Atari games console

[GavinPearson]

Anybody remember the Atari games console of the late 70s / early 80s??

Even better, does anybody have one?

I have discovered one in the basement, however it hasn't got a power supply and I need to get one.

Any details about the voltage to use would be much appreciated.

[cortinaman]

9v dc / 500ma

all atari 2600's had the same power supply and an equivelent replacement should be available through tandy/maplins/etc.

hope that helps

>> Edited by cortinaman on Saturday 19th March 23:07

[parrot of doom]

You can get the console and the a library of games now in an Atari joystick!

www.thinkgeek.com/cubegoodies/toys/5d39/

[lanciachris]

the atari 2600 was my first console. I remember having cool lightsaber battles using the funny controllers

[NiceCupOfTea]

I have an original 70s wood veneer 2600, complete with rubber joysticks x2, Combat, Asteroids, & Ms.Pacman.

It's a bit crap really.

Anybody want to swap for a PSX2, GTA Vice City & GT4?

[GavinPearson]

cortinaman said:

9v dc / 500ma all atari 2600's had the same power supply and an equivelent replacement should be available through tandy/maplins/etc. hope that helps >> Edited by cortinaman on Saturday 19th March 23:07

Exceptionally helpful. Thanks.

It's a wood effect unit, I should imagine it's been at least a decade since it was used, but if I can get it going I'll be pretty pleased. I'll go to Radio Shack tomorrow.

[rico]

Having two much older brothers, my mum must have an aladin's cave of ancient computers in the attic. Definitely got an Atari, Amstrad, BBC Basic etc etc.

Couldn't bare to sell them though... they can only appreciate in value

[GavinPearson]

rico said:

Having two much older brothers, my mum must have an aladin's cave of ancient computers in the attic. Definitely got an Atari, Amstrad, BBC Basic etc etc. Couldn't bare to sell them though... they can only appreciate in value

You need to run them regularly though. I had an old Spectrum that broke - an electronics Engineer friend said that it is fairly common that the circuitry degrades if not powered up - mine went into some wierd loop it could never get out of, so it is basically junk. Pity. I am hoping for better luck with the Atari.

[rico]

Arse.... don't think they've been used in a decade!

Oh well...

[Viper]

went to an 80's themed party recently, someone brought an Atari along, and was it a hit ! quite a few people
went on to buy one afterwards (ebay)

even looked myself at getting a 'Woody'



>> Edited by Viper on Sunday 20th March 08:49

[John_S4x4]

even looked myself at getting a 'Woody'


I'm sure there is a joke there somewhere



>> Edited by John_S4x4 on Sunday 20th March 08:58

[GavinPearson]

Went to Radio Shack and bought the video adaptor and a transformer. Got the unit running this afternoon.

It works perfectly.

Though the games are a bit slow and very low-res, it was good to use it and keep the unit running.

Thanks cortinaman for the transformer spec, you saved me a lot of hassle.

[cortinaman]

no worries mate,glad i could help

[alexkp]

I've got one. Along with loads of carts.

Is it any good?

Well, it's fun in a nostalgic way, and the games are so simple that you really can just pick up the joystick and play.

You will get bored with any of the games quite quickly, but classics like Missile Command, Pacman, Enduro, Space Invaders etc always go down well at a party.

[meeja]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

There is an easier way to do it than finding an old Atari console.

Just google around for MAME.....

[alexkp]

meeja said:

anonymous said: [redacted] There is an easier way to do it than finding an old Atari console. Just google around for MAME.....

Yes, MAME is immensely impressive - every vintage video arcade and console game ever made available on your PC.

And the games really are the originals - as they simply dowloaded the ROMS and run the MAME emulator.

I have them all - but it is getting much more difficult to find MAME downloads, as some petty minded companies took legal action to prevent the MAME guys doing what they were doing.

They were not making any money from it, and were doing it because they wanted to preserve rare and early games for posterity....

There are always some spoilsports around.

If you hunt though, you can still find the stuff.