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Intellivision II - video ghosting


jlew715

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Recently picked up an Intellivision II, and there is pretty substantial ghosting to the left of most objects on the screen. This is not present with my Intellivision I or INTV III on the same tv / AV setup.

 

Ive attached a couple of screenshots (Pitfall and Burgertime) illustrating this. Does anyone know what causes this behavior, or how I might be able to address it?

 

Thanks!

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Happy Thanksgiving! I have an Inty II at the house that I just recapped this week, along with recap of the power supply. I'll fire it up tonight and see if I get the same thing on mine. Still using RF on the one at the house. I have a 2nd one that is being A/V modded for composite by a fellow AA member. He had some similar issues with a couple of the kits he tried and is trying some new ones. I'll let him know about this post so he can chime in also.

 

Blaine

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I turned on Astrosmash and took a few photos. I'm still running this Inty II on RF so it has a bit of signal noise. Thought these might give you some kind of baseline for what a recapped Inty II running RF will put out on a modern 1080p TV with forced 4:3 aspect ratio.

 

Crossbow can help provide some good input about the differences between the Inty I and Inty II and the video output. I'll hit him up by PM to let him know about this thread.

 

Hope these pics help!

 

Blaine

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Looks to me like the RF modulator might require some adjustment.

 

Tried adjusting the video pot on the RF board; no luck - the color intensity went up and down but the ghosting stayed the same. Strangely, I pulled an old CRT out of the basement and this Inty II comes in crystal clear. Wonder why my LCD shows the ghosts when it doesnt on the other two consoles, yet all three work fine on the CRT. Shouldnt all three have the same RF modulator? Edited by jlew715
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Interesting. Are you using the same RF cable on the Intelly 2 as your Intelly 1 models? I have an intelly 2 and it is the opposite as your situation in that my Intelly 2 actually produces the best RF picture I've seen from an Intelly on my LCD. Can you move the RF cable around while it is plugged in and turned on to see if it makes a difference?

 

The ONLY other issue I can see possible is that the Intelly 2 doesn't have any RF shielding that covers the main board like the intelly model 1 does. I can't remember if the Intelly III does however. But I could see that as a factor if there is a lot of other RF based external interference that could be causing an issue.

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Another thought no this. If you're using the stock RF cable that came with the Inty II, it might be part of the problem. They are 35 years old or so. Try using a thick, shielded RCA cable in its place. I got far better results from mine when I switched out the overly long, crappy original cable with a good one. Might make an immediate impact.

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Using a shielded coax with the Inty II. Some progress has been made - I hooked it up to my Toshiba LCD upstairs, and the ghosting is much less pronounced (still worse than my I and III) - but that’s through RF directly into the TV (again over coax).

 

Worst case, I can use the II on this TV permanently. I have a Super Video Arcade in the mail, so it’ll be interesting to see how it compares to the II in regards to video quality. If anything I would expect it to be the most similar to the Model I.

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Funny you would mention the SVA. I just bought one and received it yesterday. Bought it boxed and untested. Even came with the Inty dust cover. Cleaned the cart port, hooked it up by RF last night, and...

 

It looks amazing. Cleanest RF I have seen in a long time. Now that I own one, I can see why the SVA is so desirable:

 

1. The controllers are externally detachable, just like the Inty II.

2. The controllers are much smoother and button presses much more tactile than the II.

3. The controller cords aren't coiled, giving them full extension.

4. The controller cords can be tucked into the sides of the console, making controller storage look perfectly aligned. Even has space in the top of the controller bays for the tops of the cords protruding from the controllers.

5. It's a gorgeous piece of nostalgia, that console.

 

I've attached a couple of shots of my RF output from the SVA for comparison. Yours may vary depending on condition, but I really like the way it plays and looks. I have no doubt you will love yours too!

 

Goad you got a solution in place for the II. They are nice in their own right, have that 80s look, and are a perfect style match for the ECS, should you get one at some time.

 

Blaine

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FWIW, I've talked a bit about the ghosting I've seen in Intellivision II models on the podcast. All of my Inty 2's show ghosting to the left to some degree. The test I use is biplanes in Triple Action, as the control tower really shows the ghosting well, if present.

 

The ghosting has shown up on Inty 2's via RF or A/V modded video ports. So I just assume it is something to do with the way video is processed in the 2's. I haven't seen it on my 2609's. Also, I have a 2 that is RGB modded and that does NOT show any ghosting.

 

Just some more data points for you... :)

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