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Storage Tips - Loose
Carts
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We
store all the cartridges in our collection using plastic drawer
units that can be purchased at OfficeMax. These units are from
a company called Iris, and these particular units come as a
set of six, stacked vertically. The OfficeMax stock number
is 0311-2928. The picture on the left
(click for a larger image) shows three such units side by side.
The units can be linked together horizontally so they don't
slide around by themselves. The drawers hold about 72
Atari 2600 carts. The drawers are made of a strong, clear
plastic so you can easily see what's in them, but we've labeled
each drawer to make it even clearer (especially since we have
eight drawers containing Atari 2600 carts!) The units
come with casters, but since they are sitting on a desk, we
don't want them rolling off and onto the floor. :)
These units are typically $59.99.
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Here's
a picture of one of the drawers open. The drawers come
with stops to prevent them from coming all the way out, but
we're not using them as it's very useful being able to pull
the whole drawer out. |
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Here's
one of the trays completely pulled out so you can get an idea
of how many carts will fit in an individual drawer. These
are Atari 2600 carts, and as you can see we have them sorted
alphabetically by company (these being Atari carts D through
P). The carts also fit well even when engulfed in a plastic
bag (which makes them a bit taller). |
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Another
drawer, this one full of TI 99/4a cartridges, which also fit
quite well in these trays. It almost seems as if someone
had game collecting in mind when they created these units.
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In
the above two pictures you can see that we store some of our
cartridges in plastic bags. These particular bags are
are from Bags Unlimited,
although we bought them locally at Austin
Books ($4.99 for a package of 100). They are Large
Paperback Bags, 5 1/4" by 8". Yes, they're
a touch large for 2600 cartridges, but they fit well enough.
We stick the carts in sideways, fold the extra length of the
bag around the front of the cart, and then affix a piece of
scotch tape on the back.
These bags are also
perfect for storing loose manuals.
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Here
are two cartridges stored in the above bags. The cartridge
on the left is the Star Wars Arcade Game for the 2600
with the 5200 version on the right. 5200 cartridges fit
in these bags even better. The cartridges just fit
if you stick them in normally (not sideways, like the 2600 carts).
Then you can wrap the excess bag over the back, taping it at
the bottom (click on the picture for a larger view, you'll see
what we mean). |
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