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I was wondering if something like this was possible...  A "clock mod" or "pitch mod" (similar to the popular Gameboy mod) for the Atari 2600

Has anyone tried this?

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Michigan

Ask Paul Slocum what the best frequency would be. Because of the default frequency, bnotes are out of tune. He would know the best frequency to get perfectly tuned notes, as well as the half-speed freq for lower octaves.

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Atari bass is so fat why would you need it?

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Milwaukee, WI
RJL wrote:

I was wondering if something like this was possible...  A "clock mod" or "pitch mod" (similar to the popular Gameboy mod) for the Atari 2600

Has anyone tried this?

How about you try it?

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TSC wrote:
RJL wrote:

I was wondering if something like this was possible...  A "clock mod" or "pitch mod" (similar to the popular Gameboy mod) for the Atari 2600

Has anyone tried this?

How about you try it?


Because I wouldn't know where to even begin,  that's why I came to this lovely forum to ask the "nice folks" who might already have experience doing this sort of thing so I don't either 1,  electrocute myself... Or 2,  destroy my one and only Atari.

Thank you for your ever helpful comment,  though, TSC.

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herr_prof wrote:

Atari bass is so fat why would you need it?


I do not need it,  per se... But the sounds out of Synthcart are so limited,  I just wanted to expand the sonic capabilities of it a little bit,  if possible.

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Milwaukee, WI
RJL wrote:
TSC wrote:

How about you try it?


Because I wouldn't know where to even begin,  that's why I came to this lovely forum to ask the "nice folks" who might already have experience doing this sort of thing so I don't either 1,  electrocute myself... Or 2,  destroy my one and only Atari.

Thank you for your ever helpful comment,  though, TSC.

Do you not build circuit bent gear and sell it? You ought to know at least where to begin seeing as how the word "clock" is in the title of this thread.

If you are worried about the risk of electrocution on a clock mod you should either A) read the schematics, which are readily available online or B) stop building/selling.

But sure, hand-holding = nice folks.

Last edited by TSC (Sep 29, 2014 5:32 pm)

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You know,  most of the chiptune community are nice folks,  and willing to help their fellow chipheads...even if it means "holding their hand".... But there are some,  well,  just 1 ,  I've found so far... Who are just bullies and never have any thing good or productive to say.

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TSC wrote:

If you are worried about the risk of electrocution on a clock mod you should either A) read the schematics, which are readily available online or B) stop building/


Sorry,  TSC,  I make it a habit of not modifying/circuit bending anything that plugs into a wall,  unless I know exactly what I'm doing.  That's pretty much the first rule of circuit bending,  after all.

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Milwaukee, WI

I thought the first rule was reading schematics, but sure, I'm a bully who ruined your life by asking why you don't try to find a clock yourself.

I'm bowing out of this thread. I hope you find Google someday.

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Do you even circuit bend?  Why are you in my thread in the first place?  Of course I Googled it,  there is nothing out there so I asked here,  what is wrong with that?

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And no,  TSC,  you didn't ruin my life,  just my thread...

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New Zealand
TSC wrote:

Do you not sell circuit bend gear and sell it?


Lol

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good luck, i hope you find out whether or not there is an atari 2600 clock mod
i have never heard of such a thing personally but i don't really know much

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Milwaukee, WI
RJL wrote:

Do you even circuit bend?

May I suggest this as the new CM.O word bubble?

RJL wrote:

Why are you in my thread in the first place?

U mad.

Look. Of course I circuit bend when necessary. I won't turn this into a dick size contest with all of the things I've bent over the years, what I do, the commissioned works I've had, etc, but these links were the closest to the specific matter of 2600 clock mods I could find. Yes an 2600 clock mod is possible. I did it almost ten years ago. No LTC. Uphill. In the snow.

http://www.qotile.net/blog/wp/?p=189

http://getlofi.com/bent-atari-and-nes-u … s-on-ebay/

My initial post simply suggested you try it, but you got super defensive. I then questioned why you were selling bent gear if you couldn't use some critical thinking as a 32 year old to Google what DMG clock mods consist of, where the 2600 clock is specifically and piece it together from there. I'm not suggesting an LTC will do the trick (can't remember what I used) but it has worked on DMGs, Famicoms, toys, etc etc.

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Sweden

The TIA chip in the 2600 handles both sound and graphics. Changing its clock frequency would likely break video timing.

A more interesting mod would probably be to remove the filters from the audio output. Then you can really get to those deep bass frequencies.

Jazzmarazz wrote:

Ask Paul Slocum what the best frequency would be. Because of the default frequency, bnotes are out of tune. He would know the best frequency to get perfectly tuned notes, as well as the half-speed freq for lower octaves.

Their relative pitch is way off (for western musical intervals) and is AFAIK based on clock divisions, so while you may find a perfectly tuned single tone, you will never get a consistent 12-tet scale with this method.