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bernie

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Posts posted by bernie

  1. Posted

    When I last used my 1702, the volume worked fine. This was about 6 months ago.

    I took it out of storage today, and I've lost my sound. I tried hooking up to other sound source, but still no sounds (so it's not cable or Atari 800 etc).

    I've put some contact cleaner in the switch at the back and moved it around 20 times, and still no sound (from front or back).

    Took the back off, and no "bulging" capacitors or bad dust.

    HELP!

  4. Posted

    Also check the voltage on your power supply with a voltmeter to make sure it's outputting close to 5 volts. Some Atari supplies are known for failing in a way that will damage components on the motherboard by over-volting them - RAM in particular.

    Thanks, I assume the old PSU damaged the unit at this point. Any ideas of how to test them?

     

    Is there a cheap place to get a whole motherboard?

  5. Posted

    Brown/red screen usually means that the OS isn't able to complete the earliest stages of powerup (after a soft delay of about 1/2 a second the IO registers are cleared which forces a black background, by default GTIA will often startup with a brown background and sometimes PM stripes overlayed).

     

    That's a good sign which means the CPU, OS and MMU are probably OK. But it might mean that the Ram or Antic isn't OK. My guess would be that you have one or more bad Ram chips.

    The quick/easiest way to diagnose is leave it on for several minutes, then put a finger on each chip in turn. Any that are hotter than the others are probably bad.

     

    Quick/easy first thing to try is gently pry each one up then reseat but seeing it's an XE it's likely all the Ram is soldered in and most/all of the other chips the same.

     

    Check the branding on the Ram chips. MT are notorious for going bad, if you have those then the best procedure is to replace all of them even if only a few are known to be bad.

    How easy that job is can be dependant on which revision board you have. Early ones used 16 1-bit Ram chips so potentially a lot of work. Later ones use just 4 4-bit Ram chips which means a lot less work, and also the chips used are more easily obtained.

     

     

     

    So I ordered a tested PSU and plugged it in and no change- still get the black screen.

     

    So I tried the heat test- the only chips that were warm to the touch (ok maybe even hot) were the CPU, ANTIC, and GTIA after a few minutes. Is this normal? Is the memory supposed to be hot?

     

    I have an extra personality board from an atari 800 that I could remove the chips from and "piggy back" them on to see if it's any of those if that's worth trying? Would they be compatible?

  7. Posted · Edited by bernie

    Thanks.

     

    I will try reseating the ram. From testing (before I put the case back on) I didn't really experience this issue, so I'm guessing that reseating may help.

     

    Is this what you mean by white cap?

     

    Do you have a picture of the back of the keyboard so that I know what I'm looking for? I've never taken apart (any) keyboard.

    post-41542-0-19529700-1490843858_thumb.jpg

  8. Posted · Edited by bernie

    Thanks for the upload tip.

     

    I tried to power on again this AM before going to work and was only able to get a brief white flash on the composite input. So I tried the RF input, and there the screen would go from static to black when I turn on the unit and back to static when I turn it off. I can upload a video later if needed. I was not able to get it to boot into basic today.

     

    Any tips on what to do next?

  9. Posted · Edited by bernie

    Here is a link to the power supplies. Seems that I have a type IV power supply which is not a good performer...

     

    http://atariage.com/forums/topic/144856-xlxe-power-supplies/?hl=%2Batari+%2Bxe+%2Bpower+%2Bsupply&do=findComment&comment=1761940

     

    I will try to borrow a multimeter to test. Is there a "good" type of power supply to get Type I or III seem best according to article (or a modern version)? Best source?

     

    Also, since it was delayed in shipping (~2 weeks) could anything have come loose inside (keyboard, RAM, ...) that can cause this? What should I check?

  11. Posted

    I have an Atari 800 that I purchased on CL and had to replace the CPU board on.

     

    I have since discovered two issues:

     

    1. It seems to randomly freeze and have some random characters appear on the screen for example when playing pacman. I think this may be either that my cartridge connection is finicky or that the cartridge cover gets a bit loose. Does anyone have any suggestions of what else to test or how to isolate?

     

    2. My space bar is very finicky and only responds when I press the key in a particular location. Any guides or tips on what I should do to repair?

     

    Thanks!

     

  12. Posted · Edited by bernie

    I just purchased an Atari 130xe off of eBay that was described as tested and working.

     

    When I first powered it on, my screen flickered, then nothing. After several power on/off attempts, I was able to get the basic screen to come up and I then tried a cartridge and that worked for a bit as well. I then went out for dinner. When I just tried again, it didn't work again.

    I am using the same monitor out connection/monitor as my Atari 800.

     

    Any ideas what can be going on and what I should test?

     

    Thanks!

  19. Posted

    Thanks will try to order it. I've managed to remove the plastic cover protecting the cartridge slot. Should I just pour the stuff in there or put it on a cartridge and insert it?

    best thing is to use zero residue electrical contact cleaner and some times .... i hate to post any link to evil bay...

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/NAKI-Eliminator-Sega-Game-Gear-Video-Game-Cartridge-and-Console-Cleaner-/122373112187?hash=item1c7e01817b:g:ph4AAOSwSlBYs2LT

     

    there are plenty of options but you can either make your own or modify something ready made.... often more inexpensly

     

    brasso is a last resort for rusty destroyed stuff... only clean in the direction of the pins.. not across them of sideways....

  21. Posted

    I recently bought an atar 800 off of CL and after replacing it's CPU board it seems to be working (48k NTSC version).

     

    I plugged in two of the joysticks that came with it and can not seem to get any to respond. One goes in easily in the first left port, the other one has to be "convinced".

     

    How can I test the ports?

     

    How can I test the joysticks?

     

    I currently don't have another atari 8 bit.

  22. Posted · Edited by bernie

    I recently bought an atari 800 off of CL and after replacing it's CPU board it seems to be working (48k NTSC version).

     

    It came with several (left) cartridges. I tried some and they don't see to work (frogger, wizard of war, defender, centipede) - I just get memo

     

    Others work part of the time (after inserting/removing).

     

    Any ideas how to diagnose?

     

    My machine is still apart from the CPU repair, how do I remove the plastic cover so that I can clean the contacts?

  23. Posted · Edited by bernie

    It was the CPU board. Just got a replacement today and seems to work fine with the video.

     

    So if you get a rolling video screen on both RF and monitor out, and your unit is not PAL on NTSC (or the other way round) and you have tested the voltages, and reseated/ swapped the RAM to test, and tried reseating CPU chips, try replacing the CPU board.

     

    Thanks again for all those that helped me get my atari monitor displaying again!!!!

     

    One more atari resurrected from the graveyard!

    • Like 2
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