Re: [stella] Rev B: what's that extra socket for?

[Wvoutlaw2002@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

In a message dated 2/24/04 10:24:11 PM Eastern Standard Time, adam@xxxxxxx writes:


> I took my 2600 apart tonight; it's a six-switcher with a Rev B
> motherboard, (C) 1977.
>
> Between the 6507 and the TIA, there's a 24-pin pad.  It's clearly
> designed to hold a socket, but there's no socket in it and the vias are
> filled with solder.
>
> I'm guessing that there was another part Atari was considering but
> dropped for cost reasons.  Does anyone know what it was?  It looks like
> a bunch of the lines run to pins 5-11 on the '07; that makes me suspect
> that it was likely to be either ROM--a built-in game?--or onboard RAM.  
>
> Does anyone know?


I think the original plan for the 2600 was to include Combat built into the system as opposed to on cartridge, and I think that's what the socket was for. I think somebody mentioned on the newsgroups a while back that they desoldered a Combat ROM chip from a Combat cartridge board and soldered the rom chip onto the pad you mentioned. I think it worked, but I think it also disabled the cartridge slot (meaning you could play only Combat on that 2600, and the cartridge slot wouldn't work).