InvaderDIM Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 How exactly do you hook up the Atari Jr? I have the AC Adapter and the same automatic RF Switch as NES. When I hook it up, the picture is fuzzy. How do I hook it up with no fuzz? Help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvaderDIM Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 I think this should have gone into the "HardWare" part of this forum, but whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 The RF adapter you are using may not be compatable or broken. Radio Shack still sells TV/Video RF adapters. You can also get a plug that has a female RF input and a male cable output and bypass the box completely. I like your screenname. Invader Zim is a great show. Welcome to Atariage. Hope you stick around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 I think this should have gone into the "HardWare" part of this forum, but whatever. This question comes up often in the 2600 forum. Don't worry about it. If a new RF adaptor does not work, check the wire for fraying and make sure it is not loose at the interior base of the Jr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvaderDIM Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 The Rf Adapter is brand new and I often use it with my SNES... hmm... I cant seem to open it up.. it is stuck together somehow on the bottom and I dont want to break it. I hope to stick around on the forums for a while... as long as I get this thing working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvaderDIM Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 Oh! I got it apart... it doesn't look like anything is wrong on the inside... Doesn't it have something to do with the signal not being powerful enough to switch the TV (through the NES RF thing) to play the game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheldon Sims Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Doesn't it have something to do with the signal not being powerful enough to switch the TV (through the NES RF thing) to play the game? Yes. The Atari 2600 RF signal is not strong enough for an automatic RF switch. You will need to get one of the manual RF switchboxes, like this: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cata...%5Fid=15%2D1268 or get the TV switch box replacement: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=41008 with a manual coax switch box: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cata...%5Fid=15%2D1216 And if the Atari will be the only thing hooked to the TV, you can do without the manual coax switch box. Just hook the "F" male to RCA female adapter (TV swtich box replacement) directly to the coax connector on the back of your TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Oh! I got it apart... it doesn't look like anything is wrong on the inside... Doesn't it have something to do with the signal not being powerful enough to switch the TV (through the NES RF thing) to play the game?As I understand it, that's EXACTLY the problem. There's just not enough of a signal to trip an automatic RF switch all the way. Get a nice RCA cable and plug your 2600 into a manual switchbox like you'd use for any other classic system. If you don't have one, hit your local Radio Shack. GAH! Beat me to it. ... Hmmmm... I wonder if an antenna amplifier could be used to raise the signal up enough to work with an automatic switchbox. I've got the amp left over from somethign else, but no coax/rca adapters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvaderDIM Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 An RCA cable like this?: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cata...%5Fid=15%2D1539 I already own this: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cata...%5Fid=15%2D1268 [/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 An RCA cable like this?: Yep. A standard 3-plug AV cable works too, but the extra plugs just get in the way. I already own this: Good. Very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvaderDIM Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 By the way... where can I get a power cord for the Atari... I can't find mine... which sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 You said you had the AC adapter earlier. Now I'M confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrudder Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 An RCA cable like this?: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cata...%5Fid=15%2D1539 That RCA cable wont fit on the back of a Jr. You need a cable where the outer surround of the cable's male connection is not covered with plastic. I didnt see any cables like that on the radioshack website except in the "gold" series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wavemotion Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Forget RCA cables and switchboxes (poor video output). If you don't want to do a mod on your system for video out, just get a Coaxial (F-type) to Female RCA Adapter (Radio Shack #278-276) which can be seen in a picture here: http://www.atariage.com/howto/connect.html The "RCA" cable that comes out of your 2600 carries an RF singlal. If it had an F-sytle connector, you could just screw it into your normal cable input - set your TV to channel 3 (or 2/4 depending on Atari setting) and you would be in great shape - good reasaonably clean picture, no switchboxes. Because of the RCA connector, you just need a simple $4 adapter to mate it with your TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvaderDIM Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 You said you had the AC adapter earlier. Now I'M confused. I was lying. I didn't want people to worry about that until I told them to. Mwuahaha... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvaderDIM Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 An RCA cable like this?: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cata...%5Fid=15%2D1539 That RCA cable wont fit on the back of a Jr. You need a cable where the outer surround of the cable's male connection is not covered with plastic. I didnt see any cables like that on the radioshack website except in the "gold" series. Which one in the Gold Series exactly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Forget RCA cables and switchboxes (poor video output). If you don't want to do a mod on your system for video out, just get a Coaxial (F-type) to Female RCA Adapter (Radio Shack #278-276) which can be seen in a picture here: http://www.atariage.com/howto/connect.html The "RCA" cable that comes out of your 2600 carries an RF singlal. If it had an F-sytle connector, you could just screw it into your normal cable input - set your TV to channel 3 (or 2/4 depending on Atari setting) and you would be in great shape - good reasaonably clean picture, no switchboxes. Because of the RCA connector, you just need a simple $4 adapter to mate it with your TV. The big problem with that: Most people actually use their TVs for, well, TV. Hence, being able to have an antenna or cable hooked up is kind of important. If they use their VCR tuner exclusively AND the VCR's connected through the AV ports, THEN it becomes viable. As long as they only use ONE RF-only system. ... And personally speaking, my area's noisy enough that any image coming through an RF line has problems(damn the Genesis 2 and it's proprietary connector). And why the quote marks around RCA? It IS an RCA connector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvaderDIM Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 Forget RCA cables and switchboxes (poor video output). If you don't want to do a mod on your system for video out, just get a Coaxial (F-type) to Female RCA Adapter (Radio Shack #278-276) which can be seen in a picture here: http://www.atariage.com/howto/connect.html The "RCA" cable that comes out of your 2600 carries an RF singlal. If it had an F-sytle connector, you could just screw it into your normal cable input - set your TV to channel 3 (or 2/4 depending on Atari setting) and you would be in great shape - good reasaonably clean picture, no switchboxes. Because of the RCA connector, you just need a simple $4 adapter to mate it with your TV. I have an Atari Jr., so I don't have a cable coming out of the back. I have seen the original Atari and I know what you are talking about, but I have Jr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Oh, and about the RCA plug having a plastic cover... The easy solution is to grab a pocket knife and cut the plastic back a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvaderDIM Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 Oh, and about the RCA plug having a plastic cover...The easy solution is to grab a pocket knife and cut the plastic back a little. But somebody said that by doing that, the picture would have poor video output... how poor is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wavemotion Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 The big problem with that: Most people actually use their TVs for, well, TV. Hence, being able to have an antenna or cable hooked up is kind of important. And most people are not feeding thier TVs with twin line anymore... At the most primitive, most people probably feed thier TVs with Coax (cable, satalite dish, etc) and it only takes a second to connect/disconnect the inputs... but much better is to use a simple coax switchbox (not a splitter which would lose approx 4dB of signal) to switch betwen input sources... that's what I use on my main TV... and NO conversion to 300 ohm which has inherent loss when you use a switchbox. Now that I have a dedicated 2600 TV, even that (VERY minor) bit of inconvienence is no longer an issue. Unless, of course, they make a Switchbox that takes the RCA connector but does NOT convert to 300 OHM for output (that is, it still goes out lower imedence to the TV via a Coax connector). If that's the case, then your switchbox and my Coax Switcher are basically the same thing. The switchbox I remember had RCA in and terminals for an antenna hookup (I haven't owned an Antenna in years!). Anyway, the point I was making was the picture quality was so much better (for my systems/TVs anyway) with an RCA to F adapter that I wouldn't go back to a switchbox converter ever. I put RCA in quotes becuase most people think of RCA carrying Audio/Video signals (lots of people want to hook this up to the RCA Video input Jack of thier TV!!) not RF signals. But now that I think of it, putting it in quotes was dumb... after all it is an RCA cable... just not carrying the same signal that most people associate with an RCA cable! My bad... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Oh, and about the RCA plug having a plastic cover...The easy solution is to grab a pocket knife and cut the plastic back a little. But somebody said that by doing that, the picture would have poor video output... how poor is it? No worse than any other Atari. It's a perfectly fine image for most purposes. The big problem with that: Most people actually use their TVs for, well, TV. Hence, being able to have an antenna or cable hooked up is kind of important. And most people are not feeding thier TVs with twin line anymore... At the most primitive, most people probably feed thier TVs with Coax (cable, satalite dish, etc) and it only takes a second to connect/disconnect the inputs... Well, my TV's access to the back is restricted, and hte antenna feed has the full-fledged nut connector, so it bolts down. I find the switchboxes annoying enough given the limited access without haivng to unfasten and refasten things. Unless, of course, they make a Switchbox that takes the RCA connector but does NOT convert to 300 OHM for output (that is, it still goes out lower imedence to the TV via a Coax connector). If that's the case, then your switchbox and my Coax Switcher are basically the same thing. The switchbox I remember had RCA in and terminals for an antenna hookup (I haven't owned an Antenna in years!). Actually, I DO use a coax switchbox. The switchbox style I prefer has both 300 and 75 ohm inputs and outputs. One like this one. Anyway, the point I was making was the picture quality was so much better (for my systems/TVs anyway) with an RCA to F adapter that I wouldn't go back to a switchbox converter ever. Ah. As I siad, in my area there's really no point to reducing noise with an RCA-coax adapter because there's so much being picked up already that bypassing the noise induced in the switchbox is like trying to not scratch a surface you just sandblasted. ... I really oughta sit down and mod all my systems for AV outputs sometime. I put RCA in quotes becuase most people think of RCA carrying Audio/Video signals (lots of people want to hook this up to the RCA Video input Jack of thier TV!!) not RF signals. But now that I think of it, putting it in quotes was dumb... after all it is an RCA cable... just not carrying the same signal that most people associate with an RCA cable! My bad... 'Kay. Just being nitpicky. I do that sometimes. ... I've run into the plug it straight into the AV port people before. You'd think the fact that there's no audio plug would be a clue that something was wrong. On a related note, I've also seen people thoroughly befuddeld by mono AV cables. They can't figure out how to hook it up when there's only 2 plugs instead of 3, start looking for a set of plugs that only has 2 connectors, then get upset when they can't find any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvaderDIM Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 Does anybody know where to get an AC Power thing for Atari? I can't find mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Does anybody know where to get an AC Power thing for Atari? I can't find mine. Radio Shack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvaderDIM Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 I got the RCA cable from radio shack and the AC adapter from my cousin (along with a couple games). I got it to work. Yay! Thank you so much for all your help everybody! I hope I wasn't too annoying and I will try to have everybody enjoy me on this forum. (Not that anyone cares I'm here) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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