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Just finished the prototype of the Atari 2600 Junior White Edition.

A refurbished Atari 2600 Junior console painted in white with silver function keys and brand new brezel. Included is a RGB led built into the on/off switch only visible during power on. It gives a nice rainbow color effect. Internally the best AV mod (AV Plus) is built in and "Simple Stereo" for audio output. Offering a nice stereo effect (not this simple channel split as provided by NTSC versions of TIA chip).









The package included a nice box (see picture), an updated quick reference manual, one brand new black nunchuk controller fitted for Atari use (having a silver fire button according to console design). A bunch of popular Atari games is included as well together with a brand new power supply. Estimated price will be 99 Eur, there will be only 10 consoles available.

the highlight of this console is the brand new brezel manufacturer process which also allows to recreate original brezels of the consoles (without 3d Atari logo stamp of course). The old process was limited to plastic brezels only but this one also applies to metal and silver shining plates. It is also useable to repro Coleco console front plates (project already started).

NUNCHUK CONTROLLER FOR ATARI JOYSTICK COMPATIBLE CONSOLES

During last years a large amount of broken Quickshots were stranded in my storage. I would estimate about 100 items with all kind of flavours. As I do not dump broken items for spare part reason I now found the right project to reuse parts of them: The Nunchuk Controller Mod

A Nintendo Nunchuk Controller was modified to deliver a digital signal instead of the analogue one. It is quite easy to get a digital signal from an analogue one by using electronic parts but the common joystick cable lacks any power support, there is simple no 5V line integrated. Sure if you buy special cables or extract them from highend joysticks with autofire you might get one - but this is all about resources and finally target price.

So it was necessary to find a way to get a digital signal out of the analogue controllers without using an additional circuit. The 2nd attempt worked and modding a nunchuk controller requires only a few minutes if you have all tools and material available. The used method works on ALL analgue sticks as they use similar components inside.



The result is a joystick which fits into one single hand. Two fire-buttons (not independent as on Atari 7800 due to cable limitations) with a direction stick. As you can see on the picture the joystick tester device properly detects the direction. Now it is time to check how it works in real game play and if the mod works reliable over an amount of time.

The design itself might change. The fire buttons will be red on the final product or white (as it is delivered with the upcoming white Atari 2600 edition). Not sure if I should change the black stick to grey to match the Atari CX24 stick colors/design.

[Here are the details:]

If you follow ebay auction 161638140583 you will notice bids of a user with name "0***l (678)".
This user is the same! So he bid on his own articles to generate a higher price.

the named accounts are all of the same person. So most likely used in combination.

Here are the details:


Auction, notice same location.


Auction bid list.


an auction of the 2nd user profile "lucy2802" which is "0***l (678)" in the bid list


another auction he used the 2nd account to push the price

A friend told me about that auction as he bought something in the past from him now knowing both accounts are still the same from sender address and name. Hopefully eBay will stop the auction soon to protect current bidders paying more than required.   

So if you bought something in the past or will buy in future be aware!

And no there is no law in germany to put people in jail for awful auction backgrounds 

I've got a lot of cartridges together with console having broken or missing shutters. So the cartridges simple doesn't work with consoles like Woodgrain or Darth Vader anymore as these having shutters for their cartridge slot.

After a quick study the problem can be easily solved by an inlay I've developed within a few minutes.





Atari cartridges are most likely affected as Imagic and others do not use shutters instead having single pins on the back. Those will break of course as well but not in the same way.

The developed inlay will be installed within a few seconds without opening the cartridge. It is fixed by a rubber band and was successful tested with different consoles. I will test with other cartridges as well and will alter it to work with most of them as well. Price is currently at ~ $1/item but after optimization of production process it will be cheaper of course. this is the next step to final production.

this might save many cartridges to be dumped.

[Original]

My storage contains several boxes full of CX40 joysticks and I recognized that more and more joysticks suffer from faults. As we completely refurbish those joysticks we are looking for a way doing that in an efficient way.

Currently we offer 3 versions of CX40:

1. Original
we repair them and ensure the enclosure and cables are in good shape. There are quite rare as most likely the painting is gone or the rubber is damaged.

2. Silver Edition
refurbished controllers with silver design. Having replaced dome switches or metal switches. These are shipped with Atari 2600 Darth Vader consoles



3. Gold Edition
refurbished controllers with gold design. Having replaced dome switches. These are shipped with Atari 2600 Light Sixers, Junior Wood consoles and Classic boxed versions and starter kits.



We use the following new dome switches, having 4 legs instead of 3 and are better quality than original one. You hear a clear "clicking" inside of the joystick. these are also available within our shop.


The typical CX40 issues are:

1. dome switch problem (broken or simple too flat)
2. Cable broken (on plug or directly after leaving enclosure)
3. broken stick (100% directly on the contact plates)

as our offered repair kit addresses issue #1 we decided to develop a repair kit for issue #3. the first prototyp is working fine but is complex to be integrated. the reason is we fix it by adding an overlay and this increases the height so requiring adjustment inside of the controller. So there is room for improvements but we hope to get it done soon. The first fixed joysticks were delivered to beta testers and we'll hope to get some inputs here. Test in lab with professional joystick testers outlined no differences between an unbroken and repaired stick.

I've got some nice input from customers about one piece of hardware I was not aware: The AtariVOX.

This little piece of hardware will be plugged to the 2nd Joystick Port of an Atari 2600 or 7800. It allows to output text to speech, load/store highscores and some additional soundeffects (including an amp as well).

Bad side this is not supported by any former game and requires current homebrew to be used (it suffer finally from the fact it is an enhancement of the hardware and do not improve existing one).

After a short review it outlines to be driven by a SpeakJet chip which is available for $25/item. This little chip requires very less connectivity and simple uses phonem to build the speech samples. The highscore feature works similar as the SpeakJet is controlled by a MCU. this chip filters the additional commands given by joystick signals and used it's internal nonvolatile memory to store the highscores. An amp and a simple "Vox" circuit for audio output completes the design.

In common nothing I'm not able to redo in better and cheaper technology 

I've made a quick test with an MCU and PCB I designed for an other customer in the past and by using a recompilation of the phonem converter of the Amiga with some sampled phonems the output is similar to the SAM software for Atari Homecomputers. It sounds also similar to the Intellivoice modul. The quality was ok despite some noise but this can be improved easily by altering the code and improve the sample rate of the phonem's.

Currently missing is an implementation of the SpeakJet commands (API) and additional funtionality. A test environment with AtariVOX ready games must also be prepared. Meanwhile development will take place with Stella Emulator.

An internal mod is the best option as external one require WEEE certification in europe and this is quite costly. Advantage is, that the audio inject is simpler (as it is required to mix the 2600 signal with the AtariVOX output audio). It is also possible to implement a selftest within the OSD menu.

As I use a common MCU (I currently think about splitting funtionallity by implementing two MCU possibly) the cost is not more than $25 for the whole mod so far beyond the originally version.

beside games, consoles and modding service/repair across europe it also offers rare spare parts for all kind of retro consoles.

check out http://www.0711spiele.de/

I will offer a series of modded Sega Megadrives (model 1 and 2) beginning 2015.

The base are refurbished devices with an unique design:
 






function keys and label are in silver. blue power led (yellow in setup mode).  Delivered with manual, controller (in similar design) and modern power supply.

built in:
- surround sound mod (for best sound ever on a megadrive)
- RGB enhanced output (for one of the best video signals) via SCART adapter (includes stereo).
- pause function (via controller)
- tube tv emulation for flat screens  (disable if required)
- 50/60 Hz and region switch (handled via controller)

there are no additional switches.

2015 will be THE year for retro consoles.

I just completed a new mod to allow CRT feeling on modern TV sets. This will be shipped with all highend models of our product lines and will be part of the AV Plus/X mod delivering the best AV picture in PAL universe and best game feeling on modern TV sets.

In the pipeline are the RGB console mod's. Intellivision and Coleco are quite easily to mod for RGB as the consoles support it out of the box - this will be quite low hanging fruit as all required information is in the internet for up to 20 years (!). The prototype boards are currently in dev phase. Next are the Atari consoles 2600, 5200 and 7800. All of the RGB mod's are coming with CRT emulation mode of course.

Real Surround and USB joystick mod will be in between. HDMI will most likely start with the Atari 5200 consoles and later with others depending on progress.

For Videopac I will deliver a replacement power supply, several mods like atari joystick support, AV Plus/X and stereo/surround. MegaDrive will be fitted with 3D Audio, CRT emulation mode.

Other mod's will be: OSD mod, AtariVox, Highscore for Atari devices and game library mod with USB or SDCard (specially the AtariVox, Highscore and Library mod will replace/obsoletes several known existing add-ons with a quite cheap solution).

I've bought a Philips Videopac for notstalgic reason. I immediately noticed the power supply connector is identical to the Atari 7800 one, so with a slightly modification it fits into the console.

And here voila it is: The upcoming power supply replacement kit for Philip Videopac consoles.

Available soon.

This adapter was announced nearly one week before and is now available.



It allows to connect any 9-pin joystick (Atari compatible) to your Philips VIDEOPAC 7200 or 7400 game console. Simple plug the 6 pin end (male) into your console and the other end to an Atari joystick.



In comparison to other solution this one looks quite nice and professional as the plugs are dedicated joystick plugs and not made out of normal RS232 cables.

I currently work on an interesting project: A customer ordered an Atari 7800 in a hifi rack housing.

We finally agreed to include an AV+, Stereo/Surround and Pause mod (for Atari 2600 mode).
A background light in blue which can be switched off completes the design. Power supply is internally and a SCART plug including the joystick ports on the back. Pre-fitted with PSX joystick mod.

I started with a mockup how it would looks like after completion:


Picture: front view


Picture: back view

This thread will describe the progress of this project.

I first started with opening the chassis, try to find the right location for the mainboard. The mainboard requires some changes:

1. power regulator must be moved to housing (better cooling and reduction of height)
2. capacitor must be rotated else the chassis can't be closed
3. cartridge slot must be turned by 90 degree angle to the front

considerations:

1. reduce the length of critical signal pathes by moving the mainboard to the right position.
2. power supply will be added without modification which could be critical due to regulations and insurance
3. the chassis must be modified without adding cracks or scratches (the black painting is quite sensible)
4. the keys must be identical to the already builtin ones

A visit at my local dealer provided the right material. I finally choose silver function keys which are altered by painting to the right color match.

Metal stripes are used to create the function key and connector panel out of it. It is then colored in black with several levels of painting. The pictures below illustrate how the front was created. If you have the right tools all visions comes true 

We got the information from ebay, that it is not allowed to use the wording "homebrew" in our offers as this is automatically an invitation to use unlicensed software. this is not supported by eBay so they block any offers.

It seems the homebrew scene is automatically guilty for copyright and license violations according to that statement - a fact I personally do not understand but is obvious if you visit special websites supporting those violations in trademark and copyright without any notice.

As game vendors pays to be allowed to offer legal games on specific platforms (like PS3/PS4, XBOX etc.) it make sense to block those offers allowing to bypass the protection system. But to block offers only containing links or praise the scene for homebrew titles is not ok because these talented guys also offers game for system which do not deal with licensing of the protection system nor does all systems contain one to lockout developers. On the WII there is a homebrew scene which is allowed to offer games online for example. So what happens if I offer a WII with the text "supported by homebrew titles"?

Finally eBay is not right to assign homebrew programmer automatically to the gray market scene and associate them with mod-chips and copyright/trademark violations.

Available soon the Atari Paddle Repairkit.

It contains brand new potentiometer you are able to replace without soldering.



There will be also a limited edition with silver knob and firebutton.

Modified joystick CX40 with internal metal switches and silver outline.

Best ever CX40 from gameplay. Really nice how it react within games.

I currently work on paddle repair kits as well allowing to repair old paddle controllers without soldering knowledge. first test were successful now it is all about to simplify replacement 

Initially this project started as wireless bluetooth mod for Atari/Coleco consoles. As the efforts to implement a PS1/PS2 controller is low hanging fruit due to pre-work from an unknown guy years before (including detailed information about protocol, commands etc.) I decided to alter it to a easier mod.

Sure PS2 controllers are rare these days but widely available in online shops. The PCB itself is quite easy to implement not requiring any rocket science or mystic help by wizards  :77:

Next on in row is to get USB joystick support done to also use current joysticks. I got an offer from my vendor on very cheap HID capable USB chips which allow for a few bucks to use joysticks, mouse and keyboard devices with a MCU. All handshaking, handling and commands are done by these nice chips which is really a big help for a fast implementation.

And as we talk about prices the PS2 Mod above is about ~20 without joysticks, additional ~20 for 2 joysticks (wireless).  Same price region for the upcoming USB solution after estimation of production costs.

I personally favour the USB version over the PS2 solution as this also provides more possibilties. And who wants to be the No #2 (as told credit goes to the nameless guy for all it's work) if you are able to be #1 for invention of a better (unique) mod? 

Today I visited a garage sale and found a little treasure for the Coleco Vision.

A small adapter exactly the size of the Coleco controller, perfectly seating into the console. But without a joystick itself. Instead a 9-pin connector at the top to plug standard joysticks into it. It seems to be brand new.

After a search on google I identified this little device as a Champ Adapter which seems to be quite rare. The manufactor of the adapter is named "HAKURMAR" and the model itself is "CA-1" according to the label on the bottom. I know this company from my Joystick tester and a friend of mine owns an adapter for the Atari 5200 which looks similar (but with more colorful keypad) than this one allowing to use a standard Atari joystick to be used for games (simulates analog and digital joystick) on the Atari 5200.

I spoke with the seller and he seems to have more available. Sure I made him a good offer to get all of the available adapters specially as the price was quite fair . He also have some of the Atari 5200 champ adapters as well, but require some time to find them. His brother seems to own a larger warehouse full of those old articles. I also ask to met his brother and maybe having a visit of the warehouse....

Has anyone seen such an adapter before? I only knew those are rare but never ever got one til today.

I personally love the Atari Video Music, PS1 music virtualizer or the JagCD VLM.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX1LVBLUYNs#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsWT33QzrLk#

So as I have room left on a top secret upcoming mod for Atari consoles I have the idear to implement an adaption of the Atari Video Music device. The solution is quite easy to implement and costs could be near zero giving a nice function to an Atari 2600.

The idear is to offer an additional connector on the AV/Audio cable to input any audio stereo source. If you switch the Atari 2600 on and no game is inserted the internal firmware menu starts offering the video music feature as well. By moving the joystick you are able to alter the visual output.

If activated any music lead to visual output like shown here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etZVnILnoSg#

So worth to implement? What do you thing about it?

Here the new CX24 Silver Edition.

Similar to the CX78 with silver gray fire buttons, black plate and a silver gray line. I most likely add the "ATARI" name underneath the line (in gray letters).

Internally it will use micro switches in metal.

[Technically the following happens:]

I noticed that most of the time on dead Atari 2600 consoles the TIA is broken. A dark picture will be shown, no sound or ugly lines/audio is provided. Question is why the TIA always die in normal operation condition.

As a root cause most likely it belongs to the power regulator (7805) which also dies first and let power thru the customer chips.  Yesterday it happened during modding of a console. I removed the power cord on the back, the console was lying with the back to the top. I have not noticed that the power switch is still in "on" position as it's face was to the ground. After some soldering work I inserted the power cord again and no video at all.

Damn what was happend? If you look into the schematics all seems to be ok. From experience and knowledge with latest and greatest components. But in old days there is a small difference which you do not know if you have not run into it previously. So after a call with an expert for that kind of circuits the problem is quite obvious and seems to be known in the past - that's why the Coleco Gemini contains this ugly big warning information on top! Yes this ugly black/white sticker with about 10x3cm size on the left side.

Technically the following happens:
The 2200uf prior to the 7805 regulator is already loaded if you have used the console a short time before. So if you connect the power cable the voltage of the old power supply with upto 15V bypasses the 2200uf and as the power switch is in "on" position there is no delay giving the 7805 the time to be ready. So the 7805 passes the full voltage to the output. The full voltage of up to15V reaches the customer chips. Too much for the TIA.
To proof this theory I used a volt-meter and redo. It fully confirmed the theory which now seems to be a design flaw from technical point of view.

A design flaw in the 7805 was fixed a while ago (my expert still remembered) but there are still batches in stock with the bad one and companies still producing the original one. As there was no change in naming/numbering on the 7805 you can't proof the one you are using has the fix included.

Workaround is to add a sticker (like the one below) to the cable so you are remembered doing the right. Or you modify the circuit or power supply. One fix could be to add a resistor prior to the 2200uF or to manually add the fix to the 7805. If it is already there it will not hurt if not it will save your console.

I will add this fix anyway to my modded consoles using method #2 as this also prevents overvoltages in case the 7805 is dying. I found additional information to it in an old book about electronic basic knowledge. Shame! 

My export looked into the schematics and also suggested some additional improvement to stabilize the whole power circuit (like replacing some components after the 7805 which values seems to be too low).