Frotz

Okay, I've acquired a new analogue stick module and installed it in my controller. I plugged it into one of these http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=180392781761 and fired up mupen64plus. Still, even when the stick is centered, the signals coming out of it wander around. It's utterly impossible to start some games, such as Zelda OOT. I've heard that the particular converted I got has bugs in it. How much of this jitter is from the stick and how much is from the converter? I haven't yet tried this on my N64 because I'm waiting on some more components (power adapter).

The stick operates more like a mechanical mouse than the more commonly-encountered dual-pot. You might have gotten lube where it shouldn't, like the little holes in the wheel, the LEDs, or photodiodes. See http://codebook.potchgult.com/stickrepair/stickfix.htm for a walkthrough on correctly cleaning the stick.

I ordered one a few days ago from somewhere else. Meanwhile, I discovered a hardware hack that involves replacing the analogue stick with one from a Playstation controller. A microcontroller is used to translate resistance into chopper wheel output. See http://nfggames.com/forum2/index.php?topic=3574.0.

Do any of you know anything about these Sumo branded N64 controllers I see on Ebay in large numbers?

I recently got on an N64 kick after stumbling across one in my storage unit. Then I remembered the problems many people had with the analogue sticks. I've heard stories of a third party controller that has a metal analog stick. What was its name? If I swap out the analogue stick from a stock controller and lube the new one with white lithium grease, how long will that last? Any other suggestions?

There's a serious effort underway on rec.games.vectrex about doing so. I think I started it by asking if anyone makes replica overlays.

Since the schematic is publicly-known and (I think) the board files, you can take the latter to the batchpcb.com for fabbing. If not, it's an easy enough schematic to design your own using something like gEDA. I did a board design of Longhorn's mod for fun a while ago. Maybe I should dig it out and post it.

And why Chris and I are doing another one. Ask around if you want any anecdotes about ordering from me (Cyberpunks) back in the day. I don't think you'll find any complaints. Another one? What's different in this new one versus Longhorn's?

I'm perusing the Atari Video Music schematics and I see the main chip is labeled with "C010280". Does anyone know the true identity of this chip?

It's true. I've seen it more than once.

I strongly suspect that those problems are a big reason why Longhorn Engineer made his modboards.

Does anyone remember the jazzy dance of "How you gonna do it? I'm gonna PS2 it!"? Also, I've frequently heard the term "compatible" used as a noun rather than adjective. "What sort of computer do you have?" "Oh, I have a compatible."

I think I might have fried one or more chips in my 2600 sixer while trying to get the Longhorn mod working. After futzing around with where the power is going, I noticed that the voltage regulator was outputting around 1 volt and the 2200uF capacitor on the switchboard was shorted. I had fresh spares of those onhand, so went in and replaced them. I popped out the chips, which I probably should have done earlier. After some more poking and checking for solder bridges and so on, I concluded that power was getting where it needed to go. I attatched the mod only to pins 11 and 12 on the TIA (the audio outputs). My thinking was that I pop in "Empire Strikes Back" and I'd have instant feedback as to whether things are working or not. Now that the power distribution is good, I can't get the TIA to output any audio. I haven't yet checked video. Based on the absense of audio output at this stage, can I conclude that one or more chips in this console were fried? Aside from getting another console to mess with, how can I be sure just what went wrong?

All those polarized parts are installed the right way round. Since I bought two kits, I built up the second. This time I attached only the audio outputs. I'll gradually go from there. Right now I'm waiting for the TV to be vacated so I can check things out.

14V is normal for the AC adapter when it isn't plugged into the Atari. Try measuring the 7805 regulator voltages with the console turned on. Center pin is ground. The input pin should read somewhere above +8V. It varies from console to console and by what you have plugged into the ports. The output should read very close to +5V when the deck is turned on no matter what. It might be easier to measure at the TIA chip. Pin 1 is ground and pin 20 is +5V. This test checks out okay. Still, I have no picture and no sound. Any ideas? I just noticed that the FMS6400 is so hot it blistered my finger. Hmmm....

I installed this mod into a light sixer today. There was some initial trouble with the audio connections not being solid (I tried soldering to a socket instead of directly to the TIA chip. I decided to solder directly to the chip as Longhorn suggests. The other initial problem is the color randomly going in and out. I think I have this tracked down to a dodgy connection on the modboard. Then I noticed another problem. After about fifteen minutes of fiddling with the system, it quit working. I checked the power supply and found that it was outputting 14 volts instead of 9. Did I just now ruin my light-sixer?

Every 2600 I've seen on the inside has its capacitors mounted rather haphazardly; typically with lots of space between the body of the part and the board. Usually one or more is cracked. Is there any advantage to desoldering these and replacing them with more compact modern caps?

Nah. Nintendo of America had a weird hangup over religious icons during the 80s and the first part of the 90s. It happened with non-Castlevania games too.

A friend of mine was an intern or something at Atari during the 80s. One day he was wandering down a hall whistling randomly. Someone ran out of an office, grabbed my friend's shoulders saying "THAT'S IT! THAT'S IT! THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR!". That random whistle became the Peter Pack-Rat music.

If you look in the Vectrex FAQ you will find this: 7.4) My Vectrex just shows a white dot when I turn it on. I can hear the game playing but there is no picture. Can I fix it? There is 1 common problem that will cause this symptom. Inside the unit there is a 4-wire power connector connecting the side board to the bottom board. Often units with no picture have bad solder joints on this connector. Try resoldering the pins and see if that helps. Hoping the above might help... regards VectrexMad! http://www.vectrex.co.uk Which cap kit is the right one? I just acquired a Vectrex that has wobbly graphics near the bottom of the screen.

"The Blitter chip enhanced the speed of the graphics on the STE's. This was most notable when using GEM applications that used windows." Wha?

Does anyone here know about using a Vecflash with Linux? I'm about to order a Vecflash, but I'm not clear on how it wants to talk to the host computer. Is special software required?

Has anyone heard from Longhorn lately? I'm wondering when my modboards will arrive.

That was dumb. Those old silver notes are worth quite a bit more than their face value. Once in a while I hear about a store that refuses $2 notes because they think they're fake.

Wait... How did you get a negative feedback when you were the buyer? I thought Ebay stopped allowing sellers to leave negatives.