UAV install into an Atari 2600 - And how Atari screwed up

[@NaokisRC]

I am seeing that some people are saying that Ataris never used real wood or veneer. Im happy to admit I made a mistake if that is the case, but I just want to acknowledge that this has been said. Thank you all for watching 😊

[@jefferybarnett1849]

I still have my vintage Atari 2600 and a slew of games. I'm looking forward to hooking it up and playing it again. I have many good memories. Thanks for the video. Good job.

[@fictionalmediabully9830]

I'm hoping to get an Atari 2600 at some point, and this video was helpful. So many classic, fun games.

[@ctrlaltrees]

Great job - and thanks for the shoutout too! I've just added a pinned comment linking to this video as it's a bit more concise than mine and of course, covers the PAL version which mine doesn't.

[@NozomuYume]

It's not that composite and y/c (later "s-video") inputs didn't exist back then, it's just that they weren't normally on consumer televisions. They were common on computer monitors and PVMs at the time. Y/C inputs existed long before SVHS, it's just that it was carried on two RCA or BNC connectors instead of the mini-DIN plug that SVHS standardized.

[@NaokisRC]

True, perhaps i should have added that context of "in the consumer space". I mean if you had a TV you likely only had an RF input. I know there were CCTV monitors and computer monitors with composite input, although I've not seen Y/C inputs used before the C64 used them

[@NozomuYume]

@@NaokisRC As far as early home computers go, the 1979 Atari 8-bit 400/800 computers supported Y/C

[@oldguy9051]

Thanks for showing this interesting product and kudos for the "detective work"! Two slight corrections as you seem interested in the hardware (not every "console KZbinr" is): - The board was copyrighted 1978 but not necessarily made in that year as all the big ICs are dated mid-1981. It's very unlikely that Atari kept stock for three years. - The narration doesn't fit when you point at the CPU and RIOT. The 6507 CPU is the 28-pin IC and the 6532 RIOT is the 40-pin next to the cartridge slot. They got rid of the upper address lines of the CPU to get exactly that: A shorter (=cheaper) IC package. You call the motherboard a very simple and elegant design. That's true but it's also a very cost-conscious design. ;-) They cut costs wherever they could as not only RAM was very expensive back then (which you explained very well) but there wasn't really a large market for "expensive" game consoles before the VCS launched. This is one of the reasons the VCS is so important for video gaming.

[@NaokisRC]

Ah thank you for the corrections, you are of course correct! I knew about date codes but completely forgot to look

[@HeroJournalism]

Great stuff, glad to find a good retro channel when they're small, just subbed

[@NaokisRC]

Thank you so much!

[@HeroJournalism]

@@NaokisRC - you are welcome,gl with the channel, I think you'll do great. While I don't deal with the tech nearly as much as you, I did do a video you might find interesting on all the Atari clone consoles, including competitors that stole the TIA chip to make hardware that played Atari games. Keep up the good work!

[@intel386DX]

1:23 there is no model with a real wood or even veneer !

[@WhatHoSnorkers]

Fantastic work! Soldering and making it better!

[@bobbus_74]

Great video, very concise. Hopefully I'll have a UAV in my Atari one day. 😁

[@ncot_tech]

Imagine the design review meeting when they realised the board had no power going to that chip. I bet there was a certain amount of "huh, well it still works... err... OK then, let's leave it alone!"

[@NaokisRC]

See it does work so that might have been the case. Its just at power up it doesnt go to to 5v because its got next to no current and the RIOT sees the button as pressed.

[@d.vaughn8990]

You may be right - but I don’t know… If something was missing, it was (probably) done on purpose. From what I’ve frequently read, Atari engineers were always exploring ways to cost reduce the system. Very interesting though!

[@burtreynolds2969]

Early Ataris' never used real wood.

[@HurrayBanana]

Great video and fix mate

[@district5198]

Atari could still be on top, even to this day. Atari’s biggest mistake is ignoring their fan base and their suggestions to improve their systems. Example Atari VCS great design. But should OS should have been Android and have cartridge slot like new Atari+., and they priced Atari VCS way too high. So much potential yet those who run Atari ignore those who want it yo succeed.

[@NaokisRC]

I am assuming you are talking about the 2600+ as there is no OS on these consoles. There was only the game program on the 2600, the game code controlled the console directly. Plus the cartridge slot is this way because it was the first Atari home gaming console. The 7800 came much later.

[@district5198]

@@NaokisRC I was saying Atari VCS should have had an android OS. Would have made much more sense to use it as a streaming platform, video/games etc. Like an Nvidia Shield Pro only Atari hence the slots for a nostalgic but usable touch.

[@NaokisRC]

Ah you meant the PC based modern one. Sorry I had briefly forgotten about that one, if Im not mistaken you can install your own OS on that and there is a port of Android for x86 but it would have been nice to have Android I agree.

[@district5198]

@@NaokisRC Atari has always had great potential. It is numbing to watch those at the top ignore the obvious. Personally I believe a collaboration with Nvidia for a true dedicated gaming console is long overdue such as with the Atari VCS second generation.

[@itsanarse]

Maybe just get some rubber matting or a bicycle inner tube to cut into circles for those dust covers? Pro video my dude

[@NaokisRC]

I have a feeling Hobby Craft do an exact thing. Need to look into it

[@bobbus_74]

@@NaokisRC I got a sheet of black foam about 2mm thick from Hobby Craft. Cut it into shape and it's as snug as a bug.

[@fuall6993]

I remember playing that tank battle game in 1989 😄😄 then got a Nintendo

[@CoolDudeClem]

I'm surprised at how little there is in one of these. I'm sure I remember taking our old 2600 apart as a kid and seeing much more in there.

[@NaokisRC]

You might have had an earlier version (heavy sixer?) But at the heart there was not much more than the 3/4 chips here

[@RetroSix]

The buffer gets its 5V through the ribbon cable going through the top board. It's by design. So your ribbon harness on the 6 switcher is bad

[@NaokisRC]

The console wouldnt work at all if the ribbon was bad.

[@RetroSix]

@@NaokisRC Sorry pin 10 of ribbon, pin 8 of hex buffer

[@NaokisRC]

Pin 8 of the CD4050 is ground, not 5V. In either case, there was an fault with power not being applied from either design oversight or faulty ribbon, which is what i was trying to address.

[@RetroSix]

@@NaokisRC pin 8 is VSS which is ground, you can also test that with multimeter or datasheet. You can also see your issue was pin 8 goes through ribbon pin 10 back to ground and that was all that was missing

[@intel386DX]

Fantastic video thoe! I love non destructive MODs. I already AV moded my JR systems , and planing to do the same with my VCS . Unfortunately for the 4 switch model it is no possible without CD4050. BTW I moded my secam VCS to output RGB via SCART :)

[@NaokisRC]

Thank you and good luck with the 4 switch model!

[@intel386DX]

@@NaokisRC I will not attempt again with 4 switch model , a already destroyed one years ago :(

[@GarryGri]

The ATARI 2600 is almost old enough to be an official Vintage object and you just made a hole in the case, that it not "reversible" 😉

[@NaokisRC]

I think you will find I didn’t drill or make any hole in the case that wasn’t already there from Atari, lol

[@markaffleck8384]

Hi Great video. I have a couple of questions that I can't get my head round. The manual shows a pin being bent up on the TIA and also the removal of a pin on the UAV board. Plus there is no mention of a low voltage (3.2 volts) to the 4050 chip, and thus ta nthe UAV board. Your video does not mention any of this, or any of the other videos that I have seen. Is the manual correct? Hope You can shed some light on these queries. Regards Mark Affleck

[@NaokisRC]

If you have only 3v to the CD4021 then you have the same problem that my unit did. Around 11:04 I explain the hardware fault. Also on a PAL unit there's no need to lift any pins, only on some NTSC models

[@StudioKergaAnimation]

hello, great video ! Where did you take the audio on the board ? Don't need the Internal Audio Board sold bu TBA ?

[@NaokisRC]

I can't comment for all versions of 2600 but this one is almost directly from the TIA. The only components between the TIA and the RF modulator (which joins the audio and video into the one cable) is some filtering components.

[@intel386DX]

How it is even possible to CD4050 to work without VCC and GND?

[@NaokisRC]

Probably from any ESD diodes in the chip on the other input pins.

[@GiuseppeGaetanoSabatelli]

Mine's NTSC, but I grabbed a high quality coaxial cable plus a set of Coax-BNC, BNC-RCA adapters from RadioShack, and have had no signal issues on my Magnavox. Crystal clear RF signal.

[@NaokisRC]

Fair enough. Some people it works fine for. The UAV is designed for more modern equipment anyway

[@intel386DX]

How on earth the CD4050 even work without VCC and GND?

[@NaokisRC]

Electricity will always follow the path of least resistance, but also if you send 5v into the device’s inputs, any components or internal resistors etc will leak current to the power rails. It causes undefined behaviour

[@intel386DX]

@NaokisRC I moded my Atari for composite only by adding some resistors to the CD4050 and one cap. And discovered that the GND of the 4050 is OK , only the voltage is around 3.6V so I added only one conductor from nearest 5V pont to that IC . So if you do not add proper 5V the results are simsiler to yours , jumping unstable dark picture , and normal RF functionality. But when you add those 5V the picture form composite become normal and stable , but the RF become much brighter. So I will try a resistor for the RF cable to see if it will darken it. My approach is to not remove any part from the system, only add , just like you :) the only problem is the jail bars , but this is issue with the NTSC TIA , the PAL is jail bars free :)

[@8bitsinthebasement]

Excellent video, Pal Atari sure beats the Secam, but if the game is good...

[@NaokisRC]

As a brit I will take any opportunity to say we got it better than the French :D And thank you for the sub!

[@luissanchez5057]

We are in the 20th 2022 cenchary not in the 2122

[@NaokisRC]

I am not sure I agree with you