ragemage

Yep I did try reset but did not work. Had to remember how to operate the unit after 30 years! I did clean the contact pins on all cartridges as well as the unit per instructions on other forum posts. Just interesting that some games work but others don't.

Hello forum members! I have an interesting problem. I have an Atari six switch unit, manufactured in May 1981 according to the little slip of paper found inside the unit. This is my original unit that I got during Christmas 1981. It has sat unused for at least 20 years, moving from various closets. I finally got it back from my brother. Took it apart, cleaned out the dust, and checked it over. It had a loose power port adapter, I re-soldered the connection to the best of my ability (which is not that great...) Verified I was getting proper voltages to the unit, and it powered on. Cleaned all connections and cartridges. I popped in Asteroids and...I got the Asteroids screen! Picked up the joystick, hit the button and nothing. I could not get the game to run. Turned on/off unit, jiggled cartidges, nothing. I tried Missile Command, same thing. Started getting frustrated, tried Demon Attack. And it worked flawlessly! Joystick worked, sound worked, game worked. Tried another Imagic game, Cosmic Ark. That one worked with a little jiggling of the cartridge. I tried Venture, I got video lines and a high pitched hum. I tried another cartridge, Defender. It took some jiggling but it worked fine. Last cartridge I tried was StarMaster. It came up to the start screen, heard the opening audio, but would not start. So my question to you is this...What could cause some games to work but others not? I know the joystick is working. I get video output of the game at the start screens. I saw another forum post that over time the chips could degrade, bit rot. Is that a possibility here? Could it be another issue? I have attached a few pictures here of the unit and mainboard. One thing I see is some type of buildup on the back of the board. I have not attempted to clean or touch it. Is that an issue anyone else has seen? Any idea if that is normal or is that part of my problem? Thanks!

So I have verified the power supply has the correct voltages, cleaned the connectors on the unit. Here is the what is happening: Turn on unit with one controller connected, no cartridge inserted. Video goes to black, high pitched hum. Tried both channel 3 and channel 4, same result. Turned unit off, inserted a game cartridge, same result tried a different video cable, same result So is the unit defective or is there something else to try?

Hello! I have received back from my brother our original Colecovision and expansion module #1. They are supposedly in playable shape according to my brother. However before I go and hook it up and turn it on I want to verify I am not about to blow the main board and/or destroy the unit. Is there any prep I need to do before applying power? It has not been turned on in over 10 years and has been sitting in a closet. It is dirty and dusty but otherwise looks to be in ok shape. Connectors seem to have the usual oxidation on them, need to be cleaned. Second part to that...from reading the forums the best bet is a RCA to coax adapter for video/audio. I do not have an older tube TV anymore, only flat screens. I can get the adapter from my local Radioshack but want to verify if there is any issue attempting hookup to flat screen LCD TVs, ruining the screens, video/audio quality, etc? Bonus question: Any way to get the audio/video to work with a VGA computer monitor and set of low end speakers? Any tips or hints are appreciated. Thank You.