New build - Arcade In A Box

UrbanDragon

Originally this was just going to be making a joystick and have it also be the case for my ODroid XU4 running the ORA RetroPie image, but I got a bit carried away and added a small HDMI monitor (1024x768 resolution) and then decided to make it similar to the old record players we had when I was really young.
I set the TV Dial to channel 3 of course.
There's a 4 port USB hub on the front for additional controllers and the Bluetooth dongle (XU4 doesn't have built in wifi or bt).

Clyde

Nice idea. :) Could you please enlighten us non-whereveryouarefroms what's special about channel 3?

UrbanDragon

Back in the olden days, when you hooked up your Atari 2600 or Colecovision to the TV (or heck even your VCR) you had to set it to channel 3 or 4, depending on which one was less likely to get interference.

I’m ancient and stuff :)

Clyde

I see, thanks. I'm also old enough to have seen those times, but I never had an Atari 2600 myself. I had an Emerson Arcadia 2001 variant called Tele-Fever. But I don't remember which TV channel it used.

UrbanDragon

@clyde we always used Channel 3 in my area because there were no stations on that channel.
I remember using it for my Coco 2, Atari 2600 and even my first NES way back when :)

ByteThis

@clyde I never played on that system. Were there any good games on that ? Looks a little weird and uncomfortable to play. And did it make a mean cup 'o' coffee ? *A coffee-company releasing a videogame-system? * lol..I started with a Commodore Vic 20 myself. Cassette drive and all..haha

Clyde

@bytethis Well, the coffee company just sold an existing system and re-branded it. The Arcadia had a handful of arcade ports like Jump Bug, Jungler and Route 16, as well as some renamed arcade clones (Cat Trax = Pac Man, Robot Killer = Berzerk). It also had noteable originals like Tanks A Lot.

The Tele-Fever's integration of the controller into the console wasn't so bad, comparable to today's bigger arcade joysticks. You could place it on a table, on the ground, or on your legs. But after someone stepped on it (me? a friend? can't remember), I replaced it with a real Arcadia 2001 that had Intellivision-like controllers with screw-in joysticks as a nice bonus. Luckily, the cartridges were compatible with both models.

All in all, I loved that system. Although I was the only one who had it in my circle of friends, and thus couldn't exchange games with my friends, I had a system that nobody had. :)

Rourow

Good idea , good job!