my portable almost there

[mark]

well i got a big surprise today. i took my 5" tv and took the antena amplifier out and plugged my 2600 video input into that and by god it worked. clear pic too and nice sound. the tv has a place to run off batteries so all i need now is a power source for the 2600 console.

 

what could i use for a power source? and how?

 

this could be called the poor mans portable

[jsoper]

Well a 2600 will need anywhere from 220ma (cmos eprom cart) to 330ma (Pitfall2). You need 9v or over for the 5v regulator. You can also change that to a 5v low dropout regulator that works down to 7v. Or you can take out the regulator and supply the 5v directly (4.3v to 6.0v works, but there is a color shift issue). Once you make a decision, you can buy whatever type of rechargable battery you want, or use an AC adapter.

John

[King Atari]

Good luck on this Mark.

[mark]

i don't want to take out the regulator so it will be 9v. could someone give me examples of rechargable batteries i can use cause i want to make sure i don't fry it.

[Cupcakus]

Camcorder or digital camera batteries work great, and last a long time.

[mark]

i have a battery from a 9mm camcorder that i'll try. seems small to me, to power the 2600.

 

how do i hook it up to power the 2600?

[stinky817]

i was wondering if the recharable batteries for RC cars would work? are those 7.6V or 9.6V? i always forget... and about how long would one last?

[Cupcakus]

You can use an Energizer 9volt if you want... but it will only work for about an hour or so. Probably less...

 

The issue really isn't volts... it's supply. 6 D-Cell batteries would probably work pretty good... but that kind of limits portability :-)

 

7 -> 9v Camcorder batteries are really built to last... RC batteries might work too... as they are designed for maximum amps... The regulator should be able to take it if the amps are a little high from the battery.