Retrokidz Colecovision Component Mod Question

[Ianr757]

Hey all, I recently won an auction that included an AV mod board that I had never seen before, apparently from 2005 and discontinued over a decade ago. I found the install PDF online, but it doesn't explain the component installation process. From what I can gather, the top pin is a ground, but I have no clue which of the bottom three is Y, Pb or Pr. Anybody have any suggestions for figuring that out? Thanks!

[Ikrananka]

This mod was sold by 8BitDomain.  The component section of that mod was experimental and when I tried it the results weren't good.  In fact I wasn't impressed with any of the outputs.  I've attached a pdf with photos of the poor output quality I got with this mod in 2008.  Needless to say I removed it and it's been sitting in a junk box ever since.  Now to be fair, Mikw (Mike?) at 8bitdomain did state that the mod board was designed for analog TVs hence the poor output I experienced.  He was supposedly working on an "HD" digital version but that never materialised.  Here's a quote from an email I received from Mike around April 2008.

 

"The mod boards were designed for Analog TV's.  They tend to overdrive the color on some newer digital sets. I am working on newer versions of all the mod boards to work specifically with the new Digital TV's. They will have (among other improvements) adjustable color & brightness with trimmer pots."

 

I've also attached the pin assignments that I figured out just in case you still want to give it a try (includes the component video).

 

 

8BitDomain Video Mod.pdf 8bitdomain Pin Assignments.pdf

Edited May 7, 2021 by Ikrananka

[128Kgames]

10 minutes ago, Ianr757 said:

Hey all, I recently won an auction that included an AV mod board that I had never seen before, apparently from 2005 and discontinued over a decade ago. I found the install PDF online, but it doesn't explain the component installation process. From what I can gather, the top pin is a ground, but I have no clue which of the bottom three is Y, Pb or Pr. Anybody have any suggestions for figuring that out? Thanks!

Well, having owned and installed several of their Astrocade S-VIDEO boards I'd hazard a guess you're missing a whole bunch of connector cables.  You have a link to the .pdf?

[Ianr757]

32 minutes ago, Ikrananka said:

This mod was sold by 8BitDomain.  The component section of that mod was experimental and when I tried it the results weren't good.  In fact I wasn't impressed with any of the outputs.  I've attached a pdf with photos of the poor output quality I got with this mod in 2008.  Needless to say I removed it and it's been sitting in a junk box ever since.  Now to be fair, Mikw (Mike?) at 8bitdomain did state that the mod board was designed for analog TVs hence the poor output I experienced.  He was supposedly working on an "HD" digital version but that never materialised.  Here's a quote from an email I received from Mike around April 2008.

 

"The mod boards were designed for Analog TV's.  They tend to overdrive the color on some newer digital sets. I am working on newer versions of all the mod boards to work specifically with the new Digital TV's. They will have (among other improvements) adjustable color & brightness with trimmer pots."

 

I've also attached the pin assignments that I figured out just in case you still want to give it a try (includes the component video).

 

 

8BitDomain Video Mod.pdf 1.23 MB · 1 download 8bitdomain Pin Assignments.pdf 62.56 kB · 1 download

Thanks so much for the info man, I really appreciate it!

[Ikrananka]

32 minutes ago, 128Kgames said:

Well, having owned and installed several of their Astrocade S-VIDEO boards I'd hazard a guess you're missing a whole bunch of connector cables.  You have a link to the .pdf?

Yep, there was a whole kit including the connector cables which is shown on page 1 of the install instructions.

Colecovision Video Mod & Bios Installation Guide.pdf

[Ikrananka]

5 minutes ago, Ianr757 said:

Thanks so much for the info man, I really appreciate it!

You're welcome ?

[128Kgames]

1 hour ago, Ikrananka said:

Yep, there was a whole kit including the connector cables which is shown on page 1 of the install instructions.

Colecovision Video Mod & Bios Installation Guide.pdf 2.45 MB · 2 downloads

Mike Mallory; yeah, the S-VIDEO and 3.5mm connectors look exactly like his Astrocade kit.

[Ianr757]

1 hour ago, 128Kgames said:

Mike Mallory; yeah, the S-VIDEO and 3.5mm connectors look exactly like his Astrocade kit.

So did this guy just fall off the face of the Earth? Seems weird that he was so active in the community and then just disappeared.

[128Kgames]

21 minutes ago, Ianr757 said:

So did this guy just fall off the face of the Earth? Seems weird that he was so active in the community and then just disappeared.

Fall?  No.  You can search the forums for more info.  I never had any issues with Mike, and did good business with him after he closed up shop.  He's opened a new website recently.