I Got It!

[atari5200dude]

My atari 2600 came in the mail today! I have the coxial adaptor and hooked it up to my t.v directly and turned it to channel 3 and turned the atari to channel 3, but I dont have any games and I pluged in the power cord and turned on the atari but nothing happened on the tv! Is it broken or does the system need a game cartrige in the console for anything to happen? Also I didnt get the switchbox with it, I really hope its not broken, But no promises were made that it would work, the guy said he got it from a working set

 

NOTE: I have 14 games that should be here in a few days

Edited August 2, 2007 by atari5200dude

[black dog]

You will need a game to see whether the system works or not

[atari5200dude]

I disconnected the cable line to the t.v so all that was on the screen was snow and when the atari was plugged in and I turned it on the tv screen was still snow

Edited August 2, 2007 by atari5200dude

[Tom_Explodes]

I dunno, but if I turn on my 2600 with no game in it, it goes to a black screen, not snow.

 

I know very little about the technical details, i.e. I don't know how to change what channel you use? but I use channel 2 and have always done so with my atari on any TV I've ever used it with. I dunno if that's helpful at all.

[+FujiSkunk]

The Atari 2600 does not have a BIOS or any other such built-in software, so if you turn it on without a cartridge, you'll either get a blank screen or some random jumble of vertical stripes. Once you plug in a cartridge (with the power turned off, of course), you'll get something more recognizable.

 

Atari 2600's released in North America have a channel switch, usually in the back of the console to the right of the controller jacks (or to the left if you're looking at the console from behind). The usual options are channels 2 and 3.

[Tom_Explodes]

Huh. I found it. It says A and B. Funny, I've had the thing for almost 20 years and I never noticed that. Hahaha.

[atari5200dude]

The t.v stays the same, The screen shows the black and white little dots and has that loud sound when Its off and on, I will test it out when the cartriges get here but I do the same thing with my 5200 all I get is a green screen

[+FujiSkunk]

The t.v stays the same, The screen shows the black and white little dots and has that loud sound when Its off and on, I will test it out when the cartriges get here but I do the same thing with my 5200 all I get is a green screen

 

Ah, yes, you should at least get something besides static when you turn the Atari 2600 on. You might try jiggling the power jack and/or the power switch to see if you have a flaky connection.

 

A switchbox isn't necessary as long as you have some way of connecting the cable to your TV's antenna input. The coax adapter should be good enough.

[BigO]

It doesn't sound good. Shouldn't be snow.

 

I understand that the power supplies are easily damaged. That's a pretty easy thing to test.

 

I've also had machines with really twitchy power switches. Jiggling it or flipping the switch slowly (or quickly) might produce signs of life.

Edited August 2, 2007 by BigO

[atari5200dude]

I have tried everything and got nothing the screens still has static

[pangasinan]

Dude theres no need to get your knickers in a knot over a snowy picture,there is no way to test it out unless you have cart to test it with.Once the game is turned on then you need to tune it in.

Edited August 2, 2007 by pangasinan

[atari5200dude]

When everything is pluged in I can still see snow and a little bit of local tv stations behind it then I did everything and turned it on and the picture stayed the same

[BigO]

Dude theres no need to get your knickers in a knot over a snowy picture,there is no way to test it out unless you have cart to test it with.Once the came is turned on then you need to tune it in.

 

Well, there is the fact that functioning units don't generally behave the way this one is being described.

 

I don't mean to be alarmist, I've just not seen one produce a snowy picture with no cartridge unless it was dead. I have turned on more than one console without a cartridge more than one time.

 

I just think he'll be much less disappointed when the games arrive if this is a problem and it can be fixed with something as simple as a power supply.

 

Good luck with it. I hope I'm wrong, but just this one time I doubt that I am.

[BigO]

I really do recommend testing the power supply. Pick up a cheap-o multimeter someplace if you don't have one. I've seen them at discount (i.e. cheap junk) tool places for $5.00 and even less. Probably can pick up an ultra-cheapie somewhere for about $10.00.

 

(I use my tongue to test them when I don't have a meter handy, but can't recommend that approach to normal people. It will hurt.)

Edited August 2, 2007 by BigO

[atari5200dude]

well I contacted the guy and he said he cant refund my money but he did mention in the auction it was untested but came from a working set so I will attempt to buy an power cord and then see whats wrong

[pangasinan]

I really do recommend testing the power supply. Pick up a cheap-o multimeter someplace if you don't have one. I've seen them at discount (i.e. cheap junk) tool places for $5.00 and even less. Probably can pick up an ultra-cheapie somewhere for about $10.00.

 

(I use my tongue to test them when I don't have a meter handy, but can't recommend that approach to normal people. It will hurt.)

AH dont they (the 2600)have a little red light to let you know if the power is working,they do have in my country

[atari5200dude]

I contacted atari2600.com and asked them the same questions, Do you think I could send everything into them and then they could give me a new 4 switch for a low price with a couple of controllers and the power cord because thats all I got with it

Edited August 2, 2007 by atari5200dude

[BigO]

I really do recommend testing the power supply. Pick up a cheap-o multimeter someplace if you don't have one. I've seen them at discount (i.e. cheap junk) tool places for $5.00 and even less. Probably can pick up an ultra-cheapie somewhere for about $10.00.

 

(I use my tongue to test them when I don't have a meter handy, but can't recommend that approach to normal people. It will hurt.)

AH dont they (the 2600)have a little red light to let you know if the power is working,they do have in my country

 

The 2600 "Junior" does have an LED power indicator, but none of the earlier model's I've seen have them.

Funny you mention that as I had typed "I wish these consoles had power indicators." but then erased it before posting.

[Lord Helmet]

I really do recommend testing the power supply. Pick up a cheap-o multimeter someplace if you don't have one. I've seen them at discount (i.e. cheap junk) tool places for $5.00 and even less. Probably can pick up an ultra-cheapie somewhere for about $10.00.

 

(I use my tongue to test them when I don't have a meter handy, but can't recommend that approach to normal people. It will hurt.)

AH dont they (the 2600)have a little red light to let you know if the power is working,they do have in my country

 

The 2600 doesn't have any sort of power light. At least on on the Woddy and Vader. I can't remember about the Jr.

[BigO]

I contacted atari2600.com and asked them the same questions, Do you think I could send everything into them and then they could give me a new 4 switch for a low price with a couple of controllers and the power cord because thats all I got with it

 

Did they give the same answers?

 

Sounds like a broken record, I know, but I wouldn't go through all of those gyrations before at least testing the power supply. It's not an involved operation to test them. A suitable replacement is like $1 or $2 at thrift stores and can be purchased new for around $5 and up. If that's the problem, I'd imagine that they'd rather send you a replacement power supply than swap out the entire unit.

 

I assume that they sold you a tested, functional unit as I've never heard anything particularly negative about those guys. It is theoretically possible to damage the power supply if it is plugged into the wall before plugging it in to the console. The style of plug used isn't the best for power as it very easily short circuits the supply when plugging it into the socket on the console.

 

Climbing down from my test-the-power-supply soapbox now.

 

 

[edit: fixed spelling boo-boos]

Edited August 2, 2007 by BigO

[Brian R.]

I contacted atari2600.com and asked them the same questions, Do you think I could send everything into them and then they could give me a new 4 switch for a low price with a couple of controllers and the power cord because thats all I got with it

 

I wouldn't do ANYTHING until you at least get a game and try it out properly. You're really just spinning your wheels in the air and can't tell anything about the operation of the console without a cartridge. You should have done that first before anything, especially contacting the seller.

 

There's no point in buying a power cord first - you need to buy a game!

 

P.S. Six toggles and four toggles have no power lights. The Junior has a power light.

Edited August 2, 2007 by Brian R.

[atari5200dude]

^

I bought it from ebay

[Brian R.]

^

I bought it from ebay

 

 

OK. And? AFAIK, the only Atari console you can check for proper operation without a cartridge is the XEGS, which has Missile Command built in. (I can't recall what the Jaguar does without a cartridge. Or the Lynx for that matter.)

 

A cheap cart should be easy to find. (99 cent: http://cgi.ebay.com/Atari-2600-game-cartri...QQcmdZViewItem)

 

Buying consoles from eBay is always going to be a crap shoot.

Edited August 2, 2007 by Brian R.

[atari5200dude]

I plugged in the power supply and took the end that goes into the atari and put it on a nitelight bulb and then a flashlight bulb and nothing lit and when i had the supply plugged in and put it into the atari end in a dark room i didnt see any blue spark, I heard a humming or buzzing sound from the ac adaptor so I think its the cord, I got the info and tests from atariguide.com

[+FujiSkunk]

I plugged in the power supply and took the end that goes into the atari and put it on a nitelight bulb and then a flashlight bulb and nothing lit and when i had the supply plugged in and put it into the atari end in a dark room i didnt see any blue spark, I heard a humming or buzzing sound from the ac adaptor so I think its the cord, I got the info and tests from atariguide.com

 

Many universal adapters have a plug that the Atari 2600 uses, so it shouldn't be that hard to find a replacement. Just make sure you get one that delivers enough power (check the amp or milliamp rating).