Randyman

Sorry, I didn't realize. How do I move it? If a moderator reads this, please move it for me. Thanks, Randy

Hey, In case anybody cares, I have a really great 2600 system for sale. It's on ebay: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 180586488762 Lots of games, lots of controllers, lots of new parts and upgrades. Check it out. Thanks, Randy

And one last update: The problem with my Activision cartridges was just that they needed they're own special intensive cleaning. I had cleaned all my games with alcohol but apparently these ones weren't happy with that. I found that I could get them to work by pulling slightly out on the cart every time ( not like before where I thought wiggling the non-working games eventually worked when it was apparently the reset circuit ). So I opened one and saw how thick the oxidation was. I took an emery board to it ( which is handy if you want to give yourself a manicure while you work on your Atari ) and shined it all up and it works every time. So I did the rest ( without opening them up ) and they're all perfect. Which is good because H.E.R.O. was one of my non-working games and I see it's one of the more valuable ones ( other than the porn from Mystique ). Now, if I don't break anything I can finally get this thing listed on ebay...unless I get too attached to it in the meantime. Any guesses on what this is worth? All new switches ( nice and shiny ), new voltage regulator, new reset cap ( thanks again AJ ), new upgraded shielded RF cable, new cardboard around the joystick connectors, new power jack, 6 paddles ( 3 pairs ), 3 joysticks, 2 driving controllers, 2 keyboard controllers, and 46 freshly cleaned games...ALL WORKING !!! Not to mention I cleaned all the leftover flux from both boards since Atari apparently didn't know how to. The console is in excellent condition. A couple of little scratches on the wood area and some missing orange paint around the switches but not bad at all. I thought of trying to touch up or re-do the orange paint but figured I'd better not start that... Any guesses on value?

So, can I just say: "A.J. FRANZMAN YOU F#*KING ROCK DUDE !!!" I got the cap from Radio Shack for like $1.10, swapped it out in a few minutes, and EVERY game in question fires right up every single time. I haven't even cleaned the solder joints yet. I was so excited I had to come post this right away. I don't know why it was only certain games that were having problems but that seems to be it. It took me longer to unwrap and straighten the leads on the new cap than it did to form it, install it, and solder it. So much for mil-spec. I'm used to having my work go through QC, QA, and Government inspection. Leads MUST exit the component body straight and remain straight for at least 2 lead diameters before the beginning of the bend radius. Not that Atari was any better. I don't think they know what a bend radius or stress relief is. Their leads just kind of make a straight line from the component to the hole. Plus, the components are floating in the air half the time at all different angles. Anyway, now that my system is BETTER than new, let's see if I can play it without getting pissed and breaking things. Oh, I was going to replace the big electrolytic cap ( 2200 uF, 16V ) on the top edge of the switch board after reading what you said about them failing with age, but Radio Shack only had 2200 uF, 35 V, which would work but physically I think it would have been too big. I don't know what that cap does ( do you? ) but I guess since I'm up and running it's still good. IT'S ALL GOOD !!! Please post here so that I know that you read this, and thanks again for your help. Oh, and for the people saying the thin Activision cartridges won't work, you can bend each of the 24 contacts slightly inward so that they'll be tighter and make better contact with the thinner boards. I had mine off so it was easy but I think you could do it through the slot without taking it apart. I just put the tip of an exacto blade between the rounded top edge of the contact and the white shell of the connector and bent them in slightly. Everything is nice and tight now. UPDATE: There's definitely something weird with the Activision games. I have 2 that work and 4 that don't. I really don't think it's the thickness of the board because my connector is nice and tight. Who knows. Everything else works every time.

One more question: WHAT !?! Just kidding, I kind of got it. Certainly not on your level. So is there a reading I can take with the cap in circuit that would tell me something? Mostly, is there a part number and place that you know I can get the exact right part or does any 4.7 microfarad cap work?

Which board do you want pictures of, and any specific part of the board I should go close up on? Could what you're talking about cause failures only on certain games? I have games that work every time ( Air Sea Battle, Defender, Yars Revenge, Defender, Space Invaders, Frogger, ) and other games that always have problems ( Bowling, Breakout, Super Breakout, Circus Atari, Zaxxon, etc. ). Same question as to a chip being the problem, why only some games while some games ALWAYS work? I was going to buy a Breakout cartridge on ebay today for cheap to see if it works all the time. I just can't believe I have this many games that just don't work. Would an Atari Diagnostic Cartridge tell me what was wrong? Maybe I should just send this somewhere to be looked at. I asked before but is anybody close to North Jersey? AJ, if you tell me what to replace, I'm very capable of doing the replacement but always unsure of the right part so please be specific as to where to get it and exactly what part #. Thanks for all the help. Also, Toymailman, I did clean all carts with alcohol and swabs before I tested them. Then I took some of the "bad" ones and cleaned them harder, even reached up with an emery board. When they still didn't work, I took one of them apart and scotchbrited the runs. Still the same problem. Oh yeah, AJ, please tell me how to post pictures to this forum or send me an e-mail address to which I can send them. Thanks.

Well I don't get it. Is it possible that like half of my games just went bad sitting for 20 years? I took the angled connector completely off the board, abraded the contacts a little bit, bent them in a tiny bit, and resoldered it back in. I checked continuity from every contact ( where it would touch the contacts on the game cartridge ) to where it goes into an IC. Still the same problem with the same games. Most of them will work if I try them enough times, but then NOT work if I power off and on again, even without touching the cartridge. If a game goes bad can it work sometimes and not others? I even opened one of the games that didn't work and scotch brited the contacts nice and clean and it's still intermittent. I need to find somebody around here with another 2600 to try my games on. Or buy a replacement for one of my suspect games and try it to see if I have a bad line or chip that certain specific games use. Who knows. But my console is all fresh and beautiful, even if my games won't work on it. Anybody here live in Mount Olive, NJ area?

The ones that don't work are varied, at least 1 or 2 are indeed Activision, Atari Bowling, Breakout, Super Breakout, Circus Atari, etc. Thanks to Cobra I looked and it does look like some of the solder joints have little cracks ( though I don't see any pin movement but still... ). However, I did a quick reflow of all 24 pins last night at about 2:00 am after I read his message and it didn't fix the problem. I need to do a better job so I'll try later. And thanks to Franzman for confirming my fears. I'll probably unsolder and remove the connector to check it out. I guess if I'm gonna do that I might just replace it anyway. It's just frustrating to do all this and think I'll have the most perfect system ever and to find out I still have a problem. I recleaned at least one game that didn't work, thinking maybe my alcohol wipe job hadn't done the trick, but still had the problem. I even sanded it lightly and cleaned it again. The broken solder joints seemed consistent with the fact that I could get some games to work by inserting them then pulling back slightly while powering on. Or sometimes pushing to the left. Anyway...

Hey everyone, New issue here with my 2600. Some of my games work rock solid every time I insert / remove / power off / power on...no matter what. Some others have to be finagled ( never tried to spell that word before ). Either pushed in or pulled out a tiny bit or held to the side...something. And once it's working, if I power off then on again, it usually doesn't work without being finagled again. So I'm guessing the angled interface connector pins that contact the runs on the board. Does anybody know how to get the plastic cover off of the connector so I can really clean the pins? I know how to take the whole thing apart down to the motherboard, and I know there are 2 screws, one on each side of the plastic shroud, but it still didn't want to come off and I didn't want to force it. I'm guessing some sort of tabs or something but don't know if it can be released without unsoldering the whole connector. Please help me figure this out. I've practically rebuilt my whole unit: new voltage regulator ( the old one was good ), 6 new switches ( for cosmetics only, the old ones were fine ), new power jack ( the only real problem ), new upgraded shielded rf cable, new black cardboard around the db9 connectors, cleaned all the flux that Atari left on the boards, rebuilt 3 pairs of paddles, tested 3 joysticks, 2 driving controllers, 2 keyboard controllers, ( and a partridge in a pear tree !!! ),washed and cleaned the whole housing inside and out, and started testing all my games ( I have 46 to do in all ). It would be a shame if I can't get it going reliably. I could order a new connector but it's likely to need cleaning since they're all 20 plus years old. I had to tin the crap out of all these new parts because they've been in some warehouse oxidizing for all this time. So, I talk alot. Any suggestions? ( About the Atari, not about talking alot ). Thanks, Randy

Well good news. As usual, I make things harder than they need to be. It's just the power jack. The ground is not making contact and that just did all kinds of weird things. I was taking my readings with the meter touching the outer of the jack, which was not making a connection to the board. The positive was making connection with the board so I was reading voltages that had no path to ground. Anyway, since I have to order a jack ( or is that a Radio Shack part ) I was contemplating replacing all 6 switches with new ones ( they're only $2.50 each ). Since my goal is to sell this on ebay, do you guys think it's worth more with new switches or with the original switches, even though they are somewhat darkened on the tips from wear? And by the way, didn't Atari know how to clean flux off of their boards before assembly? Are they all like this or is it just mine?

I just have snow. The same snow as before I turn on power. I see no change on the screen when I flip the switch.

Thanks for the responses. I still have the original power supply and the radio shack replacement will be going back either way. I don't think the original regulator was bad. I took readings from pin to pin with it out of circuit and it pretty much matched the new one ( also out of circuit ). But since the new one was only $1.50 and it was open, I went ahead and replaced it. As for my readings, I was putting the negative lead on the outer metal edge of the power input jack. I then probed around with the positive lead. I figured since I'm reading input voltage I was doing it right, no? I'm not above being wrong so if I am tell me how. Has anybody put a meter to the output of their original supply? I don't believe that's my problem anymore but I would be curious to know what it reads. But for my reading input voltage on both sides of the regulator and both sides of the switch, it seems like something is leaking or shorting but I have no idea what. So, what next?

Hello everyone, I'm having a power problem with my 2600 and I'm hoping somebody with in depth technical experience can help. My unit wouldn't seem to power up and I checked the hook-up and got the RCA to F adapter to take my game switch and matching transformer out of the equation ( I forgot to mention that this has been in a box for 20 plus years ). My power supply was reading 15 volts out, which is kind of high so I replaced it AND I replaced the voltage regulator chip inside. Before the repair / power supply replacement I had 15 volts on the input AND output of the regulator. I also had 15 volts on all 6 pins of the power switch, no matter which positin the switch was in. Now, it's the same only it's 9 - 10 volts ( because that's what the new power supply is putting out ). I'm somewhat technical but mostly in theory, obviously not so much in practice with this unit. It looks pretty simple inside for somebody who knows what they're doing. Does anybody have any suggestions?