SlowCoder

I think it's logical to me. Let me see if I have this straight ... rather than turning ON a signal when fire or joystick is moved, it's actually grounding out the signal. So my assumption that pressing fire on the joystick would activate a signal is opposite of what's actually happening? If that's the case, I understand the logic of using the inverter. Ok. Done some research ... Please take a look at this page: http://www.kpsec.fre...s/cmos.htm#4049 It looks easy to build a circuit using this chip. I would guess that pin 1 needs to be connected to a power voltage that I want to send to the LED, i.e. 5V, perse? Would I use a resistor to bring the voltage down to 5V from 9V? At the top of this same page, it mentions that line noise is an issue, so all of the unsed input pins need to be connected to power. Is this necessary? Most of the LEDs I've seen are 12V. I'm assuming that's a max, and not a required voltage, and these LEDs should light at 5V? Can you explain how I need to calculate the required resistance values to make everything work as needed?

I took apart the DVD player, and have removed the LCD screen from the rest of the chassis. It has a simple swivel mechanism, so I think I'll just be able to drill a simple hole in the top of my test Atari and mount it in there without much difficulty, making for a pretty cool portable console! Cracking open the LCD compartment, found a couple of stickers on the back of the actual LCD component, but I can't tell which might be the model. There are 3 bundles of wires on the LCD that I disconnected from mainboard. Here are the markings for the pins on each bundle: Bundle 1 (Assuming this is Audio) 1: SC 2: GND 3: TFT_CVBS 4: GND 5: GND 6: GND 7: ROUT- 8: ROUT+ 9: LOUT- 10: LOUT+ Bundle 2 1: INT/EXT 2: PAL/NTSC 3: -13V 4: 3V3 5: 5V 6: 7V5 7: 17V 8: GND 9: GND 10: GND Bundle 3: 1: 9V 2: 9V 3: GND 4: ON/OFF 5: GND 6: GND I realize I'll probably need to convert my Atari to Composite A/V. The power adapter for the DVD is 9.5V, 3A. Should that be enough to power both the Atari and the LCD? Techie guys, how might I wire this to my Atari?

Haha! That was the only one we found that my wife would allow in the living room, and that would accommodate the equipment. I will probably eventually install cable runners to clean it up a bit.

My collection is a mix of retro, and not so retro stuff. I don't have a lot of room like some of you apparently do, so my stuff is compact, original boxes tossed long ago. Forgive me. Pics were taken with my phone, and I didn't do anything with the lighting, and I didn't do a lot of cleanup ... but you'll get the jist. Look and be amazed ... or don't. The main entertainment shelf. I keep my equipment covered by towels. It contains all of the operational consoles we actively play. Shelf 1: the PS3 and the primary controller basket. Shelf 2: PS2, NES and Wii. NES and WII games. I got the PS2 and Wii just because I wanted them. I got the NES because I never had one, but had always drooled over my friend's as a kid and I wanted to be able to play through the Mario series. Shelf 3: Atari shelf with Atari 2600 and games. Not all of the games shown, as they are stored in the TeleGames cabinet. I had a Sears TeleGames Atari as a kid. Haven't located one like it within a price I can afford. So I'm stuck with this Light 6 for the meantime. PS1, PS2 and PS3 games, stored in the entertainment cabinet. Purchased over time to play. Have played through many, lost interest in some. But can't bring myself to get rid of any. My PSP and it's games. Also some more PS2 games I found in the back of the cabinet. Not old, but it is part of my "collection". My son and I pooled our Christmas money together to get the PSP. We play it quite often. The case in the right picture was customized by my son a couple years ago. I'm proud of it. Sega Game Gear setup. I bought it new, and wasted lots of money on its peripherals. But it was worth it, and lots of fun. Not shown are my Atari 2600 4 Switch and Heavy Six, another Game Gear, as well as a Coleco Adam that I used as a kid, and which disappeared to my grandparent's attic for 20 years. I wonder if the Adam ever work again. The tapes were destroyed by the heat, and the paddle/keypad controllers have gone missing. I suspect it's toast. Topping that off, and not counting the slew of Windows based computer games I have, I also have about 20GB of old school DOS based games. Yeah ... awesome stuff! So, there you go ... my collection.

Take a look at this thread by me regarding this same subject. There wasn't anything in it about being bad for your Atari. In fact, it's good because of the fact that you're not continually plugging/unplugging the controllers directly in the Atari port. http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/166692-extension-cables-for-atari-joysticks/

Just a thought, I don't paint my carts ... But what if you sanded the cart with a rough sandpaper to give the paint something to adhere to?

Uh ... COUGH COUGH!!! I live in Tallahassee, dude! I'll come pick one of those babies up from you right now! Or you can just drop one in the mail and I'll pay shipping! Purdy please???

I removed a power connection from a "nonworking" 2600 board to fix one that worked, but had a bad connector. Later I went back to the one I thought was nonworking and did the same to it from a board I KNEW was nonworking. Now I'm considering trying to convert that one to composite video, as I believe it is the RF modulator that doesn't work. Guess what? It sure would be nice if I had a power connector for it! Point being I played musical connectors and did some unneeded soldering time moving connectors around. I would like to know if there is a place I can purchase new ones so I don't do all the extra work again.

As I'm working on my Atari's I'm noticing how nice it would be to have some solder wick! All you guys who work on the boards, I have seen both 1.5mm and 3mm wicks. In your opinion, what do you think the best would be? I've also noticed that some ads mention rosin, which I know helps with the wicking action. What's your opinion on that?

Damnit! Fooled me! I didn't come into this thread to talk about Atari!

I can understand the Heavy 6 being more valuable than most of the rest due to their more limited availability. But when I'm looking around on eBay, I see only a few Vaders, and the sellers are asking more than other consoles. Is it just me, or is there some reason yet unknown to me for this? And what the heck is it with some of these people claiming Woodys as Vaders? I'd say about half of the ones labelled Vader are just 4 switch Woodys. Ugh! And on the same subject, but not ... Check this ebay list ... eBay Auction -- Item Number: 320575090969 Did your eyes bug out when you saw it? Yeah, I thought so. Is that a runaway auction, where the bidders just couldn't be one-upped? The console in that pic was in worse shape than mine, and I got mine cheapo. And I don't think any of the games are rare. Correct me if I'm off on this, but shouldn't something like that not go for more than maybe $100?

Duh! It would come out all clean and spring fresh!

Interesting question. There is composite input to the player itself, but not directly to the display. AND ... the player uses 9.5v DC, closely compatible with Atari ... Hummm!

I have a Polaroid DVD player, model PDV-0821T. It took a trip to the floor, breaking the power receptacle. I would like to know what I need to know to see if the display could be used for an Atari retrofit? Perhaps much in the same way as Ben Heck's PS1 mod? I have another DVD player, so it's not important to resurrect this one as a player also.

Thank you, tetrode ... That's the type of info I was looking for! Perhaps feasible, but I'll need to research more on your inverters.

By "power socket", you mean where the wall wart plugs into the unit with the headphone style jack? Or do you mean the power switch? I had to replace one of those power sockets myself. You don't have to be a soldering pro to replace it, you just need a nonworking Atari retrieve a socket from. If you have an adjustable soldering iron, don't make it too hot. Just hot enough to melt the solder on the contact. You can get solder wicks from Radio Shack for pretty cheap, that will assist you in removing the solder as it melts. Once you've unsoldered the 3 prongs from the socket, replace it with the good socket, and solder to the board with new solder. Not too difficult a job. Just a little patience and care. If you mean the power switch, you can pretty easily repair it. Atari switches do have a little springy wiggle in them, which is normal. The easy way I've found to clean them if they're just sticky, is to place a drop of 90% alcohol into the side of the switch, then flip the switch on and off (unplugged of course) quite a few times. That should clean up the contacts pretty well and remove most of the sticky feel. If you want to really get down into it, you can pull the top cover of the switch off, carefully, with a pair of pliers. Notice the small prongs that hold the cover in place, as you'll need to refit them properly during reassemble. Once the cover is removed, pay attention to the position of the small metal slides under the switch handle. Now, take the alcohol and clean Q-Tips and rub it all down until the gunk is gone. Put it back together and it should work like a top. If you decide to take the game select or reset switches apart, note that there are springs that are just waiting to pop out, never to be found again, if you're not careful. Also, I've seen references to using WD40 to clean the switches. I would NOT recommend that at all. It might "clean" your switches temporarily, but will eventually collect particles, and negatively affect your Atari's functionality.

Not on the controllers. On the console. I thought the best place would be the front of the console. *** I'm surprised no one has responded to the electrical questions I posed. I'm sure there are some here who could provide some insight? ***

Then you might by rubbing too hard. I've found Q-tips (the actual Q-tip brand) work great most of the time. My thoughts exactly. You can expect to go through a dozen Q-Tips before the mainboard has been properly cleaned, though.

What a definition ... In your mind, does "cheap" mean a small amount of money, or lack of quality? Back when these things were made they were high quality. But you are correct in that they can be had for ... "cheap", as in low amounts of money, if you know where to look.

What's more important to you, the experience and enjoyment of learning a new skill, or the money? If you, like me, enjoy learning, and you think it would be fun to mod your Atari, then go ahead and mod it. You might not get much more for it, but you had the chance to learn something. If you're only interested in the ROI (return on investment), then consider how much your time is worth, compared to how much you think you could get for the modded Atari. If it's potentially worth your time, do the mod and sell it. Otherwise consider mowing a couple of lawns or working day labor for a few hours. If it's money you want, probably pursuing temp jobs will get more than a modded Arari, based on the prices I see on eBay.

Nah, too easy, and I'm sure that mod has already been done too much to call it interesting. I'm looking to create interest and draw attention to the console. Make it more fun. I just need to know if there are any electrical issues I need to think about. Potentially there could be the electrical draw of up to 7 LEDs at any time; 1 for power, 1 for each controller's fire btn, up to 2 directional (UL,UR,DL,DR) for each controller.

Also, what do you guys think about repainting the bezel edges to restore the color? I know in some antique circles, it's considered passe to repaint something because it loses it's antiqueness and individuality. Thoughts?

Hey guys, The Heavy Sixer I have has S# 86491L, Sunnyvale, CA. I recently got it from a friend who is also a member of this site. I don't know his username. He said he thought it might have already been registered here. But I don't see it listed in the first post of this thread.

Lendorian, This design concept is something I've had in mind for a little while. Like you, my Atari lives 6 feet to the right of my TV, and accessing the controls directly on the console is currently a lot of work. As someone said earlier in this thread, playing with the switches in this situation is not what I consider a fun part of the experience. I'm sure there is a simple electronic component (transistor, maybe?) that would allow toggling based on your joystick movement. Though, I'll admit, I'm not very skilled in electronic design. I'm sure one of these other guys could come up with something.

Are my eyes deceiving me? I recently got a Heavy Sixer. I noticed that the switch bezel's border is yellow, instead of the orange color I see on light sixers and 4 switchers. Is that correct, or are they all normally orange, and somehow mine is faded?