Using a vintage TV game on a flat screen TV

paulpud

I have an old 1970s Videomaster Superscore TV game which I keep and play with occasionally for a bit nostalgia and which is surprisingly still great fun, but I can only get it to work properly with an old portable TV which I'd now really like to do away with.

I've tried it on several flat screen TVs and get it to work by tuning an analogue channel to 36, but when I press the reset button to start a new game, the TVs all recognise a loss of signal and display a blank screen until I press the appropriate channel button again, by which time the game has already started. I'm assuming that on these early machines the reset button simply interrupts the power supply so the console restarts the game.

Does anyone know of a workaround to this? Is there someway the a signal could be maintained but the TV game reset so that the screen doesn't go blank? I'm handy with a soldering iron if any internal modification can overcome it.

Thanks

Norman_Castle

After a loss of signal what channel is the tv on?. Tune that channel into the console. Does the console have other av outputs.

Owain_Moneysaver

This is a problem with the TV channel sensing.

Looking at Google shows this device was sold as a kit and available with different modules for VHF and UHF television systems. This makes it likely that inside is a modulator and you might be able to remove that and obtain a composite video signal which you could feed into a SCART (or yellow video-in) socket on the TV.

Example of modulator on 1980s computer motherboard:

http://www.wikiwand.com/en/RF_modulator

esuhl

Just a thought, but do you have an old VCR lying around?

I wonder if you tuned the VCR into the video game signal, and plug the VCR into your TV... Presumably when the game resets, the VCR will just send a "blank screen" signal to the TV (rather than no signal at all), so the TV wouldn't reset... would this work round the problem?

paulpud

Being the age it is, the game only has an RF output so it can only connect to the aerial socket. I did have the unit apart once to do a little maintenance on it and there is indeed a modulator in it so I'll have a look into whether it's possible to get a composite signal without it.

The video recorder suggestion I think would work but, alas, I no longer have one and swapping the old portable TV for an old video is a trade my other half probably wouldn't welcome!

Owain_Moneysaver

Alternatively if you can find the power supply connection to the modulator and wire it so it's continuously powered, that might stop the UHF video signal breaking when the reset button is pressed.

Fightsback

Here is something that might help you on the composite side of things however I'd be wary of the circuitry supplying the composite into the RF modulator is up to the job without seeing it:

http://www.madrigaldesign.it/creativemu/gfx/compositemod/um1285-8.pdf

Here is an example mode done on an old ZX speccy, converting from RF to composite:

http://www.retrogamescollector.com/simple-zx-spectrum-composite-mod/

paulpud

Definite food for thought there guys, thanks.

I found a website today dedicated to old TV games such as mine and there was an article about how some consoles had been modified in this way so I shall carry on investigating the possibility.

Ben84

Perhaps I'm assuming it's too easy here, but can't you just put the correct channel in memory and then select it before turning on the console?

Lumstorm

I have tried a seventies game console with a modern TV a couple of years ago. It couldn't hold the signal I think the TV was wandering looking for a stronger signal.

With old TV's you had to turn the knob or a wheel to tune so it stayed where you left it, modern TVs now are self tuning and think they know better.

almillar

Perhaps I'm assuming it's too easy here, but can't you just put the correct channel in memory and then select it before turning on the console?

This isn't the problem I don't think - I assume OP DOES have the channel memorised and locked in. It sounds like the problem is that the super clever TV is protecting our precious eyes from that scary snow and associated noise, when it loses a signal (ie when the console turns off). Lots of TVs and VCRs will maybe show the snow momentarily, recognise it and blank it out. By the time OP's TV notices that there IS a signal again (console restarts) the console is straight into a game, which OP has missed part of.
A very simple and free solution, would be to simply pick up an ancient, free TV!