Prototype Atari PCB made!

Post by **gannon** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:56 pm

I really should finish it... or better yet, I could sell my prototype board, the schematics, pcb design, and parts (2 sets of atari chips too

) since I'm lazy

nos_slived · Post by **nos_slived** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 8:09 pm

usbcd36 wrote:
Gamelver wrote:
SpongeBuell wrote:he's still looking for parts, his Radio Shack sucks
spongey, ALL radio shacks suck ....
I can't even find a simple non-gold plated headphone cable extender

That pisses me off! I don't think it's even gold plated, I think they just electroplate copper jacks, so they look gold. The other thing that pisses me off, is that gold plating doesn't help a lot. If the whole jack, and the wire were gold, then it would help, but a micrometer of gold doesn't help.

Post by **SpongeBuell** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 8:24 pm

gannon wrote:I really should finish it... or better yet, I could sell my prototype board, the schematics, pcb design, and parts (2 sets of atari chips too ) since I'm lazy

I'll give you $5 for it

A.J. Franzman · Post by **A.J. Franzman** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 8:58 pm

nos_slived wrote:I don't think it's even gold plated, I think they just electroplate copper jacks, so they look gold. The other thing that pisses me off, is that gold plating doesn't help a lot. If the whole jack, and the wire were gold, then it would help, but a micrometer of gold doesn't help.

Someone is confused... what is the difference between "gold plated", which you don't think it is, and "electroplate" copper jacks? Electroplating is a process, gold is a metal element. 99.999% of gold plating is done by an electroplating process.

Also, copper is a somewhat better conductor than gold; so making jacks, plugs and cables of solid gold would not only be outlandishly expensive, but perform worse as well. The reason for using gold plating is because gold doesn't oxidize. Copper does, and copper oxide is a poor conductor. Most other metals commonly used for contacts are similar. Since gold is a much better conductor than copper oxide, any layer of gold plating thick enough not to easily scratch through (to prevent oxygen from reaching the copper or other metal underneath) is sufficient to maintain excellent conductivity.

nos_slived · Post by **nos_slived** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:56 pm

Are you talking about yourself? Electroplating is also a method used to make copper look gold by using heat and electrolysis on copper with a mixture of water and a zinc based compound as the electrolyte.

Have you ever cut through a gold plated jack? I've cut through a few, most from different places, and the gold is so thin that you can scratch it by pluging it in.

usbcd36 · Post by **usbcd36** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:39 pm

This is true, which is why I didn't want to get a gold plated version. They're more expensive and they wear out quickly (which is bad because I'm not going to be leaving this anywhere for any period of time). The only reason for gold-plating is if you have a home theater system or a high quality recording system or something that you're never going to screw around with after you put it together. Since I know no one who does that, I advise people against gold plating.

A.J. Franzman · Post by **A.J. Franzman** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:49 pm

nos_slived wrote:Electroplating is also a method used to make copper look gold by using heat and electrolysis on copper with a mixture of water and a zinc based compound as the electrolyte.

If that were true, it couldn't be called "gold plated" because there is no gold involved. It would have to be called "gold-toned", "gold colored" or possibly "gold anodized" (technically this would really be "yellow anodized", but companies have been incorrectly using "gold anodized" for so long that it's become accepted.)

If you're scratching all the way through gold plating by plugging a cable in once or even 100 times, you need to replace the crappy jacks on your gear. BTW, there is no benefit to gold plating unless the plug AND the jack are both gold plated.

nos_slived · Post by **nos_slived** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 12:13 am

A.J. Franzman wrote:
nos_slived wrote:Electroplating is also a method used to make copper look gold by using heat and electrolysis on copper with a mixture of water and a zinc based compound as the electrolyte.
If that were true, it couldn't be called "gold plated" because there is no gold involved. It would have to be called "gold-toned", "gold colored" or possibly "gold anodized" (technically this would really be "yellow anodized", but companies have been incorrectly using "gold anodized" for so long that it's become accepted.)

Correction, it shouldn't be called "gold plated". In today's world, the words "truth in advertising" don't exist. I had an expensive "gold" chain that dissintegrated when I put it in a gold cleaner. That is just one example of something that obviously wasn't gold, even though the store said it was.

Post by **SpongeBuell** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 12:18 am

nos_slived wrote:
A.J. Franzman wrote:
nos_slived wrote:Electroplating is also a method used to make copper look gold by using heat and electrolysis on copper with a mixture of water and a zinc based compound as the electrolyte.
If that were true, it couldn't be called "gold plated" because there is no gold involved. It would have to be called "gold-toned", "gold colored" or possibly "gold anodized" (technically this would really be "yellow anodized", but companies have been incorrectly using "gold anodized" for so long that it's become accepted.)
Correction, it shouldn't be called "gold plated". In today's world, the words "truth in advertising" don't exist. I had an expensive "gold" chain that dissintegrated when I put it in a gold cleaner. That is just one example of something that obviously wasn't gold, even though the store said it was.

Some of it depends on the quality/purity of the gold, too. They may be able to say it's gold, when it's only 10K. However, if it was 24K gold, that is the most pure and should not disintegrate. Or, it could be a bad cleaner, but I don't think that would be it.

nos_slived · Post by **nos_slived** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 12:22 am

I've used the cleaning stuff on lots of gold stuff, ranging in different purities. I think the chain was supposed to be 15K or 20K, but I've used lower quality stuff(and higher) in it without problams.

usbcd36 · Post by **usbcd36** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 3:27 pm

Wow, ok can we all agree (raise your hands, don't type

) that stuff listed as gold plated generally sucks?

Meanwhile, how is the Atari project coming along gannon? Will it support paddles?

*o* · Post by ***o*** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 3:52 pm

IT MUST!!

vb_master · Post by **vb_master** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 4:22 pm

usbcd36 · Post by **usbcd36** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 4:42 pm

Wow, that looks sweet. If the Atari board doesn't support 4 paddles, it will be a great disappointment. Also, someone should tell people that before they build a portable Atari, remember to desolder the 4 capacitors from the board before cutting it apart. Then if you want more paddles or someone else needs one, you aren't short a capacitor.

Post by **gannon** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 5:28 pm

It's just a remake of the original atari, it'll support anything the atari does