Have console motherlode - but what now?

[Bworp]

A number of years ago I was given an absolute bonanza of old consoles, mostly 2600s of various types (like 4 or 5 of them?) but also a coleco and an old sega.

It was just the consoles and a bunch of cartridges. Ne peripherals, power supplies or anything else. I tried getting one or two of them working at the time with a power supply I bought from an electronics store. One went "pop!", and I couldn't get any of the rest to do anything, apart from the coleco which gave me a real fuzzy picture, but I couldn't do anything else with it.

 

I got really discouraged and haven't touched them since. Currently they're packed up in various boxes, but I'm finding myself interested in looking into getting them going again, but the right way this time. The only problem is, I don't even know where to start.

 

Can someone give me some tips? Where should I start?

Will the generic power supply I got be OK, or do I need something specific? (I like in Australia btw. 240V AC, 50Hz).

What cables do I need and how do I get a picture on a TV? (I'm currently looking for a suitable crt, but until then all I have is a modern sony LED)

Given most of the consoles are probably borked, what tools should I look at getting for troubleshooting and repair? And can someone point me to some good online tutorials/resources?

 

Pictures to come (when I find them all and dig them out)!

 

Thanks in advance!

[chas10e]

Welcome to Atariage. posting here is a good start

 

the "How to" section for the 2600 has some good tips , http://atariage.com/howto/index.html. for cleaning cartriges use a high percentage rubbing alchohol (90%+)

 

The power supply: an origonal power supply is always best but a generic one will work if it matches. does the one you bought put out an AC voltage or a DC voltage? if it puts out AC it probably "popped" the voltage regulator inside the unit. For an ATARI 2600 you want to output 9V DC center tip positive

 

I live in USA so here the input voltage is different than Aussie-land I'd imagine

 

I don't have a Colecovision myself so I'm sure others will chime-in I would guess that with some kind of picture might be where you start to make more progress , try cleaning the game cartridge. For a newer TV you might have to do an analog channel search and/or look for a channel selector switch on the console (ch3-ch4)

Edited September 18, 2018 by chas10e

[Hannacek]

I think the best thing to do is get the Retrobit, Hyperkin,or whatever brand power supplies. They are cheap, but you will know they work and the power supply is not the problem. Getting a CRT or connect it to a VCR hooked up to a modern TV will also eliminate another thing as the potential problem.

[spacecadet]

The ColecoVision almost definitely has a corroded power switch. Just try cleaning it with some Deoxit. That might fix the picture problem by itself. It also might not, but 99% of these systems have that problem and it causes picture issues like that, so yours most likely has *at least* that, but there's a good chance that's all it is.

 

I assume you have a standard RF cable that'll work with any of these systems for now. You'll probably also need some kind of adapter on the TV end if you don't have one, be it a switchbox or just a basic RF to coax adapter. Your current TV might even work - see if it has a coaxial input. (I admit I don't really know about TV standards in Australia, so I'm just assuming there was coax there at some point and may still be, because I don't think these consoles could have used anything else back then.) All of my modern TV's still have coax input.

 

Troubleshooting and repair tools probably depend on what skills you have and how deep you want to go into it. For me, when it comes to stuff like replacing soldered-on chips, unless a system's rare, I'd probably just replace the whole system instead. You usually need a parts donor anyway, so you're destroying one system to save another. May as well just buy another working system and keep the broken one as a future parts donor for something else; it's the same thing and it's easier.

 

But otherwise, for basic repairs like cleaning the CV power switch or other light jobs, you just need a good Philips screwdriver, some Deoxit, some 91% alcohol, a can of compressed air, maybe a multimeter to check continuity, maybe a soldering iron and supplies if there's anything you see that's obvious (sometimes solder joints just fail over the years, and you can just resolder them). I don't think any of these systems require any proprietary tools, and they're all pretty easy to open and work on.

[Bworp]

Cool, thanks for the tips!

Still no pics sorry. I've been on night shift all week, and regular life has been on low-power maintainance mode...

 

I've done my share of basic computer repairs in the past, but I'm interested into getting into more hands-on stuff like soldering and the like.

As I said, there's several 2600s in the haul, so parts swapping is definitely an option.

As far as the coleco goes ... eh. I'm not in a rush with that one. I want to focus on the 2600s first.

[chas10e]

so what are the specs for the generic power supply you are using ? (before trying another 2600 console )

 

Replacement parts should be readily available if your near some sort of local electronic supplier