Just a Composite-Modded 2600

[bicostp]

I got tired of using the stupid RF box to play Atari games, so I threw together the old composite mod and put it in the case. (It's a 6-switch, and the instructions are tailored for the 4-switch motherboards. I didn't feel like adapting the instructions, and the old mod works fine.)

It's actually in decent shape:



The case is identical to all the 4-switch models. According to a receipt-like tag taped to the RF shielding, this one was made in 1980. I don't know if it was made in the US or in Taiwan.

And here's where the AV jacks went. Aside from being a bit off-center, it almost looks like it came with them. They don't stick out all the way due to the way those AV jacks were made and the angle of the case, but it's far enough to hold a cable on there without problems.


I hate taking pictures of shiny stuff.

Good ol' mechanical retention keeps the AV board in place, courtesy of a cut-up foam grocery tray. Hey, if it's good enough for the PS3's Blu-Ray drive...

Parts:

• Leftover piece of Radio Shack PC board (originally $0.99, liquidation sale)
  2x 1k pots ($0.50 each, also from the liquidation sale goodies hoard)
  Different lengths of wire (free form all the Cat-5e we have around here)
  AV jacks (free from broken TV motherboard)
  Resistors (free from some other broken thing)

What's been removed:

• Bottom RF shielding
  RF cable
  Some case plastic

Sorry I didn't think to take pictures of the insides, but it's all pretty standard stuff. Look up the "How do I get composite from my 6-switch Atari" tutorial in the sticky in the 2600 forum if you want that kind of thing.

This project was almost like a resurrection, because this particular 2600 put out a very weak signal over the RF system. That's partially why I chose it. (Also because I'd never dream of taking a drill to my 1977/78 heavy 6-switch VCS.)

Oddly enough, I still have to set my TV to channel 3 to use it because it goes through the DVD recorder and into a standalone RF modulator because my 11 year old TV doesn't have video inputs.

[Rekarp]

I have done Ben's mod and found it unacceptable on Large TVs and LCDs. Its pretty good for portables but thats about it.



Thats the mod I co-developed. Its based on the established CD4050 buffer chip mod. I just modified the circuit slightly and ran it through a FMS6400 s-video filter. This particular one is the 7800 version.

check out the images here http://www.longhornengineer.com/Videoex ... eoexamples

I haven't uploaded the new 2600 or 5200 images yet.

[bicostp]

Yeah, it's not perfect, but it is quick and good enough for my needs.

The only major problem is that our 27" JVC rolls the picture if you plug it in directly, but passing it through the VCR fixes that.

As for picture quality, here's a comparison shot of Yar's Revenge running on the FB2 and real hardware. (It's a fairly large image.) Other than blend deinterlacing, these are pure VLC snapshots.

[Rekarp]

Bens mod looks pretty good on old CRTs I have found. I don't know what makers of TVs did but the seem to be more finicky about what you input into them. Probably cheaper decoders... LCDs seem to be the worse of these.

The reason you probably have to pass it through the VCR is because Ben's mod doesn't amplify the luma lines which contain the sync single. The VCR probably corrects this.

Bens mod is extremely simple which is amazing.