Adam Black Screen on Adam mode, Colecogames work fine

[Bmack36]

I recently bought an Adam Standalone and it would boot to the word processor but the tape deck didn't seem to detect the buck rodges tape. It would just reset to the word processor. I took the top cover off and unplugged and replugged the connectors. When I turned it back on the adam would only boot with a black screen. With a coleco game in it would display properly, but when the adam was reset it just goes black. I tried disassembling the adam and removing and reinserting all the socketed chips, but that didn't make a difference. The printer that is powering the console works just fine with my other adam, so i wouldn't think it is a power issue.

 

Anyone have any suggestions or is it just toast?

[Bmack36]

Hooking a keyboard up, it doesn't seem to control the printer like the working adam that I have so I doesn't seem like it is a video issue

[NIAD]

The obvious answer is that the Adam circuit board (the bottom board) is the culprit and in my experiences, there is no fix for this issue besides replacing it with a tested/working board that are impossible to find loose. Could be any number of issues from the EOS and SmartWriter chips, to bad RAM, to broken traces, etc., etc.

 

You could try looking thru the Adam Technical Manual available at ann.hollowdreams.com to see if any light is shed on this issue you are having.

[mightywiz]

i received one doing the same thing, i had to tear it all the way down to the bottom board under the colecovision board, then i pulled all chips and reseated them all in there sockets

and put it all back together and then the adam portion fired right up with not issues.

 

good luck.

[NIAD]

Seeing as the Digital Data Drive was not working originally, I would say the DDD controller chip/circuit has been damaged... one of the more common problems with the Adam circuit board. This would not be a problem if you don't care about using the DDD, ie: just playing cart based games, have a disk drive or IDE CF Card package.

 

When you popped the socketed chips out, did you pay special attention to their orientation for reinserting them and insure that all the chip pins were intake/properly lined up in the socket?

 

I would disassemble everything, clean the hell out of it with De-oxit and 90%+ Isoprophyl Alcohol, reseat all the socketed chips again and check all the traces on the PCB for damage.

 

If all else fails, you have a large ColecoVision unless you can find a replacement board.

[NIAD]

Btw, if eColeco lists that they have Adam boards available, buyer beware. A couple years ago I bought what Terry said was the last one he had that was tested and it arrived DOA... no returns!!!!

[Bmack36]

Thanks for the response. I'll take a look at it again today. If I can't get it to work I'll probably sell it for parts on Ebay. I already have a working ADAM in much better shape that I have had since I was a kid. I picked this one up on craigslist basically to get the included games and the box.

 

Do you know which chip is the DDD controller chip? I have also tested with the DDD not connected but same thing.

 

Thanks

[Bmack36]

After Moving the computer to a different room to take pictures for ebay it now will load to the word processor screen but the keyboard and printer don't respond. I tried the keyboard from my working Adam but it didn't work either.

[NIAD]

There seems to be an intermittent problem with the Adam Logic Board and the only way forward is to swap components from your working system with this problem Memory Console. It doesn't sound like a power issue, so no harm should come to your working components... hopefully.

 

I would really focus on the connector that joins the two PCBs and the card-edge connector on the CV Delta Board that it connects too to make sure it's not coming loose. Coleco eventually added a black plastic filler piece in between this connector and the case to prevent this large connector from coming loose.

 

The DDD chip is just above the pins that the drives connect too. I don't recall the # printed on the PCB, but it is a large chip and usually socketed.

[NIAD]

Btw... never had any luck swapping out that chip to try to fix a DDD issue.

[Bmack36]

Thanks again for looking at this for me. I went ahead and listed it on ebay for parts, so I'll probably just leave it as is. I did try a second time removing the chips and dissasembling and reassembling it. My Adam did have the black plastic retainer for the connector and the connector was pretty tight.