316 replies to this topic

[Frotz]

I was on the preorder list, but had to bow out for a brief emergency. Are you taking orders again?

[tremoloman2006]

I got my Harmony carts yesterday! Thanks for the quick shipping!
I was too busy to try them out but will definitely do so this morning!

[eegad]

Hi. Just wondering about the status of things....I see that some people have gotten email that carts were ready to order, and that they have received them already, which is great news. I did add my name to the waiting/pre-order list a couple of months ago for a standard version (got a confirm at the time), but haven't yet received an email saying I could order one. Are you still "working your way down the list", or did I miss that email during the hectic past couple of weeks?


rwilmott@yahoo.com

[batari]

eegad, on Tue Dec 29, 2009 11:45 AM, said:

Hi. Just wondering about the status of things....I see that some people have gotten email that carts were ready to order, and that they have received them already, which is great news. I did add my name to the waiting/pre-order list a couple of months ago for a standard version (got a confirm at the time), but haven't yet received an email saying I could order one. Are you still "working your way down the list", or did I miss that email during the hectic past couple of weeks?


rwilmott@yahoo.com

I sent you an email on Dec. 18. If you can't find the email, let me know and I'll send you another.

[Machine]

Got mine on monday and immediately put a few games on it. Very impressed with how nice and professional the whole package is. I love how easy it is to use. It is my favorite piece in my collection. Welldone.

Any extras left to order? I would not mind having a backup. Thanks again for making such a great product!

Edited by Machine, Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:20 PM.

[batari]

Machine, on Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:18 PM, said:

Got mine on monday and immediately put a few games on it. Veryy impressed with how nice and professional the whole package is. I love how easy it is to use. It is my favorite piece in my collection. Welldone.

Any extras left to order? I would not mind having a backup. Thanks again for making such a great product!

Supplies for Deluxe editions just ran out today and I have ordered more. Standard carts can ship now. You can order either but keep in mind I have to wait a few days for supplies to come in before I can ship more Deluxe carts.

To those who didn't get on the preorder list before Dec 18, I will contact you soon, just waiting for my Paypal issues to get sorted out before I take on another flood of payments.

[ClassicGMR]

batari, on Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:26 PM, said:

To those who didn't get on the preorder list before Dec 18, I will contact you soon, just waiting for my Paypal issues to get sorted out before I take on another flood of payments.

I sent you a PM in regards to this issue. Any reply/preference? Thank you.

[Philsan]

Harmony cart just arrived in Switzerland. Thank you!

[Monk]

Philsan, on Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:41 AM, said:

Harmony cart just arrived in Switzerland. Thank you!

Also, I got the Harmony Cartridge today here in Finland!

Thank you a lot - I have been testing it a bit, and most games work (there was ONE game that just tilted in a weird way, but I can't now remember which one it was - I can find out if you wish) just perfectly.

There is only ONE flaw that is actually very disturbing, but I doubt anything can be done about it anyway, so I hesitate to tell.. it is the INTERFERENCE sensitivity. If I play Cosmic Ark or Chopper Commander with an actual, original cartridge, there is not much interference at all. If I play the exact same (NTSC) version of the game with Harmony Cart, there is HUGE, disturbing interference. The same can be said about some games in 32-in-1-cartridge. But the interference is even AUDIBLE in the menu in Harmony Cartridge, and kind of worries me a bit.

But otherwise there are no complaints, I am very happy about it, and I am most thankful to you, mr. Batari, for you have really worked hard on this and being a loyal, trustworthy and user-friendly shopkeeper/manufacturer/seller!

So, please accept my humble thanks for your magnificent product and great work!

I am hoping to film a small video of the Harmony Cart in action, as soon as I get my NTSC Atari first.. (because then I can hopefully finally use my paddles, and play games like Kaboom! and Fireball) - and then place it to my youtube page, which I will be glad to share with you after I get some Atari stuff in there.

Thanks a lot, and I wish you a magnificently glorious and euphoric decade transformation phase!

Sincerely,

- Monk

[Monk]

Monk, on Wed Dec 30, 2009 5:11 AM, said:

But otherwise there are no complaints, I am very happy about it, and I am most thankful to you, mr. Batari, for you have really worked hard on this and being a loyal, trustworthy and user-friendly shopkeeper/manufacturer/seller!

Quoting myself, I of course mean you have BEEN, and not that you ahve worked hard on BEING .. (: Sorry!

Also I wanted to add that the manual (Quickstart Guide) is just great, very professional and user-friendly work, absolutely fantastic!

- Monk

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Monk, on Wed Dec 30, 2009 5:11 AM, said:

There is only ONE flaw that is actually very disturbing, but I doubt anything can be done about it anyway, so I hesitate to tell.. it is the INTERFERENCE sensitivity. If I play Cosmic Ark or Chopper Commander with an actual, original cartridge, there is not much interference at all. If I play the exact same (NTSC) version of the game with Harmony Cart, there is HUGE, disturbing interference. The same can be said about some games in 32-in-1-cartridge. But the interference is even AUDIBLE in the menu in Harmony Cartridge, and kind of worries me a bit.

Are you using an antenna cable?

If yes, you should try replacing it with a good, better shielded cable. That way all interferences should become much smaller or completely disappear.

[Mirage]

I haven't had any interference issue with mine, or haven't noticed any at least.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Mirage, on Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:40 AM, said:

I haven't had any interference issue with mine, or haven't noticed any at least.

It depends on your setup. If your Atari is modded or your antenna cable is well shielded, then you shouldn't see any interference.

I've had the most interferences with a homebrew (Marble Craze) which completely went away after my Atari was modded. I suppose interferences become more noticeable from modern carts because they are manufactured differently and also because some modern homebrews are using the Atari hardware pretty extensively.

[Monk]

Thomas Jentzsch, on Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:51 AM, said:

Mirage, on Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:40 AM, said:

I haven't had any interference issue with mine, or haven't noticed any at least.

It depends on your setup. If your Atari is modded or your antenna cable is well shielded, then you shouldn't see any interference.

I've had the most interferences with a homebrew (Marble Craze) which completely went away after my Atari was modded. I suppose interferences become more noticeable from modern carts because they are manufactured differently and also because some modern homebrews are using the Atari hardware pretty extensively.

"Modded"??

My Atari isn't 'modded' .. why would Atari need to be modded?

I do live near the airport, that could be the cause. In fact, the RF cable doesn't have anything to do with it (I especially purchased a shielded one (though they said they only sell shielded ones anyway nowadays), and it didn't help (this was when I first got the Atari).

It seems to be very cart-specific; that 32-in-1 cart has also terrible interference, but Cosmic Ark doesn't have almost ANY (at least I can't very easily see any), when played from the Imagic-manufactured cartridge.

But as I said, there's not much that can be done about it anyway, I just mentioned it because it kinda bugs me a bit but it doesn't matter.. I still have a few original carts if I want to play without interference.

(Perhaps the new Atari that I am still waiting to receive might have less interference, who knows)

Thanks anyways for all the help and answers.

- Monk

[Monk]

Thomas Jentzsch, on Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:27 AM, said:

Are you using an antenna cable?

If yes, you should try replacing it with a good, better shielded cable. That way all interferences should become much smaller or completely disappear.

I wasn't aware I had alternatives.. my Atari 2600jr only has an RF cable output. I wish it had a SCART though..

It's not the cable anyway, I have tried different cables, even two specially purchased 'shielded cables' for this purpose. It reduced the normal RF-interference, but not this weird Atari-specific interference.

(I don't mind the regular RF interference, it doesn't affect the graphics, but this does)

Perhaps a different Atari individual will behave differently, who knows. Perhaps that airport pretty close from here makes it impossible for any Atari to be used in my home without interference, I don't know. But I am gonna test it and try to fix it somehow if I can..

- Monk

[Monk]

"I've had the most interferences with a homebrew (Marble Craze) which completely went away after my Atari was modded."

I am curious, what do you mean by 'modded'? What did you do to the Atari, and how? (I can't do anything electronical or mechanical like that, my talents exist elsewhere - but it'd be interesting to know, as perhaps I could persuade someone to 'mod' it for me then)

Thanks.

- Monk

[Monk]

Thomas Jentzsch, on Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:27 AM, said:

Are you using an antenna cable?

If yes, you should try replacing it with a good, better shielded cable. That way all interferences should become much smaller or completely disappear.

Just one sidepoint; do you really think my RF cable is that selective? "Oh, now he is using an ORIGINAL cartridge, I won't bring any interference!" or "Oh, now he is using Harmony Cart or 32-in-1, I will stop being shielded now!"..



I mean, if it was about the cable, wouldn't ALL games have interference in them?

- Monk

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Monk, on Wed Dec 30, 2009 8:36 AM, said:

I am curious, what do you mean by 'modded'? What did you do to the Atari, and how? (I can't do anything electronical or mechanical like that, my talents exist elsewhere - but it'd be interesting to know, as perhaps I could persuade someone to 'mod' it for me then)

Look out for the available video output "mods" for the 2600. Either for Composite (cheap, but not perfect) or S-Video (more expensive, but great picture).

For examples, look here.

[Monk]

Thomas Jentzsch, on Wed Dec 30, 2009 9:19 AM, said:

Look out for the available video output "mods" for the 2600. Either for Composite (cheap, but not perfect) or S-Video (more expensive, but great picture).

For examples, look here.

Thanks, I am planning to follow your advice.

Btw, I shot a little video of my newly-arrived treasure.. nothing special, just playing a bit and demoing a bit.



Still, I think it might be interesting to some.

- Monk

[Monk]

Thomas Jentzsch, on Wed Dec 30, 2009 9:19 AM, said:

For examples, look here.

That site just shows the site source, very unreadable like that.. do you have something more functional?

Thanks.

- Monk

[Monk]

Monk, on Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:59 AM, said:

Thomas Jentzsch, on Wed Dec 30, 2009 9:19 AM, said:

For examples, look here.

That site just shows the site source, very unreadable like that.. do you have something more functional?

Never mind, I just took the 's' away from the *.shtml and now it works fine, hehe.. thank you, a very cool site!

- Monk

[Philsan]

Perhaps I have the same problem of Monk.
I have a PAL 2600 connected to TV with antenna cable.
If I use an original Ms. Pac-Man the image is perfect, without any video interference.
If I use the same game with Harmony cart the image is not perfect.
Also the selection menu isn't very clear.
Maybe it's a problem of Harmony carts and PAL consoles connected to TV with antenna cable?

[batari]

When designing Harmony, we were careful about RF interference and none was found during design and none has been reported until now. I'd definitely like to get to the bottom of this and see if there's anything we can do about it. From the video, I see a black bar that slowly moves up the screen. Is that it? If so, that's likely a power issue. I have some suggestions but I want to be sure what sort of interference you're getting first.

[Philsan]

I have just read in the manual that NTSC, PAL50 and PAL60 versions of firmware exists.
Do I have to change my firmware?
Where can I find PAL50 or PAL60 versions of eeloader and hbios?
Your website is "coming soon".

[batari]

Philsan, on Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:23 PM, said:

I have just read in the manual that NTSC, PAL50 and PAL60 versions of firmware exists.
Do I have to change my firmware?
Where can I find PAL50 or PAL60 versions of eeloader and hbios?

You don't have to if your cart works on your television.

If you'd like to change it anyway, you can. Install the programming software (on the SD card if you have a Deluxe, or if you have a standard edition, download it) and follow the instructions in the manual.

We haven't finished updating the Harmony site at http://harmony.atariage.com so you may use these links for now:

Linux 32-bit: http://harmony.atari..._1.1-1_i386.deb
Linux 64-bit: http://harmony.atari...1.1-1_amd64.deb
OSX: http://harmony.atari...yCartOSX1.1.dmg
Windows: http://harmony.atari...t-1.1-win32.exe
Source code: http://harmony.atari...1.1-src.tar.bz2