Reproducing 2600 ICs

[Zarek]

(Please excuse me if this has been discussed before, or is in the wrong forum. I'm new, and there's a bit of ambiguity searching for "atari reproduction" and whatnot on the forum search.)

 

Hey guys,

 

Basically, I'm interested in NTSC 2600 dev, but living in Australia makes obtaining a nice, working NTSC 2600 for testing cumbersome. This is amplified by the fact that potential cartridge-bound hardware projects could blow electrical components, meaning I'd have to stock up on recycled ICs if they went pear-shaped. Which got me thinking: While it's incredibly ambitious and immensely above my level, would it be possible to produce a reproduction of the TIA and/or RIOT based on schematics such as the ones found here: https://atariage.com/2600/archives/schematics_tia/index.html, or obtain some kind of code for altering an FPGA or using a microprocessor to emulate said chips? I am really not experienced with electronics at all yet, so if anyone knowledgeable about these topics could please let me know the problems or benefits of what I'm wondering about, that would be great.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

--Zarek

[jaholmes]

If you just need TIAs, RIOTs, and whatnot, you can still buy them new (old stock) from a number of places, e.g.:

http://www.myatari.com/atari26.txt
http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/2600_Tech_Tips.htm

 

At $12 US for a TIA, you probably wouldn't want to blow up too many of them, but a couple of mistakes wouldn't break the bank.

Edited May 18, 2015 by jaholmes

[Zarek]

That's really cool! Thank you for your help.

[fb39ca4]

I have seen FPGA reproductions of the 2600. Here's one that has source code publicly available: https://retromaster.wordpress.com/a2601/

[Zarek]

Thanks for that! Should come in handy when I learn VHDL for sure