Project: Atari 2600 Pico Machine!

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Hey guys! :D

Some of you may or may not remember me. I've been a little quiet in the modding scene for a while, but I'm back in full swing with two projects! The first is this one, which is more of a sideline mod, and the other is a large scale project.

Let's get started, shall we?

A few months ago, a local guy posted a thread about a super old Atari 2600 console that he wanted to get rid of. Of course, I snapped it up, and I'd like to publicly thank him :D Thanks Anakha, I appreciate it so much! :D

Here's the Atari he sent me:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0754.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0757.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0759.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0761.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0763.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0764.jpg



The Back:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0767.jpg



As you can see, the console took a bit of a beating in the post:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0760.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0771.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0770.jpg



The controllers:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0775.jpg



Some GAMES!!!

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0776.jpg



Space Invaders!

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0779.jpg



So, while trying to get my hands on one of VIA's Pico-ITX motherboards a while ago, i received an email from one of VIA's reps offering me one for a project. How lucky is that! VIA offered to send me one of the boards for a mod project.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0781.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0782.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0783.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0797.jpg



I've been lucky enough to be sponsored by another company too. A great bunch over at Logic Supply (http://www.logicsupply.com/). This US based company sells an amazing variety of tiny stuffs like the Pico board that i have here. Check them out ;)

Anyway, Logic hooked me up with a 160GB SATA notebook drive, 1GB of So-DIMM RAM, and a fantastic PSU, designed SPECIFICALLY for this motherboard. The PSU is the Serener 120W DC-DC Power Converter (http://www.logicsupply.com/products/gp_87). They also sent me a power brick.

Here's the RAM:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0784.jpg



The HDD:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0787.jpg



The PSU:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0785.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0786.jpg



Everything!

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0791.jpg



I put it all next to a Rubik's Cube so that you can get an idea of the size:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0793.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0795.jpg


So that's the start. The plan is to mod all of that goodness into the Atari, while preserving the look and feel of the Atari. It should be a whole lot of fun :) There isn't much to this project, it's just a quick small fun project :) I hope you enjoy it :)

btw, sorry for the obscenely shallow DOF in some of the pics. I was still getting used to the new lens on this camera :P

I've got more updates on the way :D

[StormRider]

this is going to be a real small computer. reminds me of the whiskey PC for some reason
I am now watching this mod. ^__^

[Couch3ater]

Mmmm, Rubik's Cube. I now have a desire to go cube. >_<; Thanks, hahaha

[nevermind1534]

Are you doing anything with the Atari's internals?

[OvRiDe]

Its a shame about the damage from shipping .. At first look it appeared to be one of the original heavy sixers, but from the look of the damage, I don't think a heavy sixer could sustain damage like that. Either way.. I love me an Atari mod, looking forward to seeing more.

[Luke122]

Shallow DOF can be fixed by running a higher Fstop. You probably knew that already though. ;)

Atari (and in general, classic console mods) are a real soft spot for me, having grown up as a gamer.

Looking forward to this one!

[x88x]

Nice. Congrats on the sponsors! For bonus points, will the Atari still function?

[Frenkie]

Sorry, but stuffing that hardware in ANYthing isnt really a challenge. sorry man.

But having said that; love the Atari, so do your best.

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Are you doing anything with the Atari's internals?
Yeah, probably throwing them away. The console doesn't work anymore :(



Its a shame about the damage from shipping .. At first look it appeared to be one of the original heavy sixers, but from the look of the damage, I don't think a heavy sixer could sustain damage like that. Either way.. I love me an Atari mod, looking forward to seeing more.
Yeah, I was pretty bummed too, but I bought another one, and this one arrived in one piece! I'll post pics of it later!


Nice. Congrats on the sponsors! For bonus points, will the Atari still function?
Thanks man! Unfortunately not. The Atari is already dead :(



Sorry, but stuffing that hardware in ANYthing isnt really a challenge. sorry man.
Who said this has to be challenging? I don't mod stuff to make my life difficult ;)



Alrighty! Update time! Today the modding will start :D

I opened up the console to see what's going on inside there. Man, it's so big, for so little hardware.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0849.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0851.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0855.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0857.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0856.jpg



The switch PCB:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0861.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0863.jpg



This, I assume, is where the actual processing takes place.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0864.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0865.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0866.jpg



Open:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0871.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0872.jpg



Just for fun, I placed the Pico next to the Atari board:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0877.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0883.jpg



Some fun facts about the hardware differences between the Atari and the Pico.

Processor speed:
Pico: 1Ghz
Atari: 1.19Mhz. Yes, ladies, Mhz.
That makes the Pico's chip 860 times faster (theoretically, of course, if Mhz is the only factor).

Memory:
Pico: This one's packing 1GB.
Atari: 128B. Yes, that's 128 Bytes. The Pico has 8 MILLION times that much RAM.



Anyway, this is where the fun starts:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0884.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/DAE_JA_VOO/Ataripico/DSC_0887.jpg



This console is dead, unfortunately :( Also, as you can see, the console was damaged in the shipping process, but that's okay, I've bought another one. Updates to follow!

[x88x]

Interesting..that looks completely different from the internals of my Atari 2600. Mine is all on a single massive board.

Does the new Atari work?

[Loki]

LOVE retro mods!!
And i love those pico motherboards too...

So, +rep on your work!!