items...

BurgerTime found I checked out the rest of the rack.  A spot where Galaxian and Dig Dug once were but were now gone.  Next to the machines I found two metal signs that I simply couldn't pass up.

I grabbed them up...I couldn't pass these up.  But I had to make sure I had enough left to finish weatherizing my car first so off to the checkouts I went.  Yep, calculations correct and home came the clearance items I found.  Damn Wal-Mart.  You ought to give a week's warning when you are going to put things like this on clearance.  I might have missed Dig Dug but at least I got BurgerTime now.  I haven't tried this one out yet.  I already had to return the first one I grabbed because the D-Pad did not want to work.  There were at least a dozen BurgerTime machines when I grabbed that first one...when I went back to get an exchange only 3 remained.  I was going to grab another one and keep the better of the two should any of THOSE have problems but while I was thinking about it someone came along and swooped up the remaining 3.  There went that idea, eh?  I might be $7 less than I went in the store with but I came home with small treasures I will enjoy for a long time to come.  Now I have to figure out where to put those signs on my game room wall after I test this BurgerTime.  

We got a can of Pringles Tortilla chips once from a neighbor who got them from a local food bank.  Southwest something or rather.  Had just enough heat to not be overbearing.  Unfortunately most of the writing on the can was not English or Spanish and it's a flavor not available in the USA.  Go figure.
As for hot sauces...I'm good.  I don't do much spicy foods at all.  I do, however, like to put a packet of Taco Bell's Mild sauce in my beef Ramen to boost the flavor.  

I know who's house to visit this year! 
They still play that movie?  I haven't seen it either but my Grandmother use to play that one a lot.  It was one of her favorites.
I don't know if we will watch a movie or not.  Borderlands 3 is doing a Bloody Harvest event until December 5th so wife and I might work on that.  If I watch a movie it will most likely be one of those classic B&W ones at the Archives.  Wife doesn't like scary movies at all so I will most likely be watching those alone.  Harry Potter scares her so ... not a lot of options when it comes to movies.

There's a house down the street from us that puts on a heck of a display at Christmas time and this year they are doing the same thing for Halloween.  Everything is in sync with music which they broadcast over an unused radio station.  So my wife and I might go and check that out.  Dress up?  Not sure.  Where we live trick and treating is considered soliciting so we don't get trick or treaters.  Not entirely sure what else we'll do.

Hey Atarians!
I know these things are usually met with a mixed bag of opinions (some love them, some hate 'em) and I can understand why because of them using NES ROMs.  But the more that came out it seems like the more improved they have become.  Here's one to seriously consider: Space Invaders!  Imagine everything you loved about the original arcade.  Now imagine shrinking it down to fit in the palm of your hands.  Visit the link below and you'll see what I'm talking about.
My Arcade Space Invaders News
This one is not using a Nintendo ROM like the previous models.  This is using the real arcade ROM.  Everything about this mini cab screams love for the arcade original right down to the layered backdrop.  It sounds like a dream come true for me.  This was announced way back on June 2019 and was said to be released later this year.  I wonder if this will be a limited edition run and if it will be a holiday release?  I guess we will all just have to wait and see.
Now if only they would remake the others like this.  As I mentioned in my previous blog post about these things My Arcade also announced an agreement between them and Konami to bring Contra to their line up of these Micro Arcades.  This one is to use arcade ROMs as well PLUS allow two to be connected together for some co-op play.  Nice.
 
 

Awesome find!  Did you find any receipts from previous rentals in there?

Galaxian
My Arcade
Difficulty: Default
High Score: 22,550
October 23, 2019

When everyone shows me their goodwill finds, this is how I feel!

It would probably take a while but I don't see why you can't build one from scratch buying used parts (motherboard, monitor, etc.) and such.  It would take a while longer but the end result would be about the same thing...wouldn't it or am I wrong?

I said I would show when it arrived.  Very excited about this one!!

She's a bit grungy but working.  Dual DD disk drives, too!  My Atari hardware collection is complete.  And, before I get asked, its a 1040 STfm in a 1040 STe shell.  I don't think it has the Blitter processor.  Will know when it is taken apart to clean.  Santa came a day early.

It would probably take a while but I don't see why you can't build one from scratch buying used parts (motherboard, monitor, etc.) and such.  It would take a while longer but the end result would be about the same thing...wouldn't it or am I wrong?

Well, manuals were not made to just look pretty  I read the SMB manual once and discovered it had a continue feature .  All those times I could have continued where I left off and instead I was starting completely over.  D'OH!  Sometimes it pays to read those things.
 

I'm with StormSurge.  Once of these days.  Galaxian is what I'm after but I'd settle for any decent one...even if it has to be restored.  That would be the fun part.  

I'm with StormSurge.  Once of these days.  Galaxian is what I'm after but I'd settle for any decent one...even if it has to be restored.  That would be the fun part.  

I'm with StormSurge.  Once of these days.  Galaxian is what I'm after but I'd settle for any decent one...even if it has to be restored.  That would be the fun part.  

How'd I manage 3rd place?  I was expecting a much lower position.  I couldn't even get close to the score I posted again so I gave up LOL.  That game is brutal.  One fatal mistake ruins the whole thing.  You can obtain extra lives but those are very difficult to get.  And that timer counts so fast that it is up before you realize it.  All of that makes for the perfect ingredients for an excellent arcade game.  And a great port on the NES didn't miss a thing.  I do believe if you hit either the Select or Start buttons it can sometimes call up a weapon truck.  Sometimes.  Seems random.
Congrats to everyone!  A well played game.

How'd I manage 3rd place?  I was expecting a much lower position.  I couldn't even get close to the score I posted again so I gave up LOL.  That game is brutal.  One fatal mistake ruins the whole thing.  You can obtain extra lives but those are very difficult to get.  And that timer counts so fast that it is up before you realize it.  All of that makes for the perfect ingredients for an excellent arcade game.  And a great port on the NES didn't miss a thing.  I do believe if you hit either the Select or Start buttons it can sometimes call up a weapon truck.  Sometimes.  Seems random.
Congrats to everyone!  A well played game.