Nathaniel Lockhart

Certainly - just gotta make a couple small tweaks.

They must've seen how many downloads the unofficial restorations were garnering

The back of a ColecoVision with its top off (scandalous) centered on the RF input is. There's a 3D printed add-on on the underside providing RCA jacks for video and audio.

Made a lil box so I won't have to drill holes when I mod ColecoVisions!

You can't see me in this photo but I'm way up in the balcony playing Baby Pac-Man

Nobody tell that to Tandy

Hope you enjoy your migraines! You're welcome!

Ta-da! Shoulder buttons! These act as the two other action buttons from the ColecoVision Super Action controller.

Did you know that your donations today are DOUBLED?

That means if we raise another $424, it'll magically become $848, which will put us HALFWAY TO OUR GOAL on day one!

I've been working on and off on an alternative Intellivision controller. My two "musts" are that it needs to have all 16 directions (instead of the typical 8) and it needs to fit the original keypad overlays.

Not hard at all - accommodating it in the smaller footprint I'm trying to fit it in would be tough though 😅

Here's a go at a 3D printed ColecoVision controller... thinking about turning the other two Super Action buttons into shoulder buttons.

Hmmmm.... Julie Winters is a pretty cool tattoo idea, but I would worry about how often I'd have to explain it to people who didn't know who she was. Totoro is my choice.

Oh yes, very good point! Dump them graphics ROMs, people!

Luckily, most of these games are comprised entirely of what were (and mostly still are) off-the-shelf parts. As long as the schematics are available, there's hope for the future for these games. If anyone reading this is into electronics, I highly encourage exploring this era!

42 years later and I think maybe a dozen or so 70s TTL games are playable via mame or fpga platforms. The process is tricky and needs very specialized skills and specific information… but frankly I don’t know how many more decades these surviving machines still have in them.

These Atari Parties are always so much fun. Thanks so much @rectapete.bsky.social for doing all the hard work of making it happen!

An Atari neon light sign on top of stands holding multiple Atari systems and computers.

A hungry Pacman on top of a TV

My buddy Paaperclips playing Atari 2600

Atari Party 2025!

Atari Party 2025 was amazing. It was great catching up with @nathaniellockhart.bsky.social and @atarispot.bsky.social. I got to meet up with @atariarchive.org for the first time too!

An absolutely gigantic thank you to @rectapete.bsky.social and @billlange.bsky.social for organizing the event.

Well, I never!

Actually yes, this project started out as me trying to find a way to optimize the design of NES controllers to be kinder with 3D printing.

And yeah, I know the paddle knob really sticks out awkwardly, but all I had on hand were l knobs pulled from old radios 😅

My prototype 2600/C64 controller. Its shaped like an oversized NES controller, with familiar features like a D-pad, start/select, and A+B buttons. There's also a paddle knob to the upper left of the d-pad. I used an old radio knob since it's all I had on hand.

There are two small slide switches on the top side of the controller. They toggle the functionality of the B button (whether it's joystick fire or paddle trigger) and the other one toggles which paddle is being operated (X or Y)

Ta da! I made a lil 2600 controller that has a paddle knob built in! The switches determine what paddle is being used and whether or not the B button acts as a joystick fire or a paddle trigger. Start/select toggle whether A is up (handy for C64 games) or joystick fire.

My DMs should be open, and you can also email me at Nathaniel@lockhartelectronics.com! I'd be happy to take on the mod.

Oh hell yeah, that thing is a work of art

I suppose I could - I also do these mods as part of my small business I recently started. But because I'm starting a small business and I have two young kids, it isn't guaranteed I'll get around to writing a proper tutorial anytime soon 😅

It anchors to the console through the hole for the TV/GAME switch, and the cable for the mod board runs through the hole for the channel switch. (I also used double sided tape to secure it further) Those switches do need to be removed, but what it means is that the mod is completely reversible.

This helps to rectify an annoying problem with modding a Famicom for composite video, being that there's so little empty space to use. What I did was run the video amp circuit outside of the Famicom and house it in this compact enclosure along with the RCA plugs.

A 3D printed dongle that sits snuggly onto the back of a Famicom, fitting in with a nub that's inserted into the TV/GAME switch opening. Jacks for video and audio are provided on the dongle, instead of having holes drilled in the case.

Didn't wanna drill holes in a Famicom, so I designed and 3D printed this lil guy here. Turned out pretty well!

RF Shielding History: When The FCC Cracked Down On Computers The FCC took a hard line on the radio frequency interference that computers created—creating huge headaches for early PC-makers. Why? Blame the CB radio fad.

It’s exciting when someone publishes long-form on a subject you’ve been researching for years.

Here’s a thread commenting on this article in more detail.

If you do the retro computer, read the article & then come back here.

Apologies and respect in advance to @ernie.tedium.co

🧵👇

Question for you Intellivision heads out there - can you think of any Intellivision games where it's required to press two keypad buttons at the same time? Or if it's even possible for the console to recognize that via hardware?

This feels like owning a gun with openings at both ends