What follows is a guide on how to modify the AtGames Atari Flashback 9 and 9 Gold (HDMI versions only) to use standard Atari-style paddle controllers. Without this modification, only Flashback 9-specific paddles may be used. Note that this guide is provided solely as a reference and all responsibility falls on the person performing the modifications, with any such modifications voiding all warranties. In other words, you perform these actions at your own risk, so make sure you know what you’re doing and know the potential risks.

This unofficial guide is provided as-is with no guarantee of any kind (I am not the author). No typos or other possible errors have been corrected and the information that follows is subject to change without further notice.

Begin:

The following will guide the user to perform some hardware changes needed for the Atari Flashback 9 products to work with Atari paddles.

Note this guide assumes you are familiar with soldering electronics, DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE TOOLS.

Before you start…

Please have the following ready before moving onto the next section

• Soldering iron
• Solder 
• Philips screwdriver
• Small pliers
• 4x 510K 1% 0402 SMD resistors 

Update Procedure

1. Unscrew all the screws from the bottom of the unit.

2. Disconnect the ribbon cables from the PCB boards (pull in the direction of the yellow arrow).

3. Disconnect the second ribbon cable from the PCB board by flipping the black notch indicated by the yellow arrow away from the PCB.

4. Disconnect more screws from the case to remove the PCB board from the unit.

It should look like this once removed:

5. Heat the soldering iron and replace the resistors R103 to R106 on the schematics with the new 510K ones.

6. Follow steps 1-4 to reconnect all the cables and put the unit back together. Your device is now ready for the standard Atari-style paddle controllers.