RickR Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Another RickR project: I purchased an "as-is" Sears Video Arcade II on Ebay for a pretty low price, but it was advertised "As-is", and "powers on but the screen is fickry" (exact words from the ad). It arrived today. Very dirty. I'm taking some before shots. This thing has 4 joystick ports! What the??? I wonder why? And take a look at the end of the video cable. No wonder it was "fickry"! No RF adapter...just the RF cord spliced to an 75/300 ohm converter. Another thing, missing power adapter. This uses a different connector than the 2600. I looked it up on-line...9V, 1 amp. So I got a power adapter and connector out of my parts bins and spliced them together. Don't worry, I'll solder and heat-shrink once I know it works. The power lights do come on now! Next step is to open it up and replace the RF cable. Then we'll know if it works. Atari Creep, Rowsdower70, StormSurge and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Creep Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Bring her back my friend! greenween and RickR 2 Quote Don't just watch TV, PLAY IT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaximumRD Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 I have one in great shape, love it! Good on you. greenween, RickR, Justin and 1 other 4 Quote I am Rob aka MaximumRD aka OldSchoolRetroGamer and THIS is my world http://about.me/maximumrd "For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday." - M. Bison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Opened it up...lots of dust bunnies. Side note: I'm also working on a broken 7800 that Greenween donated to give to jmjustin6 (if I can fix it). Look very closely at this picture...the cases are essentially the same. Jmjustin, I'm working on your machine too! And while the case takes a bath, I checked to see if the board worked with a new RF cable. YES. It does! Justin, The Professor, Atari Creep and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCG Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Is it a 7800 clone? Rowsdower70 1 Quote https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp_iJmaoVpbqFDcewhi_aqA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Is it a 7800 clone? No sir...it's a 2600 clone. Designed as the "Atari 2800" for the Japanese market. Rowsdower70, Atari Creep, The Professor and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 More info on the Atari 2800 from this very awesome site: http://www.atari.io/atari-2800/ The Professor, StormSurge, Justin and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCG Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Ok, It just really looks like a 7800 Rowsdower70 1 Quote https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp_iJmaoVpbqFDcewhi_aqA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabertooth Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Yeah, Atari reused the 2800/VAII case design for the 7800. Good job on the restore. Did it come with those sweet joysticks? The Professor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 No joysticks....just the console itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Creep Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Fantastic job! Can't wait to see the finished product. Quote Don't just watch TV, PLAY IT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 This thing has 4 joystick ports! What the??? I wonder why? So here's the deal with the 4 joystick ports: One of the big selling features of the system, as far as being a 2600-compatible system goes, is the really cool all-in-one joysticks which integrate the paddle controllers into the joystick stalks. These joysticks work a bit differently from the regular 2600 joysticks, and you press the button on the 2800 console to select between "Joystick" and "Paddle". Because these controllers are all-in-one and different from the norm, playing a 4-player game like Warlords means having 4 of these 2800 Joysticks, each with its own controller port. Remember, the 2800 was intended to dominate the Japanese market when it was designed, and they weren't initially thinking about American compatibility issues for Sears. The expectation was that Atari's official entrance into Japan would for the most part dominate the Japanese market. The 2800 joystick would be the officially released Atari joystick for Japan, and there weren't a ton of classic 2600 joysticks and paddle controllers floating around. So if you wanted to play a 4-player game, you'd just buy some extra 2800 joysticks at your local Japanese Atari dealer and you were set to go. More info on the Atari 2800 from this very awesome site: http://www.atari.io/atari-2800/ Thanks for sharing the link Rick!! I think that page is a pretty decent one-stop-shop for Atari 2800 knowledge Atari Creep, Atari 5200 Guy, Ballblaɀer and 6 others 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 5200 Guy Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Awesome pick-up and restoration going on Rick! I can't wait to see the end results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 (edited) The case needs another scrub with soapy water and a toothbrush. Lots of dirt in the nooks and crannies. In the meantime, the power adapter has been soldered and heat-shrinked. Edited January 28, 2017 by RickR The Professor and Atari 5200 Guy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 I just PM'ed GW and JMJ. The donated 7800 is now fixed. I was able to repair the power button without replacing it. It actually wasn't that hard, so please let me know if anyone else needs help with flaky buttons on the 7800 console. jmjustin6, greenween and Atari 5200 Guy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 The finished product. It works quite nicely! nosweargamer, Atari 5200 Guy, MaximumRD and 6 others 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormSurge Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 This is awesome! Great job! Such a cool machine. Atari 5200 Guy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmjustin6 Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 Awesome rick. Nice addition to your collection Atari 5200 Guy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergojisan Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 (edited) Will the Gemini joystick/paddle controller work on this console? Edited January 29, 2017 by fergojisan MaximumRD and Atari 5200 Guy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Creep Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 The finished product. It works quite nicely! Looks amazing! Fantastic job bro! Atari 5200 Guy 1 Quote Don't just watch TV, PLAY IT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted February 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2017 Will the Gemini joystick/paddle controller work on this console? I just tried, and the answer is no. The button works, but the knob does nothing. I'm not sure if there's a trick to it or not, but I tried in both "joystick" and "paddle" mode. Ironically, I also can't get the paddles to work on my Gemini. There, the knob works, but not the button. I think I need what the manual refers to as a "wye" cable, but don't have that. Atari 5200 Guy and Justin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted February 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2017 Also more on the Sears Video Arcade 2 -- the picture is wonky on some games. Berzerk has a thick blue band at the top. Space Invaders rolls a bit. Some games are perfectly stable. I don't think they made a PAL model, so it couldn't be that. Or could it? Atari 5200 Guy, Justin and greenween 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 5200 Guy Posted February 15, 2017 Report Share Posted February 15, 2017 I just shed a tear. That is a beautiful piece of hardware, RickR. I'm not sure about a PAL Arcade II unit but there are some things you could check. Try it on another channel with the same games and see if that helps or makes a difference. You might try checking the RF modulator as well (inside the unit). It might need replacing (which might be causing the rolling in Space Invaders). If you have spares you might try another RF modulator to see what that does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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