My Astrocade needs help...

[BassGuitari]

I just set up my Astrocade to test out some new controllers I recently acquired for it. It worked perfectly the last time I had it out, maybe six months ago. Now, it won't give me the time of day, just garbled screens and line patterns.

 

It's been on a shelf since the last time I had it out, and I've always been diligent about setting it on a hard surface (coffee table) when using it, so I don't think it should have anything to do with overheating.

 

Is there anything about sitting dormant that causes this, and is there anything I can do to reverse/repair it? Or should I start saving my nickels and dimes for a new Astrocade?

[Atari2008]

I just set up my Astrocade to test out some new controllers I recently acquired for it. It worked perfectly the last time I had it out, maybe six months ago. Now, it won't give me the time of day, just garbled screens and line patterns.

 

It's been on a shelf since the last time I had it out, and I've always been diligent about setting it on a hard surface (coffee table) when using it, so I don't think it should have anything to do with overheating.

 

Is there anything about sitting dormant that causes this, and is there anything I can do to reverse/repair it? Or should I start saving my nickels and dimes for a new Astrocade?

 

Hey I'm very new to the Astrocade scene but from what people have told me is that to prevent overheating, the best solution is to remove the RF shielding. I had mine on a hard surface and 5 minutes into gameplay, the system started acting up. So you might want to look into that. The folks at ballyalley.com will probably be able to provide more insight.

[Lord Thag]

Not running power through old electronics is bad for them (the capacitors can dry out & ruin), but in this case, may not be your problem. It is a good idea to fire up your systems once amonth for a few minutes though.

 

Astrocades are notorius for overheating and frying. It takes more than just sitting it on a table. I modded mine, and removed the horribly restricting RF shield (most of the problem, it turns the motherboard into an oven) and mine still overheats occasionally. You can also add a CPU fan and heat syncs too.

 

If your system is just giving you garbage, I don't know what to tell you. It may be bad. Or it could be just a bad solder joint, or a chup that needa re-seating. Get someone who knows electronics to look at it.

[Atari2008]

Not running power through old electronics is bad for them (the capacitors can dry out & ruin), but in this case, may not be your problem. It is a good idea to fire up your systems once amonth for a few minutes though.

 

I never knew this, thanks for sharing! I don't have a huge collection, but I'm at the point where I don't have space to have them all hooked up, so one of them spends time in the closet. Now, I have a good reason to take it out and play it occassionally.