Another 7800 video output death?

[sukotsu9]

A Memorial Day bummer: gearing up for an afternoon of Atari and it passes out. First I plugged in my CC2 and fired the system up. "No MMC found"; I'm really paranoid about pushing that card in too far. So I power off, pull the CC2, reseat the MMC, insert & power on... to a black screen. No Atari logo, no sound, nothing. I try a 2600 Qbert, same black screen after power on. I haven't opened the console yet (no time) to see if anything looks "odd", but shouldn't a 7800 always display the Atari logo when it's powered on and correctly connected to the TV (game or not)?

 

I got this unit off eBay in rough shape (but for cheap) and I'd been thinking about buying a "new" one from Best anyway. Still, does anyone know of someone selling A/V modded 7800 consoles? I might be able to pull the mod off myself (some skill), but I'd rather not risk frying a "new" console. Any ideas for reviving this old one?

[mimo]

Try Longhorn Engineer.

He has stopped selling his mods, but I believe that he will still mod systems (you will have to send him your system though)

 

Parker is a nice guy to deal with.

Other option to diy is a mod board from 8bit domain, if you can stand the wait.

[shadow460]

If there's no cart, you'll just get a black screen anyway. Does that Q*Bert wok in another console?

On my system, the power jack likes to fall out of the socket. You might push that in just a little, too, and maybe tie the power wire to something.

Edited May 29, 2008 by shadow460

[Kittenmommy]

A Memorial Day bummer: gearing up for an afternoon of Atari and it passes out. First I plugged in my CC2 and fired the system up. "No MMC found"; I'm really paranoid about pushing that card in too far. So I power off, pull the CC2, reseat the MMC, insert & power on... to a black screen. No Atari logo, no sound, nothing. I try a 2600 Qbert, same black screen after power on. I haven't opened the console yet (no time) to see if anything looks "odd", but shouldn't a 7800 always display the Atari logo when it's powered on and correctly connected to the TV (game or not)?

 

I have a 7800 that someone bought for me at a garage sale. I just tried to fire it up and got the same black screen you described. I also tried a 2600 cartridge in it that I know works, and it showed me a really wonky screen.

 

The 7800 didn't come with a manual, so perhaps I hooked it up incorrectly? I used the same cable/setup I use for my 2600; I just assumed it would be compatible. Perhaps it isn't. Or maybe there's something wrong with the 7800. I never had one before, so I don't know how it's supposed to behave. Oh, and I did try it on both channel two and three.

 

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated!

Edited June 7, 2008 by Kittenmommy

[shadow460]

Try cleaning the console's slot, KM. If you clean a 7800 game with alcohol and a Q tip, just leave the game's contacts really wet. Insert and remove the game several times from the system, and it will clean up the slot some.

[Kittenmommy]

Try cleaning the console's slot, KM. If you clean a 7800 game with alcohol and a Q tip, just leave the game's contacts really wet. Insert and remove the game several times from the system, and it will clean up the slot some.

 

Thanks so much! I'll try it!

[Kittenmommy]

It works! It works!

 

The controller is sluggish and unresponsive, though. Is it broken, or am I not just used to it? Can I use a 2600 joystick in there instead?

 

Edit: It's doing this where it freezes randomly in the middle of a game. Do I need to clean it more?

 

Thanks again!

Edited June 8, 2008 by Kittenmommy

[atarian63]

It works! It works!

 

The controller is sluggish and unresponsive, though. Is it broken, or am I not just used to it? Can I use a 2600 joystick in there instead?

 

Edit: It's doing this where it freezes randomly in the middle of a game. Do I need to clean it more?

 

Thanks again!

Clean it more, one of mine does exactly what you describe. I have to clean,clean clean. Then it works fine for awhile. Old anothe r7800 I had this problem was there each time I used it, I could never get the cart slot clean enough or it was just worn out from use

[Kittenmommy]

It works! It works!

 

The controller is sluggish and unresponsive, though. Is it broken, or am I not just used to it? Can I use a 2600 joystick in there instead?

 

Edit: It's doing this where it freezes randomly in the middle of a game. Do I need to clean it more?

 

Thanks again!

Clean it more, one of mine does exactly what you describe. I have to clean,clean clean. Then it works fine for awhile. Old anothe r7800 I had this problem was there each time I used it, I could never get the cart slot clean enough or it was just worn out from use

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try cleaning it some more and see what happens.