DragonFire

Boards that still have their factory calibration are probably the best reference point for how VR1 was originally set. I wish there was an easy way to record the color output from multiple "factory-set" machines so we could have a good data set to draw from. Since we're talking analog video, the other half of the equation (literally) is how 70s and 80s TVs would have processed those signals. Unfortunately that varied from set to set and rarely followed the NTSC standards perfectly. I think that's why some people suggest adjusting the hue on your display rather than VR1 on your Atari. Whether you should attempt to emulate the output of specific old tv sets or stick to a specific technical standard is a matter of preference. For example, most NES emulators include several color palettes. One common palette is called "Consumer" (or CXA2025AS) which is based on the colors produced by Sony consumer CRTs that used CXA2025AS (or similar) chips to decode composite video. There are also palettes that are based on the output of professional CRTs or based on pure math and measurements, and those have a few noticeable differences compared to the Consumer palette, indicating that the Sony sets were doing something non-standard... but if you grew up playing an NES on a Sony TV, the "consumer" colors might closest to what you remember.

Here’s a summary of the contemporary sources I found when I looked into this a few years ago. I’ll start with sources that say that hues 1 and 15 should match and end with sources that say they shouldn’t. I've included links to screenshots of relevant pages to avoid this post being too massive, and full documents can be found on Atarimania for anyone interested. All documents are official Atari publications unless otherwise noted. The Supersalt Technical Manual matches what OP found, saying you should calibrate machines so that hues 1 and 15 match. The Atari Field Service Manuals (400-800, 600XL, OP posted 1200XL already) mirror this information. The Atari 800 Technical Reference Notes calls them both Light Orange, meaning they should match. The third-party Analog Pocket Reference Card does the same on page 8. The Atari Basic Reference Manual (Rev C, p58) calls hue 15 “Light Orange” and hue 1 “Light Orange (Gold)” indicating that both terms (Light Orange and Gold) refer to the same colors in that document. I found two third-party publications, The APX Atari Program Text Editor (p33) and The Creative Atari (p31), that do the same thing. The Atari 400-800 Hardware Manual calls hue 1 Gold and hue 15 Light Orange without indicating they are the same color. The third-party book Compute’s First Book of Atari Graphics does the same on page 14. I believe the previous sources make this somewhat ambiguous, though. The (non-Atari-published) magazine Analog Computing included a color-bar program in issue 30, and their screenshot shows hue 1 and 15 looking extremely similar, but maybe not identical. The (unofficial) Atari XL User’s Handbook calls hue 1 Gold and hue 15 Orange on p181... but later calls hue 15 Light Orange on p237. Meanwhile, another (unofficial) guide, Your Atari Computer XL Edition, calls hue 1 brown-to-gold and hue 15 khaki-to-yellow on p389, which sounds more similar (and less red) than the other non-identical descriptions. On the other hand, the Atari CGIA Chipset Documentation p48-51 includes specific phase angles for each color, and color 1 (0 degrees) and 15/F (336 degrees) are explicitly different. This is the only official Atari document I can find that unambiguously says the two hues should be different, but it is very clear on that matter. Short version: Most sources I encountered indicate hues 1 and 15 should be identical (many referencing the SALT test) but several do not or are ambiguous, and at least one official source (the GTIA technical documentation) says they should be slightly different and explains exactly how different they should be.

Many NTSC CRTs intentionally exaggerated red colors. The common term for this is "red push" and modern CRT enthusiasts frequently discuss ways to mitigate it. The most popular theory is that this was done to make skin tones more lifelike but that's just a guess. All that's known for certain is that it's a common feature of many consumer CRTs. Most JVC sets and nearly all Sony Trinitron sets (outside of their professional monitors) do this. This may be one reason that people recall yellow and gold colors being more red than they appear on modern displays. The fact that modern displays usually ship with a cooler (more blue) color temperature might also be an issue. And NTSC color decoding standards also changed in 1987, so TVs made before and after that year can be expected to behave slightly differently, which will also have an impact on what people see and remember. I looked into this a few years ago and flipped through several old manuals and reference docs to see if they agreed on what the colors should be. Like phaeron said, contemporary documents are inconsistent but lean towards agreeing with the SALT test. Most Atari documents suggest hue 1 and 15 should match. On the other hand, most modern Atari users seem to lean away from the SALT standard (at least based on what you see in forums and emulators) so it's likely that most homebrew is designed with the assumption that hue 1 and 15 are different. I actually kept track of all the documents I looked at, including specific page numbers where they referenced colors. If I can find those notes I'll share them here later in case they might be helpful to somebody.

The .com domain is gone, but it looks like https://herculesworkshop.net/ is still active. Maybe he just changed his website?

I agree with you, but I've also seen a handful of non-experts claim that modern capacitors are less durable or have worse performance than vintage caps. As far as I can tell, this is just audiophile-grade superstition.

Are these still available? If so, I could definitely use them in my parts bin.

I agree that little test kits are the best way to practice soldering. Low-cost, low-risk. And you’ll quickly learn what a good solder joint looks and feels like. For the generic Chinese soldering kits (the ones with no brand name) you can find them much cheaper on AliExpress and eBay compared to Amazon, but they’ll also take a few weeks to arrive instead of a few days, so it’s a trade-off. Dead electronics are the best way to practice removing chips, capacitors, and other components. You’ll know if you did a good job by checking to see how much damage you did to the component and/or circuit board in the process. You WILL do damage while practicing, and thats fine because it will help you learn what *not* to do in the future. As others have said, you’ll be able to learn a lot by just looking at your work and learning what to look for, even when you’re working on broken stuff. I also suggest buying a cheap multimeter if you don’t have one. The continuity test is invaluable for finding shorts, and the other modes will be very useful as you learn more about electronics.

Beautiful! That’s a seriously impressive lot - especially the books and manuals!

Thanks so much for sharing these! They look fantastic! Do you have any suggestions for filament brands/colors that match Atari cases? I’ve had trouble finding good beige colors.

As far as I know, the original paddles were all greased to make the movement smoother, so Atari seems to have been on your side. Since most (or all) of the old grease gets removed during a thorough cleaning, I usually add a small amount after I clean them out. I've noticed that paddles tend to feel a bit less smooth after cleaning if you don't add any new grease, but they'll still work perfectly so it's really a matter of preference. The grease can cause jittering as it starts to break down, but that takes years to happen and it's only part of the story. Dust, debris, and general wear and tear are also causes of jitter. As long as you use an appropriate grease (something non-conductive, non-reactive, etc) I don't see the issue.

Apologies if this is a silly question, but does this *eliminate* the colored borders from the signal, or does it turn the borders black? In other words, if I used this device on a CRT or upscaler, would it allow the image to fill more of the screen without requiring me to crop the borders?

DM sent. I was actually browsing eBay this morning looking for a box of paddles and joysticks for some repair practice. These would be perfect if they’re still available. ?

Thank you so much for this! It's great to have another way to enjoy the game. If anyone has trouble running the game on MiSTer, make sure to change the game's file extension to .a78 after you patch it. If you leave it as .bin it won't boot properly. Edit: I used the online Rom patcher from romhacking.net to patch the game. No errors and it worked as expected.

Yeah the prices are listed in the additional pictures. The “$1” nonsense is annoying. Unfortunately this was also listed three years ago, so there’s a chance none of the stuff is still available. Can’t hurt to ask, of course.

Definitely make a list of specific items you have for trade, and consider posting this in the “Wanted” sub-forum. Both of those should increase your chances of getting a response. I don’t currently have a spare, but I’m sure someone here does. good luck!

PM sent!

PM sent! I’m always up for a fun repair job. ?

You've definitely proven that it's the cable at fault and I really appreciate all the info. I'll order a new one asap. Apologies for all the questions - I'm still learning how analog RGB video works so I can troubleshoot this stuff myself, and a lot of it is still way over my head.

Makes sense. Since I prefer to use c-sync cables (which all attenuate the signal) is there any way to modify the adapter to pass through SNES-style TTL sync?

Thanks for the reply! Is it possible that the adapters would work better with cables that don't use c-sync? Almost any Genesis/SNES SCART cable that uses c-sync will attenuate it to 75ohms for safety, since both consoles output TTL sync unless they've been modified to behave differently. That's why the page has a note about modded consoles possibly needing a different cable. The HD Retrovision cables (and most affordable SCART cables) use sync-on-composite instead, which is already 75ohms. Either way, I'll definitely try to fix the grounding issue! That should (hopefully) improve their performance on any console.

I just got my Jag2SNES adapter and I'm having the same issue. It reminds me of the problem pre-1Chip SNES consoles have with smearing colors, where the voltage rises and falls too slowly during brightness changes, so maybe it has a similar cause? I've posted several pics here that show the horizontal smearing/streaking/color bleed/whatever you want to call it. It's visible in all colors, but most dramatic in bright-to-dark transitions. I'm using the Jag2SNES from @Doomy Doomer and Helder, plugged into an Insurrection Industries SNES/N64 RGB SCART cable, plugged into an OSSC. For these pics it was set to generic 4:3 and 5X, although the issue looks basically the same on any scaling or sampling mode. Is this normal for the Jaguar? Or for specific revisions of the Jaguar? If not, is it likely to be a problem with the adapter? I've had the OSSC and the SCART cable for ages, and they work as expected with other consoles.

PM sent for the AV pack. Also, I can confirm that the SFC Super Game Boy (like most SFC games) will work perfectly on a USA SNES as long as you've removed the two plastic tabs in the cart slot, or use a pass-through device like a Game Genie. It's a very easy 'region lock' to bypass.

I'm definitely interested in the mystery box. A raffle sounds fun.

Bought the (current) complete set of Jaguar overlays and love them. Communication and shipping were top-notch. The overlays look and feel extremely professional and were packaged well. I'd definitely recommend them to anyone interested in new overlays.

Does anyone here have one of the upgraded CX-40s from Best Electronics? I can't find any reviews, but based on their website it seems like they're much more durable than the originals, but should otherwise feel very similar.