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

I think I may also use a gray mask for the LED's...what do you think @nysavant ? White or gray around the LED's? I did have the missing button painted gray before I lost it...

 

looking a second time after you agreed, I will paint it gray there, but only the concave oval part on the case, directly around the LED's will be white. And I think I'll install the white mask on the inside of the case with the LED's poking through, and I'll leave the oval "shaft" inside walls white as well, to better reflect the LED lights.

But around the buttons and pad will be just gray.

 

I won't be doing much but making it work from point A to point B as it's not a quality mountain bike. It's one of those $100 department store Chinese made crap you buy a kid for Christmas that doesn't take care of their possessions.

 

They are about 1.5 inches square.

Where I get all my decals & Badges from, at least until later this year when I get an upgrade for my 3D printer; a laser egraving head for all types of surfaces...

https://www.etsy.com/listing/910936754/cyberdyne-corporation-logo-label-decal?ref=yr_purchases

 

I've no idea how fast a laser engraver works compared to a 3D printer and it's extruder and printing head, but swapping out the the extruder and print head and replacing it with the engraver laser head would probably be about a 15 minute job once I got familiar, maybe a half hour to hour setting it up the first time. But not bad compared to the average print I make taking 24-48 hours.

I would imagine that detailed engraving like I've seen in the pic I posted and other examples, using the same basic axis apparatus to move as the printer, that good engraving might take similar amounts of time to complete. Of course with new printer upgrades I think I'll be able to speed up the printer twice as fast as I print at now for good results, so those times should cut in half too. But right now set my printer at about 40-50mmps and it's top speed is 150mmps, so the laser engraver may be able to run faster than the plastic printing. I hope to double that 40-50 speed with printing now that I have a glass bed plate and other improvements I made, to help the extrusion process. Yes, any plastic parts printed on the glass have glass smooth and shiny plastic surface. What you see printing is a Bally cartridge case, top and bottom halves and so both outside faces are smooth and shiny as glass.

Once I get an auto-leveler (comes before the laser engraver) specs and tolerances should get much tighter and better too. But it will be soon, the Laser engraver kit is only about $75 and the auto leveler upgrade kit is only about $35. The tempered glass bed plate I got for $15 and my other upgrades I printed on the printer, or my filament pulley system I made myself from a real pulley (from a dog-run cable system I bought and never used). Obviously all the white bits I made with the printer itself.

 

Matt, with all the handle grip joysticks I always had one issue with them, the handle creaked as it was moved, and not just a little creak, it felt like it was about to snap off.

Is that new one you have doing that?

And yes, sending a disk and manual in a plastic sleeve is a bit cheap, I know we had some titles that were shipped like that but they were few and far between as the makers soon realised they were getting damaged in transit.

 

No creaking on this pistol grip, it has three screws that hold it to a black shaft otherwise very similar to a CX40 shaft, and it is good and tight/solid. Though it is a "loud" joystick due to the heavy metal bubble contacts plunging, just like the sound of micro-switches in the Konix SpeedKing. But no creaking, strong plastic and properly snug. I'm not claiming this is the best controller I ever had or anything, or even that I'd recommend it for say $30 (I wouldn't pay that for the 7800 converted ones, but then I can convert myself) But for $12.95 it is very much worth it, and now even more so if you have the skilz to convert it to a 7800 or Joy2B+ yourself.

I am really amazed he only sells them for $12. I don't know what they cost retail back in the day for these NOS controllers, but I think Video 61 much have purchased a lot of left over stock of them from somewhere and is desperately trying to get rid of them at the $12 mark and now even converting them to 2 button 7800 use to push more out the door. I think this would have been about a $25-30 controller in the mid 80's.

Lance has no description of them in his listing and doesn't even refer to them as Starmaster's, just "new joystick" and I was expecting a knock-off CX40, I did ask Lance if they were any good and he replied "people seem to like them." Originally intended as a alternative way for me to get replacement contact bubbles for my CX40's. Which I did salvage from one of them to use in a CX40, until I recently got the CX40 replacement boards then I put the SM contact bubble back in the original and converted it to 7800 use. Now it is the one I'm replacing a button on from this parts joystick.

By the way, the price is actually $12.95, I just looked again.

As to the Artworx game, it never came in anything but the original cardboard box, this is a repackaging Video 61 did themselves, even folding the manual in half to fit (which I don't like either). The original box(s) must have been damaged in some way. But with NOS games from Video 61 they are usually in original packaging and collectible. I'm just going to have to ask more questions about game packaging and condition in the future, especially for the discount games like this. He also has NOS games that he sells for more than you can get them on Ebay, like the Avalon Hill games I buy NOS off ebay and from Poly-Play for about $30, he sells them for $40. But it averages out for me because generally shipping is less from V61 than Ebay.

 

Another new gadget arrived today, something I looked into because of all the cables I have running up the wall and across a bit of ceiling then down to my projector. A portable Bluetooth transmitter/reciever to turn any non BT audio source (any vintage audio/video with an audio out of either L/R RCA or mini headphone jack or an adapter to make it so) That way I can get rid of the long audio cable running from my projector to my amplifier, as I have to use the Projector's audio out for my media machines using HDMI.

So to get rid of those, and only have the VGA and HDMI lines to hide with cable covers, smaller ones.
Of course it's portable and so I can use it with any of my vintage equipment to send the audio to my rack stereo unit if I want.

Less than $10 on on ebay with free shipping...so hopefully it works! My Amplifier says it's connected now...time to test it out...the signal only has to go about 1 meter...otherwise it's 3-4 meters of audio cable.

 

As far as the console side of this coin, I'm set. For the computer, I still need a keyboard as I will never program anything for it or even learn it's BASIC and machine until I have a real keyboard. If it was a keypad the the Atari CX85 full-stoke keys maybe, but not on a calculator keypad!

There are actually a couple dozen games that use the extended memory on the multi cart, so I'm excited to check them out, see what this baby can do with all the memory and custom chips the original Bally arcade cabinets in the real arcades had. I know for one thing it has a high resolution mode around 320x200 but I forget exactly, that couldn't be accessed by the stock console because it's only 4K and at least 8K (Like the Atari 8-bit) is needed to generate a high-res bitmap screen. So the stock games always used a medium resolution 4K mode, quite similar to the Atari's Antic mode 7 160x96. Yes mode 7+ 160x192 is 4K and mode 7 2K, but the Bally needed ram for the OS still! Just like Atari 8-bit OS steals 2K from 64K so technically Atari's have 62K ram for programming.

On the ram expansion you can see a switch for 2K and 6K, this is how much ram the OS uses (there's and expanded OS on board to switch too). So depending on the OS I choose, I'll have either 26K or 30K of programmable ram...I think that's how it works. I still need to download the manual.And then the RAM or ROM switch too, which all has to do with the OS too...but that may just be choosing between running a program rom on cart or loading a program to ram from a tape deck...or from the ulti-multi cart.

 

Some decals and badges arrived today that I'm using on modified and DIY cases. One was suppose to be a high-quality replacement badge for my friends 800XL I'm just finishing up. But I must have accidentally ordered 3 of them.

I have no use at all for the other 2. Anyone need/want a new 800XL badge? 2 extras (one per person unless only one person asks), free, just pay for shipping. I'd have to look, which I don't feel like bothering, doesn't matter to me, but IIRC these sell for about $5 each.

I can send it in a regular letter envelope first class or air mail, whatever you want, protected between some cardboard, that's how they were sent to me, second or third order from them and they have arrived fine every time.

 

Nice badges, look just like the ones I got from Poland for my 130XE.. I'm ok for badges but kind to offer them out to folks..

 

Actually Paul, they probably are from the same seller as the badges you bought from Poland. As I looked at the envelope again and they are were sent from Poland. I mixed up the source of two orders I made at the same time. It's my 'Terminator' Cyberdyne Systems badges for my robot that are coming from Germany. I expect them to arrive any day now too. It sort of fits, since Arnold Schwarzenegger is Germanic, though from Austria...

 

Wonderful, Daz... as they always say, one good turn deserves another and you relate this tale so well and Carlo, like Manu, is worth his weight/wait in gold! Lovely to hear these retro stories have such a happy ending where everyone wins - what a guy - keep it up, Daz. Hope your video lead reaches Cris soon in Roma. Please let me know when it does. Cheers, buddy.

 

RESULT!!! Get in there, Matt.

Extremely good things come to those who wait!

 

PMSL!!!

I second and third that last proposal, pal.

Have a superb time out and about visiting Blackpool, Al.

I'll look forward to a run through your itinerary when you return from your marvellous missions, mate.

 

Absolutely euphORIC over that splendid sexy red and black Bally keyboard colour scheme, Matt. What a Bobby Dazzler you've got on your retro hands now, my old muckah. ENJOY!!

 

Very very smart.
Nice cover operation there, Matt.
They certainly do the biz and have that quality uniform look.
The price of these dust covers these days can be eye-watering (some dudes wanting £30+ per item).
Hope you got them at a reasonable price, matey.

 

They certainly look the part and worth every cent, Matt - the extras like the piped/raised Dreamcast swirl finish etc show the extra quality that the covers ooze. I think it's been one of those outlays we sometimes have to make in order to protect our investments and these beauties need protecting as some of them are rare specimens whilst others are unique.
Well done, fella - the (excellent) results speak for themselves.

 

Not yet Andy, but I have a friend helping me figure it out. Who?.....

 

You've got me there, Al.

Fiona Bruce meets X Files' Agent Scully?!

(That's the one on the right!)

 

My new laser engraving head arrived yesterday, to turn my 3D printer into a laser engraver. It came with safety glasses to protect the eyes from the laser and 3 sample wood plates I presume to practice engraving.Of course it supposedly can be used with more than wood, including metal, plastic, etc., but we all know about "truth in advertising." so only time and attempts using it on other materials will reveal if the claims are true.

Apparently set-up should be easier than I thought, as I thought I'd have to remove the 3D print head and attach this in it's place, but the guide says it just attaches to the fan cover of print head itself and apparently I may even be able to leave it in place so I can still print or engrave without need of swapping out heads. But of course only trying will reveal if both will still work fine with both attached to the printer. I am supposed to either put a metal or thick wood base on top of the print bed to avoid damage to the print bed itself.

Supposedly I just connect it to the motherboard of my printer (there are several connections to attach different upgrades), download the software (Creality brand software just like I use for the 3D printer already) and I'll get a new front menu to choose between printing and engraving software.

 

Wonderful, Matt.

Yet another great addition to your armoury and toolkit.

You must have one of the most enviable, desirable, incredibly well-kitted out RV mancave retro dens in the whole state?!

 

Possibly, though it's a construction office trailer really, the RV is a storage trailer now. I still need some work benches in there and if I ever get the opportunity I need to repair my oscilloscope, but then...then I'd agree with you. Oh, and I still need a small refrigerator, the one it came with doesn't work. I do have a microwave for heating up the biscuits and gravy or frozen snacks. But I need the fridge to keep them frozen and my drinks cold. I also need a coffee maker and tea kettle too, for my Earl Grey. Right now I use the microwave to heat a cup of water at a time.

 

As you say, Matt, rather than get mad when things go tits up, get even by allowing fate to equalise the bad luck with some bloody good luck and hey presto - you end up, by the by, chancing upon that smashing little bargain Dell monitor - you lucky fella, you! Hopefully, the other monitor will still be fixable and suddenly, everything looks even rosier in the retro cave - it just gets groovier and groovier in there, ma'an cos Tandy + Bose + Dell = quality combo (once that Dell gets a lick of suitable paint). I can see another paint shop sesh coming on when work allows, Picasso!

 

I still haven't had a chance to put real time into my 7800 and the Dragonfly cart with all the games, virtually. Hopefully I will soon. I've played some Jaguar lately here or there for a few minutes, but that's been it for gaming for me for months. Too busy fixing broken equipment for the business in the off hours this time of year.