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600xl video stopped working-help


Kaiju

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Was working fine till I moved. Went to put my atari collection back together and running and noticed my 600xl isn't sending out any video to channel 2 or 3. It powers on, tested another RF connector and the same. Wires work just fine with my 7800. Any ideas?

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It's possible one or more of the ICs just need re-seated. Everything in the 600XL is socketed, so I would start there. You don't have to completely remove the ICs either. Just pry them up a tiny bit on each side, then press them back down firmly.

 

I suppose to be safe, you should check the power supply as well.

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Thanks Stephen for the reply. I'm stuck out of town for a few days but I will try and reseat all the ICs when I get back. Maybe one got knocked around while moving?

 

As far as the power supply, the 600 does light up if that means anything.

 

Also, I'm not super familiar with the inside of these computers, but, the female RF video Input, if I remember, goes into a shielded box sorta, should I be opening that up and checking in there as well?

 

Like I said it worked beautifully till I recently unpacked.

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As far as the power supply, the 600 does light up if that means anything.

 

Also, I'm not super familiar with the inside of these computers, but, the female RF video Input, if I remember, goes into a shielded box sorta, should I be opening that up and checking in there as well?

 

Like I said it worked beautifully till I recently unpacked.

 

Inside the machine (the "shielded box sorta") is the RF modulator. That's what produces the TV video signal. It's very unlikely that something inside the box has failed just from moving the computer from one place to another; there's just not that much inside that can fail. If anything related to the RF output has failed due to moving the machine, it's much more likely to be the channel selector switch has gotten jiggled or even nudged and damaged a solder point on the board. Try moving the switch a few times back and forth to see if you get a picture back. If you can, with the machine powered off, spray electrical contact cleaner into the switch and move it vigorously back and forth to clean the internals. While you're doing that, verify that the switch seems to be securely soldered to the board and hasn't gotten damaged in the move.

 

This is probably not the issue though, in my experience. Frankly, it's much more likely that another marginal electronic component inside the machine (such as a capacitor or an integrated circuit chip) has failed, possibly due to a failed power supply. What kind of power supply are you using? Post a photo, please. It's possible your PSU has failed over-voltage and killed one or more chips inside the machine, preventing it from booting. Do you have a multi-meter and do you know how to use it?

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Just an update:

 

Reseated all the ICs I could comfortably work on. Reconnected to tv (channel2). Powered on: power light on 600xl but again blank video

 

Tested my 1050 plugged in used I/o cable. Power on 600 and disk drive lights ready. But again no video

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It's best not to continue troubleshooting with that power supply, even if it proves to be ok. They are known to fry a perfectly working machine when they fail. Your best case scenario is that your ingot is supplying less voltage than what is required. The LED may light up but less than 4.75v causes ttl logic to act up. Worst case scenario are multiple faults on the board due overvoltage. You may just have a bad component, at

no fault of the supply but I would stop using it regardless.

 

There should be someone in your area who can offer help and trouble shoot the machine with a good, known working power supply.

Edited by shoestring
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Thanks Shoe. I'm currently pretty far off the grid so to speak, moved up here to work a season. Access to electronic supply is tuff. Even for a Walmart. ...

 

Is it something I can purchase online? Which specs should I be looking for? I did a quick read earlier and noticed 4 possible types of PSUs I can use

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Thanks Shoe. I'm currently pretty far off the grid so to speak, moved up here to work a season. Access to electronic supply is tuff. Even for a Walmart. ...

 

Is it something I can purchase online? Which specs should I be looking for? I did a quick read earlier and noticed 4 possible types of PSUs I can use

 

There are 6 common XL/XE power supplies (photo courtesy of Bruce from B&C Computervisions ('myatari' on eBay). I've added the red circle. People should save this photo and keep it handy!

 

post-30400-0-96147200-1506257208_thumb.jpg

 

As for multimeters, here's what I'm using these days:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Tacklife-DM01M-Multimeter-Detection-Temperature/dp/B01M7ZD1VN/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1506257247&sr=8-15&keywords=multimeters

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I had one like that for a couple years - different seller and brand on the case, same meter. The leads are ridiculously cheap - they broke right off at the base of the plastic handles where the wire goes inside. The conductors looked like about 4 strands of wire - bleh. The one I got to replace it (link above) is a substantial upgrade in terms of features and build quality. Yeah, I know I could've replaced the leads on the cheapie but after seeing inside the lead wires, I felt legitimately concerned with the rest of the build quality. YMMV, of course.

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There are 6 common XL/XE power supplies (photo courtesy of Bruce from B&C Computervisions ('myatari' on eBay). I've added the red circle. People should save this photo and keep it handy!

 

attachicon.gifXL Power Supplies.jpg

 

 

I was actually looking for this picture the other day so thanks for posting. I picked up an ingot a couple of years back at a Value Village and remembered the thread about the bad PSU and checked it before I used it. I summarily tossed it in the electronics I occasionally recycle and never used it. Currently I have the small bottom middle unit which I think came with the XEGS IIRC as well as the bottom right.

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I asked one of the grounds keepers if they have one handy someplace. He's out checking but said he's sure he does, if that's the case what should I be checking for? The out out of the psu?

 

You are checking DC voltage level. I just tested my old functional Atari supply and it's putting out 5.10 volts dc under no load.

Depending on the meter you have, there will be a dial to set at proper range for measuring dc current.

 

There is a pin diagram on top of your supply. It's kind of a pain to get the red and black probes into that connector. I used the top two pins under the notch at top of the connector. Looking down into the barrel, the left most pin (6) is positive.

 

Safe range I would say is no lower than 4.9vdc and no higher than 5.3vdc. Good luck troubleshooting. :)

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I had one like that for a couple years - different seller and brand on the case, same meter. The leads are ridiculously cheap - they broke right off at the base of the plastic handles where the wire goes inside.

 

Definitely super cheap build quality, They were actually giving them away free with any purchase at my local Harbor Freight not long ago. It's a testament to just how cheaply Chinese made tech can be obtained these days. It does "seem" to measure accurately... ;)

 

Edit: Kaiju, there are a number of things that can go wrong leading to no video. It's best to rule out bad power before moving on. Using a iffy power supply can damage the computer.

Edited by RodLightning
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