Hobbyist or repairer
Atari 2600 X2 – Let's repair two Atari 2600s and do a composite video mod.
A Light Six and a 4-switch Woody Atari 2600 are cleaned and tested, with an RF fix on the Light Six and a composite video mod to finish.
Topic
video output
46 videos.
No picture, a rolling picture or odd colours on an old machine can come from the video circuit, the cable or the screen, so rule out the last two first. A different lead or a second display tells you a lot before any cover comes off.
Some jobs on this page are faults. Jan Beta follows a C64 that shows random colours through its voltages, the power switch and the VIC-II. Retro ER looks at a boxed Atari 2600 with a distorted picture. Others are upgrades that replace weak RF output, such as an RGB and power change for a Master System II. Arcade Laboratory's composite signal talk assumes an oscilloscope.
A video mod means a hot iron, fumes in the room and lead in old solder. Opening a tube set means a tube and flyback that hold a high voltage charge, a tube that can implode if knocked or cracked, and mains inside, so cover your eyes and never pick it up by the neck.
Hobbyist or repairer
I Bought a BOXED Atari 2600. The Picture Was a Disaster.
A boxed early UK Atari 2600 Light Sixer, distributed by Ingersoll, arrives with a picture the maker calls a disaster, and the work sets out to put it right.
Hobbyist or repairer
Upgrading Sony's Grail CRT -The KV-27FV310 RGB Mod
RGB input is added to a Sony KV-27FV310 NTSC Trinitron to lift its picture quality, and the maker lists the soldering irons used.
Hobbyist or repairer
C64 ASSY 250407 shows random Colors on Startup
A C64 ASSY 250407 showing random colours at startup is worked through by Jan Beta, who checks the voltages, a suspect power switch and the VIC-II in turn.
Hobbyist or repairer
Atari Video Music - power supply and simple composite mods
Atari Video Music is checked outward from its power supply. Timestamps run through voltage checks, signs of life, finding composite video and then adding a composite output.
Hobbyist or repairer
This Master System II Mod Fixes What SEGA Got Wrong in 1990
A Master System II gets a complete RGB video upgrade and a power mod, with the maker walking through the full process of each.
Hobbyist or repairer
Preventative Maintenance: Recapping My Sega 32X + video noise fix
Sega 32X capacitors are replaced as preventative maintenance and to deal with video noise, with a Console5 capacitor set, solder braid and heat-resistant tape.
Hobbyist or repairer
Broken ZX Spectrum Restored, Repaired, Modded & Upgraded!
Do all the capacitors in a ZX Spectrum need replacing? The maker also asks whether a membrane keyboard can be repaired, why the machine runs hot and how to connect it to a flat-screen TV.
Hobbyist or repairer
UltraHDMI HW2 HDMI Port Repair
A broken mini HDMI socket on an UltraHDMI HW2 board gets replaced using a hot plate and flux, with the part and tools listed under the video.
Hobbyist or repairer
NES HDMI no-cut mod - LumaCode for the Nintendo Entertainment System
NES owners wanting a digital picture can follow a route that needs no board cuts, using LumaCode with RGBtoHDMI. Links include PPUDigitizer firmware and games that rely on colour emphasis.
Hobbyist or repairer
Sony Trinitron CRT KV G14B1 RGB Mod
Sony Trinitron KV-G14B1 gets an RGB input modification, with the maker working from schematics and showing how to adjust the RGB and sync voltages so the set is not overdriven.
Hobbyist or repairer
Composite Signal Waveform Introduction
A composite video signal is read on an oscilloscope, with the maker explaining blanking periods, colour burst phase and scope triggering, then tracking a bad signal on a Mega Drive 2 video adapter.
Hobbyist or repairer
Fixing my GeForce 2 MX (black screen) - after 20 years!
A GeForce 2 MX owned since 2001 stopped giving any picture, and chip removal practice later made the damage worse. Bits und Bolts tries to fix it twenty years on.
Hobbyist or repairer
Fix common issue of 3dfx Voodoo 3 (black screen)
A Voodoo 3 2000 PCI card with a black screen is revived by Bits und Bolts, who says it may be a very common fault on old video cards.
Hobbyist or repairer
Panasonic FS-A1F MSX2 Home Computer Game Console Repair
A dead Panasonic FS-A1F MSX2 comes back to life as the maker checks V9938 outputs, clock signals and RGB and sync, then replaces the main board capacitors and the hybrid audio and video chip.
Hobbyist or repairer
Simple $7 Product Makes Installing the Pluto GC HDMI Mod Easier
Macho Nacho Productions sets Helder's flex ribbon cable for the Pluto IIx GCVideo kit against plug and play options such as the Carby, asking whether an internal GameCube HDMI mod is still worth fitting.
Hobbyist or repairer
VBIOS Bit Rot? Saving a Pair of Matrox AGP Cards
Two dead Matrox G100 and G200 AGP cards are troubleshot for vBIOS degradation, which the maker links to high failure rates in these series.
Hobbyist or repairer
Repairing the Number Nine Imagine 128 Series II video card
Number Nine's Imagine 128 Series II video card arrived defective, so the maker looks at its unusual hardware layout and attempts to get it working again.
Hobbyist or repairer
Can I Fix This Broken Dragon 32?
Video and display faults on a Dragon 32 are repaired before it is upgraded to 64K of RAM, with a link to the memory mod used.
Hobbyist or repairer
EASY TV-OUT IPS KIT FOR THE DMG! | RIPS V5 IPS
Retro Renew looks at an IPS kit, the RIPS V5, for the original Game Boy DMG. It adds a backlit screen and a video output for an external monitor.
Hobbyist or repairer
Black Screen VIC-20 Repair (And Start Sequence Exploration)
A VIC-20 with a black screen is the starting point, and Noel's Retro Lab works through wrong assumptions before rechecking them and exploring the machine's start sequence.
Hobbyist or repairer
Attempting to Fix a Black Screen Model 1 Sega Mega Drive
Black screen at switch on is all this Model 1 Mega Drive offers, so the maker takes the console apart to look for the reason and attempt a repair.
Hobbyist or repairer
Garbled Screen! Amstrad CPC 464 Video Failure
Why does an Amstrad CPC 464 show a garbled screen? Noel's first suspect, the CRT controller, turns out to be wrong, and the hunt moves through power, the gate array, ROM, Z80 and RAM.
Hobbyist or repairer
HDMI For The Commodore 64 --OR-- Add HDMI To Your Vintage Computers! Part 6
Commodore 64 HDMI output comes from a component board by C0pperdragon feeding an RGBtoHDMI adaptor, after the maker rules out composite and compares other options.
Sells parts or repairs
This NES Is Worth $200 - But It's Broken - Top Loader Repair + Mod
Can a NES-101 top loader that refuses to take a game be brought back? TronicsFix sets out to repair it, with an AV mod for better picture and sound planned once it works.
Hobbyist or repairer
Amiga HDMI with a Raspberry Pi! (RGBtoHDMI)
Jan Beta tries a new method of getting pixel-exact HDMI from an OCS Amiga, using a Raspberry Pi running RGBtoHDMI with an adapter board, and links a follow-up on newer software features.
Hobbyist or repairer
I Restored This Yellowed Junk Nintendo 64 - Retro N64 Console Restoration
No picture, a case yellowed from clear blue and white to green and yellow, and signs of liquid damage greet the maker on this Nintendo 64.
Hobbyist or repairer
TRS-80 Coco 1 Repair and Mod - #SepTandy 2020
Never-opened since new, a TRS-80 Color Computer gets a keyboard repair, a composite video output mod, a motherboard recap and a clean, with chapters for each job.
Hobbyist or repairer
PS1Digital - The Ultimate PlayStation 1 1080p HDMI Mod | MVG
Modern Vintage Gamer looks at PS1Digital, a direct-from-motherboard HDMI mod for the original PlayStation, and says there are points to be aware of first.
Hobbyist or repairer
Colecovision (PAL, EU version) - Retro Gaming Console Repair
Retro Tech Repair sets out to repair the monochrome fault on a PAL Colecovision, the EU version of the console, which gives only black and white output.
Hobbyist or repairer
Troubleshooting a "black screen" C64
A Commodore 64 mainboard (assembly 250407) powers up to a black screen, and the maker troubleshoots it, with links on PLA chips and on how the maker removes chips.
Hobbyist or repairer
Can we fix Sinclair Spectrum +3 design flaws? Drive fix plus Better Sound & Video!
Three faults on a Sinclair ZX Spectrum +3 get attention, namely a dead disk drive, a poor RGB SCART picture and clipped audio, with resistors R42 and R43 swapped for the sound.
Hobbyist or repairer
Atari 7800 AV Composite Mod inside the RF Modulator - Fixing eBay Junk
An Atari 7800 with fuzzy graphics gets a composite AV mod fitted inside its RF modulator case, which avoids drilling new holes in the console.
Hobbyist or repairer
Modding a consumer TV to use RGB input
The 8-Bit Guy modifies a consumer CRT television so that it takes an RGB input, working inside the set itself.
Hobbyist or repairer
Modding a TV for RGB - Part 2
Part two of an RGB input mod for a consumer CRT television continues the work on the set, with a forum thread linked under the video for the mod itself.
Hobbyist or repairer
Atari ST on modern display (HDMI) - The Ultimate Guide
Atari ST HDMI converters are tested in this review, which names the OSSC and warns that the last adapter is no scaler and relies on a TV accepting 15kHz.
Publication or museum
Amiga to VGA | GBS-8220 Review (CGA/EGA/YUV to VGA)
Can an Amiga be used on a modern VGA monitor through a GBS-8220 scaler board? The review looks at taking its 15kHz signal up to the 31kHz that modern monitors accept.
Publication or museum
GBS-8220 - Fixing Noise (Amiga to VGA)
Picture noise from a GBS-8220 upscaler is the problem the maker sets out to cure, continuing from an earlier review of the board with an Amiga.
Sells parts or repairs
NEW MODS FOR THE NINTENDO 64! N64Digital!
Solder bridges, the blobs that can wreck a video mod, get their own removal method as a PixelFX N64Digital kit is fitted to a Nintendo 64.
Hobbyist or repairer
Apple IIc Restoration and video jack repair
The Apple IIc in this episode from the 8-Bit Guy is cleaned up and has its video jack repaired, following on from a computer hunting episode on Rob's channel.
Hobbyist or repairer
Atari ST VGA (Upscaling) via GBS-8220 (Cheap)
The maker's route to a clean colour VGA picture from an Atari ST uses a GBS-8220 scaler board, with a plastic enclosure for the board linked.
Hobbyist or repairer
ZX Spectrum - How to connect to a modern TV, VCR or DVDR
A ZX Spectrum connects to a modern TV, video recorder or DVD recorder only if it has an analogue RF input and allows fine tuning, the video says.
Sells parts or repairs
HDMI Game Boy Mods That You've Never Before Seen! GBA Consolizer
Can a Game Boy Advance run on a television over HDMI? Voultar fits the GBA Consolizer kit, which turns the handheld into a console with an HDMI output.
Hobbyist or repairer
Sega Dreamcast Teardown + VGA Mod + Battery Replacement + LED Mod + Common Faults
Dreamcast common faults come up as the maker takes one apart and rebuilds it, with a VGA socket, a blue LED, a battery replacement and a fix for it powering off.
Sells parts or repairs
Getting the best possible video quality out of the SNES 1CHIP
Voultar sets out how to fit their own video driver board to a SNES 1CHIP console for a cleaner picture, and adds a ghosting fix of their own design.
Sells parts or repairs
Getting Amazing RGB Video from the AV Famicom!
NESRGB, a kit by Tim Worthington, goes into an AV Famicom for RGB video. Most of the time goes on lifting the PPU, which the maker says people find hard.
