jaybird3rd

I recently acquired a 2600 Light Sixer which is in great condition, except that the front plastic bezel (which snaps into the top half of the case, around the front panel switches) has a peeling decal. The Atari part number on the bezel is CO10308. Since there doesn't seem to be a way of fixing the decal, I'm looking for a replacement bezel with the same part number, if anyone here happens to have an extra that's in fairly decent shape. Thanks!

(P.S.: Yes, I already made inquiries with Best Electronics, but they apparently sold out of that particular part about 10 to 15 years ago.)

After about eighteen months of development, I am pleased to announce the availability of the Aquaricart, the first and only multi-cart for the Aquarius Home Computer System!

 aqcboard.jpg   118.3K   17 downloads  aqcbrochure.jpg   76.83K   26 downloads

For those who are unfamiliar with it, the Aquaricart is a collection of ALL of the original cartridge software ever released for the Aquarius, along with several unreleased, prototype, and enhanced titles. It also includes the original instruction manuals and overlays, exclusive historical information and trivia, and Quick Reference guides ... all in electronic format, so they can be printed with the Aquarius Thermal Printer or viewed on-screen!

Here is a complete list of the cartridge titles in the Aquaricart collection:

• AD&D Treasure of Tarmin
  
• Astrosmash
  
• Biorhythms
  
• BurgerTime
  
• Chess
  
• Demonstration Cartridge
  
• Extended BASIC
  
• FileForm
  
• FinForm
  
• Logo
  
• Melody Chase
  
• Mini Expander Diagnostic (an unreleased Radofin diagnostic tool)
  
• Night Stalker
  
• Shark! (an incomplete prototype of Intellivision Shark! Shark!)
  
• Snafu
  
• Space Speller
  
• TRON Deadly Discs
  
• Utopia
  
• X10 Command Console (the software for the unreleased Aquarius X10 home automation system)
  
• Zero In

Plus, as a bonus:

• The 1541 OS ROM (an enhanced version of Extended BASIC)
  
• The Demonstration Cassette (the six mini-games originally included with the Aquarius on cassette tape—Stalactites, Macho-Man, Torment, Cute Cubes, Alien Quest, and Mad Mould—converted to cartridge format for instantaneous loading)
  
• "BurgerTime Plus" (an enhanced BurgerTime which increases the maximum number of peppers and lives and removes the extra characters from the screen border)

 aqcmenu.png   4.93K   22 downloads

Each of these cartridges, along with the manual pages and other extra content, can be accessed through an easy-to-use menu interface that you can control from the keyboard or the hand controllers. Or, if you prefer to skip the menu, you can use the "Quick Boot" feature to jump immediately to the cartridge of your choice on startup. The Aquaricart is fully compatible with a stock Aquarius computer console, so no Mini Expander or extra RAM are required (although some of the cartridges in the collection recommend or require extra RAM).

I'm offering the Aquaricart in two configurations. The first is a $65 "upgrade kit", consisting of an assembled and tested cartridge board that you can install inside one of your own cartridge shells. While supplies last, I am also offering a fully assembled cartridge inside an Aquarius Night Stalker box for $77. Both options include full-color cartridge labels and a printed manual.

 aqc.jpg   66.59K   23 downloads

Please see the product thread in the Intellivision/Aquarius subforum for more details and ordering information. You can also follow the eighteen-month development history of the Aquaricart in the original project thread, which includes reviews and testimonials from Aquaricart owners.

Thanks for your interest and support!

After about eighteen months of development, I am pleased to announce the availability of the Aquaricart, the first and only multi-cart for the Aquarius Home Computer System!

 aqcboard.jpg   118.3K   36 downloads  aqcbrochure.jpg   76.83K   39 downloads

For those who are unfamiliar with it, the Aquaricart is a collection of ALL of the original cartridge software ever released for the Aquarius, along with several unreleased, prototype, and enhanced titles. It also includes the original instruction manuals and overlays, exclusive historical information and trivia, and Quick Reference guides ... all in electronic format, so they can be printed with the Aquarius Thermal Printer or viewed on-screen!

 aqc_ss02.png   7.62K   34 downloads  aqc_ss04.png   9.46K   36 downloads

 aqc_ss03.png   6.22K   31 downloads  aqc_ss01.png   5.6K   32 downloads

Here is a complete list of the cartridge titles in the Aquaricart collection:

• AD&D Treasure of Tarmin
  
• Astrosmash
  
• Biorhythms
  
• BurgerTime
  
• Chess
  
• Demonstration Cartridge
  
• Extended BASIC
  
• FileForm
  
• FinForm
  
• Logo
  
• Melody Chase
  
• Mini Expander Diagnostic (an unreleased Radofin diagnostic tool)
  
• Night Stalker
  
• Shark! (an incomplete prototype of Intellivision Shark! Shark!)
  
• Snafu
  
• Space Speller
  
• TRON Deadly Discs
  
• Utopia
  
• X10 Command Console (the software for the unreleased Aquarius X10 home automation system)
  
• Zero In

Plus, as a bonus:

• The 1541 OS ROM (an enhanced version of Extended BASIC)
  
• The Demonstration Cassette (the six mini-games originally included with the Aquarius on cassette tape—Stalactites, Macho-Man, Torment, Cute Cubes, Alien Quest, and Mad Mould—converted to cartridge format for instantaneous loading)
  
• "BurgerTime Plus" (an enhanced BurgerTime which increases the maximum number of peppers and lives and removes the extra characters from the screen border)

 aqcmenu.png   4.93K   31 downloads

Each of these cartridges, along with the manual pages and other extra content, can be accessed through an easy-to-use menu interface that you can control from the keyboard or the hand controllers. Or, if you prefer to skip the menu, you can use the "Quick Boot" feature to jump immediately to the cartridge of your choice on startup. The Aquaricart is fully compatible with a stock Aquarius computer console, so no Mini Expander or extra RAM are required (although some of the cartridges in the collection recommend or require extra RAM).

I'm offering the Aquaricart in two configurations. The first is a $65 "upgrade kit", consisting of an assembled and tested cartridge board that you can install inside one of your own cartridge shells. While supplies last, I am also offering a fully assembled cartridge inside an Aquarius Night Stalker box for $77. Both options include full-color cartridge labels and a printed manual.

(For those Aquarius owners who have any extra cartridge(s) on hand at all, I would highly recommend choosing the upgrade kit. My supply of cartridge shells is very limited, and as much as possible, I would like to reserve them for Aquarius users who do not presently own any cartridges.)

 aqc.jpg   66.59K   27 downloads

If you're interested in adding the Aquaricart to your collection, contact me via PM—or, if you're not an AtariAge member, click on my profile and use the e-mail link to contact me that way—and let me know which of the two options you would prefer. Be sure to include your shipping address so I can calculate the postage and give you a final total. If I have an Aquaricart cartridge ready to send, we will exchange information and complete the transaction; otherwise, I will provide an estimate of when it will be available (usually within two weeks). I won't accept any payments until I have a tested product that is ready for immediate shipment, so you won't be kept waiting for your order any longer than necessary.

I'm in the process of putting together a web site for the Aquaricart, which will offer complete scans of the original instruction manuals and other useful Aquarius resources. In the meantime, if you're interested, you can follow the eighteen-month development history of the Aquaricart in the original project thread, which includes testimonials from fellow Aquarius owners.

Thanks for your interest and support!

As anyone who owns an Aquarius knows, its built-in 4K of RAM is woefully inadequate for many applications, including the cassette-based releases which require 16K of RAM. Unfortunately, the original 4K and 16K RAM modules that Mattel produced are getting to be difficult to find, and the 32K module was only produced in very limited quantities.

I recently designed and tested a simple 32K RAM module of my own, functionally identical to Mattel's original. I'd like to know how many Aquarius owners would be interested in buying one if it were made available at a $20 price point (shipping would be extra). This would be for the RAM board itself, which can be installed inside any empty Aquarius cartridge shell (or used on its own if necessary), plus a set of color labels for the front and the top of the cartridge. I'd love to be able to offer a completely assembled module, but unfortunately there aren't enough Aquarius cartridge shells available.

This project would require the design of a new cartridge board, so I would need about twenty positive responses for it to be cost-effective. If there is sufficient interest, I'll start working on it as soon as the Aquaricart project is complete.

Thanks for your feedback!

I just read the sad news that Jerry Lawson, developer of the Fairchild Channel F, has passed away. It reminded me that we haven't yet noted the passing of another of the video game industry's pioneers: Dave Chandler, the man responsible for the Mattel Intellivision. From the notice posted by Intellivision Productions on March 23rd:

Quote

The Atari 2600 is rightfully lauded for its elegantly simple and versatile architecture, and for the long life it enjoyed as a result. But it should be remembered that the Intellivision also had a remarkably long and productive run, from the first test-marketed games in 1979 to the last of the INTV titles (Deep Pockets Super Pro Pool & Billiards) in 1990. When one compares the earliest Intellivision games to the ones that were produced late in its life, it is astonishing to see how the developers continued to discover new ways to tap its power and versatility well into the Nintendo era. However, as impressive as its graphics and sound capabilities are, I think the Intellivision's most groundbreaking characteristic of all is its unique controllers. As much as some people like to complain about it, it's clear to me that the Intellivision hand controller introduced a richer and more sophisticated way of interacting with video games: it is impossible to imagine playing Utopia, or the genre-defining Intellivision sports games, using only a one-button Atari joystick.

In addition to the technology that the Intellivision brought to the video game industry, I think it also played an important role in changing the perception of video games among the general public, making them seem like something more than "just kid stuff." Its contemporary design blended in perfectly with home entertainment centers of the late 1970s, and its overall level of sophistication appealed to a much more diverse demographic than the Atari systems did. As I wrote in another thread late last year ...

jaybird3rd, on Mon Sep 6, 2010 9:56 PM, said:

I think this kind of broad appeal is something that the video game industry lost in later years and has only recently begun to recapture. Systems like the Nintendo Wii, and the novel game concepts that the "Wiimote" has made possible, seem to be leading that transition today. I believe the Intellivision brought the same kind of innovation to the video game industry in its own time, and widened the audience for video games in much the same way, thanks in large part to the pioneering design work of Dave Chandler.