+selgus Posted February 2 Author Share Posted February 2 Been doing some minor tweaks to the PCB and layout, but it's finalized now. Waiting on getting back some blank PCBs now so I can do the assembly. I simplified some of the routing and power circuit, added support for both 28-pin and 24-pin bios roms (so I can use the stock 7800 rom, if desired) and fixed a few things due to my testing. The current enclosure works great with my design, though I did need to move the lipo connector from the back of the PCB, to the front, along with a slot for cable routing. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 Looking forward to this! 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+selgus Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 Got some pcbs back now, though I did a couple of modifications before submitting this board design (I added proper connectors for the controllers and video, instead of the pin headers) and now I can start assembling.. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gambler172 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 16 hours ago, selgus said: Got some pcbs back now, though I did a couple of modifications before submitting this board design (I added proper connectors for the controllers and video, instead of the pin headers) and now I can start assembling.. Looks great lmk, when you have one for sale 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+selgus Posted February 27 Author Share Posted February 27 I feel like a human pick-n-place machine, though with just some tweezers, magnifiers, my soldering and hot air stations. There are hundreds of parts, so this can be tedious.. as I do it in just my spare time. Most of the passives are assembled, many of the diodes and then on to the power ics and such.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+selgus Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 Some more progress.. all the passives now completed, surface mounted ics, usb, and misc other components.. still need to do the transistors, some inductors, leds, connectors and all the custom chip sockets. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+selgus Posted March 6 Author Share Posted March 6 As I was assembling the portable, I was trying to organize all the parts from multiple portables I have been building (the xe, sega genesis and this 7800). All these parts have been sitting in their Mouser boxes and bags and every time I build one of these things, I need to sift through the boxes to find the correct parts. I use those Harbor Freight storage cases in my shop, so I sorted all of these projects into these.. While doing so, I was sorting some capacitor networks/arrays and when labelling I saw an odd value.. 100pF. Part of building these portables is you become very aware of every component and where they live in the pcb. I was confused because I didn't remember where this part would be placed. That's when I realized my capacitor math mojo was off, and I had ordered a part an order of mag off. 1nF != 100pF, but 1000pF. So I had already installed the cap arrays onto the pcb, therefore I needed to remove those components and install the new ones (which just arrived today). Good thing I hadn't started installing the ic sockets, as they go over lots of the surface mounted parts, including these caps. Though the boards is far along in assembling, just some of the large parts are left.. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+selgus Posted March 7 Author Share Posted March 7 ...And assembly is now completed.. Outside of installing the ATARI chips and flashing my own bios.. 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 That is a thing of beauty 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aking Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 I want one too 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+selgus Posted April 7 Author Share Posted April 7 Okay, I lied.. I did one more revision and waiting on the pcbs right now. I modified the video circuit to have a much better quality for the composite signal fed into the lcd. Instead of the simple transistor amp I'm using a video amp, like in the uav enhancer boards, and an isolated voltage regulator for this sub-system. I needed to rework some of the board and removed the original 7800 circuitry while at it. I did a few other tweaks for better assembly and fit into the enclosure and hopefully I'm not lying this time when I say this is it. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommodoreCEO Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 This looks incredible! Well done! Do you have any idea about availability and price? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+selgus Posted April 8 Author Share Posted April 8 7 hours ago, CommodoreCEO said: This looks incredible! Well done! Do you have any idea about availability and price? For availability, I'm not sure yet how I wish to distribute it. It's a lot of work to make one unit. It does require for me to salvage all the custom chips from a working 7800 console (plus the crystal). All the passives are smd parts, plus the glue logic are done in smd, instead of salvaging them from the donor board. So just need to figure out how I wish to do this, and keep it as a hobby. Price? Gosh, I really have no idea.. though the way I like to do my projects is to just charge what the cost of materials were. Like I said, it is a hobby. I know some folks like to make back the cost of the R&D to make the first unit (and that is totally reasonable imho), but I do this for fun and the love of ATARI and electronics. Sorry, I couldn't give you a more direct answer, but stay tuned. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapicco Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 I want one! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gambler172 Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Count me in too 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldenWheels Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 So if there IS gonna be a list....please put me on it as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 I’m in too. So far there are nine of us following this thread. I would think most of the nine would be interested in purchasing one. @selgus if/when you decide to build these, you could take a poll to gage interest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+karri Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 If the pcb with easily sourced parts becomes available I am interested as well. Of course the hard to get parts I get from a real 7800. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+selgus Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 It's nice to know there are a few folks out there that would like one of these portables. I've spent a lot of time on it, and I am interested in getting it 'out in the world'. I'm currently building up the final revision of the pcb (I optimized it a bit, rerouting some late changes and removing vias, etc.) I've also been collecting as many original custom chips from 7800 motherboards and purchasing all the needed parts. I want to build up a bunch, before making any kind of list. I've mentioned before each one of these takes a bit of time to assemble, so I don't want to prematurely promise a timeline to people. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Thank you for sharing your progress. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekMD Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Count me in if you decide to sell these! Thanks for the update! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_q_atari Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 I'm definitely interested as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+karri Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 In another thread there is a new cart connector for the 2600+ that has been created just for the 7800. I believe we could ask @Ben from Plaion to get us enough of these cart connectors for these new handheld 7800's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+selgus Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 24 minutes ago, karri said: In another thread there is a new cart connector for the 2600+ that has been created just for the 7800. I believe we could ask @Ben from Plaion to get us enough of these cart connectors for these new handheld 7800's. Those are vertical cart connectors and what I use are right angles.. my cartridges insert from the top, not perpendicular like the 2600+. Plus, I cut out the extra unused pins, so I really don't see the benefit of the extra keys in the new (old) design. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben from Plaion Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 (edited) 6 hours ago, selgus said: Those are vertical cart connectors and what I use are right angles.. my cartridges insert from the top, not perpendicular like the 2600+. Plus, I cut out the extra unused pins, so I really don't see the benefit of the extra keys in the new (old) design. Yes the legs on the socket I've been working on are straight, certainly bendable but I think too weak for a right angle, unless you have the socket actually attached to the PCB elsewhere other then the soldered legs. Anyway, more then happy to send you a couple of my sockets, DM me if interested. I very much like your case design and super to see original chips repurposed. Great project. Edited May 8 by Ben from Plaion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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