FB2 & FB2+ Instructions, Mod Links, FAQ, & FB2 Portable

[atwwong]

ATARI FlashBack II Compatibility List

http://kennedy.greg.googlepages.com/fb2compat.html

 

Thanks to brojamfootball for the link.

[atwwong]

Something I had neglected to ever post were the cart #'s for the FB2 games -

 

 

Arcade Pong

CX-26501

 

Arcade Asteroids

CX-26502

 

Asteroids Deluxe

CX-26503

 

Adventure II

CX-26504

 

Return to Haunted House

CX-26505

 

Atari Climber

CX-26506

 

Lunar Lander

CX-26507

 

Space Duel

CX-26508

 

Yars' Return

CX-26509

 

Caverns of Mars

CX-26510

 

 

 

Curt

[EricDeLee]

Running into problems with my mod that I was going to try last night.

I'm looking at the chart on the back of the FB2 motherboard and it states domething like Pin 1 goes to A1, pin 12 goes to A0 and other pins go to things like D1 etc.

 

Only problem: There are no spots marked with an A on my board... nor a D.

I came home from the postponed tigers game last night to work on this... and hit a road block. So I tinned my wires and hopefully will get a response this by this evening (however, I may still head to the game)

[EricDeLee]

Running into problems with my mod that I was going to try last night.

I'm looking at the chart on the back of the FB2 motherboard and it states domething like Pin 1 goes to A1, pin 12 goes to A0 and other pins go to things like D1 etc.

 

Only problem: There are no spots marked with an A on my board... nor a D.

I came home from the postponed tigers game last night to work on this... and hit a road block. So I tinned my wires and hopefully will get a response this by this evening (however, I may still head to the game)

 

 

Okay...need help.

My FB2 mother board has this printout:

 

1=A7

2=A6

3=a5

4=a4

5=a3

6=a2

7=a1

8=a0

9=d0

10=d1

11=d2

12=gnd

13=d3

14=d4

15=d5

16=d6

17=d7

18=a12

19=a10

20=a11

21=a9

22=a8

23=5v

24=gnd

 

 

I now assume that the numbers 1-24 are the pads on the FB2 mother board. Right?

If that is the case... what does the A stand for and the D stand for?

What part of the cart connector takes the A pads... and what part takes the D pads?

Got a pinout?

[EricDeLee]

hmm... now i feel like a dumbass....

Top Row Bottom Row

Slot 2716 CPU 2716 CPU

 

1 13 D3 1 A7

2 14 D4 2 A6

3 15 D5 3 A5

4 16 D6 4 A4

5 17 D7 5 A3

6 * A12 6 A2

7 19 A10 7 A1

8 NC A11 8 A0

9 22 A9 9 D0

10 23 A8 10 D1

11 24 +5V 11 D2

12 12 Shield Ground NC Ground

* to inverter and back to 18 for chip select

I think that answers my question

[EricDeLee]

can anyone explain the J9 and J13 opened or closed thing for me?

That's the only thing I have left to do.

[atwwong]

Added information regarding the Flashback 2+ in the FAQ section and a link for Harmony Cart mod info in the MODS section.

[joncco]

Added information regarding the Flashback 2+ in the FAQ section and a link for Harmony Cart mod info in the MODS section.

 

The links to the manuals seem to be broken. Does anyone have any saved copies of these manuals? I just got a used flashback 2 and it did not come with the printed manual.

[radiohead]

Added information regarding the Flashback 2+ in the FAQ section and a link for Harmony Cart mod info in the MODS section.

 

The links to the manuals seem to be broken. Does anyone have any saved copies of these manuals? I just got a used flashback 2 and it did not come with the printed manual.

 

 

I have the original FB2 Instruction Manual booklet, not the online pdf. If you want, I could scan it for you. It'll be only 7 pages (not counting the technical credits and warranty pages.) It'll have to wait until I get home from work.

[joncco]

Hey thanks radiohead, I'd appreciate that. I waited months for this unit, what's a few more hours

[radiohead]

Atari Flashback 2 Manual Scan

 

Here's the Megaupload link for my quick scan of the Atari Flashback 2 Instruction Manual by request.

 

I did not include the final 5 pages which included Terms & Conditions, US & Canada Tech Support, Warranty & Liability Info and Copyright, or else the file size would be needlessly bigger.

 

Enjoy it with the one you love!

[Dastari Creel]

Ok, I have a feeling that I'm missing something obvious but with all the talk of Rev A, B, C, etc, how do I know what rev I have?

 

IIRC I purchased my Flashback 2 sometime around 2006 or 2007 but where do I find which Rev that I have and then how do I determine which of the links on the first post in this thread are using the same board...?

[atwwong]

Added information regarding the Flashback 2+ in the FAQ section and a link for Harmony Cart mod info in the MODS section.

 

The links to the manuals seem to be broken. Does anyone have any saved copies of these manuals? I just got a used flashback 2 and it did not come with the printed manual.

 

 

I have the original FB2 Instruction Manual booklet, not the online pdf. If you want, I could scan it for you. It'll be only 7 pages (not counting the technical credits and warranty pages.) It'll have to wait until I get home from work.

I've added links to the online manuals courtesy of the waybackmachine in the original FAQ posts:

 

 

Online Manuals (courtesy of waybackmachine)

Atari Flashback 2 Online Manual - this manual has more details than the retail instruction manual

Atari Flashback 2 PDF manual - warning - 1.7Mb at 110 pages

[joncco]

Added information regarding the Flashback 2+ in the FAQ section and a link for Harmony Cart mod info in the MODS section.

 

The links to the manuals seem to be broken. Does anyone have any saved copies of these manuals? I just got a used flashback 2 and it did not come with the printed manual.

 

 

I have the original FB2 Instruction Manual booklet, not the online pdf. If you want, I could scan it for you. It'll be only 7 pages (not counting the technical credits and warranty pages.) It'll have to wait until I get home from work.

I've added links to the online manuals courtesy of the waybackmachine in the original FAQ posts:

 

 

Online Manuals (courtesy of waybackmachine)

Atari Flashback 2 Online Manual - this manual has more details than the retail instruction manual

Atari Flashback 2 PDF manual - warning - 1.7Mb at 110 pages

 

The online manual has resurfaced here in Australia:

 

http://www.catchofth...wnersManual.pdf

 

It is exactly the same file from waybackmachine above. I did not order this one having already obtained 2 from the US. I wonder if this is a PAL version or did they just release the NTSC version here.

Edited October 4, 2011 by joncco

[atwwong]

Added information regarding the Flashback 2+ in the FAQ section and a link for Harmony Cart mod info in the MODS section.

 

The links to the manuals seem to be broken. Does anyone have any saved copies of these manuals? I just got a used flashback 2 and it did not come with the printed manual.

 

 

I have the original FB2 Instruction Manual booklet, not the online pdf. If you want, I could scan it for you. It'll be only 7 pages (not counting the technical credits and warranty pages.) It'll have to wait until I get home from work.

I've added links to the online manuals courtesy of the waybackmachine in the original FAQ posts:

 

 

Online Manuals (courtesy of waybackmachine)

Atari Flashback 2 Online Manual - this manual has more details than the retail instruction manual

Atari Flashback 2 PDF manual - warning - 1.7Mb at 110 pages

 

The online manual has resurfaced here in Australia:

 

http://www.catchofth...wnersManual.pdf

 

It is exactly the same file from waybackmachine above. I did not order this one having already obtained 2 from the US. I wonder if this is a PAL version or did they just release the NTSC version here.

DP has both the version 1 (text) and version 2 (original website graphics) online manuals in pdf format here.

[doctorclu]

Picked up a Flashback 2 yesterday. Time to make the cartridge port mod.

 

Didn't realize the Harmony Cart does not work with it. Is there any way to modify the FB2 to work with the Harmony?

[+fdr4prez]

Picked up a Flashback 2 yesterday. Time to make the cartridge port mod.

 

Didn't realize the Harmony Cart does not work with it. Is there any way to modify the FB2 to work with the Harmony?

 

It does

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/157774-flashback2-harmony-mod/

 

I also recently got a FB2 and I am deciding between the cart mod and the harmony mod.

[JagChris]

Is there anyone in the States I can send my FB2 to who will perform the cart mod for me?

[Draxxon]

So where would a fella start his journey to add a cart port to one of these in 2021?

 

 

[Draxxon]

Atari Flashback 2 Cartridge Guide by metalbox - Thingiverse

 

 

[akator]

For those who are still looking to mod the AFB2, Jimmy Ipock sells both mod kits and pre-modded consoles.  He does very nice work.

 

https://flashback2.com/

[sgraber]

I wanted to post this so others attempting this mod can find a "good" Flashback2 without having to go through the trouble of opening the unit.  I have both units - a "good" unit with the pads labeled on the circuit board and an "illegal Kroger" unit that doesn't have the pads labeled (that is supposedly unmoddable).  If a person looks closely, you can actually figure out from the sticker on the back of the unit which is which.  I've not seen a side-by-side photo anywhere online, so I'm attached them to this forum post.  Here's what I found:

 

Characteristics of the "good" FB2 from the label:

• the "T" in the large bold ATARI text has rounded top corners
• the "R" in the large bold ATARI text is uniform in its tracing width
• the "S" in the large bold FLASHBACK2 text is uniform in its tracing width
• the kerning (spacing between letters) is wider for the bottom bold text with the (c) in it
• the kerning is wide for the FCC rules section
• the "Made in China" kerning is narrow

Characteristics of the "bad" illegal Kroger FB2 from the label:

• the "T" in the large bold ATARI text has sharp top corners
• the "R" in the large bold ATARI text is not uniform in its tracing width and is pinched at the curve of the "R"
• the "S" in the large bold FLASHBACK2 text is not uniform in its tracing width and is pinched at the curves of the "S"
• the kerning (spacing between letters) is narrower for the bottom bold text with the (c) in it
• the kerning is narrower for the FCC rule section
• the "Made in China" kerning is wider

I hope this information proves useful to those that want to mod one of these cool little units. 

 

 

[Gabe]

I'd taken my FB2 apart years ago to see which board it had (Rev. C), but I had forgotten, so I did so again a couple of days ago. When I did, I inadvertently broke one of the wires off of the board for the power cable (probably from its age), but even worse, through a series of unfortunate events involving my cat, cracked the main system board. 

 

Though I hardly ever used the thing, using it one time last month for the first time in five years or more, and though I now have the FB12, 2600+ and GSP, I'm still bummed, as I wanted to keep it for the nostalgia of having the only FB that replicated the original system on a chip rather than emulation. 😞 

[sgraber]

FWIW you can find them on Facebook Marketplace for cheap.  I got mine for $20.

[Gabe]

3 hours ago, sgraber said:

FWIW you can find them on Facebook Marketplace for cheap.  I got mine for $20.

I appreciate the advice, and I do see a lot of them available for shipping on there, and for good prices. But it wouldn't be the same. Even with the one I had I highly doubt I would have ever modded it, especially with now having a 2600+. And my Flashback 12 Gold has all of the games the FB2 had, and then some. It was curiosity more than anything else that drove me to open it up to see which board it had. 

 

I did save one of the joysticks to have as a spare, though I already have the one that came with my 2600+, and I was lucky enough to catch Amazon at just the right time when they had the CX40+ in stock again a couple of days ago, ordering the last one they had. The joysticks with my FB12G are okay, but not as good as the real deal. The other joystick from the FB2 was a problem from day one, only working some of the time, and only after I'd slap it on the back a number of times. It finally got to where I couldn't get it to work at all, no matter what I did. I did save a few of the parts from it though. I also saved the power pack, though I don't know that I'll ever have a use for it.