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Showing results for tags 'Composite video'.
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Hi all. Happy new year! For the past ten years or so, I have been fixing Atari consoles and often I install AV mods as part of the process. At the beginning I was using a simple amplifier as many projects on the internet do, but I was not very happy with the video quality, so I quickly moved to the digital buffer approach. As I convert a far number of consoles every year, from time to time I will run out of PCBs and, instead of just re-ordering the same design, I try to improve it and make it easier to install, better video and audio quality, etc... Around 2018 I joined my AV design with my game pause mod: Here are some examples of my previous mods: The last PCB on the right is the one I used until mid last year. There were a few things I liked about it: It had AV and pause integrated, so it was easier to install than two separate mods There was no need to modify the console case for the AV cable The pause was controlled by the COLOR switch, so no extra switch installation The pause could be completely deactivated and the COLOR button could be used to switch the game to BW It could be mounted directly on top of the TIA and the labels on the pins made it easier to know which pins to connect for NTSC and PAL consoles. The connections were made straight down which avoided making wrong connections As it was time to order PCBs again, I started working on a new design to include some features I collected on my wish list: An easier way to configure the board for NTSC or PAL. On the last board I made, a resistor network for this, which meant I needed to decide if I wanted it to be used for NTSC or PAL as I built the mod and it was not possible to change it afterwards Gemini support. As the Gemini has a different TIA, I had to reroute the connections manually, which made the installation much more complicated and error prone An LED indicator for the pause state Better connections for the AV cable A better solution for the audio and video chaos while the game is paused. The old board had addressed a lot of the problem, but that was a lot of room for improvement So I came up with the design above which has a single jumper to configure PAL, NTSC and Genesis and the legends next to the pins show which TIA pins should be connected for each console type. This makes it easier to install the mod and also change the console type after the board was build. The other features are also included: 2600Mod_en.mov This is how it looks like installed in a Gemini: So far I have converted a couple of dozens of PAL, NTSC and Gemini consoles with this new mod and I am quite happy with the result. This time I ordered a larger number of PCBs though, so if anyone would like get one of these mods, I will soon put them on eBay for 29€, or you can pm me here. Cheers.
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Hi, I tried some simple composite video mods for my Atari 2600 with terrible results: Blurry image, ghosting, dark image, etc. Then I designed my own mod and it works good enough for me. I wanted to share it with all who want to give a try. First you need to remove some components from the board. I prefer to remove all unused components and store them. But if you are more conservative then remove the following components only Also, you need to remove or disconnect the "RF Modulator Module" and built the Video Amplifier. I designed two simple video amplifiers: The first is a simple one stage amplifier. This circuit Works good but due to the limited gain of only one amplification stage, there is some limitation in the brightness of the image. Most people will not notice it, but I wanted to ensure the best quality possible keeping it simple. The second is a two stage amplifier. This is still a very simple circuit with flat gain up to 4.2MHz (Composite video band width) which ensures brightness and color preservation with minimun distortion. Use the 5K trimmer to adjust the gain (brigthness) of the signal. Teorically you will have 0dB or unity gain with 1577Ohm. This is the Bode plot of my LTSpice simulation of the circuit This is the board with the circuit installed And finally this is the results: Video on a CRT TV Video on a LED TV
- 172 replies
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- 7
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- Atari 2600
- Composite Video
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Since I was a kid playing my old 2600 I wish I could pause the game every time my mom would push me to do something she deemed more important than playing video games (like there was such a thing!!). Shower, dinner, homework, whatever. All sorts of useless activities which would inevitably force me to start the quest for that new level all over again. Later, the wife took over the pushing task from my mom with renewed energy and the problem would just not go away... Then the blessed Victor Trucco came up with the long needed pause mod for the 2600, but I just couldn't get myself to punch a hole on my old friend to install the pause switch! A while ago I came up with a version of Victor's circuit which had a proximity sensor instead of a physical switch. That worked well for a while, but I had to put a sticker on the console to mark the place where the sensor was installed. Still not exactly what I wanted. Finally, I came up with a different approach: to use the color switch to pause the game. I never really used the color switch so it seemed like a good compromise. So here it is, a pause circuit which does not require any external modification to the console plus a few extras: 1. The installation is a bit simpler: there is no need to cut any tracks or remove the pull up resistor from the RDY line. 2. If the console is turned on with the color switch in "B/W", the pause is disabled and you can switch between color and b/w like it was originally intended to. 3. There is already a dedicated line to mute the audio channel, so no need to use an extra diode if you want to mute during pause. 4. It can be easily integrated with composite video mods to black out the screen during pause. 5. It is a lot smaller than the original board I tested it on my old console and it works fine: I made a few extra kits, so if anyone is interested, I can sell them for 9.99€ plus shipping from Europe (about 3.70€ for international shipping to any country). If anyone is interested in reselling just pm me and we will figure out a better price. I will work on an installation manual if there is interest.
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Sparing you all the backstory I'm once again in need of an Atari 7800 system. I'm hoping to find one in very good condition with no chips or cracks and minimal scratching on the chrome bezel. I would prefer a composite video modded system but would settle for a system with regular RF output if the system was in exceptional condition. Price wise I'm pretty flexible and am open to negotiation but I would prefer not to spend more than $120 shipped on a compsite modded system with power supply or about half that for a system with RF output. Again though I am open to negotiation based on the condition of the system being offered. Thanks for taking the time to view my ad and feel free to shoot me a PM if you happen to have a system that you think I might be interested in.
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- Atari 7800
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Hey there everyone. I was just curious is anyone knew if any of the higher quality modern NES clones offered support for the NES Zapper light gun and composite video out? I know the seemingly most popular option, the AVS from retroUSB, only does HDMI out so there's definitely no light gun support there; but are there any other good quality NES clones out there that do offer light gun support? I don't have plans to buy one any time soon, but it would be nice to know what the options are for playing NES light gun games without having to deal with wonky 72-pin connectors on the toaster or jail bars on the NES-101 top loader.
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Hi! Guy staying with me found an Intellvision 2609 and some games at the dump, What a rescue! Figure, why not Composite Video Mod it? Well, found this site: wiki.intellivision.us and thought I could use it and remove the rf module, and place the circuit board there. Blank Screen, searching internet and various people have had similar problems removing rf module, and with it in circuit, causes some ghosting. I ain't no professional, but I know enough to be dangerous, and start hacking rf box apart by pulling components off one bit at a time, soldering back on with it disturbed the image. So, things are good, but I screwed up and the image is too bright and washed out. when doing this, do it one part at a time so's one knows what part did the rick or not... :/ Anyway, I created an rf module shunt circuit Intellivision RF Module Shunt Circuit for 2609.pdf I'm not sure what type of zener diode that is, but it's marked B2 5 and a regular diode didn't work on mock up circuit... Also, I included a Filtering Coil, but I don't think it's needed. Also of note, I tried this circuitbut doesn't work :/ (The internet doesn't lie, right?) Also tried that circuit in front of the intellivision wiki one... I also finished a Atari 2600 Composite Video Mod using Ben Hecks Modified or revised circuit... and looked at other circuits and realized that the outputs from these video chips go through a resistor network and feeds into at least one NPN transistor. Maybe the Intellivision Wiki one can be revised or simplified and include a resistor network cutting original traces ... Anyway, TL;DR: I ripped parts out of rf module untill I had this basic circuit. Now got Composite Video with minimal ghosting. Posting results to share with others. Some more shamless pics:
- 35 replies
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- Intellivision
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Hello, long time no see. I actually have two questions but I'm going to split it into two posts. First question is in regards to optimizing my picture quality. I've seen some Atari composite video & mono audio cords floating around on various sites and am wondering if that is something I can use without modifying my 800XL. I'm also figuring that would be my best bet with the exception of scart which I am looking at but as a bigger investment for the multiple retro systems I have running. I did look around and couldn't find a site explaining how this could be setup but didn't really find anything. If there is an obvious one out there than I apologize for missing it before I posted this. Caveat: I have a soldering iron somewhere but I am by no means somebody I would trust with a soldering iron around any of my systems.
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Check out our Auction: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 150974304146 Thanks!
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- atari 2600
- av mod
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