| REVIVAL OF A ORIGINAL SUNNYVALE An Impulse Buy Leads to Revisiting my Original DIgital Restoration |
One of the Atari things I've missed for so long, is my original Sunnyvale Heavy Sixer. I bought one at a thrift shop in like new condition for $25 in 1998, and back then I considered THAT expensive. One thing that keeps me going for the 2600, is it's CHEAP(er) than the other systems typically are. But heavy Sixers are stupid expensive in tested condition...so of course, once again, my thriftiness through my own skillset pays back in dividends.
The HEavy Sixer, if you read my Hardware Page is the original release of the Atari 2600 VCS from 1977 - model# CX-2600. They're big, they're heavy, built like a tank, and made in the U.S.A., in Sunnyvale California. They also are bloody easy to fix, even compared to the Light Sixer. So this page will be sort of a "project page" like that of my others where I go into what I do to repair a vintage Atari VCS from start to finish. HOwever, this might be easier than the good-ole-days of me swapping components because I have some serious tech skills these days, and a cache of basic electronic components. I also might be buying from "Best Electronics" at some point during this venture. WHy I like the HEavy Sixer so Much FIrst off, I like all the vintage Atari variations. Each one has it's own unique plusses and minuses. But to me, the Heavy Sixer was always a favorite because of it's Logan's Run-esque late seventies aesthetics. It just feels like the right unit to put on some Boston or The Cars and blast some Space Invaders with. And, as I'm getting older, I'm trying to find and keep my "forever" units - 2 each, for each console I really like. The sixers are my personal favorites though because I do mess with the switches - a lot. I'm the same with my Atari systems as I am my guitars. I've been known to switch difficulties mid-way through (usually long rounds of Asteroids or trying to orchestrate Chaos in Adventure), and it's just easier to do that when the difficulty switches are in front. The 4-switches moved them in back and they are not as obvious to flick mid-game, while the Juniors were the same deal. I also just like my stuff built like a brick outhouse. Everything inside the old Heavy Sixers is HEAVY. The bottom chassis, thick metal sheilding around the motherboard, the control board has a giant voltage regulator with a heatsink the size of a 486 CPU, "Peanut Brittle" capacitors all over the board, socketed chips (the later "Vader" models were not socketed making them a PAIN to troubleshoot or replace), the RF Switch cabling has rubber that seems not to get brittle on most examples I've seen, and the back side of the console looks cool with all the ridges, molding, and fine details. But most of all, it was the FIRST. The Heavy Sixer came out in late 1977 with the initial run of 9 games, and lasted into 1978 as Atari made it's move to DImerco Electronics in Hong Kong for the "Light Sixer" consoles. That's why they are called "Sunnyvales", they were built in sunnyvale California. |
