2600 Modifications

[Ze_ro]

I've been considering hacking up one of my Atari's for the purpose of extending it's capabilities. More precisely, I want to wire up a custom joystick that will have all six switches available on the joystick itself (I was planning on rigging up another 9-pin joystick style port on the back for these connections, and then having the joystick plug into both this port and the regular joystick), and I also plan on doing the composite video mod. If possible, I also want to wire up an internal speaker with a volume control (This is rather unneccesary, but my engineering nature compels me to do it anyways).

 

My question is; has anyone attempted something like this already? I'd hate to do all this work and then find out that someone already had all the plans sitting on the internet the whole time for me to see. The most comprehensive information I've been able to find that would be useful to me is at the VCSp site (http://www.classicgaming.com/vcsp/HowToMAIN.htm), but this seems more centered on making a portable system rather that just enhancing the original thing (for example, I'd rather wire to the actual switches rather than the RIOT chip). I've seen the intructions for getting composite video and audio from the Atari, so the video out and internal speaker should be fairly easy.

 

I haven't been able to find a good set of pinouts for the joystick ports... which pins are used for paddles (I was hoping to build a paddle into my custom controller)? What pin(s) does the booster grip tap into? Since I'm going to be making this thing, I'd like it to be as good and as complete as possible.

 

Are there any other mods I should think of doing? Add a battery clip or something maybe? The more bells and whistles the better

 

--Zero

[+Mitch]

If you need pinouts, check this site: http://users.erols.com/tiltonj/games/tech/...h/2600cont.html

 

Mitch

http://atari7800.atari.org

[Ze_ro]

Looks like a useful site, thanks... anyone know what kind of potentiometer could be used in the driving controller? (I'm not currently aware of any that rotate all the way around like that)

 

I may not do any of these modifications right away, as I'm not sure if I can bring myself to cut holes in my Atari's case for some of my additions... it's like a family member or something. I'll have to look for an old beat up one that I wouldn't have any emotional ties to or something I have visions of a six-switch Atari with about a dozen extra switches and ports coming out of it for various purposes...

 

--Zero