Research over the Internet had led me to believe that a Composite Video output could be obtained from the Atari 2600's circuits. For anyone that doesn't know, composite video is like the VIDEO OUT port on your VCR or DVD player.

SUB-NOTE: Actually, the Atari 2600 is capable of doing LUMA/CHROMA output, which is similar, if not the same, as an S-VHS hook-up.

Anyway, I was interested in composite video out for 2 reasons. One, it would give a better picture. Two, if I could get a video signal from the chip itself, then I could do away with the RF modulator!

An RF modulator is the thing inside the Atari that makes a TV signal. It takes the video signal from the chips and makes it into a Channel 2 or 3 signal that any old piece of crap TV can pick up. It's the way everyone hooked up their Atari, because it was the ONLY way. Besides, I highly doubt that the crap-ola Zenith TV's circa 1981 had composite video inputs. But they might have, heck they had laserdiscs back then!

But, who needs an RF modulator in the Year 2000? I sure don't! I removed the portion of the circuit board that used the RF modulator. It cut 2 inches of length off the total. Yeah! Now it was the size of a portable unit. (almost - more to come)

A power wire of some sort had to be jumped because of this amputation. Also, the 
RESET and SELECT switches had to re-wired, since they (originally) were on the 
section that was hacked off. However, they were simple! Each switch, RESET and 
SELECT, used a pin off the RIOT chip, and went to ground. YAWN!

Here are the portions that were sawed off the original board. The silver square things on the right hand side were where the RESET and SELECT switches were. The silver thing in the lower-right hand corner is the RF modulator. 

I now had a circuit board that was quite smaller. But... I was having trouble getting video to work...