CrazyBoss Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Hi just got my USA/NTSC intellivision model 2609, but none of the tvs i have cant search a good and clear picture+sound. So I am going to mod it (like i previous did with my NTSC ColecoVision) I think i am going for a solution where i dont need to wait for a board or kit. So want to build one myself. I remember at the ColecoVision it worked quite good, not sure if its the same at Intellivision, I recall i used a Resistor, a Transistor which i soldered directly to the RF modulator. From what I can see other places it seems like the Intellivision mod is not quite the same. Any suggestions ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 There's a circuit schematic and some notes here. Don't know anything else about it. http://wiki.intellivision.us/index.php?title=Intellivision_Composite_Video_Modification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+grips03 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 look at the oshpark link in my signature Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyBoss Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 look at the oshpark link in my signature While waiting for the parts to arrive, I ordered the one from oshpark, but I think it will take a month before I get it, I got a mail they expect the boards back 22nd march, They offer world-wide-free-shipping, I had to choose that one in order to skip the extra fees here, if something is valued more than $13 including shipping I would need to pay custom fees + admin fee - the admin fee is $26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 (edited) I have two of these on hand that I bought from Retrofixes.com, but I haven't actually installed one yet to compare it with the guy from Turkey at Coolretroprojects.com. But on initial inspection, they look to be the same only the Retrofixes.com board is laid out differently and looks a bit more pro done. Retrofixes.com is sold out of them currently which, is why I didn't suggest it earlier, but I will say that while they are a tiny bit more per kit as opposed to Coolretroprojects.com. I did get it within a week of ordering and the price is worth it if I don't have to piece it together. https://store.retrofixes.com/products/intellivision-composite-upgrade-amp-kit-coming-soon Edited March 13, 2018 by -^Cro§Bow^- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iesposta Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I built one like the link from Mr me has above. All the parts I had in scrap in old electronics like 80s-90s cordless phones, broken boom boxes, etc. Got really close to the colors it should be over the RF, but there always seems to be something that shadows or ghosts. RF looks better to me, in my opinion. But with composite you have more connection options to modern displays. I have both the 1979 version and the Intellivision 2 version. They are the last of my collection that I haven't found an acceptable mod for yet. The USA made 1979 version, skipping the RF switch box, directly connecting to "old TV tuner" like thru a VCR using the "RCA to Cable Cord-type connector", maybe with a ferrite ring at the end of the RF cord looped once around and thru it, gives a clear, rich color output that I haven't been able to get from mods... yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I built one like the link from Mr me has above. All the parts I had in scrap in old electronics like 80s-90s cordless phones, broken boom boxes, etc. Got really close to the colors it should be over the RF, but there always seems to be something that shadows or ghosts. RF looks better to me, in my opinion. But with composite you have more connection options to modern displays. I have both the 1979 version and the Intellivision 2 version. They are the last of my collection that I haven't found an acceptable mod for yet. The USA made 1979 version, skipping the RF switch box, directly connecting to "old TV tuner" like thru a VCR using the "RCA to Cable Cord-type connector", maybe with a ferrite ring at the end of the RF cord looped once around and thru it, gives a clear, rich color output that I haven't been able to get from mods... yet... I disagree. This is why i've pretty much only used the pre-assembled mod board from the guy in Turkey. Because on both CRTs and my LED flat panel HDTV, it provides matching color and the only ghosting I've seen was on one I modded several months back that did have some slight ghosting on whites as I recall. But only on my LED did I see this and it wasn't all the time. Now my LED does do something that is kinda annoying with these mods. The brightness will change depending on the scene. Only the Intellivision does this as all my other consoles I've modded do no do this. And yes, I have the power management crap all turned off on my LED so it isn't the TV doing it. It appears to be a difference in the signal going to the TV (I assume the Luma), from scene to scene in a game that causes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gernot Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 (edited) i like it and the board from osh looks quite decent. but i wasn't satisfied with the 2N3904 already in the intellivision.us wiki, don't ask me why but something told me it's a very cheap one and designed for switching and not amplifying resp. "radio applications" (must have been my father crying from out of the clay). i took a search and first it's extremely cheap about 20cts in switzerland. (my father would have bought 100 of them because the it goes down to 4cts per piece ) so i searched further and wanted to know if there is a low-noise substitute for it. to me the BC549 seems to be better for the purpose source: https://books.google.ch/books?id=nbEgBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq they are in all very similar and often you get hinted to replace the BC549 with the 2N3904 but that's why in most cases it's used for switching and for this a multipurpose broadband version is enough (this means also that they are unselected if i remember my fathers words, which means one could be good another rather bad). they have a different pinout but that's something one can manage. we do amplifying here and don't build a logical gate. also i wouldn't save money when looking for the capacitors, take the ones with lowest tolerance it won't harm. but i leave it up to you. since i'm by myself thinking about to av-mod my inty i'm grateful for the links dudes. ah yes i watched a german clip on yt how to do the mod suggested by intellivision.us. however, he suggests to remove the RF modulator, even this came to my mind right when i thought about it. here's the clip, unfortunately in german. it's not the "hottest" clip but i like how he builds it. Edited March 14, 2018 by Gernot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyBoss Posted March 14, 2018 Author Share Posted March 14, 2018 cool like the Youtube link, even its in German I understood pretty much, since we have German in schools, and I also lived in the South of Denmark, and have been watching a lot of german tv in the past Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gernot Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 (edited) respect also murphy's law, "every oscillator tends to amplify and every amplifier tends to oscillate" the latter we don't like. anyone remebers FABombjoys modification instructions here on atariage? i can't find the thread but he's mentioned on intellivision.us's example for adding a variable resistor, it seems to me a good thing because with such we can keep track of the oscillating. to sad, really to sad my father is dead, he could have told me from the heart how to improve it, apart from the large repo he had we sold for a $50 to a 14 year old boy when my mother moved to another town after his dead. this i often think about - damned there isn't much i preserved from it, a pencil soldering iron and a resistor comparison slide ruler, that's all i kept. (my mothers not good in electronics her part is to make patchworks and right today i had to give her some coloring advices, that's something i fairly understand more of) most of all i couldn't preserve his knowledge. "dad how can i...?" "let me show it..." i can already smell the scent of gauloise bleu mixed with flux, i miss you dad. however maybe you like to dig yourself through the countless entries on atariage to this topic http://atariage.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=search&andor_type=&sid=e3403020ac450e3c502fcfd13788f526&search_app_filters[forums][sortKey]=date&search_app_filters[forums][sortKey]=date&search_term=intellivision+av+mod&search_app=forums Edited March 14, 2018 by Gernot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyBoss Posted April 9, 2018 Author Share Posted April 9, 2018 Got the boards from osh park. Now just need to find the time to install it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Got the boards from osh park. Now just need to find the time to install it. In the amount of time you waited for these, you could have ordered the ones I mentioned from Retrofixes.com. I believe it took exactly 7 days from my order to arriving in my mail box. But having said that, I did install one of these into an Intellivision this weekend, and I don't like it as much as the ones I get from the guy in Turkey at coolretroprojects. Yes his boards take over a month for me to get them in, but they've looked good in every intellivision I've installed them in. BTW my issues with the board from retrofixes, is that the brightness is too bright causing the colors to be washed out. Especially yellows. Also it suffers from the same brightness changing stuff I spoke about before. In the middle of playing the game, the brightness will change depending on what else is being displayed on the screen. Kinda annoying, but you eventually get used to it and not noticed it while playing. Also the color bleed seems more severe with the boards from retrofixes. So..I guess that is just how it is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyBoss Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 In the amount of time you waited for these, you could have ordered the ones I mentioned from Retrofixes.com. I believe it took exactly 7 days from my order to arriving in my mail box. But having said that, I did install one of these into an Intellivision this weekend, and I don't like it as much as the ones I get from the guy in Turkey at coolretroprojects. Yes his boards take over a month for me to get them in, but they've looked good in every intellivision I've installed them in. BTW my issues with the board from retrofixes, is that the brightness is too bright causing the colors to be washed out. Especially yellows. Also it suffers from the same brightness changing stuff I spoke about before. In the middle of playing the game, the brightness will change depending on what else is being displayed on the screen. Kinda annoying, but you eventually get used to it and not noticed it while playing. Also the color bleed seems more severe with the boards from retrofixes. So..I guess that is just how it is... Had to keep the expences down, durring rules here. If I ordered something for $20, they will charge me alot of fees and taxes. At retrofixes they seems to be $22, but sold out. I got 3 pcbs for $10 include shipping which is under the limit for fees and taxes I did with they made a little more spaces at the terminals to connect Audio/Video/GND and +5V, there is space enough. I heard the RGB mode from Turkey is not very good, Rick talked about it, at one of the the episodes of the Intellivision Podcasts, some colors are not right. The Composite signal is ok for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyBoss Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 look at the oshpark link in my signature Will the boards from oshpark work with PAL intellivisions too ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+grips03 Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 I've only used on NTSC. My Eagle drawing on OSHPark is of this circuit: http://wiki.intellivision.us/index.php?title=Intellivision_Composite_Video_Modification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 I heard the RGB mode from Turkey is not very good, Rick talked about it, at one of the the episodes of the Intellivision Podcasts, some colors are not right. The Composite signal is ok for me I don't know anything about coolretroprojects having an RGB intellivision board. Far as I know he only sells a composite video board? I did just notice that his prices have gone up though?! Used to I could get his composite mod board shipped to me in the states for like $21.40. He now has them listed at $27.40 so his pricing is now higher than retrofixes boards....hmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 He might have been thinking of the rgb mod here. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/262594-intellivision-rgb-mod-trouble/?p=3769872 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+grips03 Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 I have a PAL console here that needs composite video, so perhaps I'll try out this weekend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyBoss Posted April 13, 2018 Author Share Posted April 13, 2018 it seems like the STIC are not the same for NTSC and PAL. http://atariage.com/forums/topic/250510-pal-intellivision-stic-needed/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyBoss Posted April 13, 2018 Author Share Posted April 13, 2018 (edited) do they use NTSC or PAL in Canada ? I bet some Canada users have done the videomod too. Edited April 13, 2018 by CrazyBoss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 Canada used to have NTSC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+grips03 Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 NTSC for Canada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 Got the boards from osh park. Now just need to find the time to install it. So did you install the mod yet? Very curious to know what the video quality is like. I'm still considering the retrofixes or coolretroprojects (Turkey) mods but it seems that people have had both success and issues with both so no clear winner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikrananka Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 (edited) Has anybody tried this one on eBay which uses surface mount components (eBay Auction -- Item Number: 332659440055)? Would surface mount help with the video quality in any way? Edited August 20, 2018 by Ikrananka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 I haven't tried that kit myself but it looks to pretty much be the same and most others just with the components lined out differently. Honestly SMD vs through hole the only difference is cost and how they are put together. I like through hole because it is easier to work on, but then through hole also takes more space for the components. SMD requires a very steady hand, or reflow oven...hot air station to work with well and I've not splurged for those additional tools yet. But since they are basically $25 with free shipping, it can't hurt to order it up and test it out? I never had any issues with the boards from the guy in Turkey, but given our recent relations with everyone else in the world right now, I'm not sure how long it would take to get them, and his added cost of over $27 per board and now had shipping added ontop of that has made them quite a bit more expensive than I like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.