Chris Wilkson wrote:
>> So you're doing EPROM's now? I thought most early games were produced on
>> ROMs? Do you know if any commercial sold games used EPROM's back in the
>> 80's?
>
>Yes. A chip needs to be produced in the hundreds of thousands to make it
>really cost effective. Since the code in a ROM is part of it's physical
>structure, it has to be included as the chip is being made. Whereas an
>EPROM can be programmed after the fact. I think Randy uses OTP (One Time
>Programmable) EPROMs. This is a standard EPROM without the quartz window
>for UV erasing. High quality quartz is expensive and adds considerably to
>the cost of an EPROM. I know that several manufacturers used EPROMs. Usually
>the smaller software houses that couldn't afford to have ROMs manufactered.
Ah. That explains something. I've also got the problem with my 1541
drive: For christmas 1985, I got a Speeddos for my C-64 and drive from
my father. He got it from a co-worker, and it seems to be a
"re-creation", not an original. The new 1541 OS seems to have been burnt
into an EPROM. A few months ago, the drive stopped working properly, and
eventually even ruined a disk. When we took it apart, I saw this chip
with the strange glass window... Since we didn't have and remember the
original setting, and the man who burnt the EPROM couldn't be reached
anymore (my father's company closed in 1989 and he retired in 1995), I
had to buy another used 1541 drive and revert to the (sloooooooooow...)
normal loading speed. In addition, I had to spend several hours to fix
the ruined disk via a disk monitor. I bet I've put much more effort in
it now than was saved by not buying the original Speeddos (if that would
have been on ROM, that is...)
>>Another question concerning EPROM's: Could it be that they lose their
>>memory after, let's say, ten or twelve years? My Mangia and Pitfall II
>>carts seem to be broken. Could this be the reason for that? (Now that's
>>a case where downloading the BIN from the Internet IS legal... no?)
>
>By all means. This is usually referred to as "bit rot". What a lovely term
:)
>But Activision carts are notorious for being flaky. I think the PCB material
>they used was a few mils to thin. Try the following:
>
>Plug in your Pitfall II cart, then push forward on the end of the cart while
>you turn it on. If this works, you can use a Combat cart to prop it up.
>(The prop wont work on a 2600 jr...no ridges for the Combat to push against)
Sorry, I don't understand the word 'prop'. What do you mean?
Combat? Sorry, I haven't got this game. A friend who wanted to get rid
of it suggested to exchange it against one of my cartridge, but the only
one I offered him for that was my Mangia cart (it did work then), which
is now broken. Does the propping also work with a broken cart?
What was this song by Telly Savalas? I think it was called "Some broken
carts never mend" ;-)
>> A few years ago, I went to a friend who also had an Amiga with some cart
>> that allowed switching the output signal to 60 Hz. His Amiga 1081
>> monitor synced to it, too... so I suppose mine also would. The only
>> trouble could be the VCR I have to use in-between the VCS and the
>> monitor, cause the 1081 hasn't got a tuner.
>
>You really should go pull the composite signals from inside the 2600. The
>improvment is awesome. And it's an easy mod to make. Then you don't have
>to worry about using a VCR as a video converter.
Hmmm, I didn't take my VCS apart (yet). But I need the VCR anyway,
because I also watch TV in my room this way...
With love (and still two broken carts and a broken 1541 drive to mend)
Kurt Woloch
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