TheCoolDave

Expensiove ? Get a Minty orginal NES, restore it, and get a RGB kit for it ($95+shipping).... I have my RGB kit and just need the time to get started on it...

Thanks for the vote of confidence here I did find a LITTLE progress last night.... When I orginally setup this for testing I was testing with 4-5 games, As I was just going in circles with this, I put away boxed games and only kept one out. So the keyboard I supected was good (the glossy one that I hate), so with the old hardware (my orignal with the controlers attached)...and the same result, so I tried a few more games and BANG, it was able to select a game... Controllers didn't do anything but, it was progress forward. I think this is showing the keyboard works. So, I took my other board (the one with plug in controllers, THE ONE I WANT TO USE), pulgged in cables, Droped in a game, power it upm the "Select Game" shows on screen. Hitting 1 or 2 does nothing like it did on the other system. I did notice the ribbon cable for the keyboard sits very lose as it could just fall out. I will take a very small screw driver and try to bend a few of pins up that hold the keyboard to see if this makes any progress here. The big question is how much MORE time to do I want to invest here, I have tons of hours now working on this. This console is not like a NeoGeo AES console that can be $500+, it's one that can be, with a little work, find one for under $50 ($30-40 for untested is not too hard to find)... I wanted one with the non-glossy keyboard and with the controler ports on the back of the system.... I'll post another update tomorrow..

Cool, interested too... Cant use this system in my setup unless it has A/V out... SO interested..

I pulled the silver edge off so the keyboard is opened but, it' seems glued to the case. Is this removable ? It's just a membrane keyboard, they can be fixed if they dont get damaged removing them... It's just odd that they BOTH do the same thing. I really want to get to the bottom of this console and try to get it resolved. I'm almost tempted to buy a 3rd console just for parts if it does not work...praying for a working keyboard.... Are these consoles this bad with the keyboard and is this a very common problem with them ?

Thanks... Maybe I'll get lucky !

THere is also the TIME factor... Finding the deals... waiting for them to come in, Fixing possable issues, dealing with the packing and shipping...then the fees on ebay/paypal/etc. So, yes, this does work but, also takes a lot of your free time. I dont know a console I would not take, esp if it was free. If you dont want your consoles, feel free to ship them to me

I just wish someone would find a way to do this to Marble Man. I so want to play this game before I die...

I have spent a LOT of time trying to figure this out and now I hit a brick wall... I am hoping others can point me in the right direction here. So I have 2 O2 systems doing the same exact thing. I noticed one looks like the ribbon cable is kind of browned out in some parts, using a voli-meter, I noticed that it's not getting a full signal through one of the pins, I tried one of those conductive pens to see if I could get a signal across but, not strong enough... VERY disapointed as this was the flat finsih keyboard that I really wanted. The glossy keyboards tend to get scrached up. SIgh... My orginal console, has the controllers attached and has a glossy keyboard. So my old system (that I have had from the 80's), I did a volti-meter test on the each of the pins, everything gets a connection I did a quck A/V mod to it and use that for testing going forward. BOTH consoles show the SAME EXACT result (using the one with attached controllers and one that has plugin controlers.. Putting in 3-4 diffent games. If I press 0-3 nothing happens. BUt, if I hit the RESET button, the screen flashes like it's reseting the system. So, we found a schematic for the Oddsey 2. and it appears that the keyboard connection goes through 2 chips before hitting the main CPU, these chips are under 0.50 each, so I was thinking about replacing them as one could be burnt out... All in all, what do you think is wrong here.. Seeing that BOTH consoles do the same exact thing (reset button is the only thing that reponds) What would you think is wrong...do I have a bad keyboard, or bad chips.. or ? I was thinking about just trying to find a 3rd console... Thoughts ?

Good luck on your quest...Looking forward to hearing your results...

Thank you ! Awesome, Thanks ! SO doing a A'V mod to the lower part of the console(what I Was planning to do) would work out perfectly incase I want to go/find one of the Voice modules for the system.

Because this device up converts to a higher res. The Original NES was designed for old TVs that could handle 240i/p over composite, as that was the STANDARD when it was created. Modern TVs can not do anything with the res of older consoles (like I said 240i/p), and what TVs do is treat it like 480p and that looks really bad. SO it's upgraded hardware designed around modern TVs, for $20, it's a good deal. Most of these NEWER clones should be able do a better job than the old consoles could do. so odds are yes, they should give a better picture. Just watch out for consoles like the Retron 5, this is pretty much a emulation machine. It takes your carts and rips the ROM and you play the rom. The results look amazing but, it deals with a level of lag and it's not actually playing the original cart.. You do get some nice features tho, like real time save and other emulation features... I paid $41 form my Retron 5.. so it was worth grabbing to try... Neat little console for what it is.

Interested in an rear image as well. I will be doing a A/V mod on mine as well and I want to make sure the jacks don't cause problems incase I want to get one in the future... To do a Atari mod, is it just 1-2 pins or is it a complete re-wire ? Could a switch be put in-line ?

As I was pulling the metal covers off, I noticed a chip poped up.. I am taking the board into work, as there are people there that are more skilled than I am...

Thanks, I'm sure I will have more questions when I get it. Thanks for all the advice. The audio will be a must but, maybe I can figure out from the docs.. I'm getting closer to my goal... only about 4-5 consoles left mod

Thanks, I hope there is a diagram/directions someplace on how to wire/install it... I'll order it on Friday

It looks like a fun game... for about $5, you can support them and get a ROM emailed to you so you can play it on your emulators/flashcard.... IF you want the cart... its about $55.. I might do it too... It's cheap and it helps a new game come to the consoles.

Good call on the button height… Makes sense... As for how close you need to sit, it's 74cm wide...so about a little over 29"... so about 2.4 feet....means a little over a foot for each user and maybe 3-4" in the center... It's going to be a little tight..

Hmmm, Not sure, Unless the controllers are really, really nice, it seem pretty expensive for what it is. It's 229 pounds (in their store)... so in USD it's about almost $300. So, $250 to $300, seems kind of pricey for a limited selection of titles... maybe it's me... Maybe $99- $130 it might be ok...

I speak from experience here. I used to run all my systems over analog (my old TV only supported Component HD), over 10 feet, this would cause ghosting, audio hum and other issues. Then for giggles, I tried a device like this, converted to HDMI and ran directly to a HDMI port. Ghosting and hum was gone right away. Clearer picture. It was night and day but, most of these systems were modern consoles that were 480p or higher. My advice on analog sources, the quickest and shortest cable till it gets converted to digital is the best possible to avoid noise to analog lines. Just keep in mind on these converters, Most of these devices treat 240i/240p (early systems) as 480p and they will look like complete crap. You need something that will handle 240i/240p and upscale it to 480p for a good picture with these... This was why the Framemeister and OSSC are so popular, as they can do this with almost no lag and great results..

Do I want the Plug-in version for the 5200 ? Looking for the fairly easy install here. And I noticed on his site, they list the Plugin version for $30 but, if you select the options, you can only select Basic or KIT. Edit: Never mind, I needed to look under the 5200, not the 7800 and the plugin version is an option. Will order on Friday, Thanks !

It's just strange that 2 systems are doing the same exact thing... Are these keyboards really funky once they are unplugged ?

Sent PM, looking for the plugin version for an Atari 5200

Yes, a working game, I tried 3-4 of them, these are cleaned games that I have had from when the systems were new. I also cleaned the slot, so every game I drop in gets "Select Game" in color. I have 1 OEM power cord and I have a modern cord that fits the voltage perfectly. I am using the modern cord but, tried the OEM with no change. It seems like it is going to work, just when I it says "Select Game" pressing 1 or 2 does nothing at all, on both systems. Any other ideas or should I be shopping for a 3rd system ?

Bump, still looking for where to grab A/V on the Channel F Model 2 ? I cant use RF any more...it's just wrong !

FOUND ONE ! A Nice Minty Model 2 fully working ! Now I need a A/V mod for it !