Hi all,
Thanks for the responce to my last thread.
I am glad to see that all are interested in the multi-cart.
I might be able to make more than 5 I'll see.
The carts will have 2 X 1meg eprom chips each with 256 games.
You will select chip "a" or chip "b" with a toggle.
I only have 10 X 1 meg chips right now but I will get more in the future.
So 5 carts for now. One for me, mabey one for Ben, and 3 for others.
I took your names down and will let you know what is up.
The game on the chip is selected with 2 rotary hex (16) position dip switches.
Which is better than the old dip switches. An on-screen menu might be in the future, but for now it will delay this project to long. Rotary switches will be good for now.
As for cost. I am just making them for fun and for the people on this forum because they seem to realy love the Atari..
I am much older than all of you. I am an old F@rt like Ben (no offence Ben). Like Ben I grew up with the old 4 switcher. I am glad to see that younger people are interested in the old Atari. And that they keep it alive.
The carts are for fun and not for a big proffit.
I have a friend that designed the circut and made himself a 256 game PAL cart.
I have been charged with making the NTSC cart. Whith 2 chips instead of one. Hence 512 instead of 256 games.
So to make a long story longer the carts will be made for around $25 to $50 depending on the final cost of making them. I still have to figure out something for the cases and buy some etching solution.
I will make them as cheap as posible. I will also be posting a link to my friends site with directions for making the cart and a link to my site that will have directions for making a pcb etching tank, etching the pcb and programing the eproms.
Because I was going to post directions on making one yourself I will probably only make a few myself. Like the 5 I have planed.
But we will see. Not everyone has access to an eprom eraser and programmer, so I might make a second run for the people that miss-out this time.
Sorry for the long post but I think the FIGHT,FIGHT post still has me beat for the longest post on the forum.
512 game multi-cart
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Re: 512 game multi-cart
lolmindstein wrote:Sorry for the long post but I think the FIGHT,FIGHT post still has me beat for the longest post on the forum.
If you really want to make money off of this, go to AtariAge.com and make a post at their marketplace forum. I can just about guarantee people wil buy them. (I'd say you will get 5 buyers at the very least)
Otherwise, I might get one, but not sure yet. It would make a great add on for the 2600SP+, though
Life of Brian wrote:I'll be honest with you - I would have never guessed that.RYW wrote:RYW:
Rare
Yellow
Weasel
thanks, I don't really need to make money at this. I just want to cover the cost of the carts if I make extras. I am making them specificaly to use with my VCSp. The chips are like $10 to $14 each. So the carts parts will be between 25 to 50 just for parts. And I will be making them for cost.
I am a computer programmer and I get a kick out of playing with the Atari.
So I might just give them away to 3 lucky people. We will see when they are done.
I will also be willing to help anyone make their own. (like I could program the chips for you).
I could sell them with atari age but someone else actualy made the circut and he did it just for fun and he, like me, wants to post how to do it for everyone to use.
I am a computer programmer and I get a kick out of playing with the Atari.
So I might just give them away to 3 lucky people. We will see when they are done.
I will also be willing to help anyone make their own. (like I could program the chips for you).
I could sell them with atari age but someone else actualy made the circut and he did it just for fun and he, like me, wants to post how to do it for everyone to use.
Actualy the bank switching method is what I had in mind.
I just haven't learned how to program for the Atari yet.
I just started looking into it.
It is next on the list after the portable and the multi-cart.
Like you think gannon, I will want to use a bank switching program as the first Rom on the chip and have it select the games. I just havent learned how to do this.
I think that is the easy part. The menu I think will be the challange.
The cool thing is that after I learn to code the Atari I will be able to make multi-carts for games larger than 4K.
How about a multi-cart of all the 8k and 16k games.
If anyone has a head start on coding for the atari and want's to jump into the menu, I would gladly use it.
I will get to that I just have a to finish the portable and the multi-cart (dip select) first.
But you guessed it the menu driven one will be next.
I think with a menu selecting the games THEN it might be worth selling at AtariAge.
I just haven't learned how to program for the Atari yet.
I just started looking into it.
It is next on the list after the portable and the multi-cart.
Like you think gannon, I will want to use a bank switching program as the first Rom on the chip and have it select the games. I just havent learned how to do this.
I think that is the easy part. The menu I think will be the challange.
The cool thing is that after I learn to code the Atari I will be able to make multi-carts for games larger than 4K.
How about a multi-cart of all the 8k and 16k games.
If anyone has a head start on coding for the atari and want's to jump into the menu, I would gladly use it.
I will get to that I just have a to finish the portable and the multi-cart (dip select) first.
But you guessed it the menu driven one will be next.
I think with a menu selecting the games THEN it might be worth selling at AtariAge.
Yeah I agree the "FIGHT" post was the longest one. That insane sponge said "fight" 4500 times (or something like that 
)
Anyway I think that that is pretty expensive but I under stood the cart itself in parts costs that much.
My only question is where would these be shiped from? (the country will be fine) Its just that I live in Canada and $50 turns into $75, and its crazily expensive to ship stuff to Canada.
Oh, and by the way, I did see your message.
)Anyway I think that that is pretty expensive but I under stood the cart itself in parts costs that much.
My only question is where would these be shiped from? (the country will be fine) Its just that I live in Canada and $50 turns into $75, and its crazily expensive to ship stuff to Canada.
Oh, and by the way, I did see your message.
I live in the US,
you don't have to worry about not affording the cart.
After I make it (I will only have a few )
I will also post directions on how to make your own.
(Although after you order the parts it will cost the same or probably more.)
Then factor in the time you will spend making it.
And then you have to have an eprom programmer, a UV eraser and a PCB etching tank.
A 256 game cart at the atari store is 89.00 in the us + shipping to wherever you are. (this is way to expensive so I thought I would make my own)
And Sean Kellys multi-cart when you could get it was $125.
By the way Sean also makes the $89.00 cart for the atari store, and that is why he dosen't sell them himself anymore.
So getting 512 games for 50 + shipping is a steal.
Or make one yourself. It will be more fun and cost the same.
I can help with programming the chips.
But again the chips have to be shipped back and forth.
Sorry but cost + shipping is as cheap as I can make them.
That is why i am not going into bussiness doing this.
I was making one for myself and I thought I would be nice and make a few extra.
you don't have to worry about not affording the cart.
After I make it (I will only have a few )
I will also post directions on how to make your own.
(Although after you order the parts it will cost the same or probably more.)
Then factor in the time you will spend making it.
And then you have to have an eprom programmer, a UV eraser and a PCB etching tank.
A 256 game cart at the atari store is 89.00 in the us + shipping to wherever you are. (this is way to expensive so I thought I would make my own)
And Sean Kellys multi-cart when you could get it was $125.
By the way Sean also makes the $89.00 cart for the atari store, and that is why he dosen't sell them himself anymore.
So getting 512 games for 50 + shipping is a steal.
Or make one yourself. It will be more fun and cost the same.
I can help with programming the chips.
But again the chips have to be shipped back and forth.
Sorry but cost + shipping is as cheap as I can make them.
That is why i am not going into bussiness doing this.
I was making one for myself and I thought I would be nice and make a few extra.
When you explain it like that I realize that your practically losing money. I think I will buy one. Though, in regards to your instructions on making them, mabye you could make a whole bunch of circut boards and sell those. Not all of us have eching tanks you know. I am sereriously considering buying one of these. Tell me when there done! 
That sound good.
I think that it might be possible to make some extra boards,
Although evryone should try and make one.
It's not that hard.
Although I will be posting plans to build your own etch thank.
And your moms old tupperware will work also.
You just need something that the etch sollution will not eat through.
I will post plans on how to build a real one with scrap plexi and an aquarium pump.
Bacicaly to make a board the cheap way is that you print the circut on a laser printer, but instead of using the thermal transfer paper in the laser printer you use a page out of an old time magazine or a certain stock that you can get from kinkos.
The toner will not permanantly stick to this glossy paper.
Then you just iron it on to the copper clad board. Soak in water to remove the paper and leave the toner on the copper clad.
Now drop that in to your etch tank (or old tupper ware) with some etch solution and viola!! YOUR very own home made PCB
When you remove the PCB from the tank the copper is eaten away from everything except where the toner is then you just scrub off the toner with a scrungy (thoughs green scour pads)
That's it now cut to shape, and drill out the wholes.
I think that it might be possible to make some extra boards,
Although evryone should try and make one.
It's not that hard.
Although I will be posting plans to build your own etch thank.
And your moms old tupperware will work also.
You just need something that the etch sollution will not eat through.
I will post plans on how to build a real one with scrap plexi and an aquarium pump.
Bacicaly to make a board the cheap way is that you print the circut on a laser printer, but instead of using the thermal transfer paper in the laser printer you use a page out of an old time magazine or a certain stock that you can get from kinkos.
The toner will not permanantly stick to this glossy paper.
Then you just iron it on to the copper clad board. Soak in water to remove the paper and leave the toner on the copper clad.
Now drop that in to your etch tank (or old tupper ware) with some etch solution and viola!! YOUR very own home made PCB
When you remove the PCB from the tank the copper is eaten away from everything except where the toner is then you just scrub off the toner with a scrungy (thoughs green scour pads)
That's it now cut to shape, and drill out the wholes.
Yeah I knew it was easy, but I still think it would be a good idea to make some boards for people. Not everyone wants to deal with all that. I'd consider making my own exept for the I dont hape a EPROM writer and a UV eraser and stuff. Maybe thats another thing you could sell. Pre written EPROMs... Just another idea.
An old time magazine is cheaper than iron on transfers.
I don't think that you get the process.
the thing is that you need something that doesn't disolve in the etch solution.
Toner from laser printers will not. Ink from inkjets will
So if you have a laser printer you are in luck and you will not spend any money. If you don't go to kinkos and do it. Again almost no cost
In a laser printer toner gets applied to a toner paper and both react to heat that is applied before the paper leaves the printer, so when that happens the toner on the paper is permament.
If you just replace the paper with a time magazine page or some cheap glossy stock from kinkos the toner will not stick permanantly.
It will alow you to iron it onto a piece of copper.
Toner likes to stick better to the copper than the glossy paper.
I don't think that you get the process.
the thing is that you need something that doesn't disolve in the etch solution.
Toner from laser printers will not. Ink from inkjets will
So if you have a laser printer you are in luck and you will not spend any money. If you don't go to kinkos and do it. Again almost no cost
In a laser printer toner gets applied to a toner paper and both react to heat that is applied before the paper leaves the printer, so when that happens the toner on the paper is permament.
If you just replace the paper with a time magazine page or some cheap glossy stock from kinkos the toner will not stick permanantly.
It will alow you to iron it onto a piece of copper.
Toner likes to stick better to the copper than the glossy paper.
I'm sorry to possibly halt the production of this, but it's already been done for much less of a cost. This one has 512 games, or less.
Here's one, rotery switch driven.
Here's one, rotery switch driven.