Dead 600XL? Ideas?

[phreakindee]

A week ago or so I turned on my 600XL and... nothing but a fuzzy blank screen with gray and black snow. The last time it was on previously was a few weeks prior where I had been playing games for several hours.

 

I read about it possibly being the PSU, so I got another one.

 

It arrived today and, well, there's no snow, but all I get is a constant blue screen. Just running through RF output.

 

Any ideas? The 600XL has been upgraded to 64k, if that means anything. I didn't do the mod myself, bought it from a member here.

Edited September 15, 2010 by phreakindee

[atariksi]

A week ago or so I turned on my 600XL and... nothing but a fuzzy blank screen with gray and black snow. The last time it was on previously was a few weeks prior where I had been playing games for several hours.

 

I read about it possibly being the PSU, so I got another one.

 

It arrived today and, well, there's no snow, but all I get is a constant blue screen. Just running through RF output.

 

Any ideas? The 600XL has been upgraded to 64k, if that means anything. I didn't do the mod myself, bought it from a member here.

Maybe some chip(s) got shook up. I have a 64K 600XL and I always have to press down on one of the chips else the 64K doesn't get recognized since one of the legs with jumper on it doesn't fit in that well.

[Almost Rice]

I read about it possibly being the PSU, so I got another one.

 

 

What was the voltage of the PSU that went bad? It might have gone out and taken the 600xl with it.

[phreakindee]

It's Atari part #CO 61982 +5V DC 120V AC adapter.

 

 

I read about it possibly being the PSU, so I got another one.

 

 

What was the voltage of the PSU that went bad? It might have gone out and taken the 600xl with it.

[Almost Rice]

It's Atari part #CO 61982 +5V DC 120V AC adapter.

 

That is not much info since multiple PSU were made with the same part number. A picture will tell us if it is the culprit.

Edited September 15, 2010 by Almost Rice

[+orpheuswaking]

Also you can test the output with a voltmeter and see if it is correct.

[Divya16]

Well, if it's all socketed chips (like 600XLs should be), then you can just get a spare (800XL or just chips) and start swapping chips between working unit and this one until you figure out which chip(s) went bad.

 

I'm going to guess (let me see, eenie meenie minie...), ROM chip.

[+orpheuswaking]

GTIA or ANTIC... But I wouldn't do that until I figure out if it was the PSU in the first place...

 

Also check all the solder points on the 64k upgrade

[Rybags]

Check if it attempts to boot a disk - that would at least rule out CPU, Antic and the OS ROM being bad.

[phreakindee]

Version #3, the Ingot, is solid & all black, 3 1/4" X 5" & 2 1/2" high. It was shipped with most 600XL/800XL and some 65/130XE computers. Output 5 VDC at 1.5 Amp. Atari Part# C061982

 

I'll likely be taking a look at the ICs and solder areas as well as trying with booting a disk. Carts don't work.

 

 

It's Atari part #CO 61982 +5V DC 120V AC adapter.

 

That is not much info since multiple PSU were made with the same part number. A picture will tell us if it is the culprit.

[+wood_jl]

Version #3, the Ingot, is solid & all black, 3 1/4" X 5" & 2 1/2" high. It was shipped with most 600XL/800XL and some 65/130XE computers. Output 5 VDC at 1.5 Amp. Atari Part# C061982

 

I'll likely be taking a look at the ICs and solder areas as well as trying with booting a disk. Carts don't work.

 

 

It's Atari part #CO 61982 +5V DC 120V AC adapter.

 

That is not much info since multiple PSU were made with the same part number. A picture will tell us if it is the culprit.

 

 

 

 

Ahhh, you must mean the dreaded one on the left. I bought an 800XL with this last year and I was **CERTAIN** the computer was toast when I tried it. Lucked out it works normally with the other C061982 on the right. I finally replaced all the suspect models, but somehow I can't put them in the garbage since they still work. I did toss the nasty one, of course, after clipping the cords! It's unbelievable - the number of different power supplies with this part number; even the huge bricks with the XL-style vents on them are same #.

[phreakindee]

So that type is known for having issues then? I replaced it with that because that's what mine came with and it's what I could find.

 

I wonder why it only gives me a blue screen though, as the new PSU is supposedly working fine and the old one gives me screen fuzz...

 

 

 

Version #3, the Ingot, is solid & all black, 3 1/4" X 5" & 2 1/2" high. It was shipped with most 600XL/800XL and some 65/130XE computers. Output 5 VDC at 1.5 Amp. Atari Part# C061982

 

I'll likely be taking a look at the ICs and solder areas as well as trying with booting a disk. Carts don't work.

 

 

It's Atari part #CO 61982 +5V DC 120V AC adapter.

 

That is not much info since multiple PSU were made with the same part number. A picture will tell us if it is the culprit.

 

 

 

 

Ahhh, you must mean the dreaded one on the left. I bought an 800XL with this last year and I was **CERTAIN** the computer was toast when I tried it. Lucked out it works normally with the other C061982 on the right. I finally replaced all the suspect models, but somehow I can't put them in the garbage since they still work. I did toss the nasty one, of course, after clipping the cords! It's unbelievable - the number of different power supplies with this part number; even the huge bricks with the XL-style vents on them are same #.

[atariksi]

So that type is known for having issues then? I replaced it with that because that's what mine came with and it's what I could find.

 

I wonder why it only gives me a blue screen though, as the new PSU is supposedly working fine and the old one gives me screen fuzz...

 

 

Supposedly, it fails badly so that you get voltages that Atari can't handle. How did you tell that you have in "Ingot" power supply. I have yet to see one with that name on it; is that some company that manufactured those with "Atari" label and same part #.

[phreakindee]

The guy that sold it to me (eBay seller "myatari") had labeled it as such. Not sure where the Ingot title comes from.

 

I took it apart, made sure everything looked to be in order, all looks well as far as chips being seated and such. Still just the same blue screen, occasionally a green or pinkish screen as well.

 

 

So that type is known for having issues then? I replaced it with that because that's what mine came with and it's what I could find.

 

I wonder why it only gives me a blue screen though, as the new PSU is supposedly working fine and the old one gives me screen fuzz...

 

 

Supposedly, it fails badly so that you get voltages that Atari can't handle. How did you tell that you have in "Ingot" power supply. I have yet to see one with that name on it; is that some company that manufactured those with "Atari" label and same part #.

Edited September 16, 2010 by phreakindee

[Rybags]

But what about the disk booting part?

 

And, any sound? Like hold Start and power on, does it give the cassette boot sound?

[Almost Rice]

Based on cost alone. If you do not have 4464 ram chips or chips for the 8bit(OS, 6502, Antic, PIA, and GTIA) that you can swap in, I would suggest that you buy a new system. Having to buy all these things will quickly add up to more than another system cost.

[phreakindee]

Based on cost alone. If you do not have 4464 ram chips or chips for the 8bit(OS, 6502, Antic, PIA, and GTIA) that you can swap in, I would suggest that you buy a new system. Having to buy all these things will quickly add up to more than another system cost.

 

That is my feeling at the moment as well. I can't seem to locate my disk drive cable so I'm not able to test that. No cassette sounds or anything either, just random screen colors and sometimes nothing whatsoever. It's almost like it's getting worse. It's sad, really.

[Almost Rice]

[That is my feeling at the moment as well. I can't seem to locate my disk drive cable so I'm not able to test that. No cassette sounds or anything either, just random screen colors and sometimes nothing whatsoever. It's almost like it's getting worse. It's sad, really.

 

This thread reminds me that I need to replace the ingot I am currently using.

[+wood_jl]

 

So that type is known for having issues then? I replaced it with that because that's what mine came with and it's what I could find.

 

I wonder why it only gives me a blue screen though, as the new PSU is supposedly working fine and the old one gives me screen fuzz...

 

 

Supposedly, it fails badly so that you get voltages that Atari can't handle. How did you tell that you have in "Ingot" power supply. I have yet to see one with that name on it; is that some company that manufactured those with "Atari" label and same part #.

The guy that sold it to me (eBay seller "myatari") had labeled it as such. Not sure where the Ingot title comes from.

 

I took it apart, made sure everything looked to be in order, all looks well as far as chips being seated and such. Still just the same blue screen, occasionally a green or pinkish screen as well.

 

 

The "ingot" name is simply because of the shape of this particular power supply. An ingot is (I don't claim to know much here) the shape of a bar of metal that's going to be made into something else later - so it's just traded in these bars. I have no idea why metal commodity traders use this shape, but the power supply does indeed mimic that shape so hence the nickname:

 

 

The ingot Atari power supply is known to "go bad" (someone more technical could go into detail) and fry the computer. I suspect this may take years of use? Time alone? I don't know. I have some that are still good, and I'd heard of this problem for 20 years before I actually ran into it. Maybe the one that I bought that was bad was plugged in and warm for 20 years?

 

I doubt a new one would be bad, but I don't know. I did see they're still selling them:

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 140450746553

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 140451451136

 

And these sellers are really great people; there's no way in hell they'd sell anything defective. It's probably years of remaining plugged in that does the damage, rather than being on a shelf, or they probably wouldn't sell them. After this, I always turn off the power strips to all of my stuff when I'm not using it, and I [ignorantly] assume this will extend the life of the units.

 

There's probably some damage to one of the computer components. That sucks, but don't give up. One of the technical guys here should be able to help track it down - a chip or something.

[phreakindee]

 

I doubt a new one would be bad, but I don't know. I did see they're still selling them:

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 140450746553

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 140451451136

 

And these sellers are really great people; there's no way in hell they'd sell anything defective. It's probably years of remaining plugged in that does the damage, rather than being on a shelf, or they probably wouldn't sell them. After this, I always turn off the power strips to all of my stuff when I'm not using it, and I [ignorantly] assume this will extend the life of the units.

 

There's probably some damage to one of the computer components. That sucks, but don't give up. One of the technical guys here should be able to help track it down - a chip or something.

 

That first one you linked to there is the exact PSU that I bought, the one that when plugged in the 600XL only gives random screen colors but nothing else. It seems the machine is fried. The old PSU was the original as far as I know, still had the plastic coating on the sticker and everything, so it has no doubt seen lots of use.

 

I'll likely just be getting another A8 machine in the meantime, and perhaps fixing the 600XL at some point if I ever pinpoint what's wrong and can affordably fix it.

Edited September 16, 2010 by phreakindee

[Rybags]

Metal traders use that shape because a rectangle would be too hard to get out of the mold.

 

A nice taper means that the molten stuff you pour in there is less likely to get air bubbles, and once it cools down a bit, you just turn it over and the ingot comes out easily.

[Bryan]

The screen-fuzz you got with the old supply is probably AC getting through to the computer (once all the regulation failed). Once the damage is done, a new supply will give you a locked-up computer without the fuzz.

 

Small, cheap 5V switching adapters are pretty easy to find. Put a DIN plug on the end and you'll no longer need to find an Atari supply.

[Defender II]

I'll take the broken 64K 600XL if you don't want it anymore. I like to fix broken Atari 8-bits.

 

Bruce at MyAtari came up with the names to be able to describe the differences to customers.

They are called 'ingots' because of the shape and because they are solid and weigh a lot like an ingot.

 

The power supply manufacturers pored an epoxy into them so that you could not work on them yourself and had to buy a new one from them when it went bad. Their earlier models (the black and the white & brown) are the best because you can work on them. The two problems that were created by poring the epoxy into them were the added weight increased shipping costs and the power supplies could not cool down properly. They used the wrong compound during manufacturing. When I was in the service we had a high voltage power supply 19KV which had a non-conductive compound that was pored over the components in a similar fashion. That company wanted us to buy replacement power supplies from them instead of repairing the broken ones. We carefully removed gel and replace about $5 worth of components. The hard part was replicating the compound. It had to be totally non-conductive for electricity, but highly conductive for heat dissipation. You could not have any air bubbles in it when you pored the compound back in or it would affect the conductivity. Props to Duke who did the research and saved us & taxpayers thousands of dollars. Unlike the Atari power supplies which you could repair and not replace the epoxy, our power supplies needed the gel because air was too conductive and the high voltage would arc between components without the gel.

Edited September 18, 2010 by Defender II

[zylon]

I had one that gave a solid blue screen. Changing the second chip down from the upper right hand corner solved it. I believed it was caused by faulty power supply but wasn't certain so I replaced it as well.

[Syfo-Dyas]

I just got one off Ebay for about $10.50 shipped.

 

It said it was dead so that is not the problem, I'm just trying to figure out why it is dead. When I turn it on it Get no display and I hear a buzzing noise coming from the Atari. Any ideas?