28 replies to this topic

[joesmooth]

I picked up a lot of Vectrex carts from an eBay auction a few weeks ago mostly because I wanted to fill out my Vectrex collection and the few carts with type-written labels looked interesting:

http://cgi.ebay.com/...em=160146823389

I e-mailed the seller to ask if he made those himself and he said he got them that way. The auction was also in Northern California and I thought the Vectrex was developed around here (I could be wrong).

As soon as I got them, I quickly opened them all up and noticed some physical differences, though most of the carts were ROMs except for two (Space Wars and Star Hawk) that were 2532 EPROMs with hand-written labels over the window (dated 6-4-82). I dumped both the ROM and EPROM carts and they all match with the production versions (except for the EPROM versions that had 0x00 as the last byte instead of 0xFF or vice versa compared to production - all other bytes are exactly the same).

Based on my experience with product development/manufacturing, I'm guessing they're pre-production versions for a few reasons:

1) The cartridge cases are slightly different than the production cases. There is no injection molding release mark on the back as in the production versions, the bezel around the label is slightly different, and the plastic that holds the cartridge in place on the inside has been manually modified. That tells me that these cases are prototypes, as well.

2) Most of the cartridge PCBs themselves seem to be an earlier version (smooth edges versus panelized PCBs in the production carts).

3) None of the prototype cartridge PCBs have a QA sticker on them.

4) The ROMs and EPROMs are hand-soldered.

It's too bad that the dumps are the same, but still a neat find, I think. I've posted a few pics.

By the way, I have a few doubles for trade (Armor Attack, Berzerk, Ripoff, Star Trek), so PM me if you're interested.

Joe

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[Buyatari]

What a steal!

[Uzumaki]

Hmmm... Tempest hasn't posted yet. I wonder if he accidentally shorted out his keyboard from drooling over your find.

[Buyatari]

You should be able to get your money back selling just 1 of the protos. You never see Vectrex protos

[supercat]

What's the significance of the BP-1200 programmer in the last photo? I wouldn't think that unit would go back to the 1980's.

[Tempest]

Uzumaki, on Sat Sep 29, 2007 11:54 PM, said:

Hmmm... Tempest hasn't posted yet. I wonder if he accidentally shorted out his keyboard from drooling over your find.

I was informed about these over a week ago.

Tempest

[joesmooth]

supercat, on Sat Sep 29, 2007 11:30 PM, said:

What's the significance of the BP-1200 programmer in the last photo? I wouldn't think that unit would go back to the 1980's.

The BP-1200 is my device programmer and you can see the Vectrex PCB hanging off of the clip/adapter I made for it. That's how I dumped all the cartridges

Joe

[joesmooth]

Buyatari, on Sat Sep 29, 2007 11:13 PM, said:

You should be able to get your money back selling just 1 of the protos. You never see Vectrex protos

I do have a few of them for sale/trade, so PM me if you're interested

Joe

[supercat]

joesmooth, on Sat Sep 29, 2007 11:35 PM, said:

The BP-1200 is my device programmer and you can see the Vectrex PCB hanging off of the clip/adapter I made for it. That's how I dumped all the cartridges

Okay, that clarifies things. I was pretty certain the people doing Vectrex development in the 1980's wouldn't have been using a BP-1200.

BTW, are the "ROM" chips actually ROMs and not OTPs? I've not read enough of your other posts to know if you'd know the difference.

[joesmooth]

supercat, on Sat Sep 29, 2007 11:38 PM, said:

joesmooth, on Sat Sep 29, 2007 11:35 PM, said:

The BP-1200 is my device programmer and you can see the Vectrex PCB hanging off of the clip/adapter I made for it. That's how I dumped all the cartridges

Okay, that clarifies things. I was pretty certain the people doing Vectrex development in the 1980's wouldn't have been using a BP-1200.

BTW, are the "ROM" chips actually ROMs and not OTPs? I've not read enough of your other posts to know if you'd know the difference.

They are real masked ROMs. They actually match the ones in the production counterparts (except for the two with EPROM, obviously).

Joe

[Wonder007]

Nice acquisition Joe....

[MrMark0673]

Bumping up an old thread because my brother just found a really sweet Vectrex prototype:
http://www.nintendoa...;threadid=21809

Oldest Vectrex proto I've ever heard of, really cool label and case to boot. Any idea on the worth of something like this? I don't know of any Vectrex protos of released games going for sale on the open market.

Pics for the lazy:

[SLAYAR]

MrMark0673, on Thu Jul 30, 2009 1:23 PM, said:

Bumping up an old thread because my brother just found a really sweet Vectrex prototype:
http://www.nintendoa...;threadid=21809

Oldest Vectrex proto I've ever heard of, really cool label and case to boot. Any idea on the worth of something like this? I don't know of any Vectrex protos of released games going for sale on the open market.

Pics for the lazy:

at least $500+ very very nice find. (probably sell for at lot more).

[Tempest]

$500 isn't out of the question. Vectrex prototypes are pretty rare and Vectrex collectors are pretty rabid when it comes to gobbling up rare stuff.

Tempest

[MrMark0673]

Wow, not a bad deal at $25 shipped!

Tempest, where is the best place to post this to find interested parties in this proto? My brother likes it, but for the right price I'm sure he'd let it go. Where do the top Vectrex guys hang out?

[Buyatari]

I'd sell it on Chuckwagon. Post it at $1000 or best offer and see what they say.

[SLAYAR]

Buyatari, on Sat Aug 1, 2009 2:31 AM, said:

I'd sell it on Chuckwagon. Post it at $1000 or best offer and see what they say.

Good idea you wont get scammed 10% from e$cum that way.

[Mayhem]

1st June 1982? Smells like a cartridge that was used at the CES to showcase the Vectrex before its launch in November.

[SLAYAR]

Mayhem, on Mon Aug 3, 2009 11:09 AM, said:

1st June 1982? Smells like a cartridge that was used at the CES to showcase the Vectrex before its launch in November.

The CES now that was a blast from the past!

[joesmooth]

Wow. I can't believe it's been over 2 years since I came across these. I've decided to sell off most of my Vectrex collection, including all of the pre-production prototypes that I have:

• Rip-Off
  
• Star Hawk
  
• Solar Quest
  
• Star Trek
  
• Berzerk
  
• Space Wars
  
• Armor Attack

If you're interested, drop me a PM or respond here with any questions!

Joe

[EricDeLee]

There are a few on here that would be really interested. RealRedFive may be one person.
Nice items, good luck with the sale!

[Godzilla]

Anyone find out if that version of cosmic chasm was any different from the final version? I love cosmic chasm, such an awesome, original, game.

[MrMark0673]

Godzilla, on Tue Jan 12, 2010 5:06 PM, said:

Anyone find out if that version of cosmic chasm was any different from the final version? I love cosmic chasm, such an awesome, original, game.

I have since traded the proto, but when played back to back with the retail version I could find no noticeable differences.

[SLAYAR]

joesmooth, on Sat Dec 19, 2009 5:36 PM, said:

Wow. I can't believe it's been over 2 years since I came across these. I've decided to sell off most of my Vectrex collection, including all of the pre-production prototypes that I have:

• Rip-Off
  
• Star Hawk
  
• Solar Quest
  
• Star Trek
  
• Berzerk
  
• Space Wars
  
• Armor Attack

If you're interested, drop me a PM or respond here with any questions!

Joe

Have all of these been sold or traded yet?

[Godzilla]

MrMark0673, on Tue Jan 12, 2010 9:09 PM, said:

Godzilla, on Tue Jan 12, 2010 5:06 PM, said:

Anyone find out if that version of cosmic chasm was any different from the final version? I love cosmic chasm, such an awesome, original, game.

I have since traded the proto, but when played back to back with the retail version I could find no noticeable differences.

Bummer, would have loved to have seen an earlier version to see how/if the gameplay changed/evolved from early versions.