Cheap RF Demodulator?

[Paul Slocum]

Looking for a small relatively cheap one (hopefully <$50). I swear someone posted a link to one that was $30 a while back and I can't find the post.

 

-Paul

[Nukey Shay]

A busted VCR? You could get one of those for cheap

[joeybastard]

Is this what you're looking for? Scroll down to about the middle of the page.

 

http://www.action-electronics.com/ccd.htm

[Paul Slocum]

I need something more portable than a VCR.

 

Unless I'm missing it, that's an RF Modulator. That's the opposite of what I need. A demodulator is basically a TV tuner with composite out.

 

-Paul

[Alex]

I've never seen one for less than $200, although I haven't looked in the past year or two. If you find one at that price I'm sure Albert will be thrilled to stop lugging around VCR's to gaming expos.

 

I did pick up a tv tuner box that did the trick for about $10 at a Goodwill. It was smaller than a VCR but still bigger than I would have liked. It was about the size of a 2600 jr..

[Alex]

Did a quick search, here's one for $70:

 

http://www.svideo.com/demodulator.html

[Paul Slocum]

Yeah, I'm looking at TV tuners on Ebay, which are hard to find since you get thousands of PC TV tuner cards if you just search for "TV tuner". Maybe I'll hit some pawn shops on the way home today.

 

Actually, a TV tuner with VGA output will work for me since this will be used with a LCD projector, so I might do that. Looks like that can be done for about $50 on Ebay. And it'd be a nice bonus to also be able to play Atari on my PC monitor.

 

-Paul

[+Mitch]

MCM has a basic demodulator for around $50.

I have this one and it seems to work pretty good.

 

Mitch

[Paul Slocum]

Thanks Mitch. I just ordered one. I'll post how it works out.

[Albert]

Thanks Mitch.  I just ordered one.  I'll post how it works out.

 

Please do, I'd very much like to know. It's quite a bit smaller than a VCR, although it requires some type of power supply (which hopefully isn't too large). I see that it only accepts input on Channel 3. I'm quite curious to hear how the output looks.

 

..Al

[+Mitch]

Yes, it's pretty small. The power supply is a weird 16V AC one.

I just tried it out again tonight since I haven't used it for a while and the picture quality doesn't seem to be quite as sharp as I remember. It could be the lousy RCA cable I'm using at the moment though.

 

Mitch

[+Mitch]

Nevermind, I just found a better quality RCA cable and tested it out, the picture quality is much better.

 

Mitch

[Rob Mitchell]

Keep an eye out for this:

 

Taimerco Color TV Tuner .. made in Texas in the early 1980s. It is built in in a woodgrain veneer cabinet .. has two tuner knobs (VHF & UHF) and pushbutton selectable between computer and TV plus a mute button. RF in, composite/audio in and composite/audio out.

 

Great thing about this TV tuner is that it fits the woodgrain of the era.

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[Paul Slocum]

I got the MCM demodulator. It works well. It's hardly bigger than two 2600 carts stacked on top of each other, and the power supply for it is the same size as a 2600 power supply. I think the picture is better than most VCRs I've used.

 

My only minor complaint is that it doesn't have a power light (handy when you're at a show trying to quickly figure out why things aren't working) but I'll probably just add one myself.

 

-Paul

[+Mitch]

If anyone was thinking about getting one of the MCM RF demodulators now is a good time. They're on sale for the next month for $40 (instead of $50)

 

Mitch

[lbaeza]

Did a quick search, here's one for $70:

http://www.svideo.com/demodulator.html

 

Hi

 

It looks like now they cost $19.95...

Can anybody confirm this? Take a look at the attached image.

 

Regards

[+Mitch]

That's a modulator not a demodulator.

 

Mitch

[lbaeza]

Ooops!

 

Sorry about that.

I noticed my mistake after posting the message.

 

Regards

[ZylonBane]

Did you also notice that this thread is over 8 months old? I think he would have solved his problem in that time.

[+RangerG]

Yes, but a cheap demodulator would still be nice to locate.

[ZylonBane]

Depends on what you consider "cheap", I guess.

 

http://mcm.newark.com/NewarkWebCommerce/mc...SKU=33-2060&N=4

 

 

$57

[+RangerG]

That's not a bad price. I have a atari 2600 hooked up old rf style (but with the connector not a switchbox) to a new 13" tv with rf input and A/V input. If I bought a demodulator and hooked the rf to the demodulator then to the a/v inputs on the tv, would my picture be better than rf style? How much better? Has anyone seen the deluxe Atari switchbox and cord sold by Best Electronics with a rf interference blocker - would this make the picture better? How much better?

 

Maybe someday I'll just break down and buy and try to install the 2600 video mod.

[lbaeza]

Hi

 

Any schematics and instructions on how to build a RF demodulator?

No success when google-ing for schematics...

 

Regards

[lbaeza]

Hi

 

Always researching on this same subject, I found something interesting and cheap: a 2.4GHz video RF transmitter module.

 

I am not a TV tech guy nor a electronics expert, but I think you can plug an antenna signal to this box, select the proper channel (CH2/CH3), and get audio and video output signals (see the last page of the document).

All you have to do is soldering the proper connectors and PSU to this box and you should be ready to connect your 2600 to any monitor with A/V inputs.

 

Please somebody with more knowledge on this matter confirm this.

 

Regards

 

Hi

 

Any schematics and instructions on how to build a RF demodulator?

No success when google-ing for schematics...

 

Regards

[doubledown]

"This is the thread that never ends...'"

"It goes on and on my friends..."

 

(who knows the rest)

 

But seriously, the only problem using an RF Demodulator and yes of course I have one, (it's the one from MCM Electonics, I've been one of their customers for years) is that you get cable compatibility as far as being able to use Phono Plugs/RCA cords, but you are still drawing the video signal from the output of the console's RF Modulator. Which means all the interference is already there when it is sent through your A/V cord and jacks to your tv or home theater system. The reason A/V mods work and look so good is that they rip the video signal off the board before it goes through the RF Demodulator and gets clouded with all the interference floating around. Not to say that the RF demodulator looks like crap it will probably give you a slightly better signal than the original RF signal, just depends on how you hook it up. The more expensive the cable the better the picture.