Atari VCS 2600: My Dad's 2600
15{apologies for the length of the video}
Unfortunately pretty much all of my retro computers are "recent" purchases (since 2005-ish).
But, this is our family's original Atari 2600. The date codes on the chips are early 1982 so I'm thinking we got this late 1982/early 1983.
We still also have a small Atari cartridge/manual holder that has somehow also survived.
I modernised it a few years ago - fixed two of the broken switches with NOS, converted it to composite video output and replaced the 7805 linear regulator with a modern switching equivalent. I do have videos of that, but filmed in portrait mode (I know, weirdos) because I originally did them for Instagram.
I play a bit of Keystone Kapers (not a game we had) and then finally try out the Harmony cartridge that I got some years ago.
The Harmony cartridge allows you to load and play cartridge images from an SD card. There are some limitations, based on the console you have - you need to flash what TV standard (and console) you're using to the BIOS: NTSC or PAL, 50 or 60Hz. And games similarly have to be compatible - our VCS is PAL and I have a display that is capable of 60Hz so I've flashed the Harmony with the PAL 60Hz firmware and am similarly using PAL 60Hz versions of games.
In this case I'm trying out some modern games: Halo 2600, Chaotic Grill (Burger Time) and Donkey Kong ... all excellent implementations. You can download the ROM images from AtariAge forums ... or buy physical copies from the shop.
At the end I show how I made a simple power cable: 3.5mm mono (positive tip) to banana plugs so I can run it from my bench power supply.
Harmony cartridge:
https://harmony.atariage.com/Site/Harmony.html
Chaotic Grill (Burger Time remake):
https://atariage.com/forums/topic/246769-chaotic-grill-burgertime-remake-in-progress/
https://atariage.com/forums/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=655857
Halo 2600:
https://atariage.com/forums/topic/166916-halo-for-the-2600-released-at-cge-download-the-game-here/
https://atariage.com/forums/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=168698
Donkey Kong:
https://atariage.com/forums/topic/206497-dk-vcs/
#Atari #2600 #VCS