Sr101 Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 While I understand how to check grounding in general... In this case I wouldn't know where to check the voltage input... Man, this is so close I can taste it. Knowing I CAN get the sharp, perfect looking picture on this thing is driving me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr101 Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Tried the small wire again, and a thick stripped wire... It still seems to have the issue... When I touch it though, it works fine!! Ugh it's literally the most annoying issue I've had with a console... And I've fixed up a jaguar cd! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 So it seems the whole console is missing ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr101 Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Just a hunch- does anyone have an extra 2600 power cable? I want to try another one with my console to see if it works any better- mine seems to be a crummy aftermarket one... I don't really wanna spend a lot more money... But if no one can ship me one (I'd pay shipping) I'll have to :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Here's a question/suggestion: are both your TV and console plugged into the same circuit? If not, I'd suggest a common power strip for both of them so they'll share the ground. These problems sound an awful lot like ground hum issues you can get when a guitar amp isn't grounded properly. If you're playing a guitar through an amplifier and then mic'ing the amp into a PA or recording system, if everything doesn't share a ground, you get audio hum that behaves a lot like this. Alternately, the ground on your console power jack may be flaky - if you haven't already, try reflowing the solder on all the pads of the power jack and see if it helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr101 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 Just tried the common strip- maybe it was a coincidence but it made it worse? Where should I remelt the solder? I'm not too keen on that... It still does the same thing when setup this way, if I touch it it all goes away! So weird... I feel like there has to be some way to recreate the touch effect using wires or something... But it doesn't do the same thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr101 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 So many mixed opinions here- Some people saying grounding... some saying power supply... some saying the CART PORT needs to be cleaned... Ugh... atari why... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 IMO the cartridge port has been eliminated. And the power supply suggestion talks about grounding too. Wires do not work, because your mass provides the grounding when you touch the console. A wire would only work if part of the console is already grounded. So your console needs grounding from somewhere (power outlet, TV). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr101 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 I see... so in theory, trying a different power cable COULD fix this issue :/ I already have an original RF cable on the way... may order a power cable too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr101 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 At Assembler, someone mentioned that my being able to stop the noise on the screen may mean that the RF modulator is busted... any thoughts? Also; I wanna personally apoligize for all the bumps and constant updates. Gaming is my passion, and I'm a serious collector. This console has been on the top of my "once i find a deal" list and I really wanna get it working well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I see... so in theory, trying a different power cable COULD fix this issue :/ I already have an original RF cable on the way... may order a power cable too At Assembler, someone mentioned that my being able to stop the noise on the screen may mean that the RF modulator is busted... any thoughts? Also; I wanna personally apoligize for all the bumps and constant updates. Gaming is my passion, and I'm a serious collector. This console has been on the top of my "once i find a deal" list and I really wanna get it working well! If the RF modulator is itself going bad, that can be fixed. You can still find used, working RF modulators on eBay and from places like B&C or Best Electronics, but it may be more cost effective to buy a whole new board unless you just want to fix the one you have. On the other hand, one of the ways these things go bad is broken or cold solder joints - not only at the power supply like I referenced yesterday, but at basically any component on the board. Boards heat up and cool down, they get jostled over time and with shipping, the boards flex, connectors get pushed and pulled, as do switches ... Contacts can get broken due to all this. It's very easy to reflow solder just by heating up the iron to about 750º - 775º F for 2 - 3 seconds to get the solder to melt and re-solidify. This site has an excellent hi-res photo of a Vader board (though all basic 4-swtich 2600A versions are pretty similar for these purposes). The RF modulator is the metal-enclosed unit at the lower right, the power connector is obvious at the top center. Flip the board over and simply touch up the solder at all the places where these components are mounted. And it's okay to be excited and anxious to get your machines working - I had similar angst last month over a 4-switch Woody where the difficulty switches didn't work. Everything else was fine. I tried all kinds of things - cleaning the hell out of the switches multiple times, touching up the solder at the switch connections, even removing one switch and and replacing it entirely. Ultimately it turned out to be a bad 6532 (RIOT) chip. Once I got a replacement in there, it was perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RichG1972 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/33949/Why+does+my+Atari+2600+just+show+static+when+turned+on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RichG1972 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 What the link I just posted suggests since the topic is similar to this one, is the power jack may be loose at least that is how I interpret it. It's worth looking into. So why not just pull the motherboard and check the power jack for "wiggle" because that is most times where the unit needs to be grounded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Check your board for any cracked solder joints and fix them. It's a super easy thing to do - I'd posted some info last year about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr101 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 Oh boy... my eyes aren't good enough for this stuff So... any joints that look less than stellar should be heated and "touched up" with a little solder? Shall try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RichG1972 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Start with the either 4 or 6 on the power jack, then try the system. Each time you re-flow a cracked joint, try the system to see if that did it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr101 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 Okay in that case, where is the diagram? Is it this one? https://atariage.com/2600/archives/schematics_pal/Schematic_2600_Console_PAL.html I...don't really understand that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RichG1972 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 (edited) First re-flow the solder on the 3pins of the power jack, then test the unit, if it clears up you have done your job Edited July 30, 2015 by RichG1972 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr101 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 Hm, there seems to be 3 right here in the middle, those ones right under the port? http://i.imgur.com/oeVwL7p.jpg (I know I know... I'm clueless.. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RichG1972 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Yes, check the port for Wiggle and if it does, reflow the solder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RichG1972 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 (edited) From what I can see in the enlarged photo the power jack solder, and the solder on both difficulty switches needs to be re-flowed. Just heat the solder long enough to fuse it back together, and it also couldn't hurt to maybe add a wee bit extra for stability Edited July 30, 2015 by RichG1972 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr101 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 Ah, will do! I'll get back to you all when it has been done! I'll do it in segments so I can see what was causing the issue! *crosses fingers* Thanks again guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 The power jack solder looks really bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sr101 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 The power jack solder looks really bad. Now I know what to focus on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 So how did it go? Oh boy... my eyes aren't good enough for this stuff I have found these to be the best $8 I'v spent in awhile for electronics tinkering. Yes, you look like a complete dork wearing them, and they're not the most comfortable things in the world, but being able to see where to solder is worth it. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003UCODIA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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