Prototypes and others...
Terutt
over the last three years:
KLUGE cart: No labels, has a “Doc’s TV Clinic” sticker on it, and a
handwritten label that says “KLUGE” (which is engineering jargon for
makeshift, I am told). No chips on the board, just the circuit board and
a few transistors. Doesn’t do anything, as far as I can tell. Found at
thrift
Buck Rogers Sale Sample: Has a white label that says “ Sample only: Return
to Txxxx FXXXXX (hiding identity) Sega Consumer Prodcuts, 555 Melrose
Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038” EPROM inside. Found at Flea.
Ghostbusters Prototype: In Activision case, no label except hand-typed
label that says “Ghostbusters ZA-108, For use with Atari 2600 (c) 1984,
1985 Activision Inc.” Eprom inside. Found at Flea.
Super Breakout, Othello, Soccer, Warlords Prototypes: All have a generice
front label that says “game program” on top and “Atari” on the bottom.
Hand typed label on each, with Warlords giving a 12-8-80 date also. Eprom
inside. All found together at thrift.
Tapper: Found with the Buck Rogers cart. Has a red paper lable on it, and
a hand-typed white label that says “Tapper, Atari 2600-Stk #010-01, Sega
Consumer Products” . Not in a Sega housing, looks almost like a Zimag
housing, but no exposed screw-holes. Eprom.
Earthworld Prototype: Has “Loaner Cartridge, Title, Return to JXX BXXXXX
(hiding identity) Consumer Division, Software Department” label with a
“Swordquest I Earthworld” hand-typed label. Eprom. Found at yard-sale.
Xonox Prototype: Chuck Norris/Artillary Duel: Artillary Duel missing,
but no screw holds. Eprom inside. Different artwork on label (like that
found on the back of Coleco versions). Casing makes reference to K-Tel.
Found at Flea.
Towering Inferno: All others I’ve seen have the junky black and purple
label. This does too, but cut and pasted over the top is a color label
(like later US Games releases) with a picture of a fireman fighting a
fire. Anybody else ever seen it?
Air-Raid: By Men-a-Vision. Previously unknown title and company. This
is not a proto but extremely rare. Original effort (not a knock-off).
Baby-blue T-handle casing. Anyone else have one? Why it lists for only
$20 in DPPG is beyond me.
Terry Rutt (Ter...@AOL.COM)
Jerry Jessop
>
>With all of the talks of prototypes/weird stuff, here is what I’ve
found
>over the last three years:
>
>KLUGE cart: No labels, has a “Doc’s TV Clinic” sticker on it, and a
>handwritten label that says “KLUGE” (which is engineering jargon for
>makeshift, I am told). No chips on the board, just the circuit board
and
>a few transistors. Doesn’t do anything, as far as I can tell. Found
at
>thrift
>
<----------------------- Stuff Deleted --------------------------->
What you found was commonly referred to as the "super kludge cart". It
was developed in Atari test engineering in late 1977 and is a blank
cart with about 8 resistors on it.
The EXPERIENCED technician with a scope would use this cart to check
the continuity of the address and data lines of the
2600.......especially up into the cartridge itself, hence you will
never find one in the plastic case. The resistors were wired to
instruct the 6507 into a "NO OP" condition as it ran through each
address. This cartridge was almost never used beyond the Atari
manufacturing rework dept.
Jerry