Yesterday I finished my testings on the Atari 2600 and Coleco Vision consoles regarding implementation of a pause mod like Intellivision has since the 70th....

All of us know the ugly implementations today. The cheapest pause mod only halts the CPU leaving noise from audio chip behind. So people started to add a switch to get rid of the noise in pause mode. A big problem was still left behind: Ugly switches most of them in $0,25 price regions. How to deal with that?

So I started a new pause mod implementation also based on a clever hint in another thread: why not using existing switches on the system? Like the reset button on Coleco or adding another switch position to the BW/Color Switch of the Atari 2600 consoles? Well all this sounds great but finally there are still usability and implementation issues:

1. There is no indication pause mode is active
2. people sitting most likely 2-3 meters away from console (ok on intellivision it is closer 😉 ) so having a button on console requires to move to console.
3. Using existing switches requires replacement of existing circuits or extension of hardware  (specially if you follow rule #1 not to drill holes in 30 years old housings). It requires some time to add a 3rd position to the BW/Color button of the Atari 2600Jr for example.
4. current pause mods halt CPU only leaving picture on screen which after a while will burn in plasma or LCD/TFT screens (the highscore of my Donkey Kong session is still visible after some hours.... no screenshot required)

Finally the solution is simple and clever: use the joystick to enable/disable the pause mode. No drilling at all, easy to assemble and implement. On Intellivision there is a screensaver AND a pause key kombination since 30 years (!!!!) wow that's really rocket science at a time nobody was aware of requirements for that feature (or even know about mobile phones and communications requirements of young people).

To do it the same way I implemented the new pause mod by using a MCU as this reduces the costs dramatically as done by my audio mod. Instead of using several 74 logical gatters and passive components for about $5 the implementation is only $2 and only requires different firmware versions for each device.

On ColecoVision pressing # and * together will lead to activation of pause, repeating it deactivates the pause mode. Video and Audio will be disconnected, the power LED switches from blue to yellow to signal activation.
All on one board with a few connectors. Size of board is about 1" x 1".

On Atari 2600 pressing both fire buttons for about 2 seconds will halt, pushing again continues game play. Video and Audio will be disconnected, the power LED switches from yellow to blue to signal activation. Optional an additional switch on bottom (or added to BW/Color switch) allows to pause directly and/or to deactivate the joystick pause function at all. The circuit automatically detects if a paddle is used and deactivates the pause feature if required. To work properly you must use a joystick with two buttons (CX40 do not support that feature without modification). Board size is about 2" x 1" including required circuit to halt TIA/CPU. It fits in an Atari 2600Jr if required. Technically this requires an additional circuit on existing I/O processor to allow use of both fire buttons on a standard Atari 2600 console without any chance on the joystick itself (I saw a similar solution modifying the joystick which is not very clever in my opinion).

it seems we are near the final solution to implement really cool stuff by spending additional $5 for a bigger MCU and adding OSD (onscreen menu) to setup or enable enhanced features to our beloved retro consoles..... stay tuned for the next step in professional modding.....