Atari 2600 help

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Anayo1
Posts: 758
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Atari 2600 help

Postby Anayo1 » September 13th, 2004, 8:16 pm

I recently purchased an Atari 2600 with four games: Star Strike, Tank Plus, Video Pinball, and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. The first three games listed do not work. When I insert the cartridge and flip the power switch it displays a picture on the TV screen, and it changes game mode when I flip the "change game" switch, but I get no response from the joystick. I know that neither the machine itself nor the controller is broken, as the Star Wars game plays just fine. The nonfunctioning cartridges are apparently much earlier games, and they're designed in such a way that you can't see or get to the contact points, rendering me unable to clean them off without ripping the casing open. Does anyone know what to do?

mappy mouse pd

Atari 2600 help

Postby mappy mouse pd » September 13th, 2004, 8:45 pm

I suggest you make a little pinewood box and bury them in the back yard. It's bad karma to have dead Atari games around your home.

Robert Johnson

Atari 2600 help

Postby Robert Johnson » September 14th, 2004, 8:29 am

Anayo,


Here's what I would do to clean Atari 2600 cartridges that have a plastic hinge where the connector is:

1) Take any object that's thin enough to go inside the tiny holes on the plastic hinge (i.e. a letter opener, a small nail file)

2) Put the object into one of the tiny holes and push and hold down the plastic hinge.

3) Take you normal rubbing alcohol-dipped Q-Tip and clean the cartridge like you normally would.

4) After the connector is completely clean, let loose of the plastic hinge to where it goes back into place.

Hopefully, this helps.

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VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18106
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Atari 2600 help

Postby VideoGameCritic » September 14th, 2004, 9:59 pm

I couldn't have said it better myself.

By the way, ALWAYS clean your games (and let them dry!) before you stick them in a console. You can ruin the console itself by sticking dirty games into it.

Dave

Anayo1
Posts: 758
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Atari 2600 help

Postby Anayo1 » September 14th, 2004, 10:09 pm

I figured it out. As it turned out, I had to first select the game variation, -then- flip the "reset" switch to get it to start.

puxley

Atari 2600 help

Postby puxley » September 25th, 2004, 5:30 pm

You know -
Star Strike for the 2600 is the really hard to find game that nobody realizes is so hard to find. I never see that damn thing, which is especially irritating because I had it as a kid.

I look and look for that game, on ebay, at the CGE - everywhere, and I can't come up with a copy.

It's never rated as very rare in the guides, I think people just assume it's a s common as the other M Network games, or they are thinking of the Intellivision version which is so common it's used to build houses in third world countries.

How many gamers here have a 2600 Star Strike??

Anayo1
Posts: 758
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Atari 2600 help

Postby Anayo1 » September 25th, 2004, 9:25 pm

I do. It's not much to play, trust me.

Anayo1
Posts: 758
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Atari 2600 help

Postby Anayo1 » September 25th, 2004, 9:40 pm

Oops. I thought you meant the 2600 game "Star Ship". My mistake.

Alienblue

Atari 2600 help

Postby Alienblue » September 29th, 2004, 6:49 am

Star strike is listed in DP guide # 7 for $12
and says "....suprisingly difficult to find
for an M network game." I remember seeing it reviewed
in Electronic Fun...it got a good review. You're
not the only one looking for one!
Careful, guys, there are a LOT of 2600 games
that start with 'star"! STARSTRIKE was the 3-D
"in the green trench" INTV game...anyone
REALLY have one? Did they ever make more than 50?

Zenzerotron

Atari 2600 help

Postby Zenzerotron » September 29th, 2004, 1:28 pm

You can get a loose copy of Star Strike at Gooddealgames.com for 10 bucks.


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