sirtris Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Hello everyone. New to the scene. Really enjoy your discussions and knowledge. I just got this Sears super video arcade through auction and every cart I put in has distorted crackling noise for the sound. Of course the seller has no mention what so ever of a sound issue. I tried lightly cleaning the cartridge port and cartridges. Same results. The picture is about perfect on my TV. Much better than my colecovision. And my colecovision sounds just fine using the same RF cable. Also I'm using the radio shack RF to cable adapter. Okay... Any ideas?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 (edited) Hello everyone. New to the scene. Really enjoy your discussions and knowledge. I just got this Sears super video arcade through auction and every cart I put in has distorted crackling noise for the sound. Of course the seller has no mention what so ever of a sound issue. I tried lightly cleaning the cartridge port and cartridges. Same results. The picture is about perfect on my TV. Much better than my colecovision. And my colecovision sounds just fine using the same RF cable. Also I'm using the radio shack RF to cable adapter. Okay... Any ideas??Ok. This is gonna sound stupid. Hook up only one controller. Try on port 1. If still sound issues plug it into port 2 and reset. If still the same, repeat using your other controller. Edited January 22, 2015 by pimpmaul69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice2839 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 (edited) Ok. This is gonna sound stupid. Hook up only one controller. Try on port 1. If still sound issues plug it into port 2 and reset. If still the same, repeat using your other controller. Do let me in on this? What are you checking for a shorted keypad or something? I was going to suggest something simple like adjusting your RF modulators sound tuner coil. LOL Edited January 22, 2015 by juice2839 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtris Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Okay just a quick update. I did try the controller idea. No luck with that. Same issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice2839 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Okay just a quick update. I did try the controller idea. No luck with that. Same issue. See my post above about adjusting your RF modulator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtris Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Okay. Will try this tomorrow when I get home from work. I guess I'll have to disassemble the unit and find a dial of some sort by the RF out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntellivisionDude Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I'm a noob but i do know that sometimes you can get better sound with some of these old consoles going through a VCR first. My Atari 7800 sounds like garbled garbage going straight to the TV but sounds fine going through the VCR first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtris Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Thanks Intellivision dude. Will keep that in mind. Although just to make sure I tried on another TV as well. Had a nice clean picture but sound that was straight out of a Rice Krispy box. Snap crackle and pop. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Do let me in on this? What are you checking for a shorted keypad or something? I was going to suggest something simple like adjusting your RF modulators sound tuner coil. LOL i stole this insert from jaybird to save myself the trouble. But yes i am looking for a short. From jaybird: The first has to do with signal conversion and finding a suitable power source. The Intellivision's controllers are connected to the parallel ports on the sound chip (the AY-3-8914), so they're eight TTL I/O pins and a ground pin. Connecting other controllers--such as Atari joysticks--would require an encoder or a microcontroller of some kind to generate the correct signals; it would need to be more than a simple adapter. But, because the Intellivision controller ports don't provide any power pins (like the Atari joystick ports do), the converter would also require an external power source, either a battery or an AC adapter. These aren't insurmountable requirements, but they might make the converter more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freewheel Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 If the picture is absolutely fine, but the sound is crackly, my money says that the RF modulator, and your hookup, is likely fine. No guarantee, but that's my experience. If either of those is bad, "perfect" is never how I'd describe the picture. Your symptoms exactly match a unit I just fixed up a few months ago. The problem was the power switch. They can get dirty as all hell and for whatever reason, with this one it was ONLY audio that was affected. All crackly and distorted. I simply opened the unit, sprayed some contact cleaner into the power switch, moved it back and forth about a thousand times, and voila! Perfect sound after that. Play around with the power switch with a game in, when the audio is acting up. Jiggle it around as much as you can without turning the unit off. See if what you do to the power switch affects the audio in any way. If so, you've got a dirty power switch. Some people even disassemble the switch entirely to REALLY clean it, but I didn't find that to be necessary (at least I don't remember having to take it all the way apart). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 definitely the next easier step is to check the power switch. The switch is really easy to take apart. Just bend the four tabs and it all comes apart and you can use a paper towel to wipe it clean. I personally find greasing to be a problem cause all it does is allow more debris to collect. Some people swear by greasing. I dont. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freewheel Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I personally find greasing to be a problem cause all it does is allow more debris to collect. Some people swear by greasing. I dont. Yeah, I've had nothing but problems with dielectric grease. Mind you I've only tried it a couple of times, but it just didn't help and in fact made things much worse. I just clean the hell out of a switch. Maybe it'll only last a few years, but it's something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtris Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 I've got a good feeling about the power switch suggestions. I'll take it apart when I get home tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intvnut Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 (edited) Your symptoms exactly match a unit I just fixed up a few months ago. The problem was the power switch. They can get dirty as all hell and for whatever reason, with this one it was ONLY audio that was affected. All crackly and distorted. I simply opened the unit, sprayed some contact cleaner into the power switch, moved it back and forth about a thousand times, and voila! Perfect sound after that. The sound amplifier circuit is powered from the +12v rail, which I believe is unregulated / minimally regulated. This +12 also goes to the RF modulator. The video isn't affected because the RF mod has its own internal 5v Zener diode reference. But, the audio amp circuit outside doesn't have that. So, that's how the dirty switch can lead to dirty audio. EDIT: Ok, so I looked it up. +12V is regulated, +16V is unregulated. Stll, both of those legs get their own pole on the power switch. Edited January 22, 2015 by intvnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtris Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 I did notice that it was finicky sometimes when switching the power on resulting in a black screen- sometimes the reset button would cure it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I did notice that it was finicky sometimes when switching the power on resulting in a black screen- sometimes the reset button would cure it.the reset to start is nothing abnormal. Its quite common to have to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtris Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 (edited) Damn... Still no sound. The only area to clean with the contact cleaner is the power switch correct? I'll try to move it around some more to see if I can get any different results. Edited January 22, 2015 by sirtris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Damn... Still no sound. The only area to clean with the contact cleaner is the power switch correct? I'll try to move it around some more to see if I can get any different results.ok next thing i would do is look at the ribbon cable. Is it seperated anywhere? If so you might not be making good contact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freewheel Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Damn... Still no sound. The only area to clean with the contact cleaner is the power switch correct? I'll try to move it around some more to see if I can get any different results. Does the sound seem to be affected at all by jiggling the power switch? If it doesn't actually change the output, then it may have nothing to do with the switch. Assuming that it's even a power problem, there are many other places that could cause difficulties. Like pimpmaul is suggesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Does the sound seem to be affected at all by jiggling the power switch? If it doesn't actually change the output, then it may have nothing to do with the switch. Assuming that it's even a power problem, there are many other places that could cause difficulties. Like pimpmaul is suggesting. i try to start with the easiest and work down the line. I try not to overwhelm someone with a billion things to try. Plus some people will try all the hard stuff first and waste a bunch of time trying to fix it and then find out it was something simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 (edited) Damn... Still no sound. The only area to clean with the contact cleaner is the power switch correct? I'll try to move it around some more to see if I can get any different results.did you take it apart? If not i would not use contact cleaner and just wipe it down with a papertowel or something. I hate most contact cleaners cause the leave a film if you just spray it and dont wipe it off. Aerosol contact cleaners are best cause they evaporate. Edited January 22, 2015 by pimpmaul69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice2839 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 My money is on the RF modulator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 My money is on the RF modulator.ok since you mentioned it, that is my next step. You can order a new one from intvnut here for cheap if the other things dont seem to be the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freewheel Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 did you take it apart? If not i would not use contact cleaner and just wipe it down with a papertowel or something. I hate most contact cleaners cause the leave a film if you just spray it and dont wipe it off. Aerosol contact cleaners are best cause they evaporate. I hope he took it apart! Contact cleaner on the plastic power switch cover would do nothing. Hopefully my explanation wasn't tooooo obtuse... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice2839 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 ok since you mentioned it, that is my next step. You can order a new one from intvnut here for cheap if the other things dont seem to be the problem. How cheap I might need a couple. He probably only just needs to adjust his. The service manual tells you exactly how to do it and also describes his exact symptom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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