Astrocade S-VIDEO Adapter available again

[128Kgames]

http://vector-labs.com/index_bally_svideo.html

 

Most asked about add on for the Bally & Astrocade system, looks identical to the original 8BitDomain build (I believe this is his new site).

 

Having used the S-VIDEO upgrade for years, I can say hands down best picture upgrade available.

 

Thanks to Shawn Hantke for posting this on the Facebook Astrocade fan page.

[CatPix]

I already ahve it, but it's good news. Especially with how "drop-in" of a replacement it is.

I soldered the yellow cable for better contact (I showcase my Astraocade at some event, and it's enough moving that I often had to open it and reclip it for better contact), but it's a solderless, no-brainer replacement. I also ran a S-video+ audio cable in place of the antenna cable and avoided making ugly drilling in the shell.

[128Kgames]

Yup, thats how I did it back in the day:

 

[128Kgames]

Update: just a word to the wise, some buyers on the ballyalley@groups.io group have reported problems with this new S-VIDEO board.  Some have tested it on more than one machine with the same results.  Also, technical support on the part of the seller has been lacking.  So at this point in time, buyer beware.  I will post an update should the situation change. 

[glazball]

@128Kgames, has there been any resolution about these new S-video boards?  I'm curious what problems people were having with it and if the seller has fixed the issue(s).

[128Kgames]

2 hours ago, glazball said:

@128Kgames, has there been any resolution about these new S-video boards?  I'm curious what problems people were having with it and if the seller has fixed the issue(s).

Not that I'm aware of - I would think the members in the ballyalley@groups.io would have spoken up if things had changed.

 

I had asked for an update since being made aware of the issues from several buyers, and having made a post here touting it's return I felt some level of responsibility if people bought it and had problems with it.  

 

It was rare to see any issues with the original S-VIDEO board so I am curious as to what changed that's now causing issues.  The board looks to have been revised but I am not clear on what the changes are. 

[glazball]

Yea that's a shame since it's such an easy, reversible modification and the S-video out helps immensely with PQ.  I hope it gets sorted out.

[SparkTR]

Hi, any update with the reliability of this mod?

[+KylJoy]

It does not work well.  I bought two and neither functions.  It is not the same design as the original s-video mod.

[+KylJoy]

FYI, I am PLANNING on looking at those at some time to see if I can get them to work but I haven't had time. 

[the_crayon_king]

@KylJoy 

 

There are probably a dozen ways to get S-Video out of the Bally. 

The easiest would be a resistor divider on Y/C > capacitor > pullup resistor > THS7314/THS7316 > 75 ohm resistor (for Y and C) > 220uf capacitor for Y lower for C (0.47uf ?). 

You can even passively mix Y/C for Composite. 

 

And I realize you could use the FMS6410B but it is more temperamental in values.

 

The S-Video mods removed the RF circuit then replaced it with most of the same components. I don't think any of that was necessary and was just a way to take the place of the RF mod and tap all the needed spots from one location (without soldering).

 

If someone has the p-p of Y and C then I could make a board for it really easy.

 

The other way to make S-Video would be to mix the analog values of component into RGB then convert that RGB to S-Video/Composite through a BH7236AF encoder. (Do something like the TMS-RGB since these consoles are similar). 

The hardest way would be to sniff the values going into/out of the PPU and send that to a FPGA., then from the FPGA to a DAC to make RGB., then mix that for S-video/Composite (this would be the cleanest but hardest method).

[128Kgames]

5 minutes ago, the_crayon_king said:

@KylJoy 

 

There are probably a dozen ways to get S-Video out of the Bally. 

I'm not so sure about that.  People have kicked around coming up with other ways to get video out of the Bally / Astrocade for years and to date 8bitDomain was the only one to do it successfully and get it to the masses.  Even old timers from the yahoo group haven't done anything video related currently (there was supposed to a Composite mod but that never took off).  Honestly S-VIDEO is dated now to begin with.  I'd like to see an RGB mod that we could use an existing RGB to HDMI cable with like the RAD2X cables.

[the_crayon_king]

@128Kgames 

Using just a resistor divider into a capacitor would be another one. (since the voltages AFAIK are above 2V p-p). 

Feeding to a FMS6410B. 

Feeding to the THS7314. 

Feeding to transistors. 

Mixing into an inverted op amp into another inverted op amp.

Should be some way to mix C from R-y and B-y and clock. 

Converting YPBPR to RGB (like the TMS-RGB) then converting that RGB to Y/C. 

Sniffing the PPU to FPGA to DAC. 

 

I mean that is 8 I could think of more. 

 

 

FPGA/RGB mod could be done by porting the info from the Bally Mister Core.

The TMS-RGB mod could be adapted to get RGB from the Bally though analog mixing.

 

I think there is not a lot of interest in the console. Therefor not a lot of knowledge about how to do it.

The method I described earlier would work I know that much.

 

To be clear you already have S-Video on your bally consoles. You just need to adjust the levels. 

 

Edited January 9, 2022 by the_crayon_king

[128Kgames]

Yeah, the console has a following but it's tough to draw new people in.

[Gunstar]

It took about 15 years to draw me in. 15 ago I got a Bally with a bunch of other broken consoles. It sat in storage until 2 years ago when I started restoring it, but no PSU so I bought parts to build one...two years later, I'm back at it with the Bally Professional Arcade and a working PSU. Hopefully I got in at the right time with the Atarimax flash cart (I already have the programmer cart and Max studio for my Atari) an hopefully all these cool games on the way from you, @128Kgames! Hopefully the Atarimax cart starts drawing them in as you start releasing your games.

 

I know it really boosted the numbers of the Atari community, over 15 years ago when Atarimax 1Mb and 8Mb Atari 8-bit carts were released. It's still a favorite today even though mass storage devices on cart with SD cards do the same thing now and much more. (like Ataimax's MyIDE II which I also have and absolutely love. I have been a long time customer of Steven of Atarimax. almost 30 years now ever since the release of SIO2PC and APE system for the Atari's in the early 90's. He's a great guy and customer service is second to none...eventually...sometimes it takes a while to get a response, but mostly for purchases. If you are looking for servicing and/or replacements it's pretty much no questions asked, just send it back and he repairs or replaces promptly.

Edited January 10, 2022 by Gunstar

[the_crayon_king]

@128Kgames 

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Astrocade_MiSTer/tree/master/rtl

That has the code in order to get RGB on the Astrocade. Already written out. 

 

You only need a small part of their total code in order to get RGB since you won't be simulating the other ICs.

 

AFAIK you should only need to sniff the data being fed into/sent out of the DATA IC. 

I will look into it the best I can but if someone more familiar with the code could relay what pins I would need to account for then that might speed up the process of board design. 

 

[128Kgames]

1 hour ago, the_crayon_king said:

@128Kgames 

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Astrocade_MiSTer/tree/master/rtl

That has the code in order to get RGB on the Astrocade. Already written out. 

 

You only need a small part of their total code in order to get RGB since you won't be simulating the other ICs.

 

AFAIK you should only need to sniff the data being fed into/sent out of the DATA IC. 

I will look into it the best I can but if someone more familiar with the code could relay what pins I would need to account for then that might speed up the process of board design. 

 

If I can get Ken Lill @kenzre to join in he could probably shed some light on things, I know he's looked into video mods before.

[Greg2600]

@ballyalley I was watching your 2017 video on the S-video install, it's maybe the only one out there.  I have an Astrocade, and was interested in the mod.  Apparently Retro-Kidz are now selling it on eBay here, seems to be the only game in town, with the primary difference being that the cables are now connected via one molex-style connector.  I've read about the "ghosting" at times.

Question for anyone out there, if I spliced a Atari XL/XE video cable up, which can carry S-Video plus Composite and one audio signal, that would still work?