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.

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