Atari 2600 vs Atari 2600 Jr. vs Atari 7800

File: latest[1].jpg (19KB, 500x290px) Image search: [Google]

19KB, 500x290px

Colecovision with expansion module 1.

NTSC 7800 with PAL version gamepads + paddles and steering wheel from a 2600 + a lightgun from an Atari XE.

No you are ready to go, my son.

I liked my Atari Jr for form factor and comfiness.

The 7800 would be my next choice but it uses a proprietary power cord and the standard controllers are annoying.

The classic VCS design holds up pretty well. The switches can get a bit loose but they still usually work.

The Jr. model is actually pretty fragile, the shit contacts on the buttons tend to separate from the plastic film holding them together which renders them useless.

No opinion on the 7800

4 switch 2600 with composite mod. I only say 4 switch because it's the easiest to mod and if it doesn't have woodgrain then why bother

If you have much money to spend, get the XE with a flashcart. Better graphics and RCA output.

If you dont have much, get a 7800 or a 2600.

>>3833742
Isn't the XE just a consolized Atari 8bit computer?
Isn't the XE just a less gimped 5200?

Those don't have BC with the 2600 I think.

what's the difference between 4 button 2600s and 6 buttons? ones with wood and ones without?

>>3831536
Atari 7800

File: IMG_1897.jpg (2MB, 4032x3024px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 4032x3024px

>>3831536
4/6/Vader: Super reliable, literally tanks, cheap (except 6 switchers), weak RF output

Jr: Adorable, small as hell, really fun, kinda flimsy, weak RF output

7800: Huge, reliable, strong RF output, also plays 7800 games (they're really good), BALLBLAZER, marginally more expensive, stock controllers are fucking awful but no one uses those so whatever

>>3833904
6 switch have the difficult swtiches on the front panel, and some are american made. 4 switchers are the most common, cost reduced version, difficulty switches are small and on the back. The black 'vader' models are basically regular 4 switchers but without the wood paneling, and they were the first to officially use the name 'Atari 2600'

>>3833937
so, a 6 switch wood panel would be the most expensive 2600?

because I got a box of 2600s(2 jrs 2 6 switch wood panels)+ a compu-vision and a dozen or so pairs of paddles/other controllers not too long ago

>>3833960
A 'heavy sixer', one of the made in CA ones are the most expensive, and 'light sixers' are like second most expensive. That's a rad find, I recently bought an 'untested' Jr. on eBay for ~$20. It worked perfectly, which is what I expected. Also grabbed a 7800 last weekend, but I paid $50 for that at a retro shop.

>>3833965
I got the entire box for about $20

it was actually 2 bins but I reorganized it neatly into the 1 non-disgusting bin

the ataris are pretty dirty and one of the jr.s has got a couple bits of plastic chipped off but I still have the pieces that came off, but I don't know how to test any of them since I'm not entirely sure which cable in the box is theirs

>>3833840

>Isn't the XE just a consolized Atari 8bit computer?
>Isn't the XE just a less gimped 5200?

Yes

>Those don't have BC with the 2600 I think.

Yes, but all 2600 games have been ported to the Atari computer family, plus their own library of games. They all play the same, they look better and the controllers are compatible.

>>3833931
By weak RF output do you mean the encoder produces worse video in the same way the Genesis has worse composite video quality than the SNES?

>>3833995
>Yes, but all 2600 games have been ported to the Atari computer family, plus their own library of games. They all play the same, they look better and the controllers are compatible.

What about homebrew 2600 games produced after the system was discontinued?
Have they also been ported to the Atari 8bit computers?

>>3834060
Kind of. RF is RF, so the image quality comes from a weak modulator leading to more interference. This is just my anecdotal evidence, from what I hear all Ataris have pretty low-power RF modulators.

>>3833987
That's awesome, I never find good shit like that.
>>3834065
No, they haven't, other guy is wildly exaggerating. The XEGS is compatible with almost all Atari COMPUTER software, which is its own totally separate library. It's not a substitute for the 2600, it's a whole other thing. If you wanted both, you'd get both, not one or the other. 2600 is also massively cheaper to collect for. I'd like an XEGS, but the 7800 is about as high quality with its library and plays all the 2600 games too.

>>3834110
Can this weak RF output be fixed by adding/removing/replacing capacitors, resistors, or other components inside the Atari?

>>3834293
I genuinely do not know, there is a tuning pot to 'tune' the RF signal, which could help. Alternatively, you could just composite mod one and alleviate that issue altogether.

>>3831536
best system ever.