Awesomepants Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Okay, so my atari is broken, as some people may remember with that other thread I started, and I'm thinking of getting a Flashback 2 and putting it inside the 2600 light sixer shell. Now before you all start declaring me a blasphemer I just have to say, this isthe difference between spending $13 and adding some effort and spending about $40 on a working console. Seeing as I'm a poor teenage boy, thats about the equivalent of the difference between $20 and $100 for me, since moneys come by few and far between. So, can i use the cartridge slot, which is probably working, from my 2600 to mod my flashback? And if so how? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickeycolumbus Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Yes, simply desolder it and follow this guide: http://www.atarimuseum.com/fb2hacks/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awesomepants Posted July 26, 2010 Author Share Posted July 26, 2010 Yes, simply desolder it and follow this guide: http://www.atarimuseum.com/fb2hacks/ Awesome thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Leach Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 You gotta post pics after its done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickeycolumbus Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 No problem This should also help: http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/163239-fb2-rev-c-cart-mod-visual-cheat-sheet/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooglehead Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 I was planning on doing the same thing if I ever come across a broken Atari 2600 that I could not fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 It doesn't look to me to be minor effort to do a cartridge mod on a FB2. If you have the skills to do that, you probably have the skills to fix your 2600. Have you looked into that? It might be cheaper than the FB2 route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awesomepants Posted July 26, 2010 Author Share Posted July 26, 2010 It doesn't look to me to be minor effort to do a cartridge mod on a FB2. If you have the skills to do that, you probably have the skills to fix your 2600. Have you looked into that? It might be cheaper than the FB2 route. Believe me, ive looked into it plenty, and I havent found a single other instance like it. When i put in the cart all I get is a jumbled up game with few resemblances to the actual program. Like while playing space invaders i get one or two columns of aliens and when i move into certain areas I can see the ship, but otherwise its just a bunch of randomly placed blocks. Ive cleaned every cart and even the slot, and it happens to every single game in prety much the same fashion, so it has to me the console. You gotta post pics after its done! I'll be sure to if i end up doing it, inside and out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Franzman Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Your console probably has a bad TIA or RIOT chip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awesomepants Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 Your console probably has a bad TIA or RIOT chip. And im bad at unsoldering and then resoldering in the same place, so to flashback 2 mod we go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Franzman Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Um, the TIA and RIOT chips are socketed in a light sixer -- no soldering needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer4x4 Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Your console probably has a bad TIA or RIOT chip. And im bad at unsoldering and then resoldering in the same place, so to flashback 2 mod we go! If you are bad at solder work (or even good at it), modding a FB2 into a 2600 case and adding a cart slot would be 10 times as hard as repairing a busted 2600. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awesomepants Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 Your console probably has a bad TIA or RIOT chip. And im bad at unsoldering and then resoldering in the same place, so to flashback 2 mod we go! If you are bad at solder work (or even good at it), modding a FB2 into a 2600 case and adding a cart slot would be 10 times as hard as repairing a busted 2600. I just have a crappy iron is all, and when i unsolder it usually burns the board. its one of those black radioshack ones. but as far as i can see the cart slot mod seems fairly simple, and i have plans for putting it in the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 (edited) I just have a crappy iron is all, and when i unsolder it usually burns the board. its one of those black radioshack ones. but as far as i can see the cart slot mod seems fairly simple, and i have plans for putting it in the case. Conceptually it is simple, but in practice I believe your iron could be a problem. Have you evaluated the spots on the FB2 board where you have to attach wires? As I recall, it requires some fairly fine soldering that your brute force iron might not handle too well. If you can't desolder a big ol' DIP package without roasting the board, you could easily damage the finer pitched connections on the FB2 board. I don't mean to discourage you, but I'd hate to see you have to toss the FB2 half way through the process because the board got damaged. Then you will have spent the money and still have nothing functional when you're done. Of course, if you're just looking for an excuse to mod the system I can understand that. Edited July 27, 2010 by BigO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awesomepants Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 I just have a crappy iron is all, and when i unsolder it usually burns the board. its one of those black radioshack ones. but as far as i can see the cart slot mod seems fairly simple, and i have plans for putting it in the case. Conceptually it is simple, but in practice I believe your iron could be a problem. Have you evaluated the spots on the FB2 board where you have to attach wires? As I recall, it requires some fairly fine soldering that your brute force iron might not handle too well. If you can't desolder a big ol' DIP package without roasting the board, you could easily damage the finer pitched connections on the FB2 board. I don't mean to discourage you, but I'd hate to see you have to toss the FB2 half way through the process because the board got damaged. Then you will have spent the money and still have nothing functional when you're done. Of course, if you're just looking for an excuse to mod the system I can understand that. well now I have a better iron and someone to help me with my project that I am indeed trying to make excuses for. So just one more question, I have no idea how i can use the old switches to replace the new ones, I love the feel of those old, bare metal things. Any ideas on how i could use them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awesomepants Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 Um, the TIA and RIOT chips are socketed in a light sixer -- no soldering needed. sorry about the double postage, but i didnt notice this before. is there any way that i can tell which is bad? and where might i be able to buy these chips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickeycolumbus Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Um, the TIA and RIOT chips are socketed in a light sixer -- no soldering needed. sorry about the double postage, but i didnt notice this before. is there any way that i can tell which is bad? and where might i be able to buy these chips? You can switch each chip one at a time with confirmed working ones to determine if they are broken or not. You can buy them, but they are pretty expensive. Cheaper to just get a new 2600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awesomepants Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 Um, the TIA and RIOT chips are socketed in a light sixer -- no soldering needed. sorry about the double postage, but i didnt notice this before. is there any way that i can tell which is bad? and where might i be able to buy these chips? You can switch each chip one at a time with confirmed working ones to determine if they are broken or not. You can buy them, but they are pretty expensive. Cheaper to just get a new 2600 Okay then, back to the flashback mod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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