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Q) What if my Harmony cartridge starts acting weirdly after upgrading the firmware?
A) If your Harmony cartridge does not work properly after the firmware upgrade then you
should repeat the upgrade process. If it still does not work, then you should ensure you
are installing a compatible firmware image. Some Harmony carts will not work properly
with firmware versions before v1.03. If you are sure that you are installing a compatible
firmware version, and it still does not work, consult the AtariAge forums for known issues.
Q) When I connect my Harmony Cartridge to my computer, why doesn't it appear as a
drive letter or volume like my camera or MP3 player?
A) The Harmony Cartridge is not designed to do that. The USB port on the Harmony is intended
for firmware upgrades or game development only. Use a separate card reader to manage
the contents of your SD card.
Q) The Harmony menu is very difficult to read on my TV set - how can I fix it?
A) The Harmony menu is optimized for CRT TVs and may not display perfectly on newer LCD
TVs. You may find the picture is clearer if you disable color cycling (set the Color/B&W
switch to Color). It is also important to properly calibrate your TV so that darker colors are
clearly visible. There are a number of home theater calibration DVDs and Blu-Ray discs
that can help with this. Lastly, installing a video mod into your Atari console that provides
composite or S-video output may display a clearer picture.
Harmony File Extensions
The Harmony cartridge supports many different types of Atari 2600 software. The type of the
software is automatically detected when the file is loaded. However, this auto-detection process
can sometimes fail, resulting in weird patterns (garbage) being displayed on the screen. This is
completely harmless, but can often be avoided by telling the Harmony cartridge explicitly what
is the type of the file. In technical terms, the type of the file is the kind of bankswitching that
was originally used by the cartridge.
It is possible to tell the Harmony cartridge directly what type of file is used by renaming the file
extension. Atari 2600 software normally has a binary (.bin) file extension. This extension can be
changed to one of the following to tell the Harmony what kind of bankswitching to use:
Extension
Bankswitch type
.2K
Atari 2K
.4K
Atari 4K (default)
.F8
Atari F8
Extension
Bankswitch type
.F8S
Atari F8 with Superchip
.F6
Atari F6
.F6S
Atari F6 with Superchip
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Introduction
The Harmony cartridge is a programmable add-on for the Atari 2600 console that allows you
to load an entire library of games into a single cartridge and then select which title you want to
play from a friendly, on-screen menu interface. It features an SD card interface, making it simple
to access the large library of Atari 2600 software. The Harmony cartridge supports almost all of
the titles that have been produced for the Atari 2600. It can also be used to run your own Atari
2600 game creations on a real console. The Harmony cartridge is flash-upgradeable, and will be
updated to support future Atari 2600 developments.
SD card slot Mini-B USB port
Back edge of Harmony Cart
This guide tells you how to make the most of your Harmony cartridge. It should be read
thoroughly before the cartridge is used for the first time. Your Harmony cartridge will provide you
with many years of Atari 2600 enjoyment.
The following equipment is required to use the Harmony cartridge:
1) An Atari 2600, Atari 7800 or other Atari 2600-compatible console.
2) A Windows, Macintosh or Linux-based computer to transfer data onto the SD card.
3) An SD card adapter for your computer.
4) An SD or SDHC card up to 32GB capacity.
5) A Mini-B USB cable (only required for updating the Harmony firmware).
Getting Started with Harmony
This section is a quick guide to using your Harmony cartridge. By following the steps below, you
can use your Harmony cartridge to enjoy thousands of titles in the Atari 2600 software library:
1) Connect an SD card to your computer. This will normally require an
SD card reader or adapter. Only SD (and SDHC) cards up to 32GB are
supported. Older MMC cards and micro-SD cards (with an SD adapter)
may not work reliably. A 1GB SD card is sufficient to hold every Atari 2600
title ever produced.
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