Atari A/V mod update

[Timstuff]

I say summer project because I'm currently in a school dorm, and most of my tools are back home. Just fixing my 2600 is proving to be quite a chore since I don't have a soldering iron of my own down here.

[Longhorn Engineer]

MGC done, one lab due this week. Look out for shipping confirmation emails.

[Rotten Bologna]

MGC done, one lab due this week. Look out for shipping confirmation emails.

 

Fantastic!

[channelmaniac]

MGC done, one lab due this week. Look out for shipping confirmation emails.

 

 

Hey!

 

It was great meeting you at the MGC event.

 

RJ

[Longhorn Engineer]

MGC done, one lab due this week. Look out for shipping confirmation emails.

 

 

Hey!

 

It was great meeting you at the MGC event.

 

RJ

 

Aye back at you. Turned in the lab just now.

[the.golden.ax]

It was fun hanging out, thanks for making it up to the show!

 

AX

[Longhorn Engineer]

Filled and shipped 7 orders today. Woo progress.

[unhuman]

And soon 7 happy customers

 

Filled and shipped 7 orders today. Woo progress.

[Longhorn Engineer]

Shipped 3 more today. Out of a couple parts but they will show up tomorrow.

 

Time to work on some other projects.

[Lendorien]

Well, I installed my mod and it looks great... when I play 7800 games. I tries a good number of the ones I have, From Joust to Centipede to Xenophobe. Very clear and crisp. Amazing difference between that and RF. It actually blows me away!

 

Unfortunately, in doing the mod, I managed, like an idiot, to solder the green wire from U11-5 to the wrong chip and not only that, the wrong leg. After seeing the bad output from 2600 games I started to recheck my work. Not sure how I did it because I was trying to be careful. So I moved it, to the wrong leg of the correct chip, then realizing that, I moved it again. So, 7800 games look great, but 2600 game come up in B/W. I'm kicking myself something fierce here cause I suspect I fried the damn thing through sheer stupidity. Ugh.

 

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

Time for a new 7800? :/

Edited April 7, 2010 by Lendorien

[Longhorn Engineer]

Check the really tiny chip on the mod board. Having color in one mode and not in another usually means this chip has a broken solder point.

[Lendorien]

Check the really tiny chip on the mod board. Having color in one mode and not in another usually means this chip has a broken solder point.

 

Hooray! Thank you for the suggestion. I figured I'd fubared up the thing because of my own failure to be careful. I did as you suggested. I was afraid that such tiny soldering would be beyond me, but I made an effort and touched up the joints. Problem solved. The 2600 output is astonishing.

 

On the down side, while 7800 output is way better than rf,the 7800 images have a shadow on the left hand side as if there's a fairly serious luma delay (I think it's luma delay). I thought it was part of the problem with the 2600 issue, so I didn't mention it before. I know a luma delay issue was something you were trying to fix for a while. Not sure if what I'm seeing is normal. Have any suggestions? I did double check my soldering and everything seems solid. Photo of image output available if requested.

 

In any case, regardless of that, this mod is mountains better than the old RF. I'm thrilled beyond words. It looks fantastic. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Totally worth the purchase price. I actually did a happy dance after I played Demon Attack a few minutes ago.

Edited April 8, 2010 by Lendorien

[Longhorn Engineer]

Check the really tiny chip on the mod board. Having color in one mode and not in another usually means this chip has a broken solder point.

 

Hooray! Thank you for the suggestion. I figured I'd fubared up the thing because of my own failure to be careful. I did as you suggested. I was afraid that such tiny soldering would be beyond me, but I made an effort and touched up the joints. Problem solved. The 2600 output is astonishing.

 

On the down side, while 7800 output is way better than rf,the 7800 images have a shadow on the left hand side as if there's a fairly serious luma delay (I think it's luma delay). I thought it was part of the problem with the 2600 issue, so I didn't mention it before. I know a luma delay issue was something you were trying to fix for a while. Not sure if what I'm seeing is normal. Have any suggestions? I did double check my soldering and everything seems solid. Photo of image output available if requested.

 

In any case, regardless of that, this mod is mountains better than the old RF. I'm thrilled beyond words. It looks fantastic. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Totally worth the purchase price. I actually did a happy dance after I played Demon Attack a few minutes ago.

 

There is really nothing that can be done at the moment about the delay. I am already using the fastest parts I can get. The 5200 mod I am designing should be able to eliminate this problem but the solution is much more complex in design then the mod I have already.

 

Atari got "around" this problem by running the chroma through a inductor and capacitor in series. This absolutely destroys your color. There is a big reason why the color looks much more vibrant through the S-video mod then the RF. I think they where trying to phase the chroma however I don't know if that is the correct term.

[Lendorien]

Hey LH. Thanks for the quick reply. I wasn't sure what to expect, which is why I asked. You did a good job of explaining it, which either means I'm getting better at electronics or you're good at explaining this stuff. I will agree that the Svideo color for the 7800 is far more vibrant than the RF signal.

 

Well, regardless, I'm tickled pink. I've been playing Demon Attack and Phoenix since I got it fixed. Totally worth it. Thank you so much for putting all the work in to make the thing in the first place. Another very satisfied customer!

 

I won't be buying the 5200 mod unless my cousin finds his old on in his attic eventually. The controllers scare me.

Edited April 8, 2010 by Lendorien

[APE]

Shipped 3 more today. Out of a couple parts but they will show up tomorrow.

 

Time to work on some other projects.

 

Hi Longhorn.

 

I ordered two prebuilt A/V kits with you almost two months ago. One for the 2600 and one for the 7800. I haven't received them or heard anything back from you since I paid. I've sent you 3 messages about it the last couple of weeks, but you haven't replied. I feel like I am being ignored. I used the mail form on your site the first two times and the email address from your PayPal account the third time around. Is it just a case of me being unintentionally overlooked or is there some other reason?

 

Regards,

 

- Anders Petersen /APE

Edited April 8, 2010 by APE

[Zoyx]

@APE If it is any consolation, he is being slow with me also...although I am only 6 weeks back-ordered. But I am confident he'll get around us.

[APE]

@APE If it is any consolation, he is being slow with me also...although I am only 6 weeks back-ordered. But I am confident he'll get around us.

 

Hi Zoyx. Thanks, that is actually reassuring.

 

From the lack of updates on his site and YouTube channel I was starting to worry that he had just uprooted his business and gone MIA completely. At least until I noticed activity in the AA forums.

Edited April 8, 2010 by APE

[Longhorn Engineer]

@APE If it is any consolation, he is being slow with me also...although I am only 6 weeks back-ordered. But I am confident he'll get around us.

 

Hi Zoyx. Thanks, that is actually reassuring.

 

From the lack of updates on his site and YouTube channel I was starting to worry that he had just uprooted his business and gone MIA completely. At least until I noticed activity in the AA forums.

 

I just haven't had time to update YouTube or my site. Its getting to the end of the semester so classes are pouring it on. Just need some time to get more orders out. Email right now if hard to get me as I am in the lab on campus most of the day thus no access to it. Atari Age is right now the best way.

[Lendorien]

Hi Longhorn.

 

<snip>

 

- Anders Petersen /APE

 

I ordered mine in December, and got it a couple days ago. Considering that the premade ones have to be built by hand, and it's a side hobby, it's understandable that it's taking some time to get them out.

[APE]

 

I ordered mine in December, and got it a couple days ago. Considering that the premade ones have to be built by hand, and it's a side hobby, it's understandable that it's taking some time to get them out.

 

Hi Lendorien.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

You've waited more than four months? You must have the patience of saint. Either that, or you knew about the wait up front. - Which is incidentally the point I'm trying to make. Just so we are clear: I certainly appreciate the work Longhorn is doing, and I am very much aware that these are done by hand. I did watch the speedbuild video with awe and people seem to be very happy with their mods also. The only thing I'm really discontent about is the complete lack of communication. If you're advertising a "less than 1 month" turnaround on the ordering page, then that's exactly what your customers are going to expect. However, if you do take longer than that, all it takes is a friendly email to your customer saying "Don't worry. I haven't forgotten about you. I just need a couple more weeks. Sorry for the inconvenience". And that'll be the end of it. But if you go weeks or months over time, don't inform customers about it and keep ignoring every email and message, it's no wonder customers start to feel like they've been had. I did. I mean - at least put up a quick message on the website saying that deliveries are slow. Something to ease people's minds. Any information at all would be helpful. By all rights, if I hadn't found this thread and gotten reassurance from you guys (and LH himself - thanks), I would most certainly have made an inquiry with PayPal by now.

 

The thing is, I ordered two mods with the purpose of writing a review for a Danish geek publication in an article series on breathing new life into old platforms (among other items for review are the MiniMig - an FPGA-based Amiga, and the MMC Replay - a multi purpose module for the Commodore 64), and I would have felt really stupid if had just made the inquiry with PayPal, given up and told people that he was a crook and to avoid ordering from his site, only to receive the finished PCBs a couple of weeks later. Now I am completely assured that he is just a guy with a very busy schedule, but if I hadn't found this thread, I'd be none the wiser.

 

Again, don't get me wrong: I know Longhorn isn't RadioShack. He's one guy with a hobby and great skills that he's been so kind to share with those of us who are less of a black belt when it comes to low voltage PCB design and soldering. I appreciate that he's pretty busy (and apparantly recovering from a nasty dog bite too, I just read - so sorry to hear about that) but I still think a modicum of common courtesy would be to keep paying customers informed. As I said, a sentence or two on the website would go a long way.

[Lendorien]

 

I ordered mine in December, and got it a couple days ago. Considering that the premade ones have to be built by hand, and it's a side hobby, it's understandable that it's taking some time to get them out.

 

Hi Lendorien.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

You've waited more than four months? You must have the patience of saint. Either that, or you knew about the wait up front. <snip>

 

Well, in fairness it was actually only three months, not four. I ordered it at the tail end of Dec and got it at the very beginning of April.

 

I didn't know up front, though I did expect not to get it for at least a month or a bit more because there was a big queue of people who'd already ordered and LH did warn that there was a parts shortage. I sent him a (un-replied to) PM here on AA after 2.5 months because I was curious too, but since others seemed to be getting theirs, I figured that the dog attack and RL issues had delayed things. Plus, LH has been reliable in the past, and has a very good reputation in these parts so far as I've seen.

 

I decided to wait because I've seen cases where people get burned out because of negative feedback over things they can't control and didn't want to add to it by hounding him about it. Either way, I'm really happy with my purchase. I had to wait about 25 years before I was able to get an Atari. I figure a couple of months is hardly anything. And the end product is fantastic and totally worth it.

 

That said, people did spend money. I don't disagree with you that a heads up would be a wise and courteous thing to do, if only to keep them from worrying about it. Plus, it would make one seem a bit more professional about what is, while still a hobby, a business transaction.

 

But I don't want to dump on LH. Heavens knows I could never assemble one of those mods without destroying 20 of them first. Just soldering it into my 7800 was tough enough without tiny micro-soldering to do too. Speed soldering or not, making one of those things has to be a real investment of time.

 

Lend

Edited April 13, 2010 by Lendorien

[Rotten Bologna]

Heavens knows I could never assemble one of those mods without destroying 20 of them first.

Lend

 

I've been waiting for the unassembled kit since February, It'll be pretty funny if when it finally comes in, I toast it!

 

Scott

Edited April 13, 2010 by Rotten Bologna

[APE]

 

I decided to wait because I've seen cases where people get burned out because of negative feedback over things they can't control and didn't want to add to it by hounding him about it.

 

That is so very true. It is already a rare thing for a hobbyist to actually offer prebuilt kits to interested parties, and time and time again you see those very same hobbyists having their passion quenched by their own succes. Besides these mods I'm also waiting anxiously for a 1541 Ultimate which has been in development for ... oh, just around forever. I was also a bit conflicted as to whether to bring this up in plenum, and when I decided to do so, I took care not to come off sounding too pissy. Sometimes all it takes is one troll to destroy everything for everybody.

 

 

But I don't want to dump on LH. Heavens knows I could never assemble one of those mods without destroying 20 of them first. Just soldering it into my 7800 was tough enough without tiny micro-soldering to do too. Speed soldering or not, making one of those things has to be a real investment of time.

 

Hear, hear. I have been modding original Xboxes, installing Afterburner kits (remember those?) in GBAs and lately built my own arcade cabinet and in the midst of making my first 3-player custom control panel for said cabinet, but I have actually never learnt how to solder properly and it really shows. Watching Longhorn's speedbuild video just made it so much more apparent to me how short on skills I really am. Even though it's sped up, you can easily tell how fast it's actually going as you know how fast you have to remove the iron from a point to not overheat the surrounding components. And he doesn't flinch. For a job like that I'd have to redo each solder point at least twice to get them right and do a lot of braiding and sucking. And forget about the PCB design altogether. I have close to zero knowledge when it comes to that stuff.

 

Oh, and by the way: I just noticed that Longhorn has updated his site with a short status blurb. Huzzah! Thanks, man.

Edited April 13, 2010 by APE

[Longhorn Engineer]

Thanks for the replies APE. I have really been having a bad semester. Seems whenever I get life back on track it gets derailed into the next state. Grandfather passed away Friday before Easter for example (funeral was last weekend, don't worry I'm ok). I just put out 5 more orders this morning. Going to try to fill 2 more before I have to start studying for my test tomorrow. I am only about 30 or so orders behind right now so I am gaining ground fast. I think I caught up on all my emails as well.

[ptdnet]

 

I've been waiting for the unassembled kit since February, It'll be pretty funny if when it finally comes in, I toast it!

 

Scott

 

I paid and shipped my unit in mid-January, was told in mid-April "I'm working on yours now" but it's now mid-May and nothing.

 

The sad part is this was supposed to be a birthday present for my wife, but I had no idea when I started that March was never going to happen.