Atari 1200XL: Clearpic Mod - Bob Woolley

{Recovered Atari Sector}
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Bob Woolley's Clearpic Upgrades are still the go to for simple but effective display upgrades to a fuzzy 1200XL.
below are the details to both his initial Clearpic, and the follow-up.

Again, please be aware that Atari Sector are in no way responsible for any upgrades or damage resulting from proceeding. Good luck.


The upgrade is detailed as nothing more than a of 1220XL components to be removed or replaced. Remove each component and replace or leave blank, as instructed.
Picture below shows board with ALL parts removed.

Mod 128.3 : 31:05:2002

Remove........Replace With
R63...........1 ohm
L15...........1 ohm
C115..........1 ohm
CR19..........leave blank
R22...........leave blank
C60...........leave blank
R25...........75 ohms
R28...........75 ohms
R23...........130 ohms
R24...........130 ohms
C118..........leave blank
C119..........leave blank
Q8............leave blank
C62...........68 pf
R31...........1 ohm
R38...........1000 ohms
R27...........leave blank
C63...........1000 pf
R44...........47 ohms
Add a wire from the junction of R27 and C61 to J2-5 (the empty pin on the video DIN connector)


Revised Mod

REMOVE:.......REPLACE WITH:

C115--10uf....wire
C60--100pf....leave blank
R187--1meg....2.2K
L15--820uh....wire
R188--750.....680
CR19--1N4148..leave blank
C119--3.9pf...leave blank
C62--10pf.....wire
R24--180......47
R23--180......47
Add a wire from R44 (either side) J2-5.


​

Baker

Post by Baker on May 22, 2016 at 9:46am
I have been debating this mod for a while now. In fact I was going to start collecting all the components (from my stock) to see if I have everything needed. But the debate with myself is because I have done the older Super Video 2.1 upgrade to 3 machines in the past and have been very satisfied with it. It's a very sharp picture and it has brilliant colour output. And the thing is, that I've been told that the colour output on the Clearpic mod is not as dramatic as SV 2.1. I absolutely LOVE the colour output of the SV 2.1 mod, and I'm afraid I will be disappointed with the colour output of the Clearpic mod by comparision.

Supposedly it's a sharper picture than SV 2.1, but the latter has a very sharp picture that I was completely satisfied with, so again, I'm leary of doing a different mod. Another thing that I am apprehensive about with Clearpic is that it plainly states that it isn't a proper circuit mod with maximum bandwidth, but one that Bob went for what he felt gave the best picture, well, that can be totally subjective. I know some people feel the SV 2.1's colour output is over saturated, but I disagree. So might I not also disagree with Clearpic being better to my eyes as well? I've been told by what seems to be a majority that Clearpic is the way to go, but honestly, how many of those people have actually done BOTH mods and know for sure that they would still prefer Clearpic of SV 2.1 if they had a chance to see both side-by-side. It's easy to be satisfied with something and say it's the best, if you haven't seen another alternative.

I know Bob has done these video upgrades over and over for years, "improving" upon them according to him, and he is probably the expert on video mods for the A8, but again, the look of the video output can be subjective preference. Another point Bob makes is that this uses fewer components than earlier mods, but the difference between Clearpic and SV 2.1 only amounts to a few components. I just don't want to do the Clearpic, find out I prefer the colour output of SV 2.1 and either have to live with it or redo the entire mod, and I know from hard-learned experience that too many time of modding the same things can lead to lifting of traces and rings from the circuit board, which is a major problem I've been dealing with in the past. I wish I could see both upgrades side-by-side, from a source that is totally unbiased and shows both in the best possible conditions. Does anyone know of such pictures somewhere?

Post by Baker on May 22, 2016 at 9:00pm
I know it sounds like I'm really leaning toward the SV 2.1 mod, but I do want the best I can get, and if Clearpic is superior, I want to do that one. Is there anyone who has done both (besides Bob) that can confirm Clearpic is better overall?​