Atari Lynx
The Atari Lynx is a handheld game console with a backlit colour LCD, developed at Epyx under the name "Handy" and sold by Atari Corporation from 1989 to 1995. Atari released a smaller Lynx II in 1991.[1][2]
 | |
| Atari Lynx (first model) | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Epyx |
| Manufacturer | Atari Corporation |
| Type | Handheld game console |
| Released | 1989 (US), 1990 (UK)[1] |
| Discontinued | 1995[1] |
| Intro price | US$179.99 (1989); Lynx II US$99 (1991)[1] |
| CPU | 65C02 core in the Mikey chip, up to 4 MHz; 16 MHz system crystal[2][1] |
| Memory | 64 KB DRAM (two 64K × 4); 512-byte boot ROM[2][1] |
| Storage | ROM cartridge |
| Display | Backlit colour LCD, 160 × 102, 4,096-colour palette[2] |
| Sound | Four channels; mono on the Lynx I, stereo on the Lynx II[1] |
| Dimensions | 273 × 108 × 38 mm (Lynx I); 235 × 108 × 51 mm (Lynx II)[1] |
| Weight | 519 g (Lynx I); 441 g (Lynx II), without batteries[1] |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Codename | Handy |
History
editThe Lynx went on sale in the US in 1989 at US$179.99 and in the UK in 1990. Atari relaunched it with the Lynx II in 1991, at US$99 for the base set and US$120 for the deluxe set. It was sold until 1995; the Atari Lynx Vault gives sales of around three million.[1]
Hardware
editEpyx's specification describes the system as two custom chips, Mikey and Suzy, a 16 MHz crystal, two 64K × 4 DRAMs, the LCD with its drivers and backlight, the cartridge reader, the power supply and an expansion port.[2]
- Mikey contains the 65C02 processor core and all the non-sprite hardware: the video and refresh generators, the four sound channels, the timers and interrupts, and the serial port.[2]
- Suzy is the sprite engine, with hardware scaling and collision detection and the multiply and divide unit. Because of pin limits it also reads the buttons and the cartridge.[2]
- The 64 KB of RAM holds the video and collision buffers (up to 24 KB) and the game. The DRAMs have 120 ns RAS access, giving 4 MHz normal and 8 MHz page-mode access.[2]
- The LCD has 480 × 102 pixels grouped into 160 colour triads per line, with 16 levels each of red, green and blue.[2]
- The cartridge address comes from an 8-bit shift register and an 11-bit counter, giving 512 KB per strobe and 1 MB in total without extra hardware.[2]
- The expansion (ComLynx) port is a bidirectional serial port with a maximum of 62,500 baud. Epyx's design originally included an infrared pod as an alternative to a cable.[2]
Chips
edit| Position | Lynx I | Lynx II, C104129-001 Rev A |
|---|---|---|
| U1 | Mikey | Mikey (Hayato on the later C104471-001 board) |
| U2 | Suzy | Suzy |
| U3, U4 | HM50464-12 DRAM (64K × 4) | D41464L-80 DRAM (64K × 4) |
| U5 | LM386 audio amplifier | LM386 audio amplifier |
| U6 | 4069 | 4069 |
| U7 | 74HC04 | 74HC04 |
| U8 | 74HC4040 | 74HC4040 |
| U9 | 74HC164 | 74HC164 |
| U10, U11 | – | S-8054 voltage detector, 74HC74 |
The Console5 TechWiki lists three Lynx II boards, C104129-001 Rev A, C104424-001 Rev 1 and C104471-001 Rev A; the last uses the Hayato chip in place of Mikey.[3][4][5]
Sound
editFour identical channels are mixed digitally, filtered and amplified to the speaker, with a volume control that goes down to zero. On the original design the stereo earphone jack carries the mono sound on both sides.[2] The Lynx II has stereo sound.[1] Atari's schematics show an 8 Ω speaker on the Lynx I and a 16 Ω speaker on the Lynx II.[4][5]
Power
editThe Lynx runs on six AA cells or an external 9 V DC supply; the Atari Lynx Vault gives 4–5 hours on batteries for the Lynx I and 5–6 hours for the Lynx II.[1] A regulator with a soft on/off function lets the machine switch itself off.[2]
The regulator circuit is a common cause of a Lynx that will not switch on. Console5 lists the parts it replaces for this fault: on the Lynx I the MOSFET Q11, the zener ZD1 and the 2N3906 transistors Q4 and Q13; on the Lynx II the MOSFET Q12, the zener D13 and the 2N3906s Q7 and Q8. The power jack has internal switches that can fail so that a Lynx works on only batteries or only the external supply.[6]
Capacitors
editConsole5 publishes electrolytic lists for the Lynx I (with a variant for board C103949-001 Rev 1/2) and for the Lynx II board C104471-001 Rev A; Atari's part numbers for them are not published.[3] On the Lynx I list the largest parts are C39 (470 µF 10 V) and C38 (100 µF, 35 V or 25 V depending on board).[3]
Documentation
edit- Lynx I schematic, Atari C104019 Rev. C.
- Lynx II (Hayato) schematic, Atari C104247 Rev. 1, sheet 1.
- Epyx's hardware specification, transcribed at monlynx.de.
References
edit- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Atari Lynx Vault, "Atari Lynx Specifications" (written 26 August 2018, changed 3 October 2023). Community source, used for dates, prices, sales, dimensions and weights.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 Epyx, "Handy" hardware specification, transcribed by 42Bastian Schick at monlynx.de: chapters 1 "General Overview" (external specification), 2 "Hardware Overview", 4 "CPU/ROM", 7 "Audio" and "ROM Cart". Epyx's design specification for the machine; some figures describe the design rather than the production unit.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Console5 TechWiki, "Atari Lynx": chip information, schematics and capacitor lists for the Lynx I and Lynx II boards. Secondary source.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Atari Corporation, Schematic Diagram, Handy Game (FCC), C104019 Rev. C. Hosted here as File:Atari Lynx schematic C104019 Rev C.png.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Atari Corporation, Schematic Diagram, Lynx II (Hayato), C104247 Rev. 1, 29 June 1990, sheet 1. Hosted here as File:Atari Lynx II schematic C104247 Rev 1.png.
- ↑ Console5, "Atari Lynx 1 & 2 Voltage Regulator Rebuild / Refresh Kit with Power Jack", component locations. Vendor source.