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unixdude

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Posts posted by unixdude

  2. Posted

    Well, I'm going to have to return this converter box: while it looks great, it introduces terrible lag, which renders games -- notably Missile Command and Tempest -- difficult to play.  I'll be buying a RetroTink 2X -- not sure about pro vs mini, but I'll figure that out.

  3. Posted

    Thanks, guys. I'm starting to think I have two good options:

     

    First, I can keep this converter box, then replace the TV at some point, and just deal with the wider aspect ratio for now. It's not fully 16x9 and doesn't look horrible, but it's definitely stretched.

     

    Second, I can return this converter box and get a RetroTink 2X mini (when they're in stock) or some other RetroTink box on eBay.  It would be nice if someone could confirm that the RetroTink 2x mini will output pillarboxed video to a Vizio D43fx-F4 -- if that works, that's my solution.

  4. Posted · Edited by unixdude

    Hey everyone.  As I have posted, I have been modding 2600s and 5200s with the UAV.  So far I have only done composite, but I am going to be adding S-Video to these systems once I get some connectors from console5.

     

    Anyway, my Vizio D43fx-F4 is not compatible with the composite output from the UAV (the video is jumpy, on both the 2600 and 5200), so I bought a Orei XD-901 since I've seen mention of it here, and others reported that it worked well (if with a bit of lag).  Reviewers on Amazon said that it preserved the correct aspect ratio, but that is not my experience, and @DrVenkman reports that the XD-901 always stretches the video (assuming that's the box he was talking about in that post).

     

     

    The signal from the XD-901 to my TV is super nice, and the box itself is great -- with one exception: it stretches composite video to 16x9, and since my TV will not pillarbox video, I'm stuck with classic games at the wrong aspect ratio.

     

    I'm looking for a good combination that works, by which I mean: I want to play 2600 and 5200 in the correct aspect ratio.  I will consider solutions that involve the purchase of a different converter box and/or a new TV.

     

    I just want to be able to play classic games at the correct aspect ratio.  Ideally I can play my other game systems too (original PS, Xbox, Xbox 360, RetroN 77).  With the UAV mods installed, at this point all of my game systems are either composite/S-video or HDMI, with one exception: my Xbox 360 is component.

     

    Unfortunately I was not able to try the XD-901 on my other TV, a Sharp LC-52D64U, because the Sharp did not see a valid HDMI output from the XD-901 -- very strange.

     

    Will a Retrotink 2x-Mini work for me?  I mean: does it output pillarboxed video from analog sources, or can it be configured to do so?  I downloaded the manual but don't see any mention of the word "aspect," so I wonder.

     

    Maybe a better TV is what I need -- something that can force an HDMI input to pillarbox view mode.

     

    With this one exception, I really like the XD-901.

     

    Thoughts?  How can I improve this?

     

    Thanks.

     

    Edited to add: I have read and/or skimmed many of the other HDMI/upscaler posts here on AA, and haven't found anything related to this, so I figured I'd post about it.

  5. Posted · Edited by unixdude

    Well, that audio issue might be a 1 delta 10 tango error here... I just reconnected my modded 2600 to take before & after pics again (before using my other, unmodified RF-only 2600; after using the UAV-modded one that was dead when I bought it)... and I have audio at normal volume.  I'm not complaining, just surprised.

     

    So, I have now successfully UAV-modded a left-for-dead 2600, and I did the same thing with a left-for-dead 5200.  Fun!

  6. Posted · Edited by unixdude

    Also, here's the RF I have been using... (Note, the RF is from my 4-port, and I modded my 2-port that until now had nonfunctioning video output.) So I guess I resurrected this 2-port 5200 here.

     

    That's quite an improvement!

     

    IMG_4689.jpg

  7. Posted

    Well, I have met with success.  I have color again (I'm thinking the UAV is flaky as you were suggesting, @-^CrossBow^-, so I will buy another), and I have audio.  It's a mess right now, but it does work.  Once I get some better parts, I'll make this a permanent setup. I don't have any 2K resistors for the audio, but I have 1K resistors, so I soldered two of those in series, and I don't have any heat shrink tubing.  An electronics component assortment and a set of heat shrink tubing are on order, and I will finish this once those arrive.

     

    Still, this is the first time I've ever done something like this, and I find a great sense of satisfaction in a successful completion here.

     

    Thanks, everyone, for your help.

    IMG_4685.jpeg

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  8. Posted · Edited by unixdude

    Well, I removed the 4050 today and installed a socket.  The results are seen in the attached pics. :D  I pulled the chip by cutting the legs, then working the chip out, then pushing the pins to one side and then heating the solder while holding a pin with pliers. After I pulled all of the pins, I used a suction solder remover to clear the holes -- then I added the socket.

     

    The color is flaky (sometimes the video shows grayscale and not color), and there are vertical bars on the left side of the screen, but man is this so much better than RF.  There is no comparison!

     

    Any suggestions on what to look for re: the grayscale and vertical bars?

     

    Edited to add: also, the video seems a little dark, but I wonder if that's my TV.  The laser beam in Dig Dug is hard to see when shooting horizontally.  But, really, that could just be the TV or the color pot.  Anything else I should look at there?

     

    Now to get audio working.

     

    Thanks for the help so far -- this is great!

    IMG_4675.jpeg

    IMG_4674.jpeg

  9. Posted

    Thanks, all.  I will remove the 4050 (I don't care about RF) and see where I get to.  I'm going through @-^CrossBow^-'s PDF tutorial that TBA linked to, and I plan to do audio after I get video working. No sense in messing with audio until I get video :D ... and since my TV doesn't have S-video (composite/component only) I'm only doing composite.  If there's a way to get component out of a UAV, I'll wire that up, but I looked into it and it looks like S-video and component are very different things.

  10. Posted

    To be clear, when I say "I just get nothing out the composite connection to the TV," I mean that the TV sees no input source.  It's not a black/blank screen -- it's that the UAV is producing no output.

     

    To make sure I'm connecting correctly: The composite video post (yellow) is connected to the composite out pin, and the composite video ground (barrel) is connected to the ground.  I've tried using both ground connections on the green 6-pin connector, but it doesn't make a difference.  

  12. Posted

    Hi, all.

     

    I'm trying to UAV mod my 2-port 5200.  This install looks pretty easy, but it's not working for me.  I know the 5200 is fine because RF still works.  My 4050 is soldered, so I chose to soder the socket on top of it, and a continuity tester tells me that all pins are good to the 4050.  I have tested my jumpers on the UAV board and all look good.  I just get nothing out the composite connection to the TV.  Attached are some pics of my install.  Any thoughts on what I should look at?

     

    Looking at the closeup, it looks like maybe I need to do a better job soldering the legs on that one side of the chip.  Any other ideas?

     

    IMG_4642.jpeg

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    IMG_4649.jpeg

  13. Posted

    Thanks, yeah, I was looking at a schematic now, in the FSM.  I was trying to figure out where to tap, and I don't know enough about electronics to know where to tap.  Maybe on the modulator side of R207 or R209 (FSM PDF page 12).  Is that what you were thinking?

  15. Posted

    So, basically, it's working great, with minor issues to fix:

    - color is washed out

    - vertical hold is a little flaky (image jumps up and down on the TV)

    - audio amp has to be turned way up in order to hear it

     

    Anybody have any thoughts on those 3 issues?  As a reminder, this is a rev16 2600, with a Rev.D. UAV from TBA.

  16. Posted · Edited by unixdude

    Well, I figured I'd try it anyway, so I soldered audio to AUD0 (pin 13 on the TIA), with no resistor.  I do get audio, but in order to hear it, I have to turn my amp up to 11.

     

    Also, I pulled R234, so here's another pic of that -- note that the colors are washed out as compared to when R234 was installed; maybe these colors are more accurate, but I thought the other colors were correct.

     

    That's a pretty amazing "before & after" set right there, I think.  And yes, you can barely see it, but that's Space Invaders in the RF shot as well.

     

     

    IMG_4623.jpeg

    IMG_4626.jpeg

  17. Posted

    Sure, I saw that on the stereo mod option on the linked article.  One reason I didn't do it is because I didn't want to have to mess with inline resistors.  Will I need an inline resistor for this audio if I go straight to the TIA?

  18. Posted · Edited by unixdude

    Hi, all.

     

    I picked up a new, dead Vader 2600 recently, and after playing with it I was able to get a snowy RF picture.  I decided to drop a UAV into it, first, to see if it would fix this 2600, and second, because I haven't done the UAV mod yet and didn't want to screw up my otherwise good Woody.  The video is beautiful, but it has some issues with vertical hold.  The audio is completely nonexistent, but I do have audio via RF, so I know the unit's audio works.  For my install, I chopped the connectors off of one end of an unused AV cable, and I have soldered that directly in.  I have checked my soldering, and the connection between the RCA L/R audio pins is good to the 4th pin from the left on the RF modulator (I'm not doing the stereo mod, at least not yet).  I know the AV cable ground line is good because video works.

     

    Any ideas what I should look at to get these issues sorted?

     

    Also, this is a Rev 16 board, so I need to pull a resistor... need to find that and get it done.  But the results even now are really good.

     

    I would take a picture of the RF right now, but I can't get that to work at all anymore.  No wonder this guy thought it was dead -- the RF is dead. :)

     

    Edited to add: Yes I have read several other postings on 2600 UAV mods -- there's one from just 2 months ago, and I was following the excellent diagram in the original post there.  Unfortunately my audio doesn't work.

     

    IMG_4616.jpeg

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  19. Posted

    6 minutes ago, erichenneke said:

    I gotta say, I REALLY hate the idea of hacking ANY of my Atari systems' cases.  Am I the only one having this struggle?

     

    I just can't bring myself to start drilling or dremel-ing on a perfectly well-preserved case that is ~40 years old. 

    Eric, you aren't the only one.  Thinking specifically of Sophia, I'm thinking that when I do this mod, I will pass the connector out through the same hole that the PBI connector uses.  Inelegant, yes, and the cable will need to be replaced when the wires break, but it seems less bad than potentially destroying my 600XL's perfect case.

     

    I'm in a similar situation with my 2600/5200, both of which I want to modify for UAV: I'm not sure how I will pass those new connectors outside the case.

    • Like 1

  24. Posted

    Thanks, yeah, I think what I'm seeing here is that my R77 has died: it no longer works with either TV in the house, on any input using any cables.

     

    Here's a sample scenario:

    - power on TV/amp/Apple TV

    - observe functional connection (Apple TV displays to TV)

    - swap HDMI cable from Apple TV to R77

    - power on R77

    - observe "no signal" message on TV

     

    Doesn't matter what order I do those things -- doesn't matter if the R77 is powered on before or after moving the cable.

     

    My guess is that the first time I tested on my second TV, the R77 was simply on its way out, and not fully dead.  At this point I never get any video out of it to either TV.

     

    I'm pretty surprised that it died so soon -- mine is 14 months old.

    • Sad 1
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