{"product_id":"atari-2600-pluscart","title":"Atari 2600 PlusCart+ WiFi Multigame Cartridge – Play Every 2600 Game Online","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe PlusCart+ is a WiFi-connected multigame cartridge for the original Atari 2600. Plug it in, join your home WiFi, and stream the entire PlusCart+ library — homebrews, demos, DPC+ bB titles, and online-enabled \"PlusROM\" games — straight into your console. No SD card to manage, no loose ROM files to chase down.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat you get\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne (1) PlusCart+, assembled and bench-tested, in a functional 3D-printed snap-fit case. Case color varies batch to batch.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCompatibility\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe original Atari 2600 only. It is not compatible with the 2600+, the AtGames GameStation Pro, the RETRON 77, or other emulation-based systems — the PlusCart+ relies on original 2600 timing that those clones don't reproduce.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou'll need WiFi at the play location and the ability to reach the PlusCart+ servers (the PlusStore).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you'd prefer a different shell — your own donor cartridge, say — you can recase the PCB yourself. The included case is fully functional and protects the board.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDesigned by\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe PlusCart+ is community-on-community work, and I want every layer credited:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWolfgang Stubig\u003c\/strong\u003e — known as Al_Nafuur on AtariAge — created the PlusCart+: the firmware, the PlusROM feature, and the PlusStore server the whole system runs on.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt builds on \u003cstrong\u003eRobin Edwards\u003c\/strong\u003e' UnoCart-2600, with extensions from \u003cstrong\u003eDirtyHairy's\u003c\/strong\u003e fork.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Davie\u003c\/strong\u003e designed the snap-fit 3D-printed shell and the cart's animated loading icon, and — with \u003cstrong\u003eThomas Jensch\u003c\/strong\u003e — built the 24-character on-screen menu display.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProject site: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/pluscart.firmaplus.de\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003epluscart.firmaplus.de\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSource: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/Al-Nafuur\/United-Carts-of-Atari\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003egithub.com\/Al-Nafuur\/United-Carts-of-Atari\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOriginal AtariAge thread: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/forums.atariage.com\/topic\/297172-pluscart-an-inexpensive-diy-wifi-multicart\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePlusCart thread on AtariAge\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHow it works\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnlike the SD-card UnoCart-2600 it descends from, the PlusCart+ has no SD slot. An onboard ESP8266 connects to your WiFi and downloads ROM files on demand from an internet server — the PlusStore. The cartridge fetches the ROM while the VCS runs a wait-routine in RAM, the same trick the UnoCart-2600 used to read from its SD card.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlusROM goes a step further. A specially encoded header lets a game send and receive bytes to a backend host with no VCS-side wait-routine — which turns the cartridge into a general-purpose internet device, not just a ROM loader. Some of what people have built isn't even games: a news ticker that scrolls live headlines, a tracker that pulls the International Space Station's position to your screen, a clock that sets itself from the internet. Online high scores and multiplayer experiments run on the same feature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlusROM works with 2K, 4K, 3F, 3E, and 3E+ cartridges, plus any standard bankswitching cartridge — with or without 128 bytes of RAM at $1000–$10FF — and standard F4 bankswitching at $1FF4–$1FFB.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHigh Score Club\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlay a PlusROM game and your score posts automatically over WiFi to the PlusCart High Score Club — a live, worldwide leaderboard with tens of thousands of scores across dozens of classic and homebrew titles, plus seasonal competitions. Register on the PlusCart+ website and your runs land right alongside players around the world. Your original 2600, on a global scoreboard, with no extra hardware.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMore info\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSetup and walkthrough video: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/1wLrP6PyBMs\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eyoutu.be\/1wLrP6PyBMs\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePlusCart+ website (firmware, PlusStore, High Score Club): \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/pluscart.firmaplus.de\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003epluscart.firmaplus.de\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBuilt and bench-tested at the CRT workshop on a real Atari 2600 with a CRT television before shipping.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chicagoland Retro Tech","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42764220268638,"sku":null,"price":65.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0661\/6065\/6478\/files\/IMG_3448.jpg?v=1779804557","url":"https:\/\/chicagolandretrotech.com\/products\/atari-2600-pluscart","provider":"Chicagoland Retro Tech","version":"1.0","type":"link"}