Some months ago we took a look at several of the advertisements Activision released for its Atari 2600 games, and recently we explored the process that restores the Junior version of that same console, but we are missing one thing: the cartridges. Reproducing an Atari 2600 cartridge is very simple, and although the tutorial by “12-chairs” on Instructables includes programming details, the truth is that we only need four components.
The Atari 2600 console is in a very interesting position: there is a huge number of clones that allow us to access that platform without burning the budget, they don't demand much work regarding maintenance, its most important technical problems are easy to repair, and mods enable its use on modern screens without major complications. But what about the games? Some are harder to obtain than others, and there's always the developer who sees the console as a programming challenge. For all those cases, there is a solution: make your own Atari 2600 cartridge.
How to Build an Atari 2600 Cartridge
The tutorial by user “12-chairs” on the Instructables portal includes several programming aspects, links to books and development tools, but the creation of the cartridge itself only requires four elements: an EPROM chip with the correct capacity (4 kilobytes is a good starting point), a compatible PCB, a programmer to write data to the chip, and a 3D-printed cartridge shell (as an alternative, we can use a donor).
The PCB is available at portals like 8-Bit Classics, and generally it doesn't cost more than five dollars. Now, nothing stops us from experimenting with less popular cartridges and replacing their chip to turn it into another game, but this path guarantees us access to new hardware. The tutorial also recommends using the Stella emulator to check that the ROM works correctly, and the rest is a matter of dumping its content onto the chip. The programmer is generic and uses the Minipro tool as software, but I imagine there will be no problems adopting something with a GUI on Windows.
Optional? Adding a socket to the PCB to change chips easily, and of course, building the PCB from scratch. Memelvar on YouTube has an entire playlist about the process.
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