Rob Mitchell Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 Here are some pics of my custom 2600 console. This shows the two controller jacks in front in the woodgrain. They once were for a Tank Tread Control circuit for Battlezone and Robot Tank. On the top deck are five pushbuttons for LRHTF control: Gravitar, Thrust and Asteroids are great with this setup. To the left of the power switch is a momentary off pushbutton for quickly resetting the Cuttle Cart. These two pics show the various outputs and switches on back: Left To Right: RF2/3 out, Stereo / Mono switch, Right Audio Out, Left Audio Out, next is Lumina and Chroma out, Composite Video Switch, and finally is a switch for Autofire on the left controller port. Also here are two different Starplex LRHTF controllers that I own. I can connect them to the Atari or to the Vectrex via a special circuit. Awesome! (LRHTF stands for Left Right Hyperspace Thrust and Fire). Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad2600 Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 This looks awesome, Rob! I wish I knew something about Electronics..I have a spare 2600 or 2 lying around here that I could modify if I knew how. Hmm. I figure since no one has shown interest in my spares, I do have a 2600jr that I'm not sure if it works or not. If it worked, I'd find a way to modify it to accept A/V and possibly some other goodies. I dunno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxSpeed Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 Beautiful work ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atarius Maximus Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Awesome work Rob! Do you have any documentation you could share on how you pulled this off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmi Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 i wanna see the inside of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Very Cool (I would like to see the inside too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Nicely done. How long did it take to modify the system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Rob, you continue to amaze me. Somewhere on high, the spirit of Bira Bira is in awe at your wonderful creations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eduardo Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 @Rob: This is the console of a master, no less. Your highly customized VCS and controllers shows that we shouldn't be conformists and find new ways to materialize our "crazy" but practical ideas into reality. A couple of years ago I monkeyed around with a glove controller for the 2600, it looked weird but hey it worked! and in the end that's what counts, anyway this is another level of skill I'm seeing here. Keep it going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigferret Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 That is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. So Envious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Mitchell Posted January 13, 2003 Author Share Posted January 13, 2003 Thanks for the complements .. actually it was a WIP .. and I started in 1998 when began looking for Atari stuff on the web .. Circuits: CD4050 lumina/chroma (s-video) mod, stereo mod, autofire and tank tread control (now removed). Before I had the two Starplex controllers, I asked a friend to make a 5 button, stainless steel plate for the top deck of the 2600. That was added this past summer. Also the two front ports were rewired directly to the respective controller ports and the tank tread control circuit was removed. Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Stilphen Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 I've done most of those hacks, but I made the tank and button controllers seperate - I wanted to be able to use them with any system. Here's some pics of mine: 4-switcher with A/V and stereo output (switch is for either stereo or mono) JR with A/V (switch is for signal boost) dual joystick tank controller (still useful if Jentzsch's Battlezone and Robotank hacks aren't handy button controller (great for doing certain game tricks). There used to be a similar one (not the Starplex one) advertised in the old game mags, but I could never find one. I have a couple other controller mods - NES controller for Omega Race, another for Ms. Pac-Man/Kangaroo screen warping, modded Track & Field (with full-speed option), and a standard Atari joystick which has served as a test controller for all of these and more (it's pretty ugly). I also used to have a joystick with a VTP fastened to it ala a 5200 controller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Mitchell Posted January 15, 2003 Author Share Posted January 15, 2003 Great pics .. Is your video out composite? The TIA in the Jr is soldered in place .. so mono sound only? What does that signal boost switch do? Yes .. I too separated out my Tank Tread Control Circuit into a separate box .. Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z28in82 Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 Damn some of you people are impressive, I am very jelious of the skill shown on these 2600's. I wish I had a 10th of that skill so I could do something cool to my 7800 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Cleopatra Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 That is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. So Envious in total agreement with you bigferret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Stilphen Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 Great pics .. Is your video out composite? The TIA in the Jr is soldered in place .. so mono sound only? What does that signal boost switch do? Video out is composite on both. I didn't hack with the JR - already did it with the 4-switch, so no need to. Besides, there's only a handful of games that really sound good in stereo. I did the stereo mod by tapping off the pcb traces, so it doesn't matter if the TIA is soldered or not. The signal boost isn't really much of a boost- all it does is remove the power from the RF circuit section (which does sig. affect the picture). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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