JamesL Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 Hi everyone. I got an untested Atari 2600 4 switch woodgrain system on Craigslist. Joystick games play fine, but the system doesn't seem to read paddle controllers' movements. The paddles' buttons do work, as I was able to start Kaboom!, but get no movement at all. They work on my other 2600, so they're not the issue. Any ideas? Any help is much appreciated, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason_Atari Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 Could be a bad TIA chip, do you have another to swap out? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted May 3, 2016 Author Share Posted May 3, 2016 Could be a bad TIA chip, do you have another to swap out? I have a parts board so I can try that one. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 If not the TIA, it could be a bad solder joint or damage on the controller port. Theoretically, it could even be a failure in the capacitor that charges to perform the analog to digital conversion. Don't recall hearing of that happening though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted May 8, 2016 Author Share Posted May 8, 2016 (edited) OK, I swapped the TIA from my parts board, and got no picture at all, so that TIA is bad. So I put the TIA from my system on my parts board. It works better-I get limited paddle movement, meaning that the character (buckets in Kaboom) will instantly move from one end of the screen to the other without fluid scrolling, and the buttons still respond. Could it still be the TIA? Or do both boards have something else wrong? I'm sorry; I'm very new to fixing these. UPDATE: I pulled all 3 chips and sprayed the contacts with contact cleaner, and it went back to buttons only working, no movement at all, on both boards. I'll get a TIA from Best and update the results. Edited May 8, 2016 by JamesL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted May 15, 2016 Author Share Posted May 15, 2016 Could be a bad TIA chip, do you have another to swap out? The new chip arrived today, and it works perfectly now! Thanks so much for your help! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason_Atari Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 The new chip arrived today, and it works perfectly now! Thanks so much for your help! No problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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