HACKED VECTREX CAN DISPLAY COLOR!!!!!!

in this video i will show you several vectrex games in COLOR!! without using an overlay

[@Tyrfingr]

40 years later "WE'VE GOT COLOR!"

[@AmaroqStarwind]

Turns out there are countless completely different technologies for color CRTs… all with their own strengths and weaknesses. You should check them out. Here are just a few; - Penetration Tube: Uses stacked phosphor layers. - Shadow Mask: We all know this one. Every standard color CRT uses this, as well as Atari’s Quadrascan vector games. - Aperture Grill: Aka Trinitron. - Beam-Index Tube: Uses active feedback to enable far more precise timing of the electron beam, with no aperture grill or shadow mask. Sadly, it seems fundamentally incompatible with vector displays. - Chromatron: The prototype of what would become the Trinitron (it was actually better, except it was a lot harder to build and even more delicate) - Liquid Crystal Color Shutter: Basically used only on JVC’s “LCCS” display. It places a color LCD filter over a monochrome CRT, and changes the colors very quickly. Loosely inspired by the CBS Color Wheel. Also, I suppose that despite being inherently monochrome, Storage Tubes deserve an honorable mention, as they are basically immune to flicker when used for vector graphics, but unfortunately are also glacially slow.

[@stevebabiak6997]

Some shadow mask CRTs had “long persistence” phosphors that would reduce the flickering. But the long persistence blue phosphor wasn’t a true blue, it had a sort of teal color to it.

[@AlanMcClelland]

YOU DID IT! This is absolutely amazing and so cool you covered just about every game on Sean Kelly's previous multicart! And Yeah I hope othesr take a hint from this to take it even further. Yeah love that ending. LOL.

[@ArcadeJason]

lol best ending ever

[@delsarcade]

"So what's going on guys?" is definitely your trademark for your channel. I love it! Thanks for sharing. Awesome work!

[@wizpin]

The bad thing is that the last time i saw a vector monitor around here was about 1993

[@ed150arcade2]

Haha outtro was bad arse! That was like trip'n balls looking at my old Lite Brite! Too cool 🤘

[@Sinn0100]

I am so confused...did they program these games with color in mind? If so, was this a cost cutting measure? Also, where would you get a monitor like this, especially one that fits the proper size? So many questions...I might have to do this...

[@delsarcade]

Jason, that ending was brilliant. LOL.

[@ArcadeJason]

^^^^^^^ everybody check out this guys youtube channel ^^^^^^^

[@delsarcade]

Thanks man! You can always mention it in your videos too :-). I mentioned yours in the next episode for Outrun... LOL

[@ArcadeJason]

WILL DO!!

[@shovelhedded]

Wow, that's really cool. Also, for shoots like this without a moving target perhaps you should tell your camera to switch to manual focus so it doesn't have to hunt.

[@ArcadeJason]

i don't have that option i wish i did

[@WillowFox]

This would be super cool to take like a tempest large monitor, build a display for it and have the vectrex console next to it, run it out and plug it in to the unit, so you can have tournament machine that people at shows could watch while you play on the smaller og unit. I have loved vectrex since it came out, i have one now with all the games i loved, my original 3 were stolen from my storage area in Fitchburg Ma (35 day st, basment storage if you have any idea where they are id reward lol) anyway so yeah this is amazing, i don't have the brain power to make one of those devices, but if it were a pop-in plug n play sorta kit, for use with a color vector display from an arcade machine... i'd totally love that!

[@jaekoff5050]

Now it looks like an Apple II

[@gan9e]

let us know when your pcb is for sale... also what kind of monitor should I use with it for best results ? please advise...

[@phil-hunt]

I might be a bit confused here. Did you hook the Vectrex to a color monitor, or were there some Vectrex systems that had color monitors? The games look awesome in color!

[@ArcadeJason]

Phil Hunt I connected the Vectrex to an external color vector monitor but I do have plans to replace the original monitor with a color

[@phil-hunt]

Thanks for the reply. Awesome project & I'm really impressed with how the games look.

[@EddRay]

Okay dude,just make the !$%@* color vectrex arcade cabinet and stop teasing us.Lol great video I really love the color on patroits.What About fixing a dead board video idea?Keep up the good work.....btw that ending was a little scary hahahahah!

[@ArcadeJason]

thanks Edd i like that ending too lol

[@dongarcia2750]

Wtf!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I wish I would of not sold my two vectrexes... well at least I still have one!!! But how... how is this possible!!!!!!???? I'm geeking out right now..... omg!!

[@ArcadeJason]

LOL

[@dongarcia2750]

Arcade Jason hey brother..... does your boss have a old beat up arcade?? I don't care if it's just the shell it's self... I was trying to find a shell so I can put a screen in it and put a Xarcade stick in it.... after I do that i was going to get a retro pie to plug up n play from that.... man if y'all had one that would be really kool man ..... I'd pay for the shell. I used to have a tmnt arcade but it died on me... so I didn't know how to repair it so I took everything out of it and replaced it w a t.v took the joysticks n buttons out n replaced em w two joysticks that were compatable w ps2 ...so I bought midway arcade classics and capcom classics n played that way. I lot o people said it sucked that the original tmnt broke down but they also said that what I made out of a broken cabinet was really awesome! You couldn't even tell there was a t.v sitting in there... I put a bezel or border around the t.v. anyways brother could you find out if y'all could sell me a arcade shell or broken one? Thank you for your time

[@gregv2821]

I've had a Vectrex since '82. Quite honestly, I prefer the color overlays. The color on these games looks random and willy nilly. It doesn't follow much of a cohesive design. The ship in Minestorm, for example, looks ridiculous. This effect would be much more ... effective ... if the color was managed by a designer.

[@iespostavid]

The stock Vectrex displays color using the Vectrex 3D Imager (and using the overlays of course). :D

[@WhatUpTKHere]

Awesome project! It's amazing how good it looks in color! It would be great if you started locking the camera's focus and other settings during filming - the video is often in and out of focus. The flicker is obviously harder to get rid of but if there's a way around that, it'd be good too...

[@ArcadeJason]

unfortunately i don't have that option on my camera some day i would like to get a better camera

[@WhatUpTKHere]

Arcade Jason ah, shame! Still, amazing content. Keep 'em coming :D

[@ArcadeJason]

thanks buddy hey if you have any suggestions for future vids let me know

[@iespostavid]

I once saw someone who had "rewound" the yolk coils on a color TV and had an arcade vector game displaying on just the blue beam. Was that you? Do you think you will ever have a how-to rewind a 12" or 13" color TV and make a color vector monitor? Last I checked there was a place that sells the same black and white vector monitor in the Vextrex, so there is no need to rewind your own B&W Vextrex vector tube.

[@jonas-fr]

Any idea if there a color CRT which could be fitted into a regular Vectrex?

[@ArcadeJason]

Yes! I am in the middle of doing that myself. The problem is the shortest 9" color crt is so long it will stick out of the back of the vectrex. also it needs a custom yoke and custom hardware to drive the colors.

[@jonas-fr]

Are you using a dedicated vector 9" CRT? I'm considering hacking a regular one: hackaday.io/project/2871-build-an-arcade-xy-vector-monitor

[@fortnag]

Damn. That's awesome. Well done

[@AppleOno]

Wonderful, now someone create an inexpensive RGB laser projector that connects to a computer via USB and drivers to let it be used as a plug n play color vector display for MAME and your own games, using any computer running Linux, Windows or Mac, and sell ‘em for $200 :-) As a bonus include a simple BASIC interpreter or compiler to let people create their own classic vector games and animations for it!

[@mrburns366]

I just found out about this XY board that someone put out for converting a TV into an XY monitor.. Now I HAVE to have one! I had no idea that I could some what "easily" obtain an XY monitor. I thought they used special tubes and chassis made from unobtainium

[@AlanMcClelland]

Proudly sponsored by the oatmeal guy.

[@ArcadeJason]

ha ha ha quaker oats and diabetes

[@AlanMcClelland]

or maybe it's Blair(the thing)...

[@doctorfrankeinsound4284]

Psychedelic custom realy wierd !!! dont need 3D glasses now to play vectrex in colors^^

[@ArcadeJason]

someday ill make a better version but for now its on the back burner

[@brpadington]

Were the games written with color or were the color palettes added?

[@ArcadeJason]

no they were not written with color . in this circuit color is selected by beans of vector position and intensity

[@brpadington]

@@ArcadeJason Thanks for the explanation.

[@Arkeagood]

how do you do it i wanna do it to mine

[@joesmoe71]

Is there a schematic available anywhere?

[@ArcadeJason]

no and i currently took it apart i want to build a better version that would be more programmer friendly and then make some sort of truth table but i will tell you how to do this i ORed all 8 bits leaving 4 lines i then tied the LSB of the 4 with the second most least significant bit i then used the z output as an enable and tied that into 3 AND gates i then connected the three wires from the OR gates to the remaining AND inputs . then i connected each AND output to a pot and then directly to the RGB inputs . the better version of this circuit will include a latch and tap into the chip enable on the vectrex i may use the top 3 bits for RGB and the bottom 5 for intensity . or i may keep this very same circuit and connect my RGB output to the base of 3 transistors and use the z output to power the transistors either way i will have 256 colors instead of 8

[@relicgamer2137]

That ended oh my. Lol.

[@TheArcadeArchive]

That is so cool jason 😎👍

[@vectrexer]

Color Vectrex. LOL.

[@Archimedes75009]

Very clever. Thanks for sharing.

[@kirksmith6791]

Awesome!

[@neophytealpha]

What about vectrex with vector graphics on LCD but using a clone board?

[@Fedeweb]

Jason that’s wonderful!!!!

[@dontquitdreamsarepossible]

Had a vectrex Very cool system.

[@flightofapaullo72]

How freakin cool! 👍

[@Fifury161]

That's a lot of effort - I can see why they went for colour overlays instead!

[@riverdealer]

does the screen flicker when watching it or is that just a video glitch

[@ArcadeJason]

vidoe glitch

[@daddy4kawaii853]

lmao, please use that outro from now on!

[@ArcadeJason]

ha ha

[@bobbyjack8033]

Ending credits lmao....

[@jamesv833]

Awesome work!

[@ArcadeJason]

thanks James

[@guybrush3000]

is that a vector monitor? why do i see pixels?

[@ArcadeJason]

it is a color vector so you are seeing the masking of each color

[@guybrush3000]

@@ArcadeJason that’s interesting, thanks for explaining

[@KATODmusic]

It's really amazing!

[@neophytealpha]

Someone else created a clone of Frogger that looks better than that one.

[@maciejbaranski7382]

YOU CAN ENTER THE REAL GAME FROM THE 70S YOU CAN CONGRATULATIONS

[@mikewhitfield7000]

Dam wish I still had mine

[@ILoveSKH]

Wow!

[@speechmachine]

sweet!

[@yandman26]

Hmmm im not sure . Some of it looks ok.

[@PlasticCogLiquid]

SWWWEEEEEEET!

[@vectrexer]

Wilfred! LOL!

[@AMR-bf8nx]

fucking God of vectorgaming.

[@ArcadeJason]

lol

[@sergiomax1607]

you just use a color tv no ?

[@toughmanrandysavage3077]

This hurt my eyes.

[@classclown1024]

I am S H O O K!

[@ArcadeJason]

lol

[@adaspaker8404]

haha