TheBill1979

Interesting. Although I think I'd rather be in your boat (at least you HAVE color), I can see how your issue can be annoying. I'm still looking for some information and input into my problem in different forums and user groups. If I find any information on our issue, I'll post it in this thread so that perhaps you can also make use of the information. I'd appreciate it if you'd do the same for me.

Update: If I turn the console on with the ET game inserted (I'm using ET as my test subject) and leave it for about 10 minutes, the colors all appear as they are supposed to. I can play the game and even reset the game without the colors reverting back to gray scale (the underlined problem). But if I switch the power off and then back on, it's back to gray scale. Does this help anyone in making a rough diagnosis?

Greetings! First off, I would like to thank whomever created this glorious site. I've actually spent a good deal of time just looking through the forums and everything else this site has to offer before realizing that I have yet to post the question that led me to register here to begin with. While it's been time well spent, I haven't been able to find the answer to my question/problem. So here it goes: Out of nostalgia, I purchased an Atari 2600 (Woody/6 switch) from a seller on Ebay. Naturally, I purchased the unit because it was described as "mint" and "working flawlessly". The unit itself is truly a beauty. It's as if I went back in time and stole the console from my 6 year old self. The problem: The system is having a hard time displaying everything (anything, for that matter) in color. So that's the main issue. I'll elaborate on that more once I give you the rundown on what I am working with here. 1) I have the console connected to a JVC television (made in 2002) via the TV's RF input. 2) I have the RCA cable fitted with a phono-to-RF adapter (the sort found at Radio Shack) 3) The AC adapter is the proper voltage. 4) The channel select switch is completely missing from the console (unknown as to it's whereabouts as it wasn't in the box the unit shipped in) Example of problem When playing my E.T. cartridge, everything is gray scale. My audio is flawless. Every 20 seconds, I start to get a bit of color. The letters "E" and "T" turn red and the once dark gray bar at the top will start to turn blue. But then 5 seconds later, the colors fade back into the original gray scale. The aforementioned scenario is true with every one of my games. I have scoured the forums and I haven't found anyone with this same issue. Has anyone run into this problem before? Or does anyone have any insight as to what may be causing this problem? If I can identify the cause, I'm sure I can probably fix this myself. I would rather not ship it off to a repairman. Thanks for reading!