The real VCS

[Deteacher]

Hands down, the original Atari Heavy Sixer will always be "The Real VCS." Next to that, the Sears Heavy Sixer. For me, the first Gen systems are the real deal. Anything after that is just a mod, in my eyes.

[sandmountainslim]

Is there a noticable video quality difference between the light six switcher and the four switch woodie and Vader models?

WP

[A.J. Franzman]

Is there a noticable video quality difference between the light six switcher and the four switch woodie and Vader models?

There's a lot of variation from one unit to the next, especially now that they're all 15-30 years old, so it's very hard to be certain if one or another model has any better or worse picture quality by design. Having said that, however, I believe that the 6-switch models have the potential to produce a superior picture by virtue of their buffered signals and heavy RF shielding. The heavy and light sixer versions are virtually identical from a circuit design and construction point of view, so should be treated as equals. Good composite or S-video output mods will improve the picture quality on just about any model, if it didn't have any noteworthy problems before the mod -- doing a video mod is not a panacea that will fix any existing definable problems; I've seen some folks recommend to others to do video mods to consoles that had problems that such mods would definitely not help. I think I'd sure be upset if I was given such bad advice and saw the same problem after going to the trouble of building the mod.

 

If you don't want to do a video mod, other steps that will improve the picture include: using an RCA to "F" connector adapter to connect directly to the TV eliminating the switchbox, and replacing the stock RF cable with a higher-quality shielded cable.

Edited January 7, 2007 by A.J. Franzman

[A.J. Franzman]

Hands down, the original Atari Heavy Sixer will always be "The Real VCS." Next to that, the Sears Heavy Sixer.

I think maybe you got that backwards; I believe the Sears version came first. But I prefer the Atari heavy sixer too. Maybe the Sears heavy can be the "Original", and the Atari heavy can be the "Real" one.

[supercat]

...doing a video mod is not a panacea that will fix any existing definable problems; I've seen some folks recommend to others to do video mods to consoles that had problems that such mods would definitely not help. I think I'd sure be upset if I was given such bad advice and saw the same problem after going to the trouble of building the mod.

 

My late wife's Woody has an RF picture with relatively little noise, but very significant dark smearing to the right of all TIA writes. I haven't opened the thing up yet, but was wondering whether that's a common problem and whether adding an additional bypass capacitor to the TIA or some other component would be likely to help.

[A.J. Franzman]

It depends what you mean by "very significant" and "smearing". It's normal for objects on a 2600's picture to have a dark shadow on their right edge. If you think it might be made worse than normal on your unit by a bad bypass cap, by all means replace it (with a bigger one if you like). Let us know if you get any improvement -- if so, upgrading the bypass cap would be a good step to add to any video output mod.

Edited January 7, 2007 by A.J. Franzman

[supercat]

It depends what you mean by "very significant" and "smearing". It's normal for objects on a 2600's picture to have a dark shadow on their right edge.

 

Any time there is a TIA write, the luminosity decreases by about a shade; it's almost back to normal within a pixel's width, but is still visibly not quite right several pixels later.

 

The problem isn't with shadowing on the edges of objects, but rather with times that the processor writes to the TIA. In Toyshop Trouble, when toys on a conveyor are near the left edge, there are vertical streaks at the spots where COLUP1 and GRP1 are updated. When the objects get near the right edge of the conveyor, I had to use a 3x-unrolled loop so the streaks have a funny diagonal-zigzag pattern to them.

 

My instinct would be that either the TIA is requiring excessive current when it's written and this is pulling down the VDD pin momentarily, or else that it requires excessive current when written and that is causing some disturbance within the chip. I was curious whether other people have noticed similar behaviors.

[liveinabin]

I'd say the heavy sixer, if PAL units weren't so rare and expensive. So, for me, the six switch woody is the best one. Don't know about the 'real' vcs though. Any dedicated 2600, really.

Edited January 7, 2007 by liveinabin

[Starhopper]

Hands down, the original Atari Heavy Sixer will always be "The Real VCS." Next to that, the Sears Heavy Sixer.

I think maybe you got that backwards; I believe the Sears version came first. But I prefer the Atari heavy sixer too. Maybe the Sears heavy can be the "Original", and the Atari heavy can be the "Real" one.

Hmmm... Sounds like a research project. I definately feel better about my Sears Heavy

[Adrian]

It's all about the 4-switch woody ... it's the most compatible with all cartridges! The cartridge port in the six-switch is a little tight for certain third-party cartridges.

[Lord Helmet]

When I was a kid I had a 4 switch Atari VCS. I considered it the new and improved model ove the six switchers that some of my friends had. I always thought the friend with the Sears six switch was kinda wierd for not having a "real" Atari...although his was the first VCS I ever played.

Edited January 8, 2007 by Lord Helmet

[lokidchser]

For me, the original and still the best is the woody sixer. I still have the one we got in 78 or 79, and I still dig it out of the closet now and again, just to keep it fresh.