Intellivision Problems

[Facemeat]

Ok, so I received my Intellivision today, hooked it up, inserted a cart, turned it on, and got a black screen. I tried it with several other carts and got the same results. So I decided to clean a few and try again. This time the intro screen came up, but along with it came some nasty, erratically moving red lines. I get the feeling that the cartridge slot may be dirty, causing this problem, because the red lines don't come up when I get the black screen. So, my question is, if this is indeed a problem with the cart slot, how would I go about cleaning it without damaging anything, and if not, what could be causing this?

Edited July 16, 2009 by Facemeat

[rhindlethereddragon]

Ok, so I received my Intellivision today, hooked it up, inserted a cart, turned it on, and got a black screen. I tried it with several other carts and got the same results. So I decided to clean a few and try again. This time the intro screen came up, but along with it came some nasty, erratically moving red lines. I get the feeling that the cartridge slot may be dirty, causing this problem, because the red lines don't come up when I get the black screen. So, my question is, if this is indeed a problem with the cart slot, how would I go about cleaning it without damaging anything, and if not, what could be causing this?

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this sounds like the very, very well known phenomenon in Intellivision circles known as the "Black Screen of Death". My very first Intellivision suffered the BSOD after a week, as well as a few others I've had over the years.

 

Don't give up. The Intellivision is a system worth tracking down a good system for. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the Intellivision II systems rarely suffer from the BSOD, though there are other problems like the "chicklet" pad and the fact that a few games won't play on it.

 

I'm truly sorry.

[Facemeat]

Ok, so I received my Intellivision today, hooked it up, inserted a cart, turned it on, and got a black screen. I tried it with several other carts and got the same results. So I decided to clean a few and try again. This time the intro screen came up, but along with it came some nasty, erratically moving red lines. I get the feeling that the cartridge slot may be dirty, causing this problem, because the red lines don't come up when I get the black screen. So, my question is, if this is indeed a problem with the cart slot, how would I go about cleaning it without damaging anything, and if not, what could be causing this?

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this sounds like the very, very well known phenomenon in Intellivision circles known as the "Black Screen of Death". My very first Intellivision suffered the BSOD after a week, as well as a few others I've had over the years.

 

Don't give up. The Intellivision is a system worth tracking down a good system for. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the Intellivision II systems rarely suffer from the BSOD, though there are other problems like the "chicklet" pad and the fact that a few games won't play on it.

 

I'm truly sorry.

So, it would still be considered a BSOD even though I can get the games to start and play them?

[Facemeat]

Hmm, just tried out Donkey Kong, and now I know the weird flicker problem only affects color (the intro screen's in B&W, and there was no flicker until I got to the options screen which is black and yellow). So, anybody know what could be causing this?

[rhindlethereddragon]

Ok, so I received my Intellivision today, hooked it up, inserted a cart, turned it on, and got a black screen. I tried it with several other carts and got the same results. So I decided to clean a few and try again. This time the intro screen came up, but along with it came some nasty, erratically moving red lines. I get the feeling that the cartridge slot may be dirty, causing this problem, because the red lines don't come up when I get the black screen. So, my question is, if this is indeed a problem with the cart slot, how would I go about cleaning it without damaging anything, and if not, what could be causing this?

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this sounds like the very, very well known phenomenon in Intellivision circles known as the "Black Screen of Death". My very first Intellivision suffered the BSOD after a week, as well as a few others I've had over the years.

 

Don't give up. The Intellivision is a system worth tracking down a good system for. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the Intellivision II systems rarely suffer from the BSOD, though there are other problems like the "chicklet" pad and the fact that a few games won't play on it.

 

I'm truly sorry.

So, it would still be considered a BSOD even though I can get the games to start and play them?

 

My bad, I ready your message a bit quickly. It would only be the BSOD if the screen turns black after running the game for a while.

 

As for the lines, do they alter or change at all when you wiggle the RF connection? Have you tried different RF connectors, or even getting a Phono to F adapter and plugging the cord directly into the cable input (eliminating the RF box)?

[Facemeat]

Ok, so I received my Intellivision today, hooked it up, inserted a cart, turned it on, and got a black screen. I tried it with several other carts and got the same results. So I decided to clean a few and try again. This time the intro screen came up, but along with it came some nasty, erratically moving red lines. I get the feeling that the cartridge slot may be dirty, causing this problem, because the red lines don't come up when I get the black screen. So, my question is, if this is indeed a problem with the cart slot, how would I go about cleaning it without damaging anything, and if not, what could be causing this?

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this sounds like the very, very well known phenomenon in Intellivision circles known as the "Black Screen of Death". My very first Intellivision suffered the BSOD after a week, as well as a few others I've had over the years.

 

Don't give up. The Intellivision is a system worth tracking down a good system for. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the Intellivision II systems rarely suffer from the BSOD, though there are other problems like the "chicklet" pad and the fact that a few games won't play on it.

 

I'm truly sorry.

So, it would still be considered a BSOD even though I can get the games to start and play them?

 

My bad, I ready your message a bit quickly. It would only be the BSOD if the screen turns black after running the game for a while.

 

As for the lines, do they alter or change at all when you wiggle the RF connection? Have you tried different RF connectors, or even getting a Phono to F adapter and plugging the cord directly into the cable input (eliminating the RF box)?

I tried wiggling the RF connection and cable a bit, with no difference in the flicker. I have it hooked up with a newer style direct to TV RF connector, do you think that could be the problem? I actually got 1 cartridge to work properly just once, with no flicker, but haven't been able to do it again. I don't know, I'm just at my wit's end with this thing. But thanks for all your help so far, it's been much appreciated.

[BigO]

Ok, so I received my Intellivision today, hooked it up, inserted a cart, turned it on, and got a black screen. I tried it with several other carts and got the same results. So I decided to clean a few and try again. This time the intro screen came up, but along with it came some nasty, erratically moving red lines. I get the feeling that the cartridge slot may be dirty, causing this problem, because the red lines don't come up when I get the black screen. So, my question is, if this is indeed a problem with the cart slot, how would I go about cleaning it without damaging anything, and if not, what could be causing this?

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this sounds like the very, very well known phenomenon in Intellivision circles known as the "Black Screen of Death". My very first Intellivision suffered the BSOD after a week, as well as a few others I've had over the years.

 

Don't give up. The Intellivision is a system worth tracking down a good system for. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the Intellivision II systems rarely suffer from the BSOD, though there are other problems like the "chicklet" pad and the fact that a few games won't play on it.

 

I'm truly sorry.

So, it would still be considered a BSOD even though I can get the games to start and play them?

 

My bad, I ready your message a bit quickly. It would only be the BSOD if the screen turns black after running the game for a while.

 

As for the lines, do they alter or change at all when you wiggle the RF connection? Have you tried different RF connectors, or even getting a Phono to F adapter and plugging the cord directly into the cable input (eliminating the RF box)?

I tried wiggling the RF connection and cable a bit, with no difference in the flicker. I have it hooked up with a newer style direct to TV RF connector, do you think that could be the problem? I actually got 1 cartridge to work properly just once, with no flicker, but haven't been able to do it again. I don't know, I'm just at my wit's end with this thing. But thanks for all your help so far, it's been much appreciated.

Still sounds like it could be cleaning issues if you were able to get one to work. I had a tough time getting my INTV2 and an original version working. It took a lot of cleaning of cartridges and socket to get the systems working reliably.

 

Does it start up reliably or do you have to fiddle with the power switch? Does touching, tapping the power switch cause anything to happen?

[Facemeat]

Ok, so I received my Intellivision today, hooked it up, inserted a cart, turned it on, and got a black screen. I tried it with several other carts and got the same results. So I decided to clean a few and try again. This time the intro screen came up, but along with it came some nasty, erratically moving red lines. I get the feeling that the cartridge slot may be dirty, causing this problem, because the red lines don't come up when I get the black screen. So, my question is, if this is indeed a problem with the cart slot, how would I go about cleaning it without damaging anything, and if not, what could be causing this?

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this sounds like the very, very well known phenomenon in Intellivision circles known as the "Black Screen of Death". My very first Intellivision suffered the BSOD after a week, as well as a few others I've had over the years.

 

Don't give up. The Intellivision is a system worth tracking down a good system for. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the Intellivision II systems rarely suffer from the BSOD, though there are other problems like the "chicklet" pad and the fact that a few games won't play on it.

 

I'm truly sorry.

So, it would still be considered a BSOD even though I can get the games to start and play them?

 

My bad, I ready your message a bit quickly. It would only be the BSOD if the screen turns black after running the game for a while.

 

As for the lines, do they alter or change at all when you wiggle the RF connection? Have you tried different RF connectors, or even getting a Phono to F adapter and plugging the cord directly into the cable input (eliminating the RF box)?

I tried wiggling the RF connection and cable a bit, with no difference in the flicker. I have it hooked up with a newer style direct to TV RF connector, do you think that could be the problem? I actually got 1 cartridge to work properly just once, with no flicker, but haven't been able to do it again. I don't know, I'm just at my wit's end with this thing. But thanks for all your help so far, it's been much appreciated.

Still sounds like it could be cleaning issues if you were able to get one to work. I had a tough time getting my INTV2 and an original version working. It took a lot of cleaning of cartridges and socket to get the systems working reliably.

 

Does it start up reliably or do you have to fiddle with the power switch? Does touching, tapping the power switch cause anything to happen?

When I first got it I had to fiddle with the power switch for any image to come up, but that doesn't seem to be a problem anymore (about half he time, I have to hit the reset button to get the game to come up, though). I cleaned the cart slot and the carts pretty thoroughly, but I'm still getting the flickering., so I guess I'll just try to clean them some more.

[Tr3vor]

Ok, so I received my Intellivision today, hooked it up, inserted a cart, turned it on, and got a black screen. I tried it with several other carts and got the same results. So I decided to clean a few and try again. This time the intro screen came up, but along with it came some nasty, erratically moving red lines. I get the feeling that the cartridge slot may be dirty, causing this problem, because the red lines don't come up when I get the black screen. So, my question is, if this is indeed a problem with the cart slot, how would I go about cleaning it without damaging anything, and if not, what could be causing this?

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this sounds like the very, very well known phenomenon in Intellivision circles known as the "Black Screen of Death". My very first Intellivision suffered the BSOD after a week, as well as a few others I've had over the years.

 

Don't give up. The Intellivision is a system worth tracking down a good system for. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the Intellivision II systems rarely suffer from the BSOD, though there are other problems like the "chicklet" pad and the fact that a few games won't play on it.

 

I'm truly sorry.

So, it would still be considered a BSOD even though I can get the games to start and play them?

 

My bad, I ready your message a bit quickly. It would only be the BSOD if the screen turns black after running the game for a while.

 

As for the lines, do they alter or change at all when you wiggle the RF connection? Have you tried different RF connectors, or even getting a Phono to F adapter and plugging the cord directly into the cable input (eliminating the RF box)?

I tried wiggling the RF connection and cable a bit, with no difference in the flicker. I have it hooked up with a newer style direct to TV RF connector, do you think that could be the problem? I actually got 1 cartridge to work properly just once, with no flicker, but haven't been able to do it again. I don't know, I'm just at my wit's end with this thing. But thanks for all your help so far, it's been much appreciated.

Still sounds like it could be cleaning issues if you were able to get one to work. I had a tough time getting my INTV2 and an original version working. It took a lot of cleaning of cartridges and socket to get the systems working reliably.

 

Does it start up reliably or do you have to fiddle with the power switch? Does touching, tapping the power switch cause anything to happen?

When I first got it I had to fiddle with the power switch for any image to come up, but that doesn't seem to be a problem anymore (about half he time, I have to hit the reset button to get the game to come up, though). I cleaned the cart slot and the carts pretty thoroughly, but I'm still getting the flickering., so I guess I'll just try to clean them some more.

 

with my grandma's intellivision, i have to put the power switch to about the middle and it works. the flicker your talking about reminds me when someone hooks up a pal system to an ntsc tv.

[jeremysart]

If you get a chance, open her up and take a good look at the connector points.

I know my first intellivision had almost exactly what you described happen. It turned out that a point needed re soldering.

Also, it wold give you a chance to clean her up inside.

 

I do highly recommend getting an Intv II if you get a chance. They are slightly more reliable, and the detachable power supply/ controllers are plus. Donkey Kong and a couple other Coleco games do not work (DK Jr does work however).

 

I will be selling an Intv II + ECS and System Changer with some games here soon.

[Tr3vor]

no intv 2, get the sears super video arcade, even though there is no detachable power supply, the controllers are disconnectable and dont hurt your hands as much.

[Polybius]

You tried cleaning the connector with canned air right?

 

also, make sure your cartridges are clean.