I made some modifications to the case for A. Ottaviani PiRTO-II cartridge.

I modified the case redesigned by Eskimo, which is essentially a MIX with some improvements to the A. Ottaviani case.

Not satisfied, i created another MIX by modifying the following:

• Removed the tab just below the female USB-C connector. I had already made this modification previously because all the USB-C cables i have available don’t fit; they hit the tab.
• Plugged the LED hole, which i find absolutely HORRIBLE. Since the LED is on the PCB and not flush with the case, it would need to be placed with a piece of fiber optic fiber the same diameter as the hole, which i will never do. Also, the LED is clearly visible if you use a colored filament from the case with a 50% fill.
• A hole for upgrading the firmware without opening the case. Remember that self-tapping screws on the PLA have a short lifespan. 
• MENU button hole was enlarged to include a cover, which makes the whole thing nice.

Download: PiRTO-II Xad Remixed STL Cartridge Case (33)

source: github.com/aotta/PiRTOII

I tried for the first time this circuit to mod the Atari 2600 to have a Composite video output and S-Video instead of RF.

I must say that this modification really amazed me, and i’ve made several others, all very similar for the Atari 2600.

The signal is clean (crystal clear) with both outputs (composite or S-Video), and installation is very simple.

Just place the PCB on the TIA pins (solder side) and solder; no need to remove anything.

I made two different modifications: one with only composite video and the other one with S-Video output as well.

For the version with the composite video output, i always used the same system of installing a 3.5mm female jack in the antenna connector hole (requires removal of the RCA RF plug), everything perfectly secured with a 3D-printed adapter.

For the version with Composite video and SVIDEO output, i used a female mini-DIN, the same one found on the SEGA SATURN.
I soldered the connector’s metal casing to the ground of the RCA RF connector after removing it and also isolated a trace of the RF signal PCB (center RCA pin) that made contact with the metal casing by removing a resistor.

The cable used is the same as the SEGA SATURN; it has dual outputs: RCA AUDIO, RCA COMPOSITE VIDEO, and SVIDEO. I had to cut a strip of about 0.5mm from the plastic casing of the mini-DIN connector to make it fit perfectly in the antenna hole of the Atari 2600 JR.

Gallery with only Composite Video Output:

Gallery with both Composite and Svideo Video Output:

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source: https://retrosix.co.uk/Atari-2600-CleanComp-Composite-Video-Out-p537997297

3D printing and replacement of the pulverized gears on the Philips NMS-1515 (D6450) cassette deck.

I decided to print the gears because are available for download on the Thingiverse website.

I modified the hole diameter which was too narrow and added a fastening system for the two fast-forward gears to avoid using supports during 3D printing.

The fastening system is nothing more than a washer of the right thickness and hole diameter that must be pressed firmly into the pin protruding from the gear until it fits.

The final result is good and works, but the gears are quite noisy; it’s still a homemade print and has nothing to do with the original Teflon or Nylon gears.

Some information about 3D printing settings:

• Printer Used: Bambulab A1 Mini
• Filament: ESUN PLA+
• Color: Orange
• Sparse infill density gears: 50%
• Sparse infill density washer: 90%
• Skirt Loops: 3
• Layer Height: 0.1mm
• Nozzle Diameter: 0.4mm
• Preset: 0.16mm HQ

Gallery:

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Download: Philips NMS-1515 (D6450) Gears STL (28)

I received the Atari 2600 “Dark Vader” version for repair.

The problem was a black screen and since it had happened several times before i was sure the 6504 CPU was dead but in this case is the TIA dead.

I also made a composite video mod by removing the RF modulator and a couple of components. I used a 3.5mm female jack as the audio/video output, which is less invasive than two female RCA.

Gallery:

I modified the original Atari design to have all the components needed for printing on a single plate, having a multicolor printer, it seemed absurd to print all the components separately and then glue or fit them together.
 
I made the two Texas Instruments TI-99/4A and MOS 6581 lightboxes myself.

Below you will find the downloadable archive containing all the lightboxes.

Gallery:

Download: Atari - Commodore - TI99/4A - MOS 6581 LightBox (202)

Atari Logo Lightbox : https://www.printables.com/model/916994-atari-logo-lightbox-led-lamp
Commodore Logo Lightbox: https://www.printables.com/model/633750-commodore-logo-lightbox

This repair was commissioned by a long-time contact of mine; it involves the now rare M82 Kiosk System PAL version from Nintendo.

The Nintendo Entertainment System model no. M82 (NES M82), also known as simply the M82 was an in-store demo unit of the Nintendo Entertainment System capable of holding 12 cartridges at once.

The unit allowed players to test new NES games, with a limit on gameplay time, before making a purchase. The unit came with a theme song by Hirokazu Tanaka, known as the “Glorious March” theme in the Lost Tapes album. 

The unit contained up to 12 pre-selected cartridges and allowed players to select between them using the red button on the front centre. A play time limit of 30 seconds, 3, 6 or 128 minutes would be set by a selector on the rear of the unit, after which the system would reset.

Defect:

• Exploded RIFA filter capacitors.
• No audio.
• Crackling audio.
• Dirty.

Component Replacement:

• 2 x RIFA filter capacitors.
• 3 x Electrolytic capacitors (Audio Section – Video Modulator).
• 3 x Ceramic capacitors (Audio Section – M82 Motherboard).
• 1 x Electrolytic capacitor (Audio Section – M82 Motherboard).
• 1 x Texas Instruments SN74HCU04N IC (Audio Section – M82 Motherboard).

General cleaning:

• Internal and external case.
• Pad.
• Front plexiglass.
• Wiring.
• Motherboard.
• Front panel.

The original power supply SPL50-3200 of Power-One Inc does not suffer of leaky or damaged capacitors; the output voltage is stable and free of significant ripple.

My advice, rather than replacing all the capacitors is to replace the original power supply with a more modern one that supplies the only voltage used by the M82, 5V with the appropriate amperage.

Below the gallery you will find dumps of the two EPROMs of the Nintendo M82 Kiosk System in the PAL version.

Gallery:

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Video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ChXUud06rCs

Download:

• Nintendo ROM M82 V1.0 (PAL) PRG - CHR (267)
• Nintendo NES Schematics & SPL50-3200 PSU INFO Pinout (274)

Another Commodore A3640 Gal upgrade to 3.2

Works that have been done:

• Upgrading GAL (U204 & U209)

Gallery of the work done:

Download GAL files from here: https://www.amigawiki.org/doku.php?id=de:parts:pld_download

Atari 2600 JR PAL Composite Video Mod for my friend Charlie.

As you can see from the photos i used the RF output hole by removing the female connector and printing with the a 3D printer an adapter that fits perfectly where inside there is a 3.5mm JACK for the composite VIDEO and AUDIO output.

The cable that starts from the female JACK is completely shielded up to the PCB of the Composite Video mod.

Gallery of the work done:

Consoles Modding: XStation,GDemu,DreamPSU,PS1PSU,Battery,Case,Joypad

I wanted to share with you some photos of the modding work i made on these two consoles.

Sony PSX #1:

• Console Sony PSX PAL SCPH-1002 PU8 Late.
• XStation.
• PS1PSU.

Sony PSX #2:

• Console Sony PSX PAL SCPH-1002 PU8 Early.
• XStation.

Sega Dreamcast #1:

• Console Sega Dreamcast PAL VA1
• Original GDemu.
• DreamPSU.
• Battery Holder.
• ML2032 Battery.
• Black Case.
• Black Joypad Cable.
• Black Joypad (Painted)

Sega Dreamcast #2:

• Console Sega Dreamcast PAL VA1
• Clone GDemu.
• DreamPSU.
• Battery Holder.
• ML2032 Battery.

Both consoles with 3D Printed SD Card Adapter.

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I wanted to try the 1:1 clone of the RGB mod (NESRGB v2.0) of the authentic Australian kit for the Nintendo NES, this clone differs from the LAVA RGB for a simple reason, this clone is perfectly identical to the original, therefore also compatible with Nintendo NES PAL by Mattel as well as NTSC.

Almost perfect clone if it were not for some obscure reason instead of using the low profile male header strip with good quality round pins they used the square ones, therefore the problems that arise are the following:

• The socket that must be used must be one of the classic ones with slats that as we know very well ‘tear’ if you insert a male header strip with pins that are too thick, therefore it must be pressed very well and hopefully you will never have to remove the modification again.
• The pins of the male header strip on the PCB side are too long, so when you insert it into its socket and try to close everything, IT DOESN’T CLOSE! because the RGB mod hits the case, what to do? cut all the pins to the right height and above all all of the same height to ensure that the male header strip can fit flush into the socket.
• The socket for the PPU seems to be of good quality but it isn’t, they are super cheap rounded precision sockets, if you insert the PPU and then for some reason you have to remove it 99% of the time it will take some of the socket’s bushings with it, so even in this case don’t experiment and go for sure.
• The metal part on the PCB side can no longer be assembled because it hits the video output connector of the NESRGB, the solution would have been to solder the wires directly on the PCB and put away the connector, absolutely no!

I soldered all the signals on an 8-pin MINI DIN and not with the one supplied as standard with the KIT. The mini din is placed with a ring that i printed with the 3D Printer.

Signals available on the MINI DIN:

• R G B
• SYNC Y (LUMINANCE)
• COMPOSITE VIDEO
• AUDIO
• +5V FAST BLANKING SCART
• CHROMINANCE
• GROUND

As i was advised by several sources, the SYNC signal for the RGB was not taken from the COMPOSITE VIDEO which carries more information
than could be needed with a substantial loss of Video quality but directly from the LUMINANCE (Y) signal of the SVIDEO signal.

I soldered the PALETTE switch directly on the modulator, you can change three different palettes (Natural, Improved, Garish) from the RF CHANNEL change slot (looking at the photos you can understand better)

The image quality is absolutely incredible, unfortunately the photos do not do it justice, tested with SONY CRT monitors and with OSSC on HDMI IPS LCD monitors.

Gallery:

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Source:

Authentic Australian kit: https://etim.net.au/shop/shop.php?crn=203
Clone kit: https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005008691701911.html

This RGB mod by Yannick Erb was made to work with three different consoles:

• VideoPac including BG Color Fix
• Intellivision only model with LM1886N
• Atari 2600

I wanted to try this RGB mod even though i am the man who created the ZOE RGB way back in 2013 for Intellivision but on my Intellivision i still had the rough prototype of the mod installed and since i no longer time to assemble a new ZOE RGB interface for Intellivision i have decided to try this one by Yannick which is basically identical to my interface.

I configured the RGB mod to work with Intellivision, there are some jumpers to configure, everything worked at first try the image is clear and stable thanks also to a small trick that this mod includes, a capacitor on the SYNC line that makes the image more stable in some situations.

I also took advantage of completely removing the RF modulator (absolutely useless) and in the hole of the antenna plug i fixed a DIN connector for the RGB / Audio output and SCART Switching, i also replaced the flat of the power cable of the intellivision motherboard because it had completely disintegrated.

Below you will find the usual photo gallery and the download of the GERBER + the files needed to assemble the PCB by JLCPCB.

Gallery:

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This is the right way for the Scart Switching with source of 12v.

Download: GERBER + Files needed to assemble the PCB by JLCPCB (557)

Project Homepage: https://oshwlab.com/yannick.erb/Intellivision-Secam-to-RGB_copy

I received this console to made a repair and a video chip upgrade.

The repair:

The failure appeared as a malfunction of the Joystick inserted in port #1 of the console. This problem is absolutely not new to this console.

The failure is due to the 74LS541 IC which, in addition to being uncommon (it is rarely used), is very sensitive to electrostatic electricity, consequently if you try to connect the joystick with the console turned on, the probability that it will fail is very high.

I preferred to replace with a socket for both IC, one for each joystick port, because the probability of a future failure remains very high.

Video Chip Upgrade:

I would like to point out that this CBS ColecoVision model does not have native RGB video output but only RF.

It was possible to do the Composite Video mod but since in recent months the good Troy Schrapel has released on github the Pico9918 project that completely replaces the TMS9918A video chip and the Video RAM with a very low cost i decided to do the replacement.

This Video Chip are used in many consoles and computers including the CBS ColecoVision.

The Pico9918 can be configured using a different firmware to output in VGA or via SCART RGB.

I obviously chose the RGB SCART output, the installation is quite simple, you have to unsolder the TMS9918A, insert a socket and at this point you can insert the pre-programmed Pico9918 and connect the R-G-B-GND-SYNC (H/V) signals, optional you can completely remove the PCB with the RF modulator.

The wires that you see soldered directly on the ColecoVision motherboard are for the AUDIO output (purple wire) and for the 5v (orange wire) the 5v are for the RGB switching of the TV.

The connections inside the scart connector are as follows: the 5v go to pin 8 and then via a 150ohm resistor to pin 16.

Also as you can always see from the photos i put some adhesive tape on the metal cover at the height of the Pico9918, i did it only for my personal paranoia, the metal does not touch the Pico9918 but better to be safe :-D

Gallery of the repair and upgrade:

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source: github.com/visrealm/pico9918

I installed the ZOE RGB rev 2.0 interface for a friend, this interface allows you to view the images with an RGB output signal with a much better quality instead of the only output supplied as standard which is RF.

This interface was purchased by me many years ago and was the last batch of the ZOE RGB rev v2.0 that i had assembled.

After several years i can confirm that the image quality is perfect and clear.

Gallery:

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Unfortunately, as often happens, the mechanics of the ATARI XC11 cassette recorder also suffer from old age problems. The cap/block of the belt drive pulley broke and consequently, being under pressure with a spring, it popped off.

I fixed the cap on the small plastic pin of the pulley with cyanoacrylate glue, it could work forever or only for a short time, only time will tell.

Gallery of the repair:

I wanted to upgrade another Philips Videopac G7000 console and adding everything i wanted to do many years ago when i only added the RGB output instead of the RF one.

While i was doing the work of modifying the console i realized that something was wrong with the games and the RGB output, some games were missing the background color or the color was faded, other times the colors are wrong, but this defect was not present with all games and therefore it was not a wiring problem (colors are not swapped likes a problem with the R-G-B wiring).

I had never realized it and probably other people have never realized it either, because it does not happen with all the games but thanks to the Flash Multicart by Andrea Ottaviani i was able to try all the software released for the G7000 and confirm that something was not working correctly.

The problem is due to the type of RGB mod, i had taken the one from the gamesx.com site as good, that is the one that has been available from about fifteen years and that almost everyone has installed but there is another mod that is completely different and above all uses a particular pin of the Intel 8048 CPU (pin 39 [T1]).

Hesitantly i wanted to try this modification and it is actually all true, it works, now the RGB mod is perfect as for the Videopac G7200 (native with RGB output) and G7400 (Native RGB by adding the components that are missing on the PCB)

Later i discovered that this RGB mod was not born like this by chance, the scheme was designed taking inspiration from the original schematic of the G7200/G7400 where this particular CPU pin is used.

Below is the list of all the modifications and enhancements that have been made:

• RGB Mod 100% Working with a extra pin from CPU (No more missing background or colors via RGB on G7000)
• External RGB DIN Hirschmann Connector.
• Power external Switch with Power-On Light.
• Power external Connector.
• Two Joystick D-SUB external Connector.
• Replaced the original PSU with a Mean Well EPS-15-5.
• RF modulator removed.
• Simple Composite Video signal amplification circuit.
• Separate composite Video and Audio output via external RCA connectors.

Gallery of the work done:

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…and now some links:

https://forum.system-cfg.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=10673
https://gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=av:g7000_av
https://darius-saturn.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8342
https://www.pimparts.fr