600XL Composite and Audio upgrade

[TemplarXB]

Thanks scorpio-ny. Great photos. I hope my attempt comes out half as well.  I was planning on using a dremel on the case. What happened to your 800XL when you used a dremel, although the manual cut you did is certainly good enough. 

[manterola]

I have done the UAV and DIN installation in 600XL a couple of times. I used this kind of tool for the hole in the case. It is not hard at all, just practice using a piece of scrap plastic, before doing the real thing in the 600XL case.

 

[marauder666]

Step bit.

 

 

[+scorpio_ny]

3 hours ago, TemplarXB said:

Thanks scorpio-ny. Great photos. I hope my attempt comes out half as well.  I was planning on using a dremel on the case. What happened to your 800XL when you used a dremel, although the manual cut you did is certainly good enough. 

I had started out by cut out a hole to accommodate the DVI plug for the Sophia 2. I started with some round drill holes and I figured I would use the dremel to shape the hole into a square instead doing by hand with a file. I ended up making the holes too large because the dremel sanded a lot better than I expected ?.

[+scorpio_ny]

Hi @manterola and @marauder666,

 

Next time I have a similar project, I will make sure to have these items it my toolkit. Would have the job a whole lot easier!

 

Thanks!

 

[+orpheuswaking]

I've used both the spade bit and the step bit and 100% would go for the step bit every time. Afterward put a little acetone on a rag and gentle rub around the cut hole and it will smooth off the edges (a little goes a long way, don't overdo it)

[Beeblebrox]

Step bit everytime. More control, and less prone to slipping and damaging the case given you are more likely to be doing this freehand with a drill than say a drill press. 

[NISMOPC]

The way I did mine was with a piece of wood pressed to the inside of the case to decrease the possibility of uneven cuts. I centered the spade drill bit on the wood and used it as a guide when drilling, but plan to buy a step bit for any future mods like this since it is much more reliable.

[hueyjones70]

21 hours ago, scorpio_ny said:

I looked back at the thread and took a look at the pictures. The composite video upgrade that seems to be discussed looks like a simple design that reminds me of  the one that is sold for the Atari 2600. See this link for what I mean. With this solution , you may not get the best video signal out of your machine. The audio is probably being tapped from the leftover pin outs for the missing DIN connector. Someone else with more electronics experience can provide a more detail on the solutions provided here.

 

You can buy an assembled board for about $10 to perform that upgrade. I did one on my 7800 and the composite is really good. It was good enough that I don't think it is worth the time and effort to do the UAV on that machine.

[hueyjones70]

On 10/4/2021 at 9:14 PM, hueyjones70 said:

You can buy an assembled board for about $10 to perform that upgrade. I did one on my 7800 and the composite is really good. It was good enough that I don't think it is worth the time and effort to do the UAV on that machine.

I tried one of those boards on a 600XL and I could not get any composite video. The board also has one less resistor.