Volume knobs on early Atari machines

Got one on my Firefox cab. Seems like a good idea for home use, but arcade use? Just seems like useful practice for titty-twisters.
 
Got one on my Firefox cab. Seems like a good idea for home use, but arcade use? Just seems like useful practice for titty-twisters.

I'm talking about the ultra-skinny, small round metal stick-knob dealies that are damn near impossible to turn. Is that's what's on the Firefox cab, too?

My Dig Dug, Warlords, and Missile Command all have them. Forget about "getting a grip" - it's impossible.
 
I'm talking about the ultra-skinny, small round metal stick-knob dealies that are damn near impossible to turn. Is that's what's on the Firefox cab, too?

My Dig Dug, Warlords, and Missile Command all have them. Forget about "getting a grip" - it's impossible.

There was one on the Asteroids Cabaret I traded recently. It was in the coin door... and yeah, hard to turn for sure. I figured it was seized or something, but since the volume was okay, I never bothered to figure it out.
 
...

So did they exist? My centipede and Missile command both don't have knobs, but I believe the manuals state there is supposed to be one?
 
is this what you are looking/talking for and about?

this is what was in my centipede... the volume control was bad so i had to replace it with another one but the new one's shaft was to big for the knob to fit. so i have this one "left over".. when i worked for radio shack they used to stock these things in different sizes..don't know about any more but at one time they did

SSPX0774.jpg
 
I don't think I've ever seen a volume knob on an Atari machine. They just have the pot with no knob, but you could always add your own knob.
 
I don't have a picture of it but my Dig Dug had one. It was mounted on the service panel along with the test switch, credit switch and coin counter. The knob was there and everything. Never had any issuses with it.
 
The only Atari I ever had with a knob was a Gravitar. All the rest had a naked pot. I've since picked up a few coin counter panels that included the volume pot on them and a couple have had the same kind of black plastic knob on them as my Gravitar did. I'm not sure if the games originally had knobs or not. It would seem from my experience, that they started adding knobs only later as if ops had complained about it.
 
I'm talking about the ultra-skinny, small round metal stick-knob dealies that are damn near impossible to turn. Is that's what's on the Firefox cab, too?

My Dig Dug, Warlords, and Missile Command all have them. Forget about "getting a grip" - it's impossible.
My Tempest has one and yeah it was a pain to adjust, but I haven't touched it since.
 
He probably means these, I have them on one of my monitors too...they suck, they're smooth and thin and meant for little circus midget strongman hands or something.

I would imagine they were actually intended to have a dial put on over them, but in our cases they were just cheap use.

The biggest problem with turning them now is most likely surface rust inside.

600_Potentiometer-Single-Turn-Knob-Dial.jpg
 
Last edited:
No, the shaft is metal and much skinnier. They're meant to have a knob, but the Atari games I've seen don't ever seem to have them. Maybe they added them later though.
 
No, the shaft is metal and much skinnier.

Yup.

Interesting responses in this thread re: machines which have and don't have them. I'll definitely have to take pictures and post them here.

BTW, the "surface rust" explanation makes sense...
 
Atari did not use a "pot" for the volume control. It is a 50 ohm (some games had a 100 ohm), 12 watt rheostat with an eighth inch diameter shaft. It's made by Ohmite.

You can find knobs to fit them. All the Pole Position games I've seen had knobs on these rheostats.
 
Last edited:
Interesting. For the record my Atari Football (2 player) has the volume pot just under the test switch at coin door. As described little metal rod; not sure if there is room in there for a knob. I must be lucky though. Mine turns pretty freely the few times I had to adjust it for the crowd noise.
 
Atari did not use a "pot" for the volume control. It is a 50 ohm (some games had a 100 ohm), 12 watt rheostat with an eighth inch diameter shaft. it's made by Ohmite.

You can find knobs to fit them. All the Pole Position games I've seen had knobs on these rheostats.

I would have expected better from you, a Rheostat is a type of Pot. Any pot can be a Rheostat, you just don't connect the 3rd terminal.

Wake up on the "Not so awesome info guy" side of the bed this morning? :D
 
I'm talking about the ultra-skinny, small round metal stick-knob dealies that are damn near impossible to turn. Is that's what's on the Firefox cab, too?

My Dig Dug, Warlords, and Missile Command all have them. Forget about "getting a grip" - it's impossible.
Use a pair of pliers, problem solved!
shirt_guinness_brilliant.jpg
:D
 
Back
Top Bottom