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Showing results for tags 'mod'.
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Hi; Today I received a shipment of imagic carts for my 7800 and found that none of them would fit well enough to run. I researched a bit on the forums to find a solution. The given solution was i.e: Remove external housing Find "cart cup" clip corners with scissors I did this to one of the corners and tested before proceeding any further to limit any damage. It worked for most of the games, but one, cosmic ark. So, I clipped another corner of the "cup" and when I went to test it the console wouldn't turn on!!! As far as I can tell (have not removed shield) there is no pieces lose. I ordered a Atari jr. in the mean time so I could still play most of my library, but I would really like to be able to fix the console; It ran beautifully before I mutilated it (no sticky buttons, no game problems, etc.) My Question; Any suggestions to what may be the problem? Any similar experiences? Thanks, - Justin
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As some of you may know, I've been talking about posting a thread with some pics showing the picture quality issues I've been having with my 2600. It has a revision 12 motherboard and I've replaced the caps and voltage regulator. I've tried two different mod boards, both donated by members here. I want to make it clear, the mod boards aren't the issue, since they work extremely well in my 7800. The pictures you are about to see show the difference in picture quality between my modded 2600 and my unmodded Jr. While the picture from the Vader looks out of focus, it isn't. You can still clearly see the name plate on the bottom of the TV frame. I tried to take both pictures from the same distance and angle, but it's not perfect. I also had to shrink the pictures in order to upload them. So, here they are. I'd like to hear thoughts on what might be causing this issue, since I find it hard to use the Harmony Cart with my Vader because the menu is pretty hard to read. It's much worse in person than the pictures would lead you to believe. The first pic is from the Vader, the second is from the Jr.
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Hello To All I need assistance we getting a 2-button mod for a Champ Coleco Adapter. I sadly lack the time, space and equipment to do the mod myself. Details on what I need are here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/214256-colecovision-champ-adaptor-2-button-modification/. The mod is simple, easy and I am willing to pay for it. Please contact me if you are willing to do it.
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Is there a way to adjust the brightness of the video signal? After I installed a composite mod kit in my 2600, the brightness is so low that playing Space Invaders at the right color configuration is almost impossible. And yes, I know about the color potentiometer. I feel like there should be a better option than adjusting the brightness of my TV to unnaturally high levels.
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okay, I saw this Amiga lightgun by actionware on ebay. It's still live: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Commodore-Amiga-Actionware-Light-Gun-Gray-Phaser-/272807926381?hash=item3f849e9a6d:g:NrAAAOSwutpZlGZK The gun looks exactly the same as my xg-1 lightgun. It even looks like there is red left from a peeled Atari sticker. Also, note the insane price (dunno... seller may just be delirious). I read somewhere that Actionware often repurposed and resold nintendo zappers with their lightgun games. I haven't seen evidence of this, but it sure as heck looks like that is what they did with the xg1 here. Now I'm wondering if the xg1 works on the Amiga and C64 or if there is some mod done to the guns. I have a c64 and I love lightgun games so having it work on another computer would be a plus. I'm also thinking... heck... maybe I should just do the mod and sell my xg1 for 120 bucks on ebay lol (okay not really but there may be others that might want to).
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Switch dock fan cooling is something Nintendo should have included in my opinion. The Switch runs warm in portable mode. The poor design of the Switch dock and the overclocking while docked make it run too hot. Nintendo designed a nice looking dock that scratches unprotected screens and traps heat. The intake airflow is partially restricted and the plastic surrounding the handheld acts as an insulator complete with heat insulating air gaps. The Nintendo Switch ( handheld) has an internal fan just below the top exhaust vent. There are 2 intake vents on the back of the system near the bottom. The best approach to better cooling the Switch while docked would draw hot air out of the top exhaust vent. Unfortunately, how to securely mount such a fan and remain easily removable would be a challenge. My solution was to mount a fan in the hinged door of the dock. It blows air into the intake vent to aid cooling. I have also drilled vent holes in the rear panel after removing it. These vent holes allow the open space between the plastic to ventilate the heat trapped in this area of the dock. Testing so far looks promising. The Switch's internal fan is barely running afterward, and the speed increases only after the dock cooling fan is unplugged for a while.
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From the album: My Atari 8 bit collection
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So recently I've been playing a lot of 2600 games and I was wondering if there was an easy way to connect a 2600 to a more modern TV. My first thought was one of the many composite mod kits floating around on eBay for about ten bucks. I went to atariage to see if there was any info about those here, and noticed the retron 77 blog post saying it would be a way to play 2600 games thru HDMI, but it would be a whole different system and cost a lot more than the mod kit, so I still think I'll go with that. How hard is it to do those mods, and would any of you have anything else to say about them? Thanks.
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An idea for a Pac-Man upgrade literally came to me in a dream a couple of nights ago. I actually remember most of the dream, but I'll spare everyone the details, except to say it began at a game convention where I realized I hadn't yet set up the systems I'd brought, and ended with me on a running track trying to escape the men in black. My dreams tend to be rather disjointed. Anyway, the idea. Arcade Pac-Man has been fully conquered. We know exactly how the ghost AI operates, and since there isn't any randomness, we know exactly how to work around that AI and get the highest possible score, level by level. There have been mods both subtle (speed tweeks) and grand (Ms. Pac-Man) designed to disrupt those patterns and make the game "challenging" again. How about a mod that instead embraces that lack of randomness, while also daring players to buck the established patterns? Instead of dots, the maze can be populated with little arrows. If Pac-Man follows the arrows, he will eat them for the same points as dots. But if Pac-Man moves against the arrows, they will stay uneaten and also grow larger, like the dots in Jr. Pac-Man when touched by a bonus item. Also like those Jr. Pac-Man dots, eating larger arrows earns more points but also slows Pac-Man down more, making it harder to escape the ghosts. In my dream I saw only small sections of the maze where arrows replaced dots (the maze itself was also garbled, and yet somehow still playable; I determined this was due to some sort of memory corruption, which when you think about it was actually not wrong... but I digress), but I figure, why not fill the maze entirely with these arrows, and make the arrows follow whatever the optimal pattern is for that level? The challenge would then be, if you want the "perfect" score, go right ahead and take it... provided you know the patterns well enough for the empty parts of the maze, of course. But also be aware, the old "perfect" score is no longer the highest possible score, not in this version of the game. How often would you dare to go against the pattern in pursuit of those larger, more valuable arrows? There could even be different levels of arrow values, where the more often Pac-Man crosses an arrow the "wrong" way, the more valuable but also more "sticky" it becomes. Since this wouldn't actually affect the enemy AI, the ghosts would still have their same predictable behaviors, which means the true Pac-Man masters probably wouldn't have too much keeping them at bay. But then the true masters would want to know what the new highest possible score is, and what new patterns will get to that score. Those patterns just might take a while to find out, and they will certainly take longer to execute. And so this would indeed be a Slower, Harder, More Challenging Pac-Man. At least for a little while. (Surprisingly, no, I wasn't without apparel at any point in this dream, though I did find myself in my pajamas for a while... but again, I digress.)
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Just wondering anyone has any idea about this problem concerning a rolling interference pattern on my AV-modded Colecovision. I'm attaching a photo to demonstrate what I am seeing on my CRT TV. It's a set of diagonal rolling lines on the screen that disappear after several seconds and then show up again. It drives me nuts, especially in games with a blue background (eg. The Coleco blue skill selection screen, or Evolution title screen). This problem is most visible on my AV (composite) connection but also shows up on the RF coax input as well, though not as noticeable because the lower quality hides it a bit. I've tried the transistor AV mod as well as the op amp version of the mod, and neither rectified the issue. I've also tried two different power supplies, cleaned the power switch and PCB, and tried different TV sets (CRT and LCD). I don't want to waste any more time on this but was just hoping someone can help out. Someone else had this same problem a couple years back and he ended up selling the unit and buying another one, which didn't have the problem. So it wasn't an issue with his power socket or location.
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Atari 2600 $99 12 games, two joysticks, high quality s-video and RCA cables. games. $99 Games that are included with the system are Donkey Kong Jr Midnight Magic Mouse Trap Solaris Moon Patrol Ms. Pacman Centipede Galaxian Frogger Q*bert The Empire Strikes Back Popeye Games ($8 min) Games arranged by rarity (feel free to make any offers )
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So this is a simple thing, yet I still need help. The LED for my 7800 has burned out. Id like to replace it with a modern blue one (im tired of red), its a new millenia, its getting updated So im at a loss to find out just what voltage of LED I need for this. If anyone knowns what the on/off buttons LED voltage is, please let me know. Thanks for all your help.
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I put together a few INTYs with RGB and power LED, I've one for sale now. eBay Auction -- Item Number: 232273666426 I realize I'm no veteran so here are links to my work... http://atariage.com/forums/topic/262378-intellivision-rgb-install/ http://atariage.com/forums/topic/263108-intellivision-power-led-light-pipe/
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From the album: Intellivision Power LED (lightpipe) Mod
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Hi, I'm new to Atari 8 bit computers having grown up with C64 and Spectrums. I recently bought a bargain 800XL from eBay (yes, miracles do sometimes happen). I don't have any software yet but I was able to get the machine into self test mode (what a cool feature!) and it passes just fine. There seems to be some after-market mod on the system, can anyone tell me what it's for? Here's a picture of it:- IMG_0922 by videogameperfection, on Flickr There's three switches at the back. I tried flipping them but all that seems to happen is the machine boots to a blank screen. Does anyone have any idea what this might be? My intention with the machine is to RGB mod it using Lotharek's VBXE board and probably add a flash cart of some description too. Hopefully whatever this is won't interfere with that! Thanks in advance for any help
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As most of you in this part of the forum know, there is a set of music routines by Arnauld Chevallier that can be used to playback tracker music. DZ-Jay has previously posted a How To-guide on how to manually put together your music data. Some have asked for a tool to simplify the process. While this is no one click solution, I have written a PHP script that will, assuming the input file is of the proper formatting, output something that almost will assemble. Get the PHP script here: mod2inty.php First, compose some music in a tracker of your choice. I am an Amiga user since the early 1990's, so for me the choice has always been OctaMED. However, you might find that other trackers like Protracker will work too. What you need is an option to print to file your music data. That means you can't take a .MOD file as it is, you need a text representation of the content of the file. Obviously when you compose, you need to think ahead as regarding to the Intellivision sound limitations. That means three channels, of which one (channel A) may be mixed with noise for drum effects. Most trackers will let you work with four channels, but the fourth channel is no good, unless you plan to manually mix two channels at a later stage. The printed file will contain some headers, like instrument table, volumes, playlist and so on. You need to edit that away with your favorite text editor. In my case, it means Emacs but YMMV. Save the playlist for later, because you will want to set the patterns in the right order. What you should have is a file like this: mmix.txt Now open a command prompt which has access to the PHP CLI executable. That is freely downloadable elsewhere, for various operating systems if you don't have it. For those who prefer other scripting languages, I leave it as an exercise to the user to convert the script. Use the command "php mod2inty.php printedfile.txt 4" in case your song has 4 tracks. As noted above, only the first three are used anyway so you can use a lower number. Note that all the output will appear on standard output so you might want to use > to capture it into a file. This script tries to handle the following: Split each track inside each block to a subpattern, with support for long (sustained) notes Handle the effect command "C00" to silence notes, insert rest Identify volume changes on actual played notes, not fade out while note is playing (MOD volumes = $00 - $3F) Identify arpeggio effect commands "0XX" and create matching pitch effects and instruments Identify identical subpatterns and omit duplicates Save the configuration of subpatterns for each block in the MOD What it doesn't do: Identify what should be drums, if those are used, since MOD's use drum samples at any position Identify the playlist order of patterns, this is what you need to fix afterwards Identify different instruments using the same arpeggio effects (i.e. those would all be converted to the same instrument) Handle a lot of other effect commands for slide, portamento, vibrato etc. Some of these are supported in the music routines, most aren't Obviously there may be awful bugs, and in particular if your input format doesn't match the example, results may be highly unpredictable. The output is a music file with instruments & envelopes stolen borrowed from Arnauld's demo song. You should of course edit those to your liking. However, the file won't assemble automatically because for every instrument imported from the MOD file, an X is added in front of the instrument number, and for every instrument automatically generated due to a pitch effect, a Z is added in front of the new instrument number. This is for your sanity, so you make sure to go through the output and make adjustments as required. Since X and Z only appear in front of the instrument numbers, those are easy to remove or replace with your text editor. Also remember to adjust the order of patterns. Hopefully someone will understand something of this, and perhaps even have use of it. Good luck! -
I have developed an "upgrade" kit to allow playing 2600 trackball games with a 5200 Trak-Ball. The process just adds another cable to the controller and uses another "configuration cable" to link the original 15 pin cable with the new cable. Terminates in a 9 pin that plugs into a 2600 controller port. No permanent modifications are made to the trackball. Everything is 100% reversible. Works with the slate of 2600 games recently hacked to support actual trackball controllers. Following the success of one kit being installed by an end user, I'm just wondering if it's worth the effort to order in parts to make a few of these. PM me with inquiries.
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I just bought a Lynx II in working condition, but I'd like to have it worked on for future-proofing. If anyone can recap it, possibly replace the LCD and backlight with the McWill mod, please let me know. Thanks!
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Here's a quick power LED mod I did for my 4-switch woody 2600. It's not pretty but it works so far. I didn't want to mess with the original look of my Atari, so I chose not to drill a hole at the top or through the power switch itself. I used a 150 Ohm resistor and used the 5V and Ground on the main board. I didn't want to solder directly to pins 2 and 3 of the voltage regulator but I could have done that instead. The short pin on the LED goes to Ground. I also made sure the wires did not touch the 'heat plate' surrounding the voltage regulator, which can get very hot.
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Hey. I'm looking for an NES controller that's been modified for use on a 2600. I'm not sure where to look. They don't seem very popular. I could be wrong though. Advice?
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I recently picked up a 5200 4-port. It's missing several case screws. Can anyone confirm the correct screws used for the case? I think the screws that came with this 5200 are type b #6-20 3/4 sheet metal screws. Is that what it should be or perhaps these were used to replace the original screws that were of a different type? Here's what was in my 5200: It didn't have a power supply, but I found one elsewhere. It's an 11.5v version. I tested it with a multimeter and it's outputting 14.5 volts. From what I've found the voltage regulators in both the case and the switchbox should be capable of handling over 30 volts. Do I have any reason to worry about using the power supply? 3 volts over seems like a big difference, is that typical or should I start looking for another power supply? The traces (or is it the soldermask) on the back side of the board on is wrinkly (see the POKEY to C104 wire image below). Is that normal or is it a sign of something I need to be worried about? It looks like the VCS adapter compatibility mod was applied to this board, but I also see a capacitor between pins 1 and 17 on the POKEY and a wire on the underside between pin 1 of the POKEY and C104. Is this a known mod? Any idea what it's for? Trying to smooth out power to the POKEY perhaps? In the middle of the rat's nest that is the VCS mod, I see a resistor and a capacitor (?) wired in parallel from between the two resistors connecting R11 and C10 as part of the VCS mod. There's also a diode wired to either side of R10. Any idea what they're for? The parts side of the pcb, marked CA018087, has no revision. The solder side, marked C018085 is rev 7. I will probably apply the mod to separate the power from the RF. I was also thinking about doing the mod for composite and/or s-video, but doing that would make the VCS mod pointless, right? If I did the composite/s-video mod I could pull the VCS mod out. If I did that would I need to reconnect pin 24 on the cartridge slot to ground? Thanks for any help/information you can provide. I hope to get this 5200 up and running soon.
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Here are some picks of a WIP case and AV mod for the O2. Should have it done by the weekend. You don't see too many O2s that have been case modded so I though that I'd share. The silver was wrecked when I picked this up so it was a good candidate for a refurb. It is the model with detachable controllers. These were dead but I harvested the cables and rewired some CX-40s. Anyone else ever paint an O2? Show us your pics!
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I finally got finished with my FB2 Rev B menu button (aka soft reset) mod. This mod allows you to go back to the game selection menu without toggling the power button. This mod is completely independent of the cartridge mod. It can be added in addition to the cartridge mod, or as a standalone mod without the cartridge. I've been playing with my FB2 both before and after this mod, and I must say the overall experience is much nicer with the mod. I really love being able to quickly go back and select a different game. Not that it's difficult to cycle the power button, but this just seems more polished to me. OK, so let's get to work! You will need the following items: A momentary contact SPST pushbutton switch Some small guage wire (26 - 30 AWG will work best) A soldering iron and some solder Some hand tools like a screwdriver, file, drill and drill bits You will need to take the FB2 apart by removing 5 screws from the bottom. One screw is in the center under the white label. You will also have to break the warranty seal to open the unit. Once you have it open, remove the main circuit board from the top cover by taking out all the small screws. You will also have to remove the screws from the two smaller circuit boards that hold the power and difficulty switches. You will be soldering two wires to the main circuit board on the bottom (green) side. Once you have it apart, you can start by preparing the switch and mounting it in the case. I had a switch that was leftover from another project. I think I ordered it from MCM electronics some time ago. This is what it looked like in the package: This is the switch taken out of the package: Next you will need to solder two wires to the switch terminals. You can use the same color wire for both since polarity doesn't matter here. I used some heat shrink tubing to cover the solder connections and add some strain relief. This step is optional. Next, you will need to make a hole to mount the switch. I chose the left front edge of the top cover. I used a smaller drill bit, then finished the hole with a hand file. Here is a close up of the hole: Here is the switch mounted in the top cover: And a look from the underside of the top cover with the switch in place: I had to file a small relief area in the bottom cover so the switch would fit when it was all put together: Next you need to find the correct points on the circuit board to solder the two wires to. Look for a zero ohm jumper resistor marked J19 to the left of U2 (the ROM chip that's under the big black blob near the top edge of the board.) You can solder the first wire to either side of J19 as both sides are connected to ground. The second wire from the switch will connect to a round pad just above C10. Take a look at the two photos below. The second one is a close up of the board. The two points you need to solder to are marked in red in both images. Here is what mine looked like after I soldered both wires in the correct place. It would be a good idea to glue or tape these wires down to the board for strain relief. You can use hot melt glue or electrical tape. Just be careful of the placement so the wires don't interfere with any switches or buttons when you put it back together. Now put everything back together and test it out. The FB2 should power-up normally and show the game select menu on the screen. Once you select a game, you can now go back to the menu by pressing the new button you just installed! Here is my unit fully assembled with the new menu button. I plan to add some lettering above the button that says "MENU" at some point. But it's functional for now so I'm just going to play some games instead and worry about that later. I would love to hear any constructive feedback or suggestions. Thanks, Dave- 8 replies
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This is just an interest check. I have the following modified Atari 7800 system and 16 games. What would they be worth as one lot? Would anyone want to buy these as a lot? If so, how much would one be willing to pay for the following as a bundle? Suggestions? Comments? Asteroids Ballblazer Barnyard Blaster Centipede Dig Dug Donkey Kong Jr. F-18 Hornet Galaga Jinks Joust Karateka Meltdown Ms. Pac-man Robotron 2084 Tower Toppler Xevious I had this system modded for s-video and composite stereo audio. I have the 7800 gamepad. I have the joystick as well.
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Like so. My Atari 2600 had really bad RF out. Way 'snowier' than normal so I figured it was probably just the RF circuit so why not mod it. Results are striking. Well worth the effort (",) It uses a 'daughterboard' that someone local to me gave me to try out. You can see it in the second pic, sitting next to the original RF unit, just above where the original coax connected o the motherboard. My model had the coax permanently attached. I used an old cable I had lying around, but I have ordered an aftermarket gamecube s-video cable. This has a round cross section. It will be thicker than the original but will still look the part, and it means I don;t have to do any drilling
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