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CrossBow

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  1. Thanks
    CrossBow got a reaction from Video 61 for a blog entry, 7800 oddity - a Maria that kinda? Works?   
    Had a 7800 come into the ITC lab to get refurbished, and upgraded with a few things. Among the updates was to get a UAV plus mount board setup as I've been doing for over a year now.
    This is where it is important that you always...ALWAYS test the current status of electronics before you dive in and start doing stuff. A rule I didn't follow so what I discovered after putting all this work in, isn't something I could verify was an issue before the work started. I had been told that it was working 100% without issue as it was the daily driver 7800 for the owner. 
    So what was the issue I discovered? Well, after installing the UAV setup and the 10pin mini din AV connector to test the system. I saw something odd when I ran Ballblazer for burn in testing. What I saw was odd additional background graphic information on the far left and far right sides of the screen that I'd never seen before? More specific...this is what Ballblazer looked like:

    So if you look on the left and right hand side of the image, you will see what looks like the blue in the sky being extended out along with some burgundy like brown/red below that. Now oddly enough the 5200 version of the game through a UAV actually looks kinda like this, but on the 7800 this isn't normal. Here is a closeup detail of the effect and you can see it is more like a checkerboard pattern within those extra graphics being shown.

    Making matters more confusing was that NOT everything had this effect going on. Ballblazer seemed to show it the worst but any game using a colored backgrounds would have this kind of effect going on. But anything using a black ground was fine as this color hue test screen shows from the 7800 utility program:

    I did figure out pretty quickly that the issue had to be something with the Maria IC because this same effect wasn't happening on 2600 games and was only present on 7800 titles. So a few days of delay (Waiting on a new heater for my desoldering gun), I removed the original Maria IC, installed a pair of new 24pin sockets (As I don't have 48pin on hand). And installed a different Maria pulled from a parts donor 7800. And what did ball blazer look like after that?

    It worked! So yes after nearly 150 Atari 7800s that I've worked on, this was a first. My guess is that this 7800 always had this issue but as it was mainly used on a CRT and was only present on 7800 games, it likely wasn't noticed or the owner simply thought it was normal. In any event the original Maria was working in that the actual game play area on the screen looked normal otherwise. But the blanking to mask the extra graphics junk on the sides, wasn't working properly on this Maria and only by swapping it out with another was the issue fully resolved.
     
  2. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from - Ω - for a blog entry, 7800 oddity - a Maria that kinda? Works?   
    Had a 7800 come into the ITC lab to get refurbished, and upgraded with a few things. Among the updates was to get a UAV plus mount board setup as I've been doing for over a year now.
    This is where it is important that you always...ALWAYS test the current status of electronics before you dive in and start doing stuff. A rule I didn't follow so what I discovered after putting all this work in, isn't something I could verify was an issue before the work started. I had been told that it was working 100% without issue as it was the daily driver 7800 for the owner. 
    So what was the issue I discovered? Well, after installing the UAV setup and the 10pin mini din AV connector to test the system. I saw something odd when I ran Ballblazer for burn in testing. What I saw was odd additional background graphic information on the far left and far right sides of the screen that I'd never seen before? More specific...this is what Ballblazer looked like:

    So if you look on the left and right hand side of the image, you will see what looks like the blue in the sky being extended out along with some burgundy like brown/red below that. Now oddly enough the 5200 version of the game through a UAV actually looks kinda like this, but on the 7800 this isn't normal. Here is a closeup detail of the effect and you can see it is more like a checkerboard pattern within those extra graphics being shown.

    Making matters more confusing was that NOT everything had this effect going on. Ballblazer seemed to show it the worst but any game using a colored backgrounds would have this kind of effect going on. But anything using a black ground was fine as this color hue test screen shows from the 7800 utility program:

    I did figure out pretty quickly that the issue had to be something with the Maria IC because this same effect wasn't happening on 2600 games and was only present on 7800 titles. So a few days of delay (Waiting on a new heater for my desoldering gun), I removed the original Maria IC, installed a pair of new 24pin sockets (As I don't have 48pin on hand). And installed a different Maria pulled from a parts donor 7800. And what did ball blazer look like after that?

    It worked! So yes after nearly 150 Atari 7800s that I've worked on, this was a first. My guess is that this 7800 always had this issue but as it was mainly used on a CRT and was only present on 7800 games, it likely wasn't noticed or the owner simply thought it was normal. In any event the original Maria was working in that the actual game play area on the screen looked normal otherwise. But the blanking to mask the extra graphics junk on the sides, wasn't working properly on this Maria and only by swapping it out with another was the issue fully resolved.
     
  3. Thanks
    CrossBow got a reaction from Justin for a blog entry, 7800 oddity - a Maria that kinda? Works?   
    Had a 7800 come into the ITC lab to get refurbished, and upgraded with a few things. Among the updates was to get a UAV plus mount board setup as I've been doing for over a year now.
    This is where it is important that you always...ALWAYS test the current status of electronics before you dive in and start doing stuff. A rule I didn't follow so what I discovered after putting all this work in, isn't something I could verify was an issue before the work started. I had been told that it was working 100% without issue as it was the daily driver 7800 for the owner. 
    So what was the issue I discovered? Well, after installing the UAV setup and the 10pin mini din AV connector to test the system. I saw something odd when I ran Ballblazer for burn in testing. What I saw was odd additional background graphic information on the far left and far right sides of the screen that I'd never seen before? More specific...this is what Ballblazer looked like:

    So if you look on the left and right hand side of the image, you will see what looks like the blue in the sky being extended out along with some burgundy like brown/red below that. Now oddly enough the 5200 version of the game through a UAV actually looks kinda like this, but on the 7800 this isn't normal. Here is a closeup detail of the effect and you can see it is more like a checkerboard pattern within those extra graphics being shown.

    Making matters more confusing was that NOT everything had this effect going on. Ballblazer seemed to show it the worst but any game using a colored backgrounds would have this kind of effect going on. But anything using a black ground was fine as this color hue test screen shows from the 7800 utility program:

    I did figure out pretty quickly that the issue had to be something with the Maria IC because this same effect wasn't happening on 2600 games and was only present on 7800 titles. So a few days of delay (Waiting on a new heater for my desoldering gun), I removed the original Maria IC, installed a pair of new 24pin sockets (As I don't have 48pin on hand). And installed a different Maria pulled from a parts donor 7800. And what did ball blazer look like after that?

    It worked! So yes after nearly 150 Atari 7800s that I've worked on, this was a first. My guess is that this 7800 always had this issue but as it was mainly used on a CRT and was only present on 7800 games, it likely wasn't noticed or the owner simply thought it was normal. In any event the original Maria was working in that the actual game play area on the screen looked normal otherwise. But the blanking to mask the extra graphics junk on the sides, wasn't working properly on this Maria and only by swapping it out with another was the issue fully resolved.
     
  4. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from RickR for a blog entry, 7800 oddity - a Maria that kinda? Works?   
    Had a 7800 come into the ITC lab to get refurbished, and upgraded with a few things. Among the updates was to get a UAV plus mount board setup as I've been doing for over a year now.
    This is where it is important that you always...ALWAYS test the current status of electronics before you dive in and start doing stuff. A rule I didn't follow so what I discovered after putting all this work in, isn't something I could verify was an issue before the work started. I had been told that it was working 100% without issue as it was the daily driver 7800 for the owner. 
    So what was the issue I discovered? Well, after installing the UAV setup and the 10pin mini din AV connector to test the system. I saw something odd when I ran Ballblazer for burn in testing. What I saw was odd additional background graphic information on the far left and far right sides of the screen that I'd never seen before? More specific...this is what Ballblazer looked like:

    So if you look on the left and right hand side of the image, you will see what looks like the blue in the sky being extended out along with some burgundy like brown/red below that. Now oddly enough the 5200 version of the game through a UAV actually looks kinda like this, but on the 7800 this isn't normal. Here is a closeup detail of the effect and you can see it is more like a checkerboard pattern within those extra graphics being shown.

    Making matters more confusing was that NOT everything had this effect going on. Ballblazer seemed to show it the worst but any game using a colored backgrounds would have this kind of effect going on. But anything using a black ground was fine as this color hue test screen shows from the 7800 utility program:

    I did figure out pretty quickly that the issue had to be something with the Maria IC because this same effect wasn't happening on 2600 games and was only present on 7800 titles. So a few days of delay (Waiting on a new heater for my desoldering gun), I removed the original Maria IC, installed a pair of new 24pin sockets (As I don't have 48pin on hand). And installed a different Maria pulled from a parts donor 7800. And what did ball blazer look like after that?

    It worked! So yes after nearly 150 Atari 7800s that I've worked on, this was a first. My guess is that this 7800 always had this issue but as it was mainly used on a CRT and was only present on 7800 games, it likely wasn't noticed or the owner simply thought it was normal. In any event the original Maria was working in that the actual game play area on the screen looked normal otherwise. But the blanking to mask the extra graphics junk on the sides, wasn't working properly on this Maria and only by swapping it out with another was the issue fully resolved.
     
  5. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from Video 61 for a blog entry, New PCB Design for Intellivision installs - Sample install pics   
    I already made a blog post not that long about about my new designs and had posted pics of the render of the PCBs. Well, I actually received the PCBs in the other day and have had a chance to test them out. While I did make a pretty big blunder on my model 2 specific PCB, it was easily fixed and isn't that big a deal to fix in situ when installing. And it only affects me since the gerbers that I play to release publicly already have the fix in place so future boards that get made up should be good to go.
    A quick recap on these PCBs. It is a total of 3 different boards. The bottom base PCB is the same for both original 2609 model and INTV 2 model consoles. I designed it that on purpose. So what is different between the models is the top PCB that you use as they are specific to the model of the console you plan to use them in. These mounts are designed to be installed in place of the RF modulator so that a 'No Cut' option is able to be achieved when upgrading your Intellivision.
    Here is a mock up the 2 PCBs put together for the original 2609 model of the console. This is essentially an upgraded extension of my original older mounts that is easier to install and secure into place vs the older mount PCBs I've been using. The top PCB has a large solder section on it so that the mini din jack that is used can be more easily be quick tack soldered into place to test alignment and fit before flood soldering all around the jack to secure it into place. While the mini din is technically being installed upside down in this fashion, it is important to know that the actual 2609 style mainboards install upside down to begin with. As a result, the mini din is actually right side up in the end.



     
    The model 2 setup was much more difficult for me to design and I really gave my calipers a workout making so many measurements. So the main difference with the INTV 2 setup is that the bottom base mount PCB (Again it is the same on both models), has cut outs on one corner of it. This is because the top board of the INTV 2 mount actually has you solder the mini din direct to the PCB like it would be normally. The cutouts on the bottom base PCB allow for room for these soldered pins off the mini din to come through and allow the two PCBs to sit flush together. It does require that the pins and ground tabs be clipped fairly flush to the PCB once soldered to make sure nothing sticks out beyond the bottom PCB where it would likely then short on the large ground plane that the RF modulator was sitting on. But this isn't a big deal and the end result is a nice finished mount where the mini din is again able to be right side up when all put together. Previously, the mini din was actually upside down on the INTV 2 installs. So this will be less confusing for people going forward.
    Here is a detail showing the two sections assembled. You can see the cutouts on the bottom base PCB to allow for the soldered pins of the mini din to come through. So this means that you need to solder the mini din to the top PCB first.

    When you cut the soldered connections pretty flush to the PCB the mini din was soldered to, it will ensure that the soldered connections and pins don't come through to cause any issues below. Here you can see where I trimmed an applied fresh heat to the joints after to be sure everything was secure and wouldn't cause any issues with shorts.

    Like mentioned before, the entire PCB assembly is designed to install in place of where the RF modulator was located. Here you can see how that would look internally. There are solder pads provided on the PCB for all the needed connections. There are 2 sets of RGB pads that are to be used depending on if you use the 8-pin or 9-pin part of the PCB. Yes, I designed it with through holes for both types of commonly used mini dins for RGB installs like this. There are 3 pas in the center that are shared between both mini dins. Those are the +5, Sync, and Audio. In the picture below I used an 8-pin mini din. So you can see the space in the opposite corner for the 9-pin through holes that weren't used in this install. You can also see the pads specific for the 9-pin that weren't used. The blob of solder on the mini din is part of what I have to correct for on these first set of PCBs but won't be needed on future ones.

    And once in place, it should be centered pretty well in the spot where the RF used to be allowing for plenty of room for your cables to be plugged in without any modification of the case. Again, a 'No Cut' option is achieved. Ignore the switch below this as that is needed for something else since this INTV 2 uses an older RGB setup.

     
    So again, the plan is to release the gerbers for these publicly so others can have them made up for their own installs. I've already had a few other modders reach out to me wanting the gerbers because they actually want to change out their current mounting to use of these new setups. 
  6. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from Video 61 for a blog entry, New PCB Designs & New Option for UAV Installs Soon!   
    For the past several weeks on days where I have some off time from other console service requests, I've been designing up some more new PCBs to assist me in the services I provide for folks. 
    I know I recently posted about a new PCB mount for the Intellivision and while I do have those new mounts in place, I wanted... more. So I designed new ones that are currently on their way to me. It is a 2 piece PCB design that uses a thicker bottom PCB as a base that can be used with either model Intellivision console. There is a section that is cutout on this base board so it can be used with one of the 2nd piece top boards it pairs with.

     
    As stated earlier the bottom board is paired with a 2nd top layer board. Depending on the model these boards are slightly different from each other. Here is the top board that goes with the model 1 Intellivision. It uses a solder plane that allows for the mini din jack chosen to be installed anywhere within the solder region. This is because there can be some slight variance between the model 1 case shells and how the main boards line up inside them. The mini din jack is soldered into place upside down because the main board of the model 1 intellivision is upside down normally. So when all assembled, the mini din would actually be right side up.

     
    The other 2nd top board is specifically for use with the model 2 intellivision. This one use the cutouts made on the bottom base board. If you can visualize how this works, the mini din is actually soldered into place facing right side up on this board. And then when the top board is attached to the bottom base, the cutouts allow space needed for the soldered pins of the min din to come through to allow the two boards to sit flush. It requires having to trim the soldered pins to be as flush with the pcb as possible before attaching the two halves together but that is a minor thing. It is designed for both 8 or 9pin mini din to be used. You only have to turn the board to orient as needed for whichever mini din style is used.

     
    I'm hopeful these new PCB designs even as simple as they are, will allow for a more professional looking and less labor intensive install for the mini din jacks going forward. The fact that the top board for the model 2 allows for the jacks to be soldered the top board, means that the mini din will be right side up on the model 2. Currently the way they are done means they are upside down and that can be confusing.
     
    Now, after messing around with these and having done a few RGB upgrades into some other consoles using different kits. Someone made it known that there is a mini din I could be using to do the same thing on my UAV installs on Atari 7800 consoles?! Sure enough, using a 10pin mini din and wired up for Sega Saturn cables, you can get all of the video signals that a UAV can offer onto a single jack plus the audio. And... it would require very very slight modification to the case shell offering a near no cut solution. I say near no cut because in order for this to work, it does require that the RF opening be widened a tad to allow for the cable insulation to come through easily and allow for the cables to be fully seated into the jack. But here are some teaser pics to show a mock up of how this would look. I think offering this going forward will be a nice option for those folks that don't want all the holes drilled into the case shell and would prefer their 7800s to look as stock as possible. While this would still require the slight modification to widen the opening for this to work, I think this is a compromise that many would be okay with. These pics are a mockup of how it would look. I used an 8pin mini din to test for this so what you see isn't the actual mini din that would be used.

     

     
    It will use a new breakout PCB specifically for A7800 purposes. It could be used for other projects, but only the signals and pads are in place for composite and s-video, audio connections. While all of my installs use a mono audio setup, I did go ahead and leave the pads separate for Left and Right and placed a jumper in the PCB that can be bridged with solder to make it dual mono output. In that case, the jumper is soldered and only one of the audio pads needs a wire soldered to it.

     
    So yeah, been a busy few weekends working on these designs and ideas. Everything has been ordered and hopefully in the coming weeks I can show some better examples. I'm especially excited for the new 7800 mounting using the 10pin mini din, as it will also greatly reduce the labor time needed for UAV installs. It does add to the parts cost a little, but when combined, it all washes out so I don't have to change my flat pricing I already offer.
     
  7. Thanks
    CrossBow got a reaction from Justin for a blog entry, New PCB Design for Intellivision installs - Sample install pics   
    I already made a blog post not that long about about my new designs and had posted pics of the render of the PCBs. Well, I actually received the PCBs in the other day and have had a chance to test them out. While I did make a pretty big blunder on my model 2 specific PCB, it was easily fixed and isn't that big a deal to fix in situ when installing. And it only affects me since the gerbers that I play to release publicly already have the fix in place so future boards that get made up should be good to go.
    A quick recap on these PCBs. It is a total of 3 different boards. The bottom base PCB is the same for both original 2609 model and INTV 2 model consoles. I designed it that on purpose. So what is different between the models is the top PCB that you use as they are specific to the model of the console you plan to use them in. These mounts are designed to be installed in place of the RF modulator so that a 'No Cut' option is able to be achieved when upgrading your Intellivision.
    Here is a mock up the 2 PCBs put together for the original 2609 model of the console. This is essentially an upgraded extension of my original older mounts that is easier to install and secure into place vs the older mount PCBs I've been using. The top PCB has a large solder section on it so that the mini din jack that is used can be more easily be quick tack soldered into place to test alignment and fit before flood soldering all around the jack to secure it into place. While the mini din is technically being installed upside down in this fashion, it is important to know that the actual 2609 style mainboards install upside down to begin with. As a result, the mini din is actually right side up in the end.



     
    The model 2 setup was much more difficult for me to design and I really gave my calipers a workout making so many measurements. So the main difference with the INTV 2 setup is that the bottom base mount PCB (Again it is the same on both models), has cut outs on one corner of it. This is because the top board of the INTV 2 mount actually has you solder the mini din direct to the PCB like it would be normally. The cutouts on the bottom base PCB allow for room for these soldered pins off the mini din to come through and allow the two PCBs to sit flush together. It does require that the pins and ground tabs be clipped fairly flush to the PCB once soldered to make sure nothing sticks out beyond the bottom PCB where it would likely then short on the large ground plane that the RF modulator was sitting on. But this isn't a big deal and the end result is a nice finished mount where the mini din is again able to be right side up when all put together. Previously, the mini din was actually upside down on the INTV 2 installs. So this will be less confusing for people going forward.
    Here is a detail showing the two sections assembled. You can see the cutouts on the bottom base PCB to allow for the soldered pins of the mini din to come through. So this means that you need to solder the mini din to the top PCB first.

    When you cut the soldered connections pretty flush to the PCB the mini din was soldered to, it will ensure that the soldered connections and pins don't come through to cause any issues below. Here you can see where I trimmed an applied fresh heat to the joints after to be sure everything was secure and wouldn't cause any issues with shorts.

    Like mentioned before, the entire PCB assembly is designed to install in place of where the RF modulator was located. Here you can see how that would look internally. There are solder pads provided on the PCB for all the needed connections. There are 2 sets of RGB pads that are to be used depending on if you use the 8-pin or 9-pin part of the PCB. Yes, I designed it with through holes for both types of commonly used mini dins for RGB installs like this. There are 3 pas in the center that are shared between both mini dins. Those are the +5, Sync, and Audio. In the picture below I used an 8-pin mini din. So you can see the space in the opposite corner for the 9-pin through holes that weren't used in this install. You can also see the pads specific for the 9-pin that weren't used. The blob of solder on the mini din is part of what I have to correct for on these first set of PCBs but won't be needed on future ones.

    And once in place, it should be centered pretty well in the spot where the RF used to be allowing for plenty of room for your cables to be plugged in without any modification of the case. Again, a 'No Cut' option is achieved. Ignore the switch below this as that is needed for something else since this INTV 2 uses an older RGB setup.

     
    So again, the plan is to release the gerbers for these publicly so others can have them made up for their own installs. I've already had a few other modders reach out to me wanting the gerbers because they actually want to change out their current mounting to use of these new setups. 
  8. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from RickR for a blog entry, New PCB Designs & New Option for UAV Installs Soon!   
    For the past several weeks on days where I have some off time from other console service requests, I've been designing up some more new PCBs to assist me in the services I provide for folks. 
    I know I recently posted about a new PCB mount for the Intellivision and while I do have those new mounts in place, I wanted... more. So I designed new ones that are currently on their way to me. It is a 2 piece PCB design that uses a thicker bottom PCB as a base that can be used with either model Intellivision console. There is a section that is cutout on this base board so it can be used with one of the 2nd piece top boards it pairs with.

     
    As stated earlier the bottom board is paired with a 2nd top layer board. Depending on the model these boards are slightly different from each other. Here is the top board that goes with the model 1 Intellivision. It uses a solder plane that allows for the mini din jack chosen to be installed anywhere within the solder region. This is because there can be some slight variance between the model 1 case shells and how the main boards line up inside them. The mini din jack is soldered into place upside down because the main board of the model 1 intellivision is upside down normally. So when all assembled, the mini din would actually be right side up.

     
    The other 2nd top board is specifically for use with the model 2 intellivision. This one use the cutouts made on the bottom base board. If you can visualize how this works, the mini din is actually soldered into place facing right side up on this board. And then when the top board is attached to the bottom base, the cutouts allow space needed for the soldered pins of the min din to come through to allow the two boards to sit flush. It requires having to trim the soldered pins to be as flush with the pcb as possible before attaching the two halves together but that is a minor thing. It is designed for both 8 or 9pin mini din to be used. You only have to turn the board to orient as needed for whichever mini din style is used.

     
    I'm hopeful these new PCB designs even as simple as they are, will allow for a more professional looking and less labor intensive install for the mini din jacks going forward. The fact that the top board for the model 2 allows for the jacks to be soldered the top board, means that the mini din will be right side up on the model 2. Currently the way they are done means they are upside down and that can be confusing.
     
    Now, after messing around with these and having done a few RGB upgrades into some other consoles using different kits. Someone made it known that there is a mini din I could be using to do the same thing on my UAV installs on Atari 7800 consoles?! Sure enough, using a 10pin mini din and wired up for Sega Saturn cables, you can get all of the video signals that a UAV can offer onto a single jack plus the audio. And... it would require very very slight modification to the case shell offering a near no cut solution. I say near no cut because in order for this to work, it does require that the RF opening be widened a tad to allow for the cable insulation to come through easily and allow for the cables to be fully seated into the jack. But here are some teaser pics to show a mock up of how this would look. I think offering this going forward will be a nice option for those folks that don't want all the holes drilled into the case shell and would prefer their 7800s to look as stock as possible. While this would still require the slight modification to widen the opening for this to work, I think this is a compromise that many would be okay with. These pics are a mockup of how it would look. I used an 8pin mini din to test for this so what you see isn't the actual mini din that would be used.

     

     
    It will use a new breakout PCB specifically for A7800 purposes. It could be used for other projects, but only the signals and pads are in place for composite and s-video, audio connections. While all of my installs use a mono audio setup, I did go ahead and leave the pads separate for Left and Right and placed a jumper in the PCB that can be bridged with solder to make it dual mono output. In that case, the jumper is soldered and only one of the audio pads needs a wire soldered to it.

     
    So yeah, been a busy few weekends working on these designs and ideas. Everything has been ordered and hopefully in the coming weeks I can show some better examples. I'm especially excited for the new 7800 mounting using the 10pin mini din, as it will also greatly reduce the labor time needed for UAV installs. It does add to the parts cost a little, but when combined, it all washes out so I don't have to change my flat pricing I already offer.
     
  9. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from sramirez2008 for a blog entry, Latest stuff at the ITC   
    I know I've not made a video in a very long time on my ITC Youtube channel. But I figured I would mention here the latest things happening at the 'Tower'. Just because there haven't been any vids uploaded, doesn't mean there isn't something always still going on.
    First is that console service requests have picked up quit a bit for me over the past 2 years. It really started during the pandemic, but then larger and larger service requests started to come in since and at this time, there is pretty much always a console or 3 at the 'Tower' waiting to get serviced it seems. When not working on enthusiasts game consoles, then I use that time to work on my own consoles to improve old install work I did in them (Some going back over 10 years ago). 
    Well, currently what is at the ITC to be serviced is essentially done and will be getting shipped out soon, but as we had some pretty inclement weather come in this past Sunday and as a result our offices were closed at my normal day job yesterday. I spent the time to finally design some new PCBs for use in my services. One isn't that big a deal but is my own pcb breakout for use with 9-pin mini din connectors. I've got an old gerber file set that I either found a few years back or was sent to me that I've been using. But decided to make my own with some slight alterations on the design I'd been using. Not a big deal so not really anything to show there.
    But, I also finally designed revision 2 of the 7800 mount board. I already had another slight revision that I was calling r1b for the past 6 months but decided to just add in one new feature to make it easier in the future as I'm now getting requests for it. The new feature is adding in an optional audio input pad with resistor onto the mount board that can be used to mix in a 3rd audio input source into the 7800 setup so that it along with the normal audio can all be heard from the RCAs or whatever is used for the audio output on the console when upgraded. I'd been doing this manually by just adding in a resistor in series on separate wiring that would then get soldered to the + pad on the output filter capacitor. It works but I like how this will look better and I don't have to hide a resistor to solder in place anywhere and can just run a wire straight off the pad to the jack used for audio input.

     
    The other project I worked on yesterday was to finally design a new mount board setup for use in the Intellivision RGB installs. I previously designed a small mount PCB about 2 years ago for this and that will still be needed and used in some circumstances. But more and more lately, most of my clients have me remove the RF modulator and install the mini din jack there for the RGB output. This is because with a PCB of the right height, you can place the jack here without having to cut the case. The current PCB mount is kinda difficult to install as it requires a lot of heat to ensure that the solder seeps it way under the PCB and has always been a little smaller than I'd like to help provide the needed anchor and support for the mini din. Well, after installing a few other difficult kits into consoles designed by others, I decided to adapter something similar. This new mount is larger and uses 2 of the original intellivision RF anchor holes that I run clipped leads through some vias to solder the mount board into place easier with less heat and possible provide a more secure mount as a result. It does actually use a 2 PCB setup to achieve the height needed but I've found that 2 PCBs in a stacked configuration is still going to be much easier and cheaper to have made. The older mounts were 2.6mm thick PCBs and as a result, they weren't cheap to have made. Using a 2 board solution will also similar results with less cost. I will be refining this further. But this is the top PCB that the mini din will fit into the lower right corner section and then be held in place with solder along the two large ground planes along the left and rear of the jack. Both PCBs feaure hashed ground planes to help with strength. The top logo and wording on this PCB are now silkscreened but in fact are done by removing the solder mask over a copper filled section of the PCB. This way the logo and words have a shiny look to them that is actually part of the PCB and not just silkscreen that can wear/rub off.

    So, yeah all of these and other parts on order now and I'm excited to see how it all looks and works first hand.
     
  10. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from RickR for a blog entry, Latest stuff at the ITC   
    I know I've not made a video in a very long time on my ITC Youtube channel. But I figured I would mention here the latest things happening at the 'Tower'. Just because there haven't been any vids uploaded, doesn't mean there isn't something always still going on.
    First is that console service requests have picked up quit a bit for me over the past 2 years. It really started during the pandemic, but then larger and larger service requests started to come in since and at this time, there is pretty much always a console or 3 at the 'Tower' waiting to get serviced it seems. When not working on enthusiasts game consoles, then I use that time to work on my own consoles to improve old install work I did in them (Some going back over 10 years ago). 
    Well, currently what is at the ITC to be serviced is essentially done and will be getting shipped out soon, but as we had some pretty inclement weather come in this past Sunday and as a result our offices were closed at my normal day job yesterday. I spent the time to finally design some new PCBs for use in my services. One isn't that big a deal but is my own pcb breakout for use with 9-pin mini din connectors. I've got an old gerber file set that I either found a few years back or was sent to me that I've been using. But decided to make my own with some slight alterations on the design I'd been using. Not a big deal so not really anything to show there.
    But, I also finally designed revision 2 of the 7800 mount board. I already had another slight revision that I was calling r1b for the past 6 months but decided to just add in one new feature to make it easier in the future as I'm now getting requests for it. The new feature is adding in an optional audio input pad with resistor onto the mount board that can be used to mix in a 3rd audio input source into the 7800 setup so that it along with the normal audio can all be heard from the RCAs or whatever is used for the audio output on the console when upgraded. I'd been doing this manually by just adding in a resistor in series on separate wiring that would then get soldered to the + pad on the output filter capacitor. It works but I like how this will look better and I don't have to hide a resistor to solder in place anywhere and can just run a wire straight off the pad to the jack used for audio input.

     
    The other project I worked on yesterday was to finally design a new mount board setup for use in the Intellivision RGB installs. I previously designed a small mount PCB about 2 years ago for this and that will still be needed and used in some circumstances. But more and more lately, most of my clients have me remove the RF modulator and install the mini din jack there for the RGB output. This is because with a PCB of the right height, you can place the jack here without having to cut the case. The current PCB mount is kinda difficult to install as it requires a lot of heat to ensure that the solder seeps it way under the PCB and has always been a little smaller than I'd like to help provide the needed anchor and support for the mini din. Well, after installing a few other difficult kits into consoles designed by others, I decided to adapter something similar. This new mount is larger and uses 2 of the original intellivision RF anchor holes that I run clipped leads through some vias to solder the mount board into place easier with less heat and possible provide a more secure mount as a result. It does actually use a 2 PCB setup to achieve the height needed but I've found that 2 PCBs in a stacked configuration is still going to be much easier and cheaper to have made. The older mounts were 2.6mm thick PCBs and as a result, they weren't cheap to have made. Using a 2 board solution will also similar results with less cost. I will be refining this further. But this is the top PCB that the mini din will fit into the lower right corner section and then be held in place with solder along the two large ground planes along the left and rear of the jack. Both PCBs feaure hashed ground planes to help with strength. The top logo and wording on this PCB are now silkscreened but in fact are done by removing the solder mask over a copper filled section of the PCB. This way the logo and words have a shiny look to them that is actually part of the PCB and not just silkscreen that can wear/rub off.

    So, yeah all of these and other parts on order now and I'm excited to see how it all looks and works first hand.
     
  11. Thanks
    CrossBow got a reaction from Justin for a blog entry, Latest stuff at the ITC   
    I know I've not made a video in a very long time on my ITC Youtube channel. But I figured I would mention here the latest things happening at the 'Tower'. Just because there haven't been any vids uploaded, doesn't mean there isn't something always still going on.
    First is that console service requests have picked up quit a bit for me over the past 2 years. It really started during the pandemic, but then larger and larger service requests started to come in since and at this time, there is pretty much always a console or 3 at the 'Tower' waiting to get serviced it seems. When not working on enthusiasts game consoles, then I use that time to work on my own consoles to improve old install work I did in them (Some going back over 10 years ago). 
    Well, currently what is at the ITC to be serviced is essentially done and will be getting shipped out soon, but as we had some pretty inclement weather come in this past Sunday and as a result our offices were closed at my normal day job yesterday. I spent the time to finally design some new PCBs for use in my services. One isn't that big a deal but is my own pcb breakout for use with 9-pin mini din connectors. I've got an old gerber file set that I either found a few years back or was sent to me that I've been using. But decided to make my own with some slight alterations on the design I'd been using. Not a big deal so not really anything to show there.
    But, I also finally designed revision 2 of the 7800 mount board. I already had another slight revision that I was calling r1b for the past 6 months but decided to just add in one new feature to make it easier in the future as I'm now getting requests for it. The new feature is adding in an optional audio input pad with resistor onto the mount board that can be used to mix in a 3rd audio input source into the 7800 setup so that it along with the normal audio can all be heard from the RCAs or whatever is used for the audio output on the console when upgraded. I'd been doing this manually by just adding in a resistor in series on separate wiring that would then get soldered to the + pad on the output filter capacitor. It works but I like how this will look better and I don't have to hide a resistor to solder in place anywhere and can just run a wire straight off the pad to the jack used for audio input.

     
    The other project I worked on yesterday was to finally design a new mount board setup for use in the Intellivision RGB installs. I previously designed a small mount PCB about 2 years ago for this and that will still be needed and used in some circumstances. But more and more lately, most of my clients have me remove the RF modulator and install the mini din jack there for the RGB output. This is because with a PCB of the right height, you can place the jack here without having to cut the case. The current PCB mount is kinda difficult to install as it requires a lot of heat to ensure that the solder seeps it way under the PCB and has always been a little smaller than I'd like to help provide the needed anchor and support for the mini din. Well, after installing a few other difficult kits into consoles designed by others, I decided to adapter something similar. This new mount is larger and uses 2 of the original intellivision RF anchor holes that I run clipped leads through some vias to solder the mount board into place easier with less heat and possible provide a more secure mount as a result. It does actually use a 2 PCB setup to achieve the height needed but I've found that 2 PCBs in a stacked configuration is still going to be much easier and cheaper to have made. The older mounts were 2.6mm thick PCBs and as a result, they weren't cheap to have made. Using a 2 board solution will also similar results with less cost. I will be refining this further. But this is the top PCB that the mini din will fit into the lower right corner section and then be held in place with solder along the two large ground planes along the left and rear of the jack. Both PCBs feaure hashed ground planes to help with strength. The top logo and wording on this PCB are now silkscreened but in fact are done by removing the solder mask over a copper filled section of the PCB. This way the logo and words have a shiny look to them that is actually part of the PCB and not just silkscreen that can wear/rub off.

    So, yeah all of these and other parts on order now and I'm excited to see how it all looks and works first hand.
     
  12. Thanks
    CrossBow got a reaction from Justin for a blog entry, Player 2 auto triggering fire button...again!   
    I already touched on this in an earlier blog post not that long actually, but I will summarize again really quickly.
    Main issue is that in 7800 mode and games, one or both fire buttons might show as being pressed without a controller plugged in. Plug in a controller and everything behaves as it should but ultimate, the console shouldn't read anything actively from the ports without a controller plugged in.
    In my previous blog, I mentioned that an out of spec resistor located at R35 was only reading about 217Ω while the schematics state that this resistor and the on next to it, should be reading 220Ω. Most of the resistors in the 7800 I believe are 5% tolerant meaning that the value of the component should read within +|- 5%. In this case, such a resistor would still be technically in spec if it were reading as low as 209Ω or as high as 231Ω would still be within that 5% tolerance. So a resistor reading 217Ω is well within the tolerance spec of the resistor.
    This was likely fine years ago when everything was much newer, but it seems as the equipment begins to age, these values become more and more tight and the tolerances allowed will no longer work.
    Because to fix this 7800 over the weekend, required that I again find a replacement resistor that was reading closer to 220Ω to resolve the issue. In this case, the resistor reads 219Ω.
    I've attached a picture that shows the location for these resistors. R34 affects player 1 and R35 affects player 2. And again, these resistors only seem to come into play as causing an issue when the console is in 7800 mode. You can actually remove these resistors and the 7800 fire buttons will still work properly on 7800 games. But they will not work in 2600 mode. So the resistors are only needed for 2600 mode but if will actually effect 7800 trigger readings once they get to a certain threshol.
    To be fair I don't think these resistors are just suddenly now starting to read off spec. I suspect the issue is actually the TIA starting to show signs of failure internally as swapping out TIAs will also fix this. But for now, with TIA being much more expensive to replace than a simple resistor, I'm going with changing out resistors to be more in spec going forward and I might just start stocking up and replacing out R34 and R35 with 1% types as part of preventive measures.
     
  13. Thanks
    CrossBow got a reaction from RickR for a blog entry, Player 2 auto triggering fire button...again!   
    I already touched on this in an earlier blog post not that long actually, but I will summarize again really quickly.
    Main issue is that in 7800 mode and games, one or both fire buttons might show as being pressed without a controller plugged in. Plug in a controller and everything behaves as it should but ultimate, the console shouldn't read anything actively from the ports without a controller plugged in.
    In my previous blog, I mentioned that an out of spec resistor located at R35 was only reading about 217Ω while the schematics state that this resistor and the on next to it, should be reading 220Ω. Most of the resistors in the 7800 I believe are 5% tolerant meaning that the value of the component should read within +|- 5%. In this case, such a resistor would still be technically in spec if it were reading as low as 209Ω or as high as 231Ω would still be within that 5% tolerance. So a resistor reading 217Ω is well within the tolerance spec of the resistor.
    This was likely fine years ago when everything was much newer, but it seems as the equipment begins to age, these values become more and more tight and the tolerances allowed will no longer work.
    Because to fix this 7800 over the weekend, required that I again find a replacement resistor that was reading closer to 220Ω to resolve the issue. In this case, the resistor reads 219Ω.
    I've attached a picture that shows the location for these resistors. R34 affects player 1 and R35 affects player 2. And again, these resistors only seem to come into play as causing an issue when the console is in 7800 mode. You can actually remove these resistors and the 7800 fire buttons will still work properly on 7800 games. But they will not work in 2600 mode. So the resistors are only needed for 2600 mode but if will actually effect 7800 trigger readings once they get to a certain threshol.
    To be fair I don't think these resistors are just suddenly now starting to read off spec. I suspect the issue is actually the TIA starting to show signs of failure internally as swapping out TIAs will also fix this. But for now, with TIA being much more expensive to replace than a simple resistor, I'm going with changing out resistors to be more in spec going forward and I might just start stocking up and replacing out R34 and R35 with 1% types as part of preventive measures.
     
  14. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from Justin for a blog entry, Weird Paddle 3 issue on a 2600 4-switch?!   
    I've seen something similar to this before although not in the way I was seeing with a recent 4 switch console I was servicing. As part of diagnostics I will use Paul Slocum's excellent Test Cart program as it should some primary colors, shows the current state of all switches minus power of course, but also has a basic graphical view of each controller and small block on the bottom that will move left/right when you plug in paddles to test those too. So all in all a nice utility to know that all controller functions are working properly on the console.
    Well, on this one, player 1, player 2, and player 4 paddle controls would move from left to right and back turning the paddle as you would expect. But player 3 paddle control would just site on the left side, and then after a point when turning the paddle, it would suddenly just be on the right. No movement of any kind. Just one sec on the left, and then next thing you know it is on the right. So it was acting more like a digital control vs analog. It wasn't the paddles since I used the same set to test player 1 and 2 and that was working fine.
    Going through the service manual will yield some interesting stuff to help isolate this, but unless you have the diagnostic controller plugs and the 2.6 diagnostic rom, you aren't going to be able to see exactly what you need to see. But lets review that..
    If you have the diagnostic plugs, plugged into the controller ports and the diagnostic rom up and running with the controller matrix screen up. Then you use an Oscilliscope to probe the paddle lines off the TIA pins 37,38,39, and 40. They represent player 4, 3, 2, and then player 1 on pin 40. Well, what you should see on your scope if you have it set to the right settings, is something like the picture below from the service manual:

     
    However, when I probed pin 38 that is for the player 3 paddle line. I was getting a flat line. Well, actually I was showing a flat line of about 1v but the point is...not pulse like you see in those pictures. (And btw...I was seeing that same pulse line on my o'scope for the other paddles). 
    Well honestly there isn't much in the way of electronics from the controller port to the TIA where the paddles are read and handled. In fact, there is really only 1...just 1 component in the middle of the mix from the controller port to TIA. At least on the 4 switch and above units this is the case. That one component is usually a small ceramic disc, or poly capacitor that doesn't usually go bad. So I first checked that the traces from pin 5 of the player 2 controller port to that cap (C220) was good. It was, and then checked from the cap to pin 38 of the TIA. That too pinged out good. So I went ahead and replaced the capacitor just to see if anything changed. Sadly.... no.
    What did fix it?
    Well, if you've gotten this far and read my description of the very simple circuit from port to TIA... it should come as no surprise that is was the TIA itself. This is even more sad considering how rare these IC chips are now becoming and there isn't any projects I'm aware of to make new ones or something to replace the TIA. 
    But yeah... if you find the paddle lines aren't working, chances are that it is the TIA chip itself that has failed if the actual traces are good. Apparently this was less of an issue with earlier 2600s as they used buffer ICs to help control this and therefore the TIA was more protected. Just more cost cutting at work as the console lived on...
     
     
  15. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from alex_79 for a blog entry, Weird Paddle 3 issue on a 2600 4-switch?!   
    I've seen something similar to this before although not in the way I was seeing with a recent 4 switch console I was servicing. As part of diagnostics I will use Paul Slocum's excellent Test Cart program as it should some primary colors, shows the current state of all switches minus power of course, but also has a basic graphical view of each controller and small block on the bottom that will move left/right when you plug in paddles to test those too. So all in all a nice utility to know that all controller functions are working properly on the console.
    Well, on this one, player 1, player 2, and player 4 paddle controls would move from left to right and back turning the paddle as you would expect. But player 3 paddle control would just site on the left side, and then after a point when turning the paddle, it would suddenly just be on the right. No movement of any kind. Just one sec on the left, and then next thing you know it is on the right. So it was acting more like a digital control vs analog. It wasn't the paddles since I used the same set to test player 1 and 2 and that was working fine.
    Going through the service manual will yield some interesting stuff to help isolate this, but unless you have the diagnostic controller plugs and the 2.6 diagnostic rom, you aren't going to be able to see exactly what you need to see. But lets review that..
    If you have the diagnostic plugs, plugged into the controller ports and the diagnostic rom up and running with the controller matrix screen up. Then you use an Oscilliscope to probe the paddle lines off the TIA pins 37,38,39, and 40. They represent player 4, 3, 2, and then player 1 on pin 40. Well, what you should see on your scope if you have it set to the right settings, is something like the picture below from the service manual:

     
    However, when I probed pin 38 that is for the player 3 paddle line. I was getting a flat line. Well, actually I was showing a flat line of about 1v but the point is...not pulse like you see in those pictures. (And btw...I was seeing that same pulse line on my o'scope for the other paddles). 
    Well honestly there isn't much in the way of electronics from the controller port to the TIA where the paddles are read and handled. In fact, there is really only 1...just 1 component in the middle of the mix from the controller port to TIA. At least on the 4 switch and above units this is the case. That one component is usually a small ceramic disc, or poly capacitor that doesn't usually go bad. So I first checked that the traces from pin 5 of the player 2 controller port to that cap (C220) was good. It was, and then checked from the cap to pin 38 of the TIA. That too pinged out good. So I went ahead and replaced the capacitor just to see if anything changed. Sadly.... no.
    What did fix it?
    Well, if you've gotten this far and read my description of the very simple circuit from port to TIA... it should come as no surprise that is was the TIA itself. This is even more sad considering how rare these IC chips are now becoming and there isn't any projects I'm aware of to make new ones or something to replace the TIA. 
    But yeah... if you find the paddle lines aren't working, chances are that it is the TIA chip itself that has failed if the actual traces are good. Apparently this was less of an issue with earlier 2600s as they used buffer ICs to help control this and therefore the TIA was more protected. Just more cost cutting at work as the console lived on...
     
     
  16. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from TrekMD for a blog entry, Weird Paddle 3 issue on a 2600 4-switch?!   
    I've seen something similar to this before although not in the way I was seeing with a recent 4 switch console I was servicing. As part of diagnostics I will use Paul Slocum's excellent Test Cart program as it should some primary colors, shows the current state of all switches minus power of course, but also has a basic graphical view of each controller and small block on the bottom that will move left/right when you plug in paddles to test those too. So all in all a nice utility to know that all controller functions are working properly on the console.
    Well, on this one, player 1, player 2, and player 4 paddle controls would move from left to right and back turning the paddle as you would expect. But player 3 paddle control would just site on the left side, and then after a point when turning the paddle, it would suddenly just be on the right. No movement of any kind. Just one sec on the left, and then next thing you know it is on the right. So it was acting more like a digital control vs analog. It wasn't the paddles since I used the same set to test player 1 and 2 and that was working fine.
    Going through the service manual will yield some interesting stuff to help isolate this, but unless you have the diagnostic controller plugs and the 2.6 diagnostic rom, you aren't going to be able to see exactly what you need to see. But lets review that..
    If you have the diagnostic plugs, plugged into the controller ports and the diagnostic rom up and running with the controller matrix screen up. Then you use an Oscilliscope to probe the paddle lines off the TIA pins 37,38,39, and 40. They represent player 4, 3, 2, and then player 1 on pin 40. Well, what you should see on your scope if you have it set to the right settings, is something like the picture below from the service manual:

     
    However, when I probed pin 38 that is for the player 3 paddle line. I was getting a flat line. Well, actually I was showing a flat line of about 1v but the point is...not pulse like you see in those pictures. (And btw...I was seeing that same pulse line on my o'scope for the other paddles). 
    Well honestly there isn't much in the way of electronics from the controller port to the TIA where the paddles are read and handled. In fact, there is really only 1...just 1 component in the middle of the mix from the controller port to TIA. At least on the 4 switch and above units this is the case. That one component is usually a small ceramic disc, or poly capacitor that doesn't usually go bad. So I first checked that the traces from pin 5 of the player 2 controller port to that cap (C220) was good. It was, and then checked from the cap to pin 38 of the TIA. That too pinged out good. So I went ahead and replaced the capacitor just to see if anything changed. Sadly.... no.
    What did fix it?
    Well, if you've gotten this far and read my description of the very simple circuit from port to TIA... it should come as no surprise that is was the TIA itself. This is even more sad considering how rare these IC chips are now becoming and there isn't any projects I'm aware of to make new ones or something to replace the TIA. 
    But yeah... if you find the paddle lines aren't working, chances are that it is the TIA chip itself that has failed if the actual traces are good. Apparently this was less of an issue with earlier 2600s as they used buffer ICs to help control this and therefore the TIA was more protected. Just more cost cutting at work as the console lived on...
     
     
  17. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from RickR for a blog entry, Weird Paddle 3 issue on a 2600 4-switch?!   
    I've seen something similar to this before although not in the way I was seeing with a recent 4 switch console I was servicing. As part of diagnostics I will use Paul Slocum's excellent Test Cart program as it should some primary colors, shows the current state of all switches minus power of course, but also has a basic graphical view of each controller and small block on the bottom that will move left/right when you plug in paddles to test those too. So all in all a nice utility to know that all controller functions are working properly on the console.
    Well, on this one, player 1, player 2, and player 4 paddle controls would move from left to right and back turning the paddle as you would expect. But player 3 paddle control would just site on the left side, and then after a point when turning the paddle, it would suddenly just be on the right. No movement of any kind. Just one sec on the left, and then next thing you know it is on the right. So it was acting more like a digital control vs analog. It wasn't the paddles since I used the same set to test player 1 and 2 and that was working fine.
    Going through the service manual will yield some interesting stuff to help isolate this, but unless you have the diagnostic controller plugs and the 2.6 diagnostic rom, you aren't going to be able to see exactly what you need to see. But lets review that..
    If you have the diagnostic plugs, plugged into the controller ports and the diagnostic rom up and running with the controller matrix screen up. Then you use an Oscilliscope to probe the paddle lines off the TIA pins 37,38,39, and 40. They represent player 4, 3, 2, and then player 1 on pin 40. Well, what you should see on your scope if you have it set to the right settings, is something like the picture below from the service manual:

     
    However, when I probed pin 38 that is for the player 3 paddle line. I was getting a flat line. Well, actually I was showing a flat line of about 1v but the point is...not pulse like you see in those pictures. (And btw...I was seeing that same pulse line on my o'scope for the other paddles). 
    Well honestly there isn't much in the way of electronics from the controller port to the TIA where the paddles are read and handled. In fact, there is really only 1...just 1 component in the middle of the mix from the controller port to TIA. At least on the 4 switch and above units this is the case. That one component is usually a small ceramic disc, or poly capacitor that doesn't usually go bad. So I first checked that the traces from pin 5 of the player 2 controller port to that cap (C220) was good. It was, and then checked from the cap to pin 38 of the TIA. That too pinged out good. So I went ahead and replaced the capacitor just to see if anything changed. Sadly.... no.
    What did fix it?
    Well, if you've gotten this far and read my description of the very simple circuit from port to TIA... it should come as no surprise that is was the TIA itself. This is even more sad considering how rare these IC chips are now becoming and there isn't any projects I'm aware of to make new ones or something to replace the TIA. 
    But yeah... if you find the paddle lines aren't working, chances are that it is the TIA chip itself that has failed if the actual traces are good. Apparently this was less of an issue with earlier 2600s as they used buffer ICs to help control this and therefore the TIA was more protected. Just more cost cutting at work as the console lived on...
     
     
  18. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from Video 61 for a blog entry, Atari 7800 - Self activating fire buttons?!   
    I received an A1 series 7800 main board in the mail recently where the owner stated it was working properly but was missing a pause button for some reason. Well, when I receive a 7800 system for services, one of the things I do is to pull up a test utility without any controllers plugged in. The reason for this is to ensure that the system controller ports are working properly.
    But you ask... "How does not having any controllers plugged in, help to know if the ports are working properly?" Excellent question!
    You see the TIA controls the trigger functions of the joysticks and depending on the mode the console is loaded up in, the components in use differ a little. But here was the issue with this one that might help explain things a little better...
    The issue was after powering it up without a controller plugged, it the menu selector of the utility kept selecting the first option, exiting, entering...exiting over and over. This behavior was as if the fire button was being held down. But without a controller plugged in?! Quickly using the select and reset buttons on the console I was able to get into the controller test screen and this screen was telling me that not ONLY was the first fire button being pressed, but both fire buttons were showing as being pressed down. It was showing the same behavior on controller port 2 as well. 
    Then I plug in an actual controller and.... it stops auto selecting options and now shows the fire buttons aren't being pressed. Pressing the fire buttons would activate normally. In other words with a controller plugged in, the console seems to work exactly as it should. But that doesn't mean there wasn't a problem here because technically without a controller plugged in, it shouldn't read anything at all. Plugging a controller into port 2, would also remove the condition on port 2 and make everything appear to be fine. So what is going on?
    It turns out that the 7800 is pretty sensitive to the readings it gets from the controller ports and any deviation beyond a certain point will confuse the console. To correct the issue on this 7800 I had to replace at least 2 components and also replaced a 3rd for good measure. The main culprit was unfortunately the TIA chip. Yeap... I replaced the TIA because in most trigger issues the TIA is my first item to blame and usually that is correct, but it didn't solve everything in this case. I did confirm the TIA was faulty using my chip testing as it was showing an immediate fault with the Inputs and audio portions of the chip. Replacing the TIA solved half the issue. Basically controller port 1 was working properly now, but I was still getting errant trigger readings from port 2? This ended up being due to a marginal resistor located at R35. There is a pair of them that control each of the port readings in 2600 mode that each measure 220Ω. The one at R35 was only measuring 217Ω and while that should have been good enough, it was causing odd triggering issues. When I removed R35 from circuit, then the 7800 port 2 buttons were now working properly but of course, no fire button action in 2600 mode testing. So I replaced the resistor with a used one from another 7800 donor board. This replacement measures 221Ω and is much closer to the 220 reading than the original. Installed it, and sure enough everything is working properly again. There is also a 3906 transistor in this mix and it was also replaced out as they are cheap to have on hand and I've a few. But the two main issues were the TIA and this slightly out of spec drifted resistor at R35. Here is a pic of the console where I've outlined the components mentioned.

  19. Thanks
    CrossBow got a reaction from Justin for a blog entry, Atari 7800 - Self activating fire buttons?!   
    I received an A1 series 7800 main board in the mail recently where the owner stated it was working properly but was missing a pause button for some reason. Well, when I receive a 7800 system for services, one of the things I do is to pull up a test utility without any controllers plugged in. The reason for this is to ensure that the system controller ports are working properly.
    But you ask... "How does not having any controllers plugged in, help to know if the ports are working properly?" Excellent question!
    You see the TIA controls the trigger functions of the joysticks and depending on the mode the console is loaded up in, the components in use differ a little. But here was the issue with this one that might help explain things a little better...
    The issue was after powering it up without a controller plugged, it the menu selector of the utility kept selecting the first option, exiting, entering...exiting over and over. This behavior was as if the fire button was being held down. But without a controller plugged in?! Quickly using the select and reset buttons on the console I was able to get into the controller test screen and this screen was telling me that not ONLY was the first fire button being pressed, but both fire buttons were showing as being pressed down. It was showing the same behavior on controller port 2 as well. 
    Then I plug in an actual controller and.... it stops auto selecting options and now shows the fire buttons aren't being pressed. Pressing the fire buttons would activate normally. In other words with a controller plugged in, the console seems to work exactly as it should. But that doesn't mean there wasn't a problem here because technically without a controller plugged in, it shouldn't read anything at all. Plugging a controller into port 2, would also remove the condition on port 2 and make everything appear to be fine. So what is going on?
    It turns out that the 7800 is pretty sensitive to the readings it gets from the controller ports and any deviation beyond a certain point will confuse the console. To correct the issue on this 7800 I had to replace at least 2 components and also replaced a 3rd for good measure. The main culprit was unfortunately the TIA chip. Yeap... I replaced the TIA because in most trigger issues the TIA is my first item to blame and usually that is correct, but it didn't solve everything in this case. I did confirm the TIA was faulty using my chip testing as it was showing an immediate fault with the Inputs and audio portions of the chip. Replacing the TIA solved half the issue. Basically controller port 1 was working properly now, but I was still getting errant trigger readings from port 2? This ended up being due to a marginal resistor located at R35. There is a pair of them that control each of the port readings in 2600 mode that each measure 220Ω. The one at R35 was only measuring 217Ω and while that should have been good enough, it was causing odd triggering issues. When I removed R35 from circuit, then the 7800 port 2 buttons were now working properly but of course, no fire button action in 2600 mode testing. So I replaced the resistor with a used one from another 7800 donor board. This replacement measures 221Ω and is much closer to the 220 reading than the original. Installed it, and sure enough everything is working properly again. There is also a 3906 transistor in this mix and it was also replaced out as they are cheap to have on hand and I've a few. But the two main issues were the TIA and this slightly out of spec drifted resistor at R35. Here is a pic of the console where I've outlined the components mentioned.

  20. Thanks
    CrossBow got a reaction from RickR for a blog entry, Atari 7800 - Self activating fire buttons?!   
    I received an A1 series 7800 main board in the mail recently where the owner stated it was working properly but was missing a pause button for some reason. Well, when I receive a 7800 system for services, one of the things I do is to pull up a test utility without any controllers plugged in. The reason for this is to ensure that the system controller ports are working properly.
    But you ask... "How does not having any controllers plugged in, help to know if the ports are working properly?" Excellent question!
    You see the TIA controls the trigger functions of the joysticks and depending on the mode the console is loaded up in, the components in use differ a little. But here was the issue with this one that might help explain things a little better...
    The issue was after powering it up without a controller plugged, it the menu selector of the utility kept selecting the first option, exiting, entering...exiting over and over. This behavior was as if the fire button was being held down. But without a controller plugged in?! Quickly using the select and reset buttons on the console I was able to get into the controller test screen and this screen was telling me that not ONLY was the first fire button being pressed, but both fire buttons were showing as being pressed down. It was showing the same behavior on controller port 2 as well. 
    Then I plug in an actual controller and.... it stops auto selecting options and now shows the fire buttons aren't being pressed. Pressing the fire buttons would activate normally. In other words with a controller plugged in, the console seems to work exactly as it should. But that doesn't mean there wasn't a problem here because technically without a controller plugged in, it shouldn't read anything at all. Plugging a controller into port 2, would also remove the condition on port 2 and make everything appear to be fine. So what is going on?
    It turns out that the 7800 is pretty sensitive to the readings it gets from the controller ports and any deviation beyond a certain point will confuse the console. To correct the issue on this 7800 I had to replace at least 2 components and also replaced a 3rd for good measure. The main culprit was unfortunately the TIA chip. Yeap... I replaced the TIA because in most trigger issues the TIA is my first item to blame and usually that is correct, but it didn't solve everything in this case. I did confirm the TIA was faulty using my chip testing as it was showing an immediate fault with the Inputs and audio portions of the chip. Replacing the TIA solved half the issue. Basically controller port 1 was working properly now, but I was still getting errant trigger readings from port 2? This ended up being due to a marginal resistor located at R35. There is a pair of them that control each of the port readings in 2600 mode that each measure 220Ω. The one at R35 was only measuring 217Ω and while that should have been good enough, it was causing odd triggering issues. When I removed R35 from circuit, then the 7800 port 2 buttons were now working properly but of course, no fire button action in 2600 mode testing. So I replaced the resistor with a used one from another 7800 donor board. This replacement measures 221Ω and is much closer to the 220 reading than the original. Installed it, and sure enough everything is working properly again. There is also a 3906 transistor in this mix and it was also replaced out as they are cheap to have on hand and I've a few. But the two main issues were the TIA and this slightly out of spec drifted resistor at R35. Here is a pic of the console where I've outlined the components mentioned.

  21. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from Justin for a blog entry, A New Challenger Approaches! - A7800 BackBit Pro Adapter has arrived at the ITC!   
    Received my BBPro 7800 adapter today and we have some really good things and some not so good that I'm hoping can be worked out in time.

    - First the good, is that the menu of course is easy to navigate working in the same manner
    - This might be the fastest loading flash cart for the 7800 with the exception of the older Mateos cart
    - Plays the many of the original released games without issues including both Commando and BallBlazer with properly balanced and proper sounding Pokey audio! Nice!

    Now for the issues I've encountered...
    - None of the 2600 roms I've tied to load up will work. What happens is that the 7800 resets after selecting the game and then essentially crashes. Now, I actually have a modified BIOS installed into my 7800 that was developed by Pac-Man Plus (Bob D.) and RevEng that plays the Kiloparsec build in 7800 game when it doesn't detect a cartridge installed. However, in the case of the BBPro, whenever I try to load up any 2600 game or some of the more recent 7800 home brew releases, it will default to the Kiloparsec built in game.
    - Some of the more recent 7800 home brews that I've been testing, will load up, but the audio isn't quite right on their POKEY sounds and the graphics glitch quite a bit with horizontal flickery lines.
    - One of the home brew games I have is E.X.O. in its full ready to be released form. It is a 512kb game but it doesn't load and causes the 7800 to load up the Kiloparsec built in game in my console again.
    - Doesn't seem to support Pokey at $450 or $800 which are somewhat newer implementations of Pokey addressing. So it seems it only supports Pokey at $4000and $8000 is my guess?

    Here is the list of original released titles I've had trouble getting to load up. These were all taken using Trebor's rom pack"
    - Ace of Aces will load up but no audio and corrupted graphics
    - Basketbrawl just gives a black screen and seems to lock up the BBPro since the button won't respond and requires a power cycle of the console
    - Choplifter works but has minor graphic glitching with horizonal lines across the top of the image. Seems to play normal otherwise
    - Double Dragon doesn't load up
    - F-18 Loads up but with corrupted graphics on title screen and then locks up after selecting a mission
    - Fatal Run starts up but then locks up to black screen when the demo starts or when trying to start a game
    - Fight Night stars up but the menus have corrupted text and game play graphics
    - Ikari Warriors starts up but with game play graphics corruption
    - Mat Mania Challenge will start but player sprites are corrupted
    - Mean 18 has corrupted game graphics and not really playable
    - Meltdown will give a black screen when trying to load
    - Midnight Mutants gives a black screen when trying to load just like Meltdown
    - Moto Psycho starts but player graphics are corrupted
    - Ninja Golf starts up but main player graphics are missing in the middle of the game play field and graphics corruptions in the map in the lower left
    - Planet Smashers - starts up but sprite graphics are corrupted
    - Rampage won't start, black screen
    - Scrapyard Dog doesn't start, black screen
    - Summer Games is playable but has flickery white lines on the screen only during the opening ceremonies
    - Touchdown Football will start up but then black screen when pressing reset to start the game
    - Winter Games works but has the same glitching horizontal flickering lines during the opening ceremony
    - Xenophobe, doesn't start, black screen
    So that is currently how my testing went last night with the new adapter. One of the main issues I see mainstream with the adapter, is the requirement of an additional reset wire that has to be installed using a clip off pin 13 of the 4013 IC inside the console, and then routed back out so you can plug it into the cartridge adapter. Many of Evie's adapters use and require this so it isn't new or unique to the 7800 adapter. But, I also don't see many folks willing to open up their consoles and remove the RF shielding to attach the wire and then figure out how to route it externally. Nor would they be okay with a wire dangling from their console in order to the use the BBPro. If you never planned to remove it it wouldn't be that big a deal, but then that kills the multi system aspect of having it in the first place. Evie is going to look more into trying to find ways to not require this wire, but in its current state, the adapter and the BBPro won't even load up without it attached.
    So, work to be done with it still for sure and this adapter appears to be a bit more wip still compared to the others I've gotten. But, Evie has always shown strong commitment to supporting her products and in likely short time, she will have quite a few of these issues resolved. I'll be sure to update as she updates the adapter.
  22. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from - Ω - for a blog entry, Just a simple but kinda cool project?   
    The 'Tower' was without power most of last week due to powerful storms on Father's day. As a result it put me behind a bit on console services and projects. Well last night as I've been working kinda constantly on console stuff to try and get caught up, I took a break and decided to do something I'd been meaning to try and implement for a while now.
    I'm sure many of you here are aware of the Atari Vox? In summary it is a small device that plugs into controller port 2 on the 2600 or 7800 systems to allow you to save game scores and can also provide a means for speech to be played back in games that support it. Very cool device but it has one annoying thing about it. That is the fact that the audio from the Avox is separate from the rest of the system so you either have to plug in a set of external speakers or as I had been doing, I would use a 1/8" to RCA cable and plug one of the RCA jacks into one channel (usually the right) on my AV receiver audio input and the 7800 audio out in the other channel. Or, you have to use an external audio mixer to combine the two into one. None of that is really elegant so I thought of a simpler way to go about it. I'm sure you can see where this might be going?
    So the 7800 especially is a little unique in that it was designed to make sure of an external audio input from the cartridge port. Typically POKEY enhanced games use this for audio. The basic mixing for this in the console is to tie the TIA audio coming in internally from the console's TIA chip and the POKEY audio from the external cartridge audio input line with different resistors for each to balance their signal so that one doesn't overpower the other. Well, why not simply add in a third audio line into that mix with a resistor to also bring it down in level?
    That is exactly what I did as is demonstrated in this video...
     
    I have some pics I can provide for those interested but in a nutshell I installed a separate 3.5mm audio jack along the back of this test 7800 I have in the ITC lab and instead of if providing audio output, it is used as an audio input and is part of the mix along with the external audio and internal TIA audio. This allows for all three to be used at once and have all the audio could out through my normal audio output RCAs I have installed on the console. 
    No separate speakers...not Atari audio from just the Left with the AVox speed only on the right. It is all properly mixed together in dual mono as I would prefer. I will next do the same on my actual daily driver 7800 where this would be used most, but I'm glad to have it on my lab 7800 as well. The way this was done, should also be possible on a 2600 and I might very well explore that on a 2600jr I also have in the lab. 
    I know this isn't the first time something like this has been done as I've seen other projects where owners have embedded the AVox completely into their consoles and then with a lot of wiring, use a switch to enable/disable the Avox as needed. But I was looking for a more simpler solution that would still allow the AVox to be used with multiple consoles and not be gutted and dedicated inside a single system and yet still easy to use without a lot of extra wire and mess. One small headphone to headphone patch cable is all that is needed now for this when I want to use my Avox.
    For those that might want to try this on their own, know that a limiting resistor is needed as running the audio output straight in from the AVox is likely to sound messed up/distorted and would cause audio cut off on other audio sources trying to play at the same time. I used an 8k resistor in my test here but I think anything between 6.8k - 10k would suffice. I would also start with your volume pot on the AVox set to about the 1/3 volume level and then play a game that uses both speech and other audio at once to dial in the volume on the Avox until you are happy with it all.
     
  23. Thanks
    CrossBow got a reaction from Sabertooth for a blog entry, Just a simple but kinda cool project?   
    The 'Tower' was without power most of last week due to powerful storms on Father's day. As a result it put me behind a bit on console services and projects. Well last night as I've been working kinda constantly on console stuff to try and get caught up, I took a break and decided to do something I'd been meaning to try and implement for a while now.
    I'm sure many of you here are aware of the Atari Vox? In summary it is a small device that plugs into controller port 2 on the 2600 or 7800 systems to allow you to save game scores and can also provide a means for speech to be played back in games that support it. Very cool device but it has one annoying thing about it. That is the fact that the audio from the Avox is separate from the rest of the system so you either have to plug in a set of external speakers or as I had been doing, I would use a 1/8" to RCA cable and plug one of the RCA jacks into one channel (usually the right) on my AV receiver audio input and the 7800 audio out in the other channel. Or, you have to use an external audio mixer to combine the two into one. None of that is really elegant so I thought of a simpler way to go about it. I'm sure you can see where this might be going?
    So the 7800 especially is a little unique in that it was designed to make sure of an external audio input from the cartridge port. Typically POKEY enhanced games use this for audio. The basic mixing for this in the console is to tie the TIA audio coming in internally from the console's TIA chip and the POKEY audio from the external cartridge audio input line with different resistors for each to balance their signal so that one doesn't overpower the other. Well, why not simply add in a third audio line into that mix with a resistor to also bring it down in level?
    That is exactly what I did as is demonstrated in this video...
     
    I have some pics I can provide for those interested but in a nutshell I installed a separate 3.5mm audio jack along the back of this test 7800 I have in the ITC lab and instead of if providing audio output, it is used as an audio input and is part of the mix along with the external audio and internal TIA audio. This allows for all three to be used at once and have all the audio could out through my normal audio output RCAs I have installed on the console. 
    No separate speakers...not Atari audio from just the Left with the AVox speed only on the right. It is all properly mixed together in dual mono as I would prefer. I will next do the same on my actual daily driver 7800 where this would be used most, but I'm glad to have it on my lab 7800 as well. The way this was done, should also be possible on a 2600 and I might very well explore that on a 2600jr I also have in the lab. 
    I know this isn't the first time something like this has been done as I've seen other projects where owners have embedded the AVox completely into their consoles and then with a lot of wiring, use a switch to enable/disable the Avox as needed. But I was looking for a more simpler solution that would still allow the AVox to be used with multiple consoles and not be gutted and dedicated inside a single system and yet still easy to use without a lot of extra wire and mess. One small headphone to headphone patch cable is all that is needed now for this when I want to use my Avox.
    For those that might want to try this on their own, know that a limiting resistor is needed as running the audio output straight in from the AVox is likely to sound messed up/distorted and would cause audio cut off on other audio sources trying to play at the same time. I used an 8k resistor in my test here but I think anything between 6.8k - 10k would suffice. I would also start with your volume pot on the AVox set to about the 1/3 volume level and then play a game that uses both speech and other audio at once to dial in the volume on the Avox until you are happy with it all.
     
  24. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from RickR for a blog entry, Just a simple but kinda cool project?   
    The 'Tower' was without power most of last week due to powerful storms on Father's day. As a result it put me behind a bit on console services and projects. Well last night as I've been working kinda constantly on console stuff to try and get caught up, I took a break and decided to do something I'd been meaning to try and implement for a while now.
    I'm sure many of you here are aware of the Atari Vox? In summary it is a small device that plugs into controller port 2 on the 2600 or 7800 systems to allow you to save game scores and can also provide a means for speech to be played back in games that support it. Very cool device but it has one annoying thing about it. That is the fact that the audio from the Avox is separate from the rest of the system so you either have to plug in a set of external speakers or as I had been doing, I would use a 1/8" to RCA cable and plug one of the RCA jacks into one channel (usually the right) on my AV receiver audio input and the 7800 audio out in the other channel. Or, you have to use an external audio mixer to combine the two into one. None of that is really elegant so I thought of a simpler way to go about it. I'm sure you can see where this might be going?
    So the 7800 especially is a little unique in that it was designed to make sure of an external audio input from the cartridge port. Typically POKEY enhanced games use this for audio. The basic mixing for this in the console is to tie the TIA audio coming in internally from the console's TIA chip and the POKEY audio from the external cartridge audio input line with different resistors for each to balance their signal so that one doesn't overpower the other. Well, why not simply add in a third audio line into that mix with a resistor to also bring it down in level?
    That is exactly what I did as is demonstrated in this video...
     
    I have some pics I can provide for those interested but in a nutshell I installed a separate 3.5mm audio jack along the back of this test 7800 I have in the ITC lab and instead of if providing audio output, it is used as an audio input and is part of the mix along with the external audio and internal TIA audio. This allows for all three to be used at once and have all the audio could out through my normal audio output RCAs I have installed on the console. 
    No separate speakers...not Atari audio from just the Left with the AVox speed only on the right. It is all properly mixed together in dual mono as I would prefer. I will next do the same on my actual daily driver 7800 where this would be used most, but I'm glad to have it on my lab 7800 as well. The way this was done, should also be possible on a 2600 and I might very well explore that on a 2600jr I also have in the lab. 
    I know this isn't the first time something like this has been done as I've seen other projects where owners have embedded the AVox completely into their consoles and then with a lot of wiring, use a switch to enable/disable the Avox as needed. But I was looking for a more simpler solution that would still allow the AVox to be used with multiple consoles and not be gutted and dedicated inside a single system and yet still easy to use without a lot of extra wire and mess. One small headphone to headphone patch cable is all that is needed now for this when I want to use my Avox.
    For those that might want to try this on their own, know that a limiting resistor is needed as running the audio output straight in from the AVox is likely to sound messed up/distorted and would cause audio cut off on other audio sources trying to play at the same time. I used an 8k resistor in my test here but I think anything between 6.8k - 10k would suffice. I would also start with your volume pot on the AVox set to about the 1/3 volume level and then play a game that uses both speech and other audio at once to dial in the volume on the Avox until you are happy with it all.
     
  25. Like
    CrossBow got a reaction from Smell Dawg for a blog entry, Gamebox Systems GBHD consolizer kit:- Playing Gameboy - Gameboy Advance games on a big screen!   
    I bought this kit a few months back as a pre-order and had to wait since I wanted a different colored shell. But the kit allows you to use a donor GBA mainboard from a standard GBA and essentially turn it into a small console to play your games on a modern big screen display using an SNES controller. Here are thoughts on this:
    The small ribbon cable that has to be soldered to the GBA CPU is tricky and requires a lot of patience to get soldered into place. The pitch of the soldering is quite fine and I had to use my 10x loupe to verify the connections and check for and remove any bridges I found (There were quite a few). The ribbon cable is designed and marked to help you line everything up. It has a nice center GND you solder down at the corner of the CPU to help anchor the ribbon in place. There are also markings showing where pin 1 and pin 127 should be lined up. However, the first time I tried this, I actually had the left hand side of the ribbon where pin 127 is one pin off. Due to the way this ribbon is designed it is possible to have one side perfectly lined up but the other side be too high or too low allowing for a 1 pin offset as I had initially. No damage done as it just meant my controls weren't working initially. But it did require me to carefully undo and remove the ribbon completely so I could clean up everything, re-align it and do it again. This picture below is of the final and successful placement of the ribbon on the CPU.

     
    The kit comes with a 3d printed case shell. You can choose from the colors they already have on hand and available if you are in a hurry or you can specify the color you want. I do have to complain about this part because they don't list all the colors in their order page and only stated that with a custom color, you specify. However, there isn't a comment section or anything in which to specify this?! What I did and apparently this worked, was when I made my payment via PayPal for the kit, I specified that I waned a purple case shell if possible otherwise red would be good. But again, they didn't have a list of the colors they can do anywhere so I was guessing they could accommodate my choice. They did as do have a purple case shell for my kit. The fitment of the case was great as it initially arrives already pieced together without the screws in its own bag. However, once everything was assembled I found quite a few issues. For one, the GBA mainboard doesn't line up flush with the edges of the case shell so everything is recessed inward about a 1mm or so. This isn't a huge problem, but it doesn't look as finished as it could. The holes on the inside for screwing everything down into place doesn't allow for any adjustment so it is what it is. I also found that the openings for the ports on the back are a tad on the too small side of things. But since it doesn't sit flush anyway, this doesn't matter that much. It did come with two power buttons I can choose from. A grey solid printed button, or a white semi translucent one. I chose the white hoping it would allow the LED on the GBHD board to shine through. Spoiler...it doesn't.
     
    However, the main GBHD FPGA board does seem to sit more flush with the front side of the case so there is that.

     
    The sticker comes in the kit and is an optional thing you can apply. I sprayed off the top of the case with some 99% IPA to make sure it was a clean surface before applying the sticker on mine. I think I got it lined up pretty well for eyeballing it.
    So...what about the output and overall thoughts?
    To sum up...it is outstanding! The way the kit works is that the GBA main board is only used to provide the logic for reading the game and handling the controls. The LCD driver on the GBA main board is what is providing the video output to the GBHD FPGA board that provides the final output. As a result, you remove the battery terminals and the speaker off the GBA main board as they are NOT needed and take up additional space. In fact, on some of the other GBA console kits, you have to make sure to put the GBA power switch in the on position, but because of the way this kit work, it is providing voltage directly to the CPU when you power it on. As such, the power switch and volume wheel have no use or function anymore since all of that is bypassed. In fact, the audio comes straight off the CPU pins and is handled by the GBHD board itself. In a nutshell the GBHD FPGA board is really doing the heavy lifting for the video/audio output and as the interface for the controller input on the front. Audio is an issue for some as I've been told it isn't compatible with all setups. This is because the audio appears to be handled as PCM analog through the HDMI and I guess newer TVs and AV receivers don't support that? My AV receiver in the game room is 10 years old and not only does it support PCM audio, but supports up to 96khz PCM so I had NO issues with this on my AV setup.
    Once installed, the kit allows you to pull up a simple to use OSD for changing a few things on the video display. It defaults to output at 720p and this is really the most compatible and best looking option as it provides about a 4x scaling from the GBAs original resolution. It has different modes to control the aspect of the image from proper integer scaling (Default) to stretching to fit your widescreen or a setting of in between with a little stretching and some minor borders around the edge. It has an option to compensate for overscan and this was needed on my TV in the lab area but not required on my main TV in the game room. You can also choose what color you want the border to be if you so desire. There are options for LCD grid like effects and scanlines. These look okay but I'm not a fan of either when playing on my big screens. There is also some filters but I honestly think they made the output look worse on my modern TVs. My guess is they are there to help provide a better look if you use this with other equipment to play on a CRT but that is just a guess. My kit came with Firmware v4 pre-loaded and apparently was assembled back in June of this 2022. I do see via where something like a jtag header could be soldered in but do NOT see or know of a way to update the firmware in the future. It might be possible this is something that could be implemented in the future using flash carts? But that is only speculation.
    How does it look? Well here is a quick 1min video of it in action with the game Iridion II since I had that handy for testing. I used my phone to get this so it isn't direct capture but you get the idea.
     
  26. Thanks
    CrossBow got a reaction from RickR for a blog entry, A New Challenger Approaches! - A7800 BackBit Pro Adapter has arrived at the ITC!   
    Received my BBPro 7800 adapter today and we have some really good things and some not so good that I'm hoping can be worked out in time.

    - First the good, is that the menu of course is easy to navigate working in the same manner
    - This might be the fastest loading flash cart for the 7800 with the exception of the older Mateos cart
    - Plays the many of the original released games without issues including both Commando and BallBlazer with properly balanced and proper sounding Pokey audio! Nice!

    Now for the issues I've encountered...
    - None of the 2600 roms I've tied to load up will work. What happens is that the 7800 resets after selecting the game and then essentially crashes. Now, I actually have a modified BIOS installed into my 7800 that was developed by Pac-Man Plus (Bob D.) and RevEng that plays the Kiloparsec build in 7800 game when it doesn't detect a cartridge installed. However, in the case of the BBPro, whenever I try to load up any 2600 game or some of the more recent 7800 home brew releases, it will default to the Kiloparsec built in game.
    - Some of the more recent 7800 home brews that I've been testing, will load up, but the audio isn't quite right on their POKEY sounds and the graphics glitch quite a bit with horizontal flickery lines.
    - One of the home brew games I have is E.X.O. in its full ready to be released form. It is a 512kb game but it doesn't load and causes the 7800 to load up the Kiloparsec built in game in my console again.
    - Doesn't seem to support Pokey at $450 or $800 which are somewhat newer implementations of Pokey addressing. So it seems it only supports Pokey at $4000and $8000 is my guess?

    Here is the list of original released titles I've had trouble getting to load up. These were all taken using Trebor's rom pack"
    - Ace of Aces will load up but no audio and corrupted graphics
    - Basketbrawl just gives a black screen and seems to lock up the BBPro since the button won't respond and requires a power cycle of the console
    - Choplifter works but has minor graphic glitching with horizonal lines across the top of the image. Seems to play normal otherwise
    - Double Dragon doesn't load up
    - F-18 Loads up but with corrupted graphics on title screen and then locks up after selecting a mission
    - Fatal Run starts up but then locks up to black screen when the demo starts or when trying to start a game
    - Fight Night stars up but the menus have corrupted text and game play graphics
    - Ikari Warriors starts up but with game play graphics corruption
    - Mat Mania Challenge will start but player sprites are corrupted
    - Mean 18 has corrupted game graphics and not really playable
    - Meltdown will give a black screen when trying to load
    - Midnight Mutants gives a black screen when trying to load just like Meltdown
    - Moto Psycho starts but player graphics are corrupted
    - Ninja Golf starts up but main player graphics are missing in the middle of the game play field and graphics corruptions in the map in the lower left
    - Planet Smashers - starts up but sprite graphics are corrupted
    - Rampage won't start, black screen
    - Scrapyard Dog doesn't start, black screen
    - Summer Games is playable but has flickery white lines on the screen only during the opening ceremonies
    - Touchdown Football will start up but then black screen when pressing reset to start the game
    - Winter Games works but has the same glitching horizontal flickering lines during the opening ceremony
    - Xenophobe, doesn't start, black screen
    So that is currently how my testing went last night with the new adapter. One of the main issues I see mainstream with the adapter, is the requirement of an additional reset wire that has to be installed using a clip off pin 13 of the 4013 IC inside the console, and then routed back out so you can plug it into the cartridge adapter. Many of Evie's adapters use and require this so it isn't new or unique to the 7800 adapter. But, I also don't see many folks willing to open up their consoles and remove the RF shielding to attach the wire and then figure out how to route it externally. Nor would they be okay with a wire dangling from their console in order to the use the BBPro. If you never planned to remove it it wouldn't be that big a deal, but then that kills the multi system aspect of having it in the first place. Evie is going to look more into trying to find ways to not require this wire, but in its current state, the adapter and the BBPro won't even load up without it attached.
    So, work to be done with it still for sure and this adapter appears to be a bit more wip still compared to the others I've gotten. But, Evie has always shown strong commitment to supporting her products and in likely short time, she will have quite a few of these issues resolved. I'll be sure to update as she updates the adapter.
  27. Thanks
    CrossBow got a reaction from RickR for a blog entry, Gamebox Systems GBHD consolizer kit:- Playing Gameboy - Gameboy Advance games on a big screen!   
    I bought this kit a few months back as a pre-order and had to wait since I wanted a different colored shell. But the kit allows you to use a donor GBA mainboard from a standard GBA and essentially turn it into a small console to play your games on a modern big screen display using an SNES controller. Here are thoughts on this:
    The small ribbon cable that has to be soldered to the GBA CPU is tricky and requires a lot of patience to get soldered into place. The pitch of the soldering is quite fine and I had to use my 10x loupe to verify the connections and check for and remove any bridges I found (There were quite a few). The ribbon cable is designed and marked to help you line everything up. It has a nice center GND you solder down at the corner of the CPU to help anchor the ribbon in place. There are also markings showing where pin 1 and pin 127 should be lined up. However, the first time I tried this, I actually had the left hand side of the ribbon where pin 127 is one pin off. Due to the way this ribbon is designed it is possible to have one side perfectly lined up but the other side be too high or too low allowing for a 1 pin offset as I had initially. No damage done as it just meant my controls weren't working initially. But it did require me to carefully undo and remove the ribbon completely so I could clean up everything, re-align it and do it again. This picture below is of the final and successful placement of the ribbon on the CPU.

     
    The kit comes with a 3d printed case shell. You can choose from the colors they already have on hand and available if you are in a hurry or you can specify the color you want. I do have to complain about this part because they don't list all the colors in their order page and only stated that with a custom color, you specify. However, there isn't a comment section or anything in which to specify this?! What I did and apparently this worked, was when I made my payment via PayPal for the kit, I specified that I waned a purple case shell if possible otherwise red would be good. But again, they didn't have a list of the colors they can do anywhere so I was guessing they could accommodate my choice. They did as do have a purple case shell for my kit. The fitment of the case was great as it initially arrives already pieced together without the screws in its own bag. However, once everything was assembled I found quite a few issues. For one, the GBA mainboard doesn't line up flush with the edges of the case shell so everything is recessed inward about a 1mm or so. This isn't a huge problem, but it doesn't look as finished as it could. The holes on the inside for screwing everything down into place doesn't allow for any adjustment so it is what it is. I also found that the openings for the ports on the back are a tad on the too small side of things. But since it doesn't sit flush anyway, this doesn't matter that much. It did come with two power buttons I can choose from. A grey solid printed button, or a white semi translucent one. I chose the white hoping it would allow the LED on the GBHD board to shine through. Spoiler...it doesn't.
     
    However, the main GBHD FPGA board does seem to sit more flush with the front side of the case so there is that.

     
    The sticker comes in the kit and is an optional thing you can apply. I sprayed off the top of the case with some 99% IPA to make sure it was a clean surface before applying the sticker on mine. I think I got it lined up pretty well for eyeballing it.
    So...what about the output and overall thoughts?
    To sum up...it is outstanding! The way the kit works is that the GBA main board is only used to provide the logic for reading the game and handling the controls. The LCD driver on the GBA main board is what is providing the video output to the GBHD FPGA board that provides the final output. As a result, you remove the battery terminals and the speaker off the GBA main board as they are NOT needed and take up additional space. In fact, on some of the other GBA console kits, you have to make sure to put the GBA power switch in the on position, but because of the way this kit work, it is providing voltage directly to the CPU when you power it on. As such, the power switch and volume wheel have no use or function anymore since all of that is bypassed. In fact, the audio comes straight off the CPU pins and is handled by the GBHD board itself. In a nutshell the GBHD FPGA board is really doing the heavy lifting for the video/audio output and as the interface for the controller input on the front. Audio is an issue for some as I've been told it isn't compatible with all setups. This is because the audio appears to be handled as PCM analog through the HDMI and I guess newer TVs and AV receivers don't support that? My AV receiver in the game room is 10 years old and not only does it support PCM audio, but supports up to 96khz PCM so I had NO issues with this on my AV setup.
    Once installed, the kit allows you to pull up a simple to use OSD for changing a few things on the video display. It defaults to output at 720p and this is really the most compatible and best looking option as it provides about a 4x scaling from the GBAs original resolution. It has different modes to control the aspect of the image from proper integer scaling (Default) to stretching to fit your widescreen or a setting of in between with a little stretching and some minor borders around the edge. It has an option to compensate for overscan and this was needed on my TV in the lab area but not required on my main TV in the game room. You can also choose what color you want the border to be if you so desire. There are options for LCD grid like effects and scanlines. These look okay but I'm not a fan of either when playing on my big screens. There is also some filters but I honestly think they made the output look worse on my modern TVs. My guess is they are there to help provide a better look if you use this with other equipment to play on a CRT but that is just a guess. My kit came with Firmware v4 pre-loaded and apparently was assembled back in June of this 2022. I do see via where something like a jtag header could be soldered in but do NOT see or know of a way to update the firmware in the future. It might be possible this is something that could be implemented in the future using flash carts? But that is only speculation.
    How does it look? Well here is a quick 1min video of it in action with the game Iridion II since I had that handy for testing. I used my phone to get this so it isn't direct capture but you get the idea.
     
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