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UAV - Ultimate Atari Video - Atari 7800


-^CrossBow^-

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midnight mutants crashes once you try to play the game on my primary 7800 from concerto.

 

Well I own the actual cart and it plays and looks great on my UAV modded 7800 through s-video. But again, I've got another user with a UAV modded 7800 and he too owns the actual cart and states that midnight mutants flickers badly on the screen where there is water. But that is the only title to do so. Suspect it is his TV, but I know that Bryan was very careful in the design of the UAV against stuff like this. Could also be an issue of the fact that many 7800s just don't act alike either.

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Received the 'tiny' sound board from Bryan,

 

It sounds really great, but I have a little question.

 

I mailed Bryan, but I suspect he's a busy chap. In the meantime..

 

Does anyone know how to balance the sound between TIA and Pokey. The music is really quiet compared to the sound effects in Commando.

Putting resistance between the TIA's audio output and the board makes no difference at all...

 

I connected the board exactly the same as the picture posted by Bryan in this thread. (page 2)

 

One, more thing. Is it best to tune the colors for Maria and TIA after the system has warmed up, or cold?

There seems to be differing opinions regarding this....

Edited by Jouster
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Received the 'tiny' sound board from Bryan,

 

It sounds really great, but I have a little question.

 

I mailed Bryan, but I suspect he's a busy chap. In the meantime..

 

Does anyone know how to balance the sound between TIA and Pokey. The music is really quiet compared to the sound effects in Commando.

Putting resistance between the TIA's audio output and the board makes no difference at all...

 

I connected the board exactly the same as the picture posted by Bryan in this thread. (page 2)

 

One, more thing. Is it best to tune the colors for Maria and TIA after the system has warmed up, or cold?

There seems to be differing opinions regarding this....

 

Interesting, I could have sworn that Bryan stated he set this to be mixed properly between the TIA and POKEY? But if not, then you are better off handling the audio out as I usually do. Clip the north legs from the R5 and R6 resistors near the red coil for tuning audio and solder them together. Then from that point, solder on the + lead from a 10uf 16v cap and the negative to your center connection on the RCA output for audio.

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...Is it best to tune the colors for Maria and TIA after the system has warmed up, or cold?

 

Perform the color calibration within the first minute or two of the console started up "cold" [The console has been powered off for 30 or more consecutive minutes].

 

Just as important is to make sure Hue 1x appears as gold - not green or chartreuse. On modern flat panel displays, this will likely require shifting the tint/hue controls on the display to a 'more red less green' setting. On a CRT, it is a non-issue.

 

In the capture below of the Diagnostic cart running, the swatch representing Hue 1x is highlighted with a red box:

 

post-18-0-36475600-1508448108.png

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Perform the color calibration within the first minute or two of the console started up "cold" [The console has been powered off for 30 or more consecutive minutes].

 

Just as important is to make sure Hue 1x appears as gold - not green or chartreuse. On modern flat panel displays, this will likely require shifting the tint/hue controls on the display to a 'more red less green' setting. On a CRT, it is a non-issue.

 

In the capture below of the Diagnostic cart running, the swatch representing Hue 1x is highlighted with a red box:

 

attachicon.gifDiagnostic Cart-EditHue1x.png

 

Since most of us are unlikely to have either a diagnostic cart or a flash-based multicart, is there a "spitball version" that people can use with a common cart to get close enough, or at least better than a blind guess? :)

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Interesting, I could have sworn that Bryan stated he set this to be mixed properly between the TIA and POKEY? But if not, then you are better off handling the audio out as I usually do. Clip the north legs from the R5 and R6 resistors near the red coil for tuning audio and solder them together. Then from that point, solder on the + lead from a 10uf 16v cap and the negative to your center connection on the RCA output for audio.

 

 

 

Perform the color calibration within the first minute or two of the console started up "cold" [The console has been powered off for 30 or more consecutive minutes].

 

Just as important is to make sure Hue 1x appears as gold - not green or chartreuse. On modern flat panel displays, this will likely require shifting the tint/hue controls on the display to a 'more red less green' setting. On a CRT, it is a non-issue.

 

In the capture below of the Diagnostic cart running, the swatch representing Hue 1x is highlighted with a red box:

 

attachicon.gifDiagnostic Cart-EditHue1x.png

 

Crossbow, yeh the audio is mixed very well between the TIA & Pokey. However, the audio levels are not correct. If you have the sound high enough to enjoy the Commando music, the sound effects are overpowering. I may remove it and do as you suggest, Thanks!

 

Trebor, thanks for the tips. I always believed that you needed to wait until the console had been on for over 30 minutes before color calibration. I've never been that satisfied with the result, so will do as you suggest and calibrate from a cold start.

Is it the same for 2600 mode?

 

Update: Bryan has replied and is assisting me with the audio board. Said it should be balanced, so maybe I've done something wrong

Edited by Jouster
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Since most of us are unlikely to have either a diagnostic cart or a flash-based multicart, is there a "spitball version" that people can use with a common cart to get close enough, or at least better than a blind guess? :)

 

Close enough is possible with two very common games: Dig Dug and Joust.

 

Dig Dug will help achieve a proper tint/hue for the display being utilized and Joust will be for the Color Calibration pot inside the console.

 

First, setting a proper display tint/hue utilizing Dig Dug. Whether the console is cold, cool, warm, or hot, none of the ground layers should lean green for the opening set of levels. The very top layer should be a very bright vivid yellow. If it is leaning chartreuse, adjust the hue/tint of the display until it is a nice bright yellow with no hint of green. The bottom layer of ground should be a rich deep dark brown. Not forest green, not dark green, but purely a dark brown.

 

[An alternate and more expensive hue/tint display game reference is Commando. The ground dirt should be a rich brown and not green or chartreuse].

 

Second, leveraging Joust for the console's color pot. Remember, the color pot inside the console is very sensitive. It takes only a very slight turn to make a significant impact. In this instance, we want a warmed up console instead of a cool/cold one. Ensure the system has been running for a good 30 minutes consecutively.

 

The focus here will be on the enemy bird's wing color. Ideally, on a warmed-up console, the enemy bird's wing color should lean a dark hazel color, right in-between green and brown. However, many consoles will show the whole enemy bird wing completely brown when warmed-up. The color pot adjustment should be made on a warmed up console so the enemy bird's wings appear as either a dark hazel, or slightly turned a tad bit more until just achieving a solid brown; be cautious not to turn too much though.

 

Nonetheless, it's recommend if the color pot for the 7800 is going to be tinkered with to utilize the diagnostic cart ROM image, or $25.00 for a cart copy from Best Electronics:

 

"Atari 7800 US Diagnostic Cartridge. Will display a single 7800 Diagnostic 7800 boot up Screen. Necessary to adjust the 7800 top color pot back to factory color settings. You plug in the Atari 7800 Diagnostic Cartridge and turn on your Atari 7800 console and wait about 5 to 10 seconds for the 7800 Diagnostic screen to appear. CB101195 $25.00"

 

Phone: 408-278-1070 (1:30 - 5 PM, PST, M - F)

E-Mail: bestelec@concentric.net
An even better recommendation, RevEng's 7800 Utility Cart, also contains a similar calibration reference while the complete system palette displays, as well as many other useful functions for testing the console and associated hardware.

 

Trebor, thanks for the tips. I always believed that you needed to wait until the console had been on for over 30 minutes before color calibration. I've never been that satisfied with the result, so will do as you suggest and calibrate from a cold start.

Is it the same for 2600 mode?

 

Waiting for the console to warm up to perform a color calibration will result in a overly green system palette while the console is cold/cool even under a CRT, but ever more so with a flat panel display. It will also skew some of the other values, such as some blues appearing more purple-ish than blue.

 

Atari NTSC console palettes exhibit similar behavior and hue order. The Atari 5200 and 7800 are identical. The only difference for the 2600 is it contains only half the luminance scale values.

 

See Random Terrain's excellent page on the 2600 color palette. Note the columns across for the NTSC console show 0,2,4,6,8,A,C,E. Color order is the same for the NTSC 7800 and 5200 just with additional columns: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F. See the 7800 8BitDev's excellent color documentation put together by RevEng for more information.

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Bryan's audio board working perfectly now, had to use a different solder pad for the Pokey. Now a perfect mix :-D

 

I recommend this board, it great! :thumbsup:

 

Just one thing, my Mateos cart has stopped working! You fix one thing, and another breaks, pooooo! :_(

Guess I'll have to buy another one...

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Close enough is possible with two very common games: Dig Dug and Joust.

 

Dig Dug will help achieve a proper tint/hue for the display being utilized and Joust will be for the Color Calibration pot inside the console.

 

[sNIPPED]

 

Thank you! Perfect. :)

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I'm working on my official instructions for the 7800. One thing I'd like to clear up now. When installing the Audio Companion board, move the 2nd wire over one space.

 

The AC's pads at the top are 4 inputs (A B C D) and an output. In this post the back of the board is seen so the order becomes Out, D, C, B, A.

 

The final version is slightly different than the one shown, so install the A wire and then use C for the 2nd wire (shown going to B).

 

Inputs A and B have the same gain (and allow equal mixing of 2 Pokeys) while C and D have higher gain designed for the output of a 7800 cartridge and the 400's SIO audio respectively.

 

Also, observe the polarity of the bottom pads when installing the board. If you turn the board around, you'll fry it.

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Installed my UAV last weekend and oh my gawd. I didn't know what I was missing. This thing is a major improvement just using the composite video out, S-video looks like HD. I still can't believe Bryan sells these so cheap.

Going to be ordering the sound board soon as well.

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  • 1 month later...

Hey everyone,

 

I was going to start a new thread, but I found this one.. Hopefully someone here can assist. I have been in the process of upgrading all of my "player" systems with the UAV Rev D and the AC. Finished up a nice 6 switch and a 5200 with a power mod as well, both work perfectly.

 

I got to a 7800 today (that I purchased online - going to eventually sell my current 7800 with an older mod) and the 2600 cartridge color is perfect, but I'm getting no color from the 7800 cartridges.

 

At any rate, I highly doubt it was factory like this (however, i have little experience with the 7800), but the color adjustment pots for both the 2600 and the 7800 were glued into position. I thought that might have been the issue, but when I cracked the glue off and adjusted away, nothing happened for the 7800 side (although the 2600 pot still works fine). After speaking with my good friend DrVenkman, he suggested using the color out from the MARIA vs the resistor. I did that to no avail. I then took off the old pot for the 7800 and replaced it with one I had lying around, thinking maybe the pot was bad from the glue that was used, but even the replacement pot didn't help. I should say that the video quality, even in B&W on the 7800 carts is superb, so the MARIA appears to be functioning, just not sure why I'm not getting any color.

 

You can see here, following the UAV instructions by RSS Bot in the UAV 7800 thread here http://atariage.com/forums/topic/273826-the-uav-blog-install-uav-ac-in-the-7800/?hl=%2Buav+%2B7800, I initially used the resistors to pull the color.

post-61342-0-32050200-1516756058_thumb.jpgpost-61342-0-30307200-1516756031_thumb.jpg

post-61342-0-69175100-1516756015_thumb.jpgpost-61342-0-55592800-1516755993_thumb.jpg

 

Here are the glued-down color adjustment pots.

post-61342-0-70188400-1516756023_thumb.jpg

 

Here's my attempt pulling the color from MARIA pin 43, but no difference in color, with a new pot. Anyone have any idea as to why I'd not be getting any color? I just double checked before posting this, and after I pulled the power from the UAV and used the RF cable, the 7800 is producing color on the 7800 carts. Could the issue be the RF modulator? Do I need to snip that? Anything else I should check? Thanks everyone!

post-61342-0-83511200-1516755985_thumb.jpgpost-61342-0-31237600-1516755978_thumb.jpg

 

 

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Disregard the post above. As an exercise, I went and completely replaced the UAV with a new unit and, voila, it worked perfectly. I then installed the AC and now i just need to drill the holes for the composite jacks. I'll take the UAV that you see above and use it on a 2600, since it seems to work on 2600's. :)

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 year later...

I think I'm finally going to mod my player 7800 this weekend with a spare UAV pulled from an out-of-use 800XL. I'm going to go with composite for the near-term since I have a crap-ton of RCA panel-mount connectors. Does anyone have a link to panel-mount mini DIN connectors like the ones -^Cro§Bow^- is using? I'd like to go ahead and order some because eventually I'm going to put a UAV into my 5200 as well.

 

(Alternately, I know I can simply install two more RCA jacks for Chroma and Luma and then an external adapter but I'd rather not go that route).

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I order all of my panel mount jacks both RCA and s-video from console5.

 

Other stuff I order from Mouser like the DC-DC regulators and panel switches when I want higher grade ones vs the OEM style.

 

https://console5.com/store/s-video-jacks-panel-mount-black-plastic-housing-solder-type.html

 

Be advised that these are very shallow. So I frequently have to use my dremel and remove some of the material on the inside of the shell to have enough threads to actually put the nut onto it. Even then, I actually run the s-video nut over sandpaper to remove the chrome plating off it and rough it up. From there I use the extra ground pins to fold down onto the nut once it is all tightened up and then solder the pins down to the nut do it doesn't move.

 

At least that is what is usually needed if you install the jacks where I do.

Edited by -^Cro§Bow^-
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MacRorie took over the production and sale of the UAV. You order them from the Brewing Academy now. Last order I placed about a month ago for 3 boards, I got them in a week so fast turn around in my experience.

 

https://thebrewingacademy.com/collections/atari-7800/products/tba-ultimate-atari-video-uav-board-for-atari-7800

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Yep, for the stuff he has on hand (which is a lot!), Marlin usually ships the next business day or two days at most in my experience (and I've bought a lot of stuff from him over the last 18 months for my 1088XEL and 1088XEL builds, plus a few other things). He's got a great system set up to handle orders, packaging and shipping. Please do bear in mind that he travels to China several times a year so there's always a chance he might be out of the country for a week or ten days when you order, but that'll be the exception rather than the rule.

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MacRorie took over the production and sale of the UAV. You order them from the Brewing Academy now. Last order I placed about a month ago for 3 boards, I got them in a week so fast turn around in my experience.

 

https://thebrewingacademy.com/collections/atari-7800/products/tba-ultimate-atari-video-uav-board-for-atari-7800

thank you for this!

 

Dumb question - the "kit" version - that doesn't apply to the 7800, right? Like, there is no CD4050 in the 7800 that you can remove and replace with this board, right? That's just for the 8-bits as far as I understand.

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thank you for this!

 

Dumb question - the "kit" version - that doesn't apply to the 7800, right? Like, there is no CD4050 in the 7800 that you can remove and replace with this board, right? That's just for the 8-bits as far as I understand.

Correct. You generally want a bare board for a 7800 or 2600. I *think* the kit might work for a 5200 but still requires you to piggy back on the 4050, but I’m not 100% sure. I’ve installed a bare board in one of my 2600’s but not in a 5200 or 7800 yet.

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