Has Anyone Else Have This Happen?

[kamakazi]

OK. I've already asked if I had paid too much for two 2600 games. Now I'm almost sure of it. Space Invaders plays fine but I think Defender might be defective. Last night before going to bed I played a good game of Defender. My score had reached over 65,000 points. A first for me and as much as I wanted to play another round I simply left the system on and went to bed. I wake up, turn on the TV only to be presented with a blank screen. I was confused so I turned off the Atari and then back on. Still nothing. I tried another game. The game appeared on the screen without any issues. I tried Defender again and seen something weird happen.

 

Defender started its demo routine just fine. After a few seconds, however, parts of the game started to disappear including the smart bombs, extra lives, and part of the "© 1981 Atari, Inc." statement. Then it like faded away into darkness. Turning the console off and letting it sit for about a minute before turning the system back on the game looks fine but eventually goes into darkness again after removing game elements. Any ideas? Does some of these carts have capacitors in them that can be changed? Because its almost like playing a game on battery power with a dead battery.

[accousticguitar]

I usually unplug my system when I'm finished playing. After all, these units are all over 20 years old. Perhaps the place you bought defender at would let you trade it in for a different game.

[Jason_Atari]

Just sounds to me like the cartridge contacts need a clean, if they are a bit dirty they can become touchy and temperamental.

[kamakazi]

Contacts have been cleaned, and they were dirty. The problem still exists. I'm just going to call this game a loss. Maybe it might correct itself someday. I can get a good 5 minute game of Defender in before it goes berzerk.

[Brian R.]

Contacts have been cleaned, and they were dirty. The problem still exists. I'm just going to call this game a loss. Maybe it might correct itself someday. I can get a good 5 minute game of Defender in before it goes berzerk.

 

Well, Berzerk is a fun game too...

 

 

I'd never leave an old console on that long. I also keep my systems de-powered when not in use - I think I fried a Dreamcast from it being plugged into a live power strip 24-7.

[kamakazi]

Haha...I agree. Berzerk is a fun game. I'm not afraid to leave systems powered up or left on sometimes. Most consoles that pre-date XBOX and PlayStation are solid consoles. I've never had a Dreamcast fry from being left plugged in. It doesn't hurt to leave it plugged in as the internal battery could use the recharge once in a while. And, yes, those are suppose to be a rechargeable battery. The only issue I ran into with a Dreamcast was the motor responsible for spinning the disc developed poor brushes and, try as it might, couldn't spin a disc. I replaced the motor and all was well. And I've seen a LOT of consoles that didn't work properly due to cleaning neglect. I have yet to run across an Atari 2600 that didn't work. Those things were made to last and with better materials than what the world sees today.

 

This is first game I've found in the wild that has had an issue. It's no big deal and to be expected. I was just curious if anyone else here at AA has ever had a game work for a while before it would show that it was defective. I've never seen one start from a cold state, play for about 5 to 10 minutes, then "pop" causing a reset effect, have a smart bomb disappear, lose a life, then go black and do what appears to be loss of the VSYNC signal. The black screen rolls once this happens. The strange thing about this defect is that it only happens when the game is in a warm state. Turn the console off, let the game cool down, and it plays fine. Pins are clean on both cart and console. Cartridge appears to be in great condition...no faded or missing labels, color is vibrant almost as if new. Like I said, it's no big deal. If nothing else I will turn it into a fridge magnet or donate it to AA for homebrew purposes.

[high voltage]

Cartridges can die after years, I have a few in my collection which don't work anymore, eg Master Builder, Beamrider, Stampede and a couple of others. Best is to replace them, I just won a Beamrider cart only for $5. That's the way to go.

Edited April 12, 2014 by high voltage

[Rik]

In all my years collecting, I've never found a cartridge that was non working for all my systems, 400, 2600, 7800, CV, INTV. I've been pretty lucky there, it's pretty damn amazing that 30+ year old memory chips are still holding data. I guess it depends how they are stored, handled, zapped by static electricity, etc. These classic video things, especially the 2600, are built like tanks, unlike the stuff we buy today.

[ntcmpjg]

I have had this problem I just can't find a working Pitfall I have bought 2 both are dead

[Brian R.]

I've picked up hundreds of carts over the years. A very small number were dead. The ones that worked have all continued to work.

 

I also got Beamrider for 2600 not long ago. It seemed to not want to work, but eventually I got it working. Cleaning wasn't enough, maybe it was corrosion on the contacts that had to get worked through. It does work, but it does sometimes take an insert or two or three before I get a screen up.

 

I don't know if there'd be anything in a 2600 cart that would overheat. That's an odd one, to me.

[+cvga]

 

I also got Beamrider for 2600 not long ago. It seemed to not want to work, but eventually I got it working. Cleaning wasn't enough, maybe it was corrosion on the contacts that had to get worked through. It does work, but it does sometimes take an insert or two or three before I get a screen up.

 

 

I had a Beamrider that didn't work. My daughter bought me another one for Christmas last year because she knew it was my favorite game. Unfortunately, the one she bought was for the Colecovision (which was still cool and it was the thought that counted). I found one for the Atari 2600 the next week at a local shop. When I brought it home the original one started working again also.

[bradhig]

I have a barnstorming that doesn't work anyone. It just gives me a garbled screen. I have another Barnstorming that works.

[Rik]

I have had this problem I just can't find a working Pitfall I have bought 2 both are dead

I think it's been mentioned before. Activision used thinner boards on some games which made looser contact in the 2600 console, Pitfall was one of them. I have the issue with some of my Pitfalls. I just reinsert a couple of times, but the slightest movement of console would blank up game screen, thus needing to start over.

[kamakazi]

I have to agree that these older consoles are built like tanks. It's hard, and sometimes difficult, to do any harm to them while owning them. And I prefer carts over optical media any day just like I prefer 8-tracks, cassettes, and vinyl over CDs, CEDs and VHS over DVDs. The media and the machines that played them were simply made better.

 

As for Defender...I would almost open it up to check the insides but the labels are clean and colorful. I know I would have to make a hole in one and place a crease in another just to reach the board. I find it odd that it is acting like it is running off a dead battery. I don't really believe that the ROM is at fault but I could be wrong. It just acts like a battery-powered system fading away as the batteries lose their charge. Similar to what the original GameBoy did when the batteries reached the end of their useful lives. And, as I have stated, it seems to work fine until it warms up so to speak. Maybe if I put it in the freezer for a bit? Just kidding on that last part...I wouldn't do that. It just puzzles me, that's all. I still need to make a video showing what it is doing. I hope to have the time to get that up soon.

[CapitanClassic]

Why would you have to open it?
https://atariage.com/howto/clean_cartridges.html

[DarthDuke]

From what you describe, it sounds like insulation on some components inside your Defender cartridge has been compromised. I've run into this problem with memory cards on PCs in the past. I went through a stage when I thought maybe it was better to leave your PC running all the time as it would make the parts last longer (a debate that still goes on in some circles - though I've come to the conclusion based on my own experience that the 'turn it off whenever you are done using it' crowd is right). The RAM memory sticks on computers that I left on all the time would eventually malfunction, causing the computer to crash or continue to work but show a blank screen once the PC had been on for a while. They would crash or show the black screen requiring you to shut it down completely. Then, after being off for a while, you'd start it up again and it would seem to work fine, until it crashed or the screen went black again. The time it would stay working would gradually decrease over time until you finally took the computer apart to see what was wrong with it.

I went round and round with Gateway 2000, back when they were still a rather new company, with a desktop I had from them. I'd try stuff over the phone with them (after being on hold for eternities). When that didn't work, they had me send the whole tower to their place in Texas. I wound up doing that three or four times before giving up on them and taking it to a little repair shop in a neighboring town. The guy there found out it was the RAM that was malfunctioning and fixed the problem completely by replacing the sticks with new ones, something Gateway had apparently not bothered to try. He said never leave a gaming PC on 24/7 even if it has pretty good cooling and is kept clean (which I was doing for mine), as it makes certain parts overheat and develop cracks that you can't even see with the naked eye.

Maybe the same thing is happening inside that cart. Something has been so weakened and maybe even cracked by leaving the game going all night, that it is now malfunctioning when the cart warms up and the cracked parts expand enough to make the cracks big enough to cause the malfunctions you are seeing.

In which case, I would keep the one you have, just for the pretty stickers and get a new one. They are rather plentiful and cheap to find compared to some 2600 carts, but you can't always find another one with really nice looking stickers still as this great game was usually played to death by us kids back in the day.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Are we sure this isn't just the normal screen saver mode?

[atari181]

$1 cart, 2 year old thread. ?????

[roadrunner]

Cartridges can die after years, I have a few in my collection which don't work anymore, eg Master Builder, Beamrider, Stampede and a couple of others. Best is to replace them, I just won a Beamrider cart only for $5. That's the way to go.

 

 

$5 for Beamrider???