B.A.T.C. PAL Encoder PCB Project! - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Chris55000 · 6th Oct 2025, 6:46 am

. . .Member "Philips210" Symon has built and tested my Eurocard B.A.T.C. PAL Encoder PCB and he has drawn my attention to several artwork errors that unfortunately crept into my original design!

. . .I have now corrected the design and I will be sending for replacement PCBs, V1.2, at the end of this week!

. . .Any Members who have got one of my PCBs need to carry out the following modification on the print side with suitable thin insulated wire :–

a) Connect the collector of TR8 and the top end of R40 to the nearest suitable +12 V supply point ;

b) Connect the junction of R30, R31 to the nearest available 0V/Ground point ;

c) Connect the top end of R36 and TR4 collector to the nearest suitable +12 V point ;

d) Reverse polarity of C10 and C22 OR fit bipolar (reversible) electrolytics (customarily shown as two white open plates on the circuit symbol) in these two circuit positions.

e) Symon also found that the 75 ohm resistor R59 on the "Mixed Sync" Input at PL4–1 and PL4–2 may, in certain cases, depending upon the output circuit of the S.P.G. in use, prevent colour being obtained due to inadequate mixed sync. amplitude – Amending R59 to 1k0 (1000 ohms) will resolve this!

. . .I will issue revised diagrams later and amended boards with the errors corrected will be ordered at the end of this week as soon as my pocket money permits!

Chris Williams

Chris55000 · 6th Nov 2025, 7:54 pm

. . . Following several P.M.'s with "Philips 210" Symon I've had my attention drawn to some errors in the tracking for the original Eurocard Size Design I produced – I have documented these errors in the previous post, but would you believe it, when I got the PCBs this morning I found I'd STILL missed off tracking to connect TR8 collector and the top of R40 to the +12 V supply!

. . .Electrolytic Capacitors C10 and C22 can also be replaced with the "Bi–Polar" Type and I have amended the PCB Silkscreen to add "BP" against the symbols for these two capacitors!

. . .I have now corrected this final error and issued a new Rev. V1.3 PCB with the reference no. CW5061125B on the top silkscreen, these have now been ordered and will be forwarded to the Members requesting them as soon as I receive them!

. . .My "Easy–PC" is giving me horrendous problems getting the Circuit Diagram correct, it keep jumping back to the component reference numbers that applied at the time I draughted my Original Circuit Diagram and it won't let me renumber all the components to those from the B.A.T.C. Article tho', but the PCB Editor did tho'!

. . .From Symon's suggestions I have now replaced PL2 carrying the RGB Input connections with a 0.1" 6 Way Molex Header Plug which has three pins for the R, G and B Signal connections and three earth return connections!

. . .In the meantime, until I can get my Easy PC's Circuit Diagram Editor to behave as I want it, please use the Circuit Diagram from Pages 31 to 38 of the B.A.T.C.'s publication "Micro and Television Projects" – this publication can be freely downloaded from the B.A.T.C. "CQ Archives" page, and it's NOT necessary to be a member!

. . .Search "Molex KK" on eBay, etc., to purchase suitable plug and socket connectors that my PCB is designed for!

Chris Williams

See_Mos · 7th Nov 2025, 4:30 pm

I don't think there is an easy way to match components to an existing circuit in EPC. Back annotation and integrity checks are not easy to keep in step either.

The way that I do it is to pick a component to renumber say R27 and try the new number R32. If EPC complains that the R32 already exists then find R32 and add a digit 5 so that R32 becomes R532 then go back and change R27 to R32.

Using the View > GoTo > Component drop down you can see a full list of components in sequence. Missing / high numbers are easy to spot and eventually you will get there.

Chris55000 · 19th Nov 2025, 10:15 pm

. . .Thank you for the tips Trevor!

. . .JLC says there's two parcels of PCBs now out for delivery tomorrow, Friday or Saturday, so it's very possible that one package will be the new latest revision PCBs for this project, which will be distributed promptly when I've received one!

. . .I've a feeling I've got an (almost complete!) Easy–PC Format Circuit Diagram with the correct Component Reference Numbers taken from the Original B.A.T.C. sketches, trouble is my lappy is in the throes of rebuilding and re–installing everything due to an unforeseen H.D.D. head crash!

Chris Williams

thermionic · 20th Nov 2025, 6:56 am

Hi Chris.

Thanks very much for the information, it will save some head scratching when I finally populate your PCB!

These things happen - well done Symon for finding the bugs!

SimonT.

See_Mos · 20th Nov 2025, 2:56 pm

Not much doing here at the moment so I have some free time if I can help. The only snag is that the net names will not match your board unless you use the reverse engineer option.

6th Oct 2025, 6:46 am	#1
Chris55000 Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Walsall Wood, Aldridge, Walsall, UK. Posts: 3,621	B.A.T.C. PAL Encoder PCB Project! . . .Member "Philips210" Symon has built and tested my Eurocard B.A.T.C. PAL Encoder PCB and he has drawn my attention to several artwork errors that unfortunately crept into my original design! . . .I have now corrected the design and I will be sending for replacement PCBs, V1.2, at the end of this week! . . .Any Members who have got one of my PCBs need to carry out the following modification on the print side with suitable thin insulated wire :– a) Connect the collector of TR8 and the top end of R40 to the nearest suitable +12 V supply point ; b) Connect the junction of R30, R31 to the nearest available 0V/Ground point ; c) Connect the top end of R36 and TR4 collector to the nearest suitable +12 V point ; d) Reverse polarity of C10 and C22 OR fit bipolar (reversible) electrolytics (customarily shown as two white open plates on the circuit symbol) in these two circuit positions. e) Symon also found that the 75 ohm resistor R59 on the "Mixed Sync" Input at PL4–1 and PL4–2 may, in certain cases, depending upon the output circuit of the S.P.G. in use, prevent colour being obtained due to inadequate mixed sync. amplitude – Amending R59 to 1k0 (1000 ohms) will resolve this! . . .I will issue revised diagrams later and amended boards with the errors corrected will be ordered at the end of this week as soon as my pocket money permits! Chris Williams __________________ It's an enigma, that's what it is! This thing's not fixed because it doesn't want to be fixed! Last edited by Chris55000; 6th Oct 2025 at 6:56 am.

6th Nov 2025, 7:54 pm	#2
Chris55000 Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Walsall Wood, Aldridge, Walsall, UK. Posts: 3,621	Re: B.A.T.C. PAL Encoder PCB Project! . . . Following several P.M.'s with "Philips 210" Symon I've had my attention drawn to some errors in the tracking for the original Eurocard Size Design I produced – I have documented these errors in the previous post, but would you believe it, when I got the PCBs this morning I found I'd STILL missed off tracking to connect TR8 collector and the top of R40 to the +12 V supply! . . .Electrolytic Capacitors C10 and C22 can also be replaced with the "Bi–Polar" Type and I have amended the PCB Silkscreen to add "BP" against the symbols for these two capacitors! . . .I have now corrected this final error and issued a new Rev. V1.3 PCB with the reference no. CW5061125B on the top silkscreen, these have now been ordered and will be forwarded to the Members requesting them as soon as I receive them! . . .My "Easy–PC" is giving me horrendous problems getting the Circuit Diagram correct, it keep jumping back to the component reference numbers that applied at the time I draughted my Original Circuit Diagram and it won't let me renumber all the components to those from the B.A.T.C. Article tho', but the PCB Editor did tho'! . . .From Symon's suggestions I have now replaced PL2 carrying the RGB Input connections with a 0.1" 6 Way Molex Header Plug which has three pins for the R, G and B Signal connections and three earth return connections! . . .In the meantime, until I can get my Easy PC's Circuit Diagram Editor to behave as I want it, please use the Circuit Diagram from Pages 31 to 38 of the B.A.T.C.'s publication "Micro and Television Projects" – this publication can be freely downloaded from the B.A.T.C. "CQ Archives" page, and it's NOT necessary to be a member! . . .Search "Molex KK" on eBay, etc., to purchase suitable plug and socket connectors that my PCB is designed for! Chris Williams __________________ It's an enigma, that's what it is! This thing's not fixed because it doesn't want to be fixed! Last edited by Chris55000; 6th Nov 2025 at 8:17 pm.

7th Nov 2025, 4:30 pm	#3
See_Mos Heptode Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ossett, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 655	Re: B.A.T.C. PAL Encoder PCB Project! I don't think there is an easy way to match components to an existing circuit in EPC. Back annotation and integrity checks are not easy to keep in step either. The way that I do it is to pick a component to renumber say R27 and try the new number R32. If EPC complains that the R32 already exists then find R32 and add a digit 5 so that R32 becomes R532 then go back and change R27 to R32. Using the View > GoTo > Component drop down you can see a full list of components in sequence. Missing / high numbers are easy to spot and eventually you will get there. Last edited by See_Mos; 7th Nov 2025 at 4:39 pm.

19th Nov 2025, 10:15 pm	#4
Chris55000 Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Walsall Wood, Aldridge, Walsall, UK. Posts: 3,621	Re: B.A.T.C. PAL Encoder PCB Project! . . .Thank you for the tips Trevor! . . .JLC says there's two parcels of PCBs now out for delivery tomorrow, Friday or Saturday, so it's very possible that one package will be the new latest revision PCBs for this project, which will be distributed promptly when I've received one! . . .I've a feeling I've got an (almost complete!) Easy–PC Format Circuit Diagram with the correct Component Reference Numbers taken from the Original B.A.T.C. sketches, trouble is my lappy is in the throes of rebuilding and re–installing everything due to an unforeseen H.D.D. head crash! Chris Williams __________________ It's an enigma, that's what it is! This thing's not fixed because it doesn't want to be fixed!

20th Nov 2025, 6:56 am	#5
thermionic Octode Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Cornwall, UK. Posts: 1,074	Re: B.A.T.C. PAL Encoder PCB Project! Hi Chris. Thanks very much for the information, it will save some head scratching when I finally populate your PCB! These things happen - well done Symon for finding the bugs! SimonT. __________________ Www.vintagetechhospital.co.uk

20th Nov 2025, 2:56 pm	#6
See_Mos Heptode Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ossett, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 655	Re: B.A.T.C. PAL Encoder PCB Project! Not much doing here at the moment so I have some free time if I can help. The only snag is that the net names will not match your board unless you use the reverse engineer option.