mojoatomic

Just need to replace the caps and it'll look like new. Horizontal lines and spikes are coming from the big grey cap C243. C240 & C241 on that rev 5 were sub standard components that need to be replaced as well - and they've done a number on the voltage regulator.. Snow is coming from C214, and it looks funky. All easy to fix.

Well, I wouldn't talk bad about their stuff, but empiric evidence needs to rule the day. If it goes haywire when you touch it - somethings wrong.

It's use is implied to pros, I'm sure he used some. I'll send you some if you need it :-)

OK, that made me smile. Atari-whisperer.

A few resistors died? Which ones specifically?

I do have a few suggestions :-) On the 2600 Replace C242 with a .22, C243 unchanged, C241 - place 10uf in parallel (observing polarity), C240 unchanged, C239 - place a 10uf in parallel with it (observing polarity) - doesn't matter if the 10uf caps go on the front or back of the board, just keep the leads short. I need to run this output through a signal analyzer and plot what ferrite bead would be best to suppress noise. This would be to replace the ferrite bead at L204. It will be different for the 7805 and the Traco. Yes, 16v or up is fine

You definitely have a bad cable or poor connection / bad component connected to the cable. Also, the choke only helps keeping the cable from acting line an antenna - if the RF is injected and amplified before it gets there, it won't be able to help.

Interesting results. I think it's important to note that RF, AV and s-video will all give potentially different results as to output quality. RF output on the 2600 is in fact cleaner with the Traco's, but that's all I tried. I think it would be interesting to put high and low pass caps on the Traco output and see what your results on the Genesis are. I have also been experimenting with switching power supplies on the 2600, with good results while using Traco's. Horrible (predictably, I know) without. There is a tremendous amount of room for improvement on the 2600's as far as filtering, as their filtering is absolutely terrible :-), yet still they work, and have worked for many tears. Atari was so cheap in this area - they did the absolute minimum. Still, for a few pennies in parts, it's AMAZING what you can do. I've got a 2600 that I've been experimenting with, if there's interest I can post results and video. Of note - I've done nothing to it that couldn't be undone... but I've modded it to pieces. I think you could put a blender on top of it and it wouldn't affect the RF :-)

Those 1050's are the WORST for heat buildup. Several VR's in them, and I imagine they would benefit greatly with newer tech.

Nice! Gonna try this tonight

Female cart connector :-)

Yeah, it's weird I guess. Don't know if I better yet or not...

Lost track of how many I have now... but this is one of the nicer ones. I like the other all caps version as well, and have a few. No idea why I like them so much... but really, is a reason required? :-)

The TSR 1-24120 is the 12v variant

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I've had a few guys ask if I'm selling the Traco's - truth is I just ordered a few to experiment with. I could get another Allied order together if there's enough interest though. If I buy enough of them I can get them at a price that won't make folks choke :-) Truthfully... you don't use these to save money, but in quantity they're not that bad.

Here's the datasheet The Traco's require no external filtering up to 32v, after which they need a 22uf cap. As for your application, you'd just have to try one and see - everything else is academic :-) YMMV, but this provided a cleaner RF picture in a 2600 that originally had the 7508. It was a successful experiment. On another note... you can replace C242 & C241 with whatever you want, within reason. The net result will be greater filtering. You can, and I have, for example, many times used the filter caps from the 6 switch units on 4 switchers to help kill ripple. .22uf substituted for .1uf is actually a very good thing. The reason Traco chose the 22uf is that for high DC ripple like found in switching power supplies, you need capatience at low ESR - hence the electrolytic. Something else I've been playing around with is killing the arc on the power contacts. Turn off the lights with a board removed and you'll see them arc like MAD when you switch them on. I just put a 0.1 µF cap + 100 Ω resistor in line with the + side... and no more arcing. Should make them last quite a bit longer.

You installed the Traco units and had interference before installing the cap, or another type of replacement?

I mentioned Activision specifically not because I think these is an issue with Activision, but because I think there is an issue with your cart connector - Activision boards are thinner than Atari and will exacerbate and expose issues with cart connectors more readily than Atari carts. If the female cart connector is dirty or sprung, it's almost impossible to play an Activision cart and Atari carts will play, sometimes, with difficulty. Put an Atari cart in the unit, turn it on an press forward (towards the top of the unit) on the cart and see if it has an effect.

It still gets it. Adding this part in no way changes the schematic or layout of power distribution in any way. 9v unregulated (or whatever your power supply is actually outputting) is still pulled from the + leg of C241 before it reaches A203 which is now a TSR 1-2450, and is still sent to the same place it was before.

The TSR 1-2450 is a direct replacement for the 7508 voltage regulator. It has a smoother output, can accept a larger range of voltage inputs, & produces almost no heat since it operates at near 98% efficiency. Further, it has built in short circuit protection and also actively filters RF, by basic nature of it's design.

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Don't remove R234, just the resistor that was added to the reverse side of the board -

Yes, look at the topside of the board and find R234