View Full Version : Mod Old Systems!
HyruleHero
09-25-2009, 07:22 PM
I was just curious if anybody new any good companies or websites where if I send them some old consoles they could mod it to A/V or RF or something...I recently purchased a Atari 5200,2600,and Magnavox Oddyssey2 and they all work, but I would like all of them to be easier to hook up and play and get better video quality from them...Anybody got any ideas..........?????
gokugohandave
09-25-2009, 07:23 PM
members Rai, ooxXxoo, and shadowkn55 come to mind.
Soviet Conscript
09-25-2009, 07:39 PM
members Rai, ooxXxoo, and shadowkn55 come to mind.
i've had systems modded by all 3 of them and i can vouche for there work. all top notch stuff. acually Rai did my O2 and 5200.
HurricaneAndrew
09-25-2009, 08:06 PM
You could buy some Phono to Coaxial adapters at RadioShack. Thats what I use.
weirdguy
09-25-2009, 08:09 PM
Nobody ever mention me... I have to admit, I can't beat US shipping prices... Damn you Cada Post !
Compute
09-25-2009, 10:30 PM
Off topic, but a local game store sells those phono to coax adaptors for $3.50 each. And I thought rat shack had high prices.
HurricaneAndrew
09-26-2009, 12:25 AM
Nah, theyre about $3.99 if you don't get the gold plated ones. The gold pated ones are like $4.99.
I would buy form the local store before RadioShack, though.
kedawa
09-26-2009, 02:29 AM
Those adaptors don't do anything to improve video quality. He wants to get actual composite or s-video out of those systems.
The Atari mods are pretty simple, though, so anyone with a bit of experience with electronics can do them.
Game Freak
09-26-2009, 07:18 AM
Those adaptors don't do anything to improve video quality. He wants to get actual composite or s-video out of those systems.
The Atari mods are pretty simple, though, so anyone with a bit of experience with electronics can do them.
the adaptors actually give me an insane picture quality, as close to AV as you can get, you don't even need a mod o_O
Now the switchboxes you can get for the systems...those just suck
Battlehork
09-26-2009, 09:51 AM
the adaptors actually give me an insane picture quality, as close to AV as you can get, you don't even need a mod o_O
Now the switchboxes you can get for the systems...those just suck
Yeah, hooking RF directly to the antenna input on the TV without a switchbox is often much better; those TV/Game and even the later automatic switches introduce tons of interference.
If you're willing to try your hand at the mods yourself or know someone with some electronics experience, http://gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php has schematics for the 2600 and 5200 for S-video.
chrisbid
09-26-2009, 09:52 AM
Those adaptors don't do anything to improve video quality. He wants to get actual composite or s-video out of those systems.
The Atari mods are pretty simple, though, so anyone with a bit of experience with electronics can do them.
thats not exactly true, they greatly reduce rf noise compared to using an rf switch. the resulting quality is surprisingly good, and the price cant be beat
kedawa
09-26-2009, 10:11 AM
I guess I should have worded that differently. Going direct to the tv instead of going through the switchbox will give you the best results you can get with rf, but if you want something better than rf, you have to modify the system.
MachineGex
09-26-2009, 10:25 AM
I know the OP wants to get his system mod'ed, but I want to point out when using the old systems(like 2600) make sure your power cord and RF(tv) cord are keep away from each other.
I know the 2600's picture will look wavy if the RF cord and power cord are all wrapped around each other. If you run one out the back to the left and the other out the back to the right, the picture looks much cleaner.
I am also a big fan of the little RCAtoCOAXIAL adapters.
jetset516
09-27-2009, 07:48 PM
Would one of you mind posting a link of what you're talking about? I'd love to have a cheap option to play my old systems through an rca input.
weirdguy
09-27-2009, 08:49 PM
Other thread talking about that thing:
www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=129959
My pleasure.
kedawa
09-27-2009, 11:04 PM
I used to use one for my PCEngine, but I never had the original rf adapter to compare it to.
Game Freak
09-28-2009, 06:01 AM
Gold Plated:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103471
Regular:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2123169
I've seen an Atari 2600 with a S-Video mod and it's pretty impressive. If I end up finding a 2600 at a garage sale or thrift store or something, I'm going to "try" to do the S-Video mod myself.
Leo_A
10-01-2009, 03:38 AM
OldSchoolGamer is another and has posted around here before. His business url is www.oldschoolgamer.ca
He modded a Atari 7800 for me with a 8BitDomain s-video board. Construction and installation quality was high, it seemed sturdy enough and the composite and s-video jacks looked like they were factory installed. His customer service and speed were also good.
Sadly, it never worked quite to my level of satisfaction with color bleeding and other issues, despite a return trip for tweaks. But I think that's more a reflection of the inconsistent quality of the 8BitDomain video board for the 7800 more so than his services.
I'd recommend him as an option for consideration, especially for those of you located in Canada.
chrisbid
10-01-2009, 08:42 AM
OldSchoolGamer is another and has posted around here before. His business url is www.oldschoolgamer.ca
He modded a Atari 7800 for me with a 8BitDomain s-video board. Construction and installation quality was high, it seemed sturdy enough and the composite and s-video jacks looked like they were factory installed. His customer service and speed were also good.
Sadly, it never worked quite to my level of satisfaction with color bleeding and other issues, despite a return trip for tweaks. But I think that's more a reflection of the inconsistent quality of the 8BitDomain video board for the 7800 more so than his services.
I'd recommend him as an option for consideration, especially for those of you located in Canada.
i dont think they offer modding services anymore. 8-bit domain no longer produces boards either
weirdguy
10-01-2009, 05:14 PM
The 7800 issue you are talking about seems to be the normality. I had the same issue with mine when I did the mod myself.
I also had brightness issues.
Leo_A
10-02-2009, 01:47 AM
A friend of mine had it done at OSG around the same time, and also had to send it back due to similar undesirable issues right around the same time I did. His returned with the problems ironed out.
So some have had it work better than others. Sadly, I guess it couldn't be tweaked to solve the problems I had. Perhaps it was the video board, or maybe it was affected by what revision the 7800 was (It evolved quite a bit during its production run).
With the poor results I've read of orders taking months to be delivered and poor customer service, perhaps 8BitDomain leaving the marketplace was for the best. His skills seemed best with the technical side of things, though I have no experience with him personally besides having systems modded with his products through other sources.
Another good source for at least 2600 mods is Longhorn Engineer over at AtariAge. His 2600 video mod works beautifully and his customer service and installation went well. I believe he has 5200 and 7800 mods on the horizon which I'd like to get installed. I don't think anyone can go wrong utilizing his services.
http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/126434-atari-av-mod-update/