Starglider01

1. 2.47V DC / 0.138V AC 2. I'd rather not mess with that cable right now but it's an interesting thought 3. Sadly no oscilloscope here, only a logic probe Thanks!

I have tried 3 TVs... [emoji45]

Haha glad you liked it. That was a Snapchat filter I found, along with some bluescreen fun. [emoji64]

Thanks. This has been my suspicion as well based on advice from Luke/Console5, so I have a new PSU en route from him as we type. 🤞

Here are the AC readings at various +5V DC points: Voltage regulator: 0.005V AC TIA: 0.005V AC RIOT: 0.001V AC CPU: 0.004V AC Inductor: 0.005V AC What does this tell us and how can I use it to help the noise? Any other places to try? Thanks!

Sorry didn't notice you said AC mode. What does that test for specifically related to the picture noise? AC interference?

Solid 5V at the regulator and pins of each chip. Any other points specifically to test?

After replacing the ribbon cable that connects the switch unit on this heavy sixer with a new Dupont assembly, for some reason the picture quality improved fairly significantly. My only question now is whether I should be expecting better composite video quality on a 1977 revision 2 heavy sixer than this?: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7MU1NqU7JqrEuEW46

Before and after: Picture quality improved significantly!

Ok thanks. I don't think the Jack is the issue, but I'll try that as a last resort. I'm just waiting a new PSU which is currently the #1 suspect. [emoji1696]

Right. Where would I wire it to? Directly to the Atari main board? I thought there were resistors required in between?

Yup there is. Luke at Console5 suspects it's my after market DC transformer. Makes sense. I'll try a better one.

Thanks yes I tried that. Same on both the widescreen LCD and a Sony BVM.

Ah sadly I tried all that and there's just no rhyme or reason. Anything and everything can affect it. It could just be that a SMD board isn't the way to go and is prone to interference. I am going to swap the ribbon cable that connects to the switch board, though I doubt that's the cause.

Yes very much so. Also touching the voltage regulator sometimes does it, or moving the PCB up and down separate from the top 6-switch board (when I have them out of the case). I've tried changing the composite wire to a better one but no difference. Sounds like you might have an idea what's going on though...?

Please disregard. I just realized I can use headers and Dupont cable. I hadn't expected that the spacing standard would still be the same but it is.

Bumping this question. Anyone know of a replacement wire with sockets? Thanks.

Right that's what I've seen. So is that "normal"? The actual gameplay isn't terrible. But also not great. There is a band of interference moving up screen and general noise. Another video. Watch towards the end: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xuNeHM2NuXTggXsu5

I appreciate that. Here's hi-res pics.

It was something to do with this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/topic?url=https://atariage.com/forums/topic/311859-another-vcs-with-no-colour-after-composite-mod/&share_tid=311859&share_fid=4675&share_type=t&link_source=app

Update: I fixed the issue I was having and the VR repair above seems to have worked and was not the cause. 👍

What can I say. You're a genius! It works! I believe the issue was Tynemouth thought it was more complex than it actually was, telling me the part numbers would be different for my heavy sixer to the ones in their instructions for the light sixer. Whereas in reality they are the same part nos. So I was advised to remove R215 when actually the way I did it before that by removing R216, was correct. But to be fair this was probably my fault as I had another red herring at that time with a faulty TIA chip which is why we were trying other things. Long story short, the only resistors that needed removing were R209 and R216. Here's how the board is patched now. Yellow goes to the bottom of R216 as the top pad gave up on life: Moving on, the picture quality isn't great. Is there anything I can do to fix the various issues exhibited in this video? Other issues include some vertical roll at times. Would the place I've patched to ground cause this or is that unlikely? Thanks for all your help and for getting me close to finished with this project!

Thanks, I'll check the other things, but per my photo I did remove R215. Are you sure that's the same on the heavy sixer as what you're referring to? I was directed to remove it by another person. If I reinstate R215, then looking at my circuit, where should the yellow wire patch into? Thanks!

Not a dumb question at all. The issue is apparent immediately upon power up. Sometimes I get colour for 1 second then it goes to B&W. So the system is cold (not a heat issue I'm pretty sure). I get 5V to all 3 chips and the composite wire. Not sure where else to check specifically but feel free to let me know. I'm probably not able to revert the mod due to my sanity! Thanks!

Hi guys, unfortunately whilst replacing the voltage regulator in a Rev B Heavy Sixer, the 3 pads lifted off the board. Normally I'm super careful, and this isn't an excuse (I do feel bad), but there seems to be an issue with the locking pin/anchor of the heat sink on the VR. At the factory, before I touched it, it looked like they'd tried to solder the anchor to the ground trace, but the solder never took and wasn't holding the anchor at all. The anchor was loose from the board. This meant all the strain was on the VR pins and their pads. I'm guessing that because the heat sink was dispersing the heat so fast, they couldn't successfully solder to it. Anyway, I went ahead and repaired as follows using house electrical wire for 2 reasons: To take the traces to their next pads To add support so these 3 wires now act as sturdy legs It is much stronger now, and I get solid continuity from the VR pins to their destinations. However I am having picture quality issues (keeping these threads separate in case it's a red herring), and wonder if the repair as I have carried it out, is acceptable? Can you see any reason this repair would cause issues if the continuity is good? (The anchor remains unsoldered to ground because it just won't take any solder. Does it have to be grounded? Surely that wouldn't affect the picture.)