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The Atari 7800 was a great idea but several years too late. I don't remember much about the 7800 back when it came out except it was mentioned along with other Atari things. I had an Atari 800xl by that time. So I knew what the Atari computer games were like. And all the rage was on the Nintendo. Even the rock solid arcade staples that were advertised for it were well, classic by that point :) I had several 2600's by then including a JR. I didn't give the 7800 a second thought until 1999. I picked up a pole position II cart at a flea market for 25 cents. A guy I had bought things from before had a 7800 listed for $25. He was also looking for parts at that time for Coleco and intellivision and I had one of each that was semi working. He agreed to trade my two consoles for his 7800. And O'Sheas was still selling 80 cent games at that time. I traded another guy two Genesis games for eight 7800 games. And then traded another guy a Genesis Herzog Zwie for Midnight Mutants and food fight and a couple other games. But in terms of playability it's disappointing. Sure the arcade games are the best on any console like donkey kong jr. and Xevious. And pole position II is exactly like the arcade. But it didn't come close to the Nintendo with adventure games. With the exception of Midnight Mutants. But that game came out in 1990. I had me Sega Genesis by then. Oh well. Back in early 2001 I picked up two non working 7800's for a few bucks. One played games but the power wouldn't shut off. The other gave no picture. The one with the stuck power looks rusted and corroded and the switches don't work. The other looks like the RF box was smashed. Taking that apart I found it had been busted. I was trying to play around with the video signal after I removed the demodulator but it was too weak to drive a composite signal. Luckily I was able to repair the RF box and re-solder the connector. Those low wattage soldering irons are perfect for component repair but just try and de-solder a shield tab with one. Luckily I have an old 60 watt gun also :) Now all I have to do is add a standard 3.5 mm power jack so I can use the same power supply as my 2600 and I'll have 2 of them. Why manufacturers decide to use proprietary hardware is beyond me. Just so they get to sell you the power supply? After market manufacturers get the parts anyway. So anybody have anything good to trade for my extra 7800? :)
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