flashbackmatt Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) I got a Sears Video Arcade II on eBay. I'm powering it with a 12VDC brick I have. Anyway, the RF is pretty bad on it. Not noisy really, but colors bleed and there are vertical dark bands. Has anyone tried to do a composite video mod on a VAII? If I could clean the video up, it would replace my Jr as my preferred way to play 2600 games. Edited July 30, 2014 by flashbackmatt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yell0w_lantern Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I used the mod sold by Little Joe on my SVA2. Personally, my experience with all 4 2600 mods I have done is the composite produces significant ghosting so that the S-video is almost a necessity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800 Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I use a modded SVAII, huge improvement over RF. If you can use the S-video do it... much better than the composite. If your TV has no S-video input, you can use an RF modulator with S-video and step down to coax... the picture quality actually looks better than composite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashbackmatt Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Thanks for the replies. The TV I play it on has a S-Video input. Where can I find info to do the S-Video mod? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yell0w_lantern Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Assembled Boards: http://electronicsentimentalities.com/Assembled%20Mods.html Installation Instructions: http://longhornengineer.com/diy/atarivideomods/2600-searsva2-ntsc/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashbackmatt Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Awesome, thanks! Now I need to practice my soldering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freewheel Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) I like the details (specifically the jack guide) on that mod, but I do question one thing - why bend the TIA pins? Surely there's a place to solder to on the mainboard. You're already soldering to several resistors anyway, just find the appropriate connections on the board and do the same with those. With every Atari model, you can trace the TIA pins to one side or the other of a cap or resistor easily. And if you don't have enough room to work, just remove the component. I'd rather wreck a resistor for a video circuit I'm not using than risk destroying a TIA. You pull the pin out and you're SOL. Edited July 30, 2014 by freeweed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yell0w_lantern Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 IDK, I've never found that to be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freewheel Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) IDK, I've never found that to be a problem. The very instructions you link to specifically warn about it. Edited July 31, 2014 by freeweed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yell0w_lantern Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 And I've modded my 7800, 5200, and 4 Atari 2600's without pulling out pins from a chip. I've never found it to be a problem. I think the actual pin straightening is less risky than getting the chip out of the socket. I've bent and broken more pins that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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