Atarivox Inside

[juansolo]

I've done this with a VCS and it's kinda sweet, so @marauder666 followed suit. Seemed rude not to put one in the 7800 also... Starting to get busy in here now! Switch is to disable the Atarivox so you can use a 2nd joystick.

 

 

 

 

 

Link to @marauder666's install:

 

Edited May 29, 2021 by juansolo

[m.o.terra kaesi]

Let me get this straight: you managed to fit an Atari-Vox into the 2600's case (or 7800), but this still doesn't make it possible to use the 2nd controller port at the same time? Right?

[juansolo]

Correct. The switch selects being atarivox or 2nd joystick.

[m.o.terra kaesi]

so what makes the benefit? In my eyes, it would be huge only, if there could be a 2-player game simultaneously using atari-vox.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

1 hour ago, m.o.terra kaesi said:

so what makes the benefit? In my eyes, it would be huge only, if there could be a 2-player game simultaneously using atari-vox.

There is actually a way to do that but not with what @juansolo has setup here. There is a peripheral you can get called the QuadTari and for games that support it, it will allow use of the Avox+ and a second joystick for 2 player games to be used at the same time.

 

[+Karl G]

I think it's pretty cool. Being able to just flip a switch to switch between them would be very handy.

[+Muddyfunster]

Very cool  

[juansolo]

10 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

There is actually a way to do that but not with what @juansolo has setup here. There is a peripheral you can get called the QuadTari and for games that support it, it will allow use of the Avox+ and a second joystick for 2 player games to be used at the same time.

I considered getting one, but it's so rare I play multiplayer that it's just easier to flip the switch. But the install wouldn't stop the QuadTari working IIRC. I think that goes into port one and the Avox into port two, so it would still work with it.

[juansolo]

Also, here's my latest machine I added one to. This is an NTSC machine and has the audio blended with the TIA and cart audio outs, rather than with an internal speaker. Also I found out I only needed to switch 6 lines so it's a much easier install to do. Mine is only being used with more lines because the other's are being used to bodge a bug in the TIA at the same time in this machine.

 

Edited January 10, 2022 by juansolo

[+-^CrossBow^-]

4 hours ago, juansolo said:

I considered getting one, but it's so rare I play multiplayer that it's just easier to flip the switch. But the install wouldn't stop the QuadTari working IIRC. I think that goes into port one and the Avox into port two, so it would still work with it.

Port 2 is used for in the case of needing to use 3 or 4 of the ports. So for Wizard of Wor arcade for the 2600 for instance, you plug the QuadTari into both ports 1 and 2 and then you plug the controllers for 1 and 2 player that use the port 1 connection technically, and then the Avox is plugged into port 3 and that would be going through the port 2 connection. 

 

So I assume if you really wanted to still use a similar setup, the QuadTari might still work but I'm not sure if you would just leave the Avox connected internally, or if a second Avox would be needed so that the QuadTari handles it? Maybe with in a situation like that it is just acting as a pass-through on port 2 and so your internal Avox could likely still be used and work. If not, then a second one attached while you have your internal one disabled.

 

[juansolo]

If the Avox plugs into the QT, I suspect you'd be better staying with a traditional install then. I thought it just plugged into P1, shame that.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

33 minutes ago, juansolo said:

If the Avox plugs into the QT, I suspect you'd be better staying with a traditional install then. I thought it just plugged into P1, shame that.

I just checked and this is possible to do but you are actually correct. Currently for games like galagon and Wizard of Wor Arcade, it requires just port 1 to be connected to the QuadTari for 2 player support an then the Avox or savekey is plugged directly into port 2 by itself. So you internal setup should work fine in that case and I misspoke.

 

[Dauber]

That's all cool and stuff, but I really need to figure out how to get my AtariVox to fit in my Vectrex. Because of the unique fit, it cannot be done without an extension cord and slicing the female end of the extension cord to make it fit.

[LLightning]

I kind of hated to hack up a heavy six that was working fine but since it already looks like it’s supposed to have speakers. Ultimate Atari Video and internal audio board from The Brewing Academy while I was at it.

[Lynxpro]

On 1/9/2022 at 3:46 PM, -^CrossBow^- said:

There is actually a way to do that but not with what @juansolo has setup here. There is a peripheral you can get called the QuadTari and for games that support it, it will allow use of the Avox+ and a second joystick for 2 player games to be used at the same time.

 

 

I thought the QuadTari doesn't support 2nd Fire Buttons.

[Lynxpro]

On 1/8/2023 at 9:49 AM, LLightning said:

I kind of hated to hack up a heavy six that was working fine but since it already looks like it’s supposed to have speakers. Ultimate Atari Video and internal audio board from The Brewing Academy while I was at it.

 

Interesting. But why not go for 2 speakers since the 2600 has stereo? Can you split the audio so it can go both to the internally mounted speaker as well as to external at the same time?

[+-^CrossBow^-]

10 hours ago, Lynxpro said:

 

I thought the QuadTari doesn't support 2nd Fire Buttons.

This might be true. My point was that the QuadTari allows the ability to put the AVox into the second controller port and still have 2 player games with two separate controllers. That is providing the game supports the QuadTari setup. Besides Dungeon Stalker and the upcoming E.X.O., are there any other 7800 games that support speech through the AVox? I'm sure there are some more out there. Of those how many actually use both buttons on the 7800? I know E.X.O. does.

 

[juansolo]

T:ME Salvo is the only other one I can think of with speech on the 7800.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

2 hours ago, juansolo said:

T:ME Salvo is the only other one I can think of with speech on the 7800.

Does it require both buttons? And I think it also supports a dual controller mode?

 

[+x=usr(1536)]

Out of curiosity: for those who have mixed the Atarivox' audio with the 7800's audio, what was needed to accomplish that?  Was it just a case of hardwiring the Avox speaker output to the same audio output used by the 7800, or did it need to be amplified / levelled off at all?

[+-^CrossBow^-]

3 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

Out of curiosity: for those who have mixed the Atarivox' audio with the 7800's audio, what was needed to accomplish that?  Was it just a case of hardwiring the Avox speaker output to the same audio output used by the 7800, or did it need to be amplified / levelled off at all?

@juansolo can answer this better, but I believe he stated he just had to add a resistor off the avox output and tied it directly to the R5/R6 resistor output already in place?

 

 

[juansolo]

Right on T:ME Salvo it's either one button one stick, or twin stick.

 

On blending the audio, where I lift one end of the two output resistors then tie them together, I added the Atarivox via a third. Then the combined output of all three go through a cap to the output jack. The signal is already amplified on the Avox as it's designed to run a speaker direct, just set the level by ear using the vol pot.

Edited January 13, 2023 by juansolo

[+x=usr(1536)]

8 hours ago, juansolo said:

On blending the audio, where I lift one end of the two output resistors then tie them together, I added the Atarivox via a third. Then the combined output of all three go through a cap to the output jack. The signal is already amplified on the Avox as it's designed to run a speaker direct, just set the level by ear using the vol pot.

Thanks for that - I was pretty close in my mind, but good to have confirmation 

[Shawn]

On 5/29/2021 at 10:46 AM, juansolo said:

I've done this with a VCS and it's kinda sweet, so @marauder666 followed suit. Seemed rude not to put one in the 7800 also... Starting to get busy in here now! Switch is to disable the Atarivox so you can use a 2nd joystick.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice clean work there. Good stuff!

 

(edit to add the pic of the newer one you posted cause that is nicely done as well  )

Edited January 19, 2023 by Shawn

[Lynxpro]

That's some serious modding. Throw in an XBOARD and you probably have the ultimate modded 7800. Well...I guess if you added the capacity for PAUSE, SELECT, RESET to the controllers like Pac-Man Plus did to one of his 7800s.  

 

Which makes me wonder with all of that serious modding... what would the 7800 do - or not do - if those 2 2K SRAM chips were replaced with larger capacity chips?