atarinoobster Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 I recently received an Atari 2600 (4 switches) which was in working condition from the previous owner. Upon receiving it and plugging it in to my TV, it did not work. I see snow on the TV and I am using the RCA to RF (Coax) connector. I have a multimeter and when I tested the Atari power supply, it shows 20v. Is that an issue given that the brick is rated at 9v? Also, with the power supply connected to an outlet and I plug the cord into the back of the Atari, I do not see the "spark" that other threads mention, regardless of whether or not the Atari is on or off. Unfortunately I do not have a spare Atari power supply or Atari to validate against. If anyone has any thoughts on this, I would appreciate it. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19rsn007 Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 uhm 20v ? Dude, if that was measured the right way, you may have fried the atari (if you're lucky, you just fried the voltage regulator in there) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariman Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 The real question is whether or not the voltage droops down to around 9ish volts when it is loaded. I think that the regulator in there is a 7805 - those things are pretty rugged so long as they can get rid of the excess heat. I would plug it back in and read the voltage from there. From that point, I would proceed to see if there is 5v coming from the regulator - just do it quickly in the event that it is a solid 20v... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Yeah, you should definitely expect to see a considerably higher-than-rated unloaded voltage out of that unregulated supply. As Atariman says, the voltage will drop when it sees a load and the voltage regulator inside the console should turn it into a solid 5v. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarinoobster Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 Thanks Atariman and BigO. I tested the voltage at the voltage regulator and it reads about 6.5v. Assuming that is ok, do you folks have any other thoughts on what else I can check? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zylon Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Thanks Atariman and BigO. I tested the voltage at the voltage regulator and it reads about 6.5v. Assuming that is ok, do you folks have any other thoughts on what else I can check? 6.5v is not ok. Anything over 5.3 is bad and eventually fatal to the IC's. I'd replace the 7805 regulator first, and then recheck voltage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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