Atari 65XE screen brightness flicker

[SIO99]

My Atari 65XE screen display started playing up earlier today. I was playing the game "Mr M" when the screen brightness started fluctuating or flickering. Various times, the screen went slightly darker, before quickly returning to normal. I played another game "Spindizzy" to see if the effect was still present and it happened again.

 

At the moment, I haven't taken any further action to find the fault, apart from unplugging then reinserting both the monitor and power leads. I'm using the 65XE with a SONY KV-14V5U or KV14V6U VHS video combo TV plugged into the SCART socket. This model came out in 1997 and was seen in the classic TV series "Goodnight Sweetheart" in Gary's shop. Obviously, the 65XE is at least 5 years older than the TV.

 

I've got another TV I could use it with, but haven't tried that yet. I just wondered if there's any action I could take to fix this situation before it gets worse or something breaks down.

 

I've had various electronic devices break down recently, so I'm trying to learn more about electronics so I can fix some of them without paying someone a small fortune to repair them. I know that I shouldn't try to repair the TV myself, otherwise I could get a fatal electric shock.

[+Stephen]

Check your power supply - if it is one of the "ingot" style ones, they are known to go bad, and can affect the video before destroying the machine.

[SIO99]

It's not an "Ingot". My original power supply was an "Ingot", so I was told to get any of the other power supplies to replace it. This one is slightly larger than an "Ingot", has ridges, and the Atari logo and name embossed on in the middle of the top. Is that OK according to you?

[+Stephen]

I haven't heard of any issues with any supply besides the Ingot one.

 

Just a thought - have you previously used this TV with the Atari before? I am not able to plug my 130XE directly into a newer LCD screen via s-video because every few seconds the colour cuts out. It must be a bizarre sync issue. I would try the Atari with a different TV and see if it still does the same.

[SIO99]

I have used my Atari 65XE with this TV before. The Atari is still working as I write this. I think I'll try testing my two power supplies with a multimeter and see what the results are. Perhaps if the voltage fluctuates wildly, then that means the new one isn't safe. I'm not sure what to look for, though.

[sloopy]

Check the monitor... connect it to another video source... this is common on monitors which are about to die...

 

sloopy.

[SIO99]

I've found the fault! My Quickshot joystick broke down, then I managed to repair it. Some time after the repair, the front fire button stopped working. I hadn't opened the stick, just the base. This was the button I preferred. Since changing to the top button, I still occasionally squeeze the front fire button with my first finger. This causes the brightness to dim both on my TV screen AND on my SIO2SD Micro. Could this cause any damage?

[Rybags]

A joystick shouldn't do that - does it have autofire?

 

I'd guess if it's hooked to the +5V source that either it's dragging out way more current than it should or maybe there's a short to ground happening.

[+Larry]

Another issue that can affect color and brightness is a bad monitor plug or jack --or-- a bad power supply plug or jack. I've seen more issues with the jacks than the pulgs.

 

-Larry

[SIO99]

A joystick shouldn't do that - does it have autofire?

 

I'd guess if it's hooked to the +5V source that either it's dragging out way more current than it should or maybe there's a short to ground happening.

 

Yes, it has autofire, but it*s usually turned off. It does this with the autofire turned off.