Ballblaɀer

If someone doesn't take you up on Fire Fly, they're missing out!

Newly available for trade/sale:
 
Atari 2600 -- loose carts
 
Activision Decathlon
Basic Programming (picture label)
Dragonfire
Eggomania
Enduro (blue label)
Fire Fly
Kool-Aid Man
Q*Bert (red label)
RealSports Volleyball Sky Skipper
Spitfire Attack Trick Shot (text label) Wizard of Wor   Intellivision   Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack (CIB excellent condition w/overlays)
 
 
Happy to take photos for anyone interested.

Final Zone?

This one is obviously not a game at all -- it's the world famous Portland Airport carpet:
 

Okay, you can change my "Pretzel Member" status to "Defender" whenever...
 

 
1,031,850
 
Rolled the wave counter, then the score counter, then my sanity -- so I quit with something like ten lives left, on wave 158/159.  I think that's enough Defender for me for another few years! 

Okay, you can change my "Pretzel Member" status to "Defender" whenever...
 

 
1,031,850
 
Rolled the wave counter, then the score counter, then my sanity -- so I quit with something like ten lives left, on wave 158/159.  I think that's enough Defender for me for another few years! 

Okay, you can change my "Pretzel Member" status to "Defender" whenever...
 

 
1,031,850
 
Rolled the wave counter, then the score counter, then my sanity -- so I quit with something like ten lives left, on wave 158/159.  I think that's enough Defender for me for another few years! 

Okay, you can change my "Pretzel Member" status to "Defender" whenever...
 

 
1,031,850
 
Rolled the wave counter, then the score counter, then my sanity -- so I quit with something like ten lives left, on wave 158/159.  I think that's enough Defender for me for another few years! 

Nice video!  Very entertaining.
 
Here's what I put in this junk box.  Thanks again, everyone.
 
 
 

My contributions to the junk box, was great this time around, looking forward to the next one!

Here is what i put in

Here's what I put into the box.
 

 
I also put In that Zelda poster at the last minute as I was about to tape up the box. This was my first junk box that I took part in and I had a great time with it! I'm glad I joined! Will most likely join in on JB10 if I have enough junk, which I should!

I am currently working on learning how to port my prior Atari 8-bit releases to the Atari 5200. The possible games include: "Amok Bots", "Delta Space Arena", "Laser Blast X", "Megaoids", "Secretum Labyrinth Kings Gold", and "Venture". I have to remind everyone this is a work in progress as I learning what is going with the game running on the 5200. Crashes often and tracing what is going on can be frustrating. I am trying to figure out how to read IRQ keypad. First thing I did was get it to the point of getting the games own title screen to come up on screen so I know the program is set up to all the 5200 memory address correctly. There  will be announcements when the game is done and beta tested. We have my own trusted beta testers. Chances are these games will not be available for awhile so I ask everyone to be patient. I will post updates and announce when the games become available.
 
"Secretum Labyrinth Kings Gold" will be an enhanced version of the freeware/demo that was released on the Atari 8-bit. I am going to put in a few extra things that are not in the 8-bit version to make purchasing it worthwhile. "Secretum Labyrinth The Legend" required a 64K ROM and a 64K Atari Computer. From what I can see, there is not any bank switching cartridges available for the 5200. I know about the 40K Bounty Bob cartridges, but no one has those anymore.

I just got one of the games converted and we will be using it as a template for the other games. Over the last 2 years, I made a series of games that can run on an Atari 8-bit computer with as little as 16K RAM. I am working with someone to port a few others over. I chose Secretum Labyrinth Kings Gold as another possibility because that is a smaller game that was designed to be loaded from disk into RAM, and with a little help with Inflate/Deflate, fit onto a 32K ROM cartridge, and work with that 16K RAM on the 5200. Secretum Labyrinth Kings Gold had about 96 rooms vs The Legend having 256 rooms. This 5200 cartridge could have somewhere between.  How many different screen will become available will depend on how much I can downsize the program and data, but it may be possible to have a larger map.

The box is back!   My camera just...well it sucks, sorry guys.  I was gonna edit it and make attempts at humor but the camera wouldn't cooperate.   I think I at least got all but a couple of tiny items in the vid.

Thanks for everyone who joined in!  Hope you enjoyed it.

For those of you interested in this story, the whole story including the people involved in this incredible find will be doing a presentation and reveal of the Aztarac in it's full working glory at Free Play Florida november 17-19 2017.   I am one of the founders and operators of the event, hope to see some of you there!

I rarely find anything noteworthy in our local thrift store.  Yesterday was different!
 

 

 
Waddingtons Wizard, from 1979!  The box is in reasonably good shape, and I'm pretty certain all the contents are there.  I'll need to pick up some C batteries to see if it works, but the thing looks like it was never used.  But I'm not sure how that's possible given that "You can never be bored when you own the Wizard. . ."
 

I haven't been very active in the forums for a while, so here's some of my better finds over the last few months:
 

 
It's a synth! No, it's a boom box! Wait, it's sort of both! I found this rather unusual Casio CK-500 synth over at a Goodwill in Kennewick, WA. Not in perfect condition (missing the radio antenna, power cable, and battery cover. Also, the right cassette player warbles a little). Helpfully, it did come with the manual. The sound is what you'd expect from a not-too-expensive Casio, but you can record what you play, switch tapes, and record with that as accompaniment.
 

 
A couple rare books from Goodwill Outlet in Pasco, WA. A first U.S. edition of C. S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength. And the book that was very loosely the basis for Who Framed Roger Rabbit... Gary Wolf's Who Censored Roger Rabbit.
 

 
I found this yesterday during a trip to Packwood, WA at a small thrift shop, For me, this one's a doozy: A Suzuki Omnichord System 2, complete and entirely functional! Still even has the disposable plastic overlay. A great deal at $25! You select a chord with the buttons, then strum the long panel on the side with one or two fingers. (Essentially, an electronic autoharp.) The buttons can also be used as a keyboard while you switch pre-recorded chords with a foot pedal.
 
They also had boxed NES and Genesis games that were way over-priced (sports games that were more than what I paid for the Omnichord) and some unpriced but intriguing educational laser disc with 3.5" floppy disk sets that came from a library.

My son and I visited Quarterworld, an arcade here in Portland today.  Their web site:  http://quarterworldarcade.com/
 
Here's how it works.  You pay a cover to get in.  It's normally $3, but we lucked in to "Happy Hour", which made the admission $1 each.  All of the games operate on quarters.  No tokens.  Most games are $0.50.  Fancier ones are $0.75 or $1.  There are change machines and ATM's there.  Also, if you're over 21, they give you a bracelet so you can get an adult beverage. 
 
As far as games go, they have a LOT.  From classics to new stuff.  Pinball too.  The building used to be a theater, so there is a lot of space.  I played some classics (Tron, Donkey Kong, Punch Out, Tempest) and some newer games too.  Probably the coolest thing I played was a Star Wars game that involves sitting in a little sphere with the screen wrapping around you and encompassing your whole field of vision.  Very immersive.  That one was $1.  I also played several pinball games.  They also had a big screen Pac Man / Galaxian. 
 
Overall, we probably spent 90 minutes there, and about $20 for the two of us, which is a pretty good deal for so much fun. 
 
The only complaint we have is that the games are too quiet -- the volumes are set too low.  On Tron, you could barely hear any of the music or sounds, and that's really a shame. 
 
And finally, here are a few pics I took.  Sorry, I really suck at using a smart-phone camera. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's what I took:
 

PSP games Killzone and Need For Speed Underground -- these made me say "oooooh!" as noted above.  I am super pumped to try these games out.  PSP Hannah Montana movies.  Humor - I traded Rowsdower for most of his PSP stuff a while ago and said "I'll take it all EXCEPT Hannah Montana."  Well dang, I guess I have to take em now.  Now that I think about it...I need to take these on my next plane trip.  Imagine...a middle aged man watching Hannah Montana on a PSP.  Nothing creepy about that at all.  SegaCD Mortal Kombat - comment from my son:  "I'll bet it takes an hour to load".  We shall see, son.  We shall see. Devil May Cry for PS2 and Devil May Cry 3 for PC -- I have no idea what these are.  But the "M" rating appeals to me.  Since I'm so mature.  And also, I needed space for more junk in the box.  Homer Simpson figure.  He's obviously doing a "WooHoo!" Donald Duck slidey puzzle.  I may lose my temper trying to solve this. "How to Win at Super Mario Bros" booklet.  I won't lie...this is probably my favorite item from the junk box.  Combat cart.  Because that throne made out of Combat carts ain't gonna build itself.  I think I'm legally obligated to take any and all combat carts in junk boxes.  Fantastic 4 plug and play.  I won't lie.  I didn't want this, but I couldn't fit it back in the box.  Rowsdower...if you wanted it, I'll send it separately or in our next trade.  I may just put it in Junk Box 10 And finally, Tomy handheld kissing game.  I think I know who put this in, and I'll bet he knew who would take it.  Frankly, I love these little Tomy mechanical games.  On my first try, it pretty much summed up my lifetime love life:
 
This was one sweet junk box.  Thank you guys very much.  I've packed it up with what I think is good junk and it will be off to Texas and home tomorrow. 

here is my Atari 5200 Stargate prototype for your enjoyment. this is an official original prototype that came out of atari and is not a reproduction game. this is what Stargate would have been had atari put it out in 1984. enjoy,
 
thanks,
 
lance
www.atarisales.com

http://www.atariprotos.com/5200/software/superpac/superpac.htm
 
Per the above link, the 1/26/84 revision is essentially complete, with some missing scrolling instructions and a potential (rare) game-breaking bug.  The final version was also changed so that the bonus item appears after half the board is cleared, rather than after a designated time period.
 
ROM images of the final version and one of the early revisions (not sure which date) are floating around out there.  The final release is available for free download from AA.  I don't remember where I got the other one at the moment.
 
I *love* this game and wish it had been released back when it was finished!  Very cool to have one of the prototype boards, Lance -- I'm jealous for sure.

It's important to understand that some very new TVs have done away with coax and don't play nicely with the various A/V mods. I've experienced this with a mod that I did for a friend. I tried three different configurations before I found a mod that worked and then it was just "ok". Many of us in the community have CRTs or older flat screens so this isn't an issue for us. But for some who decide to get back into classic gaming and have already moved on to HD or 4K, the Retron 77 could be a great solution.

I found one at Goodwill Outlet last year (no box or manual), but I didn't realize it was quite that old! I second that request for manual scans! 

From 4000 miles away across the Atlantic to my little ol' collection, one of the toughest Atari carts to acquire, NTSC *or* PAL:
 

 
That there is CX26190, the Atari-branded re-release of TNT's BMX Airmaster, in pristine condition.  This was the one red label title released as NTSC that I didn't have, and... well, I still don't have it.    This particular cart is PAL format.  If I ever come across an NTSC red label cart I'll naturally swap this one out of the collection, but it's a low priority given that 1) I have the original TNT version of the game in NTSC format, 2) the labels for the NTSC and PAL Atari releases are identical, and 3) there's some absurdly low number of NTSC carts that have surfaced.
 
CX26190 is the highest Atari 2600 game product number to have both an NTSC and a PAL release.  Klax (CX26192) was only ever released as PAL.  It's not known whether CX26191 was ever assigned to a title.  As for the game itself, BMX Airmaster is one that I really enjoy.  It was programmed by Adam Clayton, who also did Dark Chambers.  Fun fact: at age 15, Adam was the one who first wrote to Atari about having found Warren Robinett's easter egg in Adventure.
 
As for this latest acquisition... even better, it came with the Atari manual!
 

 
Since I generally don't collect game boxes (but I do like having manuals!) it was the perfect score, and I got it for an amazing price.  It's a great feeling when a tireless search pays off!