ApolloBoy

1: Neither, I'd prefer RGB 2: Nope 3: Don't really care 4: Both inputs 5: Regular switches 6: It'd be nice to have something to drop into a standard CV case 7: Surface mount for stuff like logic ICs and the supporting circuitry, but keep things through-hole for the main ICs

Here's an overall view of my install, you can see how I spliced in additional wires since the wiring harness wasn't long enough. This is a closeup of the 8-pin mini-DIN, it follows the same pinout as the mini-DIN on the Framemeister. Yes I know the capacitor on my audio jacks is crudely wired in but that was done many years ago... And here's my very crude layout of the output connector on the SOPHIA board. I left out the blanking signal, vertical sync and the extra ground signal since they weren't needed on my PVM.

I got my SOPHIA boards about a week ago and today I was able to find time to install them in my 5200 and 800XL. Very impressed with the picture quality and I'm really happy to have RGB at last for my A8s. There a few things to keep in mind though. First off, the pins on the SOPHIA board are on the short side and will hardly fit in a conventional socket. I had to replace the GTIA sockets in both systems with precision sockets which fit the SOPHIA like a glove. On both systems the SOPHIA board hit the top of another chip (two in the 5200's case), so I had to remove the chips in question, desolder the sockets and then solder the chips directly to the motherboard. You could avoid this on the 5200 by stacking another socket on the SOPHIA but I think you'd run into clearance issues on the 800XL. I also ditched the DB9 connectors and instead soldered on a female 8-pin mini-DIN jack. This wasn't too hard and I avoided having to drill extra holes since both systems previously had S-video mods. However, if you're installing your video connector on the 5200's expansion port panel, you'll need to splice in some extra wires onto the wiring harness as the one included is kind of short.

The audio is still pretty off on that, yuck

I've been powering my 800XL from my external hard drive (which has a built-in USB hub that can charge other devices) for over a month now and I've never had an issue.

You don't have to use the DB9 you know, you can always just cut off the DB9 connector and wire it up to whatever you're comfortable with. I'm sticking with an 8-pin mini-DIN since my 5200 and 800XL have already been modded for S-video, meaning I can just swap out the existing 4-pin S-vid connectors and not have to drill new holes.

Uh no, this is only for Atari 8-bit hardware including the 5200. The 7800 is totally different so there's no way the SOPHIA board will work. Tim Worthington is supposedly working on an RGB mod for the 7800 though. It would depend on the mod, some mod boards require that you lift pins on the GTIA so in those instances you'd have to undo the mod.

I'm still down for two.

Uhh that's a full-size DIN, not a mini-DIN.

Depends on which version of the Wondermega you're talking about though. The original Wondermega is totally different and even includes a DSP for audio enhancement. The Wondermega M2 is what the X'Eye is based on and largely has the same circuitry.

Well yes because you're adding a new connector. You could either just drill a hole or remove the RF modulator, enlarge the existing hole for the RF jack and mount it there.

You wouldn't really need to use a DB9 connector, I personally plan on just using an 8-pin mini-DIN which is far easier to mount than a DB9.

Yes, you'll need to have a modded system in order to use self-booting discs. I've got a XenoGC chip and it works fine, although you'll need to adjust your GameCube's laser a bit to read most burned discs.

I recently burned a self-booting GBI disc and it's so much better than the official Game Boy Player disc. The video is nice and sharp and almost zero lag, love it.

They're the same.

Not to toot my own horn but RF Generation is the best place for that.

Considering the GTIARGB is nearing completion I'd personally wait on that rather than getting a VBXE.

Uhhh that's not a 7800, the SVA II is a 2600.

It does S-video as well, if you're interested in that. Not really, it sits between the TIA and motherboard, and it requires the TIA in order to function. That's because Tim includes a switching regulator that replaces the original 7805. Switching regulators generate noise which will often show up as diagonal lines, and the capacitor helps to cut down on that.

Nine pages in and no one brought up the 2600RGB? Practically eliminates the jailbar problem.

The text on the right side looks too generic IMO.

The Jag CD itself is a hardware problem.

I still say that's way overkill. It's way too cost-prohibitive for most people and the small userbase wouldn't really make software development worth it. Also funny that most of your examples were either incremental updates (Amiga AGA, STE, MSX2+), unreleased (7800XM, C65) or in the case of the 32X, a flop.

I went to their physical store in Antioch a few years ago, got some good stuff for cheap. They're definitely legit.