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Unsung hero: Magnavox Odysee 2

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NathanAllan

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Jun 1, 2003
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Bellevue, Colorado
There is one of these in my collection, and it doesn't get much use at all. Has anyone ever tried to expand this thing? Not meaning with more "modern" attributes, but things like doubling the ram in the system, adding I/O (it doesn't really have any) or making some other kind of hardware thing for it (like a CD-ROM or networking interface).

It's a computer in my book, though it is mainly viewed as a Game Console.

LINK to pic of the machine I am talking about.

http://picasaweb.google.com/nathan....ComputersAndClassicGaming#5495374539742169762

/edit Asking also at atariage, the more the merrier!
 
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I just got an Odyssey2 and I love it! The only popular accessory for it, besides the games, was "The Voice," a voice synthesizer add-on. Wico also sold a Command Control joystick for the Odyssey2, but those are rare because halfway through the production run, Magnavox changed the Odyssey2 to use hard-wired joysticks, rather than ones that plug in.

This is my video review of the Odyssey2 console and some games:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXsDlDFO-SE
 
So the ones with the hardwired controllers came later? Hmm, I thought it was the other way around. Ah well, I have the joysticks from one of those rigs and then I have my rig which is hardwired.

I guess having a keypad for it would be redundant, having a keyboard and all.

The things in my head are recasing with a non-membrane keyboard (maybe one of those thngs like at the supermarkets, re-labelable keys),

add a chip to the I/O in the cart port to maybe have a serial port (or ethernet for that matter, embedded),

a memory card reader, maybe pcmcia or IDE interface,

a power LED (I guess they were too expensive back then lol),

y'know, make it more like a computer, but stay within the bounds of it still being an O2 at its heart (I guess like you could say an expansion like Curt's for the 7800[from atariage, Curt Vendel]),

I was never much for the stock accessories that were available for it; they seem, I dunno, watered down. The joysticks seem neat though. I wish mine had removable controllers (which still might happen cause I can change it). The Voice seemed a bit overkill, but then again I never got to own one, either.
 
So i'm not the only one here that has one of these things?! I got mine for 50$ as a gaming shop, the owner didn't know what it was and sold it cheap, then a month later i got a box of games, about. 40 total, almost have have the original boxes, and i multi-cart *if you guys want pics, i can provide* But mainly, i'm glad i'm not the only one in this forum that has one of these suckers.

I would like to think the O2 as a very rudimentary computer, because there was a cartridge for it, called An introduction to programming. That tells me it MAY be capable of other things, not much though, i've taken the top of mine and there is VERY LITTLE to the cpu board. And as for The Voice, i think it was brilliant for a Console, designed in the late 70's to be capable of speech synth. I'd like to know what games you guys have for yours, out of curiosity
 
It's an odd duck of a system, that's for sure.

Instead of a standard microprocessor it uses an 8048 Microcontroller chip with built-in I/O and ROM with the heart of the system on it.

It's easy to replace with an 8748 if you want to change the code on the chip. ;)
 
Yeah, I got mine for free when I found the person a nicer one, so he got that one and gave me his "beater" one.

8748? I just got to reading today, I was going to go with a 8050 (same family and all) but if I can do that, then okay! What a neat project! I bet I will end up with a real frankenstein of a machine when I am done, this is getting better and better. I wonder how to get the codes that are already in the stock chip out, hmmm.

@k2x, I'd like to see pics of what you have. I will take some and post them, too, but it's not gonna be much. I have the system, a box and one game. I have the other joysticks (2600 compatible, no less) so I can picture them, too.
 
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I've got one and a box of cartridges. All the room inside the box on this computer make it practically cry out to be modded. My keyboard has a few keys that don't respond all that well, so a replacement for that will probably be an early project once this machine comes around on the guitar.

It's because of the Odyssey 2 that I've held on to a whole bunch of old 8048 documentation and my 8748s.

Has the on-chip source ever appeared anywhere?
 
channelmaniac said:
I have 8748s and the ability to program them if you ever need any custom burned with your code.
Click to expand...

I might take you up on that, got a few things that are taking precedence, unfortunately. Programmed chips? I am definitely intrigued! A thing I am trying to do is make the thing as advanced as possible using parts that were aqvailable at the time of the O2's release. As it is the machine is very watered down, maybe because it was cheaper to do it that way.

Still doing homework, so I might use a 8748 or maybe something else, even if I need to put a converter board in there with it.

No pictures from me, either, been running around all day for the past couple off days.
 
saundby said:
Has the on-chip source ever appeared anywhere?
Click to expand...

http://www.atarihq.com/danb/files/o2romsrc.txt

I have to wonder about the part of the code that is labeled as unknown since Wikipedia has this listed about the O2:

12 8×7 single-color characters; must be one of the 64 shapes built into the ROM BIOS; can be freely positioned like sprites, but cannot overlap each other; each character's color may be set independently
Click to expand...

But we all know how accurate Wikipedia is. ;)
 
The irony is staggering - I was wandering around the local bazaar and found and purchased an Odyssey 2 (just a day after reading this thread) - lol. I have no carts, no AC adapter, and no RF adapter, though. I figured that the proprietary RF could be converted, or if someone has a spare adapter.. As for the AC, can someone give me the specs on that?

I guess I'm a part of the club now.. :p

Anyway since this machine has a keyboard on it, I imagine it has built in BASIC of some kind - or do I *need* a cart?
 
The O2 uses a 9v AC adapter with the same plug style as an Atari 2600... but is AC instead of DC.

HOWEVER... looking at the schematic, it goes from the AC adapter to a bridge/cap and a 7805 regulator (with a Phillips standard house number marked on it instead of a generic part number.)

You should be able to use any generic DC power pack provided the polarity is right so it can pass through the diodes on the bridge. Try an Atari 2600 adapter.
 
Atari 2600 adapter won't work - I only own one (and thus can't mutilate it) and it uses a mono-sound like jack on the end, whereas this wants the standard tube thing.

Can someone get the polarity and amperage from theirs for me?
 
channelmaniac said:
You should be able to use any generic DC power pack provided the polarity is right so it can pass through the diodes on the bridge. Try an Atari 2600 adapter.
Click to expand...

My Odyssey2 came with a Sega Genesis wall-wart and it works fine.

As for hooking it up to a TV, the popular thing these days is to get a cheap little RCA-to-RF adapter at Radio Shack, but in my experience, a real TV/game switchbox actually gives you a better picture. I always get static and interference patterns on the TV when using one of those adapter plugs, but a TV/game switchbox has impedance matching coils inside, so the RF signal going into the TV is stronger and clearer.

Finally, and strangely, the channel 3 / 4 switch is hidden inside the Odyssey2. You have to take off the bottom of the case to access it.
 
Raven said:
Atari 2600 adapter won't work - I only own one (and thus can't mutilate it) and it uses a mono-sound like jack on the end, whereas this wants the standard tube thing.

Can someone get the polarity and amperage from theirs for me?
Click to expand...

Like vwestlife said, the Genesis power supply will work fine, so specs are 12vdc tip Neg, 1.2A, but I think the minimum Amperage for the odyssee is 650mA or somesuch.
 
Alright so that solves the power. As I'm sure most (if not all) of you know, there's a wonky connector that only the Odyssey, Odyssey 2, and Wonder Wizard used (possibly other Odyssey consoles, too). I don't want to kill the original connector on this, I'd like to make an adapter - it's just a simple ground/signal deal, but I need to know two things in order to try to make an adapter:

Where's the ground and the signal on the weird Magnavox connector?

Correct me if I'm wrong but the normal coax has the signal on the inside and the sheath is the ground. I'd imagine they follow a similar format for ease of wiring, and the metal tube is the ground while the internal.. yellow thing... is the signal?

Edit: According to http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/121127-magnavox-odyssey-2-rf-switch/ - if I'm lucky my O2 might have a simple cable that I can change inside without desoldering, re-wiring, or anything, so I can keep the original wire in-tact. I will open it up soon enough (probably tomorrow) and report back.

Edit: Ended up becoming curious and decided to open it up right now. Surprisingly, I had the right hex tool on hand and the process was quite painless. Once I got the bottom panel off, however, I noticed EXTREME rust and corrosion - all over everything, which was coated in metal (soldered together in places, so I can't remove it easily), so it's hard to say how the circuits are. I couldn't get one of the screws inside undone because it was mounted under the circuitry and they were soldered together after the fact. I looked at the part of the circuit that I could, which included a huge capacitor, but it looked OK on all visible parts (maybe a tad rusty). Anyway I luckily did have the removable plug variety of O2, so I rigged a Nintendo RF adapter to it and closed her back up.

I decided to bite the bullet and just try turning it on - it only cost me $5, so I wouldn't lose much. It didn't explode or burn up, and it even produced a display. Here's where things get shaky (literally).

It displays everything in a semi-fuzzy wavy picture, which I assume is due to a weak signal that can be rectified with an amplifier (which I have several of for this particular reason).

I am not sure how an O2 display should look, and also I own no carts. Should I see anything logical when turning it on with no cart?

Here's what I do see:

- There's a pattern of dots, some of which are struck through like lines at random, in random directions (but always on a grid) - these are white.
- There's a random number (3 with a line over it or 5, sometimes it doesn't appear at all - I tried rebooting several times to test this) in black. This also varies in position a bit.
- There is sometimes a big black arrow pointing upward near the center of the screen.
- There is a character or two half-off-the-edge of the screen in the bottom right, maybe an "A".

I imagine that this is a system that won't work without a cartridge, and what I'm seeing is arbitrary memory content. I can only hope that this is right, otherwise this machine is hosed (probably). If we don't know the answer to this question, I'd think someone turning on their known-working O2 without a cart should clear that up.

If I'm lucky, I just need a cart, and I'll buy one on eBay or something.

By the way, from what I've seen on the 'net, this is pretty similar to an Atari as far as games go - so why the keyboard? Are there text based games somewhere (like a VIC-20)? A BASIC cartridge?
 
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Raven said:
Alright so that solves the power. As I'm sure most (if not all) of you know, there's a wonky connector that only the Odyssey, Odyssey 2, and Wonder Wizard used (possibly other Odyssey consoles, too). I don't want to kill the original connector on this, I'd like to make an adapter - it's just a simple ground/signal deal, but I need to know two things in order to try to make an adapter:

Where's the ground and the signal on the weird Magnavox connector?

Correct me if I'm wrong but the normal coax has the signal on the inside and the sheath is the ground. I'd imagine they follow a similar format for ease of wiring, and the metal tube is the ground while the internal.. yellow thing... is the signal?

Edit: According to http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/121127-magnavox-odyssey-2-rf-switch/ - if I'm lucky my O2 might have a simple cable that I can change inside without desoldering, re-wiring, or anything, so I can keep the original wire in-tact. I will open it up soon enough (probably tomorrow) and report back.

Edit: Ended up becoming curious and decided to open it up right now. Surprisingly, I had the right hex tool on hand and the process was quite painless. Once I got the bottom panel off, however, I noticed EXTREME rust and corrosion - all over everything, which was coated in metal (soldered together in places, so I can't remove it easily), so it's hard to say how the circuits are. I couldn't get one of the screws inside undone because it was mounted under the circuitry and they were soldered together after the fact. I looked at the part of the circuit that I could, which included a huge capacitor, but it looked OK on all visible parts (maybe a tad rusty). Anyway I luckily did have the removable plug variety of O2, so I rigged a Nintendo RF adapter to it and closed her back up.

I decided to bite the bullet and just try turning it on - it only cost me $5, so I wouldn't lose much. It didn't explode or burn up, and it even produced a display. Here's where things get shaky (literally).

It displays everything in a semi-fuzzy wavy picture, which I assume is due to a weak signal that can be rectified with an amplifier (which I have several of for this particular reason).

I am not sure how an O2 display should look, and also I own no carts. Should I see anything logical when turning it on with no cart?

Here's what I do see:

- There's a pattern of dots, some of which are struck through like lines at random, in random directions (but always on a grid) - these are white.
- There's a random number (3 with a line over it or 5, sometimes it doesn't appear at all - I tried rebooting several times to test this) in black. This also varies in position a bit.
- There is sometimes a big black arrow pointing upward near the center of the screen.
- There is a character or two half-off-the-edge of the screen in the bottom right, maybe an "A".

I imagine that this is a system that won't work without a cartridge, and what I'm seeing is arbitrary memory content. I can only hope that this is right, otherwise this machine is hosed (probably). If we don't know the answer to this question, I'd think someone turning on their known-working O2 without a cart should clear that up.

If I'm lucky, I just need a cart, and I'll buy one on eBay or something.

By the way, from what I've seen on the 'net, this is pretty similar to an Atari as far as games go - so why the keyboard? Are there text based games somewhere (like a VIC-20)? A BASIC cartridge?
Click to expand...

Right, it needs to have a cartridge to run, there is nothing telling it what to do-- nothing onboard.

If there is lots of rust I would say that it might be on its way out-- perfect for a homebrew mainboard! The processor is very well understood and almost everything can be had off the shlef from my looking up of stuff.

I will test mine with no cart and with one, to see what happens. There isn't supposed to be anything at all happen when there is no cart in there, so your guess is as good as mine (or anybody's; arbitrary memory data). There's a person on Atariage selling spare carts, go check that in the marketplace.

As for the keyboard, it was more of a marketing ploy from Magnavox, plus a lot of multicarts were released, and you press a letter or number to select which one you want to play. I think there might be a Basic cart out there, but it is a homebrew. I think there are games for it like a word game that is there for it, iirc CryptoLogic is one (not sure).

Now that you have opened it up and seen the goodies inside, can you see why I want to mod mine so much? Socketed processor is the main thing, now I have read that some of the carts have Z80's in them and that excites me a LOT.

So yours seems to work so far; as far as the rust and stuff you may want to try to gently clean it up-- those solder points are really old and a couple of mine are flaking away from age (how's THAT happen???). Don't use the dishwasher method on it, heh.

I will fire mine up when I get the chance and demo it just for kicks and to see about that memory thing you mentioned.

Really starting to love this machine.

/edit Here's a link to that person on atariage:

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topi...54452__hl__odysee__fromsearch__1#entry2054452
 
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