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Hey there! My name is RockyRaccoon, also known as 'LemonAid' online. I'm a retrogame player and collector. This website is dedicated to my love of retrogaming and retrogame adjacent items. Here you'll find my musings, opinions and reviews, as well as some miscellaneous items I felt like posting. Thanks for visiting!


 
The Story of the Optical Health 65XE - November 28 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 

A few many months back I obtained an Atari 65xe from AtariAge forum user ApolloBoy. ApolloBoy had originally bought this on Ebay for the price of 85$ dollars. I obtained it from him for vaguely the same price. While similar to a stock Atari 65XE, it had some external differences.

The first was, where there should be an Atari Badge, a sticker had been places that says 'Computer Orthoptics (tm)'. There is also a piece of masking tape on the side with a serial number of sorts: A1511009678. This means at some point in this computer's life, It had been used in a Optometrists Office or similar setting that works with equipment related to eyecare. Most likely to control some sort of machine or machines.

ApolloBoy eventually contacted the company, which was still in business all these years, and got reply from the parent company 'Home Therapy Systems'. They did not have a partnership with Atari, so most likely purchased them and modified them. And speaking of modifications- the inside of the unit has been modified with a jumper to prevent stock Atari 65XEs from running their software! This jumper sits between pins 3 and 10 on the GTIA. This means it pushes the button on Joysticks 3 and 4. Since the Atari 65XE only has two Joystick ports, 1 and 2-- this acts as a form of hardware check for 'Computer Orthoptic's Software' to make sure it's running on their modded system.

Sadly, that's where the story ends when it ends up in my care. It works as a standard 65XE and anything I've run on it hasn't had any problems yet. I am looking for some software for this- though it isn't a priority, just-- some interest on what it looks like.

Just thought I'd tell the story of one of the odder pieces in my collection!

Original Source: https://atariage.com/forums/topic/303349-%E2%80%9Ccomputer-orthoptics%E2%80%9D-65xe-variation

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PocketGo v2.1 Review - November 27 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 

It's now time to talk about the Bittboy PocketGo V2.1 as I alluded to in my original Bittboy review! I meant to get to this sooner, but life has a way of kicking you off course! Regardless, let's review the PocketGo V2.1!

First, let's talk about the outside. Mine came in the color white, with rainbow buttons. The system has four face buttons labeled Y, X, B, A, Start & Select, a D-pad, and an analog control stick. The top of the system has two L and R buttons for each side. As well as the power button, 3.5 mm audio jack, USB-C connector and a volume up and down button. The bottom has two Micro SD cards, and a reset button. There is a third, unlabeled button over the start and select buttons whose function I am unsure of- but believe it's there for software to take advantage of as a 'free button'.

It's easy to hold and my hands typically don't hurt after holding it for a while. The only complaint I have is the analog stick isn't of the best quality and it feels...for lack of a better term 'gritty'. Everything else works pretty well otherwise- but if you intend to play systems or games that might use the analog stick

It has a large amount of emulators and game ports on it. Enough that I won't sit here and name them all. But includes all the systems and ports you'd expect by now-- NES, SNES, PS1, Doom, Wolf 3D and such. They all run pretty great! Things made for the RG350 tend to work just fine on the PocketGo V.2.1, though some may need control reconfiguration. I also understand it's compatible with the RG350 firmware, but I have not been able to confirm this yet. So don't take my word on that!

One thing I did not like, was how difficult it was to add roms or other files to the system. The USB-C cord the system comes with is not 'Data' compatible, and one that is data compatible is required to add files to the system. It uses a wired 'network' connection to connect onto the system via FTP. While you can just plug the SD card into your computer, the partition required to be read to add files onto isn't readable by Windows based systems due to it being a Linux partition. This part of the system is not newbie friendly, I am just used to using FTP and associated systems enough that it's easy for me.

Overall, I don't regret buying the Pocket Go V2.1. I wish the analog stick felt better to use, but otherwise, has kept my entertained on my doctors visits and overall places where I need to wait around without anything better to do!

Please checkout Bittboy.com to see about obtaining your own!

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Covert Art + Wallpaper - November 24 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 

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New Host & Other Updates! - November 11 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 

Just letting you folks know that I have moved webhosts. So I apologize for any website downness that happened or can happen in the near future due to DNS propogation and just general trouble getting things setup! Any problems? Please comment with the link below this post! Finally designed a background I kinda like. Simple. Uses the same color, but adds some interesting little retro related panache to the website! The Technical Docs. page has gotten updated with the most recent FAQs I could find, and added some more systems aswell! I will look for more to add later. Any suggestions? Lemme know in the comments!

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Hey Hey 16k! - October 27 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 

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New Content System - October 26 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 

I imported all the news into a new content system. This should help the site run better and prevent front page overcrowding. Any issues? Lemme know at retrocaderomp@gmail.com!

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Intellivision Kick! - October 13 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 

Been on an Intellivision kick in recent memory. Got myself a Sears Super Arcade, and some rarer games like Thunder Castle and Blockade Runner- which I'm enjoying a lot. Which is why I'm gonna suggest you go visit INTV Funhouse, an informative website, with reviews, screenshots and overlays- run by Steven A. Orth as a hobby. Been learning a lot browsing through their website!

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What!? - October 9 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 

Got me an original 2DS, and a Sears Super Video Arcade to add to the collection in recent memory, aswell as some more Famicom games. Which I seem to have a collection addiction for! Whoops! 
 
Also, sorry for the radio silence! I've been working on some things! More videos soon perhaps! My first one wasn't great, got some good feedback. Will try again better!

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I Talk About Emulation! - Retrocade Romp Talk #1 - August 29 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 

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This week's pickups! - July 11 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 

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Soon...! - July 5 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 



Got myself one of these! A review soon when I am able.

 

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Found a PSone! - July 3 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 

I finally found a modded PSone (PS 1 'Slim'blink1.gif after much searching. Can't wait to get it! 

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My Thoughts on the Evercade - June 30 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 

 As I have not played or own an Evercade, yet, this is not a review, but rather my opinion on this device. For those who don't know, the Evercade is a handheld retro-gaming system by a company that appears to be called Evercade. It's website can be located here: https://www.evercade.co.uk/. It uses cartridges like the systems of old. Many carts contain classic games, and also new games by new publishers. 
 
I'm not sure I like the Evercade thus far, based on things I've read and seen on YouTube about it and the current many reviews. In terms of games present on the device the only thing that interests me are the ''new'' games. Little Medusa is on there... some Mega Cat Studio games... stuff like that.
 
Many of the other games exist on other handhelds already, or similar units. And the games that are present seem to be the NES/Famicom versions of the games- as one excepts now on units like this-- and we all know Technos doesn't seem to be shy about spreading it's catalog to anyone willing to just pay the licensing fee. There's even an Atari Collection, but most of these games can be played on the Atari Flashback Portal and THAT has an SD Card slot for other games!
 
What would make this an buy for me, would be an everdrive like cart, or an SD card slot/cart. However, Evercade has already expressed that due to their close licensing partnership with the companies they're working with- that such a thing would not be possible. 
 
Anyways. I'm on the fence. It might be neat to have this for the new games. But I also don't want to pay nearly 100 dollars for the pleasure of owning Data East's catalog for the third time. Maybe I'll wait to see if any new cartridges are coming out first to see how long it'll last before I make the jump...

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BittBoy 3.5 Review - June 21 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 

I recently got a PocketGo V2.1. But before that, I wanna talk about the first system I got from BittBoy--- the Bittboy Version 3.5 console. 
 
The Bittboy 3.5, that- I will just be calling 'Bittboy' from this point onward, is a small, Gameboy-like open source console that basically emulates many systems and has a few game ports such as Doom, Wolfenstein 3D and such on it. It uses a MicroSD card for storage. I also upgraded the base firmware to MiyooCFW. This is a common, suggested upgrade. I did not use the base firmware much so my usage is based on using this firmware in this review!
 
The BittBoy at first glance appears to be a Gameboy like device. It's small, It's basically 5 inch by 3 inch in size. It has a d-pad, four main buttons, and two sub buttons for select and start. It also has a system button just under the screen. 
 
It feels good in the hands, and fits in my pocket easily. This has become my 'go to' when I need to go to a doctor's appointment to tool around with and play.
 
It plays quite well. It handles everything up to the Gameboy Advance just fine.... though Super Nintendo speed will depend on the game. Out of the box on the firmware, I had access to an Amiga Emulator, Gameboy/Gameboy Color emulator, NES, SNES, Master System and Game Gear, Colecovision, Sega Genesis/32x/CD, Atari 2600, Atari Lynx, PC Engine, MAME Arcade, Neo Geo, DOS/PC x86, Pokemini, Wondeswan, PS1, Vectrex, MSX. There's also many game ports available such as Doom being the primary one I use.
 
I had wonderful experiences with the Gameboy, NES, Master System/GG, Sega Genesis/CD, Atari 2600 and Lynx, and PC Engine, Pokemini and Vectrex emulators. They all ran super great and at 60 FPS for most of the time. I had less than pleasant experiences with the other emulators. Either due to the lack of buttons,  the speed at which the emulator played or lack of things that worked right, such as the 'virtual keyboard' in the MSX emulator.
 
The battery life is decent enough, and hasn't died on any of the outings I've taken it on, but it had drained pretty much too according to the meter on the screen. Also, there's no dedicated volume or brightness buttons- you need to use a key combination to either change the volume or screen brightness. 
 
Overall, if you're looking for a small, cheap little pocket device to play some classic games, this is good. If you're looking for a powerhouse to play SNES, Playstation and the like-- look for something else... perhaps the PocketGo V2.1 I'll review next time!

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URL Update - June 11 2020 - by: Rocky Raccoon
 
 

Went ahead and moved URLs. Old URL has a redirect. Updating my old hyperlinks on websites where able!

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A Retrocade Romp! - by Rocky Raccoon / Daniel McMann 2020 - Created in Microsoft FrontPage - RetroCadeRomp@gmail.com