Pitfall III proto found (?)
Brian Hammack
Before I start, I have to point out that I'm a reputable member of RGVC
and not some kid looking to scam or mislead. This post is not a joke.
Today's thrifting jaunt nearly made me pee my pants. On the shelf there
was a cartridge, Activision case but no label except for this sticky
paper (more like wallpaper) with the following typing on it:
Ptifall III - Harriet's Quest
(c) Activision/Absolute Ent Co.
INTERNAL USE ONLY
Yes, the typo is theirs. I picked it up and the thing rattled! Loose
chip, I thought. So I brought it home and opened it up -- one end of
the label was peeling off and wouldja believe the bottom below the word
"ONLY" had Actiplaque?! -- and there was a 1993 penny inside, with some
sort of clear plastic stuff across half of it, and the other half is
still on the lower half of the case (the case has AG-920-22L PMT-4 on
the lower half and AG-920-OIE PTM-4 3A on the upper). I unscrewed one
screw by pulling back the label and, sigh, unscrewed the other through
the label. Like that's gonna devalue a proto any?
I plugged the cart into my 2600 and... nothing. Blank screen. Took a
look at the PCB, which is this small thing with a sheilded chip --
looks like the one found in Adventure -- "20" had been stamped on the
sheild, and the previous owner had (likely) run a key across the traces
on the underside of the board above the solder joints a couple times,
severing two. I did a little soldering of wires to go from chip-joint
to proper "holes" to see if that would remedy the situation. The
imprint on the PCB directly beneath the chip between joints is:
(c) 1980 Activision
AG-910-02A
I checked the VGR, and no AG's by either Activision or Absolute go that
high, hmm. (c) 1980 if this is supposed to be Pit3?? Thought it odd
also that the chip was "ready" and not an obvious EPROM, but what do I
know about this? Anyhow, I did the patching and still nothing --
colorful lines, blank screens, howls, the usual Atari-not-liking-
the-software reactions when I flipped the power switch. <whimper>
So does anyone have any info on Activision/Absolute's methods of passing
protos? The detail given above seems more involved than a mere hoaxter
would contrive (I can picture someone making a "lab label" but putting
Activision AND ABSOLUTE's name on it?). Does anyone have a way of
testing chips without the PCB, or seeing if a chip has anything good
left in it if plugging the PCB into the 2600 as usual doesn't work?
Since it is dead [if it weren't I'd be sending a videotape of play to
Tim Duarte and shouting instead of asking questions], I'm not going to
try to sell it. The cart is free to anyone with the wherewithal to work
with this ROM further (and I know who qualifies), plus a dollar postage.
I paid 99c plus 8c tax on the cart so this is a bargain for a dead cart
shipped to your door. :) Email me if you're interested and have the
tools to research the cart more fully. Imagine the accolades if this
DOES prove to be the real thing and can be salvaged to any degree.
<< mushroom >>
* 2qwk! 2.03 * "I love and hate." -- Catallus
-- --
yet another annoying post by brian....@rook.wa.com -- deal with it.
Jay Tilton
brian....@rook.wa.com (Brian Hammack) wrote:
>I plugged the cart into my 2600 and... nothing. Blank screen. Took a
>look at the PCB, which is this small thing with a sheilded chip --
>looks like the one found in Adventure -- "20" had been stamped on the
>sheild,
The number printed on the shielding indicates what the game really
was. Activision catalog # AX-020...River Raid. Pulling the shield
off and seeing what's printed on the chip itself would help unravel
the mystery.
>The
>imprint on the PCB directly beneath the chip between joints is:
> (c) 1980 Activision
> AG-910-02A
That's the part number of the PCB...nothing at all to do with the chip
or game. Many many standard 4K Activision carts used this same PCB.
>The detail given above seems more involved than a mere hoaxter
>would contrive (I can picture someone making a "lab label" but putting
>Activision AND ABSOLUTE's name on it?).
On the contrary, this seems to be just enough detail to be a
hoax--wreck the PCB so the cart's contents can't be verified then put
a new label on.
>Does anyone have a way of
>testing chips without the PCB, or seeing if a chip has anything good
>left in it if plugging the PCB into the 2600 as usual doesn't work?
Yup. Mount the chip on another PCB designed to accept 4K ROMs.
--
Jay Tilton | til...@erols.com
Edward A. Brunner
Brian Hammack (brian....@rook.wa.com) wrote:
an absolutely unrelated followup...
: * 2qwk! 2.03 * "I love and hate." -- Catallus
^^^^^^^^
This Latin poet's name is spelled 'Catullus' not Catallus. Nothing like a
misspelled author to get a classicist rankled...
Ted B
: -- --
Andrew Krieg
In article <1295211751-...@rook.wa.com>,
Brian Hammack <brian....@rook.wa.com> wrote:
> Ptifall III - Harriet's Quest
> (c) Activision/Absolute Ent Co.
>to proper "holes" to see if that would remedy the situation. The
>imprint on the PCB directly beneath the chip between joints is:
>
> (c) 1980 Activision
> AG-910-02A
Didn't Pitfall II come out in 1984? That makes this date seem very
questionable.
Also, I don't think Absolute came into being until much later in the 80's
(87?, 88?).
Did you try running the cart on a 7800?
--
=__ __ __ _ __ _= Andrew Krieg - Software Engineering Consultant =
=_ __ _ __ _ _ __= E-mail: kr...@execpc.com =
=_ _ _ ___= WWW: http://www.execpc.com/~krieg =
=_ __ _ __ _ __ _= Treguna Mekoides Trecorum Satis Dee - Astoroth =
Chris Pepin
On Tue, 22 Apr 1997, Brian Hammack wrote:
> "ONLY" had Actiplaque?! -- and there was a 1993 penny inside, with some
> sort of clear plastic stuff across half of it, and the other half is
> still on the lower half of the case (the case has AG-920-22L PMT-4 on
It sounds like whoever made the cart hotglued a penny inside to hold the
board in place. I would say it's a fake, but you never know...
Chris Pepin
cpe...@grfn.org
************************************************************
Atari 2600 Fun Facts & Info Guide / Maniac Mansion (NES) FAQ
Tom Swift Books / http://www.grfn.org/~cpepin1/index.html
************************************************************
arton
hm..... maybe i'll make a bunch of fake protos and leave them around
thrifts and see how many turn up :)
zimot brand proto carts.. it'd be interesting, anyhow.. to toss them in
thrift bins.. and see if ppl find them.. could be a fun game...
could make them outlandish named games like this pitfall III.. pieces of
paper inside saying it's one of the zimot "protos"....
arton
--
i think i am going to bite holes in the wall.
please visit my web page: the most thrilling place on the web.
http://www.servtech.com/public/arton <-- zimot industries
topics include jack webb, pong, zimot carts,
scanned manual and cart page, art, monster crime and more.
Jay Tilton
Chris Pepin <cpe...@grfn.org> wrote:
>It sounds like whoever made the cart hotglued a penny inside to hold the
>board in place.
I overlooked the penny before. Could have been glued inside to add a
small bit of extra mass to simulate the weight of an EPROM cart.
--
Jay Tilton | til...@erols.com
Ash
In article <5jqpnu$j...@winter.erols.com>, til...@erols.com says...
If this was put together to fool people, the question is, who would go to
so much trouble? And was this a recent fake or one done 10 years ago?
Whoever did it seemed to know a thing or two about EEPROMs and prototypes
(typed lable, extra weight, etc). Weird and wild stuff...
--
>>>>Ash<<<<
y...@usa.net
Q*Bert!! http://www.geocities.com/timessquare/7881/
Jay Tilton
u...@geocities.com (Ash) wrote:
>If this was put together to fool people, the question is, who would go to
>so much trouble? And was this a recent fake or one done 10 years ago?
>Whoever did it seemed to know a thing or two about EEPROMs and prototypes
>(typed lable, extra weight, etc). Weird and wild stuff...
Dunno. Maybe we should ask around Brian's neighborhood. :)
--
Jay Tilton | til...@erols.com
Matt Pritchard
arton (ar...@servtech.com) wrote:
: zimot brand proto carts.. it'd be interesting, anyhow.. to toss them in
: thrift bins.. and see if ppl find them.. could be a fun game...
Sounds like the "SwordQuest Waterworld" labels I had printed up, then
glued to Combat's and then dropped around the 1st Saturday sale.. err..
methinks I talk too much...
;-)
--
-Matt P
_______________________________________________________________________________
Matt Pritchard | Antique Computer & Game System Collector
matt...@netcom.com | Assembly Language Programming Guru
via Dallas, Tx dialup | Article Writer/Game Programmer/Developer
arton
Ash wrote:
>
> In article <5jqpnu$j...@winter.erols.com>, til...@erols.com says...
> >
> > Chris Pepin <cpe...@grfn.org> wrote:
> >
> > >It sounds like whoever made the cart hotglued a penny inside to hold the
> > >board in place.
> >
> > I overlooked the penny before. Could have been glued inside to add a
> > small bit of extra mass to simulate the weight of an EPROM cart.
> > --
> > Jay Tilton | til...@erols.com
> >
> >
>
> so much trouble? And was this a recent fake or one done 10 years ago?
> Whoever did it seemed to know a thing or two about EEPROMs and prototypes
> (typed lable, extra weight, etc). Weird and wild stuff...
>
i would go through the trouble.. but if i did it there'd be a weird
message inside.
Nick S Bensema
In article <33603...@servtech.com>, arton <ar...@servtech.com> wrote:
>hm..... maybe i'll make a bunch of fake protos and leave them around
>thrifts and see how many turn up :)
>
>thrift bins.. and see if ppl find them.. could be a fun game...
>
>paper inside saying it's one of the zimot "protos"....
Make sure to release the Zimot proto of 7800 Super Mario Bros.
And Legend of Zelda.
--
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