- Research & D -
My thoughts, ideas and progress on bringing VCSp's to the masses

The Rev 5 Comes To Life

Behold in all its glory the finished Atari VCSp Revision 5!

Ok, last week I announced this Rev 5 unit but said it had some kinks to work out. I worked them out! The battery now fits nicely. A sliding cover keeps it in, and a slot in the back of the unit allows you to 'push' it out. (Please note- The battery slot is 'enclosed' unlike the Revs 3 & 4, so the largest battery it can take is a NP-550.)

      The Rev 5 without a game in.

A second-player joystick port has been added. It even has paddle support! Plug in some old paddles and away you go, for 2 player paddle pushing action! (Pong, anyone?). Please note, it does NOT support 4 paddles since that would require an additional joystick port, but I highly doubt four people would want to crowd around a 2.5 inch screen for Warlords anyway. The Player 2 port is 'flush' with the unit so it doesn't stick out. Therefore, you can still set the unit on end if you want.

The brightness and volume knobs caused me some grief at first, but I conquered them. I simply desoldered them from the TV board, connected some ribbon cable to extend them out, then placed them on the side of the unit. This was the only open spot left and I feared they might get in the way of the trigger, but they are fine. This is looking more and more like a real system everyday!

I am going to build more of these, as I said on the main page. After that, I hope to get into custom PCB's and molded cases, which will allow me to really crank these suckers out. Even then, they'll still look pretty close to this Rev 5 design, except the cartridge might slide down the back a la Gameboy.

So keep checking back for all the updates! In the meantime, please enjoy the super-swell VCSp Rev 5 wallpaper I made!

Rev 5... But At What Cost?

The VCSp Rev 5. Completely different than anything I've done before. It has the same hi-res screen as the Rev 4 (see below). I am especially proud of the aluminum band on this model. To be honest, the aluminum band is my favorite part on a VCSp, although I really like these new wood-framed screens, too. What's funny, the aluminum band wasn't even in the original VCSp design. I just had this logo, silver on black, that said "Atari VCSp". And I though "Ug, this is not enough!" Well, it just so happened we had a bunch of thin brushed aluminum come in at work for a project at Wisconsin Dells. And there was a TON of scrap (still is, a year later!) I can't remember exactly who but someone at worked suggested putting the Atari logo on a stripe of brushed aluminum. So I did, and I said "Now it is finished!" So that's the story of the brushed aluminum stripe, I'm certain you were all riveted to your seats during it.

 This unit is the best balanced of ANY VCSp, for obvious reason! And it's actually a little bigger than the previous units, but it seems smaller since it's horizontally designed. I really like it, it's just so cool! Of course there's paddle controller, like the Rev 4, and a full-sized paddle trigger as well. Also a slightly re-designed SELECT/RESET button.

So, what could be wrong, you ask? Well, the insides of this unit are awfully tight. The case is barely big enough to hold everything. I laid out the shapes of each internally object on the computer, placed them as close together as possible, and then drew a casing. There is some extra room under the joypad but most of that is used up by the extra-big heat sink, auxiliary jacks, speaker and power switch (it no longer uses an original Atari switch, too big and kinda tricky to desolder from the old board)

Also, it took too long to build this unit. The Rev 3's are easy, the Rev 4 was pretty easy as well, but I spent most of the weekend putting this together! (normally I wire one together in one evening) One problem was the volume/brightness knobs on the TV portion, I wanted them to stick out the bottom (like the Rev 4) but in order to do that the ribbon cable had to be on the opposite side of the PCB and then it couldn't reach the screen blah blah blah and a bunch of other concerns. Also, the battery slides into a hole instead of clamping on the back. Well, it's kind of hard to get it OUT of the hole without a spring ejecting mechanism, which would mean even more construction time. Mike suggested a hole on the bottom of the unit to 'poke' it out, but that would be cheesy. Hey, speaking of cheesy, here's a link to Mike's AWESOME website, check it out!

So, more design work is needed. I'm also beginning to think about custom circuit boards, to speed up construction time. If any of my visitors are familiar with the manufacture of custom circuit boards, injection molding or other such things that would apply to a project like this, I'd appreciate any input they could provide me. Thanks! And also I'd like to know what people think of this new design.

Atari VCSp Revision 4 Completed

In my never-ending quest to build Ataris I have completed the fourth-revision VCSp. (the 8th VCSp ever built). Yes, I've made eight so far (4-14-01). What's that you say, 4 revisions but 8 units? Well, #1 was the original, #2 was a copy of the original, four others were Rev 3 units, one was the cheaper screen version, and Rev 4 is the eight unit. I have been selling them, slowly, which shows persistent emailing can pay off for interested buyers! Other than that, I'm holding off on mass-production until I am completely satisfied with one model. Submit for your consideration Revision 4...

Controls that Picasso would love. The silver thing is the paddle controller. I hope everyone's happy, it finally has a paddle controller! See that small button above the trigger? That's the paddle trigger. The paddle is pretty rigid, probably seems that way since it's a brand-new 1 mega ohm potentiometer and not a 20 year old dirt-filled paddle from the closet.

 There's 2 issues I have with this setup, one being the paddle knob is kinda close to the joypad. Also, the Select/Reset button had to be tilted sideways. In order to get the new screen and paddle controller in the VCSp-style case, I basically had no other choice. The inner guts:

of this unit are messier than usual, and things are pretty tight. Note how, on the left half, the circuit board for the TV is off-center. (since the screen and the main board are separate) This allows room for the rather bulky paddle control potentiometer. And I'm ashamed/proud to say there is actually half of a POPSICLE STICK used to hold the screen in place. (don't worry, it's securely glued) Can you find it?

This is a side-view of the new screen. As you can see, it's raised above the surface of the unit. There's some industrious screws holding in on. (I was torn between brass or metal screws, metal won, better aesthetic contrast) The reason the screen is raised is because the new model TV is in two parts: The screen section and the main board, and they're connected via a ribbon cable. However, the two parts put together are a little too big to fit inside a VCSp, so as usual I did some thinking outside the box (literally) and placed a 1/4 inch thick wood section on the unit which is basically hollow. The screen portion fits into this, freeing up more space inside the unit!

Probably the best thing about this Rev 4 unit is the screen...

This is what it looked like before it faced the wrath of my screwdriver. As before, it's a 2.5 inch screen. A visitor to this site tipped me off to this type of screen, so I decided to buy one and give it a try. Well, turns out that it has (as I mentioned below) twice the resolution of the Casio Ev-550 I had been using, and it shows! Games with small detail such as Midnight Magic are very crisp! VCSp's using the Casio Ev-550 were certainly playable, but this new RCA screen improves it. Think of the difference between a DVD and a VHS movie and that's the kind of jump in quality we're talking. And for $20 LESS per screen!

 Another plus with this unit is that the location of the volume and brightness controls allowed me to have them both available in the final product:

Up until now the brightness level had been pre-set internally and the volume knob was kind of obtrusive. Not anymore!

I am still working on ways to build these things faster. This Rev 4 unit has more features to it, which slowed me down a little. Also, fitting more features into the same style box each time gets harder and harder. I will probably move right on to Rev 5, which will more than likely look and be shaped completely different than any VCSp yet, and be faster to build. If someone is interested in purchasing this one-of-a-kind-probably-never-to-be-duplicated Rev 4 edition, let me know! Your support helps my research!

And, as usual, stay tuned!

Atari VCSp Revision 4?

Well, you just never know what I might come up with. I am experimenting with YET ANOTHER type of screen. This time, it's the RCA Model L2501 2.5 inch Active Matrix Portable TV!

I had seen this TV before but it seemed a bit large to fit in an Atari. Well, I bought one a couple days ago and tore it apart! What a treat! It's got 2 separate circuit boards. Meaning one can be off to the side while the screen's board is still center. Meaning that with one board off to the side, there could very well be room for the often-mentioned, even-more-often-requested PADDLE CONTROLLER!

AND THAT'S NOT ALL!

Another bonus is that it has nearly twice the resolution of the Casio EV-550 that I usually use. 115,000 pixels instead of 61,000. Wow, and it make a big difference. Small text (such as the word 'Activision') was readable before but now it's clear as crystal.

And last but not least, this RCA screen is $20 cheaper than the Casio EV-550!

SO! Will a new Atari VCSp Revision 4 come out, and knock all you socks off? Can I pull off another engineering feat worthy of the ancient Egyptians? Can I walk like an Egyptian? Will this new Atari unit be the one that I launch into Massive Mass Production?

Keep checking back with The Atari 2600 VCS Portables Site for all the late-breaking details!

$200 Atari VCSp Created

I have at last reached a target price for a VCSp. Kinda a mythical goal I had. No longer mythical. I found a screen at Radio Shack that costs $50 less than the ones I had been using. It's not the same quality, but the price difference is quite a factor!

Under this new, cheaper design, if a person buying a VCSp sends me an Atari 4-switch as a trade-in, the price for the VCSp is $198.31. With tax & shipping & handling it comes to $217.21 (these number may change slightly).  Not sending an Atari as trade adds $40 to the price. As of this writing (3-15-01) I am not yet taking orders, but this will give you a good idea of what to expect.

There's a picture of the VCSp Cheap Edition (Rev 3.1) on the VCSp Models Page. The volume knob is now on the left hand side and the speaker is mounted sideways. This is because the new type screen is different internally than the Casio EV-550.  I also changed the decorations around the screen. Specifically, it looks a bit more high-tech and says "Liquid Crystal Display" instead of "TFT Active Matrix Display"

Now, please note. This new screen is NOT AS GOOD as the ones on the earlier VCSp's. It also has some compatibility issues with certain games. However, it certainly still works, and I think getting the unit cheaper is the main thing people really want!

What I might do, is offer 2 versions of the VCSp. A 'standard' $200 one, and a 'Pro' version that uses the higher quality active matrix screen and costs $50 more.

I'd appreciate any input on this idea of two different models, if you'd care to email me. A friend of mine think it'd be too confusing, I don't. What do YOU think?

Rev 3 Finished!

I know I've been talking about the VCSp Rev 3 for a while, and I've been designing it for over a month. I was a bit delayed when the engine in my Buick blew up (that's what I get for never changing the oil) but I got some new wheels, slapped a full-color custom Atari bumper sticker on it, and got myself back up to speed! Having gotten that little annoyance out of the way, I began to construct the Atari VCSp Rev 3 with reckless abandon !

  Big whoop, you say? Read on!

Well, here's the third VCSp ever built, the Rev 3. Now, I'm sure many of you have noticed that I have been sluffing off on my Vagabond. That's because I think it's more important to make VCSp's that people can buy. Why should I have all the fun?

But, a major concern is cost, of course. The TV in a VCSp is $150, that's a lot of it right there (and something I'm working on to make cheaper). But an even bigger factor was time. Custom etching the boards, rewiring the cartridge slots, all of that took a lot of time, and time is money.

   The new controls.

I put a different type of board under the controls. Also, this board contains the circuits for power and to run the video. The buttons are custom-made now, and have small tactile switches under them, not those junky carbon pad things from the NES that I was using before (and that modern controllers STILL use) And now the 'difficulty' switches are present. Not extremely useful, but you need them if you want to play Ghostbusters! (pictured above) Also, the Atari board itself is repositioned so that the cartridge slot doesn't have to be rewired (one of the trickiest parts of the Rev 1 and 2 units, and the most fragile) It's all very simplified. I can wire a VCSp Rev 3 in well under an hour.

SUB-NOTE: While putting the final touches on this one, I found my Raiders of the Lost Ark tape under a pile of circuit boards! Been looking for that... (would they release it on DVD already???)

   Rechargeables!

And then there's the battery issue. I know a lot of you liked how the 9 volt stuck out of the VCSp, but, it's time to move on. The Rev 3 uses 1 battery, a rechargeable Sony Info lithium. Not sure what Sony would think of this, but I think if someone buys one of these batteries, they can stick them in whatever they darn well please!

I got the TV on Saturday, did the wiring on Sunday, routed the case on Monday, and assembled the unit on Tuesday. 4 days, not bad at all. I ran into a couple problems which cost time. Also, this is the first time I've built a VCSp in this new way. So, in the future it'll be even faster.

THINGS TO DO:

It's still not quite perfected. Routing the case takes too long I think. Of course, routing a couple at a time would speed things up, however the accuracy of the router is not as precise when doing multiple copies. Example, a hole cut to .9375 deep on the left side of the router table might cut .9500 deep by time it gets to the third or fourth copy. There's always slight anomalies, especially when the equipment is being pushed to its limits.

And one of these days I need to inquire about getting black material. I have lots of scrap blue to work with, but I know people want black. Thing is, if I had to have some black custom-made, I'd have to order $4200 worth. Ahem. I will check on some black material. This plastic Densitec stuff I'm using is great, I just need to find some in black!

And then there's the paddle controller issue. So far the VCSp's haven't had one because I don't really care for paddle games. Lame excuse, huh? I will add one to the Rev 3 if it can be done without making the case larger or harder to construct. There's not much room in there...

Oh, and those tactile switches. I order a bunch from Radio Shack, but they were not QUITE right. I had to use the last switches left over from the Vagabond controller, meaning I have to re-order the right switches. Hopefully I get the right ones this time...

So that's where I am with this! Hopefully soon after I make a couple more of these I will feel confident to start *officially* taking orders.

Ok, the Atari VCSp Revision 3's. By a vote of a lot to very few, they will use Sony Info lithium rechargeable batteries.

Here's one of my Rev 3 test models. With and without the battery. A co-worker of mine suggested I rout the battery holder right in the back of the unit. (Originally it was going to be a separate piece that screwed on). Separate Piece, wasn't that a book or a movie or something? Anyway, I tried his idea. It meant routing the piece on both sides, which can be a pain, but in this case it's actually faster than routing a separate piece and attaching it. Also stronger! The blue bracket has the knobs which slide into the side of the battery and lock it in place.

A concern I had with this were metal tabs that stick in the battery terminals. I wanted to find something that I could buy and use (not custom), for speed purposes. I found something that worked just today (03/03/01). The metal prongs in a molded nylon connector can be sniped in certain spots and bent over. I dumped some solder down them to 1: strengthen them 2: melt them into the plastic. Hey, it worked good, as you can see! Will probably take just a couple minutes to rig one up during production. A lot faster than the batteries on the first 2 VCSp's!

I inserted the battery and gave it the Drop On The Floor Test. The battery flew out, but the connecting bracket and the prongs were undamaged. I would consider that a successful test.

Oh, a note. There is no battery cover on the back so you can stick a HUGE battery on if you want. It'll stick a ways out, but those big batteries will give you a LOT of time! I tested it with my NP-F960 (the biggest Info lithium money can buy) and it held fine. Looked stupid, but held fine.

TV thoughts. I checked at Best Buy, the Casio EV-550 (the workhorse of portable Atari building!) will be available until July 3rd. Now, they might just start calling them the EV-551 and it'll be the same thing. There's a pretty good chance they'll still be around, but I will probably have to start thinking of alternatives.

One possible alternative is a Radio Shack pocket TV I looked at today. It isn't a TFT active matrix (like the EV-550) but the picture still looked perfectly adequate. It has an A/V input jack, kinda rare for a lower-grade pocket TV. From what I could tell, the screen and circuit board size and positioning seemed similar to the Casio EV-550, which would make it easy to convert over.

But let's cut to the chase here. This Radio Shack TV is only $99. And from the Radio Shack website it's a bit less I think. That lobs $50 off the cost of the VCSp. (the EV-550 is $150!). Now, considering that a buyer gets $40 off for sending me an Atari, and considering this Radio Shack TV is $50 less than the EV-550, and if I could knock a few bucks someplace else, the price of an Atari VCSp could conceivably hit the magic $200 mark. Now, remember, if a buyer didn't send me an Atari to gut the price would be $240, but still, that'd be great to get them that cheap.

I will probably buy a Radio Shack TV and ascertain how feasible this idea is, but I want to sell some more VCSp's first to generate funds. It's nice funding my Atari projects with my Atari profits and not my personal money. But rest assured, I will definitely look into this lower-cost screen.

In other news, I finally got my copy of Dragon's Lair for Gameboy Color. I wasn't expecting laserdisc quality and stellar game play, I just wanted to see it with my own eyes! It's playable, there isn't much for sound, though. Sure brings back memories of being 7 years old again. Still would have liked to play Resident Evil on Gameboy color... It always fascinates me when high-tech games are made for low-tech systems late in [the system's] life.

MORE RAMBLINGS TO COME!