Ian Primus

You could try swapping parts with another working Atari. There are only really three main chips in a 2600, the RIOT, the 6507 and the Stella, aka TIA. In most units, these are socketed, so you could try swapping, one chip at a time, from a working Atari into the broken one. Of course, you should measure all the voltages first, and make sure that nothing will fry your good chips. I would start with the TIA, since it seems the likely culprit. It should be the chip on the bottom, furthest from the cart slot. To take apart the 2600, you'll have to remove the four screws on the bottom, and then separate the halves. Then, carefully work the circuit board out (The difficulty switches like to catch on the case) Once you have the board out, thread the RF cable out of the case, or disconnect it from the board to make it easier to work on. Take the RF sheilding off from the board by straightening the bent tabs with pliers, and separating the halves. You'll probably have to un-stick the silvery tape that goes across the top, between the sheild and the switches. If you need help, I can post pictures of the process. Good luck! Ian Primus [email protected]

Vertical hum bars almost always mean a bad connection to the cart. Check to make sure the contacts on the 2600 are not corroded or dirty. I have found that a good way to clean them is with a folded bit of thin cardboard like a business card or an index card. Just press the fold of the card into the cart slot gently, and then pull it back out. It should have black marks along the edge from the dirt. Clean the cart connector with a qtip and alcohol. Also, when inserting the cart, put it in at a slight angle to get it to make slightly different contact with the pins. This sometimes helps. Also, try multiple carts. You just might have a bad cart. Ian Primus [email protected]

They should work fine, I use one on my Commodore 64 quite frequently. Ian Primus [email protected]

Yeah, if you measured the +5v pin at the cart slot and didn't get 5v, then it sounds like the power regulator is shot. It's a very common part, you should be able to get it at any good electronics store, or even Radio Shack. Try replacing it and see if it helps. Ian Primus [email protected]

Good point... Sometimes I forget just how old this stuff is. I personally have only seen one Atari with a bad voltage regulator, but I'm sure there have been many more. Ian Primus [email protected]

That 'chip' is a 7805 voltage regulator. They don't fail very often, but they are very common parts. You can get them for a buck or so at Rat Shack (if they still carry them). Sounds like the system just isn't getting power. Try measuring voltages at the cart slot, and make sure that the power input jack is making good contact with both the power supply's connector and the board. Those things come loose a lot. Ian Primus [email protected]

How about a "name that cart" contest, where you have to guess what a cart is based on either a screenshot taken with a flash in a brightly lit room on an old TV tuned between channels, or a fuzzy, out of focus shot taken of the cart itself at an angle. Or, similarly, a "name that Atari item" contest, where a very close-up shot is taken of a piece of Atari gaming hardware, and you have to figure out what it is. Ian Primus [email protected]

I actually did check to see if this had already been posted before I posted it, but I didn't notice that other thread... Sorry about that. Ian Primus [email protected]

I found this while mindlessly searching on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...4&category=3528 I was under the impression that The Last Starfighter was completed, but never released. If it was never released, then how is there a nice label for it? The photo is pretty fuzzy, and the cart looks more grey than silver. Also the upper left edge of the label is not straight. Could this be a homemade fake, or is it possible it is the real thing? It seems legit enough, were there demo carts released? Ian Primus [email protected]

Well, judgeing by the gouges in the label, it looks like is was on the floor for quite some time. Maybe someone used it to prop up the short leg of a table? Ian Primus [email protected]

A friend of mine just got an Atari 2600, but it didn't work properly, it was like the joystick was always being held to the right, even when no joystick is connected. He gave it to me to fix for him. I originally thought it was just a short in the connector, but further investigation turned up no obvious shorts. I took my "tester" 2600 apart swapped the RIOT chip out. That fixed the problem in his console, and lo and behold, his RIOT caused my 2600 to do the same thing (joystick always going to the right). So, I need a new RIOT chip (CO10750). Anyone have a spare, or a broken 2600 with a different problem? Thanks! Ian Primus [email protected]

Another thing to try would be to inert a cart a little crooked, or not fully seated. As strange as this sounds it generally works. Push the cart in all the way, then pull it up and to the left or right just a little, not enough to remove it from the machine, but enough that it sits in there, while still making proper contact. This works because sometimes when the pins in the console get worn down, they no longer make contact where they are most often used, but if you put the cart in a little crooked, the cart's connector makes slightly different contact with the cartridge slot, and this can sometimes work. Once again, I have seen this very often in old NES decks. NES machines (the front loaders especially) were very prone to this, as the connector pins in the deck wore out quickly, and were frequently damaged by people using Game Genies. While the Game Genie is a cool little device, the board is actually thincker, thus allowing it to make proper contact with the NES even though the Game Genie can't be clicked down into position when it has a cart in it. The wider board wears and stretches the contacts in the deck, so before long, it becomes difficult to get games to play without the Game Genie, and eventually, you get a "blinking deck" that refuses to work period. Like I said, I have never personally seen this happen to 2600's, but I would assume that it is possible, especially if it was used a lot, or if it was sitting for a long time in a moist environment, therefore corroding the connector pins. Don't be decieved by the outer appearance, it could be that the machine was packed away 15 years ago because it didn't work! Ian Primus [email protected]

I finally figured out what was causing the weird garbage. Dirty cartridge connector. I had tried cleaning it with a q-tip and alcohol through the bottom, but it didn't help. I took the cart apart, and scrubbed the contacts with a paper towel soaked in alcohol. That did the trick, it plays fine now. That is weird what it was doing though, I have never seen an Atari cart do that before, although it is extremely common on NES carts. Ian Primus [email protected]

Heh, that. I am assuming you are referring to my thread in the 5200 forum about a damaged Space Invaders cart. I managed to fix that tonight. I took the cart apart and really cleaned the connector. It was filthy! I had tried cleaning it with a q-tip, but it didn't help, I had to disassemble it and scrub the contacts to get them clean. It works fine now. It almost sounds to me like a dirty or bad cartridge connector, although I have _never_ seen that happen on a 2600. It was really common on the NES, since the CHR and PRG ROMS are separate, on separate chips, so a dirty cart would sometimes screw up CHR access, but not PRG, so the program loaded fine, but all the graphics were screwed up. Every dirty 2600 cart I have seen just gives hum bars or a blank screen, never have I seen garbled graphics. Could be that the TIA in the console has failed, or one of the other related chips, but you say that you get the proper picture for a second on some carts, but screwed up graphics on Kaboom!. I would suggest thoroughly cleaning the cart connector. Unfortunately, there isn't really an easy way to expose the bare connector, since the dust flap is part of the connector, not the case. Try cleaning it again with the cardboard, or maybe with a little alcohol on the cardboard. Also, check to make sure none of the pins are bent or damaged. Could be that you've got a short in there somewhere, or a pin that isn't making contact. Ian Primus [email protected]

My first computer was an Atari 130XE. It was a great machine, and served me well. I still have it, along with all my disks, books, hardware and stuff. Unfortunately. it no longer works. It had been failing for a while. The row of keys with Start Reset, etc. died a few years ago. Then, last year, when I went to hook it up again, it didn't do anything at all. The red light didn't come on and there was no picture on the screen. I tested the power supply with a multimeter, and it was dead as a dornail. No power. I cracked it open, and resoldered the cable, and replaced a burned component, and it tested good on the meter. But, when I hooked it back to the Atari I still got nothing, even though the computer is getting power. I would really like to get my computer working again, or find another one. I would also like to replace that power supply too, I don't know what went wrong with it the first time, but I sure don't want it to happen again. What I would like to find is another 130XE with a good power supply. Case and keyboard condition is not important, as I have a good case, and the keyboard works except for that row of keys at the top, which is probably just a bad connection where the membrane meets the motherboard. Ian Primus [email protected]

Well, I have powered the Atari from several different forms of batteries. The first time, I used two 9 volt radio batteries in parallel. That works well, but only for an hour or two. During the blackout, I was without power for two days, and I really didn't want to have to go out, so I ended up using a bunch of D cell batteries (stolen from flashlights) in series. I just duct taped them end to end, and then taped the leads to either end, and fed them into a phono plug for the Atari's power. I found that seven "D" batteries will last quite a while (several hours, I forget how long exactly). Then when I was at the store the next day getting supplies, I bought two 6 volt lantern batteries, and used those in series. Those lasted a LONG time, and I never did drain them. I still have them on the shelf, just in case... Keep in mind that the Atari can take a large range of voltages, and a couple volts higher than 9 is fine (theoretically up to 35, but I have not tested that...), but once the voltage drops below 7 or so, the Atari stops working properly (it doesn't hurt it, it just won't work with that low a voltage). Current is also important. The Atari draws about 300mA, so you'll use up the tiny radio batteries much faster than larger, higher capacity D cells. Ian Primus [email protected]

Erratic operation can be caused by many things, most of which are bad connections. Try cleaning the cart, and the cart slot. To clean the cart slot, I generally use a folded bit of thin cardboard, like a business card or an index card, and gently push it into the cart slot. You'd be suprised how much dirt accumulates on those connectors. For cleaning the carts, use a Q-tip with isopropyl alcohol, and rub along the contacts. You may have to push open the dust flaps on both the cart and the console with a small screwdriver or a paper clip. Also, wiggle the switches on the console back and forth, especially the power switch, the TV type switch and the channel select switch, to make sure that they are making good contact. Try the system with some known good carts, and a known good switchbox. Those can cause problems as well, and I would reccomend using the RCA to F connector adapter instead. Also, try it with a known good power adapter. If the adapter isn't putting out enough current, strange things happen. I know that when I had the Atari running off batteries, it was pretty funny when they started to wear down. The scan lines in the picture get out of sync, and the sound gets garbled and slow. Ian Primus [email protected]

I wouldn't doubt it. It definitely looks a lot more thought out. The FAQ mod is a very simple amplifier circuit, and it does a pretty good job, although I modified it a little to get a slightly better picture. The picture I get from my modified 5200 is pretty good, much better than the RF picture, but it's not perfect. That plug in video board looks nice, but I rather like building things myself, and I am happy with my little homemade version. Ian Primus [email protected]

Gah. Brain fart. For some reason I was thinking it was. I don't know why though... My bad. Ian Primus [email protected]

The Sears Video Arcade II is really an Atari 7800. Therefore, the power jack is a little different. (i.e. not the standard 1/8" phono plug). On my 7800, I didn't have the proper power adapter either, so I just opened up the machine, and unsoldered the original jack, and soldered in an 1/8" phono jack, so I can use a standard 2600 power supply. Be careful though, when running in 7800 mode, the 7800 will draw a little more current, so it could potentially burn out a 2600 supply. I use a higher rated supply that I modified to have a different connector. Ian Primus [email protected]

While I haven't seen the board that CPUWIZ has in person, I doubt it's the same circuit. I built mine based on the information in the faq, but with some changes. It's far less complicated that what CPUWIZ's board looks like, but then again, his board plugs in easily, while mine has to be soldered to the logic board, tapping into the proper signals. While it would be possible to mass produce boards like this, but they would still have to be soldered into the 5200. The circuit is simple, and had I had the proper parts, it could have been half that size, and a professional board could be even smaller. But, needless to say, the "plug in mod" that CPUWIZ is showing off is a much nicer product, since it can be installed easily and without solder. Ian Primus [email protected]

It's just composite. I could have very easily done S-video, but I don't really have very much hardware that takes S-video. That Commodore monitor takes sepaerate chroma and luma, but my TV set doesn't. I thought about that, but I didn't have very many little pots that would be able to give me the right value. It's hard to get a 100k pot to stay at say, 75 ohms... That, and I happen to have lots of random, salvaged, resistors. As for controllers, I have seen the schematics for the adapters, and I'll definitely build one of those, but I was thinking in terms of building a self contained stick, complete with a keypad and better fire buttons. At the moment, I haven't decided wether I want an analog or digital stick, the analog stick is required for some games (Centepede, Missle Command, etc.), but is very annoying to use for other games (Pac-Man, etc) I'll have to see if I can track down some broken 5200 controllers (all I really need is the cable, stick and the casing). At the moment, I only have one 5200 controller, and I really hate it, but I should keep one original controller around. I think I need to oil the sliders a little, is is supposed to squeak when the stick is moved? I really don't know what I want to do about controllers. Best Electronics sells repair kits, but then I would still have that junky feeling controller that is hard to use. Mine works fine now, and I still don't like it... The 5200 is a wonderful system, crippled by it's controllers. Ian Primus [email protected]

Yup. Cave 1k. I'm rather addicted to it. It's a great game. I built a cartridge so I could play it on the real hardware. That cart in the picture of me turning on the Atari is the one, it started out as an Activision Grand Prix before it met my soldering iron. Now it's Cave 1k. <grin> Ian Primus [email protected]

As I have been exploring my 5200 lately, I decided to make it more useful. The video output from the 5200 is particularly awful, something tells me that this has something to do with Atari's scheme of putting the power input and RF output in the same cable. I rigged mine up with a power jack, and I am using a standard Sega Genesis power adapter. I built the video board as described in the FAQ. But, since Rat Shack never has any of the parts I need, I ended up building the entire thing from my junk box. I couldn't find the resistors I needed, so I had to build them, using my bin of resistors salvaged from scrap boards, and adding values as I needed. It was great fun, and resulted in a rather odd looking board (My 1.6k resistor consists of five resistors in series...), it works very well. This entire circuit board was built from salvaged componenets. I hooked the board up to the 5200 with a srap of ribbon cable, cut as necessary, and I mounted it to the 5200's logic board wtih some electrical tape (I insulated the bottom of the board with tape as well). The composite video and audio connectors were mounted on the expansion slot cover, and the power jack was mounted near the channel select switch. I had to cut off a part of the metal sheild to get it to fit back on (the part that normally goes around the expansion connector, it was in the way of the jacks and the cable). It works very well, and I am getting a much clearer picture out of the 5200 now. I have also repaired my controller to the point where it actually works, although I really have a hard time with that analog stick, Pac-Man is almost painful to play. The fire button is also a problem (who came up with a _rubber_ fire button, anyway?!?), as it really hurts my thumb, and needs to be pressed pretty hard to work. I think my next 5200 related project will be to build a better controller... Ian Primus [email protected]

Yes. I took them with my digital camera and uploaded them. (I meant to post the scaled down versions, however...) No problem. I'm always glad to help another Atari addict. Ah, ok, you must have an Atari 2600 Jr. model. That's the small, wedge shaped version with a metal plate with a rainbow across it. All older models of the Atari 2600 had their RF cables permanently attached. The one in the picture is the "Darth Vader" model, so called because it is all black. Most of the older units have woodgrain on them. Since you have the Jr. model, you don't have the RF cable attached. Instead, you have a round socket in the back to connect the cable to. You need to get a cable. It's a very common cable, and is easy to find. It's just an RCA to RCA cable, and they are used for lots of things, like connecting stereo components together, speakers, and Atari game machines. You can get them at Rat Shack, K-Mart, etc. Just ask for a male to male RCA cable. The cable will have the connector in pic 2 (Or one very much like it) on both ends. Plug one end into the socket on the Atari, and the other into the adapter. Ian Primus [email protected]