Heavy Sixer Cleaning and Repair advice

[flord]

Hi all!

 

I recently discovered that I have what I believe to be a “Heavy Sixer”, and I’d like some cleaning and repair advice. Also, I have some general curiosities about the unit. After finding this forum, it was clear that some are pretty passionate about preserving these beasts for historical purposes, so I thought I’d try to do my part.

 

There are two problems:

 

1. It requires some screwing around with cartridge seating to get games to work (games and system are filthy).

2. There’s no sound.

 

For the former, I just need some cleaning advice. How should I clean the plastic shell? How should I clean the guts?

 

For the latter, I guess I need some troubleshooting advice. Unfortunately, my electrical knowledge is minimal. I’m generally a software guy, not hardware. The only observation I have on upon first inspection is that the component enclosed in the heat sink seems to be barely soldered on (pictured below).

 

 

As far as curiosities, any one have an idea what the red sticker means(pic)? Was it possibly refurbished at some point?

 

 

As a kid I would habitually go to garage sales and buy up old computers and game systems to mess around with. I’ve been storing these relics at the folks’ house and they’re moving now so I’ve been scrounging through all my old gear. I actually own 3 Atari systems, this one, a 4 switch woody, and a vader. I knew nothing about the differences until a few days ago. I was a little struck by the fact that one was well heavier than the others, and was mfg’d in California. A few Google searches and, well, here I am!

 

Anyway, I appreciate any advice or comments you all could provide. I’ve included a load of pics below for those curious.

 

Cheers!

 

 

[the_crayon_king]

https://console5.com/store/atari-2600-total-refresh-kit-new-capacitors.html

 

No sound is a bad resistor or cap I forget.

 

You are going to break that stupid ribbon cable if you aren't careful.

 

Clean the inside/outside with rubbing alcohol.

 

I put wd-40 on the outside of all my personal consoles that are black.

I dunno if there is long term ramifications to doing that but it makes black consoles look "fresh"

[larrylaffer]

Let me start sharing some thoughts... But keep in mind I have been involved with collecting and doing things with hardware for just a few months (although I have been playing with Ataris when I was much younger).... I am sure some more experienced folks will correct me and build on top of what I say...

 

So, first of all it seems like yes, you have a heavy sixer. Sunnyvale sticker as an indication but alone is not enough to make it a heavy sixer. The fact that is heavier and especially the fact that the "corners" are much rounder than say the vader combined with the sticker makes it a heavy sixer. So no doubt about that I think...

 

I clean the plastics by leaving them soak for about an hour in a container with warm (not hot) soap water. Then rinse it with water and I let them dry overnight. For the internals I use compressed air and a brush (with not too hard nor to soft hair). For the slot of the cartridges I take a cloth, I have cat a piece of plastic from a plastic card (expired credit card or membership card) pretty much the size of the slot, I cover the card with the cloth, put isopropyl alcohol on it and then insert it carefully into the slot and wiggle it a bit left and right. Then out and in again. 4-5 times should be enough. You will see some black coloring appear on the cloth...

 

I have also noticed some stickers inside my heavy sixer., too.. I think they are standard practice in the fab... Not sure about the red one and if mine had one, but for sure mine had one with some sort of serial number too.

 

And sorry, I have no advice about the sound... I would guess the "cold connections" you show need the be fixed with a soldering iron but I doubt this will bring sound back... But hey, have a look at this: http://www.atarimania.com/documents/Atari_2600_2600_A_VCS_Domestic_Field_Service_Manual.pdfthere is a whole decision diagram that should help you...

 

Good luck!

[larrylaffer]

Oh, I forgot... Next day after the plastics are dry, I used pledge and a soft cloth. I spray on the cloth and rub all around the plastics. Makes it really shiny... I suppose what the_crayon_king said about WD-40 would do pretty much the same, but I think pledge also leaves a nice smell... :-)... Just make sure you get the type of pledge that says works with plastics, I think there are some types that could potentially discolorate them...

[flord]

Yeah I noticed that the ribbon cable is super stiff, and probably super brittle too. It's a bit annoying that the darn thing is soldered right to the board instead of having a plug. Oh well.

 

I actually never knew about pledge for plastics before! I'll have to check that out.

 

Thanks for the advice and the links so far guys! The links are very helpful! I have some reading to do to decide if I can do this, or if I should pass it on and let someone else do the honors .

[+H454]

Hi all!

 

I recently discovered that I have what I believe to be a “Heavy Sixer”, and I’d like some cleaning and repair advice. Also, I have some general curiosities about the unit. After finding this forum, it was clear that some are pretty passionate about preserving these beasts for historical purposes, so I thought I’d try to do my part.

 

There are two problems:

 

1. It requires some screwing around with cartridge seating to get games to work (games and system are filthy).

Cheers!

 

After cleaning the carts with Iso alcohol to rule them out than

Look inside the cart port- Is the plastic green?

The first run of the VCS had weak cart ports.

Atari had a service bulletin to replace it due to carts not seating/ contacts got weak.

[flord]

 

After cleaning the carts with Iso alcohol to rule them out than

Look inside the cart port- Is the plastic green?

The first run of the VCS had weak cart ports.

Atari had a service bulletin to replace it due to carts not seating/ contacts got weak.

 

Nah, the plastic is white. Strangely though, the plastic piece that's suppose to stay shut to cover the opening of the cart port seems not to have much spring left in it. It just kind of stays open.

[+H454]

 

Nah, the plastic is white. Strangely though, the plastic piece that's suppose to stay shut to cover the opening of the cart port seems not to have much spring left in it. It just kind of stays open.

Its just two pieces of foam on the under cover on each side, so it just turns to dust and stop working.

And the only way to replace is desolding the cart port.

 

As long as the contacts are shiny, you should be fine.

[flord]

Its just two pieces of foam on the under cover on each side, so it just turns to dust and stop working.

And the only way to replace is desolding the cart port.

 

As long as the contacts are shiny, you should be fine.

 

Ahh okay, I see. Yeah no chance I'll be trying to replace that, .

 

From the flow chart in the service manual, it looks like I should test it while shorting the L101 capacitor. Any tips for a novice with electronics?

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I do the same as was mentioned on the console shells. I just fill my sink with initially hot water and liquid soap. Dawn...because you know...good stuff. After the sink is just under half full of water and suds, then I let it sit for a bit to cool down a little. I then just place all the plastic into the sink and make sure everything is under the water. Of course I'm only talking about the upper shell here. I let it soak for an hour or whenever I remember it is in the sink..LOL.

 

Then I use an old toothbrush to scrub it all down while still in the sink and water and soap. After I rinse it with fresh water from the tap and let it air dry.

 

Once it is dry, I use a small amount of De-Solv-It on a softcloth and wipe the entire console down. Don't press hard, but just lightly go over it. You can then water rinse again and let it air dry out again over night.

 

Now..the area you mentioned with the bad solder joints. That is where the voltage regulator is, and yes that needs to be touched up with more solder to secure it better in place. But, that wouldn't have anything to do with no sound. If you get picture and no sound, it could be the caps. If you look at the third photo from the bottom you added of just the main board. Notice the two clear silvery objects near the middle of the board? Those are the caps that control the audio. If you press down on them while it is powered on and start to hear audio...then the caps are bad and need to be replaced. If not, they could still be bad, but it could also mean that your TV didn't quite tune into the signal right and the audio isn't being heard over the RF. Could be you need to fine tune the TV to lock in the signal better, or it might require adjustment on the RF modulator. But I wouldn't really advise that for someone that isn't familiar with how to do that.

[Wyluli Wolf]

Definitely take it apart and clean the plastic housing in warm soapy water. I use dish soap and a toothbrush to get in all the cracks and crannies (just don't use it on your teeth after - hehe).

Dry it off a bit with paper towels (to prevent water spots) and let is sit overnight to make sure it's totally dry.

Clean the circuit board with compressed air.

If any solder points look weak you may need to retouch them and re-flow new solder to the points.

For the sound issue you may need to replace capacitors. The link crayon king listed for the parts sold by console5 should send you in the right direction.

DO NOT use Wd40 or windex to clean anything. Use Isopropyl alcohol (91% is best) which can be found at most pharmacies.

If you want to shine the plastic up (this isn't generally needed) you can use the plastic safe pledge or armor all.

Here is a video that might help you get started: (Disregard the windex use tho!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlA6WPhrCeM

[flord]

Now..the area you mentioned with the bad solder joints. That is where the voltage regulator is, and yes that needs to be touched up with more solder to secure it better in place. But, that wouldn't have anything to do with no sound. If you get picture and no sound, it could be the caps. If you look at the third photo from the bottom you added of just the main board. Notice the two clear silvery objects near the middle of the board? Those are the caps that control the audio. If you press down on them while it is powered on and start to hear audio...then the caps are bad and need to be replaced. If not, they could still be bad, but it could also mean that your TV didn't quite tune into the signal right and the audio isn't being heard over the RF. Could be you need to fine tune the TV to lock in the signal better, or it might require adjustment on the RF modulator. But I wouldn't really advise that for someone that isn't familiar with how to do that.

 

Hmm, okay I'll test that out when I get some time and I'll post what I discover. I don't think the t.v. is the problem. I was able to get nice clean sound from my other 2 2600's, so unless there's a difference that I'm not aware of, we could probably rule that out.

 

Definitely take it apart and clean the plastic housing in warm soapy water. I use dish soap and a toothbrush to get in all the cracks and crannies (just don't use it on your teeth after - hehe).

Dry it off a bit with paper towels (to prevent water spots) and let is sit overnight to make sure it's totally dry.

Clean the circuit board with compressed air.

If any solder points look weak you may need to retouch them and re-flow new solder to the points.

For the sound issue you may need to replace capacitors. The link crayon king listed for the parts sold by console5 should send you in the right direction.

DO NOT use Wd40 or windex to clean anything. Use Isopropyl alcohol (91% is best) which can be found at most pharmacies.

If you want to shine the plastic up (this isn't generally needed) you can use the plastic safe pledge or armor all.

Here is a video that might help you get started: (Disregard the windex use tho!)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlA6WPhrCeM

 

Thanks, I'll check that video out!

 

Thanks again guys for all the advice! I'll let you know how things go!

[flord]

Minor update:

 

after cleaning a MASSIVE amount of brown gunk off of the switch board, the voltage regulator went from badly soldered, to clearly loose. The result, no more picture. So, i whipped out my old high school soldering kit, touched up the solder joints, and now I've got the picture back again.

 

I'm back where I started now, except everything is much cleaner . Time to try the test Crosbow suggested (testing C206 and C207). That darn ribbon cable certainly makes opening the motherboard difficult . I'll report back with the results.

[flord]

I tried pressing on C206 and C207 while the system is powered on, and still no audio. I may order the cap kit and replace those anyway since they're cheap.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I tried pressing on C206 and C207 while the system is powered on, and still no audio. I may order the cap kit and replace those anyway since they're cheap.

 

You get everything you need for a complete refresh here:

 

https://console5.com/store/atari-2600-total-refresh-kit-new-capacitors.html

[+H454]

Minor update:

 

after cleaning a MASSIVE amount of brown gunk off of the switch board, the voltage regulator went from badly soldered, to clearly loose. The result, no more picture. So, i whipped out my old high school soldering kit, touched up the solder joints, and now I've got the picture back again.

 

I'm back where I started now, except everything is much cleaner . Time to try the test Crosbow suggested (testing C206 and C207). That darn ribbon cable certainly makes opening the motherboard difficult . I'll report back with the results.

 

Did your regulator mount to the board or off at an angle with a sheet metal heat sink?

I had an H6 with the reg. almost falling out because of the bad placement on the early boards.

Like this:

http://s8.postimg.org/rprsdh1ph/IMG_1603.jpg

[flord]

 

You get everything you need for a complete refresh here:

 

https://console5.com/store/atari-2600-total-refresh-kit-new-capacitors.html

 

Yup, that's the kit I'll probably buy to see if I can fix this issue. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again man. You guys are awesome!

 

 

Did your regulator mount to the board or off at an angle with a sheet metal heat sink?

I had an H6 with the reg. almost falling out because of the bad placement on the early boards.

Like this:

http://s8.postimg.org/rprsdh1ph/IMG_1603.jpg

 

Almost exactly like your pic, but at an even worse angle:

 

[flord]

Update: I got the cap refresh kit, replaced the two polystyrene capacitors, and I got sound!!

 

However, the sound is weaker than on my two other 2600s, and theres a little bit of crackling static noise. Any suggestions there? Should I get busy replacing the electrolytic capacitors with the ones I got in the kit?

 

On that topic, one of the caps, C201, seems to be a bit of a franken mess, glued and attached to another component:

 

 

Can anyone in the know explain to me what's going on there? Remember, I'm a bit of a novice with electronics.

 

Thanks again for the help people!

[+DrVenkman]

 

On that topic, one of the caps, C201, seems to be a bit of a franken mess, glued and attached to another component:

 

 

My Tele-Games Heavy looks pretty much the same and works great. I think that's normal, or at least not uncommon.

 

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Update: I got the cap refresh kit, replaced the two polystyrene capacitors, and I got sound!!

 

However, the sound is weaker than on my two other 2600s, and theres a little bit of crackling static noise. Any suggestions there? Should I get busy replacing the electrolytic capacitors with the ones I got in the kit?

 

On that topic, one of the caps, C201, seems to be a bit of a franken mess, glued and attached to another component:

 

 

Can anyone in the know explain to me what's going on there? Remember, I'm a bit of a novice with electronics.

 

Thanks again for the help people!

 

Yes, do replace all the rest of the caps. You already got the caps for sound replaced and that was the hardest part in all honesty LOL! So do replace the rest. If you still have staticy sound, then it could be the TV is having a hard time locking in on the signal, or the RF modulator itself could require some adjustment.