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The world's greatest hoard of original Atari equipment is guarded by a very temperamental, very devoted dragon named Bradley.
Every old video game console dies eventually. Moving parts seize-up, circuit boards fail, cables wear out. If a user needs a replacement connector, chip, ribbon, gear, shell—or any of the thousands of other parts that, in time, can break, melt, discolor, delaminate, or explode—they’re usually out of luck, unless they have a spare system to scavenge.
But there is an exception to this depressing law of nature. In San Jose, on a side street next to a highway off-ramp, inside an unmarked warehouse building, is part of the world’s largest remaining collection of factory-original replacement Atari parts — a veritable fountain of youth for aging equipment from the dawn of the home computing and video gaming era. This is the home of Best Electronics, a mail-order business that has been selling Atari goods continuously for almost four decades.
But if you'd like to share in Best’s bounty, as many die-hard Atari fans desperately do, there's a very important piece of advice you need to keep in mind: whatever you do, don't piss off Bradley.
Almost everyone who spends enough time loving, collecting, and using Atari products eventually finds their way to the Best Electronics website. And many of them quickly develop strong feelings about Bradley Koda, Best's proprietor, who, by outlasting most of his competition, has become a sort of one-man Atari-parts powerhouse.
www.vice.com
Every old video game console dies eventually. Moving parts seize-up, circuit boards fail, cables wear out. If a user needs a replacement connector, chip, ribbon, gear, shell—or any of the thousands of other parts that, in time, can break, melt, discolor, delaminate, or explode—they’re usually out of luck, unless they have a spare system to scavenge.
But there is an exception to this depressing law of nature. In San Jose, on a side street next to a highway off-ramp, inside an unmarked warehouse building, is part of the world’s largest remaining collection of factory-original replacement Atari parts — a veritable fountain of youth for aging equipment from the dawn of the home computing and video gaming era. This is the home of Best Electronics, a mail-order business that has been selling Atari goods continuously for almost four decades.
But if you'd like to share in Best’s bounty, as many die-hard Atari fans desperately do, there's a very important piece of advice you need to keep in mind: whatever you do, don't piss off Bradley.
Almost everyone who spends enough time loving, collecting, and using Atari products eventually finds their way to the Best Electronics website. And many of them quickly develop strong feelings about Bradley Koda, Best's proprietor, who, by outlasting most of his competition, has become a sort of one-man Atari-parts powerhouse.
Don't Piss Off Bradley, the Parts Seller Keeping Atari Machines Alive
The world's greatest hoard of original Atari equipment is guarded by a very temperamental, very devoted dragon named Bradley.
www.vice.com
