reverendshoebox

March 22

All -

I just got a Colecovision Adam from my son, and I picked up a Buck Rogers Super Data Pack to try out. When I put it in and hit Computer Reset, it rewinds all the way to the beginning, and then keeps clicking. It never tries to play. If I take the tape out, the gears keep spinning - it's clearly still trying to rewind.

Any thoughts on what I might need to do here? I'm guessing there's something in the mechanism that should detect when the gears stop spinning (or encounter resistance) and switch things over to play the tape?

Thanks!

November 7, 2023

1 hour ago, SoulBlazer said:

Thanks for the post! I posted a little above the result of controllers tried with the systems and four we confirmed DO work.

Also...firmware update? Say what? Is there an update for the GBP? How do we even apply it?

No firmware updates appear to be available anywhere...you have whatever you have when you get the system. The firmware version shows up under "About" under the settings.

November 7, 2023

Update: When I took the controller apart earlier I apparently pulled the three-wire bundle off of the Button B contact. So I had to take it apart further to fix this.

The paddle DOES in fact pull off of the potentiometer with a little effort, so my worries of glue were unfounded.

Got a few more pictures, including detail of how the joystick directions make contact with the PCB and such.

One could, if one were so inclined (and one is damned well thinking about it, believe one,) presumably solder a few wires from the board to a DB9 connector, allowing one to plug a classic Atari joystick into this thing and use it semi-sorta-wirelessly.

November 7, 2023

Hi, all.

Here's an infodump of all the things I've discovered about the Gamestation Pro so far (I posted some of these in the AtariAge Facebook group, and I apologize if anything here has already been discussed - I've skimmed this topic, but I'm 14 pages late to the party. )

1. It does NOT work with an XBox 360 wireless adapter. At least not a third party one.
2. I tried hooking up a USB keyboard, and it sort of works. You can use it like a controller - the keypad works as up-down-left-right and some of the keys map to A/B/C/Home/Start/Select buttons. This seems to work everywhere, even in the menus. I hoped this meant that maybe the keys would work in Altirra (e.g. that I could use the transporters in Miner 2049er.) Alas, this was not to be.
3. I was successfully able to hook up two PS4 controllers (connected via USB) and play The Simpsons Arcade (loaded via SD) with two players. However, if both controllers weren't hooked up at startup, I got some really weird results...either the player 1 / player 2 controls would switch randomly or only some directions/buttons would work on one of the controllers.
4. If you hook the thing up to your PC via the rear USB-C power input, your PC...uh...powers the unit. That's it. It's not recognized as a device or anything like that.

5. The RetroBit wireless Genesis controller (via USB dongle) did not work.

6. The USB-connected Hyperkin Trooper 2 was the most frustrating thing...it ALMOST worked. The joystick works. But the upper left button is mapped to "Start" / "Game Reset" and NONE OF ITS BUTTONS ARE MAPPED TO BUTTON A. So you could play Pac-Man with it if you navigate the menus using the native control...but that's about it.

8. Since we know it's using Altirra for 5200 emulation, I wondered if it would maybe recognize A8 games. I threw a couple onto the SD with atr and xex extensions, but they didn't show up on the menu. I tried renaming both of those with a56 extensions, hoping maybe they'd show up and the emulator would figure things out, but they didn't launch (NOTE: I only tried this with Snokie, might be worth trying with a couple of other games.)

9. Game Gear games are supported (at least if you have firmware version 1.20 or higher, apparently,) so I wondered if maybe Master System games would work. They did not show up in the menu. Using the same logic applied above, I tried renaming an .sms file to .gg and shockingly it launched and I was able to sort of play Psycho Fox - but the colors were wonky (the main Psycho Fox sprite was just a black blob) and the screen was clipped on the left and right. This meshes with what I was told by a Sega representative on their 800 number decades ago - namely that the Game Gear had more colors than the Master System (the context of my call was asking if a Game-Gear-To-Master-System adapter would ever exist.)

10. I took the joystick apart to some degree. I wasn't able to get the main board fully removed because the paddle control on the top is either glued to the potentiometer or just really, really tight to the point that I was worried I'd break something. It's possible I could desolder it from the bottom and take the whole potentiometer off. But I didn't do that. Nor did I take any pictures. But I just took it apart again to at least get a few pics of the test points on the board and the labeled connectors.

For my next trick, I've ordered a Bluetooth dongle from 8BitDo which has button-based pairing - I'm hoping this will maybe allow me to pair my PS4 controllers wirelessly.

Thanks to everyone else for their initial investigations into this (especially GenXGrownup who I'm guessing is on here somewhere.)

March 5, 2023

So over here on my end, I've replaced the power amp and the fuse, and I'm back to square one (black screen.) Following the guide from Console5, it looks like the voltage across TP1-TP2 is good (18VAC.) TP8 is 21VDC when the unit is off, but goes down to like 2VDC when the system is powered on rather than the 5VDC I'm supposed to see - and the other test points seem similarly off.

Any thoughts on what I might wanna do to verify the power board is okay? And what next steps I might want to take?

Thanks again,

Tim

March 1, 2023

On 2/27/2023 at 12:32 PM, -^CrossBow^- said:

Odd...there is even a 7805 mentioned in the parts listing for the Intellivision II. But it doesn't state specifically where. Then again the service manual aside from advising where to check the power, just states the power supply board as a single replaceable part and doesn't go into the breakdown of it.

Yeah...aggravating, as it's not like there's a stockpile of them somewhere. Unless there is. Maybe there's a whole mess of 'em next to the E.T. cartridges in New Mexico...

Let me know if you find anything interesting, I'll keep updating here with my status as well. I've got new fuses and a new power amp ordered in case the power amp is indeed the problem.

Tim

February 26, 2023

So, the thing on the INTV2 PSU that looks like a voltage regulator is actually a power amp driver (the specific model number is X44C758 - I found an equivalent online in the form of the NTE377.

Stupidly, however, I hooked up the 7805 before figuring this out (I either read somewhere or more possibly inferred from something I read somewhere that this was a safe replacement, and just jumped into it) aaaand now I need a new fuse as well.

Any suggestions for a proper fuse replacement? And anything else I should order for this thing as long as I'm getting parts, in case replacing the X44C758 isn't the right thing?

I'll be bashing my head against the wall and berating myself for the rest of the evening.

Thanks,

Tim

February 24, 2023

Nope, it's 18V on pins 1 and 3.

I desoldered the voltage regulator and the other thing mounted to the heatsink (apologies, honestly not sure what this is and can't find a schematic) and twisted the two legs of the heatsink to line up with the holes in the PCB, but the heatsink absolutely won't come off the board! Is there some trick to this?

And assuming I'm able to get that out...as far as the riveted voltage regulator (WHY?!?) do I have to drill it out? Or is there a less messy option?

Thanks again for the help!

Tim

February 24, 2023

Hey, thanks for the suggestions! I think I have an extra 7805 so I can try replacing that...any idea how I can determine whether that or the transformer is the likely culprit? And what type of transformer would I need if that's what I need to replace?

Tim

February 22, 2023

Thanks for the response. Yes, the power supply works on my INTV II.

Tim

February 22, 2023

Hey, all.

I'm trying to fix a friend's INTV II. He claims it worked fine (though occasionally required cartridge repositioning) and then stopped.

I powered it on, and I get a black screen with a bit of snow. The reset button DOES cause the screen to flash, and if I wiggle the cartridge around, I get a slight difference in the display...but nothing good.

Initially I suspected bad solder joins in the cartridge slot, so I reflowed all of that...no dice.

Taking it apart, I see a ribbon connecting the main board to the TOP of the power supply board where the test points should be - so clearly that's been messed with before.

Following the troubleshooting guide in the service manual from Console5, I checked the power adapter and verified it was in the right range - but I got 3.8VAC between TP1 and TP2, which should apparently be 16-20VAC.

The guide then suggests checking the jack, the trace between J1 and the power board, C38, C39, and F1.

The jack is good, the fuse is good. I don't see any obvious issues with the trace, though I'm honestly not sure what I'm looking for, and I not only can't locate C38 or C39 but I don't see a reference to them in the parts list.

Barring an issue with the trace or the seemingly-nonexistent capacitors, the suggestion is to replace the power supply board.

Any thoughts on anything else I can try, or where these capacitors might be?

Thanks!

Tim

March 30, 2021

On 3/20/2021 at 5:19 PM, batari said:

Well, technically, the game can work on a Concerto now.

You need to flash the above Harmony Encore firmware using a USB cable (with the method outlined on the Concerto firmware thread). This will make your Concerto act like a Harmony Encore, and it won't support 7800 games unless you revert back to the Concerto firmware.

It will work on the normal Concerto menu eventually, though.

Hey, thanks so much for staying on top of this!

Any idea on when an update for the actual Concerto firmware might exist?

-=ShoEboX=-

March 15, 2021

Okay, well, I took it apart, hooked the board directly to the power and monitor to see if I could get a video of the screen and maybe capture the number of bombs, aaaaand it just plain worked.

So, figuring this might be the age-old "drop the computer a couple of inches" issue, I checked all the traces, re-soldered a couple of iffy ones, and reseated all the socketed ICs. It's back together now and working just fine, so...?

March 14, 2021

Hello all.

So, I fired up my Atari 520ST for the first time in a long time and it was working just fine. Then I left it running for about an hour while I ran upstairs to do something, and when I came back I had a white screen.

Now, whenever I fire it up, I get the same white screen - with a row of bombs occasionally flashing very briefly on the screen (not long enough for me to count them.)

I searched on these symptoms and most of what I've seen is around modded systems - pretty sure mine is NOT modded (though I got it used years ago, so not certain.)

Any recommendations for first steps here? The fact that it happened while it was running and is still happening makes me think caps maybe?

Thanks.

February 26, 2021

Hey people.

Looking to replace the color adjustment trimmer on my 130XE, but finding one that's 500k -and- bottom-adjustable -and- 1/2 watt has proven difficult.

Has anyone had any luck finding a replacement? Best Electronics' new policy of only allowing 3 items per order has unfortunately made them a less viable option for small parts.

Thanks

February 14, 2021

On 2/13/2021 at 2:15 PM, keithbk said:

Remember, you can always "build" plastic back with superglue and baking soda.

Put a layer of superglue...

sprinkle baking soda...

repeat as necessary.

File when completed. Paint black.

...Interesting. This video didn't really show an example of it being done, but I'll have to look into that a bit.

February 11, 2021

Hey, people.

So, I have two 2600 Jr. systems with broken plastic tabs and decided to finally try to do something about it.

Someone elsewhere in this forum had suggesting using screws, which seemed to work pretty well, but while looking at this, I noticed the two holes on either side of the cartridge slot on he board itself and noted they lined up with the cartridge holes rather well...almost as if by design.

First, I broke the remaining bit of plastic off the top casing.

Then I cut two small pieces of plastic from plastic Q-Tips (wooden dowels might have been a better move, but the plastic Q-Tips seemed strong enough for my purposes,) put them in the holes, trimmed them to the proper length, and used black Sugru to secure them in the holes, give them some more stability, and make the color match up.

Sure enough, after they dried, they went right through the top casing in the right spot and work perfectly with cartridges. And because they're in the board rather than on a tiny bit of plastic on the case, they're quite secure.

Now, you'll see this approach isn't perfect - I made the Sugru a bit too thick, and a bit scraped off when I put the top case on and pushed the new tabs through the top slot. So that's why you see a bit of white poking through in the photo. And even before that, this is a bit ugly. So I'm thinking a better solution might be to 3-D print something that fits snugly in the holes and goes through the top slot, or maybe there's another better-fitting solution already out there (suggestions are more than welcome.) But - and maybe it's out there and I missed it and you're all about to laugh at me - I haven't seen anyone else suggest using these holes for this purpose before.* So hopefully this helps someone out.

*Yes, yes, that's what she said. Carry on.

February 7, 2021

On 9/18/2020 at 10:29 AM, Steve Guidi said:

I used some small screws to fabricate the broken tabs, then filed them down with a rotary tool. I don't think I'll have any issues with this in the long term.

See the following for photos (I misinterpreted what the OP was asking in that post).

That's a cool idea. I think I might try doing this but also covering the screws with a bit of black Sugru so they don't look so...uh...screwlike.

February 6, 2021

Hello!

I've got a 2600 Jr. that comes on with either a completely black screen or a scrolling bit of video (image attached.) If I let it run for more than a few seconds, the RIOT starts getting really hot.

Recommendations on where to start? Is the RIOT the likely culprit?

Thanks muchly, people!

-=ShoEboX=-

January 17, 2021

1 hour ago, DrVenkman said:

Be sure to have the difficulty switches set correctly - this is one game where they definitely impact how you choose to play the game.

That was it!! Thanks!

January 17, 2021

Hello!

I just recently got a Concerto cartridge (no POKEY yet...got one on order from Best) and attempted to play Bentley Bear's Crystal Quest, but I'm having an odd problem in that the buttons don't seem to do anything. Without being able to throw rocks, I obviously can't get very far.

Is this a known issue? Do I possibly have a bad ROM? Is there an official one out there I should be using?

FWIW, I'm hoping to purchase the actual cartridge in the near future...it's too awesome of a game to not own in its true format. But for now I'd love to be able to play it on the real hardware via the Concerto if I can.

-=ShoEboX=-

January 13, 2021

Also, any idea when the HOKEYs will start existing?

January 13, 2021

U.S. mail is still incredibly slow right now. Mine also shipped on the 28th and I got it yesterday.

4 minutes ago, J.Max said:

Mine shipped on 12/28, but I don’t have tracking and I haven’t received it. Was there something I missed in the shipment email?

January 13, 2021

Okay, hooked the POKEY back up to my 130XE and lo and behold, no sound. So apparently I somehow broke it. Consarnit.

...Anybody got a couple of spare POKEYs for sale?

-='Box=-

January 12, 2021

6 hours ago, batari said:

I think all original POKEY chips should work the same. If there are incompatible variants, I haven't heard of these.

Try Ballblazer and Commando to be sure POKEY is working. If it isn't, do other carts with POKEY work, like a real Ballblazer cart? If not, there is a problem with the console. Or, some video mods say connecting POKEY audio is "optional" so maybe that wasn't done.

If it's just homebrew games with POKEY, these aren't all supported just yet, but will be in firmware updates in the near future, though some do work now and some work now with a modded binary.

Hey, thanks for the response.

It did not work with Ballblazer via the Concerto. My real Ballblazer cart worked fine, so the problem isn't my system.

Tried reseating the POKEY, same result. Guess my next step is trying the chip somewhere else to make sure I didn't somehow break it when I desoldered it, unless you have any other suggestions?

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