Atari Flashback 2 MOds

[Coldguy]

Just was wondering if anyone know of a place that sells them with the cartridge slots in them or for kits to DIY. Thanks in advance.

[Pantechnicon]

Just my 2 cents on the topic: It probably involves less effort to build a composite a/v mod into an original 2600 than it is to install a cart slot into a Flashback 2. I've done the former at least and the parts were only about $20.

[ProgrammingAce]

And don't you have to destroy an actual 2600 to get the cart connector anyway?

[NoahsMyBro]

I've thought about doing the mod ever since the Flashback 2 came out. Why do you recommend against it?

Probably tied in to the answer is another question I've got. Last weekend at NAVA the retro tournament took place and used a modded FB2. My understanding is that you were the person that modded the unit. A few games wouldn't boot on the system.

Are there incompatibilities present on the FB2, and is that why you don't recommend doing the mod?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I'll 2nd (or 3rd ... 4th perhaps?) advising against a Flashback 2 cartridge mod - as a primary and/or exclusive method of playing 2600 games on your AV input setup.

While the Flashback 2 is a great little unit with great proprietary AV output, and I do personally have one modded up, the list of incompatible games contains one too many classics for my taste.

I mean, if you have one, there's nothing wrong with modding it as most if not all mods contain a switch to retain the "built in" games on the unit ... but if you have the means to mod a flashback, you likely have the means to mod a standard 2600 anyway, and you won't get the compatibility issues there.

[Foxglove9]

Thanks for the advice. I've also debated performing plastic surgery on my FB2 ever since I got it but been holding off. I guess I'll just stick to playing Stella, which is fine by me, but I just miss using Atari joystick and paddles that's all.

[InsaneDavid]

Another vote for AV modding a VCS here. The FB2 mod is far more work for far less ability. Here's some snaps of an older mod I did (I believe Flack has this one)...

http://www.classicplastic.net/digitalpress/VCSmod001.jpg

Super simple circuit to build. The only complaint I ever got was that the screen looks a little dim but some simple color adjustment on the TV fixes it. I used to tune the output circuit on a TV that gave the best general results (across the many user TV's that the modded systems went to). It's been a long time since I've done one, especially now that I no longer have my shop due to moving.

When I was doing them in batches, mainly to get rid of the pile of four switch 2600's I had, I was selling them for $30.00 plus shipping. That wasn't just for the mod itself, it was for a loose premodded 2600, ready to go.

[InsaneDavid]

RF picture quality was poor, but I never had results as poor as these examples claim to be:

http://www.bogost.com/games/a_television_simulator.shtml

Agreed, I never had anything remotely as bad as a lot of RF comparisons. A poor switchbox (which should be replaced with a phono to type F connector anyway), poor RF lead, or interference from outside sources are the first thing to check. No matter how many mods I do, I use standard RF for all systems that were normally operated through such.