What happens if the cartridge is left in the Intellivision for 24 hours?

[joshblaize]

What happens if the game cartridge is left in the Intellivision for 24 hours, while the system is turned on?

Will the game cartridge burn out from leaving it in the Intellivision for 24 hours?

I remember leaving an Atari cartridge in the Atari 2600 for 24 hours and it did not burn out.

I notice that the Atari 2600 is forgiving if you leave the cartridge in its system too long.

Is the Intellivision forgiving, if the cartridge is left in its system too long?

I was asking this question out of curiousity, because somebody told me in 1982, that if you leave a cartridge in a game system too long, that it would burn out.

Is it a myth or is it true, that a cartridge will burn out, if it is left in the Intellivision system too long?

 

[pimpmaul69]

I left mine running for 3 days on accident. No probs playing it afterwards

[mr_intv]

I believe others also left it on for days at a time while playing Mouse Trap in a hi score challenge a year or 2 ago. Should be ok.

[+intvsteve]

Shouldn't be a problem, as long as the system itself doesn't overheat. We actually did 'let the smoke out' of the very first 2609 we had when I was a kid. I think I still remember the smell. It was traumatic!

 

Since these systems don't have very good ventilation, don't put it on a carpet or something like that if you can help it.

 

But recently during testing something I realized I'd had my system and new cart powered up for a week non-stop and all are still operating just fine.

[pimpmaul69]

Shouldn't be a problem, as long as the system itself doesn't overheat. We actually did 'let the smoke out' of the very first 2609 we had when I was a kid. I think I still remember the smell. It was traumatic!

 

Since these systems don't have very good ventilation, don't put it on a carpet or something like that if you can help it.

 

But recently during testing something I realized I'd had my system and new cart powered up for a week non-stop and all are still operating just fine.

yes mine was on wood. Carpet gets hotter than anything else and can dangerously hot. I had a kid i told to not put his xbox 360 on his bed anymore because it was causing it to overheat and breaking the solder joints. He brings it back again and tells me that he stopped putting it on his bed and put it on a pillow. I was thinking WTF!!!!!

[+intvsteve]

yes mine was on wood. Carpet gets hotter than anything else and can dangerously hot. I had a kid i told to not put his xbox 360 on his bed anymore because it was causing it to overheat and breaking the solder joints. He brings it back again and tells me that he stopped putting it on his bed and put it on a pillow. I was thinking WTF!!!!!

lol! Sounds like something one of mine would do.

[+JasonlikesINTV]

Any old electronic device can overheat if not ventilated properly. In general, Intellivision consoles (and especially cartridges) are remarkably resilient. I have personally left my Intellivision console running non-stop for around a week with no issue (During the Mouse Trap High Score Competition), HOWEVER, I kept it well ventilated. I actually propped it up on some old Atari cartridges atop a wooden coffee table and had a fan blowing over it to dissipate heat.

 

If you're asking because you did it, just test it to ensure proper functionality. If you're planning on doing it, keep it on a hard surface (no carpet, blankets, towels, etc). Keep the vents unblocked, and consider a fan to circulate air and dissipate heat...just as a precaution.

Edited April 19, 2015 by JasonlikesINTV

[+DZ-Jay]

Let me put your mind at ease: Nothing bad should happen. I've always been a bit absent-minded, and I remember that back in the 1980s, I would turn off the TV and forget that the machine was on, since it doesn't have a power indicator. A day or two later I would realize my mistake and notice to my alarm that the console was very hot--only to turn on the TV, set the switch to "GAME" and... nothing: still there alive and kicking. Crisis averted. (Phew!)

 

Even now, 30-something years later, I'm even worse: I would play on a Saturday, forget to turn off the console, and not notice it until days later... possibly a week, that there is heat emanating from my entertainment center: oh no! I left my Intellivision on (again)! And yet, still kicking.

 

Of course, I am not really that cavalier on purpose; I get really concerned that one of these days it will burn out (and it probably will). However, my experience has shown that leaving the Intellivision powered on accidentally over night, once or twice, is not really cause for much alarm. Your mileage may vary, though.

 

They don't make things like they used to. Those machines were made to last!

 

-dZ.

Edited April 19, 2015 by DZ-Jay

[+LS650]

People leave servers up and running 24/7 for months or even years at a time without issue.

As long as the unit is kept in a cool, well-ventilated place there should be no problem.

[hero2billions]

i left mine on for days playing treasure of tarmin as a kid

[tep392]

As people said, it's all about keeping a normal operating temp. The PC's we have at work stay on for years at a time. They will only get shut down if serviced or replaced with a newer model.

[intvnut]

I've routinely left my Intellivision on for multiple days testing CC3, JLP and LTO Flash! boards.

 

The only issue I ever experienced was that one Intellivision unit I owned would "color shift:" after awhile, the colors would get all funky, with greens becoming aquamarine, etc. (Baseball looked like it was in a swimming pool!) Shutting the unit off for an hour or two restored its colors. I only had one unit that would do that, though.

 

As everyone else here says: keep it ventilated, and you should be fine.

 

If it does act up after being on too long, let it cool down and it should go back to normal.

[intvnut]

yes mine was on wood. Carpet gets hotter than anything else and can dangerously hot. I had a kid i told to not put his xbox 360 on his bed anymore because it was causing it to overheat and breaking the solder joints. He brings it back again and tells me that he stopped putting it on his bed and put it on a pillow. I was thinking WTF!!!!!

 

Clearly he needs to start wrapping it in a towel or heavy coat.

[Binth]

I wonder how long before a water cooler mod comes out

[joshblaize]

Thank you for the replies. Sounds like game cartridges do not burn out, if left in the system too long. Sounds like the Donkey Kong cartridge for the Intellivision sitting around at the year 1982 was not broken for being left in the Intellivision for 24 hours. Maybe the Donkey Kong cartridge was dirty and it needed to be cleaned. Or maybe the Donkey Kong cartridge was not really broken and the people who owned the Intellivision at the 1982 time, did not really want me to play the Intellivision around the 1982 time. A strange excuse for somebody to come up with for the Donkey Kong cartridge to be broken, because it was left in the Intellivision for 24 hours, being turned on.

[+intvsteve]

Carts and systems can and do go bad. I can't say I've opened up a DK cart, but sometimes the solder points crack, or a diode or capacitor may go bad, or other problems (corrosion) occur. It's pretty rare, but can happen.

 

And of course, Donkey Kong and some other Coleco titles won't work at all on Intellivision II.

[intvnut]

Carts and systems can and do go bad. I can't say I've opened up a DK cart, but sometimes the solder points crack, or a diode or capacitor may go bad, or other problems (corrosion) occur. It's pretty rare, but can happen.

 

 

They're pretty boring inside. A small PCB with a GI ROM (or second-source ROM) on it, and that's it as I recall. It would have about as much likelihood of failing as any other cart, I'd imagine.

[+JasonlikesINTV]

If there were ever a game to not be able to play in 1982, it would be Donkey Kong for the Intellivision You weren't missing much.

Edited April 20, 2015 by JasonlikesINTV

[Crazy Climber]

I remember reading an old article by Joe Santulli mentioning the very first Intellivision system models would have problems with over heating. I seem to remember him mentioning a marathon baseball game and his Intellivision starting to smoke/etc..

[+nanochess]

What happens if the cartridge is left in the Intellivision for 24 hours? it collects dust and debris!

 

I remember reading an old article by Joe Santulli mentioning the very first Intellivision system models would have problems with over heating. I seem to remember him mentioning a marathon baseball game and his Intellivision starting to smoke/etc..

Yep, as things work with smoke, once it gets out of the system these cease to work

 

Here in Mexico the Intellivision is the most common burnt console, I have two friends whose Intellivisions are fried (both are the golden ones and both played over the carpet) thirty years ago the carpets were pretty common.

[First Spear]

 

 

I managed to "toast" out 1980 Intv I, playing Armor Battle for 2 days straight basically never turning the unit off, just rounds of kids taking turns over and over. The unit was on the carpet all the time....

 

I remember reading an old article by Joe Santulli mentioning the very first Intellivision system models would have problems with over heating. I seem to remember him mentioning a marathon baseball game and his Intellivision starting to smoke/etc..

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

 

quote name="pimpmaul69" post="3221631" timestamp="1429424218"]yes mine was on wood. Carpet gets hotter than anything else and can dangerously hot. I had a kid i told to not put his xbox 360 on his bed anymore because it was causing it to overheat and breaking the solder joints. He brings it back again and tells me that he stopped putting it on his bed and put it on a pillow. I was thinking WTF!!!!!

 

Clearly he needs to start wrapping it in a towel or heavy coat.

[Ignorama]

Every time you forget to turn your Intellivision off a unicorn dies.

[sprazzi]

i remember reading in an old video game magazine of the '80's that a kid left intentionally his intellivision on while playing skiing, and stopping just before the arrival line.

the timer went on and on and eventually at 99:99 (or 999:99) it started display some letters and then on some graphics....

[+Lathe26]

If you leave Dig Dug in for 24 hours, it will dig 16 tons, get another day older, and be deeper in debt.