29 Jun
1997
29 Jun
'97
7:02 a.m.
Also have these:
the Encryptor, Jones Futura Corporation, Model ENC 100-1
California Computer Systems, Model 2832 [has this big, black 3"x3" square
and 3/8" thick block of resin on it, have no idea what it's hiding]
Any idea what this stuff is?
Sam
I was reading in the Atari Game Systems FAQ that the 7800 carts are
encrypted with a special encryption and only those encrypted games get
access to the 7800's advanced video resources (otherwise it just gets
2600 resources)... This was a measure by Atari to make sure to get a
share of the profits from 3rd party game developers. There could be a
slight possibility this is an encryption unit for the 7800 game
system...
Currently no one knows (or is saying they know) how to encrypt 7800
carts.
Larry Anderson
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29 Jun
29 Jun
9:23 a.m.
Currently no one knows (or is saying they know) how to
encrypt 7800
carts.
Actually, I seem to recall that a guy in rec.games.video.classic has
figured it out, but there hasn't been any practical application of it
yet. But I haven't read r.g.v.c in a LONG time, so things may have
changed...
I wish I could remember his name... he was one of the big cheese techie
types in the newsgroup that was always hacking up weird stuff, so I don't
doubt that he did it.
11:06 a.m.
On Sun, 29 Jun 1997, Larry Anderson & Diane Hare wrote:
> the Encryptor, Jones Futura Corporation, Model
ENC 100-1
> California Computer Systems, Model 2832 [has this
big, black 3"x3" square
> and 3/8" thick block of resin on it, have no idea what it's hiding]
NOTE: The description above is of two, separate cards.
I was reading in the Atari Game Systems FAQ that the
7800 carts are
encrypted with a special encryption and only those encrypted games get
access to the 7800's advanced video resources (otherwise it just gets
2600 resources)... This was a measure by Atari to make sure to get a
share of the profits from 3rd party game developers. There could be a
slight possibility this is an encryption unit for the 7800 game
system...
Hmmm. Interesting hypothesis. However, these boards are circa 1983,
while the 7800 is circa 1986 or something.
I'll go repost a request for info on the atari newsgroups.
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
30 Jun
30 Jun
10:03 a.m.
At 11:06 PM 6/29/97 +0000, you wrote:
Hmmm. Interesting hypothesis. However, these boards
are circa 1983,
while the 7800 is circa 1986 or something.
The 7800 was completed and commercially ready in '84, but shelved by Atari
(Tramiel) because of the apparent end to the videogame console industry
that year, and their focus became home computers. But then in '86 when
Nintendo started raking in millions showing that videogame consoles were
more than a passing fad, they finally released the 7800 system.
The 7800 was originally going to be upgradable to a 20K computer with a
$100 keyboard/computer cartridge planned for late '84. Early model 7800s
even sport the expansion port that was to be used to attach peripherals
such as modems and printers. None of this was ever released.
James
jscarter(a)worldnet.att.net
11:24 a.m.
On Mon, 30 Jun 1997, James Carter wrote:
At 11:06 PM 6/29/97 +0000, you wrote:
Good info. I posted on comp.sys.atari8 but nobody has responded yet. I
did find out that I have another one of the Encryptor boards, so that
makes two. This one has label that says "Futurex".
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
Hmmm. Interesting hypothesis. However, these
boards are circa 1983,
while the 7800 is circa 1986 or something.
The 7800 was completed and commercially ready in '84, but shelved by Atari
(Tramiel) because of the apparent end to the videogame console industry
that year, and their focus became home computers. But then in '86 when
Nintendo started raking in millions showing that videogame consoles were
more than a passing fad, they finally released the 7800 system.
The 7800 was originally going to be upgradable to a 20K computer with a
$100 keyboard/computer cartridge planned for late '84. Early model 7800s
even sport the expansion port that was to be used to attach peripherals
such as modems and printers. None of this was ever released.
29 Jun
29 Jun
11:14 a.m.
On Sun, 29 Jun 1997, Larry Anderson & Diane Hare wrote:
Also, I would think Atari would make their own encryption hardware rather
than using a (somewhat) commonly available encryption board. Who knows,
I guess I'll just have to crack this interesting mystery.
BTW I uncovered another Trace Memory Interface Card hiding underneath some
front covers in another box, so that makes two of those. This card has
the two 6402 chips on it. I looked closer and it also has baud rate DIP
switches for setting the baud rate up to 38,400bps for each serial port.
Looks like this thing dumped debug information, probably about the 6502
Processor card, onto a terminal.
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
Also have
these:
the Encryptor, Jones Futura Corporation, Model ENC 100-1
California Computer Systems, Model 2832 [has this big, black 3"x3" square
and 3/8" thick block of resin on it, have no idea what it's hiding]
I was reading in the Atari Game Systems FAQ that the 7800 carts are
encrypted with a special encryption and only those encrypted games get
access to the 7800's advanced video resources (otherwise it just gets
2600 resources)... This was a measure by Atari to make sure to get a
share of the profits from 3rd party game developers. There could be a
slight possibility this is an encryption unit for the 7800 game
system...
9804
days inactive
9805
days old
5 comments
4 participants
participants (4)
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dastar＠crl.com -
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starling＠umr.edu