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CrossBow

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Posts posted by CrossBow

  1. On 11/16/2023 at 8:15 AM, sramirez2008 said:

    Watched this one a couple of others yesterday. I'm still waiting for a shipment confirmation. 

    I got my shipping notification yesterday from Atari. But according to FedEx it is still just a label notification and FedEx doesn't have it in hand yet. So likely they will get it today and start it on its journey.

    I know of the limitations and understood that before buying it. But I feel that the only way Atari will provide something better in the future, is if this initial 2600+ gets a strong showing in support from the community. And we don't know what updates in the future might allow.

    The fact that it has now been confirmed to work with the DragonFly is also quite nice since that means more home brew 7800 games can be made to work if they just update the lookup checksum tables in the 2600+ so it knows how to setup the emulation to allow for more games to work.

     

     

  2. 1 hour ago, Smell Dawg said:

    In the meantime, the plastic form-fitting cover it ships in looks like what I'll be using as an interim dust cover 🙂
     

    in noticed this as well with the all the release/review videos today showing that in the unboxing part. I'm likely to do the same. But then I'm not sure if I'm going to actually have my 2600+ setup somewhere for use all the time either.

     

  3. 1 hour ago, sramirez2008 said:

    We’re going to need a 2600+ dust cover.  If anyone comes across one, please post a link. It would be cool to one similar to the OG one below. Just need to add the “+” sign to it. 🙂

    IMG_2184.jpeg

    Give it time and I'm sure Printerboy will get one made up. Barb would too but I don't know how actively she is in making new covers these days. I want to say the last time I spoke with her just over a year ago, she was clearing out what she had to retire from it. Sad too since most of my covers in my setup are from Barb.

  4. On 9/15/2023 at 12:38 PM, Justin said:

    This ST port convinced me to buy a Neo Geo and I love it :neogeo:

    While I can't quite afford either of those models, I did happen to get a NeoGeo CD for under $200 about a month ago. Now I have a controller and will need to get a PSU for it at some point. I know that Metal Slug and MS2 are available for the NeoGeo CD. Then again, I own the Saturn port of Metal Slug also. Such great games!

     

  5. I believe the most common way that most techs will install UAVs into the 6 switch consoles, is using the 4050 piggy back method that is similar to that of the 5200. This method does work of course for most, but there are a few reason why you might not want to go with this installation method.

    - The 4050 is critical in the operations of the 6 switch console as it not only has buffering for the video signals, but also is part of the main logic behind the fire button / trigger controls on these older models
    - There are instances of the 4050 +5 voltages to the chip not being consistent and even being too low to power the UAV properly while working fine in the console otherwise
    - Requires some tight solder work to attach the socket on top of the 4050 which again, is a critical IC in the system and 40+ years old in most of these consoles
    - The 4050 is quite susceptible to ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) damage. So not using proper equipment rated to be ESD safe and setup properly can damage the 4050 when touching and soldering to it directly

    Although the 4050 is a cheap IC part and still made new today in this form factor, I find it best to stay clear of the IC and I get much better and more consistent results when I point to point solder wiring from other locations back to the UAV. As such, this guide can be looked at as an alternate installation method and not the only way to do it. But this is the method I've been using for several years now to install UAVs into 6 switch NTSC Atari consoles. 

    UAV (Ultimate Atari Video) Layout:-
    The UAV has basically remained the same on its design and layout since around 2017 when the current revision D was released. I only use the basic UAV board in all of my installs as I find that easier to wire to and provides me more flexibility overall. Below is a diagram showing you the spots on the UAV you need to be concerned with on NTSC 2600 Installations. In all installs, the UAV will need to have power, ground, color signal, and a few other video signals provided to it for it to function properly. These signals come from the TIA chip. Take NOTE that you attach the signal wires for S, 1, 2, & 3 along the center and smaller vias on the UAV. If you have a pre-built UAV with a header block soldered here, just solder wiring to the tops of the header pins to make it easier.

    TIA_UAV_connections.jpg.daf850103741f968d26ebe01c5b8fd47.jpg


    Different revisions:-
    The 6-switch NTSC consoles come in only two main versions. What we call the Heavy sixer and the light sixer variant. Most of the differences between the two models are on the separate attached switch boards and not on the main board containing the core logic of the game system. As a result, the method shown for UAV wiring is the same between both models of the 6-switch NTSC consoles.

    Power, Ground and Color resistor:-
    The UAV requires power and ground to operate. The 6-switch models also have an 800Ωish resistor located at R213 just about below center of the TIA chip. The picture below shows good points to get +5v (R207)and ground (C204 or C203) connections from. Additionally, the color resistor that is in place, must be disabled from circuit as it will cause hue/tint issues on the UAV that cannot be adjusted out using the color trimmer wheel. I usually de-solder the right leg of this resistor and use shrink tubing around it to isolate it, while keeping it in place in case the resistor should ever be put back into service for some reason. You can also just clip the leg with side flush cutters as well.

    H6_UAV_pwr_gnd.jpg.37aee4a948d4b08da7f0a3d6bf9c7e22.jpg


    NTSC TIA signal component locations for UAV:-
    The signals needed from the TIA can be gotten from points directly off empty vias on the main board or from a nearby component leg. Again, these are alternate locations that I use for UAV installs as there is plenty of room to solder everything to and it keeps the wiring from the UAV to the main board pretty short. The signal points on the UAV for S, 1, 2, 3, Co In, & Audio are shown below. You might have to carefully bend the resistors to the side a little bit to allow for more room to access these spare vias. 

    h6_uav_alt_points.jpg.36f565865a44d5180aa0d3b199df3262.jpg


    Audio Connection:-
    As shown in the previous picture, there is an unused via next to capacitor C210. This via is connected directly to pins 12 and 13 off the TIA and is where I tap the signal needed for the audio output. However, as this is the raw signal from the TIA it is a bit too strong and I advise adding in an additional 10µf capacitor and resistor inline to help bring the level down a bit. The level of resistance it up to you and isn't required but I wouldn't go above 10k as that is likely to be too low for use and again you might be fine with how it sounds without one at all. Also be advised that this point has both pins 12 and 13 already combined so it will only provide a mono output from both channels of the TIA audio. 

    UAV output wiring:-
    The output side of the UAV is along the same point that you attached the TIA color signal wire to. All of your output signal jacks will require a connection for the signal output and also ground. What I usually do in my installs is to run a shared ground wire for both audio and composite video from the ground pin near the composite output on the UAV. I then run another second shared ground for the chroma and luma outputs for s-video using the ground pin between Co In and chroma out on the UAV outputs. The diagram below shows the S-video connections on the female s-video as viewed from the front of the s-video jack.

    UAV_Outputs.jpg.5d586164cfd42412606b245839712a55.jpg


    What about that blue box thing on the UAV, what is that for? :-
    The blue box near the output side on the UAV is a trimmer adjustment for changing the way color artifacting looks through composite output. However, this trimmer has no impact when used on the 2600 console as it was mainly put into place for using the UAV on the Atari 8-bit computers where more games used NTSC artifacting.

    And that pretty much sums it up. The work required to install the UAV into a 6-switch 2600 in this manner might seem like more work, but I think the consistent results and less risk to the TIA and 4050 IC are worth it in these particular installs. And in the case of the NTSC 6-switch consoles, the empty spot on the main board above the TIA is a great place to attach the UAV and have everything needed right there close by. Here is an example of one I've done using the information I've posted above to give you an idea. 

    26L6_uav_detail1.jpg.c0a99001876708c41745f67508c36f04.jpg

  6. Unrelated but I have noticed that the market on the games is now coming down. My collection is now showing a -10k value from where it was a year ago. Some games in my collection for the Saturn for instance that were at or near $1000 have dropped as much as 40% of where they were currently. 

    One example is my CIB of Magic Knight Rayearth. I bought mine like 6 years ago for $250. It came with the Saturn game including the full sticker sheet and also came with the JPN Saturn release of the game and the JPN Game Gear version of the game that was NIB. Just about a year ago the US Saturn release of the game was about $800 on its own and during the middle of the pandemic it was nearly $1000. Now it's value has dropped to around $600. 

    But on the opposite side of that, some of my SNES CIB games have gone up quite a bit! So who knows? I don't mind either way because I did NOT pay for the prices that any of my games are currently showing their value at.

    OH! I am surprised to see that the Atari XP releases for Aquaventure, and Yar's Return have gone up as well. Aquaventure is currently showing a value of over $200 with Yar's coming in at over $150?! Saboteur isn't showing up yet as I guess there isn't any sales history for that one yet. It just shows a "?" for value on Gameye at this time.

    I'm assuming this is because they were limited releases and not currently available? Wonder what some of the others will get up to in the future then?

     

  7. 3 minutes ago, socrates63 said:

    Cool, glad there was a happy resolution, Jesse. It's also great that the code didn't expire after all these years. When I went to active Humble Bundle Steam codes that I bought years ago, I found that some had expired or some had redemption windows that I forgot about and missed.

    Yes, this I've known about with Humble Bundles at least. I wasn't sure about the code still working either, but I opened up my Steam client and went strait to redeem the code and it gave a success and the game just auto installed. At that point, the add-on was still in my cart and I could now purchase it. So it was pretty seamless at that point.

    I think Steam codes are basically good forever, but the codes that humble gets might be created by Humble themselves and that is why they have windows for expiration on them.

     

  8. 19 hours ago, socrates63 said:

    That's a bummer, Jesse. It's unfortunate that 3D Realms doesn't offer an economical solution to get the DLC for folks who bought the base game in physical form.

    Well, there is a slight silver lining to this.

    I posted about this in a big box PC collectors group on FB and someone there posted that the crazy expensive versions of the game came with a digital download code and they thought the less deluxe boxed version also did. However, they received it as an email from 3D Realms at the time they bought the game physically. So... I did a mass search on my emails for the keyword 3D Realms and sure enough... back in Summer of 2019 when I bought the boxed physical version, they did indeed send me a Steam redeem code for the game digital as well. I'd never used it or paid any attention to it because I had it physically and installed and played it that way. But yeah, apparently they did send digital codes via email years back when it was purchased.

    I was able to redeem the code finally after 4 years on my Steam account and then was able to buy the DLC add-on to play. I can kinda see why it was only offered as a big box release and digital in this regard. The DLC changes the entire starting screen and options on the game compared to what it was before. So while the base game is needed, it seems that many aspects of the core engine of the game are replaced out for the new DLC stuff to work and it likely isn't as feasible to offer this as a separate download on its own without having to deal with quite a lot of support headaches. With the digital versions, those core base game has all the needed updates applied so the DLC will work properly.

    So yes, I have the add-on and able to play. But if I hadn't been reminded about this possible digital code having been sent years ago, I wouldn't know to look for it. And good thing I haven't updated or done a complete system reload in that time else, that email would have been lost. And... because I bought the game under a guest account through their website, I wouldn't have had a way to refer back to their support for it to try and get another code sent as they require your account with them to refer to the previous store purchases. They changed their web store to a new site and format over this summer so my guest account purchase essentially doesn't exist in their records at this point.

     

  9. 13 minutes ago, socrates63 said:

    I just grabbed the last green (7800 controller support). I'm guessing Matt will probably make more. I grabbed the last green with my first order, and he made more after that.

    I also read on Facebook that the Masterplay clones supports paddles for use with the 5200? Is that right? Having paddle support on the 5200 would be very cool.

    Another option is to take a good working 2600 paddle controller and retrofit it into a 5200 controller. I did that for a client about a year ago. It turned out pretty slick and looked like it was factory made.

     

  10. Few years back I bought the 3D Realms release of Ion Fury in big box physical form. Excellent packaging that took me back to the days of actual releases. The game came on a USB drive as a DRM free version to install and use on your computer. As a result it didn't come with a digital redeem code or anything like that to purchase through Steam or GOG..etc. 

    And the game is great fun and I still fire it up and play it even though I've managed to beat it a few times. 

    Well, early last month, they finally released a new expansion add-on for the game call Aftershock and it looks really cool and has gotten favorable reviews. So what is the issue then?

    Well, the issue is that Aftershock only seems to be available currently in digital form through Steam or GOG for PC. However, while I do have Steam and GOG accounts with a lot of games on both, Ion Fury isn't one of them since again, I own the game in physical release outside of those services.

    So the issue is that Steam and GOG will NOT allow me to purchase the add-on separately because I don't own the base game digitally through their services!? I was more surprised about GOG because they sell DRM releases. But nope...it lets me add the expansion to my cart, but will NOT let me purchase it stating I don't on the GOG release?!

    And the 3D Realms site doesn't seem to offer any information about this? To be fair, they did offer a big box release for Aftershock, but it was way more expensive than I wanted to pay for an add-on when the add-on digitally is a $15 purchase vs the big box releases being nearly a $100. And even then, those big box releases sold out fast! So digital is the only way to purchase it. But now that means I have to double dip and buy the base game again... 

    This might be the first time I've seen this take place, but yeah even though I own the game in physical from from 3D Realms directly, there isn't a way for me to purchase and play the new add-on expansion without purchasing the base game again digitally through Steam or GOG as both of those services will not allow you to purchase the new add-on DLC unless you have the base game in their digital form on your accounts with them.

     

  11. 3 hours ago, AtariSphinx said:

     I have debated using these apps or services as they do have benefits that my spreadsheet method does not.  

    Only thing I don't like about using an App or service is if disappears one day have to redo it.   Does Gameeye let you export?

    Yes...it does. though I've not used it specifically.

    Once you open the app there is an additional menu that has an export option. From there you choose if you want to create a restore point. (Needed if you want to have the app on more than one device as it doesn't sync between devices). or export out as a spreadsheet.

    That said, I've not seen an Import option so even if you have the spreadsheet they provide, It doesn't look like you can alter that and up it back to the app.

     

  12. On 11/4/2023 at 9:58 PM, Neon Wraith said:

    I'd highly recommend the Gameye app.  It keeps my entire catalog in the palm of my hand.  Once you catalog your collection, it's pretty quick and easy to maintain and very easy to see what you have at a glance.  Gameye keeps me from spending money on games that I already have, that way I can make more productive buys.

    I actual use Gameye. That is how I got those numbers pretty quickly. I only listed what I appear to have with most value according to gameye. I'm actually at just over 2100 games total according to the app.

     

  13. This is my list but I'm sure it is missing some titles as this is only for official released games and doesn't include homebrews:

     

    2600: 326

    5200: 55

    7800: 56

    Jaguar: 21

    Jaguar CD: 6

    Lynx: 43

    Coleco: 86

    Intellivision: 81

    Vectrex: 7

    NES: 49

    GameCube: 50

    Wii: 101

    Wii U: 20

    SNES: 65

    Sega 32x: 20

    Sega CD: 8

    Dreamcast: 72

    Game Gear: 58

    Sega Genesis/Megadrive: 342

    Sega Master System: 57

    Sega Saturn: 72

    PS2: 49

    PS3: 89

    PS4: 41

     

    But that is just mostly the console games and this doesn't include games I own for PC and other computers. As you can see it is mostly Atari and Sega heavy.

  14. 2 hours ago, DegasElite said:

    That's really too bad the reasons they come up with to destroy things. It's a sad thing. 😞

    There was a guy that ran an arcade repair business from his home. He had an airplane hangar on his property that was filled...FILLED with different arcade cabs along with some classic cars scattered in there. It was so full you had to climb up and over some of the machines to get to and see stuff in the back. But again...aircraft hangar so it wasn't exactly climate controlled. And even when I was visited him and saw this nearly 20 years ago, many of the cabs were already too far gone to be saved but he wouldn't get rid of them. 

    He eventually left the business and moved away and I have NO idea what happened to it all because his property was bought just over 10 years ago and a housing edition built right up next to it. I think his house is still there but shows nature having taken it over and the hangar I believe was torn down. As it is private property I've never ventured onto it to see.

     

  15. I've seen pics of groups of cabs left outside of building to just rot from the elements. And in the worst cases, I've seen photos of actual arcade guys that still operate machines and routes that have posted pics of bonfires they have built with cabs that weren't making them anymore money and they weren't willing to sell the cabs for cheap to get rid of them so... burn them instead. 

     

     

  16. 1 hour ago, sramirez2008 said:

    I’m hooked on Sea Pup. I loved playing Sea Wolf BITD. The periscope was so cool. Sea Wolf and Lunar Lander had me as soon as I saw the controllers.

    IMG_1851.jpeg

    Was sea pup a new Veccy game being sold at PRGE? You stated Sean was sharing his booth with one of the NVGM guys? Pretty sure it was likely John Hardie although I've not seen pics. But was that the Atarirepairparts.com booth?

     

  17. As there can be some confusion on how to install the UAV into a 4-switch NTSC 2600 console due to the variants that exist, I thought I would try and collate all of the basic information needed for installing the UAV into these model 2600s. While the different revisions do have some slight changes between them, in all cases the area where to get the signals needed for the UAV to work are located in the same basic locations. This is is not a comprehensive guide but more of a quick reference for those that already know how to open up the 2600 and are semi familiar with the layout inside of the 4-switch NTSC consoles.

     

    UAV (Ultimate Atari Video) Layout:-

    The UAV has basically remained the same on its design and layout since around 2017 when the current revision D was released. I only use the basic UAV board in all of my installs as I find that easier to wire to and provides me in more flexibility overall. Below is a diagram showing you the spots on the UAV you need to be concerned with on NTSC 2600 Installations. In all installs, the UAV will need to have power, ground, color signal, and a few other video signals provided to it for it to function properly. Take NOTE that you attach the signal wires for S, 1, 2, & 3 along the center and smaller vias on the UAV. If you have a pre-built UAV with a header block soldered here, just solder wiring to the tops of the header pins to make it easier.

    UAVrD_2600_Layout.jpg.bef02b6197965e4d74f8cb2f6967dbb1.jpg

     

    Different revisions:-

    The 4-switch NTSC consoles come in revisions starting with rev12 and ending up with rev17 that I've seen personally. Meaning there are variants in between but the good news is that there are really only about 3 different layouts for the components between all of these revisions in the area that we are concerned with for the UAV. Look around the top of the main board to see which Revision of the board you have so that you know which of the sections below to refer to for your UAV install.

    Rev1213_Stamp.jpg.5d881bc7129cfe46b9858d2812f6516b.jpg Rev1617_Stamp_new.jpg.b0e83d25464c23b3a1296c1612ad6743.jpg

     

    Power, Ground and Audio:-

    All revisions of the 4-switch NTSC consoles share the same points for power, ground, and audio that can be used for UAV installations. While the top board trace layouts look different in the areas below and the location of the RF output RCA jack is in different spots, the actual points are the same and in the same locations. I've provided pictures that show how this area is on the Rev 12 - 14 and Rev 16 & 17 models below.

    2600_r12-14_aud_pwr_gnd.jpg.ecced9d0dcd798eb408841cde27507aa.jpg 2600_r1617_aud_pwr_gnd.jpg.3b2d3186ea43c411d17ed19798da8241.jpg

     

    Revision 12 & 13 NTSC TIA signal locations for UAV:-

    The revision 12 and 13 NTSC consoles is pretty straightforward as the signals are all in a line from the main resistor section just to the right of the TIA chip. The signals for S, 1, 2, 3, & Co In are shown below. 

    26_R13_UAV_taps.jpg.2c610fa138ba12665cc6d40732910f8e.jpg

     

    Revision 14 NTSC TIA signal locations for UAV:-

    The revision 14 NTSC console layout is similar to the earlier revisions with the only change being where you grab the signal for connection 2 to the UAV. The signal points for S, 1, 2, 3, and Co In are shown below.

    26_R14_UAV_taps.jpg.b3fb795af24b2976323ffd99f903af64.jpg

     

    Revision 16 - 17 NTSC TIA signal locations for UAV:-

    The revision 16 & 17 NTSC consoles have their signals in the same location as the Rev14 show above, with the one change being an extra 820Ω resistor that was added to the board layout that has to be disconnected from the circuit. This resistor is located directly right of the TIA and is marked as R234, although you cannot see the silkscreen indicating this until you lift the resistor out of place.  If you do not disable this resistor, you will end up with incorrect color hues on all colors from the UAV that cannot be adjusted out with the color trimmer. You can either clip the leg of the resistor, de-solder it, or remove the resistor completely. The signal points for S, 1, 2, 3, and Co In are shown in the picture below. The picture shows an alternate location for the S signal, but you can also get it from the same location as the Rev 14 in most cases.

    26_R16_UAV_taps.jpg.6a8b65dda078d11e5be8cb2004d0c327.jpg

     

    UAV output colors appear horribly off kilter?

    As mentioned in the Rev 16 & 17 section, there is an extra resistor on the main board that has to be disabled. While this resistor doesn't have a dedicated location on the earlier revision 4-switch NTSC consoles, it was sometimes added from the factory and therefore bodged into place. Look the presence of this resistor either on the bottom of the main board attached to pins 6 and 9 of the TIA chip, or possibly soldered on the top component side next to the TIA socket. In these cases, it is easiest to just clip the resistor on one leg to disable it without fully removing it. You might want to add shrink tubing or some other way to insulate the lifted/cut leg of the resistor so it can't short against anything.

     

    UAV output wiring:-

    The output side of the UAV is along the same point that you attached the TIA color signal wire to. All of your output signal jacks will require a connection for the signal output and also ground. What I usually do in my installs is to run a shared ground wire for both audio and composite video from the ground pin near the composite output on the UAV. I then run another second shared ground for the chroma and luma outputs for s-video using the ground pin between Co In and chroma out on the UAV outputs. The diagram below shows the S-video connections on the female s-video as viewed from the front of the s-video jack.

    UAV_Outputs.jpg.b0fde1cf632473e65ec06a7ba583dc7e.jpg

     

    What about that blue box thing on the UAV, what is that for? :-

    The blue box near the output side on the UAV is a trimmer adjustment for changing the way color artifacting looks through composite output. However, this trimmer has no impact when used on the 2600 console as it was mainly put into place for using the UAV on the Atari 8-bit computers where more games used NTSC artifacting.

  18. 17 hours ago, OniDensetsu said:

    Try a different Tv like a Crt if possible. They do have weird colors like that but maybe that TV is not liking the signal much.

    I concur on this. I was looking online at other picstures of the super pong output and it appears that on CRTs it isn't nearly as saturated and blown out on the colors as what is shown above. That said, I did find another picture of the output on an LCD and it was similar to what the OP is getting. So my guess on this is that at least through RF, the signal for the colors is just going overboard on a modern display. Possible this might clear up and look closer to what you get on a CRT if you run it through a VCR and then use the composite output on the VCR to the TV or perhaps get the pong unit composite upgraded. Although that isn't something I'm versed in but I know it can be done.

     

  19. 4 hours ago, MalakZero said:

    Howdy folks, I'm happy to announce that I am now in the Pong owners club 🙂 I found this little guy for $10 at a yard sale, guy said "it worked when I put it in the attic."

     

    Needless to say, it kinda didn't. I managed to fix the paddle jitter with some alcohol and electrical tape, but I'm not sure where to start with fixing this colour issue. Is there a faulty part or could it just be from battery acid corrosion? I'm cracking the unit open this weekend. Any insight is always appreciated! PONG.jpg.0ec5b103a560b48f242a2c4b23a9f5f5.jpg

    The super pong units look like that normally? They have the different colors on different sides of the screen like you are showing.

     

  20. 22 minutes ago, Silver Back said:

    So I've been talking with people far more successful than me on YouTube and they seem to agree that rebranding to "The Atari Network" sounds more official and inclusive.  Plus, surprisingly nobody is using it.

    The thing is, the 7800 will always be my love and focus, and a lot of fans like the 7800 Pro Gamer moniker.  I'm on the fence about what to do, but again if I'm going to do anything now is the time. What do you guys think?

    Easy...

    Rebrand the channel as suggested, but you...yourself... you keep your identity as the 7800 Pro Gamer. So basically you introduce things as..

    "Welcome to the Atari Network I'm the 7800 Pro Gamer...."

     

  21. 23 minutes ago, Dire 51 said:

    Call me curious: what games are on those multicarts? I can make out a few of them.

    I would have to fire it up to know for sure. But the pics on the labels do match the games that were put onto those carts. They were originally programmed and made by CPUWIZ at Atari age. The carts actually have an onscreen menu that pops up where you select the game you want to play. Both of the carts however, have some games on them that are glitched up either do to a bad eprom programing or because the eproms themselves were a bit off. Same with the Bob collection as Moon Cresta has one or two invisible enemies on each wave making it difficult to take all of them out, and Space Invaders will lock up on any level where you have the Shields active.

     

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