512 game multi-cart

SgtBowhack · Post by **SgtBowhack** » Mon Jan 10, 2005 4:07 pm

Fair enough. It just seemed a little silly to me to spend that much money on it when the boards work. Those reasons sound pretty reasonable though. Thanks for the clarification.
(BTW: you probably could sell sloppy boards if they worked- most people probably only care specifically about functionality. But I understand ruining equipment would be a deterrent.)
P.S.- Would you explain the pain of dual-layer boards over in the Forum 42 then (talking about hand-etching Atari motherboards) ? People don't seem to believe me...

mindstein · Post by **mindstein** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 7:14 am

SgtBowhack wrote: P.S.- Would you explain the pain of dual-layer boards over in the Forum 42 then (talking about hand-etching Atari motherboards) ? People don't seem to believe me...

I have etched many dual-layer boards in my tank. It take a bit of effort to line up both sides when you do the transfer but you know well ahead of time and dont etch wntill they line up.

What I do is transfer the first side to the board.
Drill several holes and then flip the board and transfer the other side.
It works well. And you get better at it with practice.

So I Sorry But I have to agree with everyone else. Thay can be done just fine.

My boards are probably fine for most people but I am a perfectionist and have to have it look good as well as function. I'll post pics of the proto boards when they are done.

I have just been busy and haven't gotten around to trying again.

SgtBowhack · Post by **SgtBowhack** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 3:37 am

Wow, that's a really good idea. Thanks for mentioning it. I'm sure it will come in handy

mindstein · Post by **mindstein** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 8:39 pm

OK I have made some progress with this project.

First her is a new link to my vcs projects photo log.
http://www.mindsteinmedia.com/vcsPhotoLog
the links on P1 of this post are for a server that has goten some viruses and I am having trouble getting them off, so I killed the links. So to not infect any others I posted a copy of the log at one of my earthlink accounts.
It is a log of the VCSp that I made, and photos of the etch tank and the 4050 video mod that I use instead of Ben's pot/resistor hack (no offence Ben)
Here is the VCSp

Here is the VCSp side view

Here is the video mod etched board

Here is the video mod nested at the the top of the VCSp

Here is the finished etch tank filled with water for a leak test

I am going on vacation soon and when I get back I will make a website with a walk through of the construction and instructions to what I did.

I also have plans for the etch tank and instructions on how to make it. I think I will make a "how to" for the etch tank and home etching. It is cheep like $20. fot the entire thing.

OK that is the old buisiness, here is the new.

Please forgive the washed out pics. I realy tweeked the contrast so that the individual traces could be seen.

This is what happens about 50% of the time when you do a toner transfer.
The toner dosen't stick, or the toner smears. It happens offten.
I have to try several times to get a good transfer.
The traces that I am using for this multi-cart are right at the edge of what you can get away with. Thay are as small and close together as it can get for this process. Any finer or closer and you would have to use a UV exposure on a UV sensitive board. Or use a laser etcher

or get it profesionaly done.

see the smearing, and missing lines.

When you do get a good transfer and then etch you get this.

this is the front after etching with the toner still applied.

this is the back with a shot of my fingers for scale.
So 2 sided is possible just drill some holes and use them to line up the second side.

this is the part that keeps me from making a lot of them. THE HOLES

The holes are so small and the drill bit is so fine that a powered device just snaps the bit. I have to drill them by hand with a small exacto like instrument and just twist back and forth...back and forth...back and forth...back and forth... you get the point. I wont make it as long as the FIGHT post.

Here it is after the toner is cleaned off and the board is cut to size.

The white stuff that you see on the board in spots is actualy trace repare.
I got one of the pens from Radio Shack and use it to repare the broken traces. It works well. Also you have to use a exacto knife to cut some traces or pads that did not etch apart completly.

So I am now ready to assemble it and program the chips.

I will post pics of the assembled board and pics of the williams programer I got from ebay, when I am done with that part.
So that is it for now. I'll post more pics soon.

Post by **Sparkfist** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 8:56 pm

First of that D-pad looks like it was taken for the second controller that comes with the SuperPowerJoy III.

Also those board etching look nice. How long til you send them out?

diggerdanh · Post by **diggerdanh** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 9:35 pm

Once again, thanks for the photo log - very nice. That is once sweet looking portable atari. Can't wait to get the full instructions. Hurry up and get back from vacation !!

mindstein · Post by **mindstein** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 9:41 pm

Sparkfist wrote:First of that D-pad looks like it was taken for the second controller that comes with the SuperPowerJoy III.

Also those board etching look nice. How long til you send them out?

Yes, the D-pad is from the SuperPowerJoy III.
I tried several D-pads and concluded that the atari just wasn't atari with out a joystick. And the joystick is removable for people that prefer a thumb pad.
I used a small momentary contact switches on a perf board instead of the board that came with the SuperJoy. I only snaged the D-pad.

A TIP FROM ME. What I do when I use momentary contact switches is place the small rubber pads on top od them for that perfect combination of reliability and still a bit of a "mushy" feel that we like so much.

Also as for the boards. I have to finish this proto first to make sure that it all works correctly then I will see about how I will make several more.

Sorry about the long wait but these are being made for fun and as a thanks to some of the people on the boards so I am not in a big hurry.

I realy have been spending most of my time playing with my GP32 BLU.
Which I love. I am going on several airplane trips next week and the entire next month so I have been getting my SMC ready for my GP32 and encoding all of my movies for th GP32.

diggerdanh · Post by **diggerdanh** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 9:46 pm

I am doing the same with some of the parts from the second controller of my superjoy. I planned on doing the same with the switches. Where do you get your momentary contact switches - store & part number? Thanks.

mindstein · Post by **mindstein** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 10:09 pm

diggerdanh wrote:I am doing the same with some of the parts from the second controller of my superjoy. I planned on doing the same with the switches. Where do you get your momentary contact switches - store & part number? Thanks.

Actualy I snag them from old VCR's. the front panel has several.

I collect old electronics for BEAM robotics and I have a box full of them.

Also for most of my parts I go to a surplus electronics store in my area(northern california) HSC electronics. They have resistors for 1 cent and most parts are very cheep like Pennies.
Find one in your area or tell all of your friends and relatives that you want any broken stuff. I have a garage full of stuff and am turning it away now. With a torch and tweasers you are in a parts bonanza. Use a desoldering iron for sensative parts and a small butane torch for mass desoldering.

Or if they don't have it I get it from Digi-Key or on the odd chance that they don't have it Mouser.

diggerdanh · Post by **diggerdanh** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 7:51 am

Thanks for the info. I, too, have a couple of VCRs that I have been scavenging for parts. I have looked throught the DigiKey and Mouser catalogs, but its kind of hard to tell what I want from their descriptions.

I do have a couple of electronics surplus stores around - I guess I should give them a look.

A.J. Franzman · Post by **A.J. Franzman** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 3:12 pm

Just a small note on use of momentary tactile switches: They come in various types requiring different amounts of force to activate, so if you want all your buttons and stick/pad directions to feel the same, get all your switches from the same source. If you have a large number of assorted switches in your parts bin and just grab a handful, you could end up with a weird-feeling D-pad.