R.I.P heavysixer ?

[Corby]

I got this awhile back and i finally decided to work on it. the color and graphics were weren't all that great, color flicker, and graphics were all over the place.

 

SO i cleaned out the cart slot, pretty dirty, opened her up and reseated the chips, tested it out and it seemed to be ok. put i pacman arcade, adjusted the color. worked great

 

getting ready to put it all back together again but i wanted to check the solder points on the switch board, and it seemed the black piece, just below the power switch was loose, and the solder point was broke, so i tried to solder it so it won't jiggle anymore. trying to get the solder to stick to the little post that holds that bracket with the 3 prongs. but it sorta held it snug.

 

so i tried it again to see if any diference, but now the atari doesn't even turn on, and no picture?

 

should I have left this bracket alone? And what does it do? was it a connection for the would be speakers???

 

 

corby

 

here is the pic, its bad but you'll see what I mean.

 

[R.Cade]

I got this awhile back and i finally decided to work on it. the color and graphics were weren't all that great, color flicker, and graphics were all over the place.

 

SO i cleaned out the cart slot, pretty dirty, opened her up and reseated the chips, tested it out and it seemed to be ok. put i pacman arcade, adjusted the color. worked great

 

getting ready to put it all back together again but i wanted to check the solder points on the switch board, and it seemed the black piece, just below the power switch was loose, and the solder point was broke, so i tried to solder it so it won't jiggle anymore. trying to get the solder to stick to the little post that holds that bracket with the 3 prongs. but it sorta held it snug.

 

so i tried it again to see if any diference, but now the atari doesn't even turn on, and no picture?

 

should I have left this bracket alone? And what does it do? was it a connection for the would be speakers???

 

 

corby

 

here is the pic, its bad but you'll see what I mean.

 

 

That is a heat sync for the regulator. I don't think it's supposed to ground to the board or it's a short circuit. It's supposed to "float". Hopefully it's not dead when you undo it.

[BigO]

I don't know what part it is, but if it in fact was already soldered to the same electrical point, I wouldn't think that re-soldering would have caused a failure unless you put enough heat to it to burn it up. Tough to do if it's a heat-sinked part as they often run pretty hot anyway. If I recall correctly, the heat-sink tab is common to one of the leads (ground?) so it's possible that it could safely have an electrical connection on the board. I can't speak specifically to the design of the 2600, though as I've never had to work on that part of one.

 

 

But, yeah, unsolder it and see what happens. If you toasted the 5v regulator, that's a dirt cheap, very common part. You can probably even still get one of those at Radio S hack. (Or rob a used one out of one of a bazillion other electronic devices, they're everywhere.) From what you describe about the difficulty of getting it to solder, it probably shouldn't have been soldered.

 

If it still doesn't work, verify that your power supply is still working. If you shorted the input, it could have taken out the power supply.

Edited March 4, 2009 by BigO

[Corby]

I got this awhile back and i finally decided to work on it. the color and graphics were weren't all that great, color flicker, and graphics were all over the place.

 

SO i cleaned out the cart slot, pretty dirty, opened her up and reseated the chips, tested it out and it seemed to be ok. put i pacman arcade, adjusted the color. worked great

 

getting ready to put it all back together again but i wanted to check the solder points on the switch board, and it seemed the black piece, just below the power switch was loose, and the solder point was broke, so i tried to solder it so it won't jiggle anymore. trying to get the solder to stick to the little post that holds that bracket with the 3 prongs. but it sorta held it snug.

 

so i tried it again to see if any diference, but now the atari doesn't even turn on, and no picture?

 

should I have left this bracket alone? And what does it do? was it a connection for the would be speakers???

 

 

corby

 

here is the pic, its bad but you'll see what I mean.

 

 

That is a heat sync for the regulator. I don't think it's supposed to ground to the board or it's a short circuit. It's supposed to "float". Hopefully it's not dead when you undo it.

 

thank you for the imfo r.cade! learning as I go.

[Corby]

I don't know what part it is, but if it in fact was already soldered to the same electrical point, I wouldn't think that re-soldering would have caused a failure unless you put enough heat to it to burn it up. Tough to do if it's a heat-sinked part as they often run pretty hot anyway. If I recall correctly, the heat-sink tab is common to one of the leads (ground?) so it's possible that it could safely have an electrical connection on the board. I can't speak specifically to the design of the 2600, though as I've never had to work on that part of one.

 

 

But, yeah, unsolder it and see what happens. If you toasted the 5v regulator, that's a dirt cheap, very common part. You can probably even still get one of those at Radio S hack. (Or rob a used one out of one of a bazillion other electronic devices, they're everywhere.) From what you describe about the difficulty of getting it to solder, it probably shouldn't have been soldered.

 

If it still doesn't work, verify that your power supply is still working. If you shorted the input, it could have taken out the power supply.

 

I unsoldered it but it still doesn't work. there is this white residue where the 3 prongs lead into the heat sink. is this right or is this leakage.

 

where is this 5v regulator located?

[Benzman66]

The white "paste" is not a problem. It just helps dissipate the heat. The power regulator is the black thing with three posts that is screwed onto the square silver block on the left bottom of most switchboards. In your case, it is the piece inside the black steel "cage" on the far left bottom. You can get a replacement at Radio Shack (I believe it is a 7805) for about $1.50. I would think that is your problem source from what you state.

 

If you have a meter, you can jump the middle and left pin on the regulator and see it it reads +5.

 

The only other thing could be your AC adaptor. You can meter that too, or watch when you plug it into your console, there should be a small blue spark near the jack.

Edited March 4, 2009 by Benzman66

[Corby]

The white "paste" is not a problem. It just helps dissipate the heat. The power regulator is the black thing with three posts that is screwed onto the square silver block on the left bottom of most switchboards. In your case, it is the piece inside the black steel "cage" on the far left bottom. You can get a replacement at Radio Shack (I believe it is a 7805) for about $1.50. I would think that is your problem source from what you state.

 

If you have a meter, you can jump the middle and left pin on the regulator and see it it reads +5.

 

The only other thing could be your AC adaptor. You can meter that too, or watch when you plug it into your console, there should be a small blue spark near the jack.

 

ok I'll try that!!! thanks

[Corby]

when i first tried to solder the heat sink cage I did get it kinda hot. So I may have buggered it up???

[Corby]

I soldered a new voltage regulator. fired it up, but still nothing! after awhile the heat sink was a little warm. could it be its getting power, but not shooting out picture???

[Benzman66]

I soldered a new voltage regulator. fired it up, but still nothing! after awhile the heat sink was a little warm. could it be its getting power, but not shooting out picture???

 

 

Are you sure you have the regulator in correctly? Soldered in the same way you took it out?

 

If the voltage regulator is working, which it sounds like it is if getting hot, then the next step is the possibility of a bad chip. At this point, you should have a solid black screen when you power it on with a game in.

 

At least you know the AC adapter is ok.

[Corby]

see thats the thing? I don't get a solid black screen i get nothing but the blue screen from the tv. like its not even hooked up to the tv. i changed the rf cable still nothing is happening

 

in the pic that i have taken what is that blue tube between the left difficulty switch and black and white switch on top. it sorta looks alittle bit burned on the left side but not much?

 

another question?

 

should solder points be seperate from eachother, or does it matter if the solder spread to the next prong???? just wondering.

Edited March 5, 2009 by corbysatarigame

[Benzman66]

see thats the thing? I don't get a solid black screen i get nothing but the blue screen from the tv. like its not even hooked up to the tv. i changed the rf cable still nothing is happening

 

in the pic that i have taken what is that blue tube between the left difficulty switch and black and white switch on top. it sorta looks alittle bit burned on the left side but not much?

 

another question?

 

should solder points be seperate from eachother, or does it matter if the solder spread to the next prong???? just wondering.

 

Solder points have to be SEPARATE from each other. You are shorting the connections out if the solder is touching and that is why no power.

 

BTW, the blue tube is not really a big issue. Some boards I have gotten in don't even have any attached and it still works.

Edited March 5, 2009 by Benzman66

[Corby]

I seperated the soldering points this morning before going to work, so I did that and well......... she worked.

 

Just want to thank everyone who helped out with saving the old girl.

 

 

 

 

Corby