A little 7800 restoration

[Bobby Nelson]

Growing up we initially had a 2600, but when that died my folks bought us (my 3 brothers and me) a 7800...most likely since we already had the 2600 games. Years ago one of my brothers took it aaaannnnnd the rest of us have never seen it since, SO about a month ago I saw a 7800 with games and some controllers on the local craigslist and when we struck a deal at $40 I figured it was time to add a 7800 back into my life, and my retro gaming collection.

 

When I got it I hooked it up just to make sure it was alive. I did get confirmation of life but the rf modulator was really on the fritz (The output jack was LOOSE and corroded..see photo) so signal quality was...well you can see in the photo. No matter....rf was going away anyhow....

 

This weekend it was time to dig into this one so I gave it a thorough cleaning, replaced the electrolytic caps, installed a UAV rev D board, and mounted a TRRS jack on the back. (Personal preference but I like the minimalistic and tidy install of the TRRS jack versus having 3 Y,W,R RCA jacks)

 

  Special thanks go out to Crossbow who helped me trouble shoot a few issues when I had connected a couple things wrong (Thanks again Jesse!) but last night I was finally able to get it all buttoned up. I don't have any Tvs with S-video so composite is my go-to. I must say I'm loving the quality of the video from the UAV!

 

  Also this was the first time I have played Atari with a Genesis controller...and it's life changing! LOL If only we hand known when we were kids....the hours spent using those terrible 7800 joysticks!

 

 

[edladdin]

Welcome back! 

[mmervine]

Awesome work!

[mattsoft]

I like the TRRS jack. Could you please share which jack you used? Thanks!

[+sramirez2008]

She looks great and the games look great too? Nice work, please add her to the 7800 Serial Number List 

 

 

<Edit> I spy a couple of my favorite joysticks (Epyx 500XJ).?

[Bobby Nelson]

2 hours ago, mattsoft said:

I like the TRRS jack. Could you please share which jack you used? Thanks!

You got it!  https://m.markertek.com/product/30-712-bk/3-5mm-4-conductor-trrs-chassis-mount-snap-in-jack-black?ne_ppc_id=1817008688&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwNSjsqmR6AIVieNkCh0ZZQIYEAQYCSABEgLggPD_BwE#ath

  Also get yourself a reamer: https://www.harborfreight.com/t-handle-reamer-66936.html

 

  I guess the plastic n the 7800 is brittle so drilling a small hole and then reaming it to size is the way to go. ?

 

 The plastic case is a little thick so you’ll have to clip a little bit off of the little “wings” for the jack to stay put. Get yourself a couple extras as you might be like me and accidentally clip too much off. (Whoops!)

 

 

[Bobby Nelson]

Also thanks for the kind words everyone! Happy to be here and happy to be back in the Atari club! Now to order some homebrew games!!!!

[mattsoft]

2 hours ago, Bobby Nelson said:

You got it!  https://m.markertek.com/product/30-712-bk/3-5mm-4-conductor-trrs-chassis-mount-snap-in-jack-black?ne_ppc_id=1817008688&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwNSjsqmR6AIVieNkCh0ZZQIYEAQYCSABEgLggPD_BwE#ath

  Also get yourself a reamer: https://www.harborfreight.com/t-handle-reamer-66936.html

 

  I guess the plastic n the 7800 is brittle so drilling a small hole and then reaming it to size is the way to go. ?

 

 The plastic case is a little thick so you’ll have to clip a little bit off of the little “wings” for the jack to stay put. Get yourself a couple extras as you might be like me and accidentally clip too much off. (Whoops!)

 

 

Awesome, thanks. I have a composite mod that uses the TRRS jack on my 7800 but it's not perfect for sure. I also have a spare UAV board. This has inspired me to fix up the old 7800.