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Ian Primus

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Posts posted by Ian Primus

  3. Posted · Edited by Ian Primus

    The so-called "fat" PS2's are very prone to disc mechanism problems. I've fixed many of them. The grease that was used to lubricate the rails will gum up with fuzz and gunk. Also, the fans in the back tend to fail - sometimes the blades break off. If the previous owner was a smoker, the inside will be nasty.

     

    To repair the disc mechanism, open the console, take the cover off the disc mechanism and remove the tray. Remove the tiny screws holding the lens rails in, and remove the rails, and disconnect/remove the lens assembly. Clean the rails thoroughly with alcohol, as well as the brass bushings on the lens assembly. Clean the lead screw. Clean the lens (carefully!). Reassemble the mechanism - when you do, ensure that the you orient the worn left rail (it will have a groove in it from the lens assembly) so that the lens has a non-worn portion to ride on. Relubricate the mechanism with a tiny amount of lithium grease. Reassemble.

     

    The fans aren't repairable, they must be replaced if they fail. They need to work, otherwise the console will crash after running for a half hour or so. If the fan still works, clean it.

     

    -Ian

  5. Posted

    If you're normally klutzy like me, invest in a plastic razor blade.

     

    Huh? A plastic razor blade? Isn't that an oxymoron of some kind?

     

    As for the stickers, I just use a little bit of Goo Gone. Remove as much of the sticker as you can with your fingernail, then put some Goo Gone on a paper towel and rub gently. I've never had it damage a label before, just don't slop it on there.

     

    Alcohol is great for cleaning dirt off the plastic cart shell itself, and for removing the Goo Gone residue from plastic. Be careful using it on labels, since it can remove some inks.

     

    -Ian

  6. Posted

    How do you test with voltmeter i am very handy should be no problem if you can tell me how.

     

    Set the voltmeter to DC volts. If you've got a model that doesn't autorange, set the dial to the "20VDC" setting. Plug the AC adapter into the wall, but don't plug it into the Colecovision. Put the black probe from the meter into pin 4 at the end of the AC adapter's cable (I believe they're numbered with tiny numbers molded into the plastic plug). This is ground. Then put the red probe into one of the other pin recepticles on the connector. The voltages should come close to the ones listed earlier - although I'd expect them to be a bit higher. That's an unregulated supply, so with no load, the voltages will read kinda high. The key is that you're getting power. If you have an analog meter, the -5v will simply peg the meter on the left side, so to measure that one on an analog meter, put the red probe in the ground pin, and the black one on the -5v. This will make the meter display a positive reading. A digital meter doesn't need this reversing, since it can register negative voltages.

     

    Thanks..Any way you think it could be power supply even though it does get warm when its plugged into the wall.

     

    The adapter gets warm because the primary of the transformer inside is always connected to the wall. The secondaries are connected to the rectifiers and filter caps (the things that fail). The transformer will get warm wether the secondaries are connected to anything or not. I do not remember if the power adapter is fused, but I somehow doubt it - most are not.

     

    -Ian

  8. Posted

    If you can't get it to do anything at all on the screen, it could be either the console or the power supply. The consoles do tend to get flakey power connectors and I've also seen some dodgy power switches too. Turn on the console with no game and no controllers. Plug it in, and wiggle the power connector slowly back and forth, see if you can get some life at all (screen should flicker, go black - or the console should come on). If it's still nothing, then press in on and forward on the power switch, and wiggle that a bit.

     

    If still nothing, you should start by ruling out the power supply. Do you have a friend that might have a voltmeter?

     

    -Ian

  9. Posted

    One thing I've seen many times on Colecovisions is that the power connector on the console gets flakey. Press in firmly, see if it does something. Ensure that you have the TV on the correct channel. You should get the COLECOVISION splash screen even if no cartridge is inserted.

     

    The power supply puts out three seperate voltages. To test it, you can just use a voltmeter. The pinout is:

     

    1 +5VDC

    2 -5VDC

    3 +12VDC

    4 Ground

     

    Are you sure you've got everything hooked up right? Check the simple things, like that the switchbox is good, and is set to GAME, and that the TV is on the right channel.

     

    -Ian

  10. Posted

    Yes and no. You CAN use them, and they will work. You might have to tape over the high density hole though. But they might not be as reliable as proper DD disks. The magnetic coercivity of the media is different - although it's "close". It works most of the time. But you might wind up losing data over time.

     

    That said, I've had pretty decent luck doing it. Format the disk a couple times before you use it - especially if it was originally formatted as HD. If you have any bad sectors, try another disk.

     

    But if possible, use the right disks.

     

    -Ian

  13. Posted

    The Channel F is defintely on my "look out for list", and has been for some time. That and the Bally Astrocade. The Channel F is definitely a curiosity, it's even more primitive than the Atari or the Odyssey2, but as a gamer, I would still love to have one. Thanks for the info!

     

    -Ian

  15. Posted

    The video cable should not be hard-wired to the console. If it is, it's a home job.

     

    Yeah - it shouldn't be hard-wired. Take it apart and see where it was connected. Perhaps someone tried to modify it for composite?

     

    What's it do? Nothing? A common problem is the power socket. Press on the power connector, see if you get life. You should get the COLECOVISION screen even with no game inserted.

     

    -Ian

  16. Posted

    Welcome aboard! Glad to hear you are well on your path to gaming goodness :)

     

    Don't fret over the failed power adapter. Those things aren't the greatest - and yes, the wiring goes open/shorted eventually if it's abused. The good thing is that the Atari uses a VERY common adapter. You can use pretty much any nine volt adapter of 500ma or more, just change the plug (tip positive, ring negative).

     

    Again, welcome to the addiction! And if you don't have Yar's Revenge or Kaboom!, you need them.

     

    -Ian

  19. Posted

    Be a real techie and play the bare board! :P

     

    What do you think I've been doing? <grin>

     

    It's actually my only 7800. I had one, years ago, but don't any more. I bought this one primarily for the games, and with the hope that it would be an easy repair. I was bidding on a "working" one at the same time - but lost that auction.

     

    Fortunately, getting this one to work wasn't too hard. I had it going in no time - aided by the fact that whoever owned it before I did, didn't put the screws back in.

     

    So, now, I finally have a 7800 again! It's just naked ;)

     

    -Ian

  21. Posted

    Hehe. I wonder what it is about the 7800. I just bought a broken one on an auction site - the top of the case has the entire area near the cartridge slot broken out and missing, the lower front has a big crack. I guess the 7800's top cover is of a more brittle plastic than other Atari items. It came with ten games, and I bought it primarily for parts and the games (knowing the thing was broken physically, and listed as non-working). I fixed the thing though, so now it works - it just looks like hell. I think I'm going to try recasing this one though. Not sure yet.

     

    -Ian

  22. Posted

    OK, here's a Junior I found locally a couple weeks ago... Short rainbow. Serial number AT860140367. It's a multi-chip unit, the back of the board reads C021503 Rev. C

     

    When I find the other Jr. I have, I'll post it too. It was a real basket case - but I know it's around here somewhere :)

     

    -Ian

  23. Posted

    I just picked up an Odyssey2 console. Yeah, i know, it's not as good as the Atari, but it's still an interesting system. I only have a couple carts, and I'm looking for more - any commons/etc, even ones in bad condition, since I'd like to make up a couple carts with EPROMs. Yes, there are a couple Odyssey homebrews out there.

     

    So, yeah, basically I'm open to whatever.

     

    Thanks!

     

    -Ian

  24. Posted

    The two audio channels come off the TIA at pins 12 and 13. The best place to pick off the audio signal is probably right after those two signals get mixed. You'll need a capacitor beween your amplifier and the Atari because the signal will have some DC offset. A 1uf electrolytic does nicely. Solder the positive terminal of the capacitor to the connection of R206 and C208 on the Atari's board. Connect the tip of your audio connector to the negative terminal of the capacitor. Connect the ring of the audio connector to any of the numerous ground points on the Atari's board. There you go!

     

    -Ian

  25. Posted · Edited by Ian Primus

    What is the difference between the 3 consoles?

     

    It's primarily cosmetic. Yeah, there's some minor electrical differences, but they all play the same games.

     

    You shouldn't have any problem finding a 2600. There are TONS of them out there, they are very durable, and they're easy to find stuff for. Even if you just find a bare console, you can use a Sega Genesis controller (B button fires), you can use a simple phono plug to F connector adapter to hook the thing to the TV (available at Rat Shack for a couple bucks), and you can power it with a simple, easy to get AC adapter.*

     

    *The Atari 2600 (all models) use a 9vDC, 500ma AC adapter. The plug is a two conductor 1/8" headphone type plug, the tip is positive. If you need a power adapter, just find any AC adapter that puts out 9vDC and at least 500ma of current, and solder on a new plug to fit the Atari.

     

    -Ian

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