How it’s done
iPhone SE 2020
Originally called the Video Computer System (VCS) until 1983, the Atari 2600 was released in 1977. The system was originally released with all six switches on the front of the console, but the console was redesigned in 1980 with only four of the switches on the front, and the other two on the back. The console featured here is a post-1980 model.
Major tech specs
• 1.19MHz eight-bit processor
• 128 bytes RAM
• 192 x 160 pixel resolution
• 128 colors, with max four colors per line two-channel mono sound
Key findings
• Video game consoles these days may not have a sense of home decor, but some computer companies still believe in the aesthetics of wood paneling. As soon as users figured out that the Atari 2600 could play more games than just Pong, the 2600 became massively successful, selling 1 million units in 1979.
• Instead of following the trend of building a limited number of games into the system, the
Atari 2600 uses removable cartridges to store games like Space Invaders, Pac-Man and Pitfall. Each player can select the difficulty of the game they’re playing by simply flipping a switch from “A” to “B”. Which one was harder is anyone’s guess.
• There are four screws holding the upper and lower case together. These screws in the back are at an odd angle: Almost 30 degrees off of vertical. Strange. With a design that is unseen in just about any other electronic device, the motherboard is propped up and sits at an angle of 30 degrees inside the Atari. Now those case screws make sense! And finally, cables that are not soldered to the board! The RCA cable is easily removed.
• The motherboard easily lifts out. The only things securing it down were the angled screws we removed from the outer case. The case of the 2600 is 2.6 times larger than the motherboard. The motherboard is dominated by an ominous metal box, likely the EMI shield. A few short twists with pliers and the shield lifts free; Atari gets a +1 on repairability for not soldering the shield to the motherboard. The back of the Atari 2600 motherboard has nothing interesting on it, except a great appreciation for through-hole soldering and hand-drawn circuits.
• The Atari 2600 stores games in read-only memory chips housed in external cartridges. This allows for a potentially infinite number of playable games for the console. Atari’s custom chip, the Television Interface Adapter (TIA) is the moneymaker of the 2600, as it enables multiple colours, increased graphic capabilities, and sound. Because memory was so expensive during the 2600’s design, the video processor has no external RAM. As a result the CPU must send video data to the TIA one line of video at a time.
• We give the Atari 2600 a big plus for repairability. Every component is attached via through-hole solder, so replacing a burnt-out resistor or IC is quite feasible. However, parts are now almost impossible to get hold of.