Composite modding another Atari

Sears Tele-Games Pinball Breakaway is a rebadged version of Atari’s Video Pinball (the home version), whose chip was also used in one of the variants of Epoch’s TV Block.

The RF modulator really needs an update for modern use, though.

As a refresher, the Pinball Breakaway is a woodgrain masterpiece powered by a single game-on-a-chip. As far as I know nobody has decapped it to confirm, but given its 1978 release it’s likely a microcontroller running an internal ROM of some sort. But that’s all locked in a chip, which is locked in a silver box.

We won’t bother with that because the RF modulator is out of the box. And the Pinball Breakaway is seemingly built for repairability; all the buttons not mounted to the PCB, the speaker, and the spinner all use detachable and color-coded connectors inside. Even the RF cable is internally detachable. The 1970’s really were a different world.

See what nicole.express traces to clean up the signal in the post here.


Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!

Join us every Wednesday night at 8pm ET for Ask an Engineer!

Join over 38,000+ makers on Adafruit’s Discord channels and be part of the community! http://adafru.it/discord

CircuitPython – The easiest way to program microcontrollers – CircuitPython.org


New Products – Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers! — New Products 11/15/2024 Featuring Adafruit bq25185 USB / DC / Solar Charger with 3.3V Buck Board! (Video)

Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: A New Arduino MicroPython Package Manager, How-Tos and Much More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi

EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey

Adafruit IoT Monthly — The 2024 Recap Issue!

Maker Business – Adafruit Daily — Apple to build another chip at TSMC Arizona

Electronics – Adafruit Daily — SMT Tip – Stop moving around!

Get the only spam-free daily newsletter about wearables, running a "maker business", electronic tips and more! Subscribe at AdafruitDaily.com !


No Comments

No comments yet.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.