walterg74
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Posts posted by walterg74
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Based on one repair I've done, I'm guessing there's a bad RAM chip. Some games could hit the bad memory location while others don't.
Given the resources you have at hand, I would swap out one RAM chip at a time with one from your 2 port machine.
The diagnostic program may detect it if you can run it. I didn't have that option at the time so can't vouch for the program.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Thanks, I will give the cart option a try to see if it detects anything, and if not will see if I can try this suggestion. It is a pain in the butt though to take the shielding from the 2 port one. Not sure if the 4 port is the same.
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Run this.
Diagnostic Cart.binThanks, I will give it a shot. I tried the diagnostics included with SD upUltimate as well as the diagnostics cart I had from the no-intro set, but either I don't know how to run it correctly or it's not detecting anything (one cart even said "testing 16K" and isn't it supposed to have more?
I will give this one a try.
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Ok last batch of data...
I am a proud recent owner of an Atari Max Ultimate cart for the 5200 (in fact it came home with me along with this 5200).
With what is a disturbing consistency, the same carts that don't work in physical form, also exhibit the same symptoms when loaded as rom images with the Ultimate cart... (And the ones that worked also work with the Ultimate cart).
So It is definitely not liking those games that I'm guessing use some part of the 5200 that is broken..?
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Ok, did more tests and really don't inow what to make of this...
From my pile of carts about 11 worked just fine (played a couplenof levels of ms pacman, galaxian etc. )
That miner 2049 if you leave the intro after the music and credits finish it'll grt f*ed up with garbled graphics and locked, but if you start the game I played two levels just fine.
And then there was another bunch about 6 others in my pile that get farbage locks almost immediately. Attaching screenshots, they are:
Pac-Man
Centipede
Space Dungeon
Countermeasure
Realsports Baseball
Pac-Man (second cart)
There doesn't seem to be any relation between 16KB or 32KB, and again, if I put these carts in my other 5200 they work flawlessly...
So again, same question: WTF?
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Not sure where to get that info, searching here doesn't specifically say their size.
These 2 examples of non-working ones: Pac-Man and Miner 2049er
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Ok tried the power supply of the working one, no good, issue still there...I usually start with cleaning the cart port. Sometimes it is just poor contact with the cart.
Tried some cleaning, still there...
Weird thing also is:
- some carts seem to work fine
- some carts show corrups graphics almost immediately (i.e. Pac-Man)
- others seem to work for a while and then do it
Attaching a video of the last case
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Continuing my streak of bad luck purchasing off ebay, I got a hold of a 2 port Atari 5200 that was supposed to be working fine, somthat I could have both models, as I already had a 4 port version.
I decided to test it today, and when I went to test the two games that it came with (breakout and pac-man) i found the following:
Pac-man showed the atari logo just fine and went to the title screen which showed some garbled characters, to the immediately go on to an even more garbled screen sand kind of be stuck at that...
I then proceeded tomtest breakout that on the other hand seemed to work fine?
Thinking it was just the cart, I then proceeded to test the atarimax cart, and while the burger time clone was looking good (although I thought I saw some glitchyness), testing the solitare game also brought along some weird characters (but not a lockup/freeze)...
I then brought out my previously purchased pile of carts, and testing them I found that roughly 60% of them seemed to work ok, but the others showed this garbling up of onscreen text and graphics a few seconds after power on...
Seeing that I took out my 4 port console and tested all the carts on it. They ALL Worked just fine...
So already talking woth the seller to see what can be arranged, but does a yone have a clue as to what could be causing this behavior, and this some work some don't thing?
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I dunno maybe the ebay issue is you don't know what you are looking for? It's a chicken and egg issue. Nobody sells a "fix a TI" kit because frankly most people dispose of the console if it has any issue since they were about $10 each to replace them for the longest time. The Console is the cheap part. I paid 50$ for a nib one on ebay this week. And that was ONLY because its nib.. But frankly it may have issues coming out of the box, as it's been sitting there for 30 years+- bit being used. electronics hate that..
If you want to ship me your console I'll swap the motherboard with a working one for $10+shipping back.. lmk
Greg
Yes, that may very well be it! All I could search for was for ti 99 ram, etc, so probably something more specific I don't know how to search.
I really appreciate your offer, problem is I'm not from the US, so I buy these thing whenever I get a trip over there, which means I'm just there for a week or two and then I'm gone until who knows when the next one is.
Just by luck I returned home this past sunday and now I get to go again on March 1st, so may be second chance to get a really working one, amd see what I do woth that one that I left at a friend's house.
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Yes, very much alive!
I just started a new job at the end of November, so the last couple months were a little slow as I come up to speed there. Now that I've settled in somewhat, I'm cleaning up the last details. intvsteve can attest I've hit him with a flurry of patches the last week in particular, polishing up some odds and ends. I should be cutting the 1.0 Release Candidate firmware today. And, if any bugs creep in at the last minute, LTO Flash! is field upgradeable. Field upgrades are really stable: In fact, we've exercised the field-upgrade functionality quite heavily to roll out beta releases of the firmware, and it's my primary way of developing new code on the device.
I need to figure out the exact distribution arrangements, as my stuff right now is split between Texas and California. But rest assured, I'll figure it out. I'm shipping stuff to where I'll be, so I can keep working away on physical production.
Stay tuned!
Oooh! Texas!! That's where I'll be visiting soon! Pick that!
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Not everybody wants to read 45 pages to get the info they need.
What's fine is your same comment has been seen when the thread was just a few pages. And that's exactly why the thread has 45 pages now, and why people get annoyed...
Ironic, huh?
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I'm not judging your price, it is what it is and it's probably fair. It's just not an amount that *I'm* willing to spend on for what it does.I sell them as cheap as I can. The demand is very low (less than 100 a *year*), so production costs are higher. Sorry. This is hobby quantity hardware and I have to hand finish the assembly on each one, so it will always cost more.
I think you are misreading my comments. What I'm "complaining" about not finding on ebay are replacement video ram chips, not yours....Why does it matter if I don't sell them on ebay (you have mentioned this twice)? I have a small store on my website and support the F18A primarily through this forum where the bulk of 99/4A users hang out. The F18A is not something made by many companies or some cheap board coming out of China. It is a hobby project that turned into a hobby product.
The F18A is an easy install on the 99/4A because the original VDP is already in a socket. You only have to pop out the original 9918A VDP (i.e. it only takes a screw driver and a little patience) and insert the F18A. The hardest part is probably modding the console for the VGA connector. Removing the DRAM chips is a lot harder, especially on the old motherboards. But this depends on each person's own soldering skills.
Thanks for the tips, I will keep them in mind.These are old systems and they won't last forever. We are seeing that the DRAM chips are usually the first to fail. If you have an F18A, the DRAM chips in the system are no longer used (the F18A has its own VRAM), so it does not matter if they are failing (you can even remove them completely for some power savings if you want.)
You might want to see if Marc Hull still has some consoles for sale, that way you know you will be getting a unit that has been checked out and upgraded.
Does anyone know or can explain if these chips are bad, how come when I put a cartridge in it seems to work fine? Are they not related at all for anything?
What would this failure I have cause besides seeing these characters on the screen in basic ?
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$50 + $25 shipping (came with plentry of cartridges)
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Two options:
1: remove chips from motherboard, install sockets, replace with new chips
2: buy f18a, remove 9918a chip, clean off goo and remove heat block from rf shielding, install f18a in vdp socket, run vga cable to vga monitor, dance the happy dance
f18a source: http://codehackcreate.com/store#!/F18A-V1-7-Video-Board/p/14022176/category=0
Greg
Ouch.. Yeah I don't think I want to spend ~80 bucks on that...
If anything it would have to be the vdp change, but putting assi how easy or difficult it would be for me for the soldering, I can't even find one listing for them on ebay...
I think I might have to deal with the seller on this one and try to get a refund, as it was listed as working.
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2
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1: remove chips from motherboard, install sockets, replace with new chips
2: buy f18a, remove 9918a chip, clean off goo and remove heat block from rf shielding, install f18a in vdp socket, run vga cable to vga monitor, dance the happy dance
f18a source: http://codehackcreate.com/store#!/F18A-V1-7-Video-Board/p/14022176/category=0
Greg
So are those OR options or AND?
Would doung that for vga really be good/better than just a crt with composite?
Also how easy is it toninstall those chips? I haven't even found them on ebay
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So.. Is that easily fixable or not worth it..?
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Ok, ran the program and here are the results. Almost all the screen gets a 5 written, except
The 3 very specific positions where the @s are, and those get written with a U...
Attaching screenshots and video...
Also before I forget. Another annoying thing about the keyboard is
Some keys I will just press lightly and yet I get 2,3,4 repeats... Wtf?
Edit: sorry looking at my post damn iphone and it's flipping the pics vertically... So... They're actually upside down.
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As was mentioned before, probably VDP/RAM issue, notice that the colour bars on the title screen also appear to be corrupted.
You think that ma be because I hooked it up to a modern lcd to test it, or is it definitely corruption?
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If there is a VRAM failure at certain positions (like a stuck-at-one), then we can probably find out which RAM circuit is bad. My theory is that at some positions, a bit is set additionally, so instead of having a 0x80 in memory, there is a 0xa0, which shows as "@". Filling the screen with "5" may indicate more positions, and the screen does not scroll away.
Allrighty, I'll gove it a try and post back.
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The @ character is ASCII 0x40, binary 01000000. The screen should be filled with blanks (00100000). Hmmm ...
[stop ... we have a character bias in BASIC. So 0x40 is actually 0xA0 in memory (10100000), and 0x20 is 0x80 in memory (10000000)]
Maybe you could write a small BASIC program:
10 CALL CLEAR 20 CALL HCHAR(1,1,53,768) 30 GOTO 30
53 is 0x35, in memory 0x95. Also try other values. Tell us what you see. Are there any "U" on the screen?
Stop with FCTN-4.
Ok, I'll try when I get back, but what would that show/prove?
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Do these @ remain at the same screen postions, even when you scroll up the screen?
Yeah it seems they appear at about a couple of lines above your cursor, and when you scroll up they all scroll up but since they keep appearing it's as if you have a "column" of @s so to say...
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Hi, so Ingot a TI off ebay, was supposed to work.
Just tried it an I have found two issues:
1) there is ONE key that does not seem to work, the "Z". Is it possible /normal fornjust 1 key to die? A few others didn't seem to work at first and then after several presses came back to life. Maybe needs some cleaning?
Also noted some keys repeat themselves too quickly (like a press prints them out two or three times)
2) startup screen looks fine, selection screen looks fine, but when I go into basic I see sone weird "@" chars at the postion of the cursor but higher up...
If I keep pressing enter they just keep appearing (just the one at that position)
Wtf? Is something broken or just my ignorance of how this computer works?
I tried several cart games and they seem to work fine, nothing strange or garbled on screen, as do the joysticks.
Attaching screenshots.
Help?
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No estimated timeline posted.
I do all work myself in my spare time, if there's no spare time, it will take a bit longer.
I'm estimating all parts will be here within a month, then I start soldering, cleaning shells, cutting and attaching labels, cutting out, folding and glueing boxes, packing and shipping - in the order of incoming payments.
If for example something gets stuck in customs it may delay everything 1-3 weeks, I'm trying to keep costs low so people can afford to buy these which means I try not to order from DigiKey or similar places.
But an estimation... at least five weeks from now, probably not more than 2 months for the first buyer.
I try and make no promises as it's hard to say what happens in family life - which is always more important than any hobby.
For people in a hurry, keep an eye on eBay, they pop up there sometimes and sells for $200 or more.
Thanks for the reply!
Not in a hurry but getting things by mail into my country is a complicated process...
So I try to buy these things when I travel, and for that I need to know if I can actually get it at the same time I'm travelling so probably next trip if minimum will be 5 weeks to 2 months if no delays.
Of course other stuff comes firts, totally understandable!
Looking forward to it!
Thanks.
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First six sold, ordering parts...
Price for now is $140 with money paid back at delivery in case the final price turns out to be is less than $140 - should it turn out to be more you'll get it as a discount.
Price inlcudes wolrdwide shipping, registered shipping is an additional $18.
Excuse the ignorance, but had you posted a timeline / date for when these will actually be ready ? (Even if approximate)
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Hi. Usually by the time you ask for contributions, do ypu know the final cost?
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Atari 5200 that works but doesn't?
in Hardware
Posted
Well it's the other way around actually, it's the 2 port the one that is faulty.