Atari System 1 (Class 101)

[dustinzoom]

I know the titles on Atari System 1. However, Marble Madness is the only game I have played. I do have a Road Blasters project in storage that I received in a package deal, however, have not done anything with it yet.

That being said, the System 1 multicart and control panel has sparked a little bit of an interest in me. Although, I still am not interested enough to put the work in on my own and try to figure out what all I would need in joysticks, trackballs, and CP harnesses, and control panels, to be able to play all the games.

Are there any Atari System 1 fans out there that would be willing to school me and others on this?

I would like to know what was originally installed on the control panels and how often do they come available and then what the cost would be. I think my line in the "cost" sand is here but I know my line is different from others.

Then depending on the above information, I would want to know what the minimum one would need to spend on trackballs and joysticks. Can I buy a couple of new Wico style trackballs and an alternative joystick that will work with the games?

Again, are there any Atari System 1 people out there willing to give some information on this? I think for me and maybe others with a little information we might jump into the deep end of the System 1 pool.

Thanks in advance!

 

[andrewb]

The details for all of the CP's are in the owner's manuals for the different games. See the 'illustrated parts' sections.

Some of them are generic (all trackballs and buttons are basically the same.) Things like the Roadblasters yoke and Hall Effect stick are obviously not.

There's also this thread, with a multi panel:

Interest Check - Atari System 1 Multi Panel

Ive been working on a panel design with NEMike. Below is a mock up of what the panel will look like. I am thinking of adding studs for the joystick in the middle. Everything has been test fit, even with the larger trackball cases. We are working on an overlay design now. Post up if you are...

forums.arcade-museum.com

In general, multi panels that do everything usually aren't ideal, in my experience. That's because there are always tradeoffs. If you really want the best experience, separate panels for each game is a better way to go, as they're easy to swap.

 

[smonroe]

In regards to swapping out panels, one has to be aware that the harness connections to the main board vary from game to game. To make it easier, I contacted a guy on Etsy who makes custom harnesses. He designed a quick release harness that works from the board to the Molex, and two harnesses to connect both my RB CP and RR CP to the quick release. I am running the Multicart and it works very well.

 

[CameronMcC]

I have a Roadblasters in my game room. Been one of my favorites since i was a kid. Part racing game, part shooter. Outside of that I like Road Runner a lot, and play it at our local arcade. Marble Madness is unique for sure. Indiana Jones i don't care too much about outside of the movie tie in. I never thought it was a great game.

 

[Schusler]

I have a Roadblasters in my game room. Been one of my favorites since i was a kid. Part racing game, part shooter. Outside of that I like Road Runner a lot, and play it at our local arcade. Marble Madness is unique for sure. Indiana Jones i don't care too much about outside of the movie tie in. I never thought it was a great game.

Personally, out of all of them, I believe Indiana Jones has the steepest learning curve. I used to snub that game at our local Aladdin's Castle bitd because of the difficulty, that was on the "easy" path. Once my local hole in the wall arcade acquired one - I really got into it and it instantly became one of my favorites for the System 1. Now, Peter Pack Rat is still my clunker for that system. Tried and tried and tried to get into and just can't...

 

[aztecf]

The multi-cart is nice but like Andrew said it is a trade off.

In reality I think 3 Control Panels are needed, original Roadblaster, original Marble Madness and a multi-cart Control Panel the utilizes a Hall Effect joystick and 2 buttons.

FS Parts: - Atari System 1 Multi-Cart Control Panel plug & play

Atari System 1 Multi-Cart Control Panel plug & play, New multi-cart CPO, Joystick 100%. $795 This is for the Atari System 1 Multi-Cart, would also work with dedicated Road Runner Cart.

forums.arcade-museum.com

This combination would allow the maximum enjoyment of the 5 Atari System 1 games.