Only the early 2600 carts had the dust flaps. The later ones were open with exposed circuit boards like the 7800 games. In terms of the fuzzy picture, are you using a direct RF connector or a switchbox? I used direct RF before getting a composite mod and the picture was no fuzzier than any of my 2600 units. Opening the unit and giving it a thorough cleaning can actually help. I'd highly recommend a composite mod though. Not only will you have beautifully clear 7800 games, but 2600 too.
The picture on my NTSC unit is pretty good for an RF connection, but I'm still going to attempt an A/V mod at some point. The 7800 joysticks are terrible though, and I rarely use them.
Hey great review! The 7800 is definitely a great machine. I am thinking of picking one up in the near future. Like you said the 7800 was designed to play arcade games, but how do you think the 7800 compared to the nes? That is even if they are comparible.
And yes, that interference issue...my first thought was, "it's probably a PAL issue" because Atari systems (in my experience) have always had issues with PAL TV's
I have yet to buy myself a 7800, I really want one because both of my 2600's are useless. One is stuck constantly on Black & White, and my Jr. is missing the extra prongs on the cartridge slot required to play certain games.
Loved the info on the Specs. I like your system reviews when you talk about that.
As for buying one... if you get a good one, they're great, and that backward compatibility is a bonus. The down side is, the chances of finding a good and fully functional 2600 with a crisp picture, at a much lower price, are far higher than finding a 7800 that's as healthy. So if your real interest is in playing 2600 games, I really wouldn't recommend one of these. If you want the best of both worlds though, then yeah, they're fun :)
@SteveBenway Yeah well my thought process was "I can keep those 2600's because the cases themselves are mint and it's cool to say that I own them regardless. I can just buy a 7800 for both systems in one that's a working unit" but cheers for the advice anyhow. =)
i have the same with both 7800 i have ...i doubt its capacitors on way on mine too...?..it it awful video capabilities..looks much better playing these games on a 2600
@RedH0plite They may have had a very big batch of bad capacitors... but more likely there's some design flaw that didn't really show up too much on CRT TVs. It's a damned shame though.
@SteveBenway yea prob true about the big batch of consoles with bad capacitors...but on the other hand ill have you know all my retro stuff is hooked up on a crt tv as they look better...but not the 7800!...the nusty inteference is stil there regardless...i thought it might be a problem with the emulation of 2600 games on a 7800?
I think the 7800 could have been capable of having some really nice looking and sounding games, if only it had more market share, and Atari didn't just completely fail.
Will a ProSystem game fit in a VCS? It you try to play a ProSystem game in a VCS what happens? Does it give you an error message saying the game is for a ProSystem?
@Lachlant1984 It wont fit. While the games' casings are the same size and shape, the edge connector on the circuit board contained inside is wider (has more contacts) on 7800 games.
Sorry, I've been neglecting my subscriptions. I got one of these at a second hand store for about $5. It's missing EVERYTHING, including the silver stripe. It's strange seeing one with it, it looks like an over-sized Jr. I keep thinking it should have more of a vader look. It works, I tested it when I bought it, but I couldn't keep the cables. I'm working on building the power connection once I get the Volts and Polarity. (*cough* *cough* DE9 port *cough*) 4:55 I have a switch in mine.
I love the 7800 - sure there's a little interference, but you get that on a lot of old systems. For me, at least, the only thing that stops it from being perfect ( apart from the dodgy button on mine) is the non-authorised game banning thing. However, I believe later examples don't have that, though o may be wrong...
@DdlyHeadshot I got one of mine for £10 a few years back, but they do average more than that on ebay these days. Sounds like you got a bargain though.
I've read nothing about there being no security lockout on later models, but that doesn't mean it's not true, so... who knows? It's not something that would bother me either way though.
That looks like line noise bleeding into the RF signal. i'm not familiar with the pal system. but it could also be a scaling issue droping scanlines can cause that pattern.
it may be that there were US models retrofitted to pal output. that would defenitly cause that pattern if it's converting a ntsc source to pal.
i get a half/half checkerboard pattern on a pal atari i had when i converted it to ntsc. it did have a capacitor problem to but i fixed that early on.
@Zagroseckt I hadn't thought of conversion from NTSC, but that's an interesting thought. It does make reference to NTSC around the video circuit area on the motherboard, with no reference to PAL at all.
Hey steve did u check out thomas3120 he did some (or one) sweet controller mod(s) for this system. One was a NES pad that can plug into 2600,5200,7800, and both buttons work on the ones that have 2 buttons. He also made a ps1 controller with the analog sticks for controler 1 and 2, specifically for robotron 2084, but I forget if it was for 5200 or 7800 on that one.
Thanks for that, lot of really information about the history etc. I really do like the 7800 system, as I can have one system plugged in that will play all my 2600 and 7800 titles. I don't seem to have the same RF problem, although I would not say the signal is that great. It would be fantastic if they had a composite port. I do have to plug the carts in pretty hard to not get the built in game (Asteroids) coming up, but otherwise it works great. The 7800 games themselves are fantastic.
Great review! I like my 7800. The backwards compatibility was a big point, as I didn't have a 2600 at the time. My only complaint really is the RF only output. Composite would have been great. I know there are mods, but I haven't done that yet. I like the Arcade ports generally...
Great video, I really enjoyed this, my only experience of the 7800 was reading about it in Mean Machines big fat collected books (you know the ones with all the Console reviews at the start). I just remember thinking whats the point, it looks fat too inferior to the NES and SMS (which is the machine I evetually opted for)
I've had a 7800 sitting in my closet for years now, with no power adapter and no controller. I actually plan to cannibalize some other device with compatible power requirements to mod my 7800 to take a more standard adapter. I'll probably pick up one of the European gamepads too, rather than the ridiculous US joystick.
Of course, none of this will happen until I find an affordable copy of Ninja Golf...
That little thumb stick thingy is supposed to be threaded on, at least it is on my 4 controllers. :) My atari 2600 junor came with the exact same controllers.. :)
@SteveBenway Just so people don't break their controllers, i think you said that it just "popped of". ;) But i like this system a lot, it has a great design, and is very pleasant to look at.. Unfortunatly, i only have 3 games for mine, 2 of them still sealed, so i can't say that i know much about the gameplay, lol. :) Loving your system reviews, though.. :)
I had an Atari 7800 as a kid and I loved it to bits. I have many fond memories of it. Also, I noticed that when you looked under the console you read "PAL I" as "PAL 1" - there's actually a few different PAL standards which are used throughout the world. I believe that PAL I is the one used in the UK and is very slightly different to the version of PAL used, say, here in Australia. I can't recall what the exact differences between each PAL standard are but they're typically negligible.
@DeviouslyDevious Ah, yes... I've encountered different PAL settings on my TV. The thing has an auto mode so it detects the right one whatever's plugged into it anyway. Hard to tell a 1 from an I. PAL 60 sounds rather an interesting one :)
While would pick one up if I saw it at a decent price....sadly the 7800 isn't a system I have to much interest in. The 2600 is good enough for me...lol
I hate the Jaguar but I'm very fond of the 7800, too bad Jack left it on the shelf so long. Still downgrading the sound processor back to the 2600 standard was a big mistake. Oh no porno games those sell so well we had better prevent them, I'm off to play BMX XXX and The Guy Game oh wait no I'm not. ^_^ You lucky bastards with your comfy 7800 gamepads. You might cry but if I find a 7800 I'm modding the AV to S-video and replacing the AC with a Mega Drive variant. Nice review, very cool. :)
I hate to sound so negative! Mine is rarely used - It sorta bothers me that some folks could by pass the marvelous 2600 for this, it can/does sound tempting on account of backward compatability. Opinions & tastes! Nice research you did Steve. LOL
Most 7800s found on eBay that come with games have 2600 games with it. It seems that 7800 games are becoming pretty rare. I only got a couple of games and a nice homebrew Pacman Collection from AtariAge.
@markvergeer Curious. There's usually a decent handful of games for it over here. Just depends on whether you want to pay £10 or so for what may turn out be a fairly average game.
imo 7800 is an Atari fail & deservedly so - Not yet played a game I feel is more than passable & I've forked out for some of the scarce games - Library is woefully small - if compared to other systems of the time it suffers & BADLY -NES has plenty of
Arcade games if thats your poison. As for Backward compatability Poor picture = playing all 2600's on my woody or Vader both of which have more charm & charactor.
@broken1394 It is a fail. Thing is, if they'd released it when it was actually ready, instead of virtually shelving it for 2 years, and actually invested some cash in the thing, the story could be so different.
Ah the 7800 system, I was sure you were going to review the Amstrad LOL. Very nice system. Shame about the region protection. The French RGB scart version produces the best picture of all versions
What you said about Atari people being cheap and people reacting to that, reminds me of Nintendo today. Very curious how that will go with all the trouble they are in now.
Great review, a joy to watch. (though I am still 155 videos back in my "to watch" list)
It wasn't Atari that did everything on the cheap, it was Jack Trameil that did that. When Atari was still owned by WB, they put money into it. The 7800 could have competed, but Nintendo locked up many of the 3rd party developers with exclusive contracts and old Jack didn't want to even spend the money to develop new games and instead released existing games from when it was developed. What few new games got developed, he wanted everything minimum, 48k games with no pokey.
seems like there should be a pot inside the RF modulator so you could try that - pot tweaking worked perfectly on my rubber Spectrum issue 2B where together with fine TV tuning I was able to get very clean and "stable" RF picture without any butchering/ modifications... plus.. you could try reflowing the joints also
@maiki60fps I tried retuning and though I was able to retune the modulator and then retune the TV, the interference never left. It makes me think the problem is coming from the motherboard itself. I'll probably have a look at replacing the capacitors at some point.
@SteveBenway Small chance,but, have you tried tinfoil on the end part of the cable? (the one that goes in the tv). Perhaps even, if possible, the part that goes inside the console too.
@RetroGamerVX But it isn't pronounced Trem'eel'. The company he owned after Commodore and before Atari was named Tramel Technology coz he was sick of people pronouncing it Trameel.
I have 2 of these things, so I may try out my non-existent soldering skills and have a go at the capacitors on one of them sooner or later :)
I've had one for a good while now, but I've never actually tested the bugger. Reason? I haven't got a single game for the thing! Just got it along with some other Atari things someone was getting rid of. Did come complete, with the power adapter, but just no games unfortunately.
Nice jab at the current trend of ditching backwards compatibility, a big annoyance for all us retro nuts I'm sure.
@HalfBlindGamer A lot of them that turn up on ebay just have 2600 games bundled with them, which makes me kind of chuckle. SO many owners who never knew what they were actually capable of. There is a pretty decent version of Asteroids built in, that plays on boot up if you don't have a cart inserted.
@SteveBenway Oh, interesting! Didn't even know that. Will need to dig that one out and give it a go, see if it works at the very least! Thanks for that :)
@UKRetroGames The PSU is just stupid, and probably done out of pure greed.
You're right, I totally forget to mention the built in Asteroids. Mind you... I knocked this video up in a whole 2 hours, so there was bound to be stuff missing or wrong. Truth is, it took some serious editing just to make it coherent :D
This may not be a discussion you want to have here but I'd like to know your opinion on the 7800 vs. the 8-bit as a platform for retrogaming? It seems like the catalog of games is pretty similar to both -- but is there anything compelling about either platform to choose one over the other?
@bperl1 Graphics on the 7800 are slightly better on the 7800, though ruined by the interference. The 8 bit line has better sound, more RAM and a much larger software library. I'd opt for one of the 8 bit computers every time. The best option would be the 65XE, as though it's far from the coolest, it's able to play both older and newer games made for the series and is affordable and easy to find.
@Leigho79 Yeah, the interference wrecks it. It's possible to make it tolerable by hooking up to a CRT and reducing the contrast etc. You get a dull and fuzzy picture, but the strange blocks are less visible.
After finding out there'd be no Talkie today, the appearance of the moose has sufficiently appeased me. :P
Anyway: good review, Steve! It's not a system I'm overly familiar with (like many you make videos of). Such a pity that the interference is so prevalent in many of the models. :(
P.S. I personally would much rather play Super Mario Bros than Pole Position! ;)
I really like the look of the 7800 and its joypad,it looks like a sleek system although i wont be rushing out to buy one.
I laughed about the porno games tring to access the Maria chip,luckily she was wearing a high tech chastity belt :)
I greatly enjoyed hearing about the history of the machine.The issues with the RF output could probably easily be solved with a composite modification but im purely speculating as i have no idea :)
@SteveBenway Me too although i did successfully take my Neo Geo AESs motherboard out and cut some traces on the back of it without incident so maybe there is hope for me yet :)
I'm not sure how common these Atari consoles are here in Finland. I never known anyone who owned one back then, I still don't know anyone who would have bought one now and I never even seen one in person. All that makes me think they were never that popular here.
@Polaventris Blimey! Now that does surprise me. I'm not at all surprised at 5200s and 7800s not making it over there, but the 2600 was for several years the definitive games console in the late 70s and early 80s.
I have two Atari 7800 consoles.
One is Italian the other I bought from the UK.
Both of them have good picture quality.
Maby just a very faint interference,hardly noticeable.
My 2600 on the other hand has quite a bit of electromagnetic interference.
Extralounge 2 weeks ago in playlist My Collection & System reviews
my first ever console, brings back some memorys, mine had the control pads with the thumb sticks and big red buttons. plus asteroids built in.
Cobrasaturn360 1 month ago
Only the early 2600 carts had the dust flaps. The later ones were open with exposed circuit boards like the 7800 games. In terms of the fuzzy picture, are you using a direct RF connector or a switchbox? I used direct RF before getting a composite mod and the picture was no fuzzier than any of my 2600 units. Opening the unit and giving it a thorough cleaning can actually help. I'd highly recommend a composite mod though. Not only will you have beautifully clear 7800 games, but 2600 too.
uzi9millimetuh 2 months ago
This was a very thorough and entertaining review.
The picture on my NTSC unit is pretty good for an RF connection, but I'm still going to attempt an A/V mod at some point. The 7800 joysticks are terrible though, and I rarely use them.
edt1138 5 months ago
That a bad 2200 uf 25 volt electrolytic capacitor buy the power connector on the board,
RetroPCDOS 5 months ago
The NTSC models have good pitcure quality!
MisterKdingo 5 months ago
very cool review
davidhass3lh0ff 5 months ago
very cool review
davidhass3lh0ff 5 months ago
Hey, this additional chip-thing was even done for at least one Atari 2600-game: "Pitfall 2". Do you know more A2600-games using this method?
DocHackenbush 5 months ago
@DocHackenbush I think Pitfall 2 was the only one with an additional chip. It's definitely the only one that I know of.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
Hey great review! The 7800 is definitely a great machine. I am thinking of picking one up in the near future. Like you said the 7800 was designed to play arcade games, but how do you think the 7800 compared to the nes? That is even if they are comparible.
gabbogabbo 5 months ago
*Backwards Compatability
*Reasonable Price
*Games that are fairly up to date with current genre trending
It all seems pretty obvious, but these fundamentals have been too often ignored by console manufacturers over the years.
The Wii is guilty of #3 and did a poor job of #1 (classic controllers & HDD don't work with GCN games) and the PS3 broke #1 & #2.
The 360 has done OK with this list, but if *Stick with your planned peripherals/services was added, they'd be guilty too.
One day they'll learn
Quimbyrbg 5 months ago
And yes, that interference issue...my first thought was, "it's probably a PAL issue" because Atari systems (in my experience) have always had issues with PAL TV's
Dan.
DansGameCorner 5 months ago
Great vid Steve! =)
I have yet to buy myself a 7800, I really want one because both of my 2600's are useless. One is stuck constantly on Black & White, and my Jr. is missing the extra prongs on the cartridge slot required to play certain games.
Loved the info on the Specs. I like your system reviews when you talk about that.
Dan.
DansGameCorner 5 months ago
@DansGameCorner Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
As for buying one... if you get a good one, they're great, and that backward compatibility is a bonus. The down side is, the chances of finding a good and fully functional 2600 with a crisp picture, at a much lower price, are far higher than finding a 7800 that's as healthy. So if your real interest is in playing 2600 games, I really wouldn't recommend one of these. If you want the best of both worlds though, then yeah, they're fun :)
SteveBenway 5 months ago
@SteveBenway Yeah well my thought process was "I can keep those 2600's because the cases themselves are mint and it's cool to say that I own them regardless. I can just buy a 7800 for both systems in one that's a working unit" but cheers for the advice anyhow. =)
Dan.
DansGameCorner 5 months ago
i have the same with both 7800 i have ...i doubt its capacitors on way on mine too...?..it it awful video capabilities..looks much better playing these games on a 2600
RedH0plite 5 months ago
@RedH0plite They may have had a very big batch of bad capacitors... but more likely there's some design flaw that didn't really show up too much on CRT TVs. It's a damned shame though.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
@SteveBenway yea prob true about the big batch of consoles with bad capacitors...but on the other hand ill have you know all my retro stuff is hooked up on a crt tv as they look better...but not the 7800!...the nusty inteference is stil there regardless...i thought it might be a problem with the emulation of 2600 games on a 7800?
RedH0plite 5 months ago
@RedH0plite The emulation shouldn't be what's causing it, as I'm running native 7800 games on mine, and it still looks horrible.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
I think the 7800 could have been capable of having some really nice looking and sounding games, if only it had more market share, and Atari didn't just completely fail.
JoeyJoeJoe5000 5 months ago
@JoeyJoeJoe5000 Yes, it had a lot of potential, but the investment and good management just wasn't there. Such a shame.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
Will a ProSystem game fit in a VCS? It you try to play a ProSystem game in a VCS what happens? Does it give you an error message saying the game is for a ProSystem?
Lachlant1984 5 months ago
@Lachlant1984 I don't know if it will physically fit, but it most definitely won't work. I'm not too inclined to find out what happens.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
@Lachlant1984 It wont fit. While the games' casings are the same size and shape, the edge connector on the circuit board contained inside is wider (has more contacts) on 7800 games.
yadabub 5 months ago
Apparently the French PAL version supports RGB video which would give a better picture.
Also the output socket is exactly the same as the Atari ST's therefore you can use the ST's 13 pin RGB cable.
lilacfloyd 5 months ago
@lilacfloyd Yes, I've heard the French ones are good. Never seen one in the UK though, and I'm not one for importing from abroad.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
Comment removed
tanzmusic 5 months ago
Sorry, I've been neglecting my subscriptions. I got one of these at a second hand store for about $5. It's missing EVERYTHING, including the silver stripe. It's strange seeing one with it, it looks like an over-sized Jr. I keep thinking it should have more of a vader look. It works, I tested it when I bought it, but I couldn't keep the cables. I'm working on building the power connection once I get the Volts and Polarity. (*cough* *cough* DE9 port *cough*) 4:55 I have a switch in mine.
silntdoogood 5 months ago
@silntdoogood The design of the Jr was based on these... some kind of attempt to get iniformity across the product range.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
Oh, for those commenting that they don't like the joypad: you can use a MegaDrive one instead...
DdlyHeadshot 5 months ago
I got mine for £17 boxed :P ...
I love the 7800 - sure there's a little interference, but you get that on a lot of old systems. For me, at least, the only thing that stops it from being perfect ( apart from the dodgy button on mine) is the non-authorised game banning thing. However, I believe later examples don't have that, though o may be wrong...
DdlyHeadshot 5 months ago
@DdlyHeadshot I got one of mine for £10 a few years back, but they do average more than that on ebay these days. Sounds like you got a bargain though.
I've read nothing about there being no security lockout on later models, but that doesn't mean it's not true, so... who knows? It's not something that would bother me either way though.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
That looks like line noise bleeding into the RF signal. i'm not familiar with the pal system. but it could also be a scaling issue droping scanlines can cause that pattern.
it may be that there were US models retrofitted to pal output. that would defenitly cause that pattern if it's converting a ntsc source to pal.
i get a half/half checkerboard pattern on a pal atari i had when i converted it to ntsc. it did have a capacitor problem to but i fixed that early on.
When on a pal set no patrn
Zagroseckt 5 months ago
@Zagroseckt I hadn't thought of conversion from NTSC, but that's an interesting thought. It does make reference to NTSC around the video circuit area on the motherboard, with no reference to PAL at all.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
Hey steve did u check out thomas3120 he did some (or one) sweet controller mod(s) for this system. One was a NES pad that can plug into 2600,5200,7800, and both buttons work on the ones that have 2 buttons. He also made a ps1 controller with the analog sticks for controler 1 and 2, specifically for robotron 2084, but I forget if it was for 5200 or 7800 on that one.
duhmez 5 months ago
I love the design of the Euro 7800. And of course, you guys got that INCREDIBLY awesome gamepad and we got...well...
I wonder how Atari's fortune's would have gone if this thing had come out when it was originally supposed to?
pocketmego 5 months ago
i love those pal controllers, wish i could find some here
slainempire 5 months ago
Thanks for that, lot of really information about the history etc. I really do like the 7800 system, as I can have one system plugged in that will play all my 2600 and 7800 titles. I don't seem to have the same RF problem, although I would not say the signal is that great. It would be fantastic if they had a composite port. I do have to plug the carts in pretty hard to not get the built in game (Asteroids) coming up, but otherwise it works great. The 7800 games themselves are fantastic.
electricadventures 5 months ago
It is Tremel. I know you usually say Tram-eel, but I read on an interview its the former. Just call him Mr.Jack!
gollumondrugs 5 months ago
Great review! I like my 7800. The backwards compatibility was a big point, as I didn't have a 2600 at the time. My only complaint really is the RF only output. Composite would have been great. I know there are mods, but I haven't done that yet. I like the Arcade ports generally...
desiv1 5 months ago
Great video, I really enjoyed this, my only experience of the 7800 was reading about it in Mean Machines big fat collected books (you know the ones with all the Console reviews at the start). I just remember thinking whats the point, it looks fat too inferior to the NES and SMS (which is the machine I evetually opted for)
Thanks for sharing Steve!
lawnboyspost1975 5 months ago
One of these days I'll have to do the s-video mod for my 7800.
shaurz 5 months ago
I've had a 7800 sitting in my closet for years now, with no power adapter and no controller. I actually plan to cannibalize some other device with compatible power requirements to mod my 7800 to take a more standard adapter. I'll probably pick up one of the European gamepads too, rather than the ridiculous US joystick.
Of course, none of this will happen until I find an affordable copy of Ninja Golf...
HiroGaems 5 months ago
That little thumb stick thingy is supposed to be threaded on, at least it is on my 4 controllers. :) My atari 2600 junor came with the exact same controllers.. :)
BeerBellyDK 5 months ago
@BeerBellyDK This one most likely was too, but the threads had been stripped long before it ever came into my hands :)
SteveBenway 5 months ago
@SteveBenway Just so people don't break their controllers, i think you said that it just "popped of". ;) But i like this system a lot, it has a great design, and is very pleasant to look at.. Unfortunatly, i only have 3 games for mine, 2 of them still sealed, so i can't say that i know much about the gameplay, lol. :) Loving your system reviews, though.. :)
BeerBellyDK 5 months ago
I had an Atari 7800 as a kid and I loved it to bits. I have many fond memories of it. Also, I noticed that when you looked under the console you read "PAL I" as "PAL 1" - there's actually a few different PAL standards which are used throughout the world. I believe that PAL I is the one used in the UK and is very slightly different to the version of PAL used, say, here in Australia. I can't recall what the exact differences between each PAL standard are but they're typically negligible.
DeviouslyDevious 5 months ago
@DeviouslyDevious Ah, yes... I've encountered different PAL settings on my TV. The thing has an auto mode so it detects the right one whatever's plugged into it anyway. Hard to tell a 1 from an I. PAL 60 sounds rather an interesting one :)
SteveBenway 5 months ago
While would pick one up if I saw it at a decent price....sadly the 7800 isn't a system I have to much interest in. The 2600 is good enough for me...lol
BigDaddyDarth 5 months ago
I hate the Jaguar but I'm very fond of the 7800, too bad Jack left it on the shelf so long. Still downgrading the sound processor back to the 2600 standard was a big mistake. Oh no porno games those sell so well we had better prevent them, I'm off to play BMX XXX and The Guy Game oh wait no I'm not. ^_^ You lucky bastards with your comfy 7800 gamepads. You might cry but if I find a 7800 I'm modding the AV to S-video and replacing the AC with a Mega Drive variant. Nice review, very cool. :)
TheBladeJunker 5 months ago
I hate to sound so negative! Mine is rarely used - It sorta bothers me that some folks could by pass the marvelous 2600 for this, it can/does sound tempting on account of backward compatability. Opinions & tastes! Nice research you did Steve. LOL
broken1394 5 months ago
@horrorbabe666 Cheers :)
The joypad is quite nice, though far from a gem. The little stick bit is cool though.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
I'll tell you my review of it, It's rubbish.
Can you guess why i suck at making videos yet?
OwtDaftUK 5 months ago
@OwtDaftUK Haha! Don't mince your words... tell us how you really feel :D
SteveBenway 5 months ago
Most 7800s found on eBay that come with games have 2600 games with it. It seems that 7800 games are becoming pretty rare. I only got a couple of games and a nice homebrew Pacman Collection from AtariAge.
markvergeer 5 months ago
@markvergeer Curious. There's usually a decent handful of games for it over here. Just depends on whether you want to pay £10 or so for what may turn out be a fairly average game.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
imo 7800 is an Atari fail & deservedly so - Not yet played a game I feel is more than passable & I've forked out for some of the scarce games - Library is woefully small - if compared to other systems of the time it suffers & BADLY -NES has plenty of
Arcade games if thats your poison. As for Backward compatability Poor picture = playing all 2600's on my woody or Vader both of which have more charm & charactor.
broken1394 5 months ago
@broken1394 It is a fail. Thing is, if they'd released it when it was actually ready, instead of virtually shelving it for 2 years, and actually invested some cash in the thing, the story could be so different.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
Ah the 7800 system, I was sure you were going to review the Amstrad LOL. Very nice system. Shame about the region protection. The French RGB scart version produces the best picture of all versions
markvergeer 5 months ago
What you said about Atari people being cheap and people reacting to that, reminds me of Nintendo today. Very curious how that will go with all the trouble they are in now.
Great review, a joy to watch. (though I am still 155 videos back in my "to watch" list)
Trusteft 5 months ago
@Trusteft Hadn't really thought of Nintendo as being cheap... but they definitely have their blinkers very firmly fitted.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
It wasn't Atari that did everything on the cheap, it was Jack Trameil that did that. When Atari was still owned by WB, they put money into it. The 7800 could have competed, but Nintendo locked up many of the 3rd party developers with exclusive contracts and old Jack didn't want to even spend the money to develop new games and instead released existing games from when it was developed. What few new games got developed, he wanted everything minimum, 48k games with no pokey.
christo930 5 months ago
@christo930 Yes, it was Jack. I just said Atari coz he was running them at that time, but fair point.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
That is a shame about the graphics mods i just looked at require a lot of work ,
paulb4uk 5 months ago
seems like there should be a pot inside the RF modulator so you could try that - pot tweaking worked perfectly on my rubber Spectrum issue 2B where together with fine TV tuning I was able to get very clean and "stable" RF picture without any butchering/ modifications... plus.. you could try reflowing the joints also
maiki60fps 5 months ago
@maiki60fps I tried retuning and though I was able to retune the modulator and then retune the TV, the interference never left. It makes me think the problem is coming from the motherboard itself. I'll probably have a look at replacing the capacitors at some point.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
@SteveBenway Small chance,but, have you tried tinfoil on the end part of the cable? (the one that goes in the tv). Perhaps even, if possible, the part that goes inside the console too.
Trusteft 5 months ago
Lol, I've never noticed the difficulty switches on my 7800 either!! :o)
lol, it's pronounced Jack Trem'eel' :o)
I would check those capacitors, such an easy fix if it is them, loads of tutorials on here :o)
RetroGamerVX 5 months ago
@RetroGamerVX But it isn't pronounced Trem'eel'. The company he owned after Commodore and before Atari was named Tramel Technology coz he was sick of people pronouncing it Trameel.
I have 2 of these things, so I may try out my non-existent soldering skills and have a go at the capacitors on one of them sooner or later :)
SteveBenway 5 months ago
Interesting mate never owed an atari had a spectrum then moved onto the master system
brettscotland 5 months ago
the TIA based only sound was a big mistake...
maiki60fps 5 months ago
@maiki60fps Yup. They should have fitted POKEY as standard.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
Great stuff Steve, fun overview of the system.
I've had one for a good while now, but I've never actually tested the bugger. Reason? I haven't got a single game for the thing! Just got it along with some other Atari things someone was getting rid of. Did come complete, with the power adapter, but just no games unfortunately.
Nice jab at the current trend of ditching backwards compatibility, a big annoyance for all us retro nuts I'm sure.
HalfBlindGamer 5 months ago
@HalfBlindGamer A lot of them that turn up on ebay just have 2600 games bundled with them, which makes me kind of chuckle. SO many owners who never knew what they were actually capable of. There is a pretty decent version of Asteroids built in, that plays on boot up if you don't have a cart inserted.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
@SteveBenway Oh, interesting! Didn't even know that. Will need to dig that one out and give it a go, see if it works at the very least! Thanks for that :)
HalfBlindGamer 5 months ago
You should add an "Atari" in the title.
Fuzzy192006 5 months ago
@Fuzzy192006 Yes, I really should. Thanks for that. Done :)
SteveBenway 5 months ago
@UKRetroGames The PSU is just stupid, and probably done out of pure greed.
You're right, I totally forget to mention the built in Asteroids. Mind you... I knocked this video up in a whole 2 hours, so there was bound to be stuff missing or wrong. Truth is, it took some serious editing just to make it coherent :D
SteveBenway 5 months ago
I got mine mint in the box for £1.73 off eBay. Could never get any games for it, tho.
ImperialProductions 5 months ago
@ImperialProductions You got a bargain. Games turn up quite often for it these days, though often at around £8 - £10 a time.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MOOOOOOOOSSEE MAAN!
WorthyouruniverseHD 5 months ago
This may not be a discussion you want to have here but I'd like to know your opinion on the 7800 vs. the 8-bit as a platform for retrogaming? It seems like the catalog of games is pretty similar to both -- but is there anything compelling about either platform to choose one over the other?
bperl1 5 months ago
@bperl1 Graphics on the 7800 are slightly better on the 7800, though ruined by the interference. The 8 bit line has better sound, more RAM and a much larger software library. I'd opt for one of the 8 bit computers every time. The best option would be the 65XE, as though it's far from the coolest, it's able to play both older and newer games made for the series and is affordable and easy to find.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
Nice System Review!!
SushiSunshine2000 5 months ago
@SushiSunshine2000 Thank you :)
SteveBenway 5 months ago
good vid as always steve
TheSymbianFreak 5 months ago
@TheSymbianFreak Thanks :)
SteveBenway 5 months ago
Sometimes replacing the RF cable with a better higher quality shielded one will help, also a snap on ferrite magnet can greatly reduce interference.
MaximumRD 5 months ago
@MaximumRD I've tried every kind of RF cable you can think of. I think the problem is in the modulator or on the motherboard itself.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
@SteveBenway In that case I guess it is, my 7800 is one of my better RF outputs surprisingly.
MaximumRD 5 months ago
@MaximumRD The problem seems to be more common on PAL systems, judging from comments by people who watched my 7800 games series.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
When something's made in china expect it to be crap and you will never be disappointed. Very rear for them to build something properly.
TheEPROM9 5 months ago
@TheEPROM9 Very good point :D
SteveBenway 5 months ago
Nice review. Its a shame about the interference, pole position 2 looked quite nice.
Leigho79 5 months ago
@Leigho79 Yeah, the interference wrecks it. It's possible to make it tolerable by hooking up to a CRT and reducing the contrast etc. You get a dull and fuzzy picture, but the strange blocks are less visible.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
Great system review.
MrStephen182 5 months ago
@MrStephen182 Thanks :)
SteveBenway 5 months ago
After finding out there'd be no Talkie today, the appearance of the moose has sufficiently appeased me. :P
Anyway: good review, Steve! It's not a system I'm overly familiar with (like many you make videos of). Such a pity that the interference is so prevalent in many of the models. :(
P.S. I personally would much rather play Super Mario Bros than Pole Position! ;)
AtsumaKarin 5 months ago
@AtsumaKarin Gimme Pole Position II every time. The only Mario I like is Mario Kart :)
SteveBenway 5 months ago
I really like the look of the 7800 and its joypad,it looks like a sleek system although i wont be rushing out to buy one.
I laughed about the porno games tring to access the Maria chip,luckily she was wearing a high tech chastity belt :)
I greatly enjoyed hearing about the history of the machine.The issues with the RF output could probably easily be solved with a composite modification but im purely speculating as i have no idea :)
darrenwalshsock 5 months ago
@darrenwalshsock Yes, there are composite mods... just that kind of thing tends to be a bit beyond me :)
SteveBenway 5 months ago
@SteveBenway Me too although i did successfully take my Neo Geo AESs motherboard out and cut some traces on the back of it without incident so maybe there is hope for me yet :)
darrenwalshsock 5 months ago
I always wanted an Atari. Never seen that pad before ever! Weird power supply. Enjoyed the video!
PSI236 5 months ago
@PSI236 The power supply is just plain stupid. No idea why they did that, except greed.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
I'm not sure how common these Atari consoles are here in Finland. I never known anyone who owned one back then, I still don't know anyone who would have bought one now and I never even seen one in person. All that makes me think they were never that popular here.
Polaventris 5 months ago
@Polaventris They made a small impact in the US, and the UK, but they were far from popular, so I'm not surprised you've never seen one.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
@SteveBenway I meant ALL of the Atari consoles including the 2600 and 5200 and all the variations there of.
Polaventris 5 months ago
@Polaventris Blimey! Now that does surprise me. I'm not at all surprised at 5200s and 7800s not making it over there, but the 2600 was for several years the definitive games console in the late 70s and early 80s.
SteveBenway 5 months ago
You get interference on everything with an RF matey.
wrestletube1 5 months ago
@wrestletube1 Not like that you don't. I use RF leads on many of my systems, and while some are fuzzy, none make that interference pattern.
SteveBenway 5 months ago 2