Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'Mods'.
-
I recently dug out my old heavy sixer 2600 (NTSC) and decided to mod it for composite output. My TV does have an analog tuner but the output from there is dark and grainy. I ordered an Ultimate AV kit from The Brewing Academy and got to work. Trying the "drop-in" method of piggy-backing on the CD4050 did not work. So I soldered sync and lum lines from the resistors connected to the TIA and connected them to the UAV instead. This gave me a recognizable picture but was flickering, noisy, and had darker colors. I noticed something odd while troubleshooting the issue. When I had the RF cable connected to my TV and the composite mod, the picture was perfect. Playing around with it, I found out that when the ground from the Atari RF was connected to the TV RF ground the composite output was fine. Without this connection, the composite output was not working. I brought out the oscilloscope to probe the output. With the RF cable connected, I was getting a nice composite signal with sync pulses. Max voltage was around 1.2v. Without the RF cable connected, it still looked like a composite signal but the max voltage was around 2v. So I think there is a problem somewhere with the ground. But I don't know where it could be. So any help would be appreciated. Here is a picture of the mod: Connections are as follows: Sync (Thin Yellow Wire): Atari R221 -> UAV S (pin) Lum 0 (Thin Blue Wire): Atari R220 -> UAV 1 (pin) Lum 1 (Thin Green Wire): Atari R219 -> UAV 2 (pin) Lum 2 (Thin Red Wire): Atari R218 -> UAV 3 (pin) Color in (Thin White Wire): Atari R212 -> UAV Co in (terminal) +5V (Thin Red Wire): Atari R231 -> UAV +5 (pad) Ground (Thin Black Wire): Via near Atari C204 -> UAV G (pad) Composite Out (Thick Yellow Wire): UAV CV (terminal) Composite Ground (Thick Black Wire): UAV G (terminal) Audio Out (Thick Brown Wire): Via near C120 (connected to TIA pin 12) Audio Ground (Thick Black Wire): Via near Atari C202 TIA pin 6 has been lifted out as per the instructions.
-
Hey guys, one question, who made the portable Atari 2600? I'm just curious
-
The answer is yes!
-
- nintendo 3ds
- hacking
-
(and 2 more)
Tagged with:
-
I am trying to test some interesting mods to a nice 800. The 800 works great but I don’t know what I am doing with the mods. Obviously this unit has Omnimon! added but also at least one more mod (I think). Please see comments with the pictures. TIA for any help on helping me understand what I have. Note, an old Omnimon! manual tells me to hold down Option and press System Rest but that does nothing. This control module attaches to custom connector on the back. So far the only thing that does anything is… when the top 2-way toggle switch (‘pill’ label) is up, basic ?FRE(0) reports 29710 free when it is down it reports 37902 free (exactly 8K more free). I can not detect any kind of change with any/all other switch settings and combinations I have tried. Note: the right switch has 3 positions (up, middle, down). I have this label just above the two cartridge slots. It can not understand it. Or how it corresponds (if it does) to the blue control module). The words I can read from left to right are: Lower, Upper, View, Off, On, Atari, Newell? Personality board front and back. Two pictures of the rear most memory card 2nd memory card from rear. Front and back memory card closest to front does not appear to have any mods.
-
Atari Jaguar motherboard stock image. Hi i picked up this NTSC Jag a while back for a really good price. It was sold as parts. It arrived but had no cables or games to test it with. I then got straight to ordering and installing the parts for it. I assumed it was the typical no power fault. I ordered and replaced the Caps, Replacement custom Bios socketed, Power Button as it was missing a power button, looks like somebody worked on this before. All of that was ordered from Console5 and installed. Then i ordered and replaced the Reg1 Sound chip and the U38 Regulator Chip commonly known to fail. I then installed the 50/60hz switch mod, a very simple mod and did the diode mod to protect the console from reverse polarity, also a basic mod. I then ordered the PSU 9v 2amps, a game Iron Solder mint in box, a boxed controller, RGB cables from Retro GameCables. I was ready to test and enjoy playing on this machine. I powered it on and no video signal, no audio. Tried it directly through the tv and nothing, no signal. I tried it through the OSSC and same thing, no sync, almost as if it wasn’t even turned on even though the Led is brightly lit. I then realised this is more complicated then i thought. I tried switching to RF and it made no difference. I undid the Diode mod, it made no difference. I went over my caps i broke two traces during the recapping process but fixed it right after i originally replaced those caps. I reflowed and tested those damaged traces and checked for other damaged traces with my multimeter, and i did not find any cut traces. I checked whether the caps were in the right place and everything was installed in the right place, in the right polarity. I reflowed the cart connector, bios, Reg1 and U38 chips and it made no difference, socketed the old bios back in and nothing. I cleaned the motherboard again with ipa 99% making sure i get the cart and av connector cleaned properly with my qtips and a soft pcb brush and nothing. I then tried to tap out the audio from the RF connections using my headphone jack shorted with ground and i only get a slight puffy sound. I lastly decided to put my finger on the CPU chip and that runs warm. The Graphics chip and that pretty much runs hot, is that normal? Overall i can’t figure out what’s wrong with this Jaguar and what the cause of it’s fault is. Can anyone help me figure this out? It’s sad coming across a fault like this on a rare system. I presume the Graphics chip is dead in this machine or hopefully maybe the video encoder chip, ram, missing parts maybe, not sure. I order a replacement power inductor. 120uh/mh and will see if that fixes it when it arrives.
-
More pics are in this Imgur post: https://imgur.com/gallery/j7OisBw I have a Triple Bypass modded MegaDrive VA4 Model 1. Everything works except the colour blue is missing, i did not have this problem before the recap/reflow. It has a yellow tint. I initially suspected that the RGB pins aren’t soldered on properly on the VDP Chip (315 5313A). I did break the RGB pins afterall. But still managed to solder the wire onto it by further exposing the broken legs with my craft knife. I used plenty of solder, and flux, there is no bridging and it’s not loose at all. I test the system with each pin soldered on individually. Red works (Reminds me of the Virtual Boy), Green works but not Blue. Instead i get a black screen with Blue when i test separately, even though it’s soldered on solid. Other mods include the Region Free chips, DFO accurate 60hz mod both work. The clicky reset button works, replaced the 7805 voltage regulators, i get sound. I’ve also recapped it prior to this problem using the Console5 kit. Could it be the caps? All are installed correctly. Many in the right place. Ps I did make a mistake at first by accidentally soldering in a 7812 which ended up shutting off the system and the VDP chip did get hot. I then quickly shut off the system and desoldered that 7812 that was misplaced in the 7805 packet and soldered in a 7805 and it powered on again. Voltages measured using my Astro Ai Multimeter from the VDP to GND. I put Sonic 3 in and took the game out at the white Sega Logo before measuring it. Here are the results. Red= 3.135v Green=3.255v Blue=3.438v I followed this guide for the Triple Bypass mod, more pics from the guide are below: https://www.retrorgb.com/genesis1rgbbypass.html https://console5.com/techwiki/images/f/fb/CXA1145PM.pdf There is also this guide, did not follow this since i have the Triple Bypass: https://videogameperfection.com/2018/08/28/megadrive-bypass-installation/ Is the console/VDP at fault or is it the mod such as the Triple Bypass board? And can this be fixed?
- 1 reply
-
- sega genesis
- sega md
-
(and 3 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hello all! I'm a second year Computer Engineering Student and my summer project is creating a modifiable NES controller using only the chip on the Arduino UNO. I was able to get my controller to interface with the console by connecting the two external interrupts to the NES's LATCH and PULSE lines. For those who may not be familiar, the NES uses a shift register that holds the inputs from the controller. (I simulated this in the registers of the CPU) 60 times a second, the LATCH lines grabs the current inputs, and outputs the first of 8 bits. Then the PULSE line goes high 8 times, and on each rising-edge the next bit of the output byte is sent to the console until the final pulse signifies the end of the sequence. What I'm trying to do is add the ability to record, then play back a run of inputs to the game. I have added a button and indicator LED to enter record/playback mode, and that part is working fine. I keep track of time by using one byte to count the number of latches. After latch 255, it resets back to 0 and adds a "NO-INPUT" entry to the recording if there were no input changes for the 0 - 255 cycle. I'm recording inputs by only recording input CHANGES during the LATCH ISR, and the latch count that the change occurred on. This then gives me a time and a mask that I can EX-OR to a starting "NO-INPUT". The problem I'm having is with the recording, it's very inconsistent. Sometimes every input is recorded, but the lengths of time between changes are very wrong. Sometimes, inputs are missed altogether. If I playback the recording, it executes the same way every time, so I don't think it's a problem with the playback function. I've tried using the chip's USART and a terminal on my computer to get some data from the chip that I can use to debug, but the multitude of interrupts seems to be messing with both the data being sent to the terminal and the data sent to the NES console. My two questions are this: What could be causing this issue with (seemingly) recording the data. And what can I do to debug this issue that doesn't require USART? Here's a GitHub repo with all of my code. I included the USART files I wrote even though they aren't used in the application. Thanks!
-
I'm looking for someone in the US who can install the RGB Tim worthington mod with component output in my light 4 switch Atari 2600 system.
-
- 71 replies
-
- 6
-
- texas instruments
- ti99/4a
-
(and 3 more)
Tagged with:
-
Just wondering - the technology used for Adventure was simple enough that just about any 8-bit home computer or newer should be capable of emulating it. I'm wondering if anyone has done it in BASIC (maybe compiled, or with some minor ML routines, or using some BASIC expansion library, for more speed etc.) ? It would be cool to have such a code base to work with, making it easy to modify and create custom adventures...
-
Hey guys. I was told you guys are the best place to get help, so Im here asking for it. I have a 5200 with UAV and S video installed. It did not come with a power supply. I went to my local retro gaming store for one. I plugged it in and the red light on the console lit up dimly a few times than went off. I brought the whole system and power supply back to the store. They tried another one. No dice. Longer story short, they sold me an AC Atari computer power supply, not one for the 5200. I have no idea where to start. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
-
Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone has done any fancy mods to their ST's to change the way they look. My Atari ST had cracks all over the plastic which I fixed with Epoxy, but this still left it looking damaged. So I decided to get some vinyl wrap and turn it into a little DIY project. I've attached a WIP photo below, still a long way to go. Anyway, I'd love to see what others have done with their ST's and to hear about how their project went on.
-
Who has modded their 7800 and what mods did you use? Everyone knows the limits of the stock video output of the 7800 and how it leaves much to be desired. What mods have you gone with and why did you choose to mod your system.
-
From the album: INTV
My custom Sears unit that I restored & modded w/ RGB and composite AV, plus a custom Inty arcade controller that I built using a Neo Geo X as a base & Grips03's PCB kit. I used a magic eraser to clean up the cream colored plastic, the backend was repainted, a paint pen was used to touch up the raised lettering and then the whole console was clear coated. A lot of time and work put into it all, but everything came out great!© TJW 2019
-
- Intellivision
- Sears
-
(and 5 more)
Tagged with:
-
What mods have been done or are still available for the Lynxes?
Lynxpro posted a topic in Atari Lynx
What are some of the really good hacks that have been done to the Lynxes over the years? Aside from the McWill LCD screen/VGA output, mosfet, etc? i guess I should also mention replacing the speaker too. I remember when Candle was working on an LCD replacement solution, he was discussing adding a Sega MegaDrive/Genesis compatible DB9 port. I've seen some battery replacement solutions and also even a video of someone adding Bluetooth audio to their Lynx [it was a video on YouTube and in French]. So what else has been done? If possible, share pics and links...to the modded Lynxes. -
Does anyone have a pin diagram for standard CV controllers? I have given up trying to find a Champ keypad for sale, so I want to try to make one with a stock controller and a d-sub connector.
-
Someone posted this article in a status update the other day and i've been thinkging about it quite a bit: https://db-electronics.ca/2017/07/05/the-dangers-of-3-3v-flash-in-retro-consoles/ I have Everdrives for nearly all my cart based systems. I have the cheap Chinese multi carts. Am I actually frying my systems slowly, or is this alarmist? I've invested a lot in getting rare and sought after consoles, and modding them to perfection, so it would be a real pain to fry something and then need to replace it.... What is your take? I am certainly alarmed after reading this article. I've never had any problems personally, either with the cheap multi-carts, which work perfectly on my AV modded top loader, or any of my everdrives.
- 46 replies
-
- 1
-
- 3.3v Flash
- 5v
-
(and 2 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hello, today I became the brand new owner of a six switch atari 2600 which I got from an auction on ebay. I never owned an atari before, so I have a few questions about mine. When I got the system it was a little unstable, but that was fixed with a little solder to hold the power jack in place. Then I wasn't able to get a stable picture, but a bit of fiddling with the RF modulator and fine tuning the TV the atari is now functional, it however still has a few flaws. First, the sound doesn't really work, all I hear is loud static, I assume that this is due to the fact that my atari is from a PAL A region and my TV is PAL B. The colours are also off I think, combat game 0 is supposed to a beige(I think, I'm a little colourblind) but in my TV it's a puke green and neither of the tanks have any colour. Any help with these issues? I've attached a picture of combat game 0 as it appears on my TV. On a slightly different topic, I'm using the aerial lead that came stock with the system, but I'd like to have it output composite. If any of you have ever messed around with a ZX Spectrum there's a very simple composite mod and since both Spectrum and the 2600 use an RF modulator I was wondering if that mod would work on the 2600. Obviously it wouldn't have any sound, but I can always pull that out of some pad in the console if I'm not mistaken. The ZX Spectrum mod consists in disabling the RF modulator power supply and splicing the video input of the modulator and connecting it to a composite cable since the Spectrum RF modulator is converting composite to RF, is this also what's happening on the 2600? Thanks for reading all this, I'm a bit of a noob, I know.
-
I have a heavy sixer that I would like to get working and possibly be modded for composite a/v. Anyone around here offer that service? Maybe I am not using the right keyboards but my searches for such services have yielded few results. Thanks.
-
I know there are some pretty talented hardware guys here in the TI forum on Atari Age. I also know there are many ways to accomplish the same task. This made me ponder how, and by which means or methods you guys would take towards creating a wireless joystick. 1) Would you design & create your own interfacing methods? 2) Would you use pre-existing off the shelf components? Basic Questions.... A) Is there something 'out there' that could be modified to work as a receiver dongle for the joystick port? B) Anything small enough to fit in a joystick as the transmitter with the battery? C) What pre-existing joystick would consider using? As I've been focusing on my modernized and updated small footprint system, I'm thinking of other ways to pack more punch into the limited space?
- 8 replies
-
- 1
-
- TI-99/4A
- HARDWARE HACKING
-
(and 2 more)
Tagged with:
-
Good evening, everyone, I've been wondering, especially since Dropcheck has started inquiring about the Atari's PBI, what the advantages and disadvantages are between the PBI and the cartridge interface itself? What types of devices are best suited for one I/O platform over the other? I imagine from a modding perspective, a cartridge-based mod would have a much broader usability factor since not every Atari 8-bit has a PBI interface— but every Atari DOES have a cartridge port! For me, the primary drawback to these cartridge-based mods is that you only get to have one mod in play at a time. While there are a few pass-thru mods, the reality is that I don't see my utilizing the USB cartridge, the Bluetooth cartridge, and my SpartaDOSX cartridge with MacRorie's R-Time8 cartridge all in a single session, even though that would be something I totally seem myself utilizing. Yet all of these could be in simultaneous use, should someone develop an interface along the lines of the 1090, where the USB cartridge would become a PBI card-based solution, as would the Bluetooth cartridge— both operating through the PBI lines. And wouldn't it be convenient to be able to set something like the RapidUS to card-based, as well? However, with the 65/130XE and their ECI port, it seems like any 1090-like expansion solution would need to support a cartridge port. Anyhoo, I was just wondering what the technical advantages and disadvantages were between the PBI and the cartridge interface insofar as mod development is concerned...? Submitted for your perusal and consideration, Tim
-
I recently bought my first 2600 ever the other day! (I had it's competitor, Intellivision, when I was a kid.) I have a question, though: What's currently the highest quality AV mod commonly available *right now*? My Google-Fu only turns up confusing tidbits about mods that aren't available anymore, ones 'coming soon' but not released, schematic-only things, etc. I'm thinking people with your expertise who live the Atari life every day will have a more comprehensive answer. For what it's worth, I'm looking for something that's prebuilt and ready to wire in to my 4 switch woody model, best quality available, and that's for sale currently. What would you folks recommend?
-
This is an exciting new mod from user marshallh on assemblergames.com Here is a link to his website with some pics and info on the mod. http://ultrahdmi.retroactive.be/ He is only selling these to installers not to individuals. I am going to be an installer when his new stock arrives in a couple weeks. I am offering this for $199 installed and free return shipping initially. If your interested in having me install this new mod for you feel free to send me a message.
-
So as I've mentioned in my "ST Gaming" thread, I recently picked up a 1040STe that is new in the box and bone stock. What I'm wondering is: -What should I do to it? -Why? -And where do I get the part/mod? I have heard "upgrade the RAM" okay great where can I get that. I have seen the "ultrasatan" drive on ebay, what is that for? I have heard whispers of a processor upgrade, does anyone do that stateside? There are several local good computer shops, so if I get the parts I'm sure I can have stuff done locally. Thanks, and appreciate the input! Looking forward to souping up my ST and having all sorts of fun with it!!