What's a Vader?

[pocketmego]

I keep seeing references to the Vader 2600. What is a Vader?

 

-Ray

[2600lover]

I own one of these Vaderes. Its a 4 switch 2600. Its all black! Looks really cool!!! Google it under photos, Atari 2600 vader

[ewing92]

This right here...

 

http://vidgame.net/ATARI/Atari/2600/2600_dvsys.jpg

 

yup they are pretty cool, and even cooler if you can buy one for $11 w/ power unit

[Malc74]

Or there's a piccy of one on this very site. (Listed as Atari 2600)

[pocketmego]

Or there's a piccy of one on this very site. (Listed as Atari 2600)

 

 

Interesting, before winning my Heavy Sixer and 2600 Jr on Ebay, this was the first machine I bought at a Flea Market. I never knew it had its own name. Why is it called Vader? is it a Darth Vader reference because its all black?

 

-Ray

[oldgames]

 

 

Interesting, before winning my Heavy Sixer and 2600 Jr on Ebay, this was the first machine I bought at a Flea Market. I never knew it had its own name. Why is it called Vader? is it a Darth Vader reference because its all black?

 

-Ray

 

Yup, you got it.

[JacobZu7zu7]

Or there's a piccy of one on this very site. (Listed as Atari 2600)

 

 

Interesting, before winning my Heavy Sixer and 2600 Jr on Ebay, this was the first machine I bought at a Flea Market. I never knew it had its own name. Why is it called Vader? is it a Darth Vader reference because its all black?

 

-Ray

 

That's correct!

First came the Sears 6 switch, then the woodgrain sixer, then the woodgrain 4 switch,

then the all black vader 4 switch, (my first atari) and finally the Atari Jr.

 

I do know that the

-4 switch woodgrain always seems to been made in 1981.

-The all black Vader was made in 1982, and sometimes early '83.

[pocketmego]

Or there's a piccy of one on this very site. (Listed as Atari 2600)

 

 

Interesting, before winning my Heavy Sixer and 2600 Jr on Ebay, this was the first machine I bought at a Flea Market. I never knew it had its own name. Why is it called Vader? is it a Darth Vader reference because its all black?

 

-Ray

 

That's correct!

First came the Sears 6 switch, then the woodgrain sixer, then the woodgrain 4 switch,

then the all black vader 4 switch, (my first atari) and finally the Atari Jr.

 

I do know that the

-4 switch woodgrain always seems to been made in 1981.

-The all black Vader was made in 1982, and sometimes early '83.

 

Sweet, thanks for the info guys. You are always a wealth of knowldege.

 

-Ray

[dangevin]

Kind of a non sequitir, but looking back it seems like the Vader is so cool...it definitely looks more like a "game system"...I mean woodgrain? This is technology and they're giving it a wooden veneer? Kind of like those old chrysler station wagons with the wood-tone sides...no cars were ever made of wood! In the 2600's case, it being one of the first systems I think they were trying to position it as an attractive piece of furniture...just as your mom's big countertop mixer was avacado-colored to match the stove and the refrigerator (ahh the 70's)...the 2600 should match the living room furniture so that it's always out, not put away like an eyesore. Woodgrain technology lol!

Edited August 13, 2006 by dangevin

[pocketmego]

Kind of a non sequitir, but looking back it seems like the Vader is so cool...it definitely looks more like a "game system"...I mean woodgrain? This is technology and they're giving it a wooden veneer? Kind of like those old chrysler station wagons with the wood-tone sides...no cars were ever made of wood! In the 2600's case, it being one of the first systems I think they were trying to position it as an attractive piece of furniture...just as your mom's big countertop mixer was avacado-colored to match the stove and the refrigerator (ahh the 70's)...the 2600 should match the living room furniture so that it's always out, not put away like an eyesore. Woodgrain technology lol!

 

When you look back at home designs of the 70's there are a lot of obvious reasons why the original 2600 was Woodgrained. For one thing the 70's was HUGE with Excessive panelling. My parent's paneld our ENTIRE house in the late 70's and is that house still a dark place today.

 

Being that they had no market analysis at the time, I am sure they used what they knew about the previous PONG homes system buyers. Basically everyone liked to play games on their TV, it was Unique and Hip. So the VCS was given the same basic design as Stereos and the ike had at the time. So, it was certainly marketed as a piece of furniture that would be natural in anyone's den.

 

-Ray

[A.J. Franzman]

This right here...

 

http://vidgame.net/ATARI/Atari/2600/2600_dvsys.jpg

 

yup they are pretty cool, and even cooler if you can buy one for $11 w/ power unit

Your image link doesn't work because the site owner has disabled hotlinking (shame on you!)

 

Try this instead:

 

http://www.vidgame.net/ATARI/2600DVM.html

Edited August 13, 2006 by A.J. Franzman

[A.J. Franzman]

no cars were ever made of wood!

Guess again, plastic breath!

 

In the olden days, automobiles were called "horeseless carriages", and the bodywork, "coachwork" (as in stagecoach). Most had wooden bodies, though the main frames were almost always iron or steel. Many slightly later models that had "metal" bodies were sheet metal laid over wooden framing. Henry Ford invented the charcoal briquette (during the "Model T" era) as a way to make money by using all the sawdust that had been going to waste from his auto body manufacturing line!

Edited August 14, 2006 by A.J. Franzman

[Foxsolo2000]

So who was the first person to coin the phrase Vader and does anyone know how many were made?

[shadow460]

This info is on AA, I'm certain, but here's a quick rundown:

Heavy Sixer:

Six switch Video Computer System (VCS) with rounded front corners and heavy RF shielding

Light Sixer:

Similar to above, but with angled corners and normal RF shielding

Woody:

Any VCS with woodgrain. Typically "woody" refers to the four switch model with a woodgrain front.

Vader:

Four switch console with a black front panel. First Atari to be called the "2600".

Don't ask me about the Sears versions or the Junior models, as I'm clueless about those.

[A.J. Franzman]

Sears versions of the heavy sixer, light sixer, and 4-switch woody came out at pretty close to the same time as the Atari versions of those same style consoles. I don't know which came first in each instance but to my mind they're so close it doesn't really matter.

 

I don't know if there was a Sears vader model, but I think not. Also no Sears Junior models, but they did come out with their version of the 2800 called the Sears Video Arcade II (Atari's 2800 was released in Japan only).

Edited August 14, 2006 by A.J. Franzman

[Room 34]

Kind of a non sequitir, but looking back it seems like the Vader is so cool...it definitely looks more like a "game system"...I mean woodgrain? This is technology and they're giving it a wooden veneer? Kind of like those old chrysler station wagons with the wood-tone sides...no cars were ever made of wood!

 

When you look back at home designs of the 70's there are a lot of obvious reasons why the original 2600 was Woodgrained. For one thing the 70's was HUGE with Excessive panelling. My parent's paneld our ENTIRE house in the late 70's and is that house still a dark place today.

 

You have to have some historical perspective besides just the questionable design sense of the '70s. It was still relatively new for expensive products (like a video game console) to be made from plastic. Plastic had connotations of being flimsy and cheap. So it was common at the time to put a woodgrain veneer (or is it even really a "veneer"? it's a vinyl decal) on anything that was both plastic and expensive, to make it at least seem to be of higher quality, since the good stuff was still made of wood or metal back then.

 

As for cars being made of wood... well, back in the early days cars DID have substantial parts made of wood... the old old old cars with wood paneling on the sides really WERE made with wood paneling, not just a vinyl decal over the steel body the way '70s and '80s stationwagons had. And they had wooden dashboards back then too! (And no seatbelts! But eventually they realized it was too much work to clean blood off wood... )

[pocketmego]

Kind of a non sequitir, but looking back it seems like the Vader is so cool...it definitely looks more like a "game system"...I mean woodgrain? This is technology and they're giving it a wooden veneer? Kind of like those old chrysler station wagons with the wood-tone sides...no cars were ever made of wood!

 

When you look back at home designs of the 70's there are a lot of obvious reasons why the original 2600 was Woodgrained. For one thing the 70's was HUGE with Excessive panelling. My parent's paneld our ENTIRE house in the late 70's and is that house still a dark place today.

 

You have to have some historical perspective besides just the questionable design sense of the '70s. It was still relatively new for expensive products (like a video game console) to be made from plastic. Plastic had connotations of being flimsy and cheap. So it was common at the time to put a woodgrain veneer (or is it even really a "veneer"? it's a vinyl decal) on anything that was both plastic and expensive, to make it at least seem to be of higher quality, since the good stuff was still made of wood or metal back then.

 

As for cars being made of wood... well, back in the early days cars DID have substantial parts made of wood... the old old old cars with wood paneling on the sides really WERE made with wood paneling, not just a vinyl decal over the steel body the way '70s and '80s stationwagons had. And they had wooden dashboards back then too! (And no seatbelts! But eventually they realized it was too much work to clean blood off wood... )

 

 

I don't know about the plastic thing. Was plastic really still considered cheap and flimsy by 1977? I mean, certainly from its inception in the 60's into the early 70's maybe, but by 77, I can't imagine plastic hadn't been pretty much accepted as what some consumer goods were made of.

 

If you look at the 2600, especially the Heavy sixer you can see it used the same metal buttons that big 8 tracks Stereos used at the time. Also it is heavy and metalic, but covered in plastic, which would have been the same as the Phones o the time. So i don't think it would have bothered anyone that it was made of plastic, so to speak.

 

-Ray

[A.J. Franzman]

it was common at the time to put a woodgrain veneer (or is it even really a "veneer"? it's a vinyl decal) on anything that was both plastic and expensive, to make it at least seem to be of higher quality, since the good stuff was still made of wood or metal back then.

70s stuff could be found with real wood cabinetry; wood veneer on particle board, plywood, or less expensive woods; or vinyl woodgrain "contact paper" on metal, plastic or just about anything. The Atari consoles may be unusual for the time in that their woodgrain is actually printed (silkscreened?) directly onto the plastic, making it not subject to peeling like contact paper or veneer.

[Brian R.]

Woodgrain on the front of the 2600 never struck me as odd, especially back in the day. I was born in 1971, and my first game system was the 2600.

 

Of course, our 2600 was connected to our massive 25-inch Magnavox console TV. Which was basically the TV contained in a wood box. Anyone remember console TVs? Not like today's TVs - which are all plastic and sit in entertainment centers or stands. No, our Magnavox was a big piece of furniture all by itself.

 

An example: http://www.tvhistory.tv/1976%20Magnavox%20TV.JPG

 

So, as you see, hooked up to that, the little bit of woodgrain on the front of the 2600 hardly stood out!

Edited August 14, 2006 by Brian R.

[sandmountainslim]

We had a similar TV only it was a Zenith (are they still in business?) , 25 inches surrounded by wood and almost big as a couch!

I am unsure but I THINK they made them that way so that they could charge more for them.

If I remember correctly when my folks bought the Zenith in '77 it cost around $700 or so which is ridiculous as you can buy a new 25 incher for around $300 nowadays.

WP

[markheus]

Woodgrain on the front of the 2600 never struck me as odd, especially back in the day. I was born in 1971, and my first game system was the 2600.

 

Of course, our 2600 was connected to our massive 25-inch Magnavox console TV. Which was basically the TV contained in a wood box. Anyone remember console TVs? Not like today's TVs - which are all plastic and sit in entertainment centers or stands. No, our Magnavox was a big piece of furniture all by itself.

 

An example: http://www.tvhistory.tv/1976%20Magnavox%20TV.JPG

 

So, as you see, hooked up to that, the little bit of woodgrain on the front of the 2600 hardly stood out!

 

I'd love to have a console TV to run my Atari into. Right now I don't have the space though, and my gf's daughter gets a TV in her room before I do that anyway.

That being said, there are a lot of console TV's that were produced into the late 80's and early 90's that had composite video inputs, stereo sound, OSD, and full function remotes. It would definitely recreate the retro flair.

[shadow460]

Before 1981, we had this enormous Magnavox television which was well suited as a place to put pictures, keepsakes, and the like. It was at least 25 inches diagonal, and had the speakers built in.

In 1981, Mom evidently wanted to get a new TV. I think the Magnavox was dying, and she needed something with a remote since it was getting very difficult for her to move around. We got a 20 something inch Zenith Space Command television. The whole thing, like the Magnavox, was enclosed in wood. The TV had a smaller footprint than the Magnavox did, but it still served as the base of my dad's entertainment stack for years. His other two particle board units sat on top of the old Zenith TV.

He had that old television until at least 1994. When it died, he had to go buy an entertainment center for the replacement to sit inside of.

 

Even the remote for that old Zenith was huge. It was about the size of a stock 5200 controller, and it used up 9 volt batteries rather quickly. The only things it did were flip the channel up and down (no numbers), change the volume up and down (no volume meter), mute the volume, display the OSD with the current time and channel, and turn the TV on or off. The remote was plastic with a metal overlay on the top and a big black window in the front.

[dangevin]

I'd love to have a console TV to run my Atari into. Right now I don't have the space though, and my gf's daughter gets a TV in her room before I do that anyway.

That being said, there are a lot of console TV's that were produced into the late 80's and early 90's that had composite video inputs, stereo sound, OSD, and full function remotes. It would definitely recreate the retro flair.

 

Lol when I was out hunting at Yard Sales this past weekend I came across one and I was tempted...If that was the TV this poor old lady was getting rid of I wonder what kind of quantum leap it must have been to get her "new" TV. Upgrading across 40 years of technology in the time it takes the delivery guys to bring the new plasma in the door for her Yes, more than likely it was in her basement for 30 years.

 

The size of the 2600 was brought into the topic at some point here...why all the excess room? If there was no "front" to the thing...no shelf...it would be unstable, and would probably move around a lot when you were trying to jam your brand-spanking-new Raiders of the Lost Ark in the unit. But, that's really only because the carts go in at an angle, not top-down. Moreover...why at an angle? So the label could be viewed by spectators? The whole design is just fishy....but again, first mover in the industry and all that...The console's so quirky I can't help but love it.

 

One more note about the heavy sixer...the plastic "cradle" edging is 1/2" thick approx whereas it's only 1/4" on later models. It's how I identify them at a glance in piles/in pictures.

[Laner]

 

Of course, our 2600 was connected to our massive 25-inch Magnavox console TV. Which was basically the TV contained in a wood box. Anyone remember console TVs?

 

Remember? My grandmother still has one! It's actually relatively new - her old console TV died about a decade ago, and she searched high and low to find a replacement - no standalone TV or entertainment center for her! She had to have another Zenith console. No idea how she found a new one, but she did.

 

Edit: Damn - they still make them: http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/product_Dis...?cat=&id=43

Edited August 14, 2006 by Laner

[AtariLover!]

I own one of these Vaderes. Its a 4 switch 2600. Its all black! Looks really cool!!! Google it under photos, Atari 2600 vader

I used to have one, too. It's interesting to know that they're called "vaders."