Atari Game Console - Dismantled for reference and curiosity
Released in 1986 the Atari 7800 was planned for distribution two years prior but was delayed due to company changing hands. The 7800 had been slated as the replacement for the Atari 5200 in 1984.
The 7800 was first sold with the Atari Pro-Line Joystick but after serious complaints about its poor ergonomic design was later packed with two Atari Joypad Controllers; see separate page on this site.
Unlike the Atari 5200 the 7800 was backwards compatible with almost the entire range of Atari 2600 cartridges. This alone should have made it very market desirable. Unfortunately due to the popularity of Nintendo's NES, many 3rd party game companies were already locked into exclusive deals with Nintendo and so the 7800 only ever saw around a hundred titles specifically written for it.
It was the time of the home micro computer and to address the money better spent on a computer thoughts, the 7800 had been built in its first run with expansion capabilities to allow for a keyboard adapter, connection to a laser disc player and other peripherals to make it more attractive. None of these were ever put into production and the expansion port was removed in the 7800's second revision.
The console's power supply saw at least two different power pack designs for the 240v PAL units; see images below.
