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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!

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

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.

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.

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. Thanks, I'll check that video out! Thanks again guys for all the advice! I'll let you know how things go!

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?

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.

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 .

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!