Mark Kaelin
CNET.co.uk's sister site TechRepublic runs a regular series called 'Cracking Open' in which it takes a look inside a variety of gadgets.
Here, we look at the Atari 2600 Video Computer System. Introduced all the way back in October 1977, it is one of the more fondly remembered video game consoles. For its time, the Atari 2600 was a breakthrough in entertainment technology and foreshadowed what would eventually become a multibillion dollar industry. We find out what made the Atari 2600 tick.
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It is somewhat strange to see so much empty space. In 2008, manufacturers are trying to cram as much electronic goodness as they can into as small an area as possible.
Back in 1977, apparently, the unit needed to have significant physical presence.
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The switches on the Atari 2600 couldn't get much simpler: position A or B.
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I have been informed there are two versions of the Atari 2600: one has six switches, like ours, and the other has only four.
Notice the slip of paper with numbers on it. A serial number perhaps?
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The circuit board holding the switches is mostly nondescript in terms of notable features. The silver box in the right corner houses the circuitry that creates our standard video/audio RF signal.
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The metal box opens to reveal the underside of a circuit board.
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Here is the main circuit board of our Atari 2600.
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Using the technical information found at Classic Gaming as a reference, the circled chip should be part of the subsystem where sound and video get processed, along with interaction with the paddles and joystick ports.
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A close look at the input/output chip.
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The joystick ports and power adapter plug.
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The pins on this ribbon cable are very fragile and I bent a few cracking it open. Luckily, the pins went back into place with minimal effort.
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The orange piece pictured here adjusts the gain on the sound output -- at least as far as I can tell. If you have a better idea, please share it.
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The output from the Atari 2600 is your basic radio frequency signal carried along a wire via RCA connections. The tuning is set for channel 3 on a standard television. Apparently, that channel can be fine-tuned and perhaps even changed to a different channel.
In later models, Atari allowed the user to choose between channel 3 or 4.
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The Atari 2600 in all its cracked-open glory.
I never owned one of these consoles -- I was an Intellivision II man. (George Plimpton convinced me it was better.) Do you still play your Atari 2600?
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