Incognito - Now's your chance!

[BillC]

On 11/3/2019 at 4:43 PM, Gunstar said:

I will also forego using Lotharek's connector and just use my peel-away ribbon cable single Dupont connectors.

The Dupont pins can be removed from the connector housing, you could then insert them in a connector housing of the desired size.

[Gunstar]

39 minutes ago, BillC said:

The Dupont pins can be removed from the connector housing, you could then insert them in a connector housing of the desired size.

Too late, it's all installed.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Gunstar

[BillC]

Just now, Gunstar said:

Too late, it's all installed.

I didn't notice the date until after I posted, the information may be useful for others.

[Gunstar]

Just now, BillC said:

I didn't notice the date until after I posted, the information may be useful for others.

You still almost made it, I just finished installing it yesterday.

[+Stephen]

Update that damn SDX

[Gunstar]

Yeah, I still have to do the ATR switch and update the firmware. But first I have to get my keyboard working again, as I figure I screwed something up doing a dual Pokey upgrade, extrapolating from DIY piggy-back (with sockets) XL installation instructions. So first I have to fix that so the keyboard works again, then I'll get the rest finished. It's either crossed wires, or I got a wrong pin somewhere or maybe where I piggybacked the 74LS14 on the motherboard.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Gunstar

[adam1977]

I need to test a few old cassettes, how do I do that now I have my Incognito installed? Sorry if it's a daft question ?

[+DrVenkman]

1 hour ago, adam1977 said:

I need to test a few old cassettes, how do I do that now I have my Incognito installed? Sorry if it's a daft question ?

Same as always - boot your Atari with a cassette program recorder attached while pressing START.  

[_The Doctor__]

If you come across a title that's stubborn, it might want colleen mode...

[adam1977]

Thanks gents, i'll give it a try ?

 

Edit: Works fine, cheers!

Edited April 26, 2020 by adam1977
Tested

[adam1977]

I think i've killed my LED's for some reason now... Last night it occured to me that in order to play a two disk game I had to put the game disk files in a separate directory (D1, D2 etc) I had tried pressing the ATR swap button a few times before i'd even thought of this... ?

 

Anyway, I booted it up to Loader, pressed CTRL and Space on the disks I wanted to load (Gauntlet) and it loaded the first disk fine, I selected my character then it came to the Insert Disk 2 screen. I pressed the ATR swap button and pressed Start, nothing, so I pressed it a few more times rapidly and after each time I pressed Start too, it then loaded! 

 

After playing a few rooms, i thought i'd repeat the experiment to make sure everything was ok, well I did the same thing again (rapidly pressing the swap button and Start) and the LED power light and the hard drive LED next to it went out... It did come on for a brief while later but as soon as I pressed the Atr button it went out. I then disconnected the ATR wiring from Incognito and the power LED was back on.

 

This morning i'm testing a few old cassettes to put on eBay and thanks to the forum i'm managing to get that sorted, but the power LED has gone out completely now. The 800 works fine, I haven't tried a multi disk game this morning though, as I wanted to take the case off and have a look to see if there's anything amiss ?

 

Do you think i've just blown the ageing LED's? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[+DrVenkman]

5 hours ago, adam1977 said:

Anyway, I booted it up to Loader, pressed CTRL and Space on the disks I wanted to load (Gauntlet) and it loaded the first disk fine, I selected my character then it came to the Insert Disk 2 screen. I pressed the ATR swap button and pressed Start, nothing, so I pressed it a few more times rapidly and after each time I pressed Start too, it then loaded! 

 

After playing a few rooms, i thought i'd repeat the experiment to make sure everything was ok, well I did the same thing again (rapidly pressing the swap button and Start) and the LED power light and the hard drive LED next to it went out... It did come on for a brief while later but as soon as I pressed the Atr button it went out. I then disconnected the ATR wiring from Incognito and the power LED was back on.

I’m not familiar with the version of Gauntlet you’re using, but it shouldn’t be necessary to press your swap button rapidly to get it to register. Depending on how you have it wired and where you have your switch, it should just be a single click to swap or rotate your disk images from one location to the next. Can’t say what you’ve done to your power LEDs. I replaced both LEDs on my power board with new low power/high brightness lights but by HDD activity light (green) has never worked. I suspect there’s too much voltage drop from the Incognito board to drive the green LED I used. 

[adam1977]

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated ?

 

I've taken my 800 apart again and have triple checked the wiring as per FJC's install video, all is as it should be. 

 

These are the notes i've just made:

 

• I've isolated CR211 by cutting the track
• R202 goes to P6 Pin 2 
• R201 goes to the one side of my swap button
• The other side of my swap button goes to P6 Pin 3
• P6 Pin 1 goes to the one side of LED CR211
• When my ATR swap button is pressed, it connects R210 and P6 Pin 3 (continuity test)
• The LED's were fine, but i've swapped one for a different colour one now.

 

Upon testing, again with Gauntlet, when it comes to swapping to Disk 2 I press the button and the 800 does some sort of reset (screen goes black) and goes back to telling me to insert Disk 2.

 

When I boot to setup in Incognito and press the swap button the screen goes weird ?

 

I think when I initially installed it it showed these symptoms and I assumed i'd installed connector P6 the wrong way round, so I swapped it and it stopped doing the reset glitch when the button was pressed.

Edited April 26, 2020 by adam1977
Remembered more information.

[adam1977]

1 hour ago, DrVenkman said:

I replaced both LEDs on my power board with new low power/high brightness lights but by HDD activity light (green) has never worked. I suspect there’s too much voltage drop from the Incognito board to drive the green LED I used. 

Which LED did you fit? ?

[TGB1718]

I had problems with getting the LED to flash, I tried several types with no success, in the end, I buffered the output

from the Incognito board through an NE555 timer, circuit and details on page 28 of this thread.

 

I replaced bothe diodes.

11 minutes ago, adam1977 said:

Upon testing, again with Gauntlet, when it comes to swapping to Disk 2 I press the button and the 800 does some sort of reset (screen goes black) and goes back to telling me to insert Disk 2.

 

When I boot to setup in Incognito and press the swap button the screen goes weird ?

I would check wiring and voltages, this almost looks like some sort of short is happening when you press the swap button

[adam1977]

Thanks, i'll take a look ?

 

49 minutes ago, TGB1718 said:

I would check wiring and voltages, this almost looks like some sort of short is happening when you press the swap button

The wiring is fine, i've checked it against FJC's video, but maybe I need to check voltages next. The reset is weird isn't it, but what I find even weirder is the fact that when I turned connector P6 around I managed to get it to swap disks, albeit with plenty of rapid pressing of the swap button ?

[+DrVenkman]

27 minutes ago, adam1977 said:

The wiring is fine, i've checked it against FJC's video, but maybe I need to check voltages next. The reset is weird isn't it, but what I find even weirder is the fact that when I turned connector P6 around I managed to get it to swap disks, albeit with plenty of rapid pressing of the swap button ?

That's not really a consistent statement though. If the wiring is fine, you won't have to press the button more than once. If you reversed it, you're triggering the switch circuit with voltage from the HDD activity light on the same connector. 

[adam1977]

I've checked the wires several times now, as well as my switch and they are wired as per the video. I'll have to take your word about what reversing P6 does, I haven't got a clue, all i'm doing is following instructions ? Maybe I should just do without having a swap button ?

[adam1977]

I'm really surprised nobody on here can help me with this ?

[+DrVenkman]

I did my best to explain what’s going on with your reversed P6 connector. This is how it’s supposed to work in practice - note the single, positive click. No need to click it repeatedly to get it to register.

 

 

 

Also, I know you’ve said you’ve checked your wiring, etc., but it really would help if you posted good, in-focus photos of your work, especially anything done around the power board. Something like this that’s clear enough to see and sharp enough to notice any issues.

 

 

[TGB1718]

26 minutes ago, DrVenkman said:

but it really would help if you posted good, in-focus photos of your work, especially anything done around the power board.

Both top and bottom of the board, showing track cuts ets.

[adam1977]

Thanks anyway, but i've spent too much time on it already, i've checked my wiring at least three times now and have watched Jon's video at least ten times. It's gone back into the loft and it'll stay there until I get my enthusiasm back, I feel quite down about it at the moment ?

[Faicuai]

1 hour ago, adam1977 said:

Thanks anyway, but i've spent too much time on it already, i've checked my wiring at least three times now and have watched Jon's video at least ten times. It's gone back into the loft and it'll stay there until I get my enthusiasm back, I feel quite down about it at the moment ?

Don't let a dumb-ass .ATR image-switch bring you down... 

 

You may want to go back to the fundamentals, in order to try verifying correct operation and isolation of your particular problem.

 

The .ATR switch essentially needs nothing other than being grounded, at will. Look closely at the top (narrow) header and notice the ONLY pin that you need to work with (click on image for zooming):

 

You could simply attempt to run a wiire and manually ground it around the shield's hook-points or just the frame-shield body (expansion bay) to verify that it works. Just GROUND-and-DEGROUND (slowly) to confirm .ATR rotation. When testing, ONLY load .ATRs on D1: and D2: with content you perfectly know. If not, just download POLAR PIERRE and load on D1, and D2: and actuate when requested on screen.

 

Below is my chosen grounding point (green wire coming on bottom-right corner of shield's screw, with proper terminal). I have been operating my .ATR switch reliably and consistently for almost 8 years, now:

 

 

Be patient, and GOOD luck!

 

[leech]

1 hour ago, Faicuai said:

Don't let a dumb-ass .ATR image-switch bring you down... 

 

You may want to go back to the fundamentals, in order to try verifying correct operation and isolation of your particular problem.

 

The .ATR switch essentially needs nothing other than being grounded, at will. Look closely at the top (narrow) header and notice the ONLY pin that you need to work with (click on image for zooming):

 

You could simply attempt to run a wiire and manually ground it around the shield's hook-points or just the frame-shield body (expansion bay) to verify that it works. Just GROUND-and-DEGROUND (slowly) to confirm .ATR rotation. When testing, ONLY load .ATRs on D1: and D2: with content you perfectly know. If not, just download POLAR PIERRE and load on D1, and D2: and actuate when requested on screen.

 

Below is my chosen grounding point (green wire coming on bottom-right corner of shield's screw, with proper terminal). I have been operating my .ATR switch reliably and consistently for almost 8 years, now:

 

 

Be patient, and GOOD luck!

 

Awesome, so it only requires a ground wire, and the middle pin on the header?

I was thinking og mounting the button either in the cracked slats up top, or where the RCA cord goes out the back. 

I am waiting for the SCCC to show up before I open the ol' girl back up though.

[flashjazzcat]

41 minutes ago, leech said:

I was thinking og mounting the button either in the cracked slats up top, or where the RCA cord goes out the back. 

Much more sensitive to the original character of the machine to just drill a f***-off hole right through the plastic as per the expert install pictured above.