Putting an Atari 8-Bit Cart Back Together Again....

[+sixersfan105]

I need some help putting Humpty Dumpty some Atari 8-bit carts (the old-school brown variety) back together again...I purchased several specially-made PCBs from an AA member (Guillermo Fuenzalida aka "Wilheim") and want to pop them into the original Atari brown catridges. I have several Pac-Man cartridges that I have for this very purpose. Opening them up is easy enough, popping out the existing PCB and dust cover/spring is more annoying, putting the new PCB in is alright but making it work effectively with the dust cover and spring mechanism put back in -- that's where I'm running into difficulty. With a lot of finagling, I'm able to get everything looking as it should, but the dust cover won't operate as it did previously and things overall aren't as smooth as they should be.

 

Any best practices you can share? I may forego putting the dust cover and spring back in altogether, as it certainly seems to work better without those two elements, and they will be stored in plastic boxes to protect them from dust, etc. Unless you all can provide some insight on making the dust cover/spring mechanism work effectively.

 

Thanks!

[+orpheuswaking]

Are you sure the PCBs are the correct dimensions? As long as you have the spring in the right spot there should be no issue unless something is physically hanging up the dust cover

[xrbrevin]

is it possible the new PCB is too thick?

try to refit the original and see if that goes to plan.

or open up another brown cart with the original board still in place - just to compare

[_The Doctor__]

it's fiddly business putting the carts back together, the dust spring goes into a thin groove that can be seriously hard to get the springs slide ears into. That's the thing most people miss. Then it's sort of works... not smooth at all... take some decent light and look carefully..

Edited September 6, 2018 by _The Doctor__

[+sixersfan105]

Thanks for the advice! I'll be able to do some open cart surgery tonight and look into the things mentioned above and will report back.

[BillC]

The sliding cover is needed to hold the PCB in the correct position, without it the bottom edge of the PCB can shift towards the back of the cartridge.