low_budget

I realize I haven't updated this post in a while, but I did try a CD4050BE and a CD74HC4050E. I couldn't really tell much difference between the two. I did recently try buffering the chroma, and the 74HC4050 does seem a little sharper this way. I have tried removing the transistors and using the FMS6400 for amplification, but so far my efforts have failed. I think it could be done, but I may leave the transistors in so there is no loss of contrast. I have sold several kits to Atari computer users, and feedback was positive. I did look over the video circuits of several 8 bit computer models and the 5200 when designing this circuit. There are actually many differences between some models. The 1200XL has 3 transistors in its chroma amp, the 800 has 2, the 5200 & 400 have one. The luma circuits also vary, the RF only models (5200 and 400) have resistance ladder values double what the other computers have. I'm guessing because the signals going to the RF modulator don't need much amplification. I'm looking into making a "solderless" board that will plug into the Atari PCB and the GTIA will plug into the mod board. The output jacks and 5v supply will still need soldering. I've read on the Atariage forums 8bitdomain made something similar in the past but I don't know much about the actual mod.

This adapter is only designed for Atari 2600, Sega Master System, and Genesis standard controllers. Other controllers like the Intellivision, Colecovision, Astrocade, or Vectrex use a different pinout and may damage something. The Wico controller is analog so it will not work. The keypad can be used with the Wico Y cable, I tested it out today. If some of the buttons are not working, I would wiggle the connector going into the Atari. I've found that any problems getting the adapter to work can be traced to a bad connection. It seems the Atari's controller connector pins like to corrode after 30 years.

It's possible, but you will need to remove the original potentiometers and replace them with wires leading to the new panel mount pots (Digi Key part # 987-1395-ND.) The first 3 I built didn't have a silkscreened board, so it may be difficult to remove the pots without tearing up traces. You may want to leave it as is unless you find adjustment is needed often. I've been selling the new style for $69.

I started building more Masterplay clones recently. I fixed the issues with the earlier ones, and added new features. These have easy to adjust centering pots that knobs can be mounted to. These pots can adjust the x y analog position manually across the whole range of movement. I found this has a nice side benefit, 1 or 2 buttons can be mounted in the case and the converter can be used as a stand alone paddle controller. The casing is thicker plastic and white to match the keypad. Durable outer casing to prevent fallapart! All the connectors and pots are screwed to the case. Has circuit board version 1.2 with silkscreen and more tap points for things like extra buttons. The only downside to making these is it takes some time to cut all the plastic to exact size with hand tools. I also had to hand wire the keypad, input connector, and pots so there's around 3 hours labor in building one. I've been making a couple a week and selling them on eBay.

I plan to build eight or so more masterplay clones in the near future. I have masterplay kits for sale, but it seems most gamers prefer an enclosed, finished product. Nice wireless setup!

I have 2 different s-video mod boards. v1.2 is for the Atari 5200 only. It is easier to install and smaller. It takes video signals off certain points on the A5200 board after going through some of the 5200's on board video circuitry. It has very good picture quality, but not quite as good as the v2.0 v2.0 is for the Atari 5200 as well as the 8 bit computer series. It is a complete video processing circuit and takes video signals directly from the GTIA graphics chip. Installation is trickier, as 6 pins of the GTIA need to be lifted which connect to the mod board. This board has better picture quality than v1.2, and am working on ways to improve it further. I also posted a slightly different v2.0 schematic I have tested and had good results with. I bypassed Q2 and adjusted some resistance values in the Chroma circuit. The s-video output for all the circuits I sold has been very high quality. I'm working on improving the composite video mostly. I don't plan on making any new board revisions, as circuit changes can be made with the boards I have. My current v2.0 circuits use the below schematic. If I discover a change that makes it better, I will include those.

The PS3 / Vita cross play games "feature" was also exaggerated. Looking at my Vita's PS store, only Hustle Kings currently supports this feature. Yep, ONE game works with cross play, and it's POOL. I had high hopes when this feature was announced, but it is very limited to the point of being useless. You can still play PS1 disc games over remote play with the Vita, but you could do that with a PSP. I also confirmed the GPS only works with 3G models signed up for the data plan. Even the PSP GPS didn't need a data plan to function, but that add on was only released in Japan. It seems the Vita launch is quite similar to the 3DS launch. The 3DS original firmware was rushed and missing features, as is the Vita. Hopefully some obvious missing features in the Vita firmware will be added, and sales will improve.

I posted some screenshots using the latest v2 circuit as well as very basic installation instructions. It's actually kinda hard to write installation instructions for a system you don't own... a 8bit svid kit v2 install.rtf

I finally got a nice schematic drawn up of v2.0 so I thought I'd post it. Also working on the installation instructions. This is how the circuit board was designed, but I made the board so it's easy to modify the actual circuit for experimentation. So far I have had good results from removing Q2, but am trying a few other ideas as well. When I bypassed Q2 it seemed to improve the sharpness, but had less contrast. As it sits, this mod works great, but there is some room for improvement in making the board smaller with fewer components.

I picked up the 3g launch bundle and it arrived on Feb. 23rd. I mainly got it over the WiFi version because it included the 8GB memory card. As many people now know, there is no free month of 3g service or game voucher included. You have to sign up for 3g and PAY for the first month, then the second month is supposedly free along with a game. So the claim of a free game and free month of 3g on the box is an outright lie. It actually costs an extra $15 to get the free month and game, so that certainly is not FREE. Not a big nuisance since I bought it for the 8GB memory card. I was also hoping the 3g would actually be good for something. Here's my own personal list of pros and cons for the Vita. PROS: Large, bright beautiful screen with multitouch Analog sticks work quite well given the size Amazing graphics comparable to a PS3, just on a smaller screen. Rear touch pad works just as well as the front touch screen. Bluetooth is a nice addition. Motion sensors are nice and responsive. Charge time is fast and battery has decent capacity if you turn off 3G and bluetooth. There's a pretty decent launch game lineup. Downloadable Vita games are usually cheaper than retail versions, although the memory to hold them is expensive. CONS: 3g functionality is almost useless. Web browsing, facebook, twitter, trophy sync, wow. They should have made it with some smartphone capabilities if they were going to bother with 3G at all. Extremely limited access to files on the memory card. I hope somebody makes an aftermarket card reader for Vita. Remote play isn't any better than PSP's remote play. More deceptive marketing. Why can't I put a DVD or Blu Ray in my PS3 and watch it on the Vita? I know it's capable. Downloadable movies are stupid and expensive, you can only watch them on vita and they take up precious memory. Hmm $5 for a DVD that is a physical format I can watch on any player, or the same price for a movie only viewable on Vita. I even like UMD movies for PSP better. No flash player? What the hell? I can't watch internet videos or youtube on it? WHY!?!? Why is there no TV out option? I used it all the time with my PSP 2000 and 3000, it was a great feature. The 4GB memory card is useless, just as bad as the 32MB card included in the original PSP bundle. My 8GB card is 75% full with a couple AR games, some game saves, and 2 demos. I don't like live arena. The XMB on the PSP and PS3 worked great and was simple, why change it? Not exactly easy to swap game cards. You can't tell what game is in the system because icons for all the games you own are constantly displayed. Do I need an icon for a game that I can't play because it isn't in the system? What's with the loading times? The PSP UMD drive was often faster to load games. The 3DS typically loads games very fast. Proprietary Vita memory is a racket. It's also a requirement for any game or application. The cameras could be better. Not expecting an iPhone camera, but even the PSP had a 1.2MP camera accessory for it. Download times are abysmal. I leave mine in sleep mode for days with only a couple of demos downloading and I find they still aren't completed. Backward compatibility with PSP is a joke. Of course UMDs don't work, and many downloadable PSP games are not compatible either. Granted, some of the cons can be remedied by firmware updates, but I don't count on Sony to add too many new features. I predict most of the new features added will be things you have to pay for, like skype and netflix. Not trying to be overly negative, I love the Vita. I just hate how sony intentionally limits what it is capable of.

Thanks for the tip Prodos8! I have also listed my v2.0 mod board, which can be installed in a computer like the 400 with less guesswork (installer only needs to locate the audio point.)

I got the v2.0 mod installed in a 4 port system I recently acquired. I can already see an improvement over the v1.2 board. Installation was a little more tricky (and permanent) as 6 GTIA pins had to be bent straight. I tried two different configurations so far, the first was as designed and based on the Atari 800's circuit. This one had excellent contrast, but some color bleed. In the second configuration I bypassed a transistor in the chroma circuit and connected pin 2 of the FMS6400 to ground. This made the color bleed almost unnoticeable. I'm happy enough with this version to offer for sale in limited quantities. I don't have an Atari 8 bit computer, so I wasn't able to test on one. If somebody would be willing to give it a try and post some pictures, I would be willing to send them a free (bare) 2.0 circuit board. I will post the v2.0 schematic eventually. I still have some changes I would like to try first.

The s-video mod kit should work on Atari 8 bit computers like the 400. However I have no instructions available for installation in these systems. Every Atari computer model is different and would have different solder points. The buyer would have to be able to find the correct solder points by looking over schematics and the circuit board, as well as find a sutible mounting location for the board and output jacks. It's kind of an "at your own risk" type install.

I recently made some useful circuits for the Atari 5200 I have for sale. Prices include shipping to continental USA. My Atari 5200 / 400 / 800 / XL / XE S-Video mod board v2.0 is now available in limited quantities. While it has only been tested in a 5200, the architecture of the video circuit in the 8 bit computers is the same, so it will work in the Atari 8 bit computers as well (as long as the board will physically fit.) It measures 2-1/8" x 1-3/4. Installation is simple, just remove the GTIA from its socket and bend up 6 pins then solder these to the labeled pins of the mod board. Then connect 5v power and the output jacks. This kit has improved contrast and less bleed than my v1.2 s-video kit. Please note I do not have specific instructions on each computer model. Assembled v2.0 board assembled with audio capacitor $45 Kit with all required parts: $25 Bare circuit board: $12 The controller interface is similar in function to a Masterplay, but much cheaper and is available with a keypad. It lets you use a Atari, Sega Master System, or Genesis controller with the Atari 5200. It is available either as a kit with all parts or fully assembled. It does not come with a case, but can be used without. There is no cable included to connect to the 5200, it is recomended to use with a Atari 5200 or Neo Geo style controller extension cable with all pins wired. Can also be directly plugged into the Atari if the Atari's top cover is removed, or powered with batteries and direct wired to a standard 5200 controller cord. Also available without keypad for $5 less. Forum topic: http://www.atariage....sterplay-clone/ Controller Interface Kit with all required parts shown including keypad - $35 Assembled kit with or without soldered-on keypad and connectors - $40 I am also selling my Atari 5200 S-Video / Composite mod kit, v1.2 Forum topic: http://www.atariage....00-s-video-mod/ Assembled v1.2 board with audio capacitor - $32 Bare circuit board only - $8 Send me a message if interested, Thanks!

Progress! I got my pc boards in for my new version 1.2 of this circuit. These have silkscreen and provisions to mount all the components on one board, including the connectors and keypad. I just tested it out last night and it works great. I also made it much easier to adjust the centering pots. When I assembled the three initial prototypes, I noticed I spent most of the build time cutting holes in the project box and wiring the input connector and keypad. Since I hope to sell more than a few of these, I could do without the 3 extra hours work to build them. So my plan is to offer these as a kit either assembled or unassembled with all the components included. The potentieomerters seen it the pics were rather expensive ($2.60 each) so I will send different ones with the kits, actually metal and heavy duty. These can't be mounted on the board however, and will need some short wires to connect them. I know that Atari 5200 compatible controller cables with all pins wired are either expensive or hard to come by, so there are a few options to connect it to the Atari. 1. Get a Neo Geo style controller extension cable and plug it into the onboard DB15 female connector. 2. Use a standard 5200 controller cable and power the board with batteries. 3. Remove the Atari's top cover and plug it in directly. I made the board with lots of tap points so it can be configured for different controlers, remotely mounted pots, and/or battery power. The keypad I use can be plugged in and removable if you solder in a 8 pin header receptacle.

Progress! I received my v2.0 boards and am installing one now. I will take some screenshots of my results when finished. This board has mounting provisions for any components you might need in a complete s-video and composite mod circuit, so it will be great for experimentation. I recently got two 4 port Atari 5200s on ebay and have noticed that the solder points on them are the same as 2 port Ataris. Also these 4 port systems have the same empty spot between the ANTIC and GTIA as the 2 port systems. So, I am guessing these are late model 4 port systems because they seem to have the 2600 adaptor supported. I do not currently have my installation instructions online, I just include a paper copy with the boards. I have revised them so they cover early 4 port systems though. There are only a couple differences. Also, I didn't mean to imply the original 5200 FAQ s-video guide was bad, it just has some errors. I did discover that it has the correct Chroma point, if its an early 4 port model. I also had good results using this mod on a CRT TV, it was when I tried it on a LCD flatscreen that I noticed it wasn't as good. Even though the solder points are labeled wrong, the schematic has the right resistor values to go with them so that's probably why nobody noticed. For as simple as it is, it works well.

Thanks for the support everyone! I just found out some differences between the 2 port and 4 port Atari 5200 systems after helping somebody with an installation problem. They weren't getting color in the picture after installing the mod in a 4 port system. It turns out the locations of R31 (6.8k) and R33 (510 ohm) were swapped. So my above solder points apply to the 2 port system, while the 4 port Atari needs the chroma wire connected one hole to the left (still at the bottom side of R31.) The other solder points are the same. It also seems the 4 port system has a couple ICs and other components in a spot that is open on my 2 port system. The mod board will still fit on 4 port systems, just not quite as easily. Going to update my install instructions again....

I made some small changes to the circuit today and updated the schematic. It turns out the 75 ohm resistors to ground on the outputs are totally unnecessary. My first version circuit board had them tied directly to the outputs of the FMS 6400, but I found it caused an unnecessary load on the chip and made it hot enough to fry an egg. The v1.1 and later had them after 75 ohm resistors on the video output side of the circuit. Today I removed them and found that they didn't seem to have any effect, so I won't install them anymore on future 5200 s-video kits. If somebody that already bought a kit wants to make this change, it's easy, just cut and remove 3 resistors. I didn't notice a big effect on picture quality, but I think it does improve it some. I also corrected a mistake on my older schematic. Pin 2 of the FMS6400 should be connected to 5v instead of ground for the best picture. Due to the design of the 2600 adaptor, I decided it's not really practical to make my mod work with it. The adaptor would require internal modificaions. The Atari 5200 doesn't seem to have been designed for any backward compatibility. It was only after Colecovision released their 2600 expansion module 1 that Atari decided to make one for the 5200. The adaptor is almost a standalone Atari 2600 and only uses the RF box and 5v regulator in the 5200. It would probably be easier and better to install LHE or Batari's 2600 mod kit in the adaptor itself. If you were going to do that, you might as well add a power jack and 5v regulator to make the adaptor a standalone system.

I've been selling the v1.2 mod on ebay for the last couple months as a bare board or fully assembled. I normally buy parts from Digikey, the part #s for the output jacks is listed below. 4p mini DIN (s-video jack) CP-2840-ND Yellow RCA (composite) CP-1415 White RCA (audio) CP-1414 I would recommend 24-26 gauge wire for the connections to the mod board. Some electronics stores sell wire wrapping kits with several colors wire. To connect the video out jacks I like to use shielded wire, usually from a old RCA cable cut up. If I get another 5200, I will try to do a installation how to video and post on youtube. It will be at least 2 weeks before I get my circuit boards in for the v2.0 mod kit. When they come in I will assemble one and do some testing and might need to change some components. My guess is they won't be available for sale until March or April. Some details about v2.0: Board will measure 1.75in by 2.125 in. Circuit is based largely on the Atari 800, but has changes to provide better picture than an original 800. It will connect to 6 lifted pins of the GTIA or CTIA. Should work in all 5200 systems and most 8 bit computers (if the board will physically fit in these systems.) I like to use 1/4w resistors to make finding the right values easier, even if this makes the board bigger. Features dual sided ground planes for minimal RF interference. V2.0 is a larger board with more components, so it will cost more than my v1.2 kit. I will post updates as they come.

I never even thought of selling these at first. I modded a 5200 with s-video using the original FAQ and tested it on a tube TV. It looked prettty good so I decided to sell it on ebay. It sold, and I decided to re-test it before shipping. That's when I discovered problems... Mostly the picture had interference and didn't even look better than RF. My first thought was to cancel the sale since the buyer probably wouldn't be satisfied. Then I decided "no, I can fix this." I was standing on the toilet, and I was hanging a clock, and fell, and hit my head on the sink. And that's when I came up with the idea for the Flux Capacitor, which makes Atari s-video mods possible. Actually, I looked over the Atari 5200 schematics, and was able to locate my tap points on the schematic. Then I noticed the chroma and luma signals were mixed on board and knew that they had to be isolated. I found the resistor that connected the two signals and removed it. That made the picture quality much better on a LCD TV and now the Atari was suitable for sale. I started coming up with ideas to make the picture even better. I read up on the FMS6400 series chips, and decided to make prototype boards with the new chip. I found PCB design software easy to use because I had a background in CAD drawing. The first version board was rough and offered better picture, but was large and had poor composite output. I eventually read the ENTIRE FMS6400 datasheet and found it needed two power filtering capacitors mounted close to the chip. I corrected that with version 1.1 and found a drastic improvement with composite video, and was able to make the board 1/2 in shorter with the same number of components. I sold these 3 rather quickly and found nobody else was currently selling a similar product for the 5200. I decided to get a quantity of boards using ExpressPCB once again, only I found the pricing to be rather high. I tried Pad2Pad and had to learn their software and re-draw my circuit, but found them to be much cheaper. I made some more improvements and had my v1.2 board produced, this time with professional looking silk screen. There are some issues still present with the v1.2 boards, but very minor. There is very slight color bleed with composite video, but is only noticable upon close inspection on a large TV. Frogger had some graphics glitches with composite video, but s-video looked near perfect. I think these are issues caused by tapping the signals after going through many of the original on-board components in the Atari, and could not be fixed with a new circuit using the current tap points. This is why I'm working on a circuit that would connect directly to the GTIA and bypass all the original video modulation circuitry with my own. This circuit would be larger and require bending up 6 pins on the GTIA so I hope to offer both kits in the future. I did reluctantly sell a kit to a guy in the UK after he informed me there was no PAL version of the 5200 (didn't know that) and he had a NTSC compatible tv. He was happy with it so I'd be open to selling kits overseas, but I would rather not offer a modification service.

Several months ago I did a s-video mod using the 5200 faq and found it had a few errors that were adding interference to the signal. While the guide got the job done, it looked BAD on a LCD TV. Following the guide didn't really seperate the chroma, luma, and sound at all. The solder points were labeled wrong. Plus, the circuit didn't output composite video, which I wanted. I got the results I wanted by first isolating the luma / chroma / audio on the board. The biggest improvement over the original guide came when I removed R31 (6.8k) at the top right of the area covered by RF shielding. That isolated the amplified chroma signal. Then I removed all 7 resistors at the top right to isolate the luma from the audio and modulation circuit. The FMS6400 improved the picture a LOT and added composite video. I figured out how to use PCB design software then I made some prototypes and now I'm at version 1.2 after fixing some issues with the composite video. I posted the schematic I use on my v1.2 boards and the corrected solder points. I am also working on a more complex s-video circuit that would connect directly to the GTIA on the 5200 and Atari 8 bit computers. This should give the best possible picture quality from these systems. I have the PCBs on order and will begin testing soon.

Actually, I am selling the 5200 s-video mod kit on ebay, not Best Electronics. Sorry I never tested a 2600 adapter with my kit, but I will update future listings to show it is not compatible. I believe the 2600 adapter combines its video and audio into a MOD signal which goes to the RF modulator in the 5200. Getting the 2600 adaptor to work with a s-video 5200 would require modifications to the adaptor, and possibly another connector to the 5200. So while technically possible, it just wouldn't be practical. The 2600 adaptor for the 5200 is essentially a Atari 2600 without a power regulator and modulator, which are the only functions the 5200 is used for.

I'm the guy that built these. Funny thing is I never really intended to sell them, I just wanted a nice working controller for the 5200. Didn't know there was a forum topic on here until stringfellow let me know. Anyway I can answer questions about it. I only made 3 of these on prototype PCBs, which have all sold. I am looking into making a quantity since it seems there is demand for these. This may take a couple months. The circuit uses a DG413 quad analog switch. I first tried a circuit using two 4052 multiplexers. I couldn't get that one to work right so I used a totally new schematic. My own design! Both fire buttons are wired so a Sega Master System controller can use them. Pins 5 and 7 of the controller port are wired to 5v, so I believe a Genesis controller will work as well. The bottom right keypad button does nothing, it was never used in any Atari controller. It can be read by the Atari, however. I didn't install a connector for an auxilary keypad because the internal one works fine. I was able to play Frogger in keypad mode and it worked well. I tested it with 10 or so games from my collection. I will see if I can fix that jerky control issue in Super Breakout. However, I know some games are designed for analog control and simply won't work with a digital converter. I didn't use a extension cable to test the system. It can be directly plugged into the Atari if the Atari's top cover is removed, but this isn't really practical. Never thought of using gender changers... I know the cable is expensive at $26, but probably the best option. I installed a LED to illuminate the recessed 1M pots. I'm not sure why it didn't light up.... I installed it because I was having trouble seeing the potentieometer slots and couldn't adjust them while the Atari was on. This circuit provides high resistance, but not infinite resistance for down / right. This means it should work with Ms. Pac Man and other games that don't work with a Masterplay. However, I can only test it with games I have and I don't have these at the moment. I want to make new versions with the connectors and keypad soldered to the PCB to reduce assembly time. I will also make the center point pots easier to adjust. Thanks for the feedback everyone!