I would like to know if anyone could conceive of a composite out mod for the Atari Pong. This one would only need a video out because the sound comes from an internal speaker in the console itself.
I am also very interested in a composite out for the Astrocade. I know an Svideo out mod was made years ago, but it seems to be unavailable now. A TV with Svideo inputs is also less available these days.
I know this is an old thread, but now that my last analog TV died I'm interested in trying to mod both an Atari Super Pong and a Magnavox Odyssey 3000 for composite so they will be playable on a modern display.
I've tried analog tuner boxes with VGA output, but the Pong video doesn't sync correctly.
There are some instructions online for modding generic Pong consoles but the chips (and pins) aren't the same as the Atari. I haven't checked the Magnavox chips yet. I might figure it out by following the traces to the RF box and picking up the signals there before they are converted to RF...
I just invested in a higher quality RF setup. I know these systems can be AV composite modded because someone on ebay (from Canada) sells them. I've seen various pong and , specifically, magnovox consoles for sell. I'm running out of room, so I decided to not get them. I figured out a properly shielded RF coaxial cable can give me a "good enough" image for play. I'm also fond of the internal speaker; I really just wanted a video out.
As a temporary solution, today I discovered that our living room video projector works with Super Pong. At least we can play it again
Eventually I'm still going to attempt a composite mod so it will work with other displays in the house. I've read up on mods for the generic non-Atari Pong chips and with some experimentation something similar should be possible with the Atari consoles. There's just a lot of stuff higher on my list to do first...
I just looked at the schematics from atarimuseum you posted a link for.
This thing uses incredibly simple AM modulation coming from components around Q3. You can disable the modulation by simply removing that transistor but then there's no telling what the exact amplitude of the output signal is going to be.
The original video signal comes from pin 18 of the only large chip at the center of the schematic and it is then passed through 2 successive low pass filters (noise removal ?) then mixed with the modulation carrier at the cathode of CR6.
T1 probably acts as a form of bandpass filter to prevent frequencies other than TV channels from passing through.
Your composite signal can probably be found at the connection between R15 and L2 (IF you disable the modulation) but the amplitude may be completely wrong for a monitor. The only way to know for sure is to inspect with a scope.
