ATARI 2600 Jr. Rev B

Designed in 1983 but not released until 1985/86 the Atari 2600 Jr. was yet another cost reduced version of the classic 2600 consoles. The planned '83 release of the 2600 Jr. was delayed due to the sale of Atari Inc. to the Tramiels which is why many of the PCBs are stamped with earlier dates; such as this board stamped 1983.

The 2600 Jr. went through a number of design revisions and was originally going to be a different system entirely (codenamed 'VAL' / CX-2000) which had the cart port at the back and built in joysticks. Flimsy design and rethink saw the now familiar 2600 Jr. released with the cart port on top and a single, external joystick.

The 2600 Jr. was released at a reduced price compared to the previous 2600 consoles forming much of its rekindled market interest. Sporting a new design not unlike the Atari 7800 the console was finally retired by Atari in 1992 which, after a fourteen year (and two months) run makes it the longest-lived home game console of all time.