Atari 7800 - Concerto cartridge. Mini review

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rubber_jonnie
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Atari 7800 - Concerto cartridge. Mini review

Post by rubber_jonnie »

Yesterday I received a Concerto cartridge for my Atari 7800, which I ordered from here: Order Concerto Cartridge

The cart arrived in just 8 or 9 days from the US, and there was no hassle with the item sent directly and no need to use a forwarder. Very slick process.

The cart I ordered is a standard black case, and comes with a label to affix once you've installed the optional POKEY chip:

PXL_20220806_090821031~2.jpg
PXL_20220806_090821031~2.jpg (244.38 KiB) Viewed 4484 times

Although there are only 2 games that use POKEY that were launched at the time (Ballblazer & Commando), the enhanced music is nice to hear, and I believe there are modern homebrew games that use the POKEY too, so I will delve into that when I have time.

Of note for the POKEY side of things, if you happen to have a composite mod like the one from TfW8bit, there is a small mod required to ensure you get the POKEY sound, but it's very minor.

Booting up, you get a simple to use file manager type interface:

PXL_20220806_090958147.jpg
PXL_20220806_090958147.jpg (192.35 KiB) Viewed 4484 times

And you can simply navigate with the joypad or joystick, select your ROM file and press fire, it really is simple and easy to use.

Of course the 7800 is backwards compatible with the 2600, so you can also load up all of your old favourites and play those too :)

Overall one of the best SD solutions I've come across recently, and up there with the FinalGROM cart I recently bought for the TI99/4a for ease of use.

I'd definitely recommend it.
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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Re: Atari 7800 - Concerto cartridge. Mini review

Post by alexh »

Nice review. Never owned an 8-bit Atari.

I've been watching the 7800GD from RetroHQ which isn't on sale yet. As well as all games it supports all cartridge enhancements including stereo pokey and BupChip for Vikki and Rikki not to forget RGB out and a Megadrive 6 button pad adapter. No price or availability but worth watching if you're a fan
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Re: Atari 7800 - Concerto cartridge. Mini review

Post by rubber_jonnie »

alexh wrote: Sat Aug 06, 2022 1:10 pm Nice review. Never owned an 8-bit Atari.

I've been watching the 7800GD from RetroHQ which isn't on sale yet. As well as all games it supports all cartridge enhancements including stereo pokey and BupChip for Vikki and Rikki not to forget RGB out and a Megadrive 6 button pad adapter. No price or availability but worth watching if you're a fan
I have a GameDrive for my Lynx II, if the 7800GD is half as good, then it should be pretty neat.
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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Re: Atari 7800 - Concerto cartridge. Mini review

Post by exxos »

Interesting. I have not seen that cart before. I've got a UnoCart but never get chance to play with it.
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viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
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Re: Atari 7800 - Concerto cartridge. Mini review

Post by rubber_jonnie »

exxos wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 1:33 pm Interesting. I have not seen that cart before. I've got a UnoCart but never get chance to play with it.
It took a bit of searching to find it, but definitely worthwhile.

Is the Uno cart for the 7800 or the 2600? The Concerto does both as the 7800 is also a 2600 :)
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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Re: Atari 7800 - Concerto cartridge. Mini review

Post by exxos »

rubber_jonnie wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 1:48 pm Is the Uno cart for the 7800 or the 2600? The Concerto does both as the 7800 is also a 2600 :)
AFAIK its 2600 only. I do have a 7800 somewhere and a few games for it even. But again..lack of time...
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/ All my hardware guides - mods - games - STOS
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/store2/ - All my hardware mods for sale - Please help support by making a purchase.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
Just because a lot of people agree on something, doesn't make it a fact. ~exxos ~
People should find solutions to problems, not find problems with solutions.
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Re: Atari 7800 - Concerto cartridge. Mini review

Post by rubber_jonnie »

exxos wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 2:12 pm
rubber_jonnie wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 1:48 pm Is the Uno cart for the 7800 or the 2600? The Concerto does both as the 7800 is also a 2600 :)
AFAIK its 2600 only. I do have a 7800 somewhere and a few games for it even. But again..lack of time...
Yes, there seem to be a few UNO cart variations, AFAIK there is also one for the 400/800/XL/XE series too.
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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