Atari Video Pinball
 | |
| Atari Video Pinball, model C-380 (cream case) | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Cyan Engineering[1] |
| Manufacturer | Atari, Inc. |
| Type | Dedicated home video game console |
| Released | Shown June 1977; on sale September 1977[1] |
| Intro price | US$79.99 (September 1977)[1] |
| CPU | Atari custom chip, believed to be a microcontroller[2] |
| Memory | A small RAM chip[2] |
| Storage | — |
| Display | RF output on TV channel 3[3] |
| Sound | Built-in speaker[3][4] |
| Input | Paddle knob, two flipper buttons, Ball Serve button[3] |
| Power | Six C cells, or 9 V DC 500 mA from battery eliminator C010472[3] |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Model no. | C-380 |
Atari Video Pinball is a dedicated home video game console made by Atari, Inc. in 1977, model C-380. It plays seven built-in games on a television through an RF switch box: four pinball variants, a basketball game called Rebound, and two brick games, Breakthru and Breakout.[3][2] It runs from six C cells or from Atari's 9 V battery eliminator.[3]
History
[edit | edit source]The Atari Computermuseum says the console was developed by Cyan Engineering in Grass Valley, California, shown at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show on 5 June 1977, cleared by the FCC on 1 August 1977 and released that September at US$79.99.[1] Wikipedia gives a 1978 price range of US$64.95 to US$89.95.[5] It was made in a woodgrain-topped case and later in a cream one; the museum describes the two as technically identical.[1][2] Sears sold the same console under its Tele-Games name as Pinball Breakaway, and Epoch sold it in Japan from 1979 as the TV Block.[2][5]
The game went on to an arcade cabinet, which Wikipedia and the Atari Computermuseum date to early 1979, and to the Atari 2600 as a cartridge.[1][5] Curt Vendel's Atari Museum names the arcade game as the original, which the dates in the other two sources contradict.[6] Ctrl-Alt-Rees notes that Video Pinball was developed at the same time as the original Atari VCS and has very similar video circuitry, including the RF modulator.[4]
Games
[edit | edit source]| Game | Controls | Options |
|---|---|---|
| Flipper Pinball 1 and 2 | Flipper buttons on the sides | 1 and 2: flippers move together, seven or five balls; 3 and 4: flippers move separately, five or three balls |
| Paddle Pinball 1 and 2 | Paddle knob | 1 to 4: full or half paddle; seven, five or three balls |
| Rebound (basketball) | Paddle knob, then flipper or serve button to shoot | None listed |
| Breakthru | Paddle knob | 1 to 4: full or half paddle; seven, five or three balls |
| Breakout | Paddle knob | 1 to 4: full or half paddle; seven, five or three balls |
The Game Select button steps through the seven games, each starting at option 1; Option Select picks the option; Reset starts a game; Ball Serve puts a ball in play.[3] Pong-Story describes the two brick games as differing only in whether the ball bounces back from the first brick it destroys or carries on through the bricks.[2] Breakout has two extra rows of green bricks and a maximum score of 864 points, against 288 for Breakthru.[3]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]David Winter's Pong-Story describes Video Pinball as built round a more advanced Atari chip than the "Pong on a chip" consoles, probably a microcontroller, referred to as C011500-1, with another Atari chip, C011512-05, and a small RAM chip of uncertain purpose.[2] Ctrl-Alt-Rees found two socketed chips on his board: the main chip, which does nearly everything, and a smaller logic chip.[4] The RF modulator is mounted on a large ground plane that acts as its heatsink, and has three connections: +5 V, ground and video.[4]
Power
[edit | edit source]The console takes six C cells, loaded through a sliding panel underneath. The Atari Battery Eliminator, part C010472, plugs into the AC jack at the rear of the base and bypasses the batteries, which can stay in place; its output is 9 V DC at 500 mA.[3] Atari's manual warns that any other eliminator can damage the unit and voids the warranty.[3] The FAQ lists C010472 as a centre-positive 9 V DC, 500 mA unit that also suits the Atari 2600, Atari Stunt Cycle and Atari XEP80.[7]
Atari's battery Pong consoles use the same style of 3.5 mm plug but need 6 V. Ctrl-Alt-Rees labels his 6 V and 9 V machines to prevent mix-ups, and found that the barrel-to-3.5 mm adaptors he bought were tip-negative, so he swapped their wires over before use.[4]
Setting up
[edit | edit source]- Fix the TV/game switch box to the television's VHF aerial terminals, following the drawing in the manual that matches the back of the set.
- Plug the console's game cable into the switch box's "game" connector, and set the switch to GAME.
- Turn on the television, switch off automatic fine tuning, turn the sound down and tune to channel 3.
- Press Power on the console.[3]
If a strong station broadcasts on channel 3, disconnect the aerial from the switch box while playing.[3] To protect the television, Atari suggests turning down its contrast while playing and switching the game off when it is not in use.[3]
Faults
[edit | edit source]| Symptom | Probable cause | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Picture flickers when scoring, or breaks up with game sounds | Low battery voltage[3] | Fit new batteries or use the battery eliminator. |
| Playfield appears but buttons and flippers do not work | Low battery voltage[3] | Fit new batteries. |
| No playfield; whitish-grey screen | Batteries flat or wrong way round; switch box on TV; game cable or twin-lead not connected; eliminator not plugged in; power off[3] | Check each in turn. |
| No normal television | Switch box set to GAME; twin-lead or aerial not connected to the switch box[3] | Set the switch to TV and check the connections. |
| Buzzing from the television speaker | Television volume too high[3] | Turn the television's volume right down. |
| Fuzzy, unsteady or colourless playfield | Poor connections at the aerial terminals; television not fine-tuned[3] | Check the connections and adjust fine tuning, colour and tint. |
| Breakout starts and serves a ball, with sound, but no paddle appears | Dirty legs or sockets on the two socketed chips[4] | Clean the chip legs and sockets with contact cleaner. |
The first six rows are from Atari's troubleshooting checklist.[3] Ctrl-Alt-Rees also found the board coated in old, sticky flux, which he says is common on Atari equipment of this age, and cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol and a toothbrush before working on it. The same console later developed an unreliable power socket at a show and was disconnected; he notes that these 3.5 mm connectors can be flaky.[4]
Atari's care advice is to clean the outside with a soft, slightly damp cloth, keep liquids out of the speaker opening, take the batteries out if the console will not be used for over a month, never lift it by its wires, and switch it off when not in use.[3] See Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage for cleaning up after leaking cells.
Composite video modification
[edit | edit source]Ctrl-Alt-Rees converted a C-380 to composite video:[4]
- Desolder the RF modulator from its ground plane, using hot air and the soldering iron together, and keep it in case the console is to be returned to standard.
- Find the modulator's +5 V and ground pads with a multimeter; the third connection is video.
- Solder a ribbon cable to the pads and glue it to the board for strain relief.
- Wire the cable to one channel of a THS7314 video amplifier breakout board, with a 0.1 µF filter capacitor across its power pins and a 75 Ω resistor on the output, as RetroRGB's THS7314 guide suggests.
- Run a composite cable out through the original cable opening, take the grounds to one of the modulator's original grounding points, and wire the audio in parallel with the internal speaker, checking the speaker's polarity with a multimeter.
His quick test before reassembly seemed fine, and he found the missing Breakout paddle described above only after putting the console back together, so try every game before closing the case.[4]
Documentation
[edit | edit source]- Atari Video Pinball Owner's Manual, model C380, C012777, © 1978: setting up, power, controls, the games and options, troubleshooting checklist and care. It contains no circuit or service information.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Atari Computermuseum, "Atari TV-Konsolen: Video Pinball", atari-computermuseum.de, last edited 4 December 2023 (retrieved 2026-10-06), in German. Developer, show, FCC and release dates, price, the two case colours, the 1979 arcade version.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 David Winter, Pong-Story, "Atari home PONG systems", sections on the Atari and Sears systems and "Derivates of PONG", pong-story.com (retrieved 2026-10-06). Games, model numbers, chip references and the RAM chip.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 Atari, Inc., Atari Video Pinball owner's manual, model C380, C012777, 1978: unpacking, switch box and phosphor note; batteries, battery eliminator C010472 and power requirements; starting play; control panel; the games and options; ball and paddle action; troubleshooting checklist; care. Hosted as File:Atari Video Pinball Owner's Manual C012777.pdf.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Ctrl-Alt-Rees, "A Curious Atari Video Game Machine Restoration", 28 December 2023, ctrl-alt-rees.com (retrieved 2026-10-06). Restoration report: RF modulator, flux, socketed chips, composite modification, power adaptors and socket.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Wikipedia, "Video Pinball series", en.wikipedia.org (retrieved 2026-10-06). 1978 prices, Epoch TV Block, the 1979 arcade game.
- ↑ Curt Vendel, "The Atari Video Pinball Dedicated Home Console, Model C380", Atari Museum, atarimuseum.ctrl-alt-rees.com (retrieved 2026-10-06).
- ↑ Michael D. Current (ed.), Atari 8-Bit Computers: Frequently Asked Questions, last modified 2 August 2026, section 6.2, mcurrent.name (retrieved 2026-10-06). Power supply C010472: 9 V DC, 500 mA, centre positive, and the equipment it serves.