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BigO

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    http://atariage.com/forums/topic/262372-closedone-trak-play-atari-2600vcs-games-with-your-5200-trak-ball/

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  1. I have connected the RF from my 2600 into the F connector on my HD TV. The lag through the digital tuner was much, much greater than demodulating/tuning the RF down to baseband video and using the RCA A/V inputs on the HD TV. Through the TV's built-in tuner, I could not play paddle games (Kaboom!, Circus) due to the delay. Using the external analog tuner to feed A/V into the same TV, the paddle games were playable. Just barely, but playable. An old school VCR is probably going to provide a video signal with much less lag than any modern digital tuner/demodulator. Of course, you still have to do something with that baseband video to get it to play nicely with HDMI. I currently wish I'd bought every one of those external analog tuners that I ever saw (which really wasn't more than a handful).
  2. If your 2600 is unmodified, the RCA connector supplies an RF Modulated analog signal that has to be demodulated or "tuned" at some point, which is likely what your VCR was doing. After that, there seems to be a number of converters available that will convert the baseband video and audio signals (A/V) to HDMI. In lieu of the VCR or other analog tuner/demodulator, one could modify their 2600 to output the A/V, bypassing the RF modulator so that tuning/demodulation is not necessary to arrive at the signal that a to-HDMI converter could accept as input.
  3. Having seen a general theme running through a number of Atari2600land's homebrew games, I can't help but wonder if he suggested changing the name to something like "Pot of Stew" or "Bowl of Canteloupe". 😁
  4. BigO

    Glue

    For that authentic Activision vibe.
  5. When I read this, I think "Supercharger". Scan and decode 2D barcode (QR, DataMatrix, what have you) Encode as audio (FSK?) compatible with supercharger. Stream decoded audio out through a Supercharger compatible phone plug. Supercharger allowed for multi-tape game loads, so the scanning of multiple 2D barcodes should be workable. Superchargers seem to be fairly rare so probably not an ideal solution. I don't know the architecture well enough to answer myself, but I wonder if an alternate firmware for a multicart (e.g. Harmony) could make it receive a digital stream via the USB port and load the stream contents to RAM like it would otherwise do with a file from an SD card. I know this is kind of circumventing/bypassing/ignoring the StellaRT as real hardware angle, but I thought I'd ramble it out here anyway.
  6. The quick and dirty "fix" is to get a controller extension cable. Either you remove the risk of damaging the console by plugging/unplugging at the cable end instead, or you reduce the risk of damage by plugging/unplugging a better fitting extension cable at the console port. Close examination of the joystick plug may show some place where the outer part of the plug is dragging on the inner part of the socket. In that case, you might be able to whittle away the offending material. If the problem is more directly related to the contacts, you could also consider replacing the joystick cable. Determining the root cause of the problem may suggest some other way to address the issue. (I don't know how/if the Quadtari supports other controller types.)
  7. Then you're down to the one-off type of build. So if it's not Ben Heckendorn who made the portable 2600 then it's whoever the individuals are who happened to have built their own, I think.
  8. For someone with the tools and experience, shortening that type of extension cable should be a fairly straight forward task. I would probably cut the cable and replace the pin (male) end with a standard 9 pin socket and hood to make a fairly clean job. But that standard connector would have ears on it. Some people wouldn't like that. Shortening the cable by cutting a chunk out and putting it back together would end up with heat shrink over a slightly lumpy set of splices. Some people wouldn't like that. The upside of either method that you could get a pretty precise length. Or, you might be able to find some sort of split loom to cover up your folded up existing cable, if that aesthetic is acceptable in your application.
  9. I'll bite. If it's not (functionally) an extension cable, what is it? Would an extension cable be okay if it were 18 inches or less in length? Depending on your budget, there are a number of people around here who could put together a cable matching your stated restriction.
  10. I don't know about "the" portable Atari 2600, but I'm pretty sure Ben Heck made one of the earlier "one-off" units. Atari 2600 Portable Hand-built | Web Portal for Benjamin J Heckendorn (benheck.com) Commercially, there is this Flashback portable, which is more likely what you're thinking of: Amazon.com: Atari Flashback Portable Deluxe Edition - Hand Held Console : Video Games
  11. I thought I got rid of this after I tried to sell it previously. Either I had 2, or never donated this one. You pay shipping to US only from 85051, (and wait for me to have time to ship it) See pictures here:
  12. Conceptually, an old school "DB-9" A-B switchbox seems like it would do the job nicely. I see such switchboxes at thrift stores occasionally, but it's been a while since I have seen one. Looks like they're available on Amazon and eBay for around $35. I was thinking about a "Y-cable", but I imagine that the Harmony would see what it thinks are paddle inputs from the keypad controller. Though still requiring the tedious controller switching, I agree that a 9 pin extension cable would be a reasonable way to avoid repeatedly applying force to the frail 2600 controller port. (I'd really want to fix whatever's going on with that port, but that's not everyone's cup of tea.)
  13. For a second there, I was hoping you really meant "historical record" and that you were working on Galaxy Quest 2600. Pig lizard, Gorignak, beryllium sphere miners, the chompers, Saris, mine field, somersaults, departing space dock...seems like reasonable content for a game.
  14. Says "TV BOX" on it. No recognizable brand, but I must have used it at some point with Sabrent drivers, as evidenced by me writing "Sabrent" on the front of it. I also wrote "TV-USB20" on it for some reason. I guess I left breadcrumbs to get back to a place I don't ever want to go to again. Looks like I bought it in 2014 at Goodwill.
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