Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

While looking on eBay it seems that the earlier Playstation Modulators connected to the console using 2 x RCA connectors for sound & vision, along with a 3.5 mono jack for the 5v power supply. These connections were later changed for the more common multiway connector.

I've ordered one to see if I can get one working without having to cut off the existing connector & solder on some suitable plugs.

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

It should be possible, I’ve used modulators from different things in the past, I got a job lot of ones for use with satellite tv, there was a little 5v regulator inside the box so I just connected power to that.

Regards
Lloyd

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

When I was looking at modulators I could see the ones for Sky boxes, but they all seemed to have a multi-pin connector I'm not familiar with.

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

I picked up a handy little UHF modulator some years ago now, from a surplus outlet, that was meant as part of a home CCTV system. It was meant to be daisy-chained together with RJ-11 leads to the PSU and camera; and tunable, so you could connect several cameras and modulators to one PSU, daisy-chain the RF connections (all set for different, unused channels) and use your TV remote to select a camera.

I just added a pair of leads with audio and video plugs and an ancient phone charger, to turn it into a handy general-purpose unit. There were still some old TVs without SCART inputs still kicking around in the late 1990s and early 2000s .....

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

That sounds very interesting, the flats where I live has a CCTV camera near the main gate, which is piped into all the flats via an analogue RF box & the main amplifier connected to the aerial.

This means I can switch channels to see who is calling me on the entry phone.

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

I wrote up how to do this some years ago:

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ad.php?t=73500

I use mine every day, still works a treat.

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

Yes that's where I got the idea.

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

Enough parts for this have arrived to give it a bench test & so far things seem to be working.

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

The problem with the modulators in old Sky boxes and most if not all modern stuff, is the channel is set by frequency synthesis so the modulator needs clock/data lines to a processor.

Older modulators in 80s vintage VHS machines used a simple free-running oscillator set by a trimmer or coil slug. All they needed was 12v DC, composite video, and audio.

Like this.

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

I've now managed to get this working even better, things are still a little Heath Robinson but at least I can power it from a USB socket without needing crocodile clips.

I took some photographs but can't work out how to post them here, I assume they need remote hosting.

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

No, you can post photos on here. Just click "Manage Attachments" in the advanced editor.

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

Thanks I've managed it now.

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

Hi,
This thread reminds me of the time, back in the 80s, when our local secondary school was looking for a way to relay pictures of the end of term play backstage so that the lads looking after the sound and lighting could see how their efforts appeared to the audience.
We had some ex-local industry equipment including a Pye Lynx videcon camera and loads of coax. What we didn't have was a UHF modulator to feed a borrowed portable TV.
I pinched my younger brother's Binatone television 'tennis' console, took out the chip and connected the co-ax to the modulator input. It worked reasonably well, and we were able to cue sound effects & lighting easily.
Happy days!
Cheers, Pete.

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

Hi Pete,
I have a similar anecdote,

I built one of those tennis games from a magazine article, using the chip and PCB that was made available, but instead of building the modulator I used a Hopt UHF tuner and somehow fed the video into the UHF oscillator. It worked remarkably well.

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

I remember a vidicon camera project in either Practical Electronics or Practical Wireless in the mid 70's. Since few (if any) TVs had a video input socket back then, the last part of the article was building a UHF modulator (no Astec modules back then either...). There were 2 designs mentioned, one was a commerical kit, the other used the common-ish Philips UHF tuner module as the UHF oscillator which you modified and added a video amplifier to.

Re: Using Early Playstation Modulator With Other Devices
 

I've now managed to solder together a 2.5mm mono line socket & 5.5mm power jack socket so this is a lot less Heath Robinson than a stack of adaptors to make the same link.