Harmony is BROKEN

[Galaxian]

Hello,

As soon as my harmony cartridge arrived in the mail I set it up (properly) and plugged it into my Atari 2600. Problem is, all it does is makes my TV go fuzzy.

 

If I could get some assistance or a refund it would be much appreciated!

 

Thank you,

Galaxian

[+batari]

Hello,

As soon as my harmony cartridge arrived in the mail I set it up (properly) and plugged it into my Atari 2600. Problem is, all it does is makes my TV go fuzzy.

 

If I could get some assistance or a refund it would be much appreciated!

 

Thank you,

Galaxian

How did you set it up? You should have no need to do anything to set it up except copy files to the SD card.

 

If you tried to load a BIOS image, that can be problematic as production Harmony carts cannot use BIOS versions less than 1.03. Furthermore, attempting to load the new BIOS with an older EEPROM loader will also not work.

 

Also, some SD cards need to be formatted before they will work properly. The reason is because some cards have files on them from the factory that Harmony detects as a boot image. We plan to fix this in the future, but for now you should try formatting your card and trying again.

[Galaxian]

Hello,

As soon as my harmony cartridge arrived in the mail I set it up (properly) and plugged it into my Atari 2600. Problem is, all it does is makes my TV go fuzzy.

 

If I could get some assistance or a refund it would be much appreciated!

 

Thank you,

Galaxian

How did you set it up? You should have no need to do anything to set it up except copy files to the SD card.

 

If you tried to load a BIOS image, that can be problematic as production Harmony carts cannot use BIOS versions less than 1.03. Furthermore, attempting to load the new BIOS with an older EEPROM loader will also not work.

 

Also, some SD cards need to be formatted before they will work properly. The reason is because some cards have files on them from the factory that Harmony detects as a boot image. We plan to fix this in the future, but for now you should try formatting your card and trying again.

I ordered the deluxe package and used that SD card, and yes, all I did was copy the ROMS(.bin).

 

So, I think it's just broken.

 

Thank you

Galaxian

[+batari]

PM sent

[MaLLyR]

(in advance: sorry for my bad english)

It seems that i have same problem.

Could any one help me?

[+batari]

(in advance: sorry for my bad english)

It seems that i have same problem.

Could any one help me?

I replied to the email you sent me a few hours ago. Basically, you want to make sure the cartridge connector is making good contact. You can try plugging into the console a few times, and if that doesn't work, you can clean the connector with alcohol, or a pencil eraser. If that doesn't work, you can try to load the PAL-50 BIOS (all carts ship with NTSC BIOS, which should work on a PAL TV, but there may be exceptions.)

[MaLLyR]

(in advance: sorry for my bad english)

It seems that i have same problem.

Could any one help me?

I replied to the email you sent me a few hours ago. Basically, you want to make sure the cartridge connector is making good contact. You can try plugging into the console a few times, and if that doesn't work, you can clean the connector with alcohol, or a pencil eraser. If that doesn't work, you can try to load the PAL-50 BIOS (all carts ship with NTSC BIOS, which should work on a PAL TV, but there may be exceptions.)

 

Thx, i just replied your email, but to be sure ill post it here:

 

thanks for reply, but:

"Plug the cart into the console a few times"

tried, no resoult

 

"You could also open up the cart and try to clean the connector with a pencil eraser"

connector seems to be ok but i cant open cart, is there any screw in it?

 

"You can try to reload the BIOS"

No resoult too

 

Are thete any other ways to bring it back to live.

Weird thing is: when i connet it to pc it seems to work perfectly...

 

maby my console has not enough current for this cart, is that possible?

i have no problems using oher cartriges.

[cd-w]

Thx, i just replied your email, but to be sure ill post it here:

 

thanks for reply, but:

"Plug the cart into the console a few times"

tried, no resoult

 

"You could also open up the cart and try to clean the connector with a pencil eraser"

connector seems to be ok but i cant open cart, is there any screw in it?

 

"You can try to reload the BIOS"

No resoult too

 

Are thete any other ways to bring it back to live.

Weird thing is: when i connet it to pc it seems to work perfectly...

 

maby my console has not enough current for this cart, is that possible?

i have no problems using oher cartriges.

 

The screw is under the cartridge label. Do you have a genuine Atari 2600, or a clone console?

 

Chris

[MaLLyR]

Thx, i just replied your email, but to be sure ill post it here:

 

thanks for reply, but:

"Plug the cart into the console a few times"

tried, no resoult

 

"You could also open up the cart and try to clean the connector with a pencil eraser"

connector seems to be ok but i cant open cart, is there any screw in it?

 

"You can try to reload the BIOS"

No resoult too

 

Are thete any other ways to bring it back to live.

Weird thing is: when i connet it to pc it seems to work perfectly...

 

maby my console has not enough current for this cart, is that possible?

i have no problems using oher cartriges.

 

The screw is under the cartridge label. Do you have a genuine Atari 2600, or a clone console?

 

Chris

 

 

Clone, this exacly ---> http://atariarea.krap.pl/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8080 (first pictures from posts: 1 and 14) ("Rambo" popular in Poland)

dont tell me, the anwesr is... buy a genuine

Edited November 16, 2010 by MaLLyR

[+batari]

Harmony doesn't work with some clone consoles.

 

If this is the problem, you might be able to mod your console to make it work with Harmony. The problem is that these consoles expect pins 12 and 24 in cartridges to be connected, but in Harmony they are not. If you modify your console to connect these pins together, Harmony might work in it.

[MaLLyR]

Harmony doesn't work with some clone consoles.

 

If this is the problem, you might be able to mod your console to make it work with Harmony. The problem is that these consoles expect pins 12 and 24 in cartridges to be connected, but in Harmony they are not. If you modify your console to connect these pins together, Harmony might work in it.

 

if solution is simple as this... then you are my hero.

(ill try it after work. 8 hours from now)

have got pinout orientation of connector?

[+batari]

Harmony doesn't work with some clone consoles.

 

If this is the problem, you might be able to mod your console to make it work with Harmony. The problem is that these consoles expect pins 12 and 24 in cartridges to be connected, but in Harmony they are not. If you modify your console to connect these pins together, Harmony might work in it.

 

if solution is simple as this... then you are my hero.

(ill try it after work. 8 hours from now)

have got pinout orientation of connector?

12 and 24 are at opposite corners of the connector, and one is GND. Note that if you connect them together, only cartridges will work and the console's internal games won't. Might be best to wire in a switch if you want to play the internal games.

[MaLLyR]

Harmony doesn't work with some clone consoles.

 

If this is the problem, you might be able to mod your console to make it work with Harmony. The problem is that these consoles expect pins 12 and 24 in cartridges to be connected, but in Harmony they are not. If you modify your console to connect these pins together, Harmony might work in it.

 

if solution is simple as this... then you are my hero.

(ill try it after work. 8 hours from now)

have got pinout orientation of connector?

12 and 24 are at opposite corners of the connector, and one is GND. Note that if you connect them together, only cartridges will work and the console's internal games won't. Might be best to wire in a switch if you want to play the internal games.

 

Thx again.

 

switch was first thing that pop in my mind after your post about connecting pins

 

edit -->your sugestion seems very logical.

this is schematic similar to my console

Edited November 16, 2010 by MaLLyR

[cd-w]

This is the pin-out of an Atari 2600 cartridge, looking into the bottom of the cartridge, i.e. edge connectors first:

 

                      Top (Label Side)
D3   D4   D5   D6   D7   A12  A10  A11  A9   A8  +5V   SGND
--1- --2- --3- --4- --5- --6- --7- --8- --9- -10- -11- -12-
GND  D2   D1   D0   A0   A1   A2   A3   A4   A5   A6   A7
                          Bottom

 

You want to connect GND and SGND together inside the console (a switch would be ideal).

 

Chris

[MaLLyR]

"GND mod" worked for me. Harmony works as designed.

But... (there is allways "but") menu is unreadable (everything is shattered) , is it clones fault?

 

And i have other question: can i make this mod on harmony (nor my console) without damaging the cart?

[+batari]

"GND mod" worked for me. Harmony works as designed.

But... (there is allways "but") menu is unreadable (everything is shattered) , is it clones fault?

 

And i have other question: can i make this mod on harmony (nor my console) without damaging the cart?

Yes, you can solder a wire from an existing pin to a via. You need to scrape off some of the soldermask off of the via to get the solder to stick, so be careful. I posted a picture here:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/158289-harmonymelody-and-clone-consoles

 

As for the menu, I would guess it's due to the clone hardware not being 100% compatible.

[cd-w]

"GND mod" worked for me. Harmony works as designed.

But... (there is allways "but") menu is unreadable (everything is shattered) , is it clones fault?

 

Are you using an LCD TV set? The text uses a flickering effect that is best displayed on a CRT TV.

 

However, I suspect that the clone console is not completely compatible with the 2600 hardware. I suggest getting hold of a real 2600 if possible - there are plenty on ebay.pl

 

Chris

[MaLLyR]

"GND mod" worked for me. Harmony works as designed.

But... (there is allways "but") menu is unreadable (everything is shattered) , is it clones fault?

 

Are you using an LCD TV set? The text uses a flickering effect that is best displayed on a CRT TV.

 

However, I suspect that the clone console is not completely compatible with the 2600 hardware. I suggest getting hold of a real 2600 if possible - there are plenty on ebay.pl

 

Chris

 

All the bad things

A clone

thru RF

to LCD

 

Im allredy looking for Genuine atari 2600.