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at5200forever

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About at5200forever

  • Birthday 09/25/1973

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    Charlotte, NC

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  1. Also interested in a Dragonfly with PokeyMax and YM2151.
  2. Hi and thanks for your note. No damage to 4th from left in the row under 4013 socket — it’s just a diode, not a resistor. ? My mistakes were replacing the voltage regulator, without (a) noticing the solder had bridged, and then (b) installing the RF shield not noticing it was making contact with the legs of the voltage regulator which I had not trimmed. Not my finest hour... I think the rest of the system besides the 4013 chip may be intact. I rescued it very very quickly at first sign of issues, fixed the short, then observed that it wouldn’t turn off the next time I tested. Output seemed unaffected. Won’t know until late in the week.
  3. I appreciate the passion you all bring to this topic. I can see there’s definitely a time and place for these sockets. It’s far from the only questionable choice I made nor mishap that occurred. Lessons learned: 1. If at all possible, start with a unit with output that is rock solid in RF. 2. Use high quality equipment to service your system. Entry level equipment will provide entry-level results. 3. The belt-and-suspenders “military-grade” approach may produce durable solutions, but things that bind tightly tend to do so in destructive ways. These are game systems, not tanks, nuclear subs, supertankers, nor hospital devices. 4. Makes sure if you buy on eBay to tell the seller it is a fragile item. You might even go so far as to offer to pay for additional shipping materials. Shipping these things in just one layer of bubble wrap and styrofoam popcorn is a recipe for disaster. 5. If you’re going to DIY, expect to make mistakes. They’re part of the educational experience. (If that’s not acceptable, use a different approach.) 6. Don’t be afraid to seek help. This community seems more than welcoming. (Thanks, guys!) 7. Tomorrow still brings hope to correct what is broken today. With that said, I’m setting aside this 7800, at least for now. My leading theories are: a. Bad Maria chip. b. Bad other components. c. Defective traces on the motherboard or since the cartridge port works so hard, cracks in the traces where the cartridge slot is soldered in. At least I got a lot further with UAV than with LHE, and it appears I will emerge with at least one working 7800 to play... 36 years after Atari demoed it at CES ‘84. ?
  4. Regarding machine pin sockets... I started to use these after I viewed someone’s YouTube video for a LHE install to 7800 where they suggested they are superior sockets — and in some respects they are — but now I have to agree with the arcade repair guys. I cut the machine pin socket into pieces once I realized I snared a trace, and probably spared the mainboard from greater damage, but yeah... it is what it is. Lesson learned. I appreciate the information, hopefully others will see this and avoid these sockets.
  5. i pulled the chip out of the socket and replaced it with another of the same. No change (no better no worse). Then attempted to desolder the socket and put the chip back in the board directly. I soldered it in and tested and as I feared that made things worse — but it still does start up and run cartridges. (Not all that bad I suppose considering I tore a trace while removing the socket.) Not sure where I want to go from here with this unit — or if I want to move forward. Seems like it might be best to look for another console, and enjoy my other unit after the power issue gets resolved. Thanks guys for all your wise advice. It’s been extremely helpful.
  6. This was an eBay item I bought in 2007. It was delivered crushed, but thankfully the board didn’t get dealt any perceivable damage. From the first time I attempted to use it I recall seeing unplayable flicker on RF output of 7800 games. Main reason it sat on shelf for 11 years, and I even bought a second 7800. I thought probably too far gone — but You know, there’s always that faint glimmer of hope in every gamer’s eye. And with emulation around, I suppose I felt no urgency, really. But here we are — I’ve treated this as my training unit for the UAV mod. Samples of RF output attached IMG_6822.MOV
  7. Thanks for your response— but you might have a closer look at UAV Rev D, which has input for Maria color and a second input for TIA color. Bryan said there’s some sort of a clever gate mechanism he created to make it choose between the two modes. I’m really no engineer, so I take his word on that. Worked perfectly awesome in my other 7800 (Rev C) for about an hour— until I tried reinstalling the RF shield and shorted out the flip-flop switch. ? Which boards are those you’re working with? They look promising — I’m just not any good at surface mount work. Tried it with LHE after Electronic Sentimentalities went on (permanent?) hiatus. Know my limitations... I gotta tell you, I’m so happy with the way UAV cleaned up the output on my other 7800 — and even the 2600 output on this one — I’m going to buy a few more to bring my 2600s and 5200s up on it. Even in the condition this machine is in, the attached video shows what it is doing for the 2600 side of the system. Very nice! (Actually the video doesn’t do it justice — and I’ve no clue how to play this game.) IMG_6821.MOV
  8. Attempting installation of UAV Rev D in 7800 Rev B, and have following issues with video output: 2600 games appear in black and white. If Maria color is disconnected, 2600 games then appear in vivid color. 7800 games also sporadically in black and white with distorted video. Much to my surprise, when Maria is disconnected (TIA connection remains), the color also returns to 7800 games, though the image distortion remains. I’ve attached a video of the MARIA distortion, with Maria connected. The machine had an unsuccessfully home-built rendition of the Longhorn Engineer AV solution completely installed and backed out Also re-capped, and volt regulator replaced. UAV is isolated from BIOS by a Heavy duty Velcro adhesive strip. Have double-checked, and in some cases at least triple-checked the wiring. Appears to be correct. Same pattern of defects appears in the RF output of 7800 games as well. Also double-checked to make sure I put the resistors removed for LHE mod correctly back where they came from. Would describe as video that exceeds the normal horizontal left and right edges of the video frame, in a wavy pattern. I just made an attempt to capture some video and the pattern seems a little different from my description but should give a clear notion of how it’s behaving. A definite observation is that there seems to be something wonky about the cartridge slot. Reseating and pressing on the cart has an effect on it. You can even hear at one point where the system crashed in response to slot movement. I tried to trim the plastic some to allow an Imagic cart to fit, but even stock 7800 Atari carts are very tight-fitting. I definitely need to trim some more... and look at those connections and traces. IMG_6819.MOV
  9. The flip-flop is on order. A socket awaits it...
  10. The UAV is held to BIOS (and insulated therefrom) by some industrial strength fasteners (Velcro). I followed Cros$bow’s lead on that from his video, seemed solid advice. This box is as old as this effort. Easily 12 years.
  11. This is an eBay unit I’m fixing up, because I have wanted one for myself since the first preview of the 7800 in a 1984 AtariAge magazine. Bought two from eBay, first arrived with a smashed case, and other issues. This is the second, better one. The other is a Rev B where this is Rev C. The caps are all new (Console5 7800 cap kit). Replaced pause switch that looked like someone spilled drink on it. Then replaced power switch after the incident last night. Blue LED mod just because we can. New volt regulator. Considered Longhorn A/V for this unit but no skill, prior experience, nor luck with the surface mount work required. That is the reason for the socketed chip below the resistor pack. Dremel cuts to the cartridge slot guide for Imagic carts and the RF ?hield for wiring A/V jacks. AtariGuide power supply brick. Beyond that it’s a stock 7800 from circa 1988.
  12. Here’s a set of photos of my Rev C board, w/ UAV Rev. D. I’d be interested to know if anything else catches your attention.
  13. Ah, the flip-flop. That does make perfect sense. The little puff of smoke came from under the RF ?hield, in the upper right corner right in that area. I’ll see what I can do to replace that and let you know how it turns out. Thank you sir!
  14. Been working on my A/V mod, and general maintenance/upgrade work on my Atari 7800 system. Almost done -- but unwritten some solder bridges in place and plugged it in with RF shield. Some part of it stated to burn. I think it was the part next to the power cord. I fixed the short circuiting situation. Now when I plug the unit in, it immediately powers up (without my pressing power button), and no matter what I do, I can't turn off power without going to wall power pack and unplugging it. Something's out of line... What's the part next to the power supply input called, and how can I get another component to replace it? Thank you.
  15. S/N: 122907 EP-173 (El Paso, TX, USA - Early April 1983) 4 Joystick Ports, glossy plastic exterior VCS compatibility mod Retrokidz A/V mod (S-video, Composite) Pack-in game: Super Breakout
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