New Hardware: Atari 400/800 Super Color CPU Card

[JR>]

24 minutes ago, unixdude said:

I'm trying to get one of these in my 800 right now, and I'd like to use the onboard monitor connector.  When I cut the connector off the cable, where should each of the wires be soldered? 

To the same pins they go to on the connector you cut off?

Edited March 19, 2020 by JR>

[unixdude]

I'm sure you're right, but I don't know where that is yet.  The instructions I have detail how to connect the DIN-to-6-wire cable to the SCCC, but if I want to use my 800's onboard monitor port, I am not sure what to do with the wires after I cut off the DIN connector on the cable that Jürgen sent me.  I know it's possible to use the monitor port, I'm just not sure how yet, because the SCCC instructions I just downloaded don't include info about that.

[flashjazzcat]

For information: this is correct, as far as I can tell without actually taking the lid off the 800:

 

Remove L105 (chroma, CMC on schematic), L104 (CMV on schematic) and R189 (luma, CML on schematic). Those signals correspond to pins 3, 6 and 1 in the interconnect between the mainboard and the power board. Removing those components will completely isolate the video signals on the jack from the old colour circuit on the mainboard. Also remove C174, C175, C176 (these are caps to GND which are not needed). Chop the DIN5 connector off the cable and connect the white wire (luma) to the via vacated by the outermost leg of R189, the brown wire (chroma) to the via of the outermost leg of L105, and the yellow wire (composite) to the outermost via of L104.

 

Isolate the audio wire unless you're going to hook that up to the jack as well (I did initially, as shown in the video below, but I undid the mod later because the audio was a bit low), and just solder the shield and GND wires to one of the GND vias vacated by one of the three removed caps.

 

I go through the signals and components starting 17m or so into the video:

 

 

[shoestring]

1 hour ago, flashjazzcat said:

For information: this is correct, as far as I can tell without actually taking the lid off the 800:

 

Remove L105 (chroma, CMC on schematic), L104 (CMV on schematic) and R189 (luma, CML on schematic). Those signals correspond to pins 3, 6 and 1 in the interconnect between the mainboard and the power board. Removing those components will completely isolate the video signals on the jack from the old colour circuit on the mainboard. Also remove C174, C175, C176 (these are caps to GND which are not needed). Chop the DIN5 connector off the cable and connect the white wire (luma) to the via vacated by the outermost leg of R189, the brown wire (chroma) to the via of the outermost leg of L105, and the yellow wire (composite) to the outermost via of L104.

 

 

 

This is exactly how i did mine as well. Here's a reference to the Jurgen's original post with the suggestion.

 

 

[unixdude]

2 hours ago, shoestring said:

This is exactly how i did mine as well. Here's a reference to the Jurgen's original post with the suggestion.

Thanks, I did see that comment from Jürgen, I just didn't understand it because I'm so new to all of this.  I'm still trying to figure it all out.  With flashjazzcat's comment above, I think I'm on my way, and will hopefully finish tonight or tomorrow.

[shoestring]

No worries. I'm sure the video will help make things clear.

 

5 hours ago, flashjazzcat said:

and just solder the shield and GND wires to one of the GND vias vacated by one of the three removed caps.

 

It might seem trivial, but just to re-iterate how important the above step is if you use the internal method and want a clear picture. I left it out at first and my display had vertical banding.

 

There are two ground wires that go to the vertical block, I think the important ground is the one for video ( the black wire ). I soldered the black and blue wire together then connected both to gnd pin of C176, I also grounded the shielded wire for good measure.

[unixdude]

So, I have a question: Is R189 the correct resistor? When I test my connector, R189 connects to pin 5, not pin 1.

 

L105 does connect to pin 3, and L104 does connect to pin 6, so those match up.

 

Maybe my board is different -- it connects to the monitor port as follows:

 

- board connector pin 5 connects to monitor pin 1

- board connector pin 22 connects to monitor pin 2

- board connector pin 2 connects to monitor pin 3
- board connector pin 6 connects to monitor pin 4

- board connector pin 3 connects to monitor pin 5

 

I've been going based on the attached image, assuming that it is looking straight on at the female connector on the Atari 800.

 

Based on all of this (L105 is chroma, which matches pin 5 on my monitor connector; L104 is CMV, which matches pin 4 on my system's monitor connector; R189 is luma, which does connect to pin 1 on my system), I think that R189 is the correct resistor, it just uses a different board interconnect pin on my system.  Is that what I'm seeing here?

 

Thanks.

 

Edited March 20, 2020 by unixdude
Added details about connections

[unixdude]

Well, I separately received confirmation that these were the correct components to remove.  Now, a question about C174, C175, and C176: two of them look like resistors (see attached photo).  Also, the silkscreen is difficult to read.  For confirmation, are the identified components the ones to remove? It looks like the one I identify as C176 might be C178, but I haven't found any others that might be C176.

[flashjazzcat]

You can see on this photo that the outer leg of L105 is connected by a trace to the end of C176 nearest the interconnect header (the GND end of the cap is furthest away from the connector).

Disregard the fact some caps are made of glass and some aren't... as you can see, the situation is the complete opposite on the pictured board.

Edited March 20, 2020 by flashjazzcat

[unixdude]

Thanks. I debated whether the one you identify as C175 was C173 or C175.  On my silkscreen, it was difficult to discern. I'll get these components removed, and finish up - thanks!

[+DrVenkman]

2 minutes ago, unixdude said:

Thanks. I debated whether the one you identify as C175 was C173 or C175.  On my silkscreen, it was difficult to discern. I'll get these components removed, and finish up - thanks!

If you download the Field Service Manual, it has a silkscreen map if I recall correctly. 

[unixdude]

8 minutes ago, DrVenkman said:

If you download the Field Service Manual, it has a silkscreen map if I recall correctly. 

You're right - it does.  But it's a scan of a poor print, and it is difficult to make out.

[flashjazzcat]

Perhaps a couple of photos will clarify things:

You can see the three caps, two coils, and the resistor removed here, and the coloured wires in the proper places. The green wire is audio and is just hanging around in mid-air since it's unused.

I attached GND and shield (twined together and heat-shrunk) to the left (GND) side of C162.

 

Getting the SCCC audio out requires removal of a couple of other components as seen in the video, but I undid that modification before these pictures were taken.

[unixdude]

Thanks, flashjazzcat.  That's perfect, and exactly what I had come to understand from this discussion.  I shall be finishing up soon!

[unixdude]

Also, I see that there are 2 ground lines (pink and gray) on the 6-pin header on the SCCC, so I will twist together pink, gray, and shield, then solder that to C162 as you show.  I will ignore green, because audio is routed another way.  Thanks!

[Colleton]

Another thumbs up for the SCCC.  I installed one in a 400 this weekend, and have another one arriving tomorrow that will be installed in another 400.   This will make 3 SCCC modded 400s for me, all of which have tf_hh's 48/52K RAM board as well. Video quality on the two I've already installed is very nice, easily the equal of an 800 S-Video output.  These mods are easily accomplished and, IMO, are "must have" mods for the 400.

[jamm]

On 3/20/2020 at 6:04 AM, flashjazzcat said:

Getting the SCCC audio out requires removal of a couple of other components as seen in the video, but I undid that modification before these pictures were taken.

You said you undid this because the sound was too low.  Can you elaborate on how serious a problem it was?  How did you handle the sound after undoing the modification?

[flashjazzcat]

1 hour ago, jamm said:

Can you elaborate on how serious a problem it was?

The audio was too low, so it was a problem in the sense I had to turn the TV up more to hear it.

1 hour ago, jamm said:

How did you handle the sound after undoing the modification?

I didn't need to handle anything, since with the audio mod undone, everything was stock again.

[jamm]

10 minutes ago, flashjazzcat said:

The audio was too low, so it was a problem in the sense I had to turn the TV up more to hear it.

I didn't need to handle anything, since with the audio mod undone, everything was stock again.

Oh - you undid the whole mod, not just the audio portion?  I thought you left the SCCC in there and handled the audio somehow outside the built in DIN5 monitor jack.

[flashjazzcat]

Just now, jamm said:

Oh - you undid the whole mod, not just the audio portion? 

No. I undid the audio mod and left the video mod in place, but both legacy and modded audio/video were routed out of the same original monitor jack. So going back to original audio involved nothing more than disconnecting a wire and putting back a resistor I had removed.

[jamm]

3 minutes ago, flashjazzcat said:

No. I undid the audio mod and left the video mod in place, but both legacy and modded audio/video were routed out of the same original monitor jack. So going back to original audio involved nothing more than disconnecting a wire and putting back a resistor I had removed.

Ah, I see. Thanks.  (I was confusing the 400 install of an SCCC, which would require handling audio in some other way, vs the 800 install, where you can just leave it as-is...)

Edited March 30, 2020 by jamm

[+tf_hh]

Hi,

 

due to the Coronavirus crisis and worldwide limited capacities in postal services, the DHL / Deutsche Post company has reducing their service.

 

Using "cheap" shipments isn´t possible to the USA and some other destinations from now on. The cheapest shipping price to worldwide destinations exceeds 50 Euros each, because DHL/Deutsche Post only accepts standard parcels with extra-service "Premium". This is nonsense regarding my 100-200 grams small items...

 

So until the extreme high shipping costs aren´t accepted, I can´t take any orders from the U.S. until the crises ends.

 

Best regards - and please stay healthy!

 

- Jurgen

 

[Colleton]

That sucks tf_hh, hope this all ends soon.  Stay healthy!

 

At any rate, I received my SCCC and 48/52K ram card today.  I was really surprised when tracking showed it in the US last week.  I didn't expect it to arrive for a month or more.

[cwilbar]

Crap... I've been dragging my heels.... and now this ?.  Thanks DHL .... no Christmas card for you this year ? )

 

@tf_hh, let us know when this gets lifted someday (I'm subbed to the thread).

 

 

 

[COBRAIP]

I'm out of work now because of this Virus going around so have plenty of time on my hands and was going through my Atari stuff and noticed that none of my 400's had a modified Video/Audio card.  I would very much like to be in the group that has one of these fine SCCC mods on my 400.  I'm sure that my Atari would love it.  What do I have to do to get a Gold card?

 

Thanks.