5200 8bitdomain Mod Got!

[Jess Ragan]

Yeah, same here. The vertical lines don't show up at all on my NEC monitor, making it the best choice for 5200 gaming. The picture's all right on my LCD television too, but ONLY if I use composite cables and connect it directly to the TV set. An S-video connection looks like crap no matter what, and connecting the composite cables to a DVR looks kind of crummy too.

[Longhorn Engineer]

My 2600 looks great via S-Video into my LCD.

 

Jess is the lines like in the pictures I posted or something completely different?

[+remowilliams]

The svideo mods do make vertical lines in the video display more apparent. And the clarity of the LCD/Plasma displays tends to pronounce the effect, which is why I typically use CRT for the older systems.

 

Here's some shots of the 7800 svideo, the pics typically look worse than it actually looks in person. The difference is similar for the 8bit computers and the 5200.

 

Plasma HDTV

 

 

CRT

 

[Android8675]

you can buy/make an adapter to plug into 2 of the RCA ports to give s-video, or wait a couple of weeks for the Longhorn Engineer to have his mod kits ready

 

Mine came with the sVid connector, so no problem, but like everyone else the wires that came with the mod were about 2 inches too short. I actually ended up making my own new wires. I'm glad I finally got the thing, but too many problems.

 

Also, I don't have the thing working correctly yet, for some reason I'm not getting output from the board. Hoping it's just something I missed, but I don't have much time to tinker with the system right now. Hopefully down the road.

 

I finally received mine today. I think the guy sent me a mod with short wires out of spite... I couldn't reach the jack on the circuit board, forcing me to solder in bridge wires. Whee, fun!

 

A few hours later, I had the mod mostly installed. I've just got two issues... I received a mod with an S-video jack instead of chroma and luma jacks. That's good, but what's bad is that there's also a composite jack with a dangling wire. Where do I attach this? I suppose I could just solder it to the chroma and luma wires, but it's a messy way to take care of the problem. Is there a single place I can attach this wire?

 

Also, I'm noticing the same issues with this mod as I did my 2600 Jr. mod from days gone by. There's this venetian blinds effect that's really distracting. It doesn't happen with blacks, whites, or grays, but it's VERY noticeable with bright colors. I guess it's a chroma problem, but I don't know how to fix it! Could my high-def television be to blame? Someone please help!

 

I'll have to get this thing working in case I have to return it. The extra video jack connects to the empty hole in the molex connector. I think that's so you can feed the jack through the mounting hole from the outside of the 5200 case.

 

Wish I had more time to play with this, I get the sneaking suspecion that my Adv. 2 cart isn't working correctly (is bad). Hopefully I'll find out soon enough.

 

-A.

[mimo]

The svideo mods do make vertical lines in the video display more apparent. And the clarity of the LCD/Plasma displays tends to pronounce the effect, which is why I typically use CRT for the older systems.

 

Here's some shots of the 7800 svideo, the pics typically look worse than it actually looks in person. The difference is similar for the 8bit computers and the 5200.

 

Plasma HDTV

 

 

CRT

 

Running a separate +5v for the video clears up the lines on a 800xl dramatically. Maybe this could be done on a 5200 or 7800?

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...video&st=40

[djpubba]

Wow, I'd love to get rid of them on my 7800 and ColecoVision!

[Jess Ragan]

Yeah, let me know if this works with a 5200!

[FABombjoy]

I've done a few 2600/5200 s-video mods, and have found these to help lines / other visual anomolies:

 

-Directly tap the TIA/GTIA for +5 / GND

-Instead of a 75ohm resistor on the chroma output, install a 500ohm pot. More resistance tends to soften or eliminate the lines.

-Place a 1000uf cap across +5 & GND on the circuit. It already has a 100uf cap, but on some units an additional 1000uf cap improves picture quality.

 

There you have it, my personal trade secrets

 

Based on the pics above, I'd increase the resistance on the chroma line first.

Edited November 9, 2007 by FABombjoy

[Longhorn Engineer]

I've done a few 2600/5200 s-video mods, and have found these to help lines / other visual anomolies:

 

-Directly tap the TIA/GTIA for +5 / GND

-Instead of a 75ohm resistor on the chroma output, install a 500ohm pot. More resistance tends to soften or eliminate the lines.

-Place a 1000uf cap across +5 & GND on the circuit. It already has a 100uf cap, but on some units an additional 1000uf cap improves picture quality.

 

There you have it, my personal trade secrets

 

Based on the pics above, I'd increase the resistance on the chroma line first.

 

The lines on the 7800 seem to be generated from the fact that there are two chroma lines. At first I tried running both of them through a 2N3904 which got rid of the lines but the color was washed out. Removed that and the color went back to normal but the lines persisted.

 

I removed the composite conversion on the board and that cleared the image up. Seemed that the way I was mixing the Composite screwed with the S-Video a bit. I changed the way it mixed and the lines went away. (All 7800 mods I have sent out have this fix btw).

 

I use 120 ohms on the chroma output if I recall.

Edited November 9, 2007 by Longhorn Engineer

[FABombjoy]

Oh yeah, somehow I missed that those are 7800 screenshots.

 

I always adjusted the chroma on the 7800 to favor 7800 mode, but I haven't done one of those mods since before the CC2 came out.

[djpubba]

I just got my s-video modded 5200 back from Longhorn Engineer. Looks freaking beautiful. The lines are barely noticeable.

[Jess Ragan]

Oh, Al Gore! Now I wish I would have waited! Oh well, maybe next time...

 

You're still offering Atari 7800 mod kits too, right?

[Longhorn Engineer]

Oh, Al Gore! Now I wish I would have waited! Oh well, maybe next time...

 

You're still offering Atari 7800 mod kits too, right?

 

Yes I do.

[phonedork]

I've done a few 2600/5200 s-video mods, and have found these to help lines / other visual anomolies:

 

-Directly tap the TIA/GTIA for +5 / GND

-Instead of a 75ohm resistor on the chroma output, install a 500ohm pot. More resistance tends to soften or eliminate the lines.

-Place a 1000uf cap across +5 & GND on the circuit. It already has a 100uf cap, but on some units an additional 1000uf cap improves picture quality.

 

There you have it, my personal trade secrets

 

Based on the pics above, I'd increase the resistance on the chroma line first.

 

The lines on the 7800 seem to be generated from the fact that there are two chroma lines. At first I tried running both of them through a 2N3904 which got rid of the lines but the color was washed out. Removed that and the color went back to normal but the lines persisted.

 

I removed the composite conversion on the board and that cleared the image up. Seemed that the way I was mixing the Composite screwed with the S-Video a bit. I changed the way it mixed and the lines went away. (All 7800 mods I have sent out have this fix btw).

 

I use 120 ohms on the chroma output if I recall.

 

 

 

So removing the composite conversion got rid of the lines? I have a 5200 with composite and s-video. The composite looks better then the s-video because there are no horizonal lines. But I really wish I could use the s-video to its full power because there is no color bleed on s-video. I also have a s-video modded 7800 and the same thing with the horizonal lines. Both I had done by a company. I am hoping it is something simple I can do to get rid of the lines. The picture is good in s-video, but any time there is a solid color I see these vague lines that run up and down. The mods I have are the 8 bitdomains.