We’ve got work to do on this ’80s retro arcade game! Adding high score saving, improving and customizing the coin door, upgrading the coin mechs, making a new operation sheet, applying new stickers, and even trying out Super Missile Attack.
Atari
Atari 2600 Junior Single Chip Portable
While cleaning out the Ben Heck Show shop in fall of 2018 I found a long-lost project languishing in a junk box. I wondered, could it be saved? Over the course of 2019 I slowly brought the project back to life and documented it along the way. Enjoy!
8-Bit Fun Testing Commodore and Atari Computers
My friend wasn’t sure how many of his old computers were still functioning so we test them in this video. We also wax nostalgic about computing in the 80’s and I try to program an Atari 800 game in BASIC from memory.
An Atari Graphics Chip, Ready for you to Build
The most notable of the home computer and console hardware from the 8-bit golden era didn’t get their impressive sound and graphics from off-the-shelf silicon, instead they relied on secretive custom chipsets to get the edge over their competitors. Unfortunately for vintage gaming aficionados, those chips are now long out of production and in many cases there’s little information to be had about their operation.
Which makes discovery of the schematics (PDF link) for the “Tia Maria” graphics chip found in the Atari 7800 console an unusual occurrence, and one which should be of special interest to the emulation community. They can be found alongside the rest of the Atari Museum’s 7800 information.
Original Atari 2600 VCS Portable Refurbishment
What started as a simple teardown video turned into a full refurb as Ben Hecks original Atari 2600 VCSp from 2000 had some issues that needed fixed once he got inside.