Most liked posts in thread: What's new Pussycat too?

Great to hear that you're back in the world of the living, buddy.
Excellent - the MSX upgrade sounds gReat too and you've other (COCO) stuff also waiting in the wings.
No matter you aint got a Jag or Falcon at the mo, mate - a Fiat or a budgie will do for now! (sad attempt at dad joke humour there - apols).
Hey, Matt, I finally got into MAN DOWN - it's hilarious though I am saddened that I've now reached the point where the protagonist's dad (Rick Mayall) is no longer in it... as he's passed away obviously in real life), but it's still a howler for me whenever I stick it on.
Keep smilin n chucklin, you fellas - laughter is the best medicine - you knows it.

 

Finally able to post some photos of my latest bits and bobs.

First up we have the Atari 2600+. It's a lovely little recreation although still needs quite a bit of work done on the 7800 and Pal compatibility front. It feels great though and looks awesome under the 'big' TV in the living room. There's somehting about the physical process of inserting a cartridge and flicking switches to start a game that just hits all the right notes in this retro gamer. Another nice touch is the light up fuji logo on the front of the console



Talking of cartridges, I've been having some fun hunting down games to play as well. There's been quite a bit of rubbing alcohol needed to get used to clean the edge contacts but most have only cost me £3 or £4. My favourite title so far is Warlords, a game I never really played until Atari 50th on the XBox. It feels so good with a paddle controller and I'd love to get a four player game going at some point. Next thing to do is hunt down manuals and maybe even boxes for the games that weren't complete.



While I was at a retro seller in Glasgow he had an 800XL for sale so I asked if he had any other Atari bits. Ended up striking a deal for a boxed with new belts 1010 data recorder. Told him I'd take it without any guarantee and closed the deal at £10. It's in excellent condition so is now sitting next to my 1050 drive and 1027 printer. Really happy with such a good deal.



And finally..... two extra photo's. First is my display of some Atari curio's and tin retro signs and the final one is my little Vic20/C64/Amiga setup.




I'm visiting the Barras and some Christmas fairs with my daughter tomorrow so you never know, might even end up with more show and tell before the weekend is out.

 

Bloody marvellous, Paul - cheers, and here, here.
Our lot are all run through with coughs, colds, covid n lurgies - incl me mam, step-mam, mum in law, sister in law and an aunt n uncle (aunt so blocked up she can't hear anymore... pardon).
It aint great and I've had a limp of late which when Bev had a quick skeg at me right achilles last night, she says I've bloody gone and ruptured it - no wonder it didn't feel reet these past few weeks and one of the top reasons for this occurrence is, apparently, "old age".... sheesh - as you point out, Paul, thank god Richie's getting better and Al's on a retail therapy sweep cos the rest of us are dropping to bloody bits.
If it aint 4 new tyres it's a worry over the "spare" tyre appearing around our midriffs!
As Paul says, all the very best as we approach the Chrimbo madness and Bev and I also hope everyone keeps warm, well, safe and out of harm's/illness' way - it's no fun feeling like shite.
Finally, I apologise in advance for the outbreak in rank retro card crap heading your way soon - the 1st victims of this may well be the likes of Manu, Matt, Daz and other folks abroad as their packets are due out end of next week with the rest of the "homies" getting theirs the week after.... like I say, you have been warned so board up yer letterboxes and some of you may even move out of your lodgings to avoid the serial annual christmas card abuse you receive from this part of the micro retro empire

 

I can't complain, new mini PC, 2TB SSD and the first 3 John Wick films on blu ray from Music Magpie (well cheap). Yeah, the whole country is suffering this awful flu crap, almost took a test because I wasn't sure if I could taste but false alarm. Sorry about the limp, but at least you have expert help right there, no A&E for you.

The biting cold isn't helping along with the strong winds down here. Whips across the face and feels like you are being cut with a cold knife. Ney fun but if you can, keep warm and maybe have one mince pie too many with a bit of Brandy cream (if there's any actually to buy!).

Paul..

 

So nice you had quality time with your daughter Al, I'm a big old softie and love all the time with my daughter. Good on you and best of luck to her on this retail madness month...

Poor Andy, he's going to have to hire an Uber for his chip suppers now. Send him down a deep-fried Mars bar and tell him to man up Al

 

Daz, waiting for a picture of a semi naked man hiding in an Xmas tree or whatever is on this one should not be a tradition

Or then again, if that's hat floats your boat

Happy Xmas to you and yours, happy holidays and a prosperous new year (hopefully) (This goes to you and everyone on here)

 

Ahahahah, Paul - definitely not! I don't think that Andy's silhouette will make a good impression. Not for my tastes.

But if I receive such a picture, I'd like to reciprocate by taking a picture of a semi-naked man hiding behind a XMas tree. But that would require a XMas tree in the apartment, which is not the case - will Andy settle for a picture without a XMas tree? ;-) I'm kidding, this is absolutely not recommended for his and your sensitivity...

I also wish you and everyone here a very special time during the XMas holidays. Most of all, I wish you a lot of serenity for all the year to come. God knows we all need a break after all these years of confusion and pain.

 

Here, here, Dave/Daz/Alex!

The last year has shown just how much more misery man can hand on to man - wherever you look on the news all you get is death, terror, wars and pictures of politicians takin the piss - we've all had enough, so why not get out that ol funny muscle/man boobs and yer turkey giblets and wave them around a bit so as to dust off the snow, cobwebs and show the retro world that we need to look on the bright (and bizarre) side of life.

As our Good Lord J.C. (John Cleese) observed when getting pished and listening to Eric Idle at the 1976 Monty Python Christmas Party:

Life's a piece of shit (hoo-hoo)
When you look at it (hoo-hoo)
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true (hoo-hoo-hoo)
You'll see it's all a show (hoo-hoo)
Keep 'em laughin' as you go (hoo-hoo)
Just remember that the last laugh is on you (hoo-hoo-hoo)
And
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the right side of life



Enuff said.

Get yer joystick out this Chrimbotide but note that Atari Owner WILL NOT be held responsible for any arrests, seizures or rigor mortis setting in during these procedures - amen.

 

I tried it on Vice as an NTSC machine, no issues, bar a little flicker in the bottom bar raster splits.

Good old Bud Spencer, and Terence Hill...Not their real names but a great pairing and very funny...

 

I didn't code much on the C64, I mostly coded on the Atari and had a fun time trying to learn 68000 (and failing) but enjoyed working on little Snes, like removing PAL protection. The same techniques used for the cycles are pretty universal, I did the same with DLI's on the Atari. Don't get me wrong, I'm no programmer, just was a keen learner back then.

The only NTSC computer I've ever had is the (now PAL changed) Atari 1200XL, unless items were RGB the composite just didn't work on the PAL monitors (for obvious reasons). When it came to consoles, unless the console could swap between 50 and 60Hz then I got the US or Japanese version. Things like the Xbox were dead handy with the Hz choice.

 

Thanks Daz, here to help...Yep, the old Vic stuff is a bit of a pain, I'd forgotten about the loading stuff as I was always spoilt by the Gamebase simplicity, a guy and I called .mad often traded notes on gamebase cfg's, it started with me helping him and then he became the master of them, lovely bloke from upt Norf. He updated the Vic-20 GB, and it's config recently. If ever anyone needs gamebase help then he's your man, he's on AtariAge under .mad. He's even taken on the mantle of updating Starwindz and my Best of Atari 8bit computer Gamepack (with my blessing). Truth is, I hate databasing these days, staring at a screen for long just ache's my neck and the old attention spam is not as good as it used to be.

Anyway, enough rabbiting on, monitors to play with

Paul..

 

Re configs, he's da man, I can answer most other things, so it's not a case of pushing you to him. I love to help, it's my one big smiley thing and it breaks up the long days of pain and low moods. So ask away, I'll either know or not, I'd never BS an answer.

Must get the Vic Gamebase back, I had to make space on drives, and I was in the low mood of emulation is not of interest time, so I dumped a lot of stuff. Got most of it back and used more HD's to cover the needs.

Bet you are getting bored of the taste of salt (I seem to remember that they recommend rinsing out with it in warm water after an extraction., apols if wrong, Bev will know).

 

Because I drink a LOT of water to clear my system of the meds etc, I tend to need to pee a lot. Annoying while in the middle of doing the dishes and the sound of the water makes you want to pee. At night, it's a pee or two, not so bad on a warm night, but when it's freezing cold it's a real bind to have to pee.

Mind you, the fridge is nearer than the toilet, maybe I should take up my old man's peeing habit

What with Serena having a fridge for her meat free stuff and us having a fridge, I'd be spoilt for choice..

 

A new firmware update was released over the weekend for the GSP, so I installed it and spent a bit of time playing around.
Improvements to the software include a proper directory structure on the SD Card, easier to use screen layout, proper aspect ratio in arcade games and added SNES and Pc Engine emulation. Unfortunately the SNES and Pc Engine could do with better controller mapping as currently not a lot of games run correctly due to things like missing the A button on the SNES!

As requested by Andy I tried out some 7800 games he was asking after so have popped in some screenshots and video clip below. The colours are a lot more accurate on the screen than they look in the video. All the 7800 titles run very smooth, I've been using NTSC images as some PAL ones are a bit juddery in places. Pole Position II and Commando play really well here.






This is Asteroids 7800 with an overlay to make it look like an old tv


SD Card support is much improved




The user interface has been changed as well to make it easier to navigate. You now have a better guide to the in-game controls as well.




Here are some close ups of the joystick (you get two in the box) with the different LED light patterns available. The multicoloured one does a nice colour cycle. They are matched up to the colours on the power and home buttons of the console.








Last couple of images show the joystick button layout and the save game menu. Not all games have the save feature but the ones that do let you store on either the console itself or the micro sd card.




Lastly, a little bit of video showing a couple of 7800 being loaded and played

 

Nice work, Al.
Sorry, I must have missed this post over the weekend somehow.
I'm getting some really heavy needs for this little monster and may look to buy one in New Year (eg sit outside my local console games shop and wait for the Jan Sales?!).
Very much liking the 7800 software you are showing us there - many thanks, buddy.
I will ask a few more questions when I get a mo... me gob needs a serious saline swill right now - some horrid mouth ulcers plaguing me at the mo and I wanna blow me nose... but best not, eh?!

 

I've been having another mess around tonight with the GSP Andy.
Gameboy and Gameboy Advance emulation is nice, it scales the screen up well. I would say that it starts to struggle around SNES games. You begin to hear some miscues in the music and the scrolling can scroll down a bit. Megadrive is pretty good though, I've been playing Sensible Soccer, Outrun and Dragon's Fury with no problems whatsoever. PC Engine is also very good although some games you can't play as the buttons haven't been properly mapped (yet!).

The other thing I've yet to try is an alternative controller as I really like the feel of the included sticks. And that little paddle is lovely on titles like Warlords and Video Olympics. XBox One controllers are meant to be the most compatible, I even purchased one before the GSP so I could use them together but like I say, haven't found the need to use it yet.

One oddity is that not all games make use of the save feature, but maybe that's something they will look at in a future update. All in all though it's a great little package and I'm having lots of fun with it. 7800 emulation is spot on of course which was my main reason for purchasing in the first place.

Talking of buying, HMV were the first main retailer to advertise it, but they want £159. I bought mine from an Amazon seller based in Wales for just under £97 and had it delivered within 3 working days. And tonight I've just noticed Game have it for £99.99 mail order now as well so expect possibly Argos and Smyths to follow suit at some point soon.

If anybody is thinking about treating themsel (I'm looking at you in particular Mr Barr) then I'd say you won't regret going for the GSP.

 

You need to pick one up at some point Matt. For all the old schoolyard rivalries the C64 is a decent machine, it’s just the BASIC is abysmal for sound and graphics, all peeking and poking to get sprites or sound. So really you need to know assembly, but you could argue that similar issues applied to Atari’s BASIC, but maybe display lists are a bit easier to use when you get your head around the concept.

 

XMas is already here, my friends, thanks to the traditional greeting card from the stainless Baz!

This year he has succeeded in the not-so-easy task of outdoing himself, with an envelope that has just reached my address in the land of cheese and chocolate (and cuckoo clocks too!). As usual, there are no adjectives to describe the imagination and creativity of our Baz. He has succeeded in turning the tradition of sending Christmas cards into an art form!

Thank you very much, Baz! You have lifted my spirits again this year!

 

Yup, always brings a smile to your face...Well done Bazza and Bev(va)..

 

It might sound corny, guys, but you folks are pure inspiration - I wouldn't bother if it wasn't for you fellas caring all year round by bothering - to help, to contribute, to suggest, to reflect, to hark back with another great story from the golden days, to advise, to fix, to pull someone's leg... and really to be there. You all make a big difference time after time - you're all smashing chaps and life would be far less enjoyable without the fun of our little retro community.

So no thanks necessary and just glad to spread some Christmas cheer to yer eyes... and yer ears!

ENJOY, FELLAS - YOU ROCK!

 

Many many festive greetings to you guys who have sent Bev and I Christmas raspberries, strawberries and tad glidings over the past week.

We have had a couple of arrivals ere at the Northern Biome and lined up tonight we must give our thanks to:


Robofruit Al for really tekkin the piss out of Man United (mind,
everyone is this year, incl Accrington Stanley!)



Then we have these three arrivals which crashed through our slot, ooerr, missus:



Card A was sent to us by a viewer in Scotland - loosely translated it reads - get the fek oot of ma face pal else yer winduz is gonna crash, reet? No, it's from Al Nysavant and it wishes us all the best DESPITE us being sassenach peasants...



Card B was sent to us by an Orician living in a musical box in Cumbria - many thanks Steve & Ally for what is clearly a work of artistic merit - she's quite a gal is Ally! Awesome, Al!



and finally Card C has come all the way from the land of cuckoo clocks, bank accounts and toblerones - yes, the Yaarkshire TV studios, no, Switzerland and Dazzling Dazza Dave - aka Cercamon / Alex Drito! Many many thanks to you too, mate, for imagining me and Bev as characters from the olden days (1982) and the front, possibly, of a Quality Street tin (though in my case, probably off the cover of Stig of the Dump). Once more, Daz's family are also in possession of incredible artistic talents so many thanks to you Virginia. What a resounding result!



I thankew all - a million, zillion, gazillion times - sincerely, it is lovely to get your greets either through the post or electronically.


So, cheers very much, Al, Steve and Ally and of course Daz and his smashing family.

Wishing you all a rip roaring retro Chrimbo, you micronauts - enjoy every replay, extra life, highest score and toffo you can get out yer selection boxes...

 

Very very nice to hear, Matt, that the card and wee gift made it through to you, mate.
I think yours is the package that does the most mileage each year to reach you so I was wondering whether or not it would get through in time - great to hear that it did -
ALL THE VERY BEST to you too, buddy and to all the rest of the smashing fellas here on the forum - we might not be the biggest but you guys are the best - cheers, one and all and hope you and your families get all you wish for - especially peace, relaxation and joy together...and more if Santa's been kind in the retro department!

 

Hey, who's been sending this gear? I don't recall ordering these - cheers, me dears!

 

Sorry Andy and lads, while getting ready to post my latest toy (Xmas gift to self, see post below) I realized I forgot to post pictures of the card, etc. I received from Andy. So here they are now.



By the way, I do still have all the Christmas cards and gifts you have sent me over the last...how long has Atari Owner's Club been around now? Also, IIRC, you started sending them out to me and some other members before this forum, on Brenski's old site didn't you? Even the gifts like the cassette magnet and Atari tapes, and on and on...

The point being, I wanted to show all the cards from over the years as others have, but finding them is a huge issue atm, as my 'XL Command Center' nook has been in chaos and piled up with my software collection and tons of bits, hastily moved from display shelves and whatnot since my puppies* grew to the "toddler" chew everything phase. They ruined or damaged a number of collection items (And speakers). Luckily not expensive rarities for the most part though. I've started to slowly clean up the chaos, but there is a lot of stuff that got piled up over nearly a year, and it's a bit overwhelming. Not to mention a quarter inch of dust that has collected in that nook.

*Not the Huskies that died over two years ago now, but my Rottweiler-Blood Hound pups born last Christmas Eve. I kept 3 and one died of a sudden illness/poisoning last summer but with the tragic loss of 3 pups in two years at the age of 5-6 months, 2 pups have thankfully, and finally survived more than a year and are hopefully out of the puppy stage when they are much more susceptible to hereditary and virus illnesses. These pups had their shots though, unlike my Huskies where I was negligent in forgetting (due to being very busy and lots of stress at the time, but that's no excuse, just an explanation).

Another thing that I've been too heart broken to mention until now is that my best friend of 12 years, my beloved Husky Beaux was mistakenly run over by me with my truck and trailer. He had gone deaf of the previous year or so and he laid down under the front of my truck and I didn't know he was there and he couldn't hear the truck start. I saw what I had done in the rearview mirror after the fact, he was alive, but barely, and couldn't even make any noise, he was crushed, and I had to borrow a shot gun from a neighbor to put him down as quickly as possible after a quick sobbing goodbye to my old friend. I buried him outside my bedroom window next to my bed, like he always did at night. I have to stop now as I have started crying and can barely see the screen now.

 

Since all I got for Christmas was a nice card, etc. from Andy, and some slippers and T-shirts and underwear, I decided to go hunting for something special for myself today (Saturday, Jan. 6th) and while heading out to hunt for something I stopped at a road-side swap meet/flea market (I think you chaps refer to them as boot sales?) I came across something far better than I had hoped for, the cherry on the top of my vintage JVC component stereo system.

I happened upon a Roberts 770X 4-track stereo reel-to-reel tape recorder! In excellent cosmetic and working condition! And 14 tapes! Six 7" 600ft, four 10" 1200ft, two 10" 1800ft, one 10" 2400ft and one 10" 3600ft reel tapes. These range from 15 min. per tape side for 600ft to 1.5 hour for 3600ft tape, recording at 7.5 ins. Double or half that time for 3.5 ins and 15 ins speeds respectively.

After doing some pricing on eBay, I found that theses tapes range in price from $5-$30. So I have 6 worth $5, 4 worth $10, 2 worth $15, one worth $20 and one worth $30 (used tape prices, of course). So that is $150 worth of used tapes. The Reel-to-reel recorder sells on eBay, in working condition for $300-500, depending on cosmetic condition. Mine would probably sell closer to the $500 price point!

I payed $100 for all! And I don't even have to refurbish or repair it! I'm officially in audiophile territory now guys!

This recorder/player is able to record/play all reel-to-reel tape speeds including 3.5 ips (inches per second), 7.5 ips and 15 ips. 3.5 ips is standard commercial quality and about equal to the high-end type IV metal cassette tapes, 7.5 ips is audiophile quality that pre-recorded releases sell for about $150-200 for an album, and 15 ips master tape quality.

I owned a reel-to-reel recorder/player when I was in college, but it wasn't as nice as this one!

I almost forgot to mention that this reel-to-reel also is an audiophile quality VACCUM TUBE machine, not solid state. That's what you can see glowing through the grills on the recorder, not internal lighting...doesn't it look just too damn brilliant?