A major stumbling block in my quest to build Ataris is the cost of the screens. As far as screens go, there are two choices.

Pocket TV’s have 2.5 to 3 inch screens, which is a good size, but since they can also receive TV signals they have a lot of excess circuitry and that wastes space.

Modular screens usually just have video IN jacks, they can’t receive TV signals off the air. And that’s fine, because all these portables use are composite video signals. But most modular screens don’t come smaller than 4 inch, and a lot of them use 12 volt power. That screen size is too big and 12 volts is more power than a portable can manage.

So if anyone has info on modular type screens that can accept a composite video input and don’t have much excess circuitry, I’d be very grateful if they could drop me a line. Ideal screen size would be from 2.5 to 3 inches diagonal. Ideal power consumption would be 5 volts or less, but as close to 5 as possible. This is part of my effort to bring down the price of Atari portables, and any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

NOTE – Game Boy / Game Gear screens will not work without modifications. I’m looking for info on small television/monitor screens only.

Last week I mentioned something I was working on called ‘Secret Project X’. Now, it is finished:

As you can see, it is another Atari 2600 VCSp. It’s not quite done, another day or two… still needs a few things. This is part of a process I am working on to simplify construction so I can build these things in a short amount of time. Most of the changes are internal, and they help a lot. I came across a new type of material called “Densitec” which is a type of plastic. Naturally, the first thing I thought of was Ataris, so I did some tests. The Densitec can be routed very quickly, almost twice as fast as I was able to rout the case for the original VCSp, and it is much stronger. Also you can see it has a nice ‘texture’ to it, like an Atari. The sample material I had to work with was BLUE, hence the color of this case. I can order this material in BLACK, but since it’s kinda spendy (have to order a certain amount at a time) I want to see how things go first.

By ‘how things go’ I mean the sale of this unit. That’s correct, this unit is FOR SALE. It was built with one thing in mind – to be sold to some lucky Atari enthusiast. It will probably go on eBay in a few weeks. And then, if I find interest to be strong enough, I will order additional material and start building even MORE of them. And then they will be colored black, don’t worry!

This is Phase 1 of a plan that I have for bringing these portables to the masses. I welcome any suggestions or questions you might have, so please email them here.

Now that I have finished my movie, I can get back to the important stuff: ATARI! Some recent developments have led me in a certain direction… For the past week I have been working on SECRET PROJECT X! Not only to give me a break from the Vagabond, but for the betterment of Atari-dom!
I am about 60% through SECRET PROJECT X, and I should know by January 19th-ish if it’s going to work. If it does, it will answer the most frequently asked question I’ve had…