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New to Atari 7800


jmjustin6

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I want to say that it was fun to fix it.  If anyone else needs help with broken console buttons on the 7800, I can help.  They can be fixed without replacement. 

 

Enjoy it.  We have a generous group here...Greenween donated all that.  It's the great spirit of Atari.io in action. 

 

How do you fix them?

 

Ok first off i want to give a HUGE shoutout/thankyou to both Rick and Greenween. Greenween had a 7800 with i believe a broken power button and Rick fixed it and they offered it to me. I am beyond happy right now.

 

So with all that what are games that i must be on the look out for.

Games i know to look for:

Ms pacman

Dig dug

Xevious

Galaga

Centipede

 

Here's the Top 5 games voted on by 7800 users (plus 5 honorable mentions)

 

I also did a whole podcast covering the best and worst with a lot of feedback, but warning, it's a long one:

The No Swear Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtJuo040EOCTVziObIgVcg

Host of The Atari 7800 Game by Game Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and YouTube

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How do you fix them?

 

 

I should probably take some pictures....

 

If you open up the console and take the motherboard out, you'll see the 4 switches.  Each one has 4 little plastic nubs holding the top on.  I use a tiny screwdriver to "shave" off three of those nubs.  So then you can bend the top off and remove the button and the metal bubble underneath (tweezers help with this step).  Then you clean the inside of the button housing and the bottom of the bubble with q-tip and alcohol (you'll see there is oxidation in there that causes it to not work).  Re-assemble, and use a little hot glue to hold the top in place (as a replacement for the three nubs).  BOOM.  Good as new.

Edited by RickR
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I have been thinking alot about getting AAs track ball games. Has anyone tried them?

I tried Missile Command on my Harmony cart , (think a playable demo) and it was fantastic. 

 

there were basically 2 trak-ball models for 2600 , the cx-22 & the c-80 , the coding I guess had to be different for each model but some cx-80 needed the cx-22 ROMS , I think Albert @ AA discovered it's easier to put both ROMS on same cart. but I am not sure.

https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=31

 

he did at one point show a teaser of some boxes for these :wub:

 

I would imagine other trak-ball games such as Centipede are just as responsive as their arcade counter-parts

https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=31

Edited by chas10e
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The 7800 is a great system regardless of its sound limitations.  Any 8-bit console that can handle over 100 sprites without breaking a sweat means there was some serious engineering going on...and something that is very much missing from today's technology.  

 

Other than the games already mentioned, and I love Food Fight, I would recommend Pole Position II and Robotron 2084.  The latter really showcases the 7800's true graphic capabilities.  Ummm...Ballblazer...definitely get Ballblazer.  And the 7800 probably has the best Ms. Pac-Man port I've ever seen, even out doing other Atari consoles and computers.  Commando is good as well and I found Tower Toppler interesting but that one might not be for everyone.  Asteroids remains my top favorite on this console.  Some 7800's had it built-in so you might turn your console on without a game to see if it is there.  

 

I would recommend replacing those Pro-Line joysticks with something that is not hand cramping.  Those things are torture devices for sure so I would recommend getting your hands on some of the EuroPads that Atari made for the system.

 

But, get Xevious first so you can join us in the Squad Challenge!!

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What I don't get is on Atariage, I saw a thread where people kept saying the 7800 is bad at playing 2600 games.  What are they talking about?  Everyone else I've talked to says it works great.  I'm looking at getting one in the near future, as I like it a bit more than the 2600.

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I think there are two things that would give a few people some reason/excuse to say 7800 is "bad" at playing 2600 games:

 

- The cartridge slot can be kind of tight and doesn't play nice with Imagic cartridges and a few other third-party manufacturers' cartridges. Of course, you can cut away the plastic lip around the slot, and that solves that problem. (That was one of the first things I did when I got my 7800.)

 

- Some versions of the 7800 have some compatibility issues with a few Activision (and other) games and the Supercharger.

 

- Some people think the color on the 7800 isn't as good as on a dedicated 2600. Then again, there are some people who insist that heavy sixers are the only ones with decent color. Of course, the color is adjustable under the hood. Personally, I've never had a problem with 2600 colors on *any* machine -- I've had a coupla heavy sixers, a woodgrain 4-switcher, a Vader, and a couple of Jrs and they were all fine. Ditto my 7800.

 

Heck, one of the reasons the 7800 is my favorite consoles is that it plays 2600 games, meaning I don't need a separate 2600 taking up space. And I'm lucky enough to have a 7800 that has so far proven fully compatible -- Robot Tank, The Activision Decathlon, and the Supercharger all work on mine.

Edited by dauber

Supernatural, perhaps...baloney, perhaps not.

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I think there are two things that would give a few people some reason/excuse to say 7800 is "bad" at playing 2600 games:

 

- The cartridge slot can be kind of tight and doesn't play nice with Imagic cartridges and a few other third-party manufacturers' cartridges. Of course, you can cut away the plastic lip around the slot, and that solves that problem. (That was one of the first things I did when I got my 7800.)

 

- Some versions of the 7800 have some compatibility issues with a few Activision (and other) games and the Supercharger.

 

- Some people think the color on the 7800 isn't as good as on a dedicated 2600. Then again, there are some people who insist that heavy sixers are the only ones with decent color. Of course, the color is adjustable under the hood. Personally, I've never had a problem with 2600 colors on *any* machine -- I've had a coupla heavy sixers, a woodgrain 4-switcher, a Vader, and a couple of Jrs and they were all fine. Ditto my 7800.

 

Heck, one of the reasons the 7800 is my favorite consoles is that it plays 2600 games, meaning I don't need a separate 2600 taking up space. And I'm lucky enough to have a 7800 that has so far proven fully compatible -- Robot Tank, The Activision Decathlon, and the Supercharger all work on mine.

Also the difficulty switches are confusing as <bleep!> on the 7800.   Completely unlabeled. 

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For the difficulty switches, just remember B<->A  for (B)eginner <->(A)dvance

You can also use this picture to remember B.A.

250px-BABaracus.jpg

 

Also, as far as controllers go, I highly, highly, highly recommend getting a Seagull 78 that allows you to use Sega Genesis controllers for 2 button games. The Europad looks nice, but the buttons lay too low for my taste (it's near impossible to push down both at once) and the SG78s are cheaper than the going rate for those. 

 

Also, I think my coupon code in the video might still be good too (No, I don't get paid or any commission from Ed. He was just nice enough to make a code for me to give out.)

 

The No Swear Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtJuo040EOCTVziObIgVcg

Host of The Atari 7800 Game by Game Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and YouTube

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While this is about the 7800 I have to throw in my two cents worth on the various 2600 models AND the 7800 as well in 2600 mode.  The 7800 as we all know contains the same processors found in a 2600.  So, basically, it is a 2600 with bonus features for a different breed of games.  

 

With that said, I have a JR, 4-switch Woody, and a 7800.  All of them vary a bit in color including the 7800.  The brightest one of the bunch is the Woody model.  My 7800 seems to have a dull sharpness when in 7800 mode.  Then again the many revisions the console went through (there were three that I know of) might be some of the reasons for the slight color difference.  The 2600 itself went through many revisions.  Mine's board is a Rev 13 and there are later revisions with a timer chip in it for the Game Select and Reset switches.  

 

I did a small test on my 2600 models and the 7800 with a 2600 game...E.T.  And there are some slight color differences.  On 7800 the green forest areas are a tad bit dark and not as vibrant, on the woody model the color is more vibrant and lively, and on the JR model the colors were a little pale until I re-adjusted it to match the Woody model.  

 

There are some other things that might need to be mentioned about the 7800 as well.  There are reports of the 7800 motherboard literally cracking due to the force needed to insert and remove cartridges.  Some revisions have a plastic piece on the underside of the motherboard directly under the cartridge slot to help keep that from happening.  The shell can also become brittle and crack too so be sure to support it a bit when removing any carts.  The plastic is not the strongest ever made even being a bit lower grade than that used for the 5200.  

 

With all that being said, the 7800 is still a good console and I would have loved to see what it could have done if the likes of third-party developers Nintendo had for the NES would have developed for the 7800.  I'm sure that it could have done Gradius, Life Force, Super Mario Bros., and similar games very well.  I also really like the color tones of most of the 7800 games especially Asteroids, Galaga, Xevious, Robotron, and a few others.  It has this VGA-like visual before PCs got VGA so the MARIA graphics chip is very impressive.

 

There is a video somewhere online where someone made a popular NES adventure game on the 7800.  All it contains is the full map and the Link character...but it is still very impressive.  It is a very underdeveloped system and I doubt we have seen everything it has to offer.  If the 7800 was to get a Pioneer LD add-on then there is no telling what all it can really do.  

 

You have an awesome system!  Now all you have to do is enjoy it.  That is the how the full circle works.  You might hit Lance up sometime as I believe he has used 7800 games but don't quote me on that.  And since his accident I don't know how easy it would be for him to get to them.

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