CrossBow

I worked with Bob (PacManPlus) to get that done for Al. He supplied the special 3D printed case shell and I swapped everything into it with a UAV + mount board setup. He was showing Bob's games on it throughout the show. But that case is a one off special done for Al and AtariAge. I have a similar case shell with black bottom and red top with the Atari 7800 logo in the middle in black.
It also has Bob's Kiloparsec BIOS installed as well. The one I have is my lab test unit. But the shell was designed with AV upgrades in place as it already has nicely centered holes for RCAs and the half moon hole for the s-video jacks I use.
 

I worked with Bob (PacManPlus) to get that done for Al. He supplied the special 3D printed case shell and I swapped everything into it with a UAV + mount board setup. He was showing Bob's games on it throughout the show. But that case is a one off special done for Al and AtariAge. I have a similar case shell with black bottom and red top with the Atari 7800 logo in the middle in black.
It also has Bob's Kiloparsec BIOS installed as well. The one I have is my lab test unit. But the shell was designed with AV upgrades in place as it already has nicely centered holes for RCAs and the half moon hole for the s-video jacks I use.
 

Oh Snap! My cover is blown as you managed to catch me in two of those pics!

Oh Snap! My cover is blown as you managed to catch me in two of those pics!

Oh Snap! My cover is blown as you managed to catch me in two of those pics!

Do note that on Commando on some of the levels in the game, there are spots where you can essentially just park yourself and keep mowing down enemy soldiers without much if any risk of death to yourself. I've done this several times to rack up scores in the millions. I guess it could be seen as an cheat or something, but it is just taking advantage of how the game was coded. I own the actual arcade cabinet for this game and I do find that the 7800 version is one of the more better arcade ports for the home to play!
But yeah... you can cheese this one to get a bunch of free men. I usually just shut it off after a bit because I get tired and just turn off the system.
 

I cannot this year as the cost is just too much right now for me. That said, I will be there in spirit with all the different consoles that will be there and setup for folks to play the new games and enjoy.
 
 

Well obviously I can suggest myself LOL! But I'm sure there are quite a few techs out there that can provide such services. Just have to ask around and see if there is someone close to you to try and save on shipping etc. I will say that in my opinion, I would stay away from those that recap using ceramic SMD style over the standard electrolytics. Yes the ceramic type will certainly last longer, but they aren't the correct type of cap that was designed to be used. I've installed a few and while they technically do work, I did experience some odd glitching on graphics in a few games and especially constant hissing from the audio. 
My guess is that is why there are other replacement boards you can purchase for the GG such as power boards that provide you with USB-C for power and have charging circuits on them to have LiPOs installed vs the older AAs... etc. There are even replacement audio boards you can purchase. But I've never had any issues using standard electrolytic caps and the original boards provided any leak damage is cleaned up and the caps are installed in a proper manner. 
One interesting thing about the GG is that you will heard a lot of folks refer to the caps in it as being early SMD style and that actually isn't true at all. They are standard radial electrolytic caps in a square housing with the leads bent to solder onto SMD pads. So using standard radial caps is just replacing with what was in there originally but with higher quality ones that should last much longer than the originals did. 
The pic above is what that board looked like after I cleaned all the old flux off it..etc. But it isn't what one of my normal recapped GGs would look like. Here is one I did most recently to give you an idea of how they really should look with proper quality brand caps.
 
 

 

Well, most folks just live with it, or in the case of the audio, the new audio boards supposedly remove the hiss issues using ceramics. But again, that is because they are designing a new board specifically for the purpose of using ceramics when the originals weren't. So just depends. And yes, recapping a GG is more time consuming that other consoles but still not that big a deal and I always recap GGs that come to me unless they have been done recently already by someone else as was the case with the one I posted about. Although the caps they used are of questionable quality and the way they were done was a messy, they did seem to be doing the job and the person that owned this GG wasn't expecting it to have to be recapped, so I only cleaned it up, recapped the audio board to fix the issues I mentioned it was having and installed the new LCD upgrade that it was originally sent to me for.
But yes, recapping the GG is mandatory at this point if it hasn't been done already. You should see what the caps looked like on that second one I posted before I redid them...ugh. Caught that one in time.
 

Yeap...the first post on the AA forums has a demo I believe?
https://forums.atariage.com/topic/353709-blockem-sockem-7800/
 

Yeap...the first post on the AA forums has a demo I believe?
https://forums.atariage.com/topic/353709-blockem-sockem-7800/
 

Well, most folks just live with it, or in the case of the audio, the new audio boards supposedly remove the hiss issues using ceramics. But again, that is because they are designing a new board specifically for the purpose of using ceramics when the originals weren't. So just depends. And yes, recapping a GG is more time consuming that other consoles but still not that big a deal and I always recap GGs that come to me unless they have been done recently already by someone else as was the case with the one I posted about. Although the caps they used are of questionable quality and the way they were done was a messy, they did seem to be doing the job and the person that owned this GG wasn't expecting it to have to be recapped, so I only cleaned it up, recapped the audio board to fix the issues I mentioned it was having and installed the new LCD upgrade that it was originally sent to me for.
But yes, recapping the GG is mandatory at this point if it hasn't been done already. You should see what the caps looked like on that second one I posted before I redid them...ugh. Caught that one in time.
 

Well obviously I can suggest myself LOL! But I'm sure there are quite a few techs out there that can provide such services. Just have to ask around and see if there is someone close to you to try and save on shipping etc. I will say that in my opinion, I would stay away from those that recap using ceramic SMD style over the standard electrolytics. Yes the ceramic type will certainly last longer, but they aren't the correct type of cap that was designed to be used. I've installed a few and while they technically do work, I did experience some odd glitching on graphics in a few games and especially constant hissing from the audio. 
My guess is that is why there are other replacement boards you can purchase for the GG such as power boards that provide you with USB-C for power and have charging circuits on them to have LiPOs installed vs the older AAs... etc. There are even replacement audio boards you can purchase. But I've never had any issues using standard electrolytic caps and the original boards provided any leak damage is cleaned up and the caps are installed in a proper manner. 
One interesting thing about the GG is that you will heard a lot of folks refer to the caps in it as being early SMD style and that actually isn't true at all. They are standard radial electrolytic caps in a square housing with the leads bent to solder onto SMD pads. So using standard radial caps is just replacing with what was in there originally but with higher quality ones that should last much longer than the originals did. 
The pic above is what that board looked like after I cleaned all the old flux off it..etc. But it isn't what one of my normal recapped GGs would look like. Here is one I did most recently to give you an idea of how they really should look with proper quality brand caps.
 
 

 

Thought you guys might like an update. I was able to clean up the crud a bit and get it looking a little better. Good thing I did as 2 solder joints weren't that great and came loose that I then removed the cap, cleaned up the pads a little better and then soldered back into place. So here is what that looks like now...

New LCD is working and looking pretty snazzy as well!

The client does understand. The honest thing here is that the original quote for service of work would double if I end up recapping it and the client would rather push through. My other concern is that just undoing what has been done, could reveal loose or burnt off pads that would then require more additional work. 
There is a reason many of us usually charge extra compared to our normal fees when we have to go back over and redo someone elses work. It is because in  many instances, it ends up taking more time to do than it would have originally before it was even touched.
Like all systems I service, it will receive the standard 2+ hour burn in time before I box it back up and send it on its way. That is really the only thing I can do to verify functionality before it leaves my hands. This is how I've found issues with both a Sophia and an F18A boards I recently installed. They initially were working fine. But then 10 min later odd thins would start to occur. The F18A ended up needing to be sent back and had to be reflowed as apparently some of the SMD ICs had loose connections. The Sophia was working for a few days and survived for a half day burn in test. Then a Month later when I got back to that console, no output from the DVI at all but analog outputs were working. So that too has been sent back and a replacement on the way. No Idea why that Sophia suddenly stopped working a month later, but I'm glad I tested it again before calling it good.
 

That has been the general concensus from others I've shown this too as well. The problem is that recapping a GG is pretty time consuming. The parts is only like a $10 kit which comes to less than $1 per cap, but the time to remove the old, clean up the board well, and especially reinstall with careful forming of the leads so it all fits nice, is time consuming.
There is a quote already paid for that was only for the LCD installation, Wasn't planning to charge for the audio board as I had those as spares on hand that would work, but for a full recap and redoing what someone else already did, that will cost them extra. They would rather I just clean up the board and inspect the work for any loose joints and go from there. 
I mean, even if a few years down the line it starts to have issues, it can be recapped then in a more proper manner since at least the originals are gone and aren't going to cause problems now. It could be argued the owner would save money spending the extra to have me do it again and not worry about it. But then none of us can really offer any warranties anyway since we are dealing with 30+ year old stuff here and what works great today, could develop an all new unrelated issue tomorrow that couldn't be forseen. And while these caps are generic and not of a brand I know of, they could still do the business just fine for many years to come...
I have sent these pics and expressed my concerns to the owner before posting any of this online. Again, the current decision is to clean it up, and continue on.
 

I've got a Game Gear that was sent to me to get a new LCD upgrade installed. Normally as part of something like this and especially with Game Gears, I require that the console get new capacitors to be sure everything in regards to power where needed is clean and all worn out leaking caps are replaced. In the case of the Game Gear, it isn't an option really as they all need their caps replaced due to the poor quality of the capacitors made in the 90s.
So due to circumstances, the owner of this GG was having issues getting the screws removed from the console. They were required to open it to be sure which model main board they have so the correct LCD kit could be ordered. Well, they sent it to a 'tech' that offers Game Gear services on ebay and they were able to remove the stuck screws and also provided a recap of the console as well. For some reason, they weren't willing to install the upgraded LCD for the owner. The owner contacts me to ask if I'm willing to install the upgraded screen for them as the system has just been recapped and is working fully in stock condition at this time. I agreed to handle the request.
I receive the GG and then proceed to test it before doing anything to be sure everything appears to be working correctly. It was...mostly. I noticed that audio would sometimes seem to cut out and sounded more distorted than usual at louder volumes with this GG. So I opened it up and was not exactly prepared for what I found inside....

That is the audio board. I won't go into too much detail on this as I think the picture will say most of what needs to be said. But the main issues are two things here: 
1st, they use cheap no brand capacitors that in all fairness likely work just fine but for how long or how well I can't say.
2nd and worst issue is that no attempt was made to clean up the original pads and leaking electrolyte from the original capacitors or the flux that was used. You can see this with all the dark yellow to brown spots on the board. 
The fact that the caps are radial vs the SMD that was originally used isn't a huge deal but they could have tried to use smaller sized caps vs this mess. This required them to bend part of the metal shield for the cartridge port section for this to fit. 
I wish it ended there... but here is a pic of the left side of the main GG system board. Now to be honest, the soldering here is likely fine and again the caps are doing the job as the system is working. But the lack of any attempt to clean this up around the solder work is really lazy and will cause problems further down the line as even flux can be corrosive over time.

Last is that it doesn't appear that the actual power board for the console was even touched. I state this because the small plastic cover for the battery terminals for it was stuck fast and hadn't appeared to be have been removed before. Also, the solder joints and bottom portion of the PCB appears aged. Given the lack of cleaning on the spots they did work on, I would have expected some brown flux residue but nothing like that on the power board. Also, the caps on this board I'm pretty sure are factory and were a brand that Sega was using in the GGs back then.


I will likely redo that cap located at C1 on the bottom of the PCB because it is a bit off kilter. But again, that is factory work.
Well, in an attempt to make a point and see if I could correct the audio issues, I went ahead and redid the audio board with SMD caps of more exact spec that was used and it did correct the audio dropouts and distortion I was getting. Here is what the audio board looks like now cleaned up as best as I could...


So now the question is... should I just redo the capacitor work on this entire GG? It is working so I do plan to at least try and clean up the board more. That will also give me a better look on the solder joints that were done to see if anything looks weak or suspect. But I also feel bad for the owner as I don't know what they paid for this service and I don't need to know nor did I ask who did this.
Remember, you should always ask for references and pictures of work done in the past by any person you are reaching out to for services. If they aren't able to provide or offer, then you might want to look elsewhere so you can have a better idea on what you are paying for.
 

I cannot this year as the cost is just too much right now for me. That said, I will be there in spirit with all the different consoles that will be there and setup for folks to play the new games and enjoy.
 
 

I cannot this year as the cost is just too much right now for me. That said, I will be there in spirit with all the different consoles that will be there and setup for folks to play the new games and enjoy.
 
 

Well obviously I can suggest myself LOL! But I'm sure there are quite a few techs out there that can provide such services. Just have to ask around and see if there is someone close to you to try and save on shipping etc. I will say that in my opinion, I would stay away from those that recap using ceramic SMD style over the standard electrolytics. Yes the ceramic type will certainly last longer, but they aren't the correct type of cap that was designed to be used. I've installed a few and while they technically do work, I did experience some odd glitching on graphics in a few games and especially constant hissing from the audio. 
My guess is that is why there are other replacement boards you can purchase for the GG such as power boards that provide you with USB-C for power and have charging circuits on them to have LiPOs installed vs the older AAs... etc. There are even replacement audio boards you can purchase. But I've never had any issues using standard electrolytic caps and the original boards provided any leak damage is cleaned up and the caps are installed in a proper manner. 
One interesting thing about the GG is that you will heard a lot of folks refer to the caps in it as being early SMD style and that actually isn't true at all. They are standard radial electrolytic caps in a square housing with the leads bent to solder onto SMD pads. So using standard radial caps is just replacing with what was in there originally but with higher quality ones that should last much longer than the originals did. 
The pic above is what that board looked like after I cleaned all the old flux off it..etc. But it isn't what one of my normal recapped GGs would look like. Here is one I did most recently to give you an idea of how they really should look with proper quality brand caps.
 
 

 

I haven't taken that many screen shots from the game but play it quite often. That said, this is one of the few I've kept over the years and is my favorite scene with all the planets aligned as they were. It was an accident I happened to land in this spot to do this but I'm sure glad I did and took the screen shot. This is from the PS4 version that I play and it still looks pretty amazing graphically.

 

My replacement Aquaventure manual arrived the other day. It is funny because I doubled checked all of my emails from AtariXP and none of them mentioned the manual and only the replacement carts. So I'm not complaining just odd that I didn't receive an email regarding it being on the way or anything.
In other news, I shipped my original carts back to them on Saturday, and they were already delivered by Monday?! USPS has been on their game with my shipments lately. I shipped a console back out to its owner on Monday afternoon and the owner got it yesterday morning?! It wasn't supposed to be delivered until today, so quite impressive times. And that was from here in Oklahoma to Connecticut.
I need to look carefully at the replacement manual, because it actually seems like it it might be smaller and more cut down content wise than the original was? But I only took a cursory glance through the original. Enough to verify the missing page anyway in my original.
 
 

I got to be really good at this game when I was younger and preferred to play my 7800 version over my step-bro's NES version. The elbow punch is the most powerful attack and using the enemy stance to your advantage is the key here. As you stated, the enemy has two states. They are either going after your and following the player on the same plane as you stated, or they are walking in your direction but on a different line of plane on the game screen. So what I did was move the controller up and down quickly to get the attacking enemy to switch to wonder mode and then come down and elbow punch them over and over. I also used the reverse jump kick but mostly once I got enemies locked in ontop of each other in a corners and such to wallop them. 
On the green Abobo's just before entering the final lair, I found a way to get them to come one at a time if you didn't go too far beyond the screen and then again using the elbow punch of them was key to taking them down quickly. I got to the point where I could pretty much beat the game anytime I played it only loosing 1 life. I think I was able to do it on a single life a few times even. 
I doubt I could now though as it has been 20+ years since I played this but I'm sure if I took some time it would all come back to me.
 

And mine arrived yesterday!

 

 
I was messing around with it quite a bit last night (I should have been doing other stuff...but...ehh). And it isn't perfect by any means, but it is right up there with my Dragon Fly on what it can do currently and since it can play Rikki & Vikki with full audio, it does have the DF beat in that regard. But ONLY that regard.
Covox audio isn't working currently on the 7800GD and will have to be addressed in future FW updates. Some games have issues playing on the 7800GD, and the AV out is pretty picky on what will or won't work from it at the current time. There will be a hardware revision of the 7800GD to address the AV output stuff. Likely the next batch of them will have that in place.
 

And mine arrived yesterday!

 

 
I was messing around with it quite a bit last night (I should have been doing other stuff...but...ehh). And it isn't perfect by any means, but it is right up there with my Dragon Fly on what it can do currently and since it can play Rikki & Vikki with full audio, it does have the DF beat in that regard. But ONLY that regard.
Covox audio isn't working currently on the 7800GD and will have to be addressed in future FW updates. Some games have issues playing on the 7800GD, and the AV out is pretty picky on what will or won't work from it at the current time. There will be a hardware revision of the 7800GD to address the AV output stuff. Likely the next batch of them will have that in place.