CPUWIZ Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 That's nice, but expensive. I just got a cheap Radio Shack brand 40w iron with the sucker bulb built in. It works well enough but occasionally the bulb does not completely suck the entire solder out and I have to reapply flux and try again or attempt to loosen the leads with a needle nose pliers. I had one of those 15 years ago, they mostly work fine, these days my time is worth more than the money it costs to buy one of the Hakko guns, especially over time. Like I said, I got several tubes full of POKEY's now and at least 10-15 more Ballblazer carts to go. That would take forever with a bulb sucker. If you do not need it a lot, it probably is a waste of money, but when you build a bunch of carts or other hardware for various things, it is essential for debugging. E.G. I am prepping 100 PCB's for Arkyology at the moment, I screwed up a set of 5, because it was late at night and I reversed the cap and resistor on the board. Took me a few minutes to pull the resistor and cap from the 5 boards and replace them. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tep392 Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 That Hakko saved me from suicide. I had 100 Jinks carts to desolder, each with two 28 pin ic's. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 That Hakko saved me from suicide. I had 100 Jinks carts to desolder, each with two 28 pin ic's. Been there, bought the shirt, burned it, bought another and now wear it with pride...I think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 I had one of those 15 years ago, they mostly work fine, these days my time is worth more than the money it costs to buy one of the Hakko guns, especially over time. Like I said, I got several tubes full of POKEY's now and at least 10-15 more Ballblazer carts to go. That would take forever with a bulb sucker. If you do not need it a lot, it probably is a waste of money, but when you build a bunch of carts or other hardware for various things, it is essential for debugging. E.G. I am prepping 100 PCB's for Arkyology at the moment, I screwed up a set of 5, because it was late at night and I reversed the cap and resistor on the board. Took me a few minutes to pull the resistor and cap from the 5 boards and replace them. Yeah, I can count the number of ICs I've desoldered with both hands. I've used my Radio Shack desolder iron a half dozen times since I bought it in 2013, so the Hakko would not be very cost effective. You build carts all the time and sell them for money so it would make smart business sense. Here's what I use if anyone's interested: http://www.radioshack.com/radioshack-45-watt-desoldering-iron/6402060.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Here's what I use if anyone's interested: http://www.radioshack.com/radioshack-45-watt-desoldering-iron/6402060.html Ya I used one of those pain in the ass things for a few years before getting a big boy tool. The vacuum powered desoldering tool is dream compared to that thing. I'll never use one of those again myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Ya I used one of those pain in the ass things for a few years before getting a big boy tool. The vacuum powered desoldering tool is dream compared to that thing. I'll never use one of those again myself. Assuming the Radio Shack Iron is the Ford Pento and the Hakko is the Rolls Royce, is there a mid range option for desoldering components? Like $50-$60 range? I got a regulated Weller soldering iron last year and it is worlds better than the Radio Shack brand or any unregulated 25w or 40w iron. Heats up extremely fast but won't burn up components if I hold it too long. Maybe I could add a heat gun to my arsenal to reflow solder without scorching PCBs or components. But $300 on a once-in-a-while use tool is out of the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 http://www.ebay.com/itm/141732329985?rmvSB=true 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+frankodragon Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 If you're buying a rework station, make sure there are no packing screws blocking the airflow. I bought one with engrish directions mentioning 5 screws but there was actually only one to remove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funknflow5200 Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 You have to de-solder 40 pins. Yes, this was my challenge! I got a hand and it worked out well. Try this one. http://www.atari7800.org/bin/a7800/Commando.zip Mitch Thank you! Now this is working as well! Both Ballblazer, Commando are working great now... so are several other homebrews that have incorporated POKEY audio! Now for whatever reason the Concerto won't let me get past the opening seconds of ANY version of Double Dragon I throw at it, even the new graphics hack. Some atari 2600 games like video olympics go to scrambled video here and there. Troubleshooting a few things here and there but I love this cart! Excited for his next firmware and happy to have one of the first cracks at this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiv Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Is removing the POKEY from Ballblazer typically a challenge? I did it, so it's not too crazy.. I'm not that great.. That said, it was tedious... Funny part is that it turns out I didn't need to do it.. I got my CC2 back when it was first released.. Love it.. Then the 7800 sat for a bit.. I'd use it from time to time, so it wasn't like in a closet hiding.. But wasn't getting a lot of use.. Then there was a homebrew coming out that was going to have Pokey support (one of Bob's?) so I thought.. I should probably finally get a pokey for my CC2. Picked up a BallBlazer in not great shape, and desoldered the Pokey.. Then I thought, I should listen to Pokey sound before I install it so I will know the difference.. I fired up Commando.. and.. hmmm.. Music... Umm... Fired up BallBlazer.. and.. er.. music.. Went to youtube. Yep, that's what they should sound like, WITH a Pokey. Opened my CC2, and there was Pokey... Can't actually remember if I had Chad install one (was that an option back then?) or if maybe I ordered a Pokey back then and just forgot.. So, I gave my desoldered Pokey to someone on here who needed one.. (Bill L. I think) Anyway, end result is that it's doable if your patient... desiv 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Rick Reynolds Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Just got one of the pre-release SD carts and I wanted to open it up to check for POKEY chip socket, etc. Is there a trick to opening these 7800 carts? I removed the single screw, but it isn't coming apart simply. I don't want to force anything and break it, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixdownita Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 If Commando and Ballblazer have music than you have pokey if not then it is missing. Commando uses both Pokey and Tia, while Ballblazer only Pokey. In both cases the music is all Pokey , so if you have an SD card just try to play either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 If Commando and Ballblazer have music than you have pokey if not then it is missing. Commando uses both Pokey and Tia, while Ballblazer only Pokey. In both cases the music is all Pokey , so if you have an SD card just try to play either. None of them have a POKEY, I think you got confused by the post about the CC2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Rick Reynolds Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 None of them have a POKEY, I think you got confused by the post about the CC2. Yes, this was my impression from what I've read. There is development of a POKEY clone (HOKEY), as I understand it, but I got a ballblazer cart specifically to pull out the POKEY and put it into my Concerto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 My label damaged Ballblazer sits like a lady in waiting. It will give birth to a Pokey one of these days, I just know it... http://www.ebay.com/itm/141732329985?rmvSB=true Thanks for that link. It looks like a nice piece of tech. Money is tight right now. I gotta save up for homebrews. I should have my stipend in December. That gun will make a nice present to myself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 (edited) I assume the pokey chip out of an 800 would work ? I have a spare one of those. I think Brad sells pokey chips for $25 at best electronics. Cheaper than a rework station. Edited October 28, 2015 by adamchevy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vespertillio Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Add me to the list of people wnating to give you $$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Rick Reynolds Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 So I'm trying my pre-release Concerto. It keeps complaining that my SD card isn't FAT or FAT32. I've formatted it both as FAT and exFAT via Disk Utility on my Mac and nothing is working so far. Any Mac users that have one of these pre-release ones got a specific formatting to work? Or am I going to have to borrow a friend's Windows computer to get a file system that is more correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+batari Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 So I'm trying my pre-release Concerto. It keeps complaining that my SD card isn't FAT or FAT32. I've formatted it both as FAT and exFAT via Disk Utility on my Mac and nothing is working so far. Any Mac users that have one of these pre-release ones got a specific formatting to work? Or am I going to have to borrow a friend's Windows computer to get a file system that is more correct? I suspect you may have a SDXC card if it is offering ExFAT as an option. Only SD and SDHC are supported. How big is your SD card? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Rick Reynolds Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 I suspect you may have a SDXC card if it is offering ExFAT as an option. Only SD and SDHC are supported. How big is your SD card? It's a 1GB card - just something I had lying about. I can see if I can find another. I didn't know there were types to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funknflow5200 Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 So I'm trying my pre-release Concerto. It keeps complaining that my SD card isn't FAT or FAT32. I've formatted it both as FAT and exFAT via Disk Utility on my Mac and nothing is working so far. Any Mac users that have one of these pre-release ones got a specific formatting to work? Or am I going to have to borrow a friend's Windows computer to get a file system that is more correct? I'm a Mac User, using a 4 gig SDHC card and it is working fine. One time I had to re-seat the SD card and all was fine. Only issues I'm getting are Double Dragon resetting after the opening screen and a few games on the 2600 end not seeming compatible ... (video olympics, I'm looking at you!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Rick Reynolds Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Thanks. I'm happy to go with the theory that I need to use a different card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Rick Reynolds Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Verified - a different SD card is working fine. On a different note: I tried the copy of Commando linked above and I can hear the music, but it's very low volume. I hear the other sounds in the game fine. Ballblazer seems just fine with respect to the music sound level, so I wondered if anyone had any other ideas about Commando. Also, what are some homebrew titles that use the POKEY? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 (edited) Verified - a different SD card is working fine. On a different note: I tried the copy of Commando linked above and I can hear the music, but it's very low volume. I hear the other sounds in the game fine. Ballblazer seems just fine with respect to the music sound level, so I wondered if anyone had any other ideas about Commando. Also, what are some homebrew titles that use the POKEY? As soon as I get my concerto I'll let you know! I knew I should have gone to prge this year. Edited October 28, 2015 by adamchevy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funknflow5200 Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 On a different note: I tried the copy of Commando linked above and I can hear the music, but it's very low volume. I hear the other sounds in the game fine. commando sound levels are great for me.... both pokey and tia audio, so not sure what is up there. on the pinned "homebrews and hacks" thread, there a re a number of homebrew with pokey - several from PacMan Plus. All working great. I am currently on the hunt for a .a78 of Froggie & double dragon that will work on concerto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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