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Who all has a 2600 Jr. ?


MaximumRD

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I am WICKED late to this one. (catching up on posts missed in my absence) I have a Jr, in fact 2. I have a normal North American unit and a weird clone one with the 32 in 1 cart built in. From the best I could find out it is from Australia but I honestly do not know. The pin that controls LEFT movement on port 1 is broken off so I can't use the clone anymore but it's cool.

 

Did you ever get to painting one?????  

 

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Don't just watch TV, PLAY IT!

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I have an A2600 Jr. "Short Rainbow" console that I bought at SPACE (Saint Paul Atari Computer Enthusiasts) in Saint Paul about twenty years ago. The case on the console got damaged from a fall off of a shelf, but it is only moderate cosmetic damage, can be repaired (and I tried with epoxy), and still works well. I need to make more cosmetic repairs on it, but now and then I still play it. Anybody know where I can get some black plastic putty filler? Like Bondo or epoxy, maybe. That would be all I needed to repair this thing. Here is a picture of the console.

 

Thanks.  :lol:

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Here are some better photos of the A2600 Jr. "Short Rainbow" that I own. You can see the damage and my attempt at mitigating it. It still needs work. But, I am confident it can be repaired cosmetically. Any suggestions? Thanks. 

 

 

I always loved the "Short Rainbow" version the best. That was the design intended for 1984. It's a shame that the plastic they used was so brittle, I haven't come across a 2600 Jr. in a long time that didn't feel fragile and at risk of cracking if grabbed too firmly.

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I always loved the "Short Rainbow" version the best. That was the design intended for 1984. It's a shame that the plastic they used was so brittle, I haven't come across a 2600 Jr. in a long time that didn't feel fragile and at risk of cracking if grabbed too firmly.

I found mine under a pile of junk. That must have preserved it because it is solid. 

Don't just watch TV, PLAY IT!

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Now that I think back, the only games I remember seeing on the shelf were either red boxes or Froggo games. Wonder where that Space Invaders came from?

 

Back in the late 80s, it was still easy to find silver boxed and original style boxed games. For instance, I recall getting Missile Command at Toys R Us and Star Raiders at Meijers around 88 or 89. 

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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Back in the late 80s, it was still easy to find silver boxed and original style boxed games. For instance, I recall getting Missile Command at Toys R Us and Star Raiders at Meijers around 88 or 89. 

 

 

I bought brand new Missile Command and Air-Sea Battle at Kay-Bee toys in January, 1994. Still brand new on the shelf. I also bought brand new E.T. and Asteroids at Kay-Bee on Saturday, September 18, 1993. 25 years ago today incidentally. The moment I knowingly stepped into classic gaming, a hobby I thought I was alone in.

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I bought brand new Missile Command and Air-Sea Battle at Kay-Bee toys in January, 1994. Still brand new on the shelf. I also bought brand new E.T. and Asteroids at Kay-Bee on Saturday, September 18, 1993. 25 years ago today incidentally. The moment I knowingly stepped into classic gaming, a hobby I thought I was alone in.

You were never alone. I still had a 5200 and about 3 various wood grain 2600s in 1994. Mom kept asking me why I kept buying them when I seen them. My only answer was because it was an Atari. The Junior model I picked up in 1990, maybe 1991. It was the same large rainbow I have now. But the Alco store was the only place in town carrying anything 2600. My area was also void of TRU and any well known large toy stores. Our Wal-Mart still closed at nights and that was the only large store chain that carried anything of video game importance...except Atari stuff. They simply refused to sell those.

 

The Junior model I have now is like Creep's...built like a tank! I just wish I could find those exact slider switches so I can replace them. It is the only reason why I don't use Junior much. That's also why I'm glad to have the woodgrain model so I don't damage Junior any more until I can replace those. Whose idea was it to make plastic slider switches in the first place? And I refer to the switches mounted on the board, not the covers everyone sees.

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Late to the convo, but I really dig the 2600 junior, although mine has a funny quirk, where it fuzzy on channel 4, but pretty clear when I switch and use channel 3  :o

Great, compact design.

And it gave us one of the greatest commercials in all retro gaming:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m752qiGqSm4

That sounds like a possible bad cap. There is also an adjustable frequency component usually in red plastic with a ferrite screw-like part inside. I have found issues you mention where that ferrite part was cracked...making impossible to adjust the console for any channel or for one but not the other. Try channel 2. I think the original specs were for channels 2 and 3 to be used instead of channel 4.

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I do have a boxed junior. I don't know if these are Canadian versions. I usually see the reddish/brown box but this one is grey with a $64.99 Kmart price tag. I should say I didn't actually buy a boxed junior. I bought some atari 8-bit carts years ago from a local collector and he was nice enough to show up with all those carts in this little junior box.

 

 

 

 

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You know, this is great that you brought it up. I have NEVER seen this box variation before. It must be Canadian, but I see the "Short Rainbow" model on the box, so I could be wrong. Great find, Atarileaf. That box seems a rarity, as it is the first time that I have ever seen it. Thanks. :)

 

By the way, you would think that the box variations would be the same for the United States and Canada, because both nations use NTSC as their signal standard, and are in the North American market. I could be 180º off on that, but maybe this is a Canadian box variation.

 

Another question: your silver box variation, is it also in French and in English as well?

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You know, judging by the fact that there is what looks like Italian, Spanish, Dutch, German, and Portuguese, along with English, it looks like an International version. I know for a fact that you would never see all these languages on an American box. French and Spanish, maybe. But, not the other languages. I think that you are right, as all evidence points to the possibility of it being an International. It must have been made for all throughout Europe, South America, and possibly Canada, as Canadians can utilize both French and English as their official languages. Well, depending on where you are at in Canada, anyway. It is actually in great shape, considering. Thanks for showing us. :)

 

CORRECTION: Not Portuguese. It was French. Sorry.

Edited by DegasElite
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I've seen this box variation in the United States on a number of occasions. It came before the reddish/brown box. I think of this as being similar to their being two versions of the Atari 7800 box as well: the first was initially designed at Atari under Warner, the second was the Tramiel refresh. The Silver 2600 Jr. boxes tend to have the short rainbow design. Again a design holdover from before Tramiel took control. The reddish/brown usually contained the full width rainbow and had been fully updated under Tramiel's Atari by then to match their new 2600 box design. There are international versions of the 2600 Jr. box, but just like with some 1986+ 2600 games I've seen them come in silver boxes with international text sold in the US.

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You know, judging by the fact that there is what looks like Italian, Spanish, Dutch, German, and Portuguese, along with English, it looks like an International version. I know for a fact that you would never see all these languages on an American box. French and Spanish, maybe. But, not the other languages. I think that you are right, as all evidence points to the possibility of it being an International. It must have been made for all throughout Europe, South America, and possibly Canada, as Canadians can utilize both French and English as their official languages. Well, depending on where you are at in Canada, anyway. It is actually in great shape, considering. Thanks for showing us. :)

 

CORRECTION: Not Portuguese. It was French. Sorry.

Actually, yes you will see all those languages on an American Atari box. Not sure about the consoles but new carts in silver boxes rereleased by Atari Corp did that on the back of 2600 boxes...some 7800 boxes, too, if not all. Would make sense to see those on an American box as well. Make a single box for all console versions. Would be cheaper to produce.

 

Does that box have Atari, Inc or Atari Corp on it, Leaf?

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Does that box have Atari, Inc or Atari Corp on it, Leaf?

 

 

I want to clarify one point from my previous post: 

 

I'm not suggesting all of these boxes were printed with a 1984 Copyright from Atari, Inc. (Some may have been?) Rather that the box artwork and the overall design had been completed by Atari, Inc. under Warner in 1984, and later printed up by Tramiel's Atari Corp., with updated copyright text, when the Atari 2600 Jr. was first introduced. This is similar to Atari Corp. shipping early 7800s in Atari, Inc. boxes and later transitioning into their own design.

 

There are many examples of Atari, Inc. era boxes and labels being used by Atari Corp. with updated copyright text, etc. For example I have a 1986 E.T. with updated text and an Atari Corp copyright. (This shouldn't really exist should it? Since it was the worst game ever and they were all buried in the desert but that's another story for another day.)

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I want to clarify one point from my previous post: 

 

I'm not suggesting all of these boxes were printed with a 1984 Copyright from Atari, Inc. (Some may have been?) Rather that the box artwork and the overall design had been completed by Atari, Inc. under Warner in 1984, and later printed up by Tramiel's Atari Corp., with updated copyright text, when the Atari 2600 Jr. was first introduced. This is similar to Atari Corp. shipping early 7800s in Atari, Inc. boxes and later transitioning into their own design.

 

There are many examples of Atari, Inc. era boxes and labels being used by Atari Corp. with updated copyright text, etc. For example I have a 1986 E.T. with updated text and an Atari Corp copyright. (This shouldn't really exist should it? Since it was the worst game ever and they were all buried in the desert but that's another story for another day.)

I have a few 5200 games CIB that Atari Corp rereleased. Silver replaced with a dull gray and copyright changed. Boxes are of a lower quality too. I was asking about copyright on that Junior box because it is interesting to learn what Atari did. It is a cool looking box.

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