Game Help

[atari5200dude]

Ok, So I have a copy of starmaster but when I put it into the 2600 all I get is random colored lines or black and white lines, I tried it on my 4 switch woody and my brothers vader console. Any way to fix this?

[+SpiceWare]

try cleaning the contacts on the cartridge. I like to use rubbing alcohol and a q-tip to clean my cartridges.

[BSA Starfire]

Ok, So I have a copy of starmaster but when I put it into the 2600 all I get is random colored lines or black and white lines, I tried it on my 4 switch woody and my brothers vader console. Any way to fix this?

 

Cleaning the contacts carefully with a cotton bud and rubbing alchol or with a pencil eraser usually does the trick. If not Some others have had some success with resoldering the chip but it's never worked for me.

[Deteacher]

I think I read somewhere on these message boards that Activision carts used a slightly thinner contact board, which makes it harder to achieve a good contact with the cartridge port (please correct me if I'm wrong.) So, even after you clean your cart, you might need to work with the cart to get a good connection. Don't give up on it, though. In all my years, I think I've only come across 1 or 2 carts that were truly "dead."

[BSA Starfire]

I think I read somewhere on these message boards that Activision carts used a slightly thinner contact board, which makes it harder to achieve a good contact with the cartridge port (please correct me if I'm wrong.) So, even after you clean your cart, you might need to work with the cart to get a good connection. Don't give up on it, though. In all my years, I think I've only come across 1 or 2 carts that were truly "dead."

Guess i've been unlucky, had 6 dead out of the 130 odd carts I own.

[atari5200dude]

Ok, So I have a copy of starmaster but when I put it into the 2600 all I get is random colored lines or black and white lines, I tried it on my 4 switch woody and my brothers vader console. Any way to fix this?

 

Cleaning the contacts carefully with a cotton bud and rubbing alchol or with a pencil eraser usually does the trick. If not Some others have had some success with resoldering the chip but it's never worked for me.

 

 

It didnt work

[2600Lives]

See if you can get the cart apart. Look and see if any of the plastic holding the chip in place has broken. The chip might be seated wrong when you put the cart in. A little superglue will usually do the trick in this instance (I fixed a broken cart like this and it works just fine now).

[Christophero Sly]

Keep fiddling with it as Detacher suggested. Those Activision carts sometimes require a great deal of finesse.

[A.J. Franzman]

Out of all of the cartridges I've had, I've only had two that did not work after thorough cleaning followed by resoldering. I've had about 20 or so Activision carts sold or donated to me as "dead" but they all worked after cleaning except one, and when I opened that one it turned out that two pins on the ROM chip were completely devoid of solder so it was an easy fix. But yes, Activision carts do have thinner circuit boards so are more picky about needing to be clean (and needing the console's cart port to be clean).