Hank Rearden

Sweet! Let's kick this off! Total chaos! 108,300

UAV s-video mod is the way to go. Composite isn't much of an upgrade in my opinion. I can't unsee the difference anymore.

Way easier with the trak ball.

A guy on Facebook.

34,330

34,330

I recently overpaid for a PVM but it's great!

Time for a new TV?!

Why does the OP say slow smart or homing bombs? Is there a way to change it? I guess I will consult manual. ☺️

12,706

I only have the one cartridge so I'm square with the seller. As far as courtesy, he hasn't responded to me in a week.

OE means original equipment. You have to use a 5200 console and controllers.

Here's a score to start things off again for me. A little easier with the trak ball. 4,600 And my game suggestion is Robotron!

Success!!!! Had to bug the neighbor as I didn't have anything to really cut the RF shield. With an assist I was able to cut a small section and bend it up just enough for the wires to fit comfortably. I then basically just used a file and some sand paper to create a notch in the plastic. By far not a 'professional' job but good enough. Now there's no pinching of any wires and the top cover rests comfortably in place and the Atarimax cartridge is performing just as it should!! I am very happy now and can start posting some scores for the HSC again! I appreciate all the advice and feedback!! A few pics to show what I did.

I guess the pics don't show it but the jacks are installed straight out the back of the unit. The wires run through the controller compartment. Maybe not the best option but the one we went with.

Any suggestions on notching the plastic in the bottom of the tray? I was thinking of drilling a small hole near the bottom and then trim the hole to the edge since I can't run through the hole without undoing the soldering (I don't want to do that). Tin snips should do it on the RF shield.

I'm going to also do the RF shield. I want to eliminate any pinch points and ensure the cover sits flush. I still need to do all of that to prove out that is the problem. I hope to get to it today or tomorrow so I can focus on enjoying the games with the s-video. The s-video is awesome on the PVM!

First, at least it wasn't a wasted effort. Chance to do some spring cleaning inside your cartridge! Second, I'm pretty sure I found my problem that is causing my cartridge to not seat properly. Here are 2 pics of the UAV s-video mod that was done. There were 2 things that are causing the top case to not seat properly. The wires were ran to close to the cartridge port which won't allow it to seat properly and also the top case has a plastic flap the goes down into the storage tray where I chose to have my ports since I won't ever store the controllers in there. That flap is resting on the wires, which is not good and causes the top cover to not fit snugly. I will put a little notch in that flap so the wires comfortably fit through. I'll do the RF shield as well so there is no obstruction to the top case fitting perfectly snug. I hope that little bit extra is enough for the Atarimax cart to fully seat and also prevent any pinching of the wires. I'll report back when I've had the time to do all of this. I do appreciate all the feedback.

Is your board snug around that center post?

I'm open to all suggestions. No worries. I'm going to remove the top cover and make sure it was all screwed back together after the mod work was done.

As I expected, I put the cart back together and still have the same issues. It's not getting good contact. I will try to clean the contacts again, although I'm skeptical there as well since I've done that not too long ago and have no issues with any other cartridges. If the board is a tad thinner, I was thinking of maybe trying to straighten out the pins of the cart slot on the 5200 itself. I'm a little hesitant to do this but have had success on an NES doing just that. Anyone have any techniques on doing that. Simple toothpick and maybe a little pressure might do it.

I do have the spring loaded dust cover. I suppose I could try reassembling leaving that off but I don't think that will help me out too much. I am curious to know if there should be any play on the center post as shown. I'm thinking the 2 stubs on the opposite half of the cover are designed to help lock it in place. Clearly based on some of the original carts I have there should be no play in the PCB once reassembled. I think I will try putting it all back together and leave the dust cover piece off and see if that bring any results.

Here are several pics. 2 pics showing results before removing it from the shell and only after wiggling it around and holding it in a very specific spot/angle. 3 pics of the shell taken apart. I did break one of the tabs holding the shell together. That was unfortunate but should easily be able to live without it. There are 2 different pics showing it laying in the shell and you can see there is some play based on the gap at the top. Maybe normal, maybe not. Also, included some pics showing that it works fine without the shell. I don't know why it is rotating my pics. UGH! Any thoughts?

I removed the board from the shell and it works perfectly now outside of the shell. The board is loose in the cartridge shell so when I insert the cartridge into the 5200 I think the slack (for lack of a better word) won't allow it to fully seat. I emailed Steve last week and still have received a reply. Maybe I'll try the phone # tomorrow.

But the Activision cartridge does now work. Only the Atarimax cartridge doesn't work. I was considering trying to bend the pins a little but haven't really seen where anyone has tried that before. I have done it on an NES though.