112 replies to this topic

[mreddr]

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE I CAN PURCHASE THIS NICE LITTLE BOARD?


THANKS,
MREDDR

[ToddUGA]

You're not the only one that would like to pick up this little beauty. The last few the guy sold were on E-bay. Maybe he'll put a few more up for sale soon.

[Ralph3]

I'll need to get 3 of them, hopefully they will be affordable. It sucks buying an Atari 5200 boxed + 10 good games for $5.00(what a steal at a flea market, I couldn't my money out fast enough) and spend $40 for a video mod chip.

[ToddUGA]

Just keep checking out www.8bitdomain.com. He should have another batch ready to go any day now.

[CPUWIZ]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...8&category=1250

Another set of six.

[Tempest]

Finally! I really wish this guy would sell them through either AA, B&C, or Best because having to snipe them on Ebay isn't the best way to get your product out there.

Tempest

[povlok1]

Extreamly nice product.. KOOTO"S

[RangerG]

So you bid on this by putting in an amount and then seeing if you are in top six at the end? For instance, right now you need to bid above $29 and then you would be in the top six and you would bump someone out. Tempest is the top with $50 so if I bid $51 I'm #1 for now. Is this correct? I also wish it just had a standard price.

[MrRetroGamer]

This guy is gonna have more - don't drive up the prices higher than you need to. If you can't get in on the $28.95 price, wait till the next round of auctions he puts up. It will be better for all of us!

[ToddUGA]

Quote

This guy is gonna have more - don't drive up the prices higher than you need to.

Exactly. And if you can't get it for that price, he's now selling them for $28.95 on his website.

[8bitdomain]

You are right Ebay is not the best place to sell them, but can be useful
to gage interest in a product. Next product I will post here first.
Anyway, web site is up and running at www.8bitdomain.com for
orders.

[RedRabbit]

What are the chances for something similar for the 7800 and 2600???

[RangerG]

It was easy enough ordering off the website. I seems like a good product.

[tyranthraxus]

I'm not so tech saavy on these things. So is composite video what
I would use to plug into RCA jacks? The website says it can do S-video
with an adaptor. How much do those adapaters run?

Also what is the advantage of chroma/luma outputs? Apart from plugging
into a old commodore monitor are there modern monitors available?

Thank you!

[Ian Primus]

Quote

I'm not so tech saavy on these things. So is composite video what
I would use to plug into RCA jacks? The website says it can do S-video
with an adaptor. How much do those adapaters run?

Also what is the advantage of chroma/luma outputs? Apart from plugging
into a old commodore monitor are there modern monitors available?

Composite video is what is used by most modern TV sets, as well as many older computer monitors like those meant for the Apple II. Separate chroma and luma was used by the older Commodore monitors, as well as most modern TV sets. S-Video _is_ seperate chroma and luma. It just uses a different connector. The Commodore monitors took two RCA plugs, one for chroma and one for luma. Modern TV sets take a 4 pin mini din plug for S-video, which contains the seperate chroma an luma signals. Composite video is nothing more than the chroma and luma lines tied together. So, in essence, the video board only needs to generate two signals, and depending on how you connect them and what connector you use, you can get composite, S-video or seperate chroma and luma for a Commodore monitor.

By keeping the chroma and luma seperate, you get a crisper picture in many cases, since the signal doesn't have to be combined on one end and then uncombined on the other. The same prinicple goes for why composite video is clearer than RF. With RF, the signal has to be converted from the video signal through an RF modulator in the Atari, then piped to the TV, then converted back into a video signal with the demodulator in the TV. Composite and s-video cut out these steps, and as such, produce better picture.

Ian Primus
ian_primus@yahoo.com

[RangerG]

Ian --

Thanks for the detailed answer, but I want to clarify to make sure I get it. Ok, so:

Composite = chroma and luna tied together, it is just one input

S-video = also chroma and luna but separate, it is one input but it it is plug shaped

Separate chroma and luna = two inputs

All are common on modern tvs. So which one should I use if I have a modern tv? Also, how about the audio - how does this hook in to the television?

This is for all of us new to electricity 101 .

Take care,
RG

[RIVER]

8bitdomain Just listed more 5200 mods with a $28.95 BIN! Not mine

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...1&category=1250

[Ian Primus]

Quote

Ian --  
 
Thanks for the detailed answer, but I want to clarify to make sure I get it. Ok, so:  
 
Composite = chroma and luna tied together, it is just one input  
 
S-video = also chroma and luna but separate, it is one input but it it is plug shaped  
 
Separate chroma and luna = two inputs  
 
All are common on modern tvs. So which one should I use if I have a modern tv? Also, how about the audio - how does this hook in to the television?  
 
This is for all of us new to electricity 101 .

If you have a modern TV, your best bet is svideo, provided, of course, that it has the proper input. As for the audio, it connects seperately to the television through an RCA plug. Most TV's these days will have a row of three colored RCA plugs on the back - yellow red and white. The yellow plug is for composite video, the red one is for the right channel audio, and the white one is for the left channel audio. Most TV's will also have an svideo connector right near this row of inputs on the back, which can be used in place of the composite video connector if the device you are connecting has svideo. Note that there normally won't be an svideo connector on the front of the television, it is normally only on the back. Also, you can't use the svideo connector and the composite video connector on any givin input (i.e. Input 1), at the same time, since the audio connectors are shared between them. But, if your set has more than one set of inputs, you can use the svideo on one, composite on the other, etc.

Ian Primus
ian_primus@yahoo.com

[RangerG]

Thanks Ian,

That helps because I'm planning to switch tvs. Our one television has the three like you said (white, yellow, red) - neither tv has the composite. The smaller tv (the one I was going to use for the consoles) only has a yellow (video) and white (audio) input. I assume the audios are together and this will still work fine.

- RG

[video game addict]

The yellow RCA is composite.

You're gonna want to hook it up thru composite or S-video if you're wanting to play on TV. Separate Chroma & Luma RCAs would be primarily for the old Commodore monitors, even they accept regular composite thou, so it's not totally necessary to wire it with chroma & Luma jacks, but for monitors separate C & L would be a little better over the composite.

I'm going to do mine with S-video & audio, the composite can be had with a small inline adapter, that changes an S-video into composite, if I ever have a need to play on another tv.

[Tempest]

Keep in mind that there a few 5200 games that use artifacting. These games won't look right with S-Video (no color, just lines).

Tempest

[x6d696168]

w00 I just orded mine. I got a 5200 today, but the controller is crap, ordered rebuild kits for that too. Can't wait to have it all working.

[Allan]

8bitdomain said:

You are right Ebay is not the best place to sell them, but can be useful
to gage interest in a product. Next product I will post here first.  
Anyway, web site is up and running at www.8bitdomain.com for
orders.

Care to give any hints on your next project?

Allan

[Tempest]

Ok I opened up my 5200, but I can't get that damn RF shield off. I've tried straightening all those little metal twists, but it's stuck down tight! Do I really need it on there? Can I just clip it off?

And while I'm at it, how the $&*@*$! do I get that expansion port cover off? I swear to god it doesn't want to come off by any means known to man!

Tempest

[Allan]

Tempest said:

Ok I opened up my 5200, but I can't get that damn RF shield off.  I've tried straightening all those little metal twists, but it's stuck down tight!  Do I really need it on there?  Can I just clip it off?

Tempest

Probably not as long as you don't get interference to other electronics. I just did mine today. Looks fantastice. Yes the RF cover was a bitch to take off. You just have to pry it off with a screw driver after straitening the tabs. I did break 2 stubern tabs but the rest should hold it down find. Couple of notes. Be carefull in what order you assemble things. The three wires must go through the expansion cover first, then the ground goes into the wire from the back, followed by the lock washer and then the nut. Then you plug the wires into the back of the connector on the little circuit board. Figured it out the hard way but everything worked out well.

Allan