New Portable in Progress...

[retrodelee]

me again... I'll take a look at things tomorrow. I'll work on it some more. I think I may know what the problem is. If it is not that... then I have no clue.

[retrodelee]

Success!

My hacked 4X4 finally works! I had to start over again... but I have video and sound and I'm running it from the batteries! So I am able to now confirm that I have that portion working.

I wired up all of my controls. I believe I may still add the difficulty switches though. Not really sure yet.

But... new problem:

I started hacking the TV. Took it apart, desoldered the tv tuner... desoldered the power jack, the AV in, and the headphones.

This is where I run into a brick wall again. I've got 8 volts going to the tv... coming from my top lead on my 7805... and going to the right spot on my AV in/out jack. I have have the 8 volts... but nothis appears to be working. No power.

I am using the Casio EV 660 B if that helps any.

One question about the AV plug. In the step by step it talks as though everything could be opposite (simply switch the audio and video wires....)
Could this be my issue? Also... Would there be in sign of life to the screen? Would the light on the screen come on or something? (I didn't do the led mod... I may just leave it as is)

please let me know..

[retrodelee]

Okay... looks like I can't figure this out at all.

I have that Casio... which is a 3"
I also ripped open a Hip Gear Screen/Pad thing. Took a look at that... not really sure where to go with it either.

I know both of them worked prior to me taking them apart. If anyone here can help me connect these to the hacked 4X4... please shoot me a PM or something.

[retrodelee]

Ahh!!!! Finally!

I have video... I have sound (wish it was a bit louder)
Doing well!
My controls work, everything seems okay... so far.


Minor questions/concerns:

It looks as though while leaving the unit running.... (checking battery time) the colors tend to change. I was advised this is normal with battery as the CTP isn't getting enough juice so to speak.

Now... I'm looking for a bit of a battery solution.

If I cut the 7808 off of the Hip Screen Control board (it is the thing that handles the speakers from what I understand) it will cut 20ma off of the power consumption. Not really sure what all that means... but my question is this: Will the speakers still work? And... would that help with the color blending issue?

I haven't played it long enough to see if the colors would change WHILE I'm playing. I do know they will change if I just walk away and leave it there for an hour (change different from the normal first screen that changes on atari games. For example: When I start everything, the trees in Pitfall will be green. When I come back an hour later... they will be blue). LOL Sometimes if I restart the system (turn off the power and turn it back on) it will go back to normal. Other times... it remains blue and I'd have to adjust the CTP. That may be an issue if I enclose it within the case I plan on using.

I have a few things left to do: Wire up difficulty switches (I'm still debating that... and I'm not sure if I will do it), wire up the headphones... perhaps wire up a power outlet.... but I'm not sure how I can figure out what type of plug I'd need.

How do you figure out what type of wall adaptor to use? Would using an atari wall wart be good enough? Can I just cut off the power pug from the atari 2600 motherboard... and wire that sucker in? Just trying to figure out a safe alternate to the batteries in case I want to use that at home.

Pictures will come sometime within this month!

[retrodelee]

Just wanted to follow up on this thread.
For the most part, I have my portable finished. I put it away and took a break for a while. Last night I decided to dig it out of my projects box and re do a few things.

I am a bit concerned about power though. I am using a real atari 2600 (cut into a 4X4) and the Hip Screen pad thing for the video and sound. The motherboard for the sound, tint, etc is a space waster... but I got it all to fit. I'll have to work out a soulution for my batteries... but I can apply them to the outside of the case.

But... back to the issues: I have all of this running off of 6 AA batteries.
So, yes... 9V.
My question is, what can you recommend as a better solution for power (obviously the 9V is not going to send enough power to keep the video up and running correctly (for example when the power starts to fade... the vertical hold goes out and the screen acts funny).

Got any suggestions? The power part of this always confused me.
I'll try to get pictures up today...

[banditpaw1]

will it run on 7.2v? if so i sugest radioshack recharcables.Also give me some pics i want to see this

[imac4567]

Hey retro are you on AA as eric delee? just wondering
-Dylan

[retrodelee]

Yes... I am the same guy on AtariAge.
I don't know your sister... please don't accuse me of that! LOL Just Kidding.

DSC01528.JPG (85.59KiB)Viewed 6201 times

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[retrodelee]

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And here it is running Pitfall.

Here's a bit of a writeup on AtariAge: http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.ph ... pic=148512
I am having issues on the video. I don't know it it is lack of power... or if it is something to do with my video mod. I did the old video mod. I may take it apart and redo it as I'm not able to get a full gaming session in yet.

I didn't do any alterations to the Hip Screen (the one attached to a controller). No LED mods or anything.
Just not sure what the next step is.

[imac4567]

Oh yeah, what was your girlfriends number again. I forgot . Anyway just wondering
-Dylan

[retrodelee]

I'm back. I decided to get a different screen to redo some of my portable. It is a bigger screen, and from what I've been told it is easy to use.
I got the 3.5" Pustom that you see on ebay or DX.

So I went to search out the pinouts for the Pustom screens.
This is the one of the 2.5 inch


And this is the one of the 3.5" Pustom screen that looks identical to mine.

I have Audio... I have power going to the screen... and I have the ground wired up. I used the first picture in this post as a guide.
Using the second picture in the guide, I can't figure out where the heck the video is going. I tried the normal area (right below the power) and it isn't working. The screen is on, but I'm not getting an image. Just light from the power being on.
I've adjusted the tint, and that was not a help.

Any suggestions? I know a few people have used these in their projects. Thanks!

[retrodelee]

some reason the second image will not show up... here it is

And this is the one of the 3.5" Pustom screen that looks identical to mine.
http://img259.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... 260rd9.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[retrodelee]

any help out there?

[ChrisKoopa]

this might not help but try hooking up the ground from the screen to the atari ground
if that doesn't work try this
change the pin-out but keep ground like in the picture the same

]LEFT
]RIGHT
]VIDEO
]GROUND

[retrodelee]

this might not help but try hooking up the ground from the screen to the atari ground
if that doesn't work try this
change the pin-out but keep ground like in the picture the same

]LEFT
]RIGHT
]VIDEO
]GROUND

Change the pinout of that green plug?
I assume you mean left and right audio when you say left and right. I only have one audio line coming from the atari motherboard.
Then where would I place my power?

I hope I can get C'mon to add a response. He used the same screen in his wood portable.