Retro Gaming Archives

Nintendo NES AC adapter replacement

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming August 31, 2017January 22, 2025atari, NES, nintendo, nintendo nes

If you misplaced the AC adapter/power supply that came with your Nintendo NES, or it broke, you may need a replacement Nintendo NES AC adapter. Fortunately, you have a number of options.

Most devices are super picky about electricity. Don’t use random AC adapters as a general practice. What I’m about to say applies to the original Nintendo NES console, and the original NES only. I have general advice on replacing AC adapters that applies to other devices.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Coleco Gemini: An Atari 2600 clone from 1983

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming July 31, 2017June 20, 20251980s, atari, atari 2600, CES, Jay Miner, NES, sears, video game

I spotted it on page 597 of the 1983 Sears Christmas catalog. “Two big names play the same games,” the headline boasted. Next to the venerable Atari 2600, Sears presented the Coleco Gemini video game system, an Atari 2600 clone.

In 1982, Coleco built an add-on to make its Coleco Vision game system Atari 2600-compatible. Atari sued. Coleco poked the bear by making the Gemini, an outright clone. Sears had sold Atari 2600 clones before, but they were actually real Atari 2600s with a different label on them, supplied by Atari itself. The Gemini was more of a true Atari 2600 clone.

Dave Farquhar

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Atari 2600 power supply specs

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming May 30, 2017January 19, 2025amperage, amps, atari, atari 2600, voltage regulator

The Atari 2600 power supply wasn’t as durable as the rest of the Atari 2600, which is nearly bulletproof. By far the most common issue with the Atari 2600 is a dead AC adapter. Fortunately, a suitable Atari 2600 AC adapter isn’t hard to find, even today.

After you replace it with something new, or at least newer, a dead Atari console usually springs right back to life. And if you’re wondering, the same problems apply to Atari 2600 clones like the private-label Sears Video Arcade and the Coleco Gemini and they can also use the same replacement power supplies.

Dave Farquhar

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The Atari 2600 CPU: The MOS 6507

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming May 29, 2017January 19, 20251980s, 6502, amiga, apple, apple ii, atari, atari 2600, Chuck Peddle, commodore, commodore 64, intel, jack tramiel, macintosh, MOS, motorola, NES, nintendo, nintendo nes, radio shack

The Atari 2600 CPU was a nondescript MOS 6507 chip. Neither Intel nor Motorola had a CPU chip in the early 1970s that could meet Atari’s price point. MOS Technology didn’t have one either, but they asked Atari what they could afford. Then they made one.

The 6507 is so nondescript, some of them don’t even have the number “6507” anywhere on them.

Dave Farquhar

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How thousands of Atari cartridges ended up in the desert

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming April 28, 2014January 19, 20251980s, 1990s, apple, atari, atari 2600, commodore, jack tramiel, New Mexico, nintendo, Tandy, VCR, video game

The famous story of Atari burying millions of dollars of unsold videogame cartridges, including the infamous E.T. cartridge, is no longer just a legend–it’s been confirmed.

How they got there was mostly a misunderstanding of the nascent business. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Are video games a good investment?

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming June 3, 2013January 20, 20251950s, 1980s, 1990s, american flyer, atari, Baby Boomers, baseball cards, collectibles, lionel, nintendo, old trains, pi, playstation, raspberry, Raspberry Pi, real estate, video game, vintage trains

An article on Slashdot asked this weekend whether video games were a good investment. So are video games a good investment? Will they appreciate over time?

The answer is generally no. Collectibles in general are not–they follow a boom and bust cycle. I’ve seen it happen in my own lifetime.

Dave Farquhar

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Putting right E.T. for the Atari 2600

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming April 6, 2013January 19, 2025atari, atari 2600, Star Wars, video game

Hacking vintage video games has been a popular trend this year, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before I saw this: A hobbyist spent a few weeks this year fixing the infamous E.T. cartridge for the Atari 2600, and kept a detailed analysis of the project. I found it interesting.

Dave Farquhar

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Happy 35th birthday, Atari 2600

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming October 15, 2012June 20, 20251980s, 1990s, amiga, atari, atari 2600, Big Lots, compaq, Jay Miner, nintendo, VCR, video game

The venerable Atari 2600 turned 35 this past weekend. People of a certain age remember it as the device that ushered in home video games. I know I spent a lot of afternoons after school playing blocky, chirpy video games on them in the early 1980s.

The 2600 wasn’t the first cartridge-based console, but it was the first widely successful one. It even spawned clones, the private-label Sears Video Arcade and the Coleco Gemini.

Dave Farquhar

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Atari vs Nintendo

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming October 28, 2005January 19, 2025atari, atari 2600, NES, nintendo, RCA, video game

Every time a major anniversary for either system comes along, discussion of how the NES saved the videogame industry after the disastrous Atari 2600 comes with it. Your opinion of Atari vs Nintendo probably depends on your age.

I have to admit I scratch my head as I read this stuff. Did the people who write it live through both of them? By what measure was the 2600 a disaster? I can’t help but speak out in defense of Atari a bit.

Dave Farquhar

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