Quon

Sounds like the same issue with the 2600... S-Video is relatively simple to achieve, and RGB is a little more complicated, but achievable

And I would imagine it's a very cheap mod to achieve really, so it kind of makes it not worth ignoring...

No possibility of RGB though?

And screwing with HAM enthusiasts is a hobby in itself I practice every time I turn on one of my 150mW modded RC transmitters... not to mention it can mess with some people's WiFi hehehehe But I am noticing that there are a lot of options for this computer, I never realised just how much has been made for it (what am I getting myself into? )!! I think for now, I'm going to concentrate on getting the computer, which I will probably take my time with that and not simply get the first one I find, and then maybe go on with the 64K upgrade, and then after see the different options... one step at a time.

OK, I found one thing interesting on this video... I noticed the monitor used is a 16:9 aspect ratio screen, but the image seems to look as it's supposed to, without the black side bars you usually get and without having a stretched look... is this a video mod, something unique to this program that is being used in the video or does the computer actually support 16:9 aspect ratio (something I highly doubt personally, but sometimes you find surprises). I would use it on a 4:3 ratio display anyway, I find it keeps that retro look much better in general, but I was curious...

When I said remove the shielding entirely, I meant remove the entire RF module, as in the shielding and what's inside, as they are usually a a removable module... but I see from the video that you are referring to the metal plate that covers the entire circuit board, not the RF module... still, if the RF module isn't going to be used, removing it lowers power consumption and the socket hole can be used for an S-Video mod with an actual S-Video standard 4 pin socket... no? The shielding itself I would just dremel out the piece that's in the way, like I did with the S-Video circuit on my 2600jr when I placed that in the place of the original RF module. EDIT: OK, I think I just answered part of this when I put on the "Building a maxed out Atari 600XL (Part 1)" video... as there's no RF module in that one

If the video out has RGB capability, I wouldn't need S-Video out. And also, if I have that, can't the entire RF shield be removed if it's no longer going to be used, like I have done on the Master System II and the 2600? That would give more room still as well as lower power needs slightly... Or it there something inside the RF module that the RGB would requiere?

Well... with what you have all said, I think I am sold on the 600XL, and as I said, I'm not going to be turning it into an ultimate powerhouse, I just want it to be upgraded to a point where it's comfortable to use Thanks everyone!!

In those aspects I like to be inventive, like, "if I can't fit it here, I'll adapt it to fit slightly to the left", or "I don't need this plastic on the case to be that thick... where did I put my dremel?"... I find inventive modding to be part of the overall fun, having a problem to solve. If it was straight forward I think I wouldn't get so much enjoyment out of it. So, in those aspects I'm not too worried, and as I said, i don't think I will be adding a lot of expansions into it, just what I need.

4MB?!?!?! It can really take that much?!?!?! WOW!! I wasn't expecting that much!! I was thinking 128k, maybe 256k... but 4MB!! I don't think I would ever need that much!! Availability, I'm limited to what I can find on Ebay, but being in Europe, I have the PAL models readily available to choose from. I thought the 600XL didn't have monitor out, period. I didn't know the PAL versions had a monitor out!! Is it composite only or does it do RGB too?

RGB would be a "must" I guess, as I do live in Europe, and I might as well take full advantage of the SCART port we have. Graphics chips and processor, I guess I would look into those if I start to encounter problems that would justify an upgrade. Memory is something I find a little more important because of program sizes, especially if it's a cassette or disk program, so it can load in no problem, and give room for larger games if I decide to be adventurous one day in my rocking chair and I'm fed up with knitting. Stereo... I'm not bothered about it, I'm used to mono, seeing as that's what we got on the 2600 even in PAL regions anyway, and I'm not so much into the musical aspects of it, I'm not making music or anything like that... as long as it makes pretty sounds, I don't care if it's one speaker or two really, although, all that said, I imagine the stereo mod wouldn't be that big. Out of the box, I would go for video output and memory... and then take it from there if I see they are needed.

Sadly, very often, when a new model of something comes out, it's in part to make production cheaper... that's another reason I was going for the XL line rather than the XE line. Also, the XE seems larger, the cartridge port on the back seems a bit more clunky, and, to be honest, if I want a computer that looks like an Atari ST, I'll get myself an Atari ST!! I think the XL line has its own identity in that sense, and from videos I have seen (mainly 800XL videos), the keyboard doesn't seem that bad. But, I guess taking it apart, cleaning and all that might be in order, I mean, a few gallons of water have definitely passed under the bridge since they were made!!

Thanks for that!! I'll watch that in bed on the TV, a little light entertainment before I go to bed!! There are a lot of videos onYoutube, but trying to find the ones that give the right information, sometimes you end up finding contradicting ones!! I'll have a look into that!! I'm not in a rush, but obviously it's not good to get a system thinking you will be able to do something and then finding you can't because it's too limited. I mean, I know there are other things other than BASIC I need to look in to, but, that will be later on down the road.

I understand... but on one hand, I don't have much room as I only have a small studio apartment, and even a couple of inches off the back of a case can help when it comes to desk size,, and on the other hand I am not intending to upgrade it to the max, so I don't be putting that much in... video upgrade (Is there an RGB mod for it? I haven't looked...) and RAM really... and on the Nintendo 64 controller other other hand, I like a challenge anyway!! I'm not new to the Atari brand, but I certainly am to Atari's with keyboards!!

Hi everyone!! I want to get into an 8-bit computer to... let's say catch up on all I didn't learn about BASIC, and possibly find a sideline hobby making a game or something like that. I've had Commodores and Spectrums in 8-bit, but I never had an Atari. But, that said, the "middle generation" has always caught my eye as being very interesting computers, namely the 600XL and the 800XL, so I am aiming for one of these. I am trying to find some information on the 600XL, as it's the one that most interests me, as I do enjoy modding too, and it seems to be the one that "needs" more modding to it, but I guess my main question is, can it be modded memory wise to beyond a factory 800XL? A lot of places talk about going up to 64K, but I can't seem to find more information beyond that, as people tend to centre solely on the 800XL from there on, but at the same time, I do like the slightly more compact form factor of the 600 too, but, of course, I don't want to get one and regret it because I can't get much out of it. I don't need to reach "as high" as an 800XL is capable of, but it would be nice to know what it can have. So... I guess the bottom line is, is it worth getting a 600XL for getting into basic (non capital this time, no pun intended) things, and advancing from there maybe a little, but obviously not getting too deep?

I just wired up the joystick amd the left auxiliary button as the main fire button just to test it out, and I can tell I need practice on some games to get used to movement precision with an arcade stick, like with Crystal Castles, but other games were fantastic with it, like Centipede or Jr. Pac Man, and all the games were very comfortable to play!! I just need to finish that main action button and wire up the aux buttons in order, I think I'll go from left to right Fire, Up and Down.

I decided to set the single microswitch I do have into the main fire button, to see if I'm "on the right track", seeing as the other switches are taking so long to arrive, although they are of the same kind so no problem there... but now, I can show what the mad idea was in the first place, which I can't really put well into words. The button still uses the main big spring, but rather than the centre stem pushing the switch, which makes the button mechanism quite long, the base of the button itself will be activating the switch, and I was thinking about adding another one opposite to level the resistance out, although it seems to work well with just one. Evenso, I think I will add the second one, but I don't think I will bother with a third switch, 2 on opposing sides is sure to be enough!! I think it's best as I don't want to be "fine now but causing problems later on with wear and tear" I have tried it out as best I can, but the epoxy needs to finish curing as it's still a little tacky, and I need to sand down a part of the switch in the middle to allow good clearance for the stem, but it works very well from what I have tried out with the multimeter, with a very definite "click" when you press it, and you can hear and feel when it releases. The switch itself is epoxyed in flush with the bottom of the button recess, with only the switch itself sticking up out of it, but this type of switch activates flush so no problems there, and the rest of the switch is epoxyed to the stem itself to add strength to it all, and I just need to repeat the same process on the opposite side.

Thanks guys!! My solution is more... love for the console, for the specific game, and too much time on my hands!! And not to mention left over pieces of thin MDF!! It was a cheap project to make really, I mean, joystick mechanisms aren't expensive, buttons are cheap also, I mean, being just auxiliary buttons they didn't need to be the super precise expensive ones, it was just the big button really which is to be used in all games, not just Stargate, as it's the general fire button, just the same as the button on the standard joysticks. I'm eager to try it out too, but I can't until I finish the main action button... the thing is, it's a very deep button, designed to have a light inside, with a long spring and the microswitch on the very end, but it was going to be way too long, meaning I would have had to added height to the entire joystick case which I didn't want to do, and I had no intention to light it anyway, as there is no 5V line on my setup, because it's a personalised 9 pin port I added on the front, and all the pins are used up for buttons, so the 5V line is repurposed, and I'm not going to start putting batteries in it for a light, especially if out of all the buttons and controls, it's only one single button that lights up, I just think it would look out of place. What I intend to do is add 2, maybe 3 microswitches like the one it uses originally on the base of the pushbutton itself, rather than on the end of the stem, with the stem still housing the spring and the locking clips in it... I am going to be adding more than one because seeing as the microswitch will be offset from centre, I want the pressure to be equal, and also to avoid if it's pressed on a certain angle it doesn't push all the way down on one side where the switch is and doesn't make contact... with 3 switches at equal distance around the stem, all wired together for the same function in parallel, it won't suffer from these problems. The bad thing is I had to make the hole larger and I can't use the screw retention mechanism, and instead I will have to epoxy the switch into place once it's finished, but that doesn't bother me. Once that button is done, i will wire it all up and use it... I also have Stargate on its way here, as I was trying to find it not expensive, but where I live, I am limited almost to Ebay, and I have to pay international shipping on almost everything, although I am not displeased with the €14 I ended up paying for it, with the labels in very good condition, albeit, just the cartridge, but, that doesn't bother me much really to be honest. I have "tried out" the arcade stick, placing the button in place, and using it as if I were playing, feeling the reach to the 3 auxiliary buttons and it does feel very comfortable, I am very pleased with the end result... so much so it's convinced me to make another 2 arcade sticks, possibly 3... the first one being a 5 button arcade stick for the Master System, with 2 action buttons, 2 turbo buttons (using 555 circuits inside), and a pause button. I don't know if I will do the angle for the turbo buttons, I haven't decided yet, as it's not the same thing in this type of stick. The second stick I want to make is juts a stick and single button, but with the stick set on a 45º angle for Q*Bert!! The other stick I may make would be a 6+2 button stick for the SNES Classic Mini with a stripped down 8BitDo board inside for the electronics, making it wireless... I would have the 4 face buttons on the main base, and the angled panel for the L and R buttons, and then 2 smaller buttons separate for Start and Select, maybe above the joystick itself. I haven't decided about stickers for each button, I was debating that funnily enough... problem is, where I live I'm very limited as to where to get them made professionally, and I'm not good at making vinyls like that myself, but I was considering it, maybe having a symbol for each of the auxiliary functions. If I did find a place to do it, I might make a circle to put around the joystick also to imitate that which is around the original 2600 joystick, where it says TOP at the top, and something for the main action button too... but thoe are all things I can add calmly as I find them. I have an Atari logo and lettering coming which is 2 inches high and 1.5 inches wide, in red, to stick in the middle at the bottom which should break with so much black. Another thing I think I've solved, I wasn't sure how best to hold the cable in place when I put it in... what I ended up doing was adding some wood inside with a gap in the middle. The wire will go through both the ends, passing through the gap, in which I can put a ziptie around the cable itself, nice and tightly. This way it can't move forward or back, but if I should ever need to remove the cable for whatever reason, I would only have to cut the ziptie and the cable will be free to pull through.

Hi everyone!! I decided to finish off the mod I made on my 2600jr, which was adding the front controller port with the 5 controls for Player 1, and Up, Down and Action for Player 2 all in one port, by making the arcade stick to go with it. I remember playing Stargate when I was little, and I loved that game!! But I never knew back then in the 80's that the second controller could be used for the extra functions in the game. I have seen the 3 button foot controllers people have been making for the game, which is a good idea, but I wanted something a bit more personalised to myself. So I got an old piece of thin MDF board no one wanted, some white wood glue, a set of buttons and arcade joystick, some black Oracover, and a Mega Drive controller cable, and started making the arcade stick especially for this game, although it can be used with any other game too... So, it's almost finished, I just need to mod the main action button a little (it was too deep, so I'm making it shallower), wire it up with the Mega Drive controller cable, and add the Atari vinyl when it arrives (slow boat issue as usual)... but apart from the vinyl, what you see is how it will end up being, so I thought I'd share a couple of photos of how it ended up. I placed the 3 buttons for the Player 2 controls on a slanted, curved panel rather than just having them above the main action button, as I found this to be more ergonomic, as well as the general slanting of the case instead of being on level, so you can rest your palms on the tabletop comfortably and play without getting cramps or anything, but it still has the depth needed for the joystick mechanism. Small look at the inside of the case before I applied the Oracover, so you can see how the structure is, with braces to strengthen where the palms of your hands go... it's turned out stronger and sturdier than those typical cheap plastic ones they sell online, but they always have too many button holes anyway, and I prefer the ergonomics of this one I made, it's very comfortable to control!! Can't wait to finish it off and try it out for real!!

The internet has become a great tool for those of us that end up getting cartridge only games, as we can find most instructions online now. And when it comes to Atari 2600 games this is especially good with things like the difficulty switches on the back and their function, because it's not something that is "A is easy, B is hard" or anything like that, and often it doesn't even control the difficulty. I remember when i discovered Moon Patrol had background music controlled by a difficulty switch by chance, I was like "this game has music?? WOW!!"

Yeah, I had Stargate when I was little, and I really enjoyed the game, but I was gifted it as a cartridge only and I never knew anything about the controls from the second controller. Recollecting for the console, Stargate is in my list of need to get games, but I was looking into how much people like to get into the game, with making things like foot controllers with 3 large buttons to plug into the second port, and things like that. I like mods to be original and curious, but aesthetically pleasing too and without breaking too much of the general design, so I decided seeing as I was going to make a nice clicky arcade joystick anyway, I might as well make a "special Stargate port" for it on the console, although I think there are a couple of other games that can make use of this feature as they used the second joystick for things also. I like consoles personalised, but not obnoxiously so, like the blue power LED, which makes it stand out as my console, but it's not something that you see until you turn it on, and even then it's subtle. I like how the controller port mod came out, as it's quite well hidden, but if you see it, it doesn't look out of place like a wart simply added on.

Technically my answer should be "depending on the time period", but it depends on so many factors, including the place the person judging such a question is. My definitive answer was 51 to 100 because I look at these classic systems from the mindset of someone growing up in the UK, where microcomputer games were all over the place and in 4 digit numbers, and if a system had less than 100, I think it's a fact that was even omitted from the box art, that whole "over 200 games available" thing, so it felt like the "shaming point", if you had less, you simply didn't mention it. There are rather niche console systems that when I think about them being with a limited number of games happen to fall into this sub 100 category, like the Atari Lynx or the Sega SG-1000 for example, and besides, 100 is a nice round number!!

Hhehehe yeah, ummm... the power jack was because of a power brick issue, which I couldn't find a 2600 replacement without paying a stupid amount of money, but seeing as the Mega Drive/Master System ones are compatible powerwise, and in fact, most consoles of the time have the same power requirements and are compatible amongst themselves, and it was easier to get a Mega Drive one, I just changed the connector, as I've never much cared for audio style jacks for power anyway. Another mod I added which you can't see is a front 9 pin joystick connector hidden under the the lip of the console, a bit like how the 5200 and 7800 had theirs, but this port is connected to just the direction, action buttons and ground of the left controller. The other 3 pins I intend to connect to the action button, up and down of the second joystick port, so when I make my arcade stick, I can plug it in to this front port and have 4 action buttons for Stargate (Defender II), and the frontal port still be compatible with the standard Atari joystick at the same time, and still have the back ports for things like paddles. The 9 pin miniDIN, well, I ordered one for my Master System II for the RGB mod, and it came in a bag of 5... so, seeing as I had 4 left over, I thought I might as well put some good use to them hehehehe I still need to finish the console off, like put the RF shield back on although I'm going to need to dremel that a bit to accommodate a couple of thing like the whole video mod, I've already done a complete recap of the entire console, which is only like 5 capacitors anyway, changed the 7805 power regulator for a switching one which runs very well, doesn't heat up and uses less power (the original regulator was running very sorry for itself), and changed the power LED to blue because, "why not"? Next mod for this console will be the 4 button arcade stick, and I may make a Q*Bert arcade stick with the stick turned 45º, I'm not sure yet, I want to make an arcade stick for the Master System II before that, and I think that's about it for the moment, time to get back on track collecting games!! CYA!! ^.^

Hi... I know this is an old post, so sorry for necroposting. I just wanted to say thank you to alex_79 and everyone else involved in developing this mod, as I followed it for my PAL 2600jr to add S-Video and Composite to it, and I really appreciate all the work put into it, the well made schematics and the included pinout for the varying TIA chips. I went with a small board with everything on it in order as presented on the initial schematic basically, with the composite mod in between the Chroma and the Audio parts, I also added a second capacitor to make a second audio line, as the TV is stereo, and if you just join the 2 together, it can affect the quality of the sound of other consoles that do have stereo sound on some TVs, like if you got left and right and just joined them together... it was just placing 2 capacitors with their positive sides connected to the audio source, and the negative going one to left, and one to right, as seeing as the capacitors have a polarity, they won't affect other consoles. The figuring out getting all the components on the board in a good fit was a little bit of a headache, especially as I had to wait a while for 2 of the resistors to arrive so i couldn't finish what I started right away, but today I removed the original composite mod I had and replaced it with this new board, and started with hooking up just the composite part to see it that was ok, as I knew that worked, and got the same "quality" of picture I had before. Once that was verified, I simply connected all the S-Video connections to get that part working, and it's not easy to solder with fingers crossed that you didn't mess something up on the circuit!! I had originally gone with the 9 pin miniDIN connector the Mega Drive II uses as my output port, with the audio and composite wired up the same as the Sega console is so i could use those composite RCA cables if I wanted to, and just repurposed 2 of the RGB lines for Luma and Chroma, so this way I only had one cable going to the TV with full S-Video, rather than using the usual 4 pin S-Video connector and a separate audio cable. I made my own SCART lead with the 9 pin connector on one side, and the SCART connector on the other, and added a little switch to the connector itself to change between Composite and S-Video, seeing as Luma and Composite share the same line inside the SCART plug, that way they won't be both using the pin at the same time. I made the cable a little shorter too to help reduce any interference and added resistance from length. The results on my TV of the S-Video image simply blew the composite signal out of the water!! The image is crisp and clear, although in some games there is a strange colour ghosting where there seems to be like a red shadow next to the game image, and a green one next to that, it might just need a small adjustment somewhere, but apart from that it looks absolutely perfect on my modern TV, making the gaming experience a true pleasure compared to how it was with the blurry composite or the simply awful RF image. ... and this is why I am writing this, to once again, say thank you to the OP and everyone else involved, your work is truely appreciated and now, thoroughly enjoyed!!

And here I was thinking NTSC stood for "Never Twice Same Colour"...