Phil

(I guess this is the right forum for this. If not, oh well) After I finished tweaking and reassembling my 2600 after A/V modding it, I had an urge to hook up all three of my Atari systems at once. Here's a picture of them if anyone wants to see it. Overall, I'm quite pleased with the A/V mod on the 2600. It's a bit easier to hook up now, and the picture quality is noticeably better, and the audio is clearer. The only problem is that now it makes me not want to play my 7800, because the picture doesn't look as nice! One question I have, since I just recently got my 4-port 5200 working, is how is the switchbox supposed to operate? I thought it was supposed to be automatic or something, but it doesn't seem to do anything automatically. I have to flip the "standby/normal" switch on the switchbox to change between 5200 and TV (well, actually, the 7800 is plugged into the antenna port on the switch) after turning the 5200 off. Is this correct? --Phil

Yea, I can recombine the chroma and luma and get a composite signal again. The luma signal is coming from 4 wires soldered directly to the Stella socket. Chroma and audio are coming from the junctions of resistors/capacitors mentioned on the page linked above. One thing I've seen, is that to properly combine chroma and luma into composite you need to use a capacitor between the two lines. For what reason, I'm not sure, but I may give that a shot. I'll link to the page I saw that on if I can find it again. --Phil

For fun, I decided to convert my 4-switch 2600 to A/V output, using Ben Heckendorn's Mod. With the Chroma and Luma tied together, I get a pretty good picture on a composite monitor/TV. It's not quite as nice as I'd like it to be, but it's still a major improvement over the RF connection. To see if it'd look nicer, I took it partway apart, so I could connect the separate chroma and luma signals to the chroma/luma inputs of a Commodore model 1702 monitor. It looked nice for an instant, but after that, I couldn't get anything but a black and white rolling mess on the screen. I'm wondering if it's a problem with my monitor, as disconnecting the chroma from the monitor doesn't seem to change the mess that's displayed, or if it's the A/V mod. Any suggestions? --Phil[/url]

Rats. So, I've got this huge thing with 4 controller ports, but there aren't even many 2-player simultaneous games for it? That's kind of sad...but oh well. Oh, and I'm not really into sports games either (though, I am kind of fond of Realsports Volleyball on my 2600) --Phil

Thanks for all the replies! I played a little Ms. Pac-man and some Star Raiders last night (I also have the 2600 versions of both titles, but they're what I got when I got the console). 5200 Star Raiders was quite a bit of fun, and I actually liked the 5200 joysticks with it. However, I didn't like them so much in Ms. Pac-man. I also need to give Qix (the other game I got with the system) a try at some point. I guess I'd like to get games that support 2 (or more) players simultaneously, since my brother wants to play with me. I've got Ballblazer and Joust for the 7800 (and Joust on the 2600 too), so I probably won't pick those up. What games (besides Wizard of Wor, mentioned above) support multiple players simultaneously? Thanks again.

Who could put the Sprintmaster DC ROM on a ROM for me, and what would it cost? (I could solder it into a cartridge myself) --Phil

Well, I'd be willing to sacrifice my 2600 Dig-Dug (as I also have the 7800 version) or my regular Sprintmaster cart, but I don't have the facilities to put the binary on a ROM.

I finally got around to fixing my 4-port switchbox and got my 5200 and 2 controllers working. Now I need some games for it. Right now, I've got Star Raiders, Qix, and Ms. Pac-man. What games would you recommend? What do people think are the best games for the 5200? Thanks. --Phil Edit: I'd like to note that I've also got both a 2600 and 7800, and around 60 games between the two of them. I'd prefer to get games that I don't already have on one of those systems.

Where can I get Sprintmaster DC on a cartridge? I really like Indy 500 and its controllers, and I think that they'd make Sprintmaster a lot better. --Phil

OK, thanks for the info. I do plan to get a real 5200 power supply, but I want to make sure that the console actually works before I spend the money on it. If it doesn't work, no big deal...it was free from a friend, he just didn't have the power supply any more (though I did get the original box for it) --Phil

So, will testing it with a 12V supply be too much for it, or will it be OK?

I know that the original power supply was much smaller, but the way I understood it, it doesn't hurt to use a supply that can supply more amperage, as the device will only draw what is needed. Matching voltage is more important, and I'm concerned as to whether or not the 12V will be too high.

It's a fairly powerful supply, something like 8A (I use it for testing things) I was more worried about damaging the 5200 than the power supply.

I got a 4-port 5200 a little while back, and I've got the switchbox, but no power supply. I'd like to test the unit before I actually spend money on the correct power adapter for it...I've got a 12V power supply lying around - will I be able to use it to test my 5200, or will I kill it? Thanks, Phil

Today, I got a 4-port 5200 from a friend of mine who was going to throw it away. I got the system, 2 joysticks, the switch box, and 3 games, but no power supply. What are the specs of the power adapter, and is there one I can buy from Radio Shack, or do I need a special one? --Phil

What about Street Racer ?

I attempted to email you, but the message bounced....it said "your host is blacklisted by relays.osirusoft.com." hmmmmmm...........my outgoing mail is coming from attbi.com, which your host apparently doesn't like... you can email me at [email protected], though i might not be able to respond.

It doesn't do a thing.

The lead from the Atari to the TV is built-in to the atari, but it carries the video signal just fine, so I'm guessing it's OK. I'm opening up the system now to see if anything obvious is amiss. Is there anyplace where I can find a schematic of the inside of this machine? I would like to know where I might be able to pick up sound before it goes to the RF modulator.

unfortunately, I dont have another around to compare this one with. Any other suggestions for me to determine if this one is dead?

I think I killed it I took the shielding off the RF modulator to inspect underneath it, and now when i power it up, it doesnt do anything

I hadn't realized that the lead unplugs from the board.....I tried it with the working lead from my 7800, and I had the same problem, video but no sound. The connection was kind of touchy though, and if I bumped it wrong, the video got messed up. Next, I'm pulling off the metal shielding for inspection underneath.

At my Grandmother's recently, we came across an old 4-switch woodgrain 2600a in her closet. It, along with 2 joysticks and a boxed text-label Combat cartridge were all in absolutely beautiful condition, just a little dusty. She told me that many years ago it had broken, and when they took it in for repairs, it supposedly would have cost more to fix it than to replace it. Well, she told me that I could have it, because if anyone she knew would be able to fix it it'd be me I brought it home, unhooked my 7800, plugged in the 2600, dropped in Combat, and turned it on. The picture came up just fine. However, there's no sound, just static. The same static as when the Atari isn't turned on. It seems like the TV isn't getting any audio signal. I tried both channels, and both were the same. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what exactly might be wrong, and how difficult it might be to fix? Thanks --phil

'Karate' by Froggo is absolutely horrendous.

How much do you want for Mario Bros? pleas email me - [email protected]