Atari 2600 Portable

Includes Atari 2600, Nintendo 8-bit, Sega Master System, MSX and more!

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Tibia
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Atari 2600 Portable

Post by Tibia » Sat Aug 15, 2009 12:38 pm

lol whut? A worklog from Tib? Did Hades freeze over?


Nope, nothing so dramatic. I just thought I'd try something a bit different. I was working down at the shop last night, and I had three 2600 cases. I only found one mobo, so I hauled the other two off to the recycling plant. When I got home, there was a 2600 mobo sitting on the desk, no case. Well, after swearing for a bit, I decided, "What the hey. I got a pile of rechargeable batteries. I should build a portable." And so I will. At this point, I have no ideas whatsoever for the case, nor do I have a screen, but who cares? I'll have some fun.

Features that will definitely be included:
Custom etched controller PCBs with Atari dome switch technology (Yay clicky!)
Rekarp's most excellent AV mod
Internal batteries that can be charged during play
Battery "fuel" gauge
Headphones and internal speakers (in stereo!)

Features that I'm still debating on:
Integrated paddles
Integrated keypad(?)
TV out
Master/Slave port for multi-unit connectivity
Any other crazy ideas that may yet come to me
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64M320N3
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Re: Atari 2600 Portable

Post by 64M320N3 » Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:34 pm

Wow Tibia. I hope all goes well for you. However, one thing caught my eye:
Tibia wrote:Headphones and internal speakers (in stereo!)
The 2600 has stereo? This is news to me.
Or are you just going to hook up the same audio line to both speakers? If so, that makes more sense.
Making stuff with my new beautiful CNC machine!
Would you like a professional looking custom case for your portable? I may be able to help you. Check out this link:
http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=32724

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Tibia
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Re: Atari 2600 Portable

Post by Tibia » Sat Aug 15, 2009 3:21 pm

I'm using Rekarp's AV mod kit. I'm not sure if it's the same channel going to different jacks, or if it's true stereo. When I get another kit assembled, I'll have to test it and find out.
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Taiben
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Re: Atari 2600 Portable

Post by Taiben » Sun Aug 16, 2009 8:52 am

So is this why you didnt come to the beach party with us? :wtf:


Seriusly thogh. What the hell? are you dropping all youre other projects?
copulate all you goddamn smartasses.

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Tibia
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Re: Atari 2600 Portable

Post by Tibia » Sun Aug 16, 2009 11:54 am

Taiben wrote:So is this why you didnt come to the beach party with us? :wtf:
Nope. All I've done so far on this is decide I'll do it. Heading down to the Court to cut the mobo down in a bit, though. And I was at the beach party. I was picking up rental equipment with my dad.

Taiben wrote:Seriusly thogh. What the hell? are you dropping all youre other projects?
Nope again. I'm looking for a new faceplate for my soldering station, waiting on some parts for the PSU, cleaning up the shop, etc. I'm just not really seriously investing time into this one yet, that's all. I'm bidding on a few pocket TV's for this, but I don't plan to really dive in quite yet.
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64M320N3
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Re: Atari 2600 Portable

Post by 64M320N3 » Sun Aug 16, 2009 1:30 pm

Tibia wrote:When I get another kit assembled, I'll have to test it and find out.
Please do. Mono audio isn't that great.
Making stuff with my new beautiful CNC machine!
Would you like a professional looking custom case for your portable? I may be able to help you. Check out this link:
http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=32724

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themadhacker
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Re: Atari 2600 Portable

Post by themadhacker » Sun Aug 16, 2009 7:17 pm

good luck on this.

Also, what ever happened to your super mega secret gamegear project?
rest in peace, Ronnie James Dio! \m/

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Tibia
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Re: Atari 2600 Portable

Post by Tibia » Mon Aug 17, 2009 10:29 am

That super secret project got shelved. The person I was partnering with is busy, and my own schedule's so unreliable that I'm not going to try and work with someone at this point. Something will eventually come of that, but not now. As for my personal GG withe the LED mod, stereo sound, and integrated rechargeables, well, whenever I LED mod a GG, I end up selling it before I can finish it for myself. lol




As for the 2600, I cut down the mobo and started following traces. I know there's diagrams in the stickies, but I want the satisfaction of doing it myself. Guess the next step is to assemble the mod kit so I can see if the thing even works. lol
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banditpaw1
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Re: Atari 2600 Portable

Post by banditpaw1 » Wed Aug 19, 2009 11:14 am

I have waited patiently and now i want pics even if it is just the atari shell.

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chainfire95
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Re: Atari 2600 Portable

Post by chainfire95 » Wed Aug 19, 2009 11:20 am

Pics or it didn't happen
A truly wise man can entertain a thought without accepting it. A fool cannot withhold past judgments but instead closes his mine to new possibilities. Someone who wants to innovate simply needs to forget what everyone says isn't possible.

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Re: Atari 2600 Portable

Post by banditpaw1 » Wed Aug 19, 2009 11:30 am

chainfire95 wrote:Pics or it didn't happen
I second that motion all in favor?...I...

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Re: Atari 2600 Portable

Post by Tibia » Wed Aug 19, 2009 11:43 am

Well, my personal computer is dead. At the very least, though, I can upload tomorrow from work. I will promise pics by noon EST tomorrow at the latest.
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chainfire95
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Re: Atari 2600 Portable

Post by chainfire95 » Wed Aug 19, 2009 1:28 pm

Fair enough
A truly wise man can entertain a thought without accepting it. A fool cannot withhold past judgments but instead closes his mine to new possibilities. Someone who wants to innovate simply needs to forget what everyone says isn't possible.

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Re: Atari 2600 Portable

Post by banditpaw1 » Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:04 pm

chainfire95 wrote:Fair enough
Motion Passed! :mrgreen:

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Re: Atari 2600 Portable

Post by Tibia » Wed Aug 19, 2009 8:49 pm

Well, as promised, here are pictures. Click the thumbs to see full-size. I'm waiting on the screen, as well as some copper-clad circuit board material. This project's getting most of the work done at my house, instead of the shop. There's more room there at the moment. The current state of my desk:
Image

The 2600 and all parts I have at the moment are there. The mobo's in four pieces at the moment.
Image

Here's what I have for batteries. 7.2V, 1200 mAh NiMh. They're from an RC car set. Unmodded, the 2600 doesn't draw any more than 500mA. I think I'll end up ditching the 7805 in favor of a switching regulator. The power of the batteries are low, but I'd be happy with 90 minutes of playtime on batteries alone. Image

More to come when there's more to see, and I'm not fighting with an Acer Aspire.
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