Rolo

New: VECTREX Joystick Kit for sale Here is something new : Do you need a 2nd controller for your VECTREX? Did you pick up a VECTREX without controller? Did you look on ebay and find none? Did you find one, but it was quite pricey? Have you always wanted to make a better controller, but it was just to much work to do? This could be a solution! I've been making a new controller PCB for VECTREX. It offers: high quality components (ALPS analog controller, planned: Seimatsu-Buttons, if I get them) four button-channels (two regular, two with separately adjustable and switchable auto fire) two switches for auto fire channels two potentiometers (auto fire frequencies) two LED indicators for auto fire buttons x and y-offset adjustable fully populated PCB slim, molded DB9 joystick cable cable relief rotary knobs controller lever or hat retro components, retro design That really reduces the burden of making a controller: Just look for a housing you like. Design your panel (left handed, right handed, buttons circular shape or aligned ....) Finish panel and housing. Mount the PCB into the housing. Connect and solder button cables. Connect and solder potentiometer cables. All electrical connections are already there. The mechanical problem of attaching the controller stick is already solved. You'll save a lot of time! You don't have to care for electronic circuitry. You don't have to search components. No ordering this part here and that component there. No separate shipping costs for all those extra components. So, where is the downside to it I can provide only a limited number to the community. I cannot deliver super-fast. I do need some time to make things, to order components etc... I cannot build your complete controller. You have to have some basic manual skills. This is a kit. I do have no shop and I'm running no company. This is just a little spare time hobby project. Not more. At the moment I do have eight spare PCBs and components. If there should be some demand, I'm going to do another production run and I will try to order components in larger amounts, which reduces component and shipping cost. Talking about cost: How much is that thing? Urghhh... Quick calculation .... if I get the Seimatsu buttons, buttons and ALPS controller: 20€ plus 3 ICs: 7€ plus 2 potentiometer: 7€ plus knobs: 4€ plus cable: 7€ PCB and small components: 8€ plus various shipping costs for getting those components All in all, something like 55€. Well and that is without getting rich, just my own expenses. I could cancel the expensive arcade buttons to cut cost by some 25 percent on my side, but I would not recommend any cheap pushbuttons instead. Simply doesn't make sense. If you have some interest or want to know something, just PM me. -Rolo

Oh, we had this before. Maybe somebody just asks Packrat's, whether they are willing to do so? Maybe they want to provide the leaflet in some downloadable format?

Any progress? Maybe you check the contacts of the cartridge connector very closely. I once had an Intellivision with all contacts clean, but one of them bent back just a little, little bit. So most of the time it just did not make any contact at all and cartridges were dead. I was cleaning and cleaning with no effect, until I found the reason. I carefully pulled it back into its proper position with a small screwdriver and everything was fine. Otherwise standard program: open console, check voltages, check solder joints, check ICs seating in sockets, swap ICs... I'm sure, you know all of that.

I owe you one. The ordered power switch is here. Original one and new one. Quite some differences: The plastic axis must be shortened. The flat side can easily be cut with a file. The mounting holes of the housing and the frame must be widened from 8 mm to 10 mm. The thing still is not fitting . The potentiometer connections have a different spacing and I attached small cables: Finally reassembled and soldered (the reset button also). Don't forget the ground connection. Number #3064046 reporting for duty. Another family member is back home . Unfortunately this potentiometer/switch is not, what I was hoping for. Of course, it can be made fit in, like I did, but this was not my original intention. I as looking for an already fitting spare part. Besides, the potentiometer is not logarithmic, which is not ideal for audio. Well, in the end it's working, no need to complain... Btw. does anybody have a number, how many Vectrex consoles were made back in the day? Regards, Rolo

Same with me. Thanks Albert, this was an amazingly quick response! And look, how much is going on there . Great!

Thanks

Oopps, that's funny, that URL is working.

@admin: How about a VECTREX-segment, like the Odyssey 2 segment etc.??? Ok, It's AtariAge not VectrexAge, but still...

I got a dead Vectrex on my desk. I quickly figured out a malfunctioning power switch, which seems to be quite common for that console. I think I've read about that a couple of times on different pages. The switch consists of a 10K potentiometer (volume) with a double power switch attached to the bottom of it. It's quite some work to get it out of the console, since its soldered onto the logic board (3 pins). And there are four wires leading to the switch. There is nut, which holds the potentiometer firmly connected with the housing. What's inside the switch? Can it be repaired? If you open the switch all kinds of parts fall out of it . On the picture you see the right order. If you start to reassemble from the bottom side, it looks like this: You can see the two contacts and all the parts which convert the rotary movement of the knob into an up & down movement of the contacts, including a spring ZONG. The silver metal piece is moved left and right by a plastic nose of a submerged plastic disk inside the potentiometer, behind the half circular slot. The plastic nose should be between the two sides of the catch - you see? If you'd be building up the switch from the other side, It would look like this: With some practice the switch can be reassembled. Unfortunately, in the case of my console, after reassembling, I only could switch on one time. Switching off blocked. I'm wondering, if there is a second plastic nose supposed to be on that plastic disk, for switching off. I did not want to disassemble a working switch of another console and have a look inside. Maybe I can figure out someday in the future. Instead I ordered a replacement part, which seems to be fitting quite well. I'll report, when the part will be delivered. Maybe there are other people who are looking for such a spare switch, too. I could order some switches and dispatch. But let's wait for the switch to arrive first... Best regards, Rolo

Congratulations! Did you get some electronic equipment or did you guess? Did you have the QuadOPAmp in the drawer?

Well that's a shame, of course. What can I say? Well, without some electronic skills and equipment, this will be a hard one. Hm, don't you have a friend nearby, who does? A hobbyist who does not charge you for everything? You could try to sell it on ebay as "not working" for a few bugs. Or maybe there is a retro group somewhere around? Did you try to find one? You could go to one of their meetings and ask for help. Most of those guys normally are willing to help! You can send it to me. I could give it a try. But then again, there would be shipping costs. Blindly changing caps is kind of fashionable those days. Sure, they are aging and loosing capacitance, but frankly: I did not have to change them in any of my 15 or so consoles/8-bit-computers. And even then, I'd have a look first, which ones to change.

Well, you clearly have a z-axis problem, as stated above. I once hooked up an oscilloscope to the deflection circuits of the CRT of my Vectrex and got exactly the same picture on the scope. Did you check, if you have any signal coming out of IC207 PIA6522A Pin19 (!Blank)? Do you have Z-AXIS-DRIVE? How about transistors Q303, Q304, Q305? Especially Q305 which drives the cathode up and down (switching on/off the electron gun). And the series resistors nearby. The values of those sometimes change to "infinite" resistance after countless temperature cycles. The transistor would switch, with no effect. The schematics can be found in the internet. With the help of those, I think, any television repair shop can fix the problem.

Yes, I agree. The PHILIPS plastic boxes are superb.

You still have time for that? I like your Intellivisionaries podcast. A real production with structure and content, not just a bunch of guys talking randomly. Great work!

I probably noticed a speed issue with my 72 Game Multicart for Vectrex. When I play "Minestorm" from cartridge, using my ownbuilt autofire joystick, the display temporaryly collapses and shows artifacts. The rapid firing obviously saturates the system somehow. I do not exactly know, where the bottleneck is, but since that problem does neither occur with the Vectrex-inbuilt "Minestorm" nor with "Minestorm" loaded into my own ownbuilt 27C... eprom cartridges, some cycles might be lost, waiting for cartridge data (?). It's not noticeable playing with a regular Vectrex joystick -not with my slow fingers, at least-, it's just with my own controller.

Dragon 32/64 and Tandy Color Computer 1/2: Have a look at "The Dragon Archive": Dragon Multi Cartridge version 1.5 (Rolo) New Dragon multi-cartridge version 1.5 for sale currently sold out but is to be be continued (improvements planned)

Ok! And that's the headphone to use, during Intellivision gaming. Well, it's stereo - never mind. It's a KOSS HV/X built 1979 or 1980. It was a birthday present from my father. I was playing my portable cassette radio too loud, I guess... I could get new ear pads until two years ago !!!

Hi Pete, I have to admit, I haven't been aware of this game until you mentioned it . Most of the cartridges had different, translated names in Europe. Looking at the screenshots, I think you might talk about Philips Videopac 13 "Playschool Math" (german title: Vorschulrechnen). It's a 2k game and you'll find that game on John's multicart with dip-setting: 1101100001 (I would just thumbwheel 660 on my nifty selector box ) -Rolo

I sent you a PM. "games@classicgamecreations.com" used to be John's email address. He was very helpful, when I had problems with my cart. Maybe you just ask him? - Rolo

Me too! Reminds me somehow of good ole' Flash Gordon. The pictures comparing NTSC and PAL screens is interesting!

Yeah, it's an unchanged PAL-tv-set. I did not tweak the potentiometers . Which you could easily do on most of those old tv-circuits. I think, we all did that on our Atari SM-124 monochrome monitors, didn't we? This tv-set was our regular everyday tv, until four weeks ago, when we jumped into the flat screen age . Now I'm not sure, if I'm happy or sad. That tv-set has been used for some 30 years... Thank you all for your support and your nice words! Now I know I'm not completely mad, others are too . I cannot simply dump that tv-set! It would be an act of barbarism.

I had the same problem. The disc is just made of cheap silver sheet metal. If you pull off the disc and turn it around you can see it. I think, they simply attached a golden sticker with transparency film on top of it. The best solution probably would be to buy a sheet of self-sticking brass-foil, which can be found on ebay for a few bucks and put that onto the discs. Maybe pull the disc off first, attach the brass-foil, cut along the rim with a pair of scissors, put back onto controller. I'd like to think, that might be better than paint or plastic film.

I just have to show you this. It's like made for one another. Genuine late seventies design. Wood grain and dark brown plastic. Great design. That's the tv-set: And look at that remote control. Simple and self explaining: Regards

Since there was some interest, I'm going to present some pictures of my "special power switch". I just reopened my Vectrex and saw, that I did not only cut the 5 VDC, but more thoroughly , all three voltages, with a single three layer on/off switch, which can bought in any electronics shop. It is a very simple job, which can be done by almost anybody with some basic mechanical and electrical skills. Or maybe you can still find some radio and television technician, whom we used to have anywhere nearby - back in the day, when tv-sets were being repaired and voltages higher 3.3 volts were not considered rocket science. Unplug Vectrex and remove the five screws that attach the back part of the housing: There is the switch, simply mounted into a hole drilled into the front part of the housing: The LOGIC BOARD'S voltages are supplied by this connector coming from the POWER BOARD above. yellow: -5 VDC green: GND orange: +5 VDC red: -13 VDC I disconnected the green GND line to open up an inductive ground loop which is introducing noise and hum into the circuit and replaced it by a short, thick ground connection (the yellow one on the next picture). As always, cables are too short. I had to attach extensions to the three voltage lines. All three are connected seperately to the three layers of the switch. On the other side of the three switching contacts, three wires directly lead to the POWER BOARD and are soldered into the proper positions. There are labels printed right onto the board: That's all! Just close the Vectrex with the back cover and keep an eye on the BRIGHTNESS knob, which has to fit into the hole on the backside of the Vectrex - no forceful pushing required. The only time, I'm using the regular Vectrex power switch is when I'm starting or stoping to play Vectrex. Each time I change games I only switch off the computer part and leave the television part on, prolonging it's life. I fear in the age of flat LED tv-sets, it will be going to be harder and harder to find any classic television spare parts. Best regards -Rolo