Stingray Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Just got a 2600 Jr, which had very fuzzy video. Seemed a good candidate for the composite mod. I followed the instructions found on this site. After completing the mod, the video is no longer fuzzy, but has developed a new problem. I've tried adjusting the pot under the power switch, but this is as good as I can get it. Results vary from game to game, but I'm getting a wavy picture with inconsistant color there's almost always a grey area across the center. Also when you change rooms in a multi screen game like Adventure it will usually start to roll when the screen changes. My first guess is that the pot may be dirty and need replacing. Does this seem logical or am I barking up the wrong tree? Any help is appreciated. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 Forgot to mention in my first post, the audio is working fine. To illustrate that results vary from game to game: Pitfall, not wavy, but picture is way off center with the very bottom showing at the top of the screen. Picture is stable and not rolling. Color is good and no grey bar through the center. Yar's Revenge, very wavy. Rolls quite a bit. Color is so-so. Moon Patrol, super wavy, picture rolls constantly diagonally across the screen. Different results for every game I've tried. These pictures are as good as I can get their respective games by adjusting the pot. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApolloBoy Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Holy crap, I've never seen THAT before! Are you sure you did the mod right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spirantho Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Which mod did you do? I've always had success with the BenH mod (classicgaming.com/vcsp)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 I followed the directions here: http://www.atariage.com/howto/composite.html It's very straightforward, but yes I did double, triple and quadruple check to make sure everything was connected to the proper points and solidily soldered. I suppose I can undo it and see what happens if I have to. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spirantho Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Have you tried it with a different telly? Different boxes react differently to mods like this... Edit: Just looked at the mod there - I think that's the most basic form of mod, try the one on www.classicgaming.com/vcsp/ (in the archive section) - it's a bit more resilient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whisper Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Hmm in the link you posted it doesn't say it will only work with SOME Jr.'s, it does say that in the very same article in the FAQ section of AtariAge, so this mod might not work with a Jr. A. http://www.atariage.com/2600/faq/index.htm...=2600#composite Perhaps you could try this mod http://www.classicgaming.com/vcsp/Question3.htm I haven't done it myself (yet ) but I have heard good things about it. The only drawback someone mentioned is that it can be a bit dark, but that depends on how picky you are I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 Okay, eveyone seems to be impressed with the vcsp method, so I'll stop by Radio Shack on the way home for a couple of 1k pots and a 22 ohm resistor and have another go at it tonight. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whisper Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 I'm still a bit scared of soldering directly onto TIA's pins as Jr's aren't socketed (as far as I know). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spirantho Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 I'm still a bit scared of soldering directly onto TIA's pins as Jr's aren't socketed (as far as I know). So don't do it then. I've never soldered onto an IC - too risky, especially when there's usually a perfectly good resistor joint somewhere which is connected directly to the pin in question... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whisper Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Those joints are easily tracable from the lines on the board? I have not really looked at what's underneath the RF shield myself as I first have to borrow some pliers to take the shield off. The ones I have are too big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spirantho Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 I think so... Having said that, I just realised I lied a little - I did solder to the TIA sometimes - I've not done a 2600 for a while, and it was the other side of the PCB, so I forgot there was a chip there! But you don't have to, just use a multimeter to find out a path with no resistance, that'll do the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 I'm still a bit scared of soldering directly onto TIA's pins I guess I just don't have enough sense to be worried. I don't have a problem with ripping stuff apart to see what I can tweak inside. And hey, it's just a Jr., it's not as if I'm screwing around inside my six switcher. Now that would make me nervous. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spirantho Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 No, it's not something you should worry about too much. Be careful and treat it with respect and you'll get along just fine. That's not to say I wasn't a little more careful when I modded my main Atari (a heavy 6er) than the last Junior I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whisper Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Hmm a quick question, a 1k pot-meter, is that a 1k to ~ or a 0 to 1k pot meter? I just asked the guy in the store for "two 1k pot meters please" and the pot's say "1k 10 1M" on them like a sort of scale. I have no idea if these are the right ones as I have no ways of measuring them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 I can't help you there. I just bought twopots and they were just labeled "1 k potentiometer". I'd guess 0-1k, but that's all it is, a guess. I do have a related question of my own though. The pots I bought have three feet (electrical connection points). I assume only two are used for this mod. I re-read the vcsp mod page to see if this was mentioned, but it wasn't. Which one is unused? -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whisper Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Heh, I had the same question and Spirantho answered that the you need to connect one wire to one of the 2 pins (doesn't matter which one) that are closer together and the other wire to the single pin. I'm a dummy on this field too. --in------o 1k o---------out--------- o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 Thanks Whisper. Looks like you and I have the same plans for this evening. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whisper Posted April 1, 2004 Share Posted April 1, 2004 Not really. I still have to get some wires, cables and plugs. I think I'm going to mod my Vader system as the image is very distorted, could also be TIA itself or a bad capacitor or something, then the mod won't work. Oh well, we'll see. I'm planning on making this: | A |---s-video-------[ -]----------------|'| |---audio---------[ -]----------------|_| <- SCART | A = Atari [ = female RCA plug -] = male RCA plug So I'll have 2 short female plugged wires (video and audio) coming from the Vaders RF cable hole and I can either connect standard RCA cables for s-video or connect it through a self made SCART cable. My tv upstairs doesn't have the RCA s-video connection, only SCART. The nice thing is that I can unplug it and I don't have to drag a long cord like the RF cord behind me when moving the console. I can also use my self-made SCART cable on other consoles I might mod. I'm off to a friend who has a multi-meter to go measure my pot-meters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted April 1, 2004 Author Share Posted April 1, 2004 Yeah, sounds like yours is a little more involved than mine. Good luck with it. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray Posted April 2, 2004 Author Share Posted April 2, 2004 The second mod did the trick. Thanks guys. -S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whisper Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 Nice to hear that this worked, makes me even more confident I'm doing the right thing by messing around in places the warranty tells you to stay out I may do mine tonight depending if I have the time and if I can get all the cables, plugs and wires I need when I walk by the electronics store after work. Just need the RCA cable, some thin wires for soldering and a SCART plug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spirantho Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 Just need the RCA cable, some thin wires for soldering and a SCART plug. Unless you're pretty sure you're quite deft with a soldering iron, I strongly recommend you get hold of the cheapest SCART cable you can find and hack it up. Soldering SCART plugs isn't a pleasant task and it's never as good as a factory-soldered one anyway - so just solder the wires direct to your mod or just to some wires connected to the mod. Also, for the wires, I suggest getting some standard networking cable (CAT-5, not 10base2 - the stuff that usually has what looks like a phone plug) as it's got lots of nice stranded cable. Avoid telephone cable as this is solid and much harder to get a nice joint without it snapping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whisper Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 I take they sell SCART plugs loose. I just lookop the pinout somewhere and attatch the composite and audio wire. That doesn't seem to produce such a signla loss, does it? It's not that I have to solder 21 scart pins From the mod board there will only be 2 joints, 1 with male/female RCA plugs like above and one of the solderings to the SCART cable. For the RCA plugs I'll just use pre-fabricated plugs. Anyhow, I'm off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saikyo Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 I just hope that mod setup didn't blow the insides! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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