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Thread: Project: Atari 2600 Pico Machine!

  1. #1
    Anodized
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    Default Project: Atari 2600 Pico Machine! (Update 19/06)

    Hey guys!

    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 Thanks Anakha, I appreciate it so much!

    Here's the Atari he sent me:















    The Back:





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









    The controllers:





    Some GAMES!!!





    Space Invaders!





    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.











    I've been lucky enough to be sponsored by another company too. A great bunch over at Logic Supply. 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. They also sent me a power brick.

    Here's the RAM:





    The HDD:





    The PSU:







    Everything!





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






    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

    I've got more updates on the way

  2. #2
    Overclocked StormRider's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Atari 2600 Pico Machine!

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

  3. #3
    ATX Mental Case Couch3ater's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Atari 2600 Pico Machine!

    Mmmm, Rubik's Cube. I now have a desire to go cube. >_<; Thanks, hahaha
    "Don't imitate the world; Create your own."

  4. #4
    Measure once, curse twice nevermind1534's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Atari 2600 Pico Machine!

    Are you doing anything with the Atari's internals?
    Help my mini city
    Population Industry Transport Security
    Quote Originally Posted by progbuddy View Post
    It's probably the extreme radiation from the nuclear core in your phone. Push the control rod all the way in.
    Quote Originally Posted by UrbanLegend_NY View Post
    I'm not selling it in hell I'm selling it on eBay.

  5. #5
    Administrator OvRiDe's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Atari 2600 Pico Machine!

    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.

  6. #6
    Religiously tolerant. Luke122's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Atari 2600 Pico Machine!

    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!

    \m/ d(-_-)b \m/

    R9 290X+Kraken+Corsair H90, Xeon 5649@4ghz, Asus P6T-WS Pro

  7. #7
    Will YOU be ready when the zombies rise? x88x's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Atari 2600 Pico Machine!

    Nice. Congrats on the sponsors! For bonus points, will the Atari still function?
    That we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.
    --Benjamin Franklin
    TBCS 5TB Club :: coilgun :: bench PSU :: mightyMite :: Zeus :: E15 Magna EV

  8. #8
    Modding 4 life Frenkie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Atari 2600 Pico Machine!

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

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

  9. #9
    Anodized
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    Default Re: Project: Atari 2600 Pico Machine!

    Quote Originally Posted by nevermind1534 View Post
    Are you doing anything with the Atari's internals?
    Yeah, probably throwing them away. The console doesn't work anymore


    Quote Originally Posted by OvRiDe View Post
    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!

    Quote Originally Posted by x88x View Post
    Nice. Congrats on the sponsors! For bonus points, will the Atari still function?
    Thanks man! Unfortunately not. The Atari is already dead


    Quote Originally Posted by Frenkie View Post
    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

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













    The switch PCB:







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









    Open:







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







    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:







    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!
    I own a Dremel or two.
    DAEJAVOO.com

  10. #10
    Will YOU be ready when the zombies rise? x88x's Avatar
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    Default Re: Project: Atari 2600 Pico Machine!

    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?
    That we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.
    --Benjamin Franklin
    TBCS 5TB Club :: coilgun :: bench PSU :: mightyMite :: Zeus :: E15 Magna EV

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