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-^CrossBow^-

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  1. -^CrossBow^-
    Here at the Ivory Tower, I get quite a few requests for console services. It might be an actual repair to get a console working back to full factory function or refurbishment of a working condole to ensure it works for another 40+ years into the future. But by and large most of my requests are to enhance a console in some way. Usually through audio/video upgrades etc. But on more rare occasions, I will be sent a system that has already had work done to it either by the original owner or from another and requested to further enhance. 
    Because of just how I am... In such requests I usually undo most of what has been done before when it requires it. Sometimes I will use existing wiring and just trim it up or tighten loose AV jacks that have been installed. But in this particular instance, I had a Sears Intellivision console sent that had been prior upgraded with a composite video output and had an earlier RGB board installed into it. It was requested to give the entire system a once over and correct any wrongs found while also upgrading the current RGB with one of the newer offerings. 
    I'm writing this blog because some might feel that with a console already having been prior worked on before and semi working already, that the amount of work required to upgrade what has been done before might be less work than doing it on a console that hasn't been touched or modified in the past. In most cases... this is far from the truth as you will see with this particular Intellivision.
    First let me show you some pics of what it looked like inside when I first opened it up. I do not know exactly who did the original work, but it is pretty representative of the kinds of work I find in these systems sent to me to fixed and upgraded further.
    This is a picture of the power supply board when I first opened up the system. Nothing horribly an issue here, but it would seem that whomever was in this before did apply new thermal paste on the VRs, but they used too much as you can even see it on the legs of the VRs below. They also didn't replace out the high wattage 12Ω resistor that is the grey tube thing near the center. You can see on the left hand side it is starting to show signs of breaking down as it is starting to flake. To be fair, it might not have been this way when it was last worked on.

    This is the original composite video upgrade that was done in the past. My only issue here is that the wires these older kits from the guy in Turkey used, are a bit thin and break easy. The wiring was also not tided up and left long. Likely so the main board could still be removed in the future but some tidying would have been nice to see.

    Here are the original RCA jacks that were installed as part of this kit. Again, the wiring is left long and not secured in any way. Also, the RCAs had worked loose and were free spinning. This results in dimming picture output because the ground connection is off those metal tabs. If they jack is free spinning, that means the ground tab isn't very secure and is barely making contact.

    This is what I found when I removed the controller tray. That PCB is the older 'Fred' RGB board. It was not attached at all and was loose inside this section of the Intellivision. First, this area is NOT for installing boards like this. This area is empty because it was thought you would store the power cord inside this section when the console wasn't in use. So if someone had done that here, they very likely would have pulled something loose off this RGB board or started to fray the AC cord. Either way... this is NOT acceptable in any situation and should have been installed elsewhere in the system. 

    Because of the board laying in here loose, it stands to reason that the RGB output jack is here as well and yes it is. This isn't too much an issue but again not idea. For starters, it is a bad idea to route any AV outputs near power sources and we have that large AC transformer just a few inches away. But mainly bad because as you can see, the wiring is again loose here and would have separated easily over time. The RGB jack was epoxied into place and I do not have any issues with that since that is really the only option you have for these type of panel mount jacks and is something I do myself.

    The RGB board gets its signals from the U10 color IC chips, the same way the current RGB boards do. But in this install a separate breakout PCB was used where the original IC was removed and installed into a single wipe socket on the breakout PCB. The PCB was then stuck into the original single wipe socket that the IC chip was originally in. This seems overly complicated since it is just as easy and provides a better connection to just solder to the bottom of the PCB to the pins where this chip is located. My main issue here is the cheap single wipe sockets of the original not being replaced out with higher quality, and the use of single wipe on the PCB breakout board.

     
    Now for what I has been corrected and redone... First is the power supply board was recapped and new high wattage 12Ω resistor installed. I also cleaned up the VRs and redid the thermal compound with higher grade stuff.

    The older composite only board was completely removed as composite output was being replaced by the new all in one board combo that I installed. This is Crayon King's older v5 RGB board with one of his separate expansion boards on top. This provides not only RGB that is of much better quality and compatibility to the older board, but provides the best composite I've seen from an Intellivision, plus a really excellent s-video output as well! Here is the new RGB board combo installed on the main PCB with all the new wiring in place.

    I installed a new AMP brand dual wipe socket for the U10 color IC chip and attached it back onto the mainboard. As a result, the wiring needed for the new RGB now attaches at the bottom of the PCB to the pins that are connected to the U10 color IC chip. The scorching in the lower right is quite normal and is a result of the stupid amount of heat that the two 3906 transistors in that part of the board experience. It gets hot enough to discolor the PCB. I always replace these transistors as part of any Intellivision model 1 refurb because the originals are ticking on their last lives at this point. Can't do anything about the heat, but at least with new ones, they should last as long as the originals have to this point. The other wires from cartridge port are for a power LED that is being added to the console at the owners request. That is actually the exact same method INTV used when they added the power LEDs to the Super Pro System and INTV III consoles.

    The RCA jacks were redone using star lock washers to hold them in place more securely. I also added in an additional Red colored RCA for dual mono output so the owner of this console doesn't have to keep using an audio splitter. This also allows for a future stereo upgrade later should a nice kit come along that provides that. You can also see the new s-video panel jack that has been added since that is available, why not add it? A switch was also installed to allow for palette switching on the new RGB board since it comes with 2 different palette options. 

    Since the original RGB output jack ended up having bad internal pin connections anyway and was giving video drop outs, I had to crack out the original and replaced it with a new matching type. To help with keeping things more tidy, I used a breakout board for the jack and secured the wiring more.

    Here is what the entire rear of the console looks like at this point. Have to keep in mind that the Red RCA, the s-video jack to the right of that, and the RGB on the far right have been replaced. You can see the toggle switch used for the palette change here as well. I have it facing downwards as there is plenty of room for it, it makes it easy to find and flip and doesn't protrude beyond the normal width of the casing. I add colored boots to the switches so they don't seem quite as obvious. 

     
    And that is all I have at the moment as I'm still finalizing this console. But everything is tested and as you can see in these pics, I use connectors for all wiring that is attached to the case shell so that it is easier in the future to remove the mainboard for servicing completely from the shells. The point here is that just as much work and maybe more goes into working on a system that has already had work done in the past and it shouldn't be assumed that because some of this stuff was already in place, that it results in less labor being needed to upgrade further.

    View the full article
  2. -^CrossBow^-
    Here at the Ivory Tower, I get quite a few requests for console services. It might be an actual repair to get a console working back to full factory function or refurbishment of a working condole to ensure it works for another 40+ years into the future. But by and large most of my requests are to enhance a console in some way. Usually through audio/video upgrades etc. But on more rare occasions, I will be sent a system that has already had work done to it either by the original owner or from another and requested to further enhance. 
    Because of just how I am... In such requests I usually undo most of what has been done before when it requires it. Sometimes I will use existing wiring and just trim it up or tighten loose AV jacks that have been installed. But in this particular instance, I had a Sears Intellivision console sent that had been prior upgraded with a composite video output and had an earlier RGB board installed into it. It was requested to give the entire system a once over and correct any wrongs found while also upgrading the current RGB with one of the newer offerings. 
    I'm writing this blog because some might feel that with a console already having been prior worked on before and semi working already, that the amount of work required to upgrade what has been done before might be less work than doing it on a console that hasn't been touched or modified in the past. In most cases... this is far from the truth as you will see with this particular Intellivision.
    First let me show you some pics of what it looked like inside when I first opened it up. I do not know exactly who did the original work, but it is pretty representative of the kinds of work I find in these systems sent to me to fixed and upgraded further.
    This is a picture of the power supply board when I first opened up the system. Nothing horribly an issue here, but it would seem that whomever was in this before did apply new thermal paste on the VRs, but they used too much as you can even see it on the legs of the VRs below. They also didn't replace out the high wattage 12Ω resistor that is the grey tube thing near the center. You can see on the left hand side it is starting to show signs of breaking down as it is starting to flake. To be fair, it might not have been this way when it was last worked on.

    This is the original composite video upgrade that was done in the past. My only issue here is that the wires these older kits from the guy in Turkey used, are a bit thin and break easy. The wiring was also not tided up and left long. Likely so the main board could still be removed in the future but some tidying would have been nice to see.

    Here are the original RCA jacks that were installed as part of this kit. Again, the wiring is left long and not secured in any way. Also, the RCAs had worked loose and were free spinning. This results in dimming picture output because the ground connection is off those metal tabs. If they jack is free spinning, that means the ground tab isn't very secure and is barely making contact.

    This is what I found when I removed the controller tray. That PCB is the older 'Fred' RGB board. It was not attached at all and was loose inside this section of the Intellivision. First, this area is NOT for installing boards like this. This area is empty because it was thought you would store the power cord inside this section when the console wasn't in use. So if someone had done that here, they very likely would have pulled something loose off this RGB board or started to fray the AC cord. Either way... this is NOT acceptable in any situation and should have been installed elsewhere in the system. 

    Because of the board laying in here loose, it stands to reason that the RGB output jack is here as well and yes it is. This isn't too much an issue but again not idea. For starters, it is a bad idea to route any AV outputs near power sources and we have that large AC transformer just a few inches away. But mainly bad because as you can see, the wiring is again loose here and would have separated easily over time. The RGB jack was epoxied into place and I do not have any issues with that since that is really the only option you have for these type of panel mount jacks and is something I do myself.

    The RGB board gets its signals from the U10 color IC chips, the same way the current RGB boards do. But in this install a separate breakout PCB was used where the original IC was removed and installed into a single wipe socket on the breakout PCB. The PCB was then stuck into the original single wipe socket that the IC chip was originally in. This seems overly complicated since it is just as easy and provides a better connection to just solder to the bottom of the PCB to the pins where this chip is located. My main issue here is the cheap single wipe sockets of the original not being replaced out with higher quality, and the use of single wipe on the PCB breakout board.

     
    Now for what I has been corrected and redone... First is the power supply board was recapped and new high wattage 12Ω resistor installed. I also cleaned up the VRs and redid the thermal compound with higher grade stuff.

    The older composite only board was completely removed as composite output was being replaced by the new all in one board combo that I installed. This is Crayon King's older v5 RGB board with one of his separate expansion boards on top. This provides not only RGB that is of much better quality and compatibility to the older board, but provides the best composite I've seen from an Intellivision, plus a really excellent s-video output as well! Here is the new RGB board combo installed on the main PCB with all the new wiring in place.

    I installed a new AMP brand dual wipe socket for the U10 color IC chip and attached it back onto the mainboard. As a result, the wiring needed for the new RGB now attaches at the bottom of the PCB to the pins that are connected to the U10 color IC chip. The scorching in the lower right is quite normal and is a result of the stupid amount of heat that the two 3906 transistors in that part of the board experience. It gets hot enough to discolor the PCB. I always replace these transistors as part of any Intellivision model 1 refurb because the originals are ticking on their last lives at this point. Can't do anything about the heat, but at least with new ones, they should last as long as the originals have to this point. The other wires from cartridge port are for a power LED that is being added to the console at the owners request. That is actually the exact same method INTV used when they added the power LEDs to the Super Pro System and INTV III consoles.

    The RCA jacks were redone using star lock washers to hold them in place more securely. I also added in an additional Red colored RCA for dual mono output so the owner of this console doesn't have to keep using an audio splitter. This also allows for a future stereo upgrade later should a nice kit come along that provides that. You can also see the new s-video panel jack that has been added since that is available, why not add it? A switch was also installed to allow for palette switching on the new RGB board since it comes with 2 different palette options. 

    Since the original RGB output jack ended up having bad internal pin connections anyway and was giving video drop outs, I had to crack out the original and replaced it with a new matching type. To help with keeping things more tidy, I used a breakout board for the jack and secured the wiring more.

    Here is what the entire rear of the console looks like at this point. Have to keep in mind that the Red RCA, the s-video jack to the right of that, and the RGB on the far right have been replaced. You can see the toggle switch used for the palette change here as well. I have it facing downwards as there is plenty of room for it, it makes it easy to find and flip and doesn't protrude beyond the normal width of the casing. I add colored boots to the switches so they don't seem quite as obvious. 

     
    And that is all I have at the moment as I'm still finalizing this console. But everything is tested and as you can see in these pics, I use connectors for all wiring that is attached to the case shell so that it is easier in the future to remove the mainboard for servicing completely from the shells. The point here is that just as much work and maybe more goes into working on a system that has already had work done in the past and it shouldn't be assumed that because some of this stuff was already in place, that it results in less labor being needed to upgrade further.
    View the full article
  3. -^CrossBow^-

    5200 with very odd keypad / fire button issues

    By -^CrossBow^-,


    Service Stories from the Ivory Tower
    I've done a video on something similar to this but here is a rundown on what I was encountering:
    A 5200 sent in for services had a note stating that top fire button wouldn't work on the console. This is an issue I've run into before and in fact have created a video on it. It can be due to the controller having a broken trace of course on the flex circuit inside it. But... it can also very well be due to a faulty 4052 MUX chip inside the console located at U13 or A13 depending on the age of when your 5200 was made.
    Well, that was indeed the same issue with this 5200. But after replacing that and confirming the top fire button was now functional again, I then used my port loopback tester board with the diagnostics and was surprised when a slew of other errors came across indicating issues with the keypad. 
    I then used a different program for just testing the controllers and sure enough, whenever you put a controller into port 2 and pressed the pause button, it would call the entire aux buttons to register all at once on both controller 2 and port 1 even though a controller wasn't plugged into port 1?! So that meant Start, Pause, and Reset were all registering at the same time. I later found out that when pressing the 4,5, or 6 buttons that it would also register ever single keypad button in that same column to also register. Obviously that wasn't going to do!
    In testing the other ports, I found out that port 4 suffered similar issues but only the keypad section was messed up in that pressing 1,2, or 3 would cause all the keys on those columns to register at once. Very odd.
    Diagnostics told me it was a keypad issue so that was good. I then went to the service manual proceeded to follow the flowcharts for what might be the issue. My 'hunch' was that one more of the other 4052s was having issues. However, the flowchart kept pointing me to either a faulty GTIA (Which does handle some of the keypad controls), bad GTIA socket, or a bad 7400 chip near the RAM section. So I tried replacement GTIAs and 74ls00 chips with no change. The flowcharts have you using an O'scope to check for activity on the various triggers lines and such. Well, I was seeing activity or pulses indicating polling that the console is doing to check for buttons being pressed, but I was seeing something else odd as well. I was seeing what would appear to be ghost pulses between the normal square wave I should be seeing.
    I proceeded to then use my multi-meter and checked all of the connection points from the GTIA to the passive components to the MUX chips to the controller ports looking for any shorts or broken traces. Everything was checking out... After hours of checking everything the flowcharts and schematics were telling me and nothing else to go on, I decided to do something I should have done in the first place. Guess what that was?
    I removed each of the 4052 MUX chips (Kinda a PITA since these were all soldered to the board and not in sockets). And checked each one of them in my Bitback chip tester pro. Sure enough, I found another failed 4052 at position U12 about middle of the board just ahead of the controller ports. After installing all new sockets and putting in the original 4052s that passed and replacing U12. Finally the controllers were working properly again and the controller loop board was passing the diagnostics!
    The moral here is that people are SO quick to blame the controllers on the 5200 for their woes. The reality, is that the 4052 MUX chips are very prone to ESD failure and fail they do...often. Especially the RCA branded ones.
    Next time you have controller issues with your 5200, don't assume that controller is a POS and blanket blame it. Have the console checked out to be sure it isn't something internal causing an issue.
    The pic below shows the two 4052 MUX chips I had to replace to get this fully working again. They have little silver dots on them to indicate I replaced them and to mark where pin 1 is. Again, they are highly prone to failure so if you own a 5200, best to have a full set of these on hand just in case. They are cheap ICs so it is good insurance to have on hand. In this case I have small stash of OEM RCA ones that have tested good that I've pulled from other dead 5200s over the years. I suspect in the past that U10's 4052 was changed out in the past as it was already in a socket and had a different lot number on it from the others. 

    View the full article
  6. -^CrossBow^-
    A 7800 I worked on over a week ago was sent to me for a 'No Power On' condition. There are many reasons for this and I have found over the years two main issues. First is simply a faulty power supply adapter. Given these things are nearly 40 years old it isn't unreasonable to think that the PSUs are nearing their end of life. In fact I've had another client send back their 7800 when it started to develop power on/off issues and found nothing wrong when they were sent back. Sure enough, it was due to a fault power supply. So when speaking to this new client about their 7800, I suggested making sure the PSU was good and if they wanted to try something quick for not too much money, to get a replacement from Best Electronics. So they did...
    However, it didn't resolve the issue ? . At that point it was decided to send the 7800 to me so that I could look into the issue in more detail. I honestly figured at that point it was either a faulty power switch (Because those original OEM switches are kinda crappy and get corroded internally). Or perhaps a bad 4013 flip flop IC that controls the logic for power on/off status to the system. It is basically the same circuit the 5200 uses with a few less passive components in the mix.
    So the 7800 arrived and I first tested it with my PSUs. Sure enough... no power and no amount of massaging the power button would change it either. Took the cover apart and started to look at stuff. First thing I do is short the power switch to absolutely rule it out of the mix. No dice... hmmm. I then started to check for different things off the 4013 IC. Most things checked out, but the return signal from the system back to the 4013 to indicate power status didn't seem to have any activity. According to the 7800 troubleshooting flowchart, it states to replace the 4013 IC at that point. So I removed the original 4013, installed a socket and plugged a new 4013 into place. 
    No dice... still no power. I then started to check further along and found that no input voltage was getting sent to the 7805 voltage regulator. The input voltage switching is controlled by both the 4013 and another power transistor (MJE201). The 201 stands proudly on the edge of the mainboard between the heatsink of the voltage regulator and the power input port. Sure enough when checking the readings from it, I found it wasn't switching on to send the input voltage to the original VR.
    To test this I then hooked up my bench power supply, set it to 10v and connected it directly to the input pin of the VR and to ground on the main board. Turned on my bench supply and the 7800 came to life. So I knew I had the right component.
    So... what was the point of all of this text?! Simple... to document the basic troubleshooting process I went through to identify the problem component. Now, the 201s aren't exactly made anymore but there are equivalents. However, I don't have any of these modern replacements on hand (Because this is only the 2nd time I've had a 201 go bad ever). So I took the 201 off a donor parts 7800 board and installed that. The clients 7800 lived again. 
    I also ended up replacing the original VR with a newer 2A output rated one and installed new capacitors and new front panel switches for good measure. Client figured I was already inside the system and for about $10 in parts...why not?
    Mainboard picture. New capacitors, new front panel switches, new voltage regulator and replacement MJE201 just to the right of the heatsink near the power plug.

     
    Donkey Kong PK is a good game to use for burn-in testing as it has a demo mode and uses the pokey chip for new enhanced audio. So it is a good test for everything. And... tons of fun to play too!

     
    This 7800 was cleaned up and is already back in the hands of its owner and ready to be enjoyed and played for many more years to come!


    View the full article
  7. -^CrossBow^-
    A 7800 I worked on over a week ago was sent to me for a 'No Power On' condition. There are many reasons for this and I have found over the years two main issues. First is simply a faulty power supply adapter. Given these things are nearly 40 years old it isn't unreasonable to think that the PSUs are nearing their end of life. In fact I've had another client send back their 7800 when it started to develop power on/off issues and found nothing wrong when they were sent back. Sure enough, it was due to a fault power supply. So when speaking to this new client about their 7800, I suggested making sure the PSU was good and if they wanted to try something quick for not too much money, to get a replacement from Best Electronics. So they did...
    However, it didn't resolve the issue 😞 . At that point it was decided to send the 7800 to me so that I could look into the issue in more detail. I honestly figured at that point it was either a faulty power switch (Because those original OEM switches are kinda crappy and get corroded internally). Or perhaps a bad 4013 flip flop IC that controls the logic for power on/off status to the system. It is basically the same circuit the 5200 uses with a few less passive components in the mix.
    So the 7800 arrived and I first tested it with my PSUs. Sure enough... no power and no amount of massaging the power button would change it either. Took the cover apart and started to look at stuff. First thing I do is short the power switch to absolutely rule it out of the mix. No dice... hmmm. I then started to check for different things off the 4013 IC. Most things checked out, but the return signal from the system back to the 4013 to indicate power status didn't seem to have any activity. According to the 7800 troubleshooting flowchart, it states to replace the 4013 IC at that point. So I removed the original 4013, installed a socket and plugged a new 4013 into place. 
    No dice... still no power. I then started to check further along and found that no input voltage was getting sent to the 7805 voltage regulator. The input voltage switching is controlled by both the 4013 and another power transistor (MJE201). The 201 stands proudly on the edge of the mainboard between the heatsink of the voltage regulator and the power input port. Sure enough when checking the readings from it, I found it wasn't switching on to send the input voltage to the original VR.
    To test this I then hooked up my bench power supply, set it to 10v and connected it directly to the input pin of the VR and to ground on the main board. Turned on my bench supply and the 7800 came to life. So I knew I had the right component.
    So... what was the point of all of this text?! Simple... to document the basic troubleshooting process I went through to identify the problem component. Now, the 201s aren't exactly made anymore but there are equivalents. However, I don't have any of these modern replacements on hand (Because this is only the 2nd time I've had a 201 go bad ever). So I took the 201 off a donor parts 7800 board and installed that. The clients 7800 lived again. 
    I also ended up replacing the original VR with a newer 2A output rated one and installed new capacitors and new front panel switches for good measure. Client figured I was already inside the system and for about $10 in parts...why not?
    Mainboard picture. New capacitors, new front panel switches, new voltage regulator and replacement MJE201 just to the right of the heatsink near the power plug.

     
    Donkey Kong PK is a good game to use for burn-in testing as it has a demo mode and uses the pokey chip for new enhanced audio. So it is a good test for everything. And... tons of fun to play too!

     
    This 7800 was cleaned up and is already back in the hands of its owner and ready to be enjoyed and played for many more years to come!

    View the full article
  8. -^CrossBow^-
    So these arrived in the mail yesterday and so I was super stoked to build one up and try installing it onto my test bed stock 7800 I use in the lab. If you saw my earlier blog post, you might have already figured it out, but yes... I designed some mount PCBs for slight ease on installing UAVs into 7800s. These mount boards have the chroma fix already on them in addition to the extra resistors and cap for audio mixing to external RCA jacks etc. However, this is a dual mono audio solution and not stereo... just something to keep in mind.
     
    Not sure I will make these available to the public yet as the time to hand assemble and test them isn't something I can do large scale. But for my client installs going forward, this is likely how my UAV installs will pretty much look like.
     
    This first board I put together is using single pin sockets so I could easily pop the UAV on/off the board as needed for testing etc. Actual installs will have the UAV soldered permanently onto the mount board and as a result the UAV will sit lower onto the mount board than you see here. 
     
    The mount board is designed with board headers so that you solder it down near the resistor legs that the video signals are tapped from. 

     
    I also have vias for power and ground that line up with the GND and +5 from the RF modulator pins. In this example install, I use a 90 right angle pin header that solders to the top of the pin headers from the RF modulator board and then can be soldered through the vias. But this isn't required as you could just solder wires to these vias instead if you wanted. Additionally, once the UAV is attached, you could also just run +5 and GND to the UAV pads and it would feed everything as well.

     
    I also have included 2 more board headers that allow me to solder to the R5 and R6 resistors to get the audio signals we need for the POKEY and TIA. These are then mixed on the mount board and an audio out pad provided to simplify the audio portion of installs.

     
    Here is the example setup I did last night. Again I used single pin sockets on this so I could remove the UAV easily but actual installs would have the UAV soldered onto header pins directly. As a result, the actual combo won't sit this tall on actual installs as the UAV will only at half the height you see here.

     
    Here are two more boards I soldered up ready to go.

     
    These are using the through hole pin headers. To align these, I actually set them into place and then set a UAV on top. So actual assembly is basically to solder on the SMD components first, then set the header pins for the UAV into place, place the UAV onto the pins to align everything up, flip the board over and solder the header pins for the UAV on the bottom of the PCB. Then I solder in the larger and thicker header pins for the mount boards resistor leg mounting. I then line it up and solder the mount board into place. I'm then able to do some initial testing without the UAV by power on the console to make sure I have power and ground connections where needed. I can also verify that some of the video signals (Especially chroma) are coming through using my o'scope. Everything else just needs continuity tested to be sure I have connections. I can then place the UAV onto the pins and power on again without soldering it to initially test that the UAV is working. Granted it is just sitting on the header pins at this point, but they make a good enough connection for these initial tests. Once confirmed everything is a go, I can then solder the UAV permanently into place and run my output wires where needed. Because of the orientation of the UAV (It was really the only way to keep it all self contained in this one spot), it does require running your AV out wires ahead of time or header pins etc.. as you won't be able to solder it into place very easily once the UAV is in place given how close the video outputs will be to the RF modulator's interconnect board.
     
     

  9. -^CrossBow^-
    I'm not going to provide a ton of pics on this one because it just isn't needed. But I had been fighting with a 7800 that I've been servicing for a total of just over 12 hours in trying to figure out why it would only play 7800 games? If you put in a 2600 game, it would only give a black screen and not much else. If I put in my Plus+ cart, I could barely make out the plus cart logo on the screen as it would flicker all over.

    This told me that the 7800 was in fact switching over to 2600 mode properly or at least would appear to be in order for the plus cart to start loading up. But as you can see the picture is not correct and what you can't see in this static photo is that the image would only blink in and out quickly for me to see this. It took some doing to capture this frame on my PVM to show it.
    I first replaced some of the 3906 transistors that sit above the MARIA IC chip as I had one in the past with a similar issue and one of those had been the culprit. In the end, I ended up replacing all of the transistors on this board along with trying alternate ICs from my working test spares to isolate the issue. Nothing worked and I was about to toss in the towel and tell the owner that it would forever have to be a 7800 only console. 
    Then in checking some traces (suspecting a bad trace somewhere), I happened to touch my meter probes to two of the pins on the cartridge port and was surprised when the metered 'beeped' at me?! None of those cartridge pin fingers should be touching unless a cartridge inserted is causing a connection to do so. In looking further, I could see a dull looking color in the bottom of the far left side of the 7800 cartridge slot. I thought it was paint because it was so flat and kinda dirty looking. I cleaned and cleaned with 99% IPA and contact cleaner and whatever it was just would not clean out of the slot. Eventually I use a sharp larger end of my soldering boring tool to poke and scrape and it came loose. After some mangling with my tweezers I managed to pull this out of the cartridge slot...

    It looks like a blob of solder, but in fact it is foil tape?! It is very similar to the tape used on the 2600 switches from Atari as part of the ESD protective measures. It is all twisted up here because of my scraping on it with my tool and using the tweezers to pull it out. But yes, this little bit of foil tape had gotten into the slot at some point in time (Prior to it being send to me), and was the issue. Removing it, removed the short on the cartridge pins and 2600 games now come up and work properly again.
    The reason 7800 games would work, is because when you inserted a 7800 cartridge into the slot, it would push the pins back enough to NOT make contact with the foil tape. But with out a 7800 cartridge inserted, the pins were all grounding out. This was confusing the 7800 and so it wasn't really switching fully to 2600 mode as it should have been. Basically, it was running 2600 code in 7800 mode so the clock signals were all out of whack as a result. This is why the video output was all goofed up.
    So the lesson here, is that you always need to check power first when encountering issues with a console, but be sure to look into the cartridge slots for any foreign debris as well.
    BTW... when the console first arrived to me, this is what I found inside. It came to me in power on but otherwise non working condition. I wonder why?

    View the full article
  10. -^CrossBow^-
    So the other night I tackled a hardware upgrade that I had seen mentioned in a youtube video that seemed really interesting. It was a video where a another retro gamer and hardware modder was showing his latest modification using a Yamaha 3438 discreet synth chip to produce the music and sounds in place of the stock Yamaha 2612 that came with the model 1 genesis units. The advantage of doing this was that the 3438 was essentially pin compatible but featured a true 8-bit DAC within it and better overall stereo separation and some improved instrumentation. In fact I've heard that the yamaha 3438 was used in Sega's arcade machines BITD. The video had music samples at the end to demonstrate the enhanced audio and clarity and it was pretty amazing! You also have to realize that wile the 3438 is essentially pin campatible, it does use different timings and logic from the 2612 that prevent it from being a drop in replacement. So to make it work you have to piggy back it off the 2612 in a way that the 2612 handles the timing and logic of the music passing it to the 3438 to produce the actual music and sound. Also the model 2 Genesis and variants from that, use the 3438 synth embedded in the logic of the all in one Sega ASIC that came about in these machines. So technically, the model 2 and above variants should have the benefits of the 3438 already, but due to very poor audio amp and mixing circuits in those variants of the genesis...it sounds worse than the 2612s used in the original model 1 HDG Genesis systems.

    So we fast forward about a year from my viewing all of this and I decide to give this a try for myself on my AV modded Genesis 1. I purchased the 3438 (A pair of them actually since you can always get two for twice the price...), the resistors and caps needed to perform the mod. And near as I can tell, I was successful in doing this on my Genesis va3. I've been making quite a few sound sample recordings of my own directly from my gensis's RCA ports I added to it. The audio is really clear on many of the instruments and especially noticeable on drums. But, there were also quite a few games that took advantage of the semi flawed original 2612's architecture to make the games sound the way they did that is lost in the process. For me the biggest change is that some instruments now come out way stronger and too loud compared to the other voices on many songs. In many cases this actually sounds better but in others it sounds off because those voices weren't as noticeable before and hence might have had odd audio tricks they were using that blended well originally, but now stand out way too much.

    The two games I've tested so far that have had the largest negative impact with this mod, has been with some music from Steets of Rage 2 and several tracks from Gunstar Heroes. However, the SOR2 tracks that seem affected by the changes, do NOT appear to actually play in the game themselves? I hadn't noticed this before because the audio was essentially the same. Now that I know what tracks sound off (Because you can really tell when you hear them), it was interesting to me that I never actually heard them in a play through of the game itself? I assume these music tracks were unused tracks and perhaps this is the reason for them sounding off. I don't know. I will try and get the SOR2 tracks I did and the Gunstar Heroes tracks upped to youtube when I can hopefully tonight.

    In the meantime, most tracks sound pretty amazing and it is more interesting to think what might have happened had the Genesis been released with this synth driving it. I think the audio comparisons between the Genesis and SNES would have been...a bit more balanced and less critical of the Genesis all the time in reviews BITD.

    Take a listen for yourself and see:

    Theme from Toejam and Earl 2 on the Genesis through the 3438 synth:



    Here is a song that sounds better than it did originally but the main bass note is a different instrument so it sounds perhaps a bit off: Also from Toejam and Earl 2 on the Genesis through the 3438.


    And then you have a great example of how much clearer the drums and stereo separation is with this wonderous Synth. This is from the unreleased game ResQ - Level 5 music composed by the great Matt Furniss. (I think he knew how to make a Genesis play FM music better than anyone!)
  11. -^CrossBow^-
    PCBs are designed, created, and already shipped headed my way as are a few components for me to populate the boards. I will go into more details once I have my PCBs and have been able to test and check out if my idea works the way I've planned or not. In the meantime, here is a pic of the PCB. If you are familiar with the UAV layout and install process needed for the 7800, then this should be obvious on what it is.

    While what you see here is rather large, in reality it is only about the size of the UAV board so roughly 24mm tall and about 33mm wide. Pretty small.
     

    View the full article
  12. -^CrossBow^-
    PCBs are designed, created, and already shipped headed my way as are a few components for me to populate the boards. I will go into more details once I have my PCBs and have been able to test and check out if my idea works the way I've planned or not. In the meantime, here is a pic of the PCB. If you are familiar with the UAV layout and install process needed for the 7800, then this should be obvious on what it is.

    While what you see here is rather large, in reality it is only about the size of the UAV board so roughly 24mm tall and about 33mm wide. Pretty small.
     
    View the full article
  13. -^CrossBow^-
    Received my BBPro 7800 adapter today and we have some really good things and some not so good that I'm hoping can be worked out in time.

    - First the good, is that the menu of course is easy to navigate working in the same manner
    - This might be the fastest loading flash cart for the 7800 with the exception of the older Mateos cart
    - Plays the many of the original released games without issues including both Commando and BallBlazer with properly balanced and proper sounding Pokey audio! Nice!

    Now for the issues I've encountered...
    - None of the 2600 roms I've tied to load up will work. What happens is that the 7800 resets after selecting the game and then essentially crashes. Now, I actually have a modified BIOS installed into my 7800 that was developed by Pac-Man Plus (Bob D.) and RevEng that plays the Kiloparsec build in 7800 game when it doesn't detect a cartridge installed. However, in the case of the BBPro, whenever I try to load up any 2600 game or some of the more recent 7800 home brew releases, it will default to the Kiloparsec built in game.
    - Some of the more recent 7800 home brews that I've been testing, will load up, but the audio isn't quite right on their POKEY sounds and the graphics glitch quite a bit with horizontal flickery lines.
    - One of the home brew games I have is E.X.O. in its full ready to be released form. It is a 512kb game but it doesn't load and causes the 7800 to load up the Kiloparsec built in game in my console again.
    - Doesn't seem to support Pokey at $450 or $800 which are somewhat newer implementations of Pokey addressing. So it seems it only supports Pokey at $4000and $8000 is my guess?

    Here is the list of original released titles I've had trouble getting to load up. These were all taken using Trebor's rom pack"
    - Ace of Aces will load up but no audio and corrupted graphics
    - Basketbrawl just gives a black screen and seems to lock up the BBPro since the button won't respond and requires a power cycle of the console
    - Choplifter works but has minor graphic glitching with horizonal lines across the top of the image. Seems to play normal otherwise
    - Double Dragon doesn't load up
    - F-18 Loads up but with corrupted graphics on title screen and then locks up after selecting a mission
    - Fatal Run starts up but then locks up to black screen when the demo starts or when trying to start a game
    - Fight Night stars up but the menus have corrupted text and game play graphics
    - Ikari Warriors starts up but with game play graphics corruption
    - Mat Mania Challenge will start but player sprites are corrupted
    - Mean 18 has corrupted game graphics and not really playable
    - Meltdown will give a black screen when trying to load
    - Midnight Mutants gives a black screen when trying to load just like Meltdown
    - Moto Psycho starts but player graphics are corrupted
    - Ninja Golf starts up but main player graphics are missing in the middle of the game play field and graphics corruptions in the map in the lower left
    - Planet Smashers - starts up but sprite graphics are corrupted
    - Rampage won't start, black screen
    - Scrapyard Dog doesn't start, black screen
    - Summer Games is playable but has flickery white lines on the screen only during the opening ceremonies
    - Touchdown Football will start up but then black screen when pressing reset to start the game
    - Winter Games works but has the same glitching horizontal flickering lines during the opening ceremony
    - Xenophobe, doesn't start, black screen
    So that is currently how my testing went last night with the new adapter. One of the main issues I see mainstream with the adapter, is the requirement of an additional reset wire that has to be installed using a clip off pin 13 of the 4013 IC inside the console, and then routed back out so you can plug it into the cartridge adapter. Many of Evie's adapters use and require this so it isn't new or unique to the 7800 adapter. But, I also don't see many folks willing to open up their consoles and remove the RF shielding to attach the wire and then figure out how to route it externally. Nor would they be okay with a wire dangling from their console in order to the use the BBPro. If you never planned to remove it it wouldn't be that big a deal, but then that kills the multi system aspect of having it in the first place. Evie is going to look more into trying to find ways to not require this wire, but in its current state, the adapter and the BBPro won't even load up without it attached.
    So, work to be done with it still for sure and this adapter appears to be a bit more wip still compared to the others I've gotten. But, Evie has always shown strong commitment to supporting her products and in likely short time, she will have quite a few of these issues resolved. I'll be sure to update as she updates the adapter.
    View the full article
  14. -^CrossBow^-

    And so it begins...

    By -^CrossBow^-,

    Many of you have known me for some time. Some of you even know me on a personal level having been a part of or attending my events here in Tulsa known as the Oklahoma Video Game Exhibition or OVGE for short. As such you may also know that I play lots of video games...lots...and lots of video games. I've been playing video games since I was about 4 and figured out how to hook up an old Odyssey 300 that my mother got somehow to our 19inch color magnavox TV back in the late 70s. Since then I was lucky to have lived the 2600 years later followed by the NES years (thanks to my step brother who had an NES and brought it over on the weekend when they would come to visit their father, my step-dad), to finally, the 7800 years. However, this is where my home console gaming came to an abrupt end. Only about 6 months after I received my 7800 as a B-day present in '88 it quickly began to collect dust with only the occasional game of 2600 Ms. Pac-Man or Midnight Magic being played by my mother. It didn't sit dormant due to lack luster sales or game releases...it sat stale because I had finally gotten my own IBM clone. And this is when video games changed for me just as they had when I first discovered them on the Odyssey 300 back in the day. I remained a devout PC gamer and only a PC gamer until the late 90s when emulation and my rekindled love for the classics began to burn anew. Since then I've reclaimed that dusty 7800 and put it back in service in the living room. It too now shares space with many consoles of the era and newer.
     
    To cut it short, I'm now more of a console gamer again, than a gamer on my PC. Sure I still play the newest coolest PC games whey they are made and are something I might enjoy. But for the most part, my money is spent on the consoles from which, my addiction was originally born.
     
    There are many game genres that I enjoy and think others would like or should try out. So I decided to start this little blog to contain detailed reviews of games new and old that have particularly impressed me, or impressed me upon hype and later turned me down. I hope you enjoy reading some of these reviews and look forward to hearing any comments you may have to add or PMs you feel like sending if you'd rather not have your opinion publically known. Some of these reviews are actually several years old and were created originally for the now defunct but still alive emulation website known as Jose Q's Emuviews. Some of us still haunt the place now and then in the chat area...but only to say a quick word and tag with the date and time.
     
    Enjoy!
  15. -^CrossBow^-
    This was my first review I did for a video game. It was done several years ago now and was and still is originally hosted at the now defunt musuem known as Jose Q's Emuviews. Grab something to drink and get comfortable. My reviews were and still are quite the read.
     
    Title = Starmaster
    Platform = Atari 2600
    Genre = Shooter (early Space/Sim)
    Released = 1982
    Players = 1
    ---------------------
    1982 was a good year to be the proud owner of an Atari 2600 VCS system. Atari made several releases that year made possible by such previous successes as Space Invaders, Defender and even the bane of all conversions…Pac man. However, Atari weren’t the only ones making games for the VCS at that time. Another company comprised of basically ticked off former Atari game programmers decided that they could do things better. Hence the company Activision was born. Activision made many great games of which some were fresh new innovative games…while some were simply remakes of previous Atari ideas and releases. The game Starmaster fits into this second category of game types. Which borrowed the ideas from an already existing Atari release called Star Raiders.
     
    Starmaster’s basic story is an old one that has been done time and time again. Basically you are the lone fighter piloting your starfighter against the enemy starfighters in order to protect starbases in your home galaxy. Again, nothing new as far as story is concerned but the action is what counts after all right? So how does Starmaster hold up? Well before I get to in-depth with this review please remember that you the reader must remember the age at which these games were released. With that said…let us take to the stars in finding out what Starmaster is about and how much interest it can really hold.
     
    Starmaster places you in the cockpit of your starfighter, therefore all the action takes place from a first person perspective. You warp from sector to sector blasting away the baddies at each sector. Deciding which sector to navigate to is accomplished with the aid of your Galactic Chart, which shows you all your starbases and enemy locations in the galaxy. You then warp to any sector shown to contain enemy ships to engage in battle. The neat thing about all this is that the game is semi strategic in where you decide to warp to as a number of factors come into play in your decisions. For one you have an energy reserve which ticks down anytime you warp, fire you laser cannon, get hit by enemy fire, and hitting meteors during the warp sequence. Also you have to watch the Galactic Chart to make sure none of your starbases become surrounded and overrun by enemy starfighters. If they do…Boom to you and yours on that starbase. The game ends when your energy runs out or you last starbase is destroyed. In addition to your energy reserves running down, you can also sustain hits to your ship damaging certain components like radar, laser cannon, warp engines, and shields. In order to repair these components you must warp to a neighboring starbase sector and dock with the starbase to return to battle once again. All of these elements combine to make for a really satisfying game.



    The graphics in Starmaster are typical of Activision during this time. Which means to say that for the most part the graphics are really decent on the VCS hardware. There are a few beefs that I have with graphics in this game which I feel could have been improved upon easily. For one all the enemy starfighters look alike. No variety in ship design or movement. Once you have a method for taking down one you have the knowledge to kill them all. Also our starfighter shoots laser beams whereas the enemy shoots fireballs. These fireballs look just like the meteors you have to dodge in the warp sequence. But there are a lot of other areas where the graphics are quite good. For one the warp effect is convincing and the stars move like a nice episode of classic Star Trek. The starbases also look good during the docking stage. The Galactic map isn’t much in graphics…but it is functional and it is easy to discern between enemy and starbase. Also the Galactic map will show you how many enemy fighters there are in the sectors, which makes the decision factor easier when deciding where the greatest threat lies. All in all the graphics kick the crap outta Atari’s Star Raiders.
     
    The sound is also good considering the VCS capabilities. Everything has a distinctive sound and seems to fit properly within the scope of the action. There are warning Klaxons alerting you to damage or when your reserves get low. When any of your starbases is destroyed you will know, as you will hear an explosion alerting you to the demise regardless of where you are in the galaxy. The play control is where this game really takes off past Atari’s Star Raiders. Raiders required a separate keypad controller. This controller usually came with the game, however it drove the price of the game up originally. Atari could have learned a lesson from watching how Activision dealt with the multiple screen views. In Starmaster you use the BW/Color switch on the VCS to select between the Galactic Chart and your ship view. This method of screen switching eliminates the need for an extra controller making Starmaster avail to everyone who had a joystick controller to be able to play this gem.
     
    Replay is hard to say on this one. Starmaster’s lower levels of difficulty are not that difficult at all. But attaining the rank of Supreme Starmaster requires some quick reflexes and even more efficient planning on your decisions of where to warp when. Plus the final score you achieve is based on how long you take, plus deductions for starbase dockings to repair. Also major deductions for losing starbases of course. All in all I find Starmaster to be extremely fun and very replayable but mileage will vary on this.



    Starmaster was created to directly compete against Atari’s flagship starfighter game Star Raiders. Does Starmaster pull this off? I would say it most definitely does! The decision of utilizing the BW/Color switch was a wise move on Activision’s part. Also unlike Star Raiders, I have always been impressed with the fact that I know exactly how many punks are waiting at the next sector for me instead of warping in and finding out I may be way in over my head. Starmaster’s ability to have your components get individually damaged rather than having a simple one hit and your dead attitude makes the gameplay far more interesting at times. The adrenaline pumps when your down to less than a thousand energy units…and your lasers, shield, and radar have been knocked out as you desperately hide from those meteors and slip past the enemy shots on your way to that last surrounded starbase. Doesn’t get much better than that people. If you ever happen to find this one at your local Thrift store or pawnshop or whatever, grab it and get the instructions on how to play from the web. You won’t be disappointed.
    ---------------------
    Graphics = 6 (Nice variety of screens, but enemies all look alike and few colors used)
    Sound = 8 (I still stand by this score on sound. Everything sounds like you would expect and the explosions are nice!)
    Controls = 8 (Controlling the ship is nice and tight, but using the console for switching screens might be considered tedious to some)
    Challenge = 9 (You really have to know how to navigate quickly and be a dead aim to score the maximum Starmaster level on this game)
    Replay = 7 (Nothing really changes much from game to game, but you always strive to do better and maximize that score)
     
    Overall -^CB^- grade = 7 (Worth buying but it won't be on everyone's favorite list)
  16. -^CrossBow^-
    The BackBit Pro multi-system flash cartridge is quite amazing in all the systems it supports and the Atari 5200 is one of the newest systems to recently be added over the past few months. One cool thing that the BBPro cart has for the 5200 side of things that other similar devices do not have, is the ability to reset the console and go back to the game folder browser without having to power cycle the console. This feature works out of the box on the 2-port model 5200s by having a selector switch on the BBPro 5200 adapter set to the 2port Hard Reset mode.

    But on a 4 port 5200, having the switch in that mode will prevent the console from booting up properly. So the switch has to be set to soft reset mode on the 4port. However, even with that switch option selected, the 4port console will NOT work with the reset button on the BBPro cart unless a very small modification is made to the console to allow for this. 
    Changes made to the  2 port main board design and later 4 port consoles allow them to work with the CX-55 adapter and those changes are also what allow the selector switch in the Hard Reset position to actually work and reset the 5200. But the earlier 4 port models do NOT have this ability. That is what I will talk about in this blog as the process to modify the older 4-port consoles to work with the reset switch is very easy to do and doesn't pose an issue with actual games so it can be left in place once done.
    What the modification does is run a new wire to an unused pin on the cartridge port that ties that pin to the reset line on the Antic IC. Turns out that Pin 28 on the cartridge port is perfect for this because that pin was NEVER designed for use with anything on either model of the 5200 and in fact isn't even attached to anything in the system. It is a floating pin on the cartridge port. As a result, it will be given purpose.
    On the 4 port model main board, it turns out that there is an unused via conveniently located near the cartridge port that is already attached to this reset line... NICE! The pic below shows you where this via is in relation to the cartridge port on the top component side of the main board. It is just to the left of the silk screen marking where pin 18 is on the cartridge port.

    And on the bottom side of the PCB, here is where that unused via is in relation to where pin 28 is located on the cartridge port.

    All that is needed is to run a small bit of conductor wire between that via and pin 28 as shown below. No traces have to be cut or anything. Just solder in a wire...simple.

    This attaches a connection from the Antic's reset pin to pin 28 directly so that it can be tapped for use by the BBPro cartridge adapter. As a result, it requires a small jumper pad to be soldered on the BBPro 5200 adapter. On the back side of the adapter, there is a DuPont style female connector attached, but to the right of that and center of the adapter board, is a jumper pad that is labeled as "Spare Reset (Pin 28)". You need to apply a blob of solder across the pads here to complete that jumper as shown in the picture below:

    And that's it! Now you can use the BBPro 5200 adapter on both a 2-port or 4-port console and have the BBPro on cart reset switch work on either model. Just have to move the selector switch to the right position depending on which console model you are using it with. It goes to the left for Hard Reset mode on 2-port and VCS adapter modified 4-port 5200s. Move the switch to the right for the Soft Reset option on 4-port consoles where you have applied the wire modification.
    I'm sure you are wondering what happens if the wire modification isn't done and you have the BBPro 5200 adapter for use with your 4port? Well that is easy to answer. Without the wire modification what happens is that the 4-port console will NOT boot up if the switch on the adapter is in the Hard reset position and it must be in the soft reset position. However, the button on the BBPro will not work properly and just crash the console requiring a complete power off/on to get it back up. Essentially making it operate like other flash cartridges that do NOT have on cart resets. It doesn't harm it to use the BBPro without the wire modification, but it does add just that more functionality to an already excellent product and is a fairly simple modification to perform if you are semi comfortable with a soldering iron.
    Thanks for reading, feel free to ask me any questions should you have any and Atari On!
    -Jesse
    Ivory Tower Collections
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  17. -^CrossBow^-
    Replaced the original 7805 regulators from my atari 5200 recently and installed a pair of DC/DC switching converters in their place. In this video I show the power measurements from the original 7805 and from the DC/DC converters. Next up with be the Intellivision once I get additional parts in.


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  18. -^CrossBow^-
    Replaced the original 7805 regulators from my atari 5200 recently and installed a pair of DC/DC switching converters in their place. In this video I show the power measurements from the original 7805 and from the DC/DC converters. Next up with be the Intellivision once I get additional parts in.


    View the full article
    View the full article
  19. -^CrossBow^-
    I received an A1 series 7800 main board in the mail recently where the owner stated it was working properly but was missing a pause button for some reason. Well, when I receive a 7800 system for services, one of the things I do is to pull up a test utility without any controllers plugged in. The reason for this is to ensure that the system controller ports are working properly.
    But you ask... "How does not having any controllers plugged in, help to know if the ports are working properly?" Excellent question!
    You see the TIA controls the trigger functions of the joysticks and depending on the mode the console is loaded up in, the components in use differ a little. But here was the issue with this one that might help explain things a little better...
    The issue was after powering it up without a controller plugged, it the menu selector of the utility kept selecting the first option, exiting, entering...exiting over and over. This behavior was as if the fire button was being held down. But without a controller plugged in?! Quickly using the select and reset buttons on the console I was able to get into the controller test screen and this screen was telling me that not ONLY was the first fire button being pressed, but both fire buttons were showing as being pressed down. It was showing the same behavior on controller port 2 as well. 
    Then I plug in an actual controller and.... it stops auto selecting options and now shows the fire buttons aren't being pressed. Pressing the fire buttons would activate normally. In other words with a controller plugged in, the console seems to work exactly as it should. But that doesn't mean there wasn't a problem here because technically without a controller plugged in, it shouldn't read anything at all. Plugging a controller into port 2, would also remove the condition on port 2 and make everything appear to be fine. So what is going on?
    It turns out that the 7800 is pretty sensitive to the readings it gets from the controller ports and any deviation beyond a certain point will confuse the console. To correct the issue on this 7800 I had to replace at least 2 components and also replaced a 3rd for good measure. The main culprit was unfortunately the TIA chip. Yeap... I replaced the TIA because in most trigger issues the TIA is my first item to blame and usually that is correct, but it didn't solve everything in this case. I did confirm the TIA was faulty using my chip testing as it was showing an immediate fault with the Inputs and audio portions of the chip. Replacing the TIA solved half the issue. Basically controller port 1 was working properly now, but I was still getting errant trigger readings from port 2? This ended up being due to a marginal resistor located at R35. There is a pair of them that control each of the port readings in 2600 mode that each measure 220Ω. The one at R35 was only measuring 217Ω and while that should have been good enough, it was causing odd triggering issues. When I removed R35 from circuit, then the 7800 port 2 buttons were now working properly but of course, no fire button action in 2600 mode testing. So I replaced the resistor with a used one from another 7800 donor board. This replacement measures 221Ω and is much closer to the 220 reading than the original. Installed it, and sure enough everything is working properly again. There is also a 3906 transistor in this mix and it was also replaced out as they are cheap to have on hand and I've a few. But the two main issues were the TIA and this slightly out of spec drifted resistor at R35. Here is a pic of the console where I've outlined the components mentioned.

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  20. -^CrossBow^-
    This is considered to be one of the best games available for the 7800. I do agree that the game is an excellent arcade port, but I still feel that this game doesn't show any justice to what the 7800 could really do. As such while many of the comments in this old review seem negative I actually score the game pretty highly. Review is posted below as it appears on Jose Q's Emuviews site.
     
    Title = Food Fight
    Platform = Atari 7800 ProSystem
    Genre = Platform? (Run 'n Splat more like it)
    Released = 1987
    Players = 1 - 2
    ---------------------
    So it is a hot day outside and your visiting the local carnival. How do you spend the time? Why trying to cool off of course, and what better way to do that than to enter a huge food fight contest where the prize is an ice cream cone! You have to give Atari some real credit in the originality department on a lot of their games. Food Fight certainly ranks in as one of Atari's strangest ideas that is also very entertaining to play. Here I take a look at the Atari 7800 conversion of this arcade classic. So how well does Atari do on this port over? Well, let's see...
     
    The story is the weakest aspect of this game. Basically you play a boy named Charley Chuck (wonder how long it took them to come up with that...) who is visiting his local carnival on a hot summer day. Charley as it turns out loves to eat and so it only seems natural that he should enter a Food Fight contest where the prize to be won is a huge ice cream cone. Yeah sure that is how I would prefer to cool off?! Wouldn't you? As I stated the plot is very thin indeed. Thankfully there is a lot more to the game that more than makes up for this.
     
    The graphics in the 7800 version are very accurate to the arcade in that all the food items seem present and the layout of the playfield matches. The game on either the arcade or the 7800 really doesn't have much in the graphics area, as they are both very simple and similar. The sprites are decent sized and proportional to the arcade. The animation on the 7800 version is very good as all the animation including the expanding mouth effect on Charley as he eats his prize are complete and fun to watch. There are a few things on the graphics that I think Atari could have done more with. For one the chefs while appearing different could have had a little more detail added to them. Also the food looks as it should but some items like the pies and bananas I know could have been done better graphically. The pies look like 2600 graphics and the bananas look like jack knives (ever notice all bananas in Atari games look like that?).
     
    The sound is standard 7800/2600 TIA sound chip fanfare. In other words there isn't much in the sound to this game. There is an opening tune which plays before the start of each round. This tune however never changes and does get very monotonous. Also the sounds aren't varied. It sounds the same whether I smack a chef in the face with a banana or a chunk of watermelon. Also the sound of the actual throwing of the item sounds the same. Somehow I would think that a hard object would sound different upon the throw and impact to that of a soft object such as the pies or spinach. No real high marks here either I am afraid.
     
    The game is played on a very simple idea with simple control and this is the strong point of the game. The game basically has you as Charley running around the chefs clocking them with food, which is scattered randomly on the playfield. To add to the challenge not only must you dodge the chefs but they chefs can also throw food back. Another Old Man Murphy thrown into the mix is the fact that the chefs appear from manholes, which are also randomly scattered. Charley has to be careful while he runs around the screen that he doesn't fall into an open manhole, otherwise a life is lost. At the end of the playfield will always be the ice cream cone prize waiting for you. Atari figured the chefs, manholes, and the throwing of food wasn't enough because all the while your doing this, the ice cream is slowly melting away. Yes there is a time limit to each wave. If you spend too much time tossing the salad at the chefs an alarm will sound to indicate the ice cream cone is almost melted. You will also see the ice cream slowly drip away from the cone and grow smaller (nice touch). You then have only a few seconds to grab the ice cream and end the level to continue onto the next screen. As you progress the game will increase in difficulty in several ways. The chefs will become faster and throw food more often. Also the chefs get much smarter at where to throw the food and almost seem to be able to predict where you will go. On some levels food will not be as plentiful to fight off the chefs with. There is one other feature that was present on the arcade version that Atari did port over thankfully. It is the one feature that really makes this game fun to play. If you should really kick some serious chef hat in the wave you will be awarded with an Instant Replay, which shows the wave again while playing some fun slapstick comedy type music in the background. Very nice touch! There are a few gripes I have with the gameplay. For one all the food will travel the full length of the screen with the exception of the spinach and salads. While this is a valiant effort to vary challenge, I feel that Atari could have made each food type travel with a different distance depending on such factors as weight and consistency of the food. Perhaps that is asking too much from such a simple game but it would have been a nice touch.
     
    Controls and challenge I shall group together in this paragraph. The controls couldn't be easier. You run Charley around using the joystick and throw the food by pressing the fire button. You can control the direction of the throw once again with the joystick. It feels natural as if I were in such a food fight as Charley I would be running in the direction of my throw also . Only recommendation is to use a joystick your comfortable using for this game, as the play will get fast and more furious as your progress. The game bases the score on several factors which all depend on how you play the waves. You are awarded a bonus at the end of each wave for the leftovers. However, you get points in a progressive manner the more chefs you can smack with food in a wave. Also you get more points for tricking the chefs to walk back into the open manholes from which they appear. Overall there really is no right strategy for gaining the most points. For me I have more fun smacking the chefs around with the food than trying to leave food left over. Also the Instant Replay will never appear unless you really throw a lot of food around and make slick narrow escapes between thrown food or chefs. There is a nice feature in the game in that when you start a game you can select your starting level. There is also a two player option in this game but sadly it is the standard one player at a time approach where the next player doesn't start until your hit with food or fall into a manhole. Atari could have added a simultaneous mode to this game making it either co-operative or competitive where your thrown food either hurts the other player or passes through them. Even a two player slip screen where whoever got the ice cream first would win the points would have been possible. I think even a duel mode of just you and player two against each other would have been a cool touch.



    Food Fight is another of Atari's great arcade classics which was ported to almost 100% accuracy to the 7800 system. The graphics are adequate though simple, yet the gameplay is addictive and keeps you coming back for more. More obstacles in the playfield would have added to the challenge and variety but overall this version is a truly faithful converion. The faults that the game has are present on the arcade as well and really aren't any fault of the 7800 version itself. I have fun playing this game from time to time when I want simple throw something fun. I would recommend this game to anyone with a 7800 especially if you're a fan of the arcade original you cannot be disappointed here. Have fun!
    ---------------------
    Graphics = 7 (Most stuff looks good with the chefs and some items needing more detail)
    Sound = 6 (Standard 2600 TIA being used. Sound effects all the same just lack of variety)
    Controls = 9 (Very intuitive control scheme)
    Challenge = 8 (Game starts off easy enough, but ramps up pretty fast)
    Replay = 7 (While it lacks any real story or any additional game screens. You always want to come back for because throwing food is fun!)
     
    Overall -^CB^- grade = 7 (Not the 7800s best but worth owning and playing from time to time)
  21. -^CrossBow^-

    Atari 7800 Powering On / Off issues...

    By -^CrossBow^-,


    Service Stories from the Ivory Tower
    As stated in another blog, I have a few 7800 sent to me for repairs and eventual upgrades. This 7800 had an interesting problem where as soon as you plugged in the DC power to the console, it would immediately power on and would NOT turn off. While there are a few components in the mix that can cause, this, I've found really only two components well technically 3 that should be looked into as possibilities:
     
    The first component and the one most people already know about, is the power switch itself. But in this particular case, it wasn't the switch as the console would still power on even with the switch removed.
     
    The next component is the 4013 IC flip-flop. This chip controls the actual on or off signals sent through the console when you press the power button. However this had already been replaced in the past as on this console it was mounted in a socket. Removing the 4013 did NOT change the condition on this console and it would still power on immediately. This pretty much only leaves one more component...
     
    There is a large transistor mounted in spot Q10 and labeled as MJE210. These were used on both the 7800 and the 5200 that I know of. This transistor receives a signal from the 4013 telling it to actually switch the unregulated power over to the 7805 voltage regulator. I quickly found out this was the issue when I removed the 210 and the issue went away. This was replaced out using another one from a donor 5200 parts board as the 5200 actually has a pair of these bad boys on them. Here is what the MJE210 looks like. In this picture, the failed one is the green one on the mat and replacement from a 5200 has been installed into place. These only work installed in one direction and that is usually with the MJE labeling facing towards the back of the 7800.

     
    So yeah, if you have power on/off issues those are the three main components to check for first as the other components are mostly passives and not as likely to go bad.
    View the full article
  22. -^CrossBow^-

    Atari 7800: Crossbow

    By -^CrossBow^-,

    Another of my older reviews that I apparently never posted here to AtariAge. This was originally posted and still to be found over at Jose Q's Emuviews website, this review is of one of the many games that made me want the Atari 7800 back in the day and is one of the elements related to video games in my life to help create my online alias today. I present to you my original review of the Atari 7800 arcade port of Crossbow!
     
    Title = Crossbow
    Platform = Atari 7800 ProSystem
    Genre = Shooter (Can use a lightgun!)
    Released = 1987
    Players = 1 
    ---------------------
     
    When Atari released their 7800 Pro System, they promised to the masses true arcade quality and sound for the home. Several conversions on the 7800 live up to this claim. One such game is a personal favorite of mine. That game is none other than Crossbow…
    You and a band of your trustworthy friends set out on a trek across dangerous landscapes and adventure to seek out and destroy an evil wizard who has stolen all the treasure of the land and claimed himself ruler. So begets the story behind this masterpiece. The graphics, sound, and game play were excellent on the arcade. So how does this console conversion stack up? Let’s get to it…
     
    The basic idea behind the game is that you take the role of protector to your “friends”. You choose the scenes by shooting at colored boxes on the bottom of a map screen. Depending on which colored block you shoot after which scene will depend on where you go next. Then a scene will appear where your friends will walk across the screen one at a time, (usually...). As they walk across the different scenes, they will face dangers such as bats, flying lava, arrows, lightning…etc. It is your job to prevent your friends from perishing by shooting those items which threaten your friends’ survival. Sometimes it will be necessary to shoot at some objects in order for your friends to even cross the scene. This only sounds easy until you start to get to some of the more difficult levels where so much is happening all at once. The archers at the drawbridge are good example of this; all those little thin arrows can be hard to take down at once.
    The graphics in Crossbow are some of the best I have seen in any Atari system of the time. Although not really listed on the cart...the game is considered a Super Game class for the 7800. Almost all the scenes are created exactly as the arcade version in every detail. The resolution isn't up to the arcade version but we are talking about a console version here. However, all the animations from the arcade are included in the 7800 version. About the only scenes which do not look quite up to par with the arcade are the river bridge scene and the statue room just before the final boss. Although in my opinion, the final boss scene looks better than the arcade version if that is possible.
     

     
    The play control in this game was originally to be used with the light gun accessory which was for sale separately. Crossbow on the other hand can be used with either the light gun or the joystick controller. I must admit that I have never played this version with the light gun. But I am pleased to say that even with joystick controllers, I find the game is more than responsive and doesn't really require the light gun. I would imagine that with the gun the feel of the game would more closely match the actual arcade feel. But again, I do not feel that a player needs the light gun to enjoy the game thoroughly.
     

     
    The sound is the only blemish on the surface of this game. Since the 7800 basically uses the same sound as the 2600…the sound basically “bytes” in most games on the 7800 or sound exactly like the 2600 as the 7800 version of Crossbow does not use a separate Pokey sound chip in it. But I am pleased to tell you that it certainly makes very good use of what it does use. There isn’t any music but that isn’t to say this is a bad thing. Music in a game like this would distract you from what is most important, which is the sound of the critters that come after you. Each creature or object on the screen that poses a danger to your friends has a separate sound to go with it making it easier to know what’s coming. Some sounds may be repeated for different things in the game, but they aren’t repeated within the same scene.
     

     
    But all this sounds like a good game. Is Crossbow a good game? I believe it is. If you’re into the shooters of that era (think Operation Wolf), then this game certainly fits within as being a fairly unique title. The game play is very smooth although sometimes you feel as if it is taking forever for your friends to cross the screens. The challenge is also an area where the game will be a mixed bag to players. For me I find that it isn’t all that difficult once I have played it for a while. I have so far been able to defeat the wizard at the end a total of about 4 times in a row. But I own this cart and have played it quite a bit. There are some monsters which always come from the same side of the screen and roughly at the same intervals. That makes prediction an easy thing on some scenes. On others however, things can be random and change in their attack speed. The Jungle scene frequently will get me from time to time on that.
    Over all I would say that the 7800 version of Crossbow is favorite console conversion of the title I've played. Overall, if you can find this game anywhere! You should grab it and perhaps pay the premium they may ask. I still feel the game is worth the $40 or so that was spent to get it back in 88. I hope you find it to be the same for you.
    ---------------------
    Graphics = 10 (For the Atari 7800 it is a very detailed game with all scenes from the arcade presented intact)
    Sound = 9 (It is the standard TIA sound but the use of different sounds for each enemy is quite nice)
    Controls = 7 (I find the joystick controls to be more than playable, though a light gun might give better control)
    Challenge = 8 (The game has a lot of enemies that can attack your friends, learning the enemy and sounds is a must)
    Replay = 6 (Once you know the most direct path to the castle and learn the enemy patterns, there isn't much to come back to other that higher scores)
     
    Overall -^CB^- grade = 8 (Another solid 7800 arcade port faithfully brought home!)
  23. -^CrossBow^-
    Another of my older reviews, one of my first in fact. Again originally and still posted over at Jose Q's Emuviews website, this review was more of a comparison between the arcade and 7800 version of Ms. Pac-Man. It was to demonstrate how close the 7800 port of this game is to its arcade parent. The 7800 version is considered to be one of the best ports of the arcade brought to a home console. I've updated the review in a few places but it appears largely as it was when originally posted.
     
    Title = Ms. Pac-Man
    Platform = Atari 7800 ProSystem
    Genre = Maze Runner
    Released = 1984
    Players = 1 - 2
    ---------------------
    This little pink bowed wonder has managed to get herself ported to just about every console and system ever made. And while the arcade is still the best and cannot replaced, there is a conversion done to a home console that does justice to this classic coin op. The Atari 7800 ProSystem’s version of Ms. Pac-Man once again shows just how close Atari could have come to taking back the market if not for bad timing and poor marketing. This review is not meant to be a review on the game itself. Rather, this review will measure how well the 7800 conversion is to the arcade original. So sit down, relax, get a cool drink and let’s get to it.
     
    I have to admit that I didn’t have high hopes for the 7800 version at all when I first heard about there being a Ms. Pac-Man for the ProSystem. After all, the specs on the cart itself didn’t appear to be all that different from the 2600 version. So I was truly amazed at what I saw when I first fired up my 7800 and saw the title screen. Yes! A true blinking light marquee displaying the names of the ghosts as they wonder in from the lower right followed at the end by the lady of the hour herself. The title screen is worth mentioning because Atari actually recreated the title screen faithfully. I mean, instead of plain “Ms. Pac-Man” in text, they actually put in the fancy logo from the cabinet in there. Pretty cool to see and was a complete surprise to me. The graphics in Ms. Pac-Man are okay but certainly not anything that taxes the 7800’s Maria chip to any real depth. However, Atari has recreated the mazes accurately to the arcade such that the colors and layout are pretty much dead on. The fruits and bonuses are present and even bounce as they should, they even appear to follow the same patterns as the arcade. The only problem fans of the arcade will have with the graphics are that the overall perspective of the game is “squashed” from the arcade in order to fit the mazes for standard TV resolutions. Also perhaps due to the same squashing effect, the ghosts appear a little on the rotund side. There is also noticeable jagged effect to graphics. This is really noticeable on the maze boundaries. But the intermissions have been included as they should be. All the mazes appear to be in the 7800 version and even do the randomizing after the last one has been completed.



    The sound is one area I was actually quite impressed about. The 7800 version of Ms. Pac-Man does not use any special chips to create the sound just standard 2600 TIA. So I was more than impressed when I actually heard the starting theme accurately played when I began the game! Even the background siren noise is present. The sounds are a tad off compared to the original but still the fact they are all there is interesting. Even the “Gulp” when eating the fruit is here!
     
    The control in the 7800 version still can’t replace the original stick of the arcade but the Proline joysticks do well in this arena. I imagine any good controllers that can SELF CENTER would be fine for this game. I use the prolines that came with my 7800 and do okay. But then I’m not very good at the original to begin with. My recommendation is to use a controller your most comfortable with. I do however; have a few problems in the way of the control. To me it seems as though the 7800 version lags a tad in response. Sometimes I will want to go up and Ms. Pac-Man has other ideas and instead takes the next available up and not the one I wanted. But then again, my controllers are original with my 7800 so they may be a bit worn. I also feel that this version of Ms. Pac-Man will be found to be easier than the arcade. For one the play speed is upped for Ms. Pac-Man but the ghosts seem to start off slower than the arcade. Also with the screen being squashed it is easier to see the whole playfield at once and watch all the ghosts. There are some differences in the gameplay, the biggest being that the ghosts do not follow the same exact patterns as they do in the arcade. In addition, though I never paid that much attention while playing, I've read the biggest change is that the ghosts in the 7800 version will reverse direction at any time, rather than when a certain number of dots have been eaten or so much time gone by…etc. Again, I can't notice this since I'm too busy trying to stay alive to count how many dots I've eaten or how many seconds have gone by but this could make it more difficult to line up the ghosts for the power pills to finish them off as well as predicting where the ghosts will go when.



    Overall the 7800 version of Ms. Pac-Man would make a fine addition for anyone to add to their 7800 library, especially if they are fans of the Pac-Man games. All the elements of the arcade classic have been recreated in true fashion for the 7800 console. The mazes, fruit, sound, intermissions, and even the blinking marquee for the title screen are all present. For most game players and collectors, this is as close as you can get to the arcade version to play at home on your Atari. As a first for me, I am going to provide screenshots of the 7800 version next to the arcade of the same scenes to better compare the two with visually.
    ---------------------
    Graphics = 7 (Everything is present but some colors are a bit too pastel and the ghosts still lack detail)
    Sound = 9 (For TIA sound it is great! Everything is present effects wise though a bit off from the arcade)
    Controls = 7 (Control is good for the most part, but it seems to lag and get caught on some walls)
    Challenge = 8 (Starts off with you faster than them, then once getting past a few mazes it evens out very well)
    Replay = 9 (This is Ms. Pac-Man, you always want to come back and get another maze further than before!)
     
    Overall -^CB^- grade = 8 (Another solid 7800 arcade port faithfully brought home!)
  24. -^CrossBow^-
    I am only a hobbyist and NOT an electrical engineer. As such I'm sure my terminology and explanations of things will be off or perhaps completely wrong. As such, please let me know in comments on such mistakes as it helps me and all others who might view this video to learn.

    With that, this is my basic intro to my BK 1474 O'scope that I got some time ago and some ways it can be used. This video is only meant for fun and not as instructional as most of my other videos are. Enjoy!



    View the full article
    View the full article
  25. -^CrossBow^-
    I am only a hobbyist and NOT an electrical engineer. As such I'm sure my terminology and explanations of things will be off or perhaps completely wrong. As such, please let me know in comments on such mistakes as it helps me and all others who might view this video to learn.

    With that, this is my basic intro to my BK 1474 O'scope that I got some time ago and some ways it can be used. This video is only meant for fun and not as instructional as most of my other videos are. Enjoy!



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