Tmac220 Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 So I bought a 4-Port 5200 from goodwill a while back that didn't come with the infamous switcher box. I figured it was a good enough excuse to try my hand at modding with a power and av mod. Now the power mod works perfectly, but the av mod is giving me trouble. After completing it initially I hooked it up to several TVs to find a black and white picture that was scrolling vertically. Thinking that it may have been interference in the wire I was using I redid the wire on the composite video, and it helped. I could get the color for short spans of time before it would konk out on me again. Each time I would adjust the color control and get a good picture, but is just a few minutes it would skew again. My first thought was that the color dial was worn out, so I ordered a new one from best electronics and installed it. Now I can't get any picture at all. The sound is fine, I got a gold rebuilt joystick from best electronic and that works great, and I don't have a TV to test the S-video. I hope someone can steer me towards fixing this because I'm quite stuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atariguy1021 Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 Can you post some pics of your install? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmac220 Posted December 27, 2014 Author Share Posted December 27, 2014 (edited) Not easily honestly, I have been tinkering with it with the help of my grandfather (an electrical engineer) so the console is currently about 30 minutes away from me. I think I have some pictures I took with my phone (very fuzzy), so let me see about putting those up. Edit: The glass over my cellphone camera is cracked. Edited December 27, 2014 by Tmac220 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmac220 Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Sorry for the poor photos. If no-one can think of anything, is there a service I can send this to for repair? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atariguy1021 Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 It's hard to see exactly what's going on in those photos but from what I can see, some of the connections look pretty rough. What is that piece of perf board for? You said you picked it up without the switchbox, so you were unable to test it prior to modding, is that right? If that's the case, you don't know if it's the console itself, your mod work, your likely unnecessary repair of the color pot (CTP), or some combination that has left you without a workable picture. If you're going to mod a console it's best to make sure it's working in its stock form before you start. You asked about someone to send it to, unfortunately, you will likely have a hard time finding someone who wants to troubleshoot your install. My advice is to double triple check all your connections with a multimeter, check for continuity and verify that you don't have any shorts. Also, verify that none of the wires are crossed, that pin 21 leads to 21 on the mod board and so on. It's easy to flip two wires coming off the chip. If you've already done all that, do it again. If you have certain solder points that look bad, redo them. You pulled the chip to bend the pins, make sure that you reseated the chip properly that it's in all the way and no pins are bent that shouldn't be. Double check your work on the CTP, you had an intermittent picture prior to doing the repair there. Did you damage the board removing the old one? Did you do a proper job soldering the new one in? I could go on forever, there's too many variables at work here. Try what I said, if you don't get anywhere with it, chalk it up to a learning experience. Don't throw away your console though, somebody can fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmac220 Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 Well, the connections are solid, we've isolated the ends of the wires using heat-shrink. The connections have all been tested and are solid. And the perfboard is for the sound, which is working just fine. Is there a particular chip that could need replacing? I love the "somebody can fix it," because what I may lack in skill or experience, I make up for with an excessive amount of determination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atariguy1021 Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) I love the "somebody can fix it," because what I may lack in skill or experience, I make up for with an excessive amount of determination. Then fix it... There are lots of resources available for the 5200, including a comprehensive field service manual. Edited December 29, 2014 by atariguy1021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quylein Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Sounds to me it's an issue with the mod board that was exacerbated by a bad pot install. You can butt that board right up to the Gita and only use one ground wire in along with pin 31 wire. Pin 25 is sync for screen scroll issues and and 24 is chroma witch is why you would have a black and white issue. The wires are to long for the board you used it's why it's best to set it up like my attached picture. If you give up and want to send me just the board I'll look at fixing it. You only have to pay shipping both ways. Plus you can set up audio closer and direct to that back panel without the pin 37 connection with perf board if you want less wiring inside. Check photo 2. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmac220 Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 We have the same mod board, are you the designer? Because I have been in some contact with him and he wanted to charge me extra on top of the shipping if it turns out to be an issue with the install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quylein Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 I would only require shipping. I'm not the designer though no. I have been messing with this stuff alot over the last year. Just did an RGB led mod to replace the busted red one I had. Did that just today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmac220 Posted December 31, 2014 Author Share Posted December 31, 2014 (edited) I'm interested in just sending off to be fixed but I'm a bit nervous about it, because anyone can get burned on the internet. I don't even want to think about shipping it out and not getting it back. I hope you'll pardon my nervousness. Edited December 31, 2014 by Tmac220 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quylein Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 I feel you man check your PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quylein Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 We're you able to fix this? I'm a stickler for knowing old tech has its life renewed. Just got another mod done myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmac220 Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 No, I never got it done, it has been pushed to a back-burner in favor of other projects I've got going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmac220 Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 Well, I tried hooking it up to a CRT TV and it shows a full color picture but the screen scrolls. Then I hooked it up to a HD TV and there is only a black screen. Both have great sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmac220 Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 Well, when I tested it for the post above using a single cartridge, which wasn't my best idea. Because all the Atari brand cartridges don't work. That's not to say that Popeye and Q*bert work, but they are better than the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quylein Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 There is a sync issue. I would check the Y circuit on the mod board. Possibly a bad solder point or malfunction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmac220 Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 Do you think the s-video part would still work? I don't have a tv to test s-video on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quylein Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Both require sync. I would see if the local goodwill has a Vcr to test the svideo to be 100%. If you haven't I would think about re flowing the ic chip leads on the mod board. It is a low chance bit it could be cable or tv issues. I know some TVs have issues when I do RGB mods on other consoles. I've only had interference when I had the Y had a stray wire touch the audio of consol side of my mods on the 5200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmac220 Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 The console has been fixed. It was a soldering issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quylein Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Nice glad to hear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTretro87 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Hello all! First post here lol I think I was in the same boat with my S-video mod board. I just installed it last night and I happened to NOT solder it next to the GTIA chip. As a results, the system boots up well and looks CLEAN.. however.. with composite I had vertical screen roll, S-video was perfect. After playing for almost a minute, i switched games and all of a sudden, I got only black and white colors OR colors but incorrect (not sure if it was the potentiometer for color, but it was never touched - initially it was perfect). I also noticed that if the board it powered for up to a minute, it takes about 15-30 seconds until the system can be powered on to GET color. I think this is because the board was mounted next to the expansion port. So.... after all that, tonight I'm going to mount it next to the GTIA chip like yours (quylein), and I'll hope for the best. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quylein Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 (edited) Ensure you you use ground plane for ground I had tons of issues when I tried to localize the nearest ground. Such as bad colors and screen flip issues. Also the longer the connection to the GTIA the more issues. Edited May 6, 2015 by quylein Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTretro87 Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Hello all! First post here lol I think I was in the same boat with my S-video mod board. I just installed it last night and I happened to NOT solder it next to the GTIA chip. As a results, the system boots up well and looks CLEAN.. however.. with composite I had vertical screen roll, S-video was perfect. After playing for almost a minute, i switched games and all of a sudden, I got only black and white colors OR colors but incorrect (not sure if it was the potentiometer for color, but it was never touched - initially it was perfect). I also noticed that if the board it powered for up to a minute, it takes about 15-30 seconds until the system can be powered on to GET color. I think this is because the board was mounted next to the expansion port. So.... after all that, tonight I'm going to mount it next to the GTIA chip like yours (quylein), and I'll hope for the best. new board received, definitely was the board because now it's good to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariBorn Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Not to hijack the thread but when I finally decided to break down and grab a 5200, I was turned off by the unconventional way the 4 port version connected to that switch box. I wasn't fond of the idea that the later revision dropped 2 of the controller ports but I settled for a 2 port model after hearing that none of the commercial games utilized all 4 ports. Is there an advantage to having the 4 port version these days? I mean if I mod one to eliminate the switch box and to use the VCS adapter, are there any homebrew or hacks that allow 4 players or will I end up where I an now, heavy 2 ports? Any info is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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