UGV installed in my 130XE - Great display output quality!

[Beeblebrox]

Little update. Now installed a TK-II stereo board (minus the PS/2 keyboard functionality).

 

Love it. With UGV, U1MB and now Stereo installed and a right angled cart connector on the way I think this 130XE may well become my daily driver A8!

 

Big thanks to @marauder666 for the board and also help troubleshooting the installation. (I made a few rookie errors but got there in the end).

 

My Fujiconverted Stereo PDM tracks sound great over powered desktop speakers running off SIDE3's player and games like Onescape and Flob - with their stereo soundtracks - sound amazing!

Edited January 15, 2023 by Beeblebrox

[marauder666]

Daily driver until you have to type on it, then you'll change your mind.

[deffroe]

Can anyone recommend a UK seller for a (Preferably)Scart or SVideo cable so I can take full advantage of my UGV?  There's definitely a big improvement over stock video but I'm still suffering from jailbars.

[Beeblebrox]

32 minutes ago, deffroe said:

Can anyone recommend a UK seller for a (Preferably)Scart or SVideo cable so I can take full advantage of my UGV?  There's definitely a big improvement over stock video but I'm still suffering from jailbars.

I recall Mytek gave you some advice re ground points among other things. Did sorting the grounding improve things?

 

I just skim read a few past posts in the thread from you and see you did rework the cabling (as it was in knots temporarily).

 

Did you end up popping the 4050 IC back in and also fully disable the old video circuit? (Not saying you should or shouldn't add back the 4050 - I didn't personally - just curious).

 

I know the main issue you were having was lack of colour, until you found the issue (IC's not seated properly). Did you also put an extra socket in the mix to raise the UGV slightly higher as Mytek suggested?

 

If you are in the market for a decent S-video cable then avoid getting any off Ebay. They will not be shielded.You best bet is sourcing a double shielded cable or making one yourself.

 

The only truly double sheilded cable available to buy is sold by Hercules workshop in Canada. Postage and import duties are very minimal and if you really want the best signal clarify it's well worth it.

 

Shielding on the wiring of these cables makes a big difference to display quality and S-video is a good deal better than composite.

 

Here is the Hercules workshop link where you probably want the RCA audio version of the cable:

http://herculesworkshop.com/cgi-bin/p/awtp-product.cgi?d=hercules-workshop&item=80304
6' Atari Video Monitor TV Cable (S-Video + Optional Audio) - 800 65XE 130XE

 

 

Sure there are other DIN5 to S-video cables out there in the UK on Ebay but none are shielded and honestly not worth it.

 

Cables such as these, but I'd probably avoid them:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303771424606?

 

EDIT: Again as per my initial post these are some of those screen images from the UGV output on my LG Flatron M227WD LCD using the Hercules double shielded Svideo cable:

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by Beeblebrox

[deffroe]

Beeblebrox 

When encountering the B&W display results were better for me with the 4050 installed. And even now still seems slightly better with it in.  I do have an extra socket installed, this precision socket was not so precise this time, the sandwich of the board socket, riser socket and UGV were not the tightest fit, so it was either that or shotening the cables that fixed that issue.

I'm not too keen on posting screenshots as my phone camera seems to pick up details I cannot personally see, the light bleed that my phone sees makesd my screen look atroucious, my eyes say What light bleed?  But here goes...

 

Ignore the graphic glitch of the Pre UGV image, thought it was an issue, played a game with no issues and glitch was gone when returning to main screen.  Also Screen is set to 4:3

 

And thanks for the link to Hercules workshop, it can be a payday purchase.

 

Phil

[_The Doctor__]

Glad the it cleared up, looking good!

[woj]

@Beeblebrox so interestingly I will be building my TK-II-STEREO board soon, as soon as the PCBs arrive, hopefully towards the end of the coming week.

 

The question that I have - how did you go about the 390ohm mod? Did you stick to @mytek's original design with 100k RNs, or did you add the 390ohm resistors. In either case, is the sound quality / distortion and heating issue in control?

 

The other thing I am still dwelling on is the form of the audio output connector, if any. So far, and I will stick with this for the first tests, I have the L/R lines routed to the VBXE DIN-13 connector, but otherwise I cannot decide if I should add a solo audio output, and if so, whether to go 3.5mm jack option, or 2xRCA option... 

[Beeblebrox]

1 hour ago, woj said:

@Beeblebrox so interestingly I will be building my TK-II-STEREO board soon, as soon as the PCBs arrive, hopefully towards the end of the coming week.

 

The question that I have - how did you go about the 390ohm mod? Did you stick to @mytek's original design with 100k RNs, or did you add the 390ohm resistors. In either case, is the sound quality / distortion and heating issue in control?

 

The other thing I am still dwelling on is the form of the audio output connector, if any. So far, and I will stick with this for the first tests, I have the L/R lines routed to the VBXE DIN-13 connector, but otherwise I cannot decide if I should add a solo audio output, and if so, whether to go 3.5mm jack option, or 2xRCA option... 

@woj   Well @marauder666 kindly built the board up for me, (where I just added 2 x precision sockets, headers, made duport connectors and then worked out how to install it. (Latter with his help and lots of reading from Mytek's website/schematics, AA forum posts, and also cross referencing Lotharek's Simple stereo manual for the A4 and GTIA bell connections)).  

 

I've read about the distortion issues and the resistor fix in the last week and TBH I've not had any issues so far and all audio seems fine/no distortion. Maybe Marauder666 did the mod already when he built up the board(?). (Over to him to answer that one)

 

If I had installed this in my VBXE A8 I would do the same as you and output to the L and R pins on the DIN13 (pins 1 and 4 if IIRC). 

 

If you don't do that and opt for a separate audio output, I personally would go for 2 x RCA auto jacks if it's a choice between them and a 3.5mm jack. They are a bit more robust and if you want to hook up to a hi-fi I always think it's better to have them. (I know you can get adapters, etc but still). At the end of the day it's personal choice and also with the 3.5mm jack it is only one small hole as opposed to the two side by side/top to bottom. I installed mine one above the other between the SIO and PBI. I also used an old case which already had other mod holes from a previous owner, to avoid ruining the existing case.

 

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by Beeblebrox

[+mytek]

There are two different approaches to the audio mixer mod, and they are both shown on my website's TK-II-STEREO page, but I also thought I'd take a snapshot of the pertinent section and post it here.

 

 

If the board is already assembled, then the first option is probably easiest.

 

This mod does more than just fix distortion issues with certain amplifying devices, it also allows one to plug in headphones and be able to drive those as well. Of course this is where the 3.5mm stereo jack becomes a great asset.

[NISMOPC]

@MacRorie Received them today. Looking forward to installing! Thanks again!!

[+scorpio_ny]

So here is an interesting thought: With this mod, Could I add video out to a NTSC 600XL with no soldering? Also, I could route the video to an externally mounted video connector as well? (I know I would have to pick up the sound to add to the from the motherboard to the external DIN connector.) If it true, one can add video to a stock 600XL without much modding to the MB and case. Especially since most 600XL's are socketed.

[Beeblebrox]

39 minutes ago, scorpio_ny said:

So here is an interesting thought: With this mod, Could I add video out to a NTSC 600XL with no soldering? Also, I could route the video to an externally mounted video connector as well? (I know I would have to pick up the sound to add to the from the motherboard to the external DIN connector.) If it true, one can add video to a stock 600XL without much modding to the MB and case. Especially since most 600XL's are socketed.

Yes. AFAIK. There would be a little soldering involved in the install including to pick up the audio and wiring it up to a jack as well as to the video socket. You could also for example take the S-video pcb unit Mytek designed for the UGV and mount it on a 3D printed mount to form a PBI cover - like the Sophia 2 has for it's DVI connector. (see below).

Then just wire the UGV via dupont connectors to the S-video PCB's headers and pick up the audio from the Atari's PCB. You could have an audio jack mounted on the same connector. That way no modding to the case needed. Although of course in this instance the PBI slot is not accessable.

 

Alternatively the video and audio jacks could just hang out the back, again routed via the PBI slot. Not great but again no modding needed.

 

Personally I'd just remove the channel switch, install the Din5 jack on the 600XL's PCB as it already has the vias for it. Then severe the connections to the board to any stock legacy video circuit, (not sure if needed??), and hook it all up to that jack.

This way all you are modding on the case is making a hole for said DIN5 where the channel switch slot was. It really just brings it in line with a PAL 600XL then. 

 

The Sophia 2 3D printed PBI cover for the DVI By Mr Lurch on Thingyverse:

 

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4853485

Edited January 18, 2023 by Beeblebrox

[+scorpio_ny]

40 minutes ago, Beeblebrox said:

Yes. AFAIK. There would be a little soldering involved in the install including to pick up the audio and wiring it up to a jack as well as to the video socket. You could also for example take the S-video pcb unit Mytek designed for the UGV and mount it on a 3D printed mount to form a PBI cover - like the Sophia 2 has for it's DVI connector. (see below).

Then just wire the UGV via dupont connectors to the S-video PCB's headers and pick up the audio from the Atari's PCB. You could have an audio jack mounted on the same connector. That way no modding to the case needed. Although of course in this instance the PBI slot is not accessable.

 

Alternatively the video and audio jacks could just hang out the back, again routed via the PBI slot. Not great but again no modding needed.

Thanks @Beeblebrox! Helpful as always! I was thinking the same thing of the PBI cover but with a with a twist. I have seen that file and the one @Mr Robot had created (in fact, I have been using his variation). I do not want to hijak this thread but, I have been working on my own design that fits my needs. I will post it on another thread when the design is finalized.

 

[Beeblebrox]

46 minutes ago, scorpio_ny said:

Thanks @Beeblebrox! Helpful as always! I was thinking the same thing of the PBI cover but with a with a twist. I have seen that file and the one @Mr Robot had created (in fact, I have been using his variation). I do not want to hijak this thread but, I have been working on my own design that fits my needs. I will post it on another thread when the design is finalized.

 

Yup, that's along the lines of what I was thinking. Only downside is you can't use the PBI slot when this is in place. If not an issue then this is a great wy of doing it.

 

For my A8 with Sophia 2 I really didn't wanna cut a DVI shaped hole in the back of it. So this 3D printed pbi cover method worked well.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Beeblebrox

[+mytek]

17 hours ago, Beeblebrox said:

Personally I'd just remove the channel switch...

Well in an XL that switch can easily be used to disable/enable the VGATE function by soldering a single wire from it to the UGV J2 pin-4. The XL's channel switch is already setup to either output +5V or GND depending on its position, which is perfect for controlling the VGATE function. Unfortunately the XE's channel switch is integrated into the modulator and not easily accessible.

 

EDIT: this assumes you will not be using the RF modulator.