Jeremy Popp Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Hello all. I've repaired several Atari's over the years, including changing out failed chips. Specifically, the most common failure for me seems to be the TIA chip. I've ordered them over the years from various places, but curious about this ebay auction: https://www.ebay.com/itm/CO10444-IC-DIP-2-PIECES-qzty/283008144112?hash=item41e49992f0:g:I0AAAOSw-K9ZJFLo:rk:1:pf:1&frcectupt=true CO10444 / IC / DIP / 2 PIECES (qzty) Does anyone know if this is a suitable replacement? At 2 for $12.95, it's a pretty good deal. I've seen different part number configurations such as: CO10444-11D CO10444D-03 CO10444D-01 CO10444D I've also found this somewhat helpful: http://www.ataricompendium.com/faq/vcs_tia/vcs_tia.html Thoughts? I always thought that part number was proprietary to Atari and any CO10444 would work but I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
universal2600 Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 (edited) Hello all. I've repaired several Atari's over the years, including changing out failed chips. Specifically, the most common failure for me seems to be the TIA chip. I've ordered them over the years from various places, but curious about this ebay auction: https://www.ebay.com/itm/CO10444-IC-DIP-2-PIECES-qzty/283008144112?hash=item41e49992f0:g:I0AAAOSw-K9ZJFLo:rk:1:pf:1&frcectupt=true CO10444 / IC / DIP / 2 PIECES (qzty) tia.jpg Does anyone know if this is a suitable replacement? At 2 for $12.95, it's a pretty good deal. I've seen different part number configurations such as: CO10444-11D CO10444D-03 CO10444D-01 CO10444D I've also found this somewhat helpful: http://www.ataricompendium.com/faq/vcs_tia/vcs_tia.html Thoughts? I always thought that part number was proprietary to Atari and any CO10444 would work but I don't know. i've actually bought some TSU branded tia's from that seller a few months ago, they're legit and they work (the ones i received were tested in a working console), i assume they pull working tia's from dead consoles or from some sort of nos, note these are NTSC variants, idk if they work when used on a pal console, since the ntsc chips allow for a color larger palette, afaik you may just be able to underclock it for pal...have a pal 2600 but with the ntsc palette.... found the ebay listing, seems they list tia separately by manufacturer they had the tsu originally for the same deal (at the time 2 for $11) but seems they sell different branded chips at different prices(unbranded is cheapest 2 for $13, tsu is 1 for $13, ami is 1 for $14, with synertek tia's priced the highest at 1 for $15): https://goo.gl/JhbyBi compared to the um6526 tia in my junior 2600 the tsu tia produced a stronger and more brighter/vibrant/stable picture (through the rf!), so swapping a tia brands can possibly improve (or degrade) the picture Edited October 29, 2018 by universal2600 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Popp Posted October 29, 2018 Author Share Posted October 29, 2018 i've actually bought some TSU branded tia's from that seller a few months ago, they're legit and they work (the ones i received were tested in a working console), i assume they pull working tia's from dead consoles or from some sort of nos, note these are NTSC variants, idk if they work when used on a pal console, since the ntsc chips allow for a color larger palette, afaik you may just be able to underclock it for pal...have a pal 2600 but with the ntsc palette.... found the ebay listing, seems they list tia separately by manufacturer they had the tsu originally for the same deal (at the time 2 for $11) but seems they sell different branded chips at different prices(unbranded is cheapest 2 for $13, tsu is 1 for $13, ami is 1 for $14, with synertek tia's priced the highest at 1 for $15): https://goo.gl/JhbyBi compared to the um6526 tia in my junior 2600 the tsu tia produced a stronger and more brighter/vibrant/stable picture (through the rf!), so swapping a tia brands can possibly improve (or degrade) the picture Thanks for the input. Makes sense generic brand would be cheaper, I went ahead and bought a pair as an experiment, so we'll see how well they work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Popp Posted October 31, 2018 Author Share Posted October 31, 2018 FYI, THESE ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE ATARI VCS 2600. They only produce a black screen, so it must be a slight variation used for a different purpose. If anyone wants one or two for experimentation, PM me. Thanks. Jeremy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_q_atari Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Oh well. I ordered a set of those too. I guess I should have held off a bit. I'll test them just the same. I did pony up a little extra dough for the synertek TIA. That one better work in the 2600 or I'll be requesting a refund. This one also looks generic. Does anyone know if it works? http://www.arcadeshop.com/i/1435/tia-television-interface-adapter-ic.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Popp Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 Oh well. I ordered a set of those too. I guess I should have held off a bit. I'll test them just the same. I did pony up a little extra dough for the synertek TIA. That one better work in the 2600 or I'll be requesting a refund. This one also looks generic. Does anyone know if it works? http://www.arcadeshop.com/i/1435/tia-television-interface-adapter-ic.htm Let me know if you have better luck. They look absolutely brand new, so I'm obviously disappointed but knew it was a risk. As for that Arcade Shop link, it looks like they're just using a generic image since it doesn't even have enough pins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_q_atari Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Let me know if you have better luck. They look absolutely brand new, so I'm obviously disappointed but knew it was a risk. As for that Arcade Shop link, it looks like they're just using a generic image since it doesn't even have enough pins. I wish I could. I tried both of them in my 2600jr board and neither of them worked. Once I got a little frogger music and once I got horrible graphics that looked like a pitfall! hallucination with the pitfall! cartridge but that was it. I plugged in the synertek chip I bought from the same seller and that one worked okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
universal2600 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) Thanks for the input. Makes sense generic brand would be cheaper, I went ahead and bought a pair as an experiment, so we'll see how well they work. FYI, THESE ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE ATARI VCS 2600. They only produce a black screen, so it must be a slight variation used for a different purpose. If anyone wants one or two for experimentation, PM me. Thanks. Jeremy Oh well. I ordered a set of those too. I guess I should have held off a bit. I'll test them just the same. I did pony up a little extra dough for the synertek TIA. That one better work in the 2600 or I'll be requesting a refund. This one also looks generic. Does anyone know if it works? http://www.arcadeshop.com/i/1435/tia-television-interface-adapter-ic.htm Let me know if you have better luck. They look absolutely brand new, so I'm obviously disappointed but knew it was a risk. As for that Arcade Shop link, it looks like they're just using a generic image since it doesn't even have enough pins. I wish I could. I tried both of them in my 2600jr board and neither of them worked. Once I got a little frogger music and once I got horrible graphics that looked like a pitfall! hallucination with the pitfall! cartridge but that was it. I plugged in the synertek chip I bought from the same seller and that one worked okay. imho ive alwayed stayed away from the unbranded chips, since they do not seem to look right, it may be they were made for a different region, thats why i bought the tsu chips since i could check the markings before hand (they are the same chips as what was/is in the pic) plus mine were de-soldered as i can see the pins are tinned, here are the what they look like (I fucked up gnd on one removing it from a socket but just a simple wire no biggie)....... plus these were the same ones that produced a nicer picture compared to the um6526 in the jr i have: Edited November 2, 2018 by universal2600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_q_atari Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 Thank you for the detailed response and pictures universal2600. Do you consider the TSU TIA chips to be the best? I notice that seller also sells AMI chips. Seems like there were tons of different manufacturers for the TIA chip back in the day. Sounds like the TIA chips that Best sells is the one in your junior that you are not fond of. When I swapped a TSU into my junior I needed to adjust the color pot as the colors were way off. I suppose different 2600 boards were "tuned" to whatever TIA chip they used in them at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
universal2600 Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 (edited) Thank you for the detailed response and pictures universal2600. Do you consider the TSU TIA chips to be the best? I notice that seller also sells AMI chips. Seems like there were tons of different manufacturers for the TIA chip back in the day. Sounds like the TIA chips that Best sells is the one in your junior that you are not fond of. When I swapped a TSU into my junior I needed to adjust the color pot as the colors were way off. I suppose different 2600 boards were "tuned" to whatever TIA chip they used in them at the time. as far as the best picture i cant say for all tia's, plus I was able to put the chip in and didn't have to tweak the color pot either (the colors didn't change much across the carts i used) the same picture through the rf it looked more like a composite signal using the tsu (no static, very crisp colors and clear) while the 6526 always had some noise and colors were tad washed out, i was going to buy one or two ami chips, since i like the way they look really, but i've come accross um6526, synertek, and oki across the 2600's i've had. it's really preference, honestly, and yeah technically due to the analog nature of the tia each had to be tuned with a bias voltage between 0 ~ 7.25V iirc on the color delay pin to produce the proper hue, if no voltage or 0 is present you'd only have a monochrome image Edited November 8, 2018 by universal2600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wongojack Posted April 20, 2021 Share Posted April 20, 2021 I found this thread because I was looking at the ebay auction in the first post. Glad to find out those chips do NOT seem to work. Here are some other places I found that MIGHT offer working NTSC TIAs C010444 | Original Equipment Manufacturer Distributor | C010444 Inventory (sierraic.com) https://www.ic-phoenix.com/search.asp - This site has UM6526N and P. The N should be the NTSC version of the TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 No prices listed from other of those sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wongojack Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 42 minutes ago, Shawn said: No prices listed from other of those sites. Yeah, they want you to contact them for a quote. I filled out the form on ic-phoenix.com but haven't gotten a response. Not holding my breath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 On 4/21/2021 at 9:49 AM, wongojack said: Yeah, they want you to contact them for a quote. I filled out the form on ic-phoenix.com but haven't gotten a response. Not holding my breath. They ask for a quote because they haven't got any in stock most likely and have to source them from elsewhere to figure out their markup for what you have to pay for them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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