leonk

yes. It's normal. As McWill explained to me: in GG mode it has 7 modes: 1. Scaled H+V 2. Scaled H+V scanlines 3. Native H (doubled resolution) + scaled V 4. Native H (doubled resolution) + scaled V scanlines 5. Native H+V (doubled resolution); upper and lower picture cut off! 6. Native H+V (doubled resolution) scanlines; upper and lower picture cut off! 7. Native H+V hold A + B + start and one of the modes will horizontally stretched to fill the whole screen.

did you remember to connect the sms wire?

Did another McWill GG install today. This time I got unlucky, a 1 chip! (lots more components to remove and soldering than 2 chip). But that's OK, did it all under my scope and works great. couple fo suggestions: R24 replaced by R30? That resistor is a penny. Why not ship it with the kit and mark it as such (not to confuse with other resistor). Some people will use wide solder tip to heat both pads of resistor and flick it off. This process kills resistors. I prefer to put new resistor than reuse. Vcc and GND instructions not clear. Especially for those not using the wheel to control backlight/have VGA out. I ended up finding 5V and GND on port that goes to the power pcb. Closest hence least issues. Apart from that, instructions are much better than I remember. And as always, breathtaking when first turned on. Marco. I want my NOMAD screen!!

pm sent!

This thread seemed to have died in the summer. Any progress in universal over voltage protection pcb?

So am I the only one wondering when the Nomad LCd would ship!?

a couple of gotchas I ran into: - instructions talk about jumper but never say where it is / what it's labelled! - instructions aren't clear about the display button wiring. eg. what happens if I wire pin 1 to GND and still wire display to pin 4? If I dont install VGA connector, is it possible to make display button do on/off/retro without cycling through non-existing VGA options. Most important: instructions talk about testing Vcc. Is it even possible for Lynx to run normally with Vcc >5.5V?? Testing for that Voltage (by shorting GND in battery to middle pin on headphone jack) released magic smoke in mine resulting in me needing to buy another Lynx.

Most inportant thing is to also have a game inserted. Otherwise you need to install a wire between pin 31 and 33 on the cart connector, under the metal shield.

I'm not sure about battery/headphone mod. It killed one of my Lynx 2 systems. I think the better solution is to short the top of the mosfet and the right pin (solder in a wire). That seems to work for me.

So I got a Lynx 2 for another McWill LCD mod. It was working great before I started. One of the steps in the install is to verify Vcc. Given how darn fragile the front membrane is (smart move Atari for using carbon for the connector!) I try to minimze in/out of it (as it easily rubs away) One of the tricks I read online is how to power the Lynx without the power button: connect negative terminal of battery to negative pole of headphone jack. BAD MISTAKE. After I plugged the original Atari AC adapter, black smoke came out of the system. At this point I can power the system again using power button (using 5V external switching regulator) but the damage was done. Black screen on original LCD / Garbales video on McWill LCD. I think the CPU is toast (magic smoke came out of Q8 I believe, it tested bad on my multimeter) but high voltage went everywhere. Point is: Don't blindly follow instructions online. Time for find a good Lynx 2 PCB.

about the same. but even if battery life was HORRIBLE I would still do the mod again. It's so amazing compared to oem screen!!! Even using my Canon 5D and L lenses I cant capture how amazing this looks in person!

overvoltage protection is a very interesting idea I never considered. Its application is far reaching beyond Lynx!! I recently had a person who sent me an NES top loader for repair where the 7805 shorted and 9V was fed into the main rail. NES CPU/PPU can only be harvested from another NES. Adding this protection would be awesome for every retro console out there!! Time for a community made Gerber file that can be shared on Oshpark??

Mojado: Very interesting design. The assumption here is that the components used in your circuit (C04013BC) are a lot more reliable than the FET's, right? Now, in order to restore the Lynx circuit, there's a lot of discussion of using "modern" FET / diode. There was a post earlier of a good diode, but what about the FET? Any suggestions on the right one to use (Digikey links would help). Currently, I use the following in my restorations, but these seems to be NOS of the exact same failing one! http://console5.com/store/3055e-n-channel-mosfet.html

Why would overvoltage protection be an issue with these modern switching voltage regulators? They are rated at 7-36/48V! 36/48V is a lot more than any battery or AC/DC adapter can put out. Isn't the issue more with reverse polarity? But there are already diodes on the PCB to protect them from that happening. The only other issue might be current.. The OKI-78SR docs say to use a 2a fuse and you should be set.

ah! got it. but this is true only if on batteries. On AC adapter it's a moot point.

Orange-Phantom: Your original testing was switching regular + McWill screen vs stock Lynx. Not keeping all variables the same here. A better comparison would have been stock Lynx II vs Lynx II with the Recom switching regulator (I assume R-78?) and NO McWill screen! If you did this, you would have found the measurements to be pretty much the same. The R-78 brings a lot of good things to the table: - 97% efficiency - 9 - 48V input - 3 million hours MTBF (>300 years!!) The 3055E N-Channel MOSFET is a known failing component of the Lynx. I've replacement many of them. All you're doing is buying yourself another 10-15 years. Why not just fix it once, and never worry about it ever again? These consoles are only going to get more expensive with time. When 9V rushes through your Lynx CPU and your McWill LCD screen, how are you going to fix it then? (or would you even care)

ok. But this still doesnt explain why it's pretty common for these units to fail. In all cases, the rail measures 9V (to the CPU!) The root cause is discovered to be a shorted zenor diode. You can leave your console as is and hope that the zenor you have in your lynx doesnt short. Others simply decide to not take the chance.

Google is your friend. http://console5.com/wiki/Atari_Lynx

I cant comment on original lynx as ive only been working on the newer model 2. But based on my experience of fixing a dozen of these and the leaked schematics found on console5, it does not have a switching regulator. What PSU are you using to power your lynx when you measured? original AC to DC Atari Lynx transformer, or modern 3rd party switching PSU?? Your scope migjt be confused by your power source.

Hi. Please put me down for one with the case for my Model 2. It would be an awesome addition to my McWill LCD modded console!

!?!? You guys know that the Sega Nomad has an accessory that simply takes 3 AA batteries! I think this is the best approach. You toss in 6 high quality AA rechargeable batteries and you're good to go. In 2 years time when the batteries go tits up, you toss them out and buy 6 more. No hacking, no slashing, no modding. Sega already gave you a solution 25 years ago!!

Are people still taking retro consoles with them to places where there is no power outlet? (Camping, the beach)? For those places, I bring my 3DS or PSP. Easy to emulate retro consoles on them. Lower risk of loosing a $400 console too (after cost of console, new LCD and mod cost that's what it ends up costing to most people vs cheap $40 PSP) To each their own I guess. I personally love restoring these old consoles (even to stock) just to keep them out of landfill. Can't imagine helping the cause of I'm dumping dozens of AA batteries every week.

I've done hundreds of mods over the years for many customers, and I understand English is not your first language, so I too had some difficulty following your instructions. That being said, I eventually understood what you were trying to explain in the installation instructions and managed to get it done. I've since shown the GG to many customers and many of them are excited to have me install this kit in their GG. Don't get me wrong McWill, you are a god when it comes to modern LCD mods!!!

Personally, I don't know why anyone will play Atari Lynx, GameGear, Sega NOMAD or TurboExpress on batteries. I game with AC adapter with all these handhelds. That being said, I'm glad someone took the effort to measure the power consumption of modern LCD vs old LCD. If I were to guess why the modern LCD is using MORE power than the old one, I'd say 80% of the power is being consumed by the FPGA (Xilinx 3) and not the switching power regulator or LCD screen. The LCD screen (if I'm not mistaken) is LED backlit which is a heck of a lot more efficient than the florescent tube in the original Lynx. BUT, the LCD screen does need to communicate with the Lynx PCB, and the FPGA is doing that for you. It's practically a CPU running there! (probably more powerful than what's on the Lynx itself!). That's where you're losing all the power.

$30 for LCD install is crazy deal. Given the time to do one, $60 min is a much more accurate price.