Atari A/V mod update

[the.golden.ax]

He is a good person. Take that information and do what you will. Personally, I believe in my gut if you don't abandon him he will come through. Does he try to do too much? Yes. Should he answer more often, Yes. Is he a scammer, man, I just don't think so. I'm putting my neck out there and saying, please give him some time. Crap happens, and this is one of the good guys.

 

AX

[horseboy]

I don't think he is a scammer at all. I think he got in way over his head and pretty much gave up. I am sure that he went into this with the best of intentions.

 

My guess is he got so far behind that he just basically quit. Being that he is a college kid, he probably spent the money and now he can't give refunds. If you can't get the product out the door and you don't have the money for refunds the only thing you can do is end all communication. I guess that is what he did.

 

I hope he catches up and comes through. I have a few things that are badly in need of mods.

[horseboy]

 

I wasn't especially happy with the quality of his boards

 

Why? Just wondering.

[jaybird3rd]

Why? Just wondering.

They're good enough to do the job, but I had a few minor issues with them. The 7800 boards have some mislabeled resistors; the values silkscreened onto the board were incorrect, and I had to refer to the website to get the correct values. It also requires you to remove the 74LS32 IC on the 7800 mainboard and install a socket in its place, which the board then plugs into. I can understand why he did it that way, but the board always ends up overlapping some other important component. I remember that, when he was designing it, I asked him to leave enough room for the XBoard upgrade (which plugs into the MARIA socket), and he did that, but it's still a somewhat uncomfortable fit. I actually would have preferred a "free-floating" board that could be mounted anywhere inside the console, the way his 2600 boards were designed.

[Longhorn Engineer]

There is no excuse for me not responding to emails or pms. I have just been burnt out recently and wanted to focus on other things. People that have paid for mods WILL get there mods. I will never leave people without there product. For proof heres just what I will be shipping out today.

 

 

And to prove that there are mods for people that have paid here are the 7800 boards and the rack of parts I have.

 

 

 

There is a new batch of 2600 boards and here is the FEDEX tracking number if you don't believe me. 451410210570. Will be here tomorrow (8/3/10).

 

Oh I just put in an order for 5200 PCBs. Was going to make it a surprise for next years MGC but what the hell.

[Zoyx]

Might be time to out-source the production of these mods. You are needed more for your engineering.

[Deteacher]

I hope I'm one of the lucky ones in that pile of envelopes.

 

Parker, can you check your PM's? I sent you a question regarding the chip I need to remove. Thanks.

[Longhorn Engineer]

Parker, can you check your PM's? I sent you a question regarding the chip I need to remove. Thanks.

 

Done

[yell0w_lantern]

Well, I got a response so that's an improvement...

[Longhorn Engineer]

Well, I got a response so that's an improvement...

 

Anything is an improvement really.

[+batari]

I laid out a board with all SMT parts for personal use, and going to order a few. These boards are just 1 square inch.

I have a question: the 100uF cap seems to be a filter cap. They are relatively expensive in SMT form but smaller caps like 10uF aren't. Is a 100uF cap really needed here?

[Longhorn Engineer]

I laid out a board with all SMT parts for personal use, and going to order a few. These boards are just 1 square inch.

I have a question: the 100uF cap seems to be a filter cap. They are relatively expensive in SMT form but smaller caps like 10uF aren't. Is a 100uF cap really needed here?

 

10uF would work. MAke sure to use the CD74HC4050 instead of CD4050.

[Longhorn Engineer]

I don't think he is a scammer at all. I think he got in way over his head and pretty much gave up. I am sure that he went into this with the best of intentions.

 

My guess is he got so far behind that he just basically quit. Being that he is a college kid, he probably spent the money and now he can't give refunds. If you can't get the product out the door and you don't have the money for refunds the only thing you can do is end all communication. I guess that is what he did.

 

I hope he catches up and comes through. I have a few things that are badly in need of mods.

 

Nope just got burned out. I never spend ANY money from a mod until it ships from my door. I have all the parts for the mods in my shop. I think I will run out of bubble mailers before anything else . I am not a quitter and will never be. If you have met me at MGC you will know I will never scam or rip off any person but this is no excuse for how I ignored emails recently.

 

Why? Just wondering.

They're good enough to do the job, but I had a few minor issues with them. The 7800 boards have some mislabeled resistors; the values silkscreened onto the board were incorrect, and I had to refer to the website to get the correct values. It also requires you to remove the 74LS32 IC on the 7800 mainboard and install a socket in its place, which the board then plugs into. I can understand why he did it that way, but the board always ends up overlapping some other important component. I remember that, when he was designing it, I asked him to leave enough room for the XBoard upgrade (which plugs into the MARIA socket), and he did that, but it's still a somewhat uncomfortable fit. I actually would have preferred a "free-floating" board that could be mounted anywhere inside the console, the way his 2600 boards were designed.

 

So having a mistake on a silk screen was the only issue? People make mistakes all the time. Unlike a corporation I can not just go WOOPS and buy a new set of PCBs. Most people would not even go through the trouble of emitting the mistake in the assembly guide. The current 2600 PCBs have the silkscreen corrected but the 7800 PCBs will still have the error until I sell out. The silkscreen does not cause any problems with the mod so I don't even see why it was an issue.

 

The reason the 7800 mod is not "Free-floating" is because there would be about 12 more wires to solder in and make a rats nest. Using the socket made the install cleaner and reduced interference considerably. Plus the 74LS32 is a really slow OR chip. The bleed from the 7800 mod would be even worse if left in.

 

I left room for the Xboard. Given that 99.9% of the people that buy the mod don't use the Xboard I would be happy as an end user that I accommodated the Xboard.

 

The PCBs I get made are thick in construction and have double the trace height. I do this so people that are not perfect with the soldering iron can mess up and still remove a part without ripping up a trace. Parts are spread apart and are through-hole save a couple parts. I could go SMD but I would alienate more then half the people that buy my mods.

 

On the lighter side of things. More orders where shipped today. I will be all caught up in a week at the current rate. After I am caught up I will be opening preorders for PAL testers.

 

Sorry for the winded post and I apologize for taking a leave,

Parker

 

 

ps. 5200 mods will be ready to ship in about a month

[Lendorien]

Hey Longhorn,

 

Now that you've gotten some of your wick back, do you think you could look into my voltage through the S-Video port issue? I'm not sure what's causing it, and I'm worried it blew out the SVideo port on my game switch. The switch is older, so not a huge deal, but I'm afraid that if I do the alternate and plug it into my TV I might blow that port out too.

 

I've been living without playing my 7800, but I'm getting to the point that I might just chuck the thing, buy another one and stick with the RV cable.

 

I'm also getting some garbage flicker with certain 7800 games. DigDug being the main one. I'm not an expert at soldering, but for whatever reason, I had to do a soldering fix on one of the tiniest chips on the thing (on your advice, though I have far from the steadiest hand, which is why I bought prebuilt) because 7800 games were showing up in BW when I first got it. As far as I can tell, I have everything soldered to spec. I can take photos if requested.

 

Issue was brought up in this thread several months ago.

 

If you could look into it for me, I'd be grateful.

[Longhorn Engineer]

Hey Longhorn,

 

Now that you've gotten some of your wick back, do you think you could look into my voltage through the S-Video port issue? I'm not sure what's causing it, and I'm worried it blew out the SVideo port on my game switch. The switch is older, so not a huge deal, but I'm afraid that if I do the alternate and plug it into my TV I might blow that port out too.

 

I've been living without playing my 7800, but I'm getting to the point that I might just chuck the thing, buy another one and stick with the RV cable.

 

I'm also getting some garbage flicker with certain 7800 games. DigDug being the main one. I'm not an expert at soldering, but for whatever reason, I had to do a soldering fix on one of the tiniest chips on the thing (on your advice, though I have far from the steadiest hand, which is why I bought prebuilt) because 7800 games were showing up in BW when I first got it. As far as I can tell, I have everything soldered to spec. I can take photos if requested.

 

Issue was brought up in this thread several months ago.

 

If you could look into it for me, I'd be grateful.

 

Reading from my 7800.

 

LUMA : 1.69V

CHROMA : 1.11V

COMPOSITE : 1.73V

 

The garbage flicker may be a dirty cart slot. The mod should not produce any artifacts but it sounds that the tiny chip may have been damaged.

 

Parker

[jaybird3rd]

Perhaps I was a bit harsh in my earlier remarks. If so, I apologize. The problems I mentioned are really only minor issues, and to be honest, there's no way to make an upgrade of this kind as convenient as a video card upgrade on a PC. Sometimes people expect these upgrades to be easier than it is possible to make them, given that the original hardware was never designed to be modified in this way.

 

I'd still like to receive the boards that I ordered on March 17th.

[unhuman]

So having a mistake on a silk screen was the only issue? People make mistakes all the time. Unlike a corporation I can not just go WOOPS and buy a new set of PCBs. Most people would not even go through the trouble of emitting the mistake in the assembly guide. The current 2600 PCBs have the silkscreen corrected but the 7800 PCBs will still have the error until I sell out. The silkscreen does not cause any problems with the mod so I don't even see why it was an issue.

 

As somone who likes to solder, but doesn't know jack about electronics - I didn't know there was a problem here. I just followed the directions carefully and my mod just works. Not sure if it was mentioned or not to be mindful of this, but I had no issues

 

The PCBs I get made are thick in construction and have double the trace height. I do this so people that are not perfect with the soldering iron can mess up and still remove a part without ripping up a trace. Parts are spread apart and are through-hole save a couple parts. I could go SMD but I would alienate more then half the people that buy my mods.

 

I might've benefited here. I didn't have to redo anything, but certainly mine worked first try.

 

Anyhow, I'm glad I have my mod, but I definitely hope that everyone gets what's due. LE - perhaps you could follow the model of only selling what you have built - instead of taking orders... You certainly would not have trouble clearing stock, and, at the same time, wouldn't run into this issue again. You could manage that with a waiting list....

 

-H

[Longhorn Engineer]

Perhaps I was a bit harsh in my earlier remarks. If so, I apologize. The problems I mentioned are really only minor issues, and to be honest, there's no way to make an upgrade of this kind as convenient as a video card upgrade on a PC. Sometimes people expect these upgrades to be easier than it is possible to make them, given that the original hardware was never designed to be modified in this way.

 

I'd still like to receive the boards that I ordered on March 17th.

 

Shipped this morning.

[yell0w_lantern]

I like your sense of humor, LHE.

Edited August 4, 2010 by yell0w_lantern

[Longhorn Engineer]

Shipped out 4 more orders today. Might get more done when the temperature cools down a bit outside.

 

Parker

[Harbinger]

I've gotten several boards and been pleased. Looking forward to 5200 mod boards!

[Longhorn Engineer]

I've gotten several boards and been pleased. Looking forward to 5200 mod boards!

 

Thanks! The 5200 mods will be very easy to install. Pop out the GTIA. Stick the mod in. Pop the GTIA in the mods socket. Solder up some wires and doneski.

 

4 more orders today. Bloody 100 degrees here in Austin.

[horseboy]

I've gotten several boards and been pleased. Looking forward to 5200 mod boards!

 

Thanks! The 5200 mods will be very easy to install. Pop out the GTIA. Stick the mod in. Pop the GTIA in the mods socket. Solder up some wires and doneski.

 

4 more orders today. Bloody 100 degrees here in Austin.

 

 

Glad to see you are back. Check your PMs.

[Longhorn Engineer]

I've gotten several boards and been pleased. Looking forward to 5200 mod boards!

 

Thanks! The 5200 mods will be very easy to install. Pop out the GTIA. Stick the mod in. Pop the GTIA in the mods socket. Solder up some wires and doneski.

 

4 more orders today. Bloody 100 degrees here in Austin.

 

 

Glad to see you are back. Check your PMs.

 

Done

[Deteacher]

Where would you recommend I get a pair of snips small enough to take out the chip on the 7800? The snips I have are WAY too big to get in there and cut those legs off?

 

Hopefully I can time it so I can get my 7800 all prepped around the time my mod shows up. Any idea when I could expect it?