Sold Atari 2600 VCS PureVideo VEC Module - Now Available
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manic23
Only Amiga Makes it Happen
I brought my PureVideo VEC a while back from BB with the intention of fitting it myself but after reading through the manual I decided that I'd rather have an expert do it! I do have some basic soldering skills but not enough to fit this.
I sent my board off to BB for him to fit it for me and he did a great job, sent back within a few days, the device makes it much easier to connect to a monitor or TV, don't expect RGB quality here you never going to get that but the picture is clear and bright but with a little fuzzyness around the edges of the graphics and the usual slight picture warping at the bottom of the screen, but that is only to be expected on a console this old.
I have to say BB was VERY helpful. I can be a bit of a numpty some times and did not really understand how to connect this up and first, I thought you still used the old RF port, but no you dont! BB very calmly explained that you have to use the supplied RCA cable, red is audio and black is video.... ahem... well yes I was just testing.... yer that's it... testing
I also had a bit of a nightmare getting the damm thing back in the case, but again BB calmly explained what to do and eventually got it back connected and working.
If anyone is considering getting one of these I would defo recommend it, but if your soldering skills are not up to par, then ask BB if he can fit it for you.
I sent my board off to BB for him to fit it for me and he did a great job, sent back within a few days, the device makes it much easier to connect to a monitor or TV, don't expect RGB quality here you never going to get that but the picture is clear and bright but with a little fuzzyness around the edges of the graphics and the usual slight picture warping at the bottom of the screen, but that is only to be expected on a console this old.
I have to say BB was VERY helpful. I can be a bit of a numpty some times and did not really understand how to connect this up and first, I thought you still used the old RF port, but no you dont! BB very calmly explained that you have to use the supplied RCA cable, red is audio and black is video.... ahem... well yes I was just testing.... yer that's it... testing
I also had a bit of a nightmare getting the damm thing back in the case, but again BB calmly explained what to do and eventually got it back connected and working.
If anyone is considering getting one of these I would defo recommend it, but if your soldering skills are not up to par, then ask BB if he can fit it for you.
I'm also interested in this. I have NTSC console and I'm tired of subpar performance of many AV mod with modern TV, they are more finicky about proper video signal.
Can it be programmed with anti-wide screen mode? Flip a switch, the image gets shrunk with black bars on each sides for TV that is wide format and doesn't offer 4:3 format. My big one has 4:3 format but the little TV is 16:9 only unless I used HDMI and the video source is originally 4:3.
Can it be programmed with anti-wide screen mode? Flip a switch, the image gets shrunk with black bars on each sides for TV that is wide format and doesn't offer 4:3 format. My big one has 4:3 format but the little TV is 16:9 only unless I used HDMI and the video source is originally 4:3.
I think it is important to understand that the late 70's tech was designed at a time long, long before HDMI was even a concept and the HDMI tech guy's could not careless about compatibilty with Atari 2600 so in reality no. The best you might hope for is an inbetween device that deals with the upscaling issues encountered between Atari and TV. Our mod gives the best picture available for the tech in the 2600 but it would take a much more complex device with active firmware to covert the signal and limit the effects of the upscaling.
Our encoder board is not yet 100% compatible with NTSC but the next batch will be revised to enable use with NTSC systems.
BB
This weekend I had the opportunity to fit this. First everything went really well. The display was OK (more sharp than I expected, actually) and the sound was OK too.
And suddenly the sound channel got background noise. It was so loud, that I can barely hear the sound of the game itself. I desoldered the VEC module I tried to get the sound directly from the PIA, but I got the same noise. So it seems that not the module, but my PIA which has some issue. Don't you accidentally know where I can buy a PAL one?
Hi,
I am very sorry to hear the TIA has failed on you, you must be quite disappointed. It is a real shame but as i am sure you understand these machines are very old and parts can fail at any time
. Replacement PAL TIA's can be purchased from Best Electronics in California, USA.http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/2600_Tech_Tips.htm#based
The other alternative is to soursce a cheap junior model and harvest the TIA from that. The junior versions do tend to sell quite cheaply as everyone wants the woody or vader models.
I personally don't have any TIA's in at the moment but I have spoken to TC to ask if he has any spare and he might have but we will not know for sure until the end of the week
I'd like to declare interest
PM coming
manic23
Only Amiga Makes it Happen
My MOD
My MOD
Finally got my Atari 2600 working the way I want with the VEC installed. I thought I'd post these pics of the extra mod I carried on on my 2600 (with Bas's and Rob's help, thanks guys).
I am the kind of person that likes to have my cake and eat it! I wanted the composite MOD on my 2600 but also wanted the option of switching back to RF mode if I choose (yer yer I know I probably need treatment).
Bas told me that it is possible to break the line between two pads (J1) on VEC and then place a switch between them so as to be able to turn on and off the VEC. When the VEC is off the RF switched on, genus!
I had a bit of a mishap during testing and managed to break the left hand joystick port hence the slow reply to this thread, I had to buy another port and soldier that back on luckily the repair worked first time
I have posted some pics below to show you what I did, I opted to put everything inside the case so as not to change the look of the 2600 from it's original look.
My MOD
Finally got my Atari 2600 working the way I want with the VEC installed. I thought I'd post these pics of the extra mod I carried on on my 2600 (with Bas's and Rob's help, thanks guys).
I am the kind of person that likes to have my cake and eat it! I wanted the composite MOD on my 2600 but also wanted the option of switching back to RF mode if I choose (yer yer I know I probably need treatment).
Bas told me that it is possible to break the line between two pads (J1) on VEC and then place a switch between them so as to be able to turn on and off the VEC. When the VEC is off the RF switched on, genus!
I had a bit of a mishap during testing and managed to break the left hand joystick port hence the slow reply to this thread, I had to buy another port and soldier that back on luckily the repair worked first time
I have posted some pics below to show you what I did, I opted to put everything inside the case so as not to change the look of the 2600 from it's original look.
That's a Harmony cartridge (the 2600's SD solution). I was toying with the idea of approaching these guys for bulk prices with a view to starting a group buy on here. Would that be something people here would be interested in?
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manic23
Only Amiga Makes it Happen
Yer as BB said it is the Harmony cart kind of an Everdrive type device for the 2600. available here...
http://harmony.atariage.com/Site/Harmony.html
By the way BB, I am still interested in a group buy for the new Harmony cart when it gets released so do contact me when/if you plan the group buy. Thanks matie
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Yer as BB said it is the Harmony cart kind of an Everdrive type device for the 2600. available here...
http://harmony.atariage.com/Site/Harmony.html
By the way BB, I am still interested in a group buy for the new Harmony cart when it gets released so do contact me when/if you plan the group buy. Thanks matie
Roger dodger, will do.
Top job on the mod btw
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