The UAV Rev. D Video Upgrade Thread

[flashjazzcat]

I used hot air exclusively to fix the NTSC 65XE on the desk here and the PCB didn't blink an eye, so those temperatures must have been tremendous.

[_The Doctor__]

could have fixed it but nah! that smell will never go away... lol

Edited December 5, 2017 by _The Doctor__

[mobiusstriptech]

Ah the good old 'use an acetylene torch' memory upgrade method.

 

You aren't soldering correctly if you aren't using acid flux, 1/8" or larger acid core solder, and a bernzomatic torch.

[jjh76]

For the 5200 are the install pictures from an original 4-port that gets power through the rf switch or are they from a 2-port model? Or is it the same for both versions?

 

And if I put one of these in one of my 4-port units is there another mod that would let me eliminate the rf switch and plug the power adapter directly into the console?

[mobiusstriptech]

There is definitely a mod for the power port. Atari actually used to do them for customers with issues. You can buy a kit from console5 to do it easily.

[bszarek001]

For the 5200 are the install pictures from an original 4-port that gets power through the rf switch or are they from a 2-port model? Or is it the same for both versions?

 

And if I put one of these in one of my 4-port units is there another mod that would let me eliminate the rf switch and plug the power adapter directly into the console?

 

I purchased two of the power mods (as I'm currently installing two UAV's with AC on a 5200 as we speak). I'll post photos once everything is done.

[bszarek001]

Hey everyone,

 

Where is the best place to put the AC board on the 5200? I have the first release 5200 PCB and I know i'm looking for a spot with +5 and ground nearby. Anyone have recommendations of where to put it?

 

Thanks!

 

[mobiusstriptech]

Hey everyone,

 

Where is the best place to put the AC board on the 5200? I have the first release 5200 PCB and I know i'm looking for a spot with +5 and ground nearby. Anyone have recommendations of where to put it?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Most people put them in the same location that they would come on the 2 port. Right in the back corner.

[bszarek001]

 

Most people put them in the same location that they would come on the 2 port. Right in the back corner.

Pardon my ignorance, as I'm a newbie with the 5200... At which cap are you referring? I assume you're talking about the C129/C130 area in the back right hand corner? Would you be able to pinpoint which point is the +5 and which is ground there? The schematics for this are obviously a lot more complicated than the 2600's i'm used to. Thanks!

Edited December 6, 2017 by bszarek001

[mobiusstriptech]

Pardon my ignorance, as I'm a newbie with the 5200... At which cap are you referring? I assume you're talking about the C129/C130 area in the back right hand corner? Would you be able to pinpoint which point is the +5 and which is ground there? The schematics for this are obviously a lot more complicated than the 2600's i'm used to. Thanks!

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/20871-atari-5200-4-port-power-modification-warning-big/

[bszarek001]

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/20871-atari-5200-4-port-power-modification-warning-big/

 

This is a very cool power mod, but the AC mod to which I was referring is the Audio Companion board by Bryan. What i'll probably end up doing, as suggested by Dr Venkman, is just solder it in to either the RF +5 and ground or off the 7805, depending on where I want to lay the board down.

[mobiusstriptech]

Sorry you posted that you bought 2 power mods and then started asking about AC install, which to me would indicate Alternating Current. No idea on the audio mod as I haven't installed one in the 5200.

[bszarek001]

Sorry you posted that you bought 2 power mods and then started asking about AC install, which to me would indicate Alternating Current. No idea on the audio mod as I haven't installed one in the 5200.

 

Of course, appreciate the response. It's a very cool mod. I bought the one from console5, but i'm not sure it's the way i want to go.

[Bryan]

I'm going to post the 5200 (UAV/AC) tutorials in the next few days. Just getting the last UAV's out first.

[bszarek001]

For those of you that are looking to install the Audio Companion board in a 5200, I ran into something I thought I'd share. I installed my UAV board and the video quality was fantastic (composite only). I intend on doing a power mod in the near future, but until I do, I was going to use the existing RF cable mounted to the PCB to power the console. I completed the wiring, turned it on, and was getting a very loud, low level hum. I used the RF pins to power the Audio Companion board, so initially I thought it might have been sharing the pins with the RF modulator board, even though I wouldn't be using it. I had a feeling the issue was with that cable. So what I ended up doing was pulling the RF cable off the PCB, then using the remaining RF plug on the board and used a thinner RF cable to plug into the power adapter. It worked like a charm. Audio and video are perfect. If you'd like photos or videos, let me know.

[whaledriver]

Just installed the first of two UAV mods. The first one went into my 1200XL. Holy crap! Man what a difference and mine has Version 2 of the Clearpic mod! The clarity is amazing. Bryan you are one talented guy. Keep up the great work!

Edited December 21, 2017 by whaledriver

[ckrtech]

Any of you guys do the 800? I've got L0, L2, and Sync located on those vias. No luck with L3 and L1 while probing in that area. Shield is still attached to the bottom. Can continue to probe with the next chance I get, but I thought I'd ask you guys first.

 

Also - What is the minimum hardware reassembly required to get video output? I assume the keyboard has to be (unfortunately) connected in order to get the cartridge door closed signal (at least). Haven't checked schematics to see if grounding a single kb pin would suffice.

Edited December 21, 2017 by ckrtech

[ckrtech]

Atari 800 - Pulled L0, L2, and Sync from the vias. Pulled L1 and L3 from the chip. Had to locate the board quite a ways South in order to fit the shield on top. Looks like perhaps I am missing a Luma signal or two? Also - lots of bleeding/smearing.

 

I didn't "jumper" anything on the kit board - Only went directly to the silkscreened locations with the wires. If I missed a bridge/jumper section for the 800, please let me know. It is the only glaring error I can assume was probably made. Going to take a break before double-checking connections.

[ckrtech]

Whoops! Tapped +5v from the wrong inductor.

 

Had to crank chroma on that PVM, but then I think I have to do that for most of the stuff I input to this guy.

[mmora]

Hi all,

 

Just wanted to thank Bryan for his wonderful creation. I received the board really fast and it's already installed in my Atari 5200. We used a Mega Drive (Genesis) 2 connector to connect both the composite and the audio together, also did the power mod. The same Genesis plug could be used for the S-Video.

 

All crisp and clear, really happy.

 

Keep it up,

 

m.

[ckrtech]

So I have hooked up the modded Atari 800 to three displays (CRT, direct s-video to LCD, HDMI via s-video thru framemeister), and I have a few questions.

 

Install

1: Have any of you captured videos/images of various UAV potentiometer settings for your system? I'd turn mine a bit to see what sort of changes occur, but I have to basically reassemble the system in order to fire it up - thereby blocking the pot.

2: Did any of you have to add some finesse to how you grabbed/wired/hooked up +5v and GND to the UAV? I saw some guys doing some tweaks to the pads on the board at some point in the thread(s), but the threads have grown quite a bit & it takes longer to knife through for a consensus on a given subject.

 

Output

3: How many of you are using a framemeister and what are your thoughts?

4: Any of you trying direct input to a modern display without an upscaler, and are you adding a low pass filter circuit to the equation? I think... none of you are going this route! However I believe it is potentially (highly) useful for any of you that are direct wiring your Atari to a fixed pixel display without an upscaler in the chain. S-video direct to LCD doesn't look that great for me - blurry upscaling and vertical bars occur across the entire screen. Nature of the beast, but it made me ponder an external LPF (or a monitor mod... yuck)

 

Finally, here is a shot of my install in the 800 prior to flux cleanup. It is far from the video source inputs, but close to the DIN injection outputs. Ideally, I would grab ground and +5V from a closer spot and not solder directly to the 4050 for L1 and L3 signals. This configuration definitely fits with the shield in place and should fit with the cartridge shell (I've only held in place and not snapped it down).

Edited December 22, 2017 by ckrtech

[+DrVenkman]

Whoops! Tapped +5v from the wrong inductor.

 

Had to crank chroma on that PVM, but then I think I have to do that for most of the stuff I input to this guy.

 

That image still looks a little dim/faded to me. Do you have another CRT to connect to for comparison?

[_The Doctor__]

Brightness/contrast controls on PVM needs adjust... I see outside light on the screen as well... it will be okay...

[jc13]

I just installed the revD into my 2600 6 switch and followed Bryan's blog posting (mostly), but I found it was a little easier to locate the jumper headers underneath and then solder a socket to the top of the board for the 4050 instead of soldering to the top of the chip. Just thought it might help someone and it's also a little easier to undo if you need to remove the UAV for any reason. The board works great and thanks to Bryan for his hard work!

 

-John

[seastalker]

Just got an XEGS as a surprise gift!! Start of the thread has "how to" install links for the A8 line but do the 65/130 XE install instructions differ for a GS?