Atari 2600 hardware

The design experienced many makeovers and revisions during its 14-year production history, from the original "heavy sixer" to the Atari 2600 Jr. at the end.

The console was originally packaged with two standard Atari CX10 joysticks, later upgraded to the more common CX40 model, and a set of paddles.

Joysticks, featuring a single button and four-directional stick, are used by most Atari games and are the predominant input device.

This is essential for overhead-view driving games, for which the player would turn the wheel a total of 360 degrees in one direction on every lap.

[5][6] In the first year of production (1977), Atari manufactured the CX2600 with heavy aluminum radio-frequency shielding as well as 1⁄2-inch-thick (12 mm) plastic bottom half.

[5] Originally these consoles came with a grey power supply and spring-loaded joysticks, which differed slightly from the later models.

[8] In addition to the Atari-branded Heavy Sixer, Atari also produced a version of the console for Sears called "Video Arcade".

[5] The Sears Video Arcade sports aluminium trim, the brand "Tele-Games" printed in green capital letters above the cartridge slot, the brand "Video Arcade" printed in chrome letters on the front right hand corner, and faux marbleized wood, but is otherwise identical to the Atari-branded console.

[4] Atari also produced a version of the "Light Sixer" for Sears, which had some minor aesthetic differences to the Atari-branded console.

The major difference between the four-switch models and the Light Sixer is that there are only four switches on the main control panel.

Instead of having two separate boards connected through a ribbon cable, the CX2600-A has one motherboard, which is oriented at an angle inside the case.

Some early examples of this console used the same lower case mold as the light sixers, with a piece of thin plastic adhered over several now-unneeded holes.

The new redesigned version of the 2600, unofficially referred to as the 2600 Jr., features a smaller, cost-reduced form factor with a modernized Atari 7800-like appearance.

There are two 1N914 diodes to prevent feedback on the lines and two additional pull-up resistors to insure the signal is at +5v.