Broken TV cable

[HatefulGravey]

I found a Heavy Sixer at a local thrift store and for a secound I was about to crap myself. Then I noticed the coard for the audion/video out put was broken at the end. Like someone pulled the cord out and left the end of the wire in the tv. So I told the lady I could give him $10 for it on the chance that I might be able to fix it. She took the deal.

 

I know this can be fixed. I have seen systems that had new cables with them. Where is the information on doing this located? I searched the forum but I found way too much unrealated stuff.

[Cebus Capucinis]

I can't remember if it's the same between models, but if the H6er is anything like the other models, the RF cable is just a basic cable that has a hookup via TV and then a hookup point on the board. No soldering, no nothing, just open up the back, crack open the case, pull the wire out and replace with a completely new one by simply plugging it in!

[HatefulGravey]

I can't remember if it's the same between models, but if the H6er is anything like the other models, the RF cable is just a basic cable that has a hookup via TV and then a hookup point on the board. No soldering, no nothing, just open up the back, crack open the case, pull the wire out and replace with a completely new one by simply plugging it in!

 

I do hope I get just that lucky!

 

Can you just use a normal AV cable or do I need something special?

Edited March 3, 2011 by HatefulGravey

[Rex Dart]

I told the lady I could give him $10

 

 

Uhhhhhhh, I don't like where this is headed

[Koopa64]

I can't remember if it's the same between models, but if the H6er is anything like the other models, the RF cable is just a basic cable that has a hookup via TV and then a hookup point on the board. No soldering, no nothing, just open up the back, crack open the case, pull the wire out and replace with a completely new one by simply plugging it in!

 

I do hope I get just that lucky!

 

Can you just use a normal AV cable or do I need something special?

 

The thicker the better. Other than that, most any old phono / RCA cable should work.

[HatefulGravey]

I told the lady I could give him $10

 

 

Uhhhhhhh, I don't like where this is headed

 

Ummmmm yeah, about that.

 

I should have told more of the story before I started typing. Let me explain.

 

I found this last week and asked to buy it, the lady running this store she would have to talk to the consigner (sp?) before she could sell it as he didn't tell her what to do with it. I stopped back by today to see if they had talked to the owner about it. They hadn't, so I told the lady I could give him $10 for it.

 

There, it isn't as bad as you were thinking, or it could have been but I don't know that for sure. She was easy on the eyes, but I don't make a habit of checking for a package when speaking to people wearing a dress. I'm married, so I don't have to worry about that anymore.

[+save2600]

Either solder a new RCA end on it or replace the entire cable with a nice 100% shielded 75ohm one for best/cleanest picture quality possible.

[HatefulGravey]

Pretty sure we can scratch another Heavy Sixer off the list of 2600s on earth. I opened her up and I'm pretty sure it has had water in it at some point. There was rust in the case.

 

I did hook up another cable just just test the thing, it did power on, and the screen did "change" but there was nothing there to make me think it was even trying to read the game. Maybe I'll take some pics or something and see if it can be saved. It would break my heart to throw it away.

 

If nothing else maybe someone here can use it for the switches or something...

[VectorGamer]

I have a dead light sixer that I plan on hanging on the wall in the Retrocade

[+save2600]

I have a dead light sixer that I plan on hanging on the wall in the Retrocade

 

CPU boards, vintage consoles and classic computers all look great on a wall

[Deteacher]

You can always hang onto it, or maybe someone can use some of the innards. Nothing wrong with Frankensteining 2 dead systems to make one working system again. I've got some dead 4 and 6 switch systems that I plan to merge together at some point.

 

Heck, you never know...even the shell might be worth a few clams to someone out there.

[Schizophretard]

You can always hang onto it, or maybe someone can use some of the innards. Nothing wrong with Frankensteining 2 dead systems to make one working system again. I've got some dead 4 and 6 switch systems that I plan to merge together at some point.

 

Heck, you never know...even the shell might be worth a few clams to someone out there.

 

I would bid on the shell on Ebay. I would even bid on just the screws.

[A.J. Franzman]

I've had systems with what looked like a horrible amount of rust and water damage inside that either worked just fine or needed minimal repairs. Don't write that one off yet until someone knowledgeable has a whack at fixing it.

[HatefulGravey]

I played with it a bit last night and while I'm still not getting a picture, I'm getting closer to a picture. Instead of scrambled white noise on the screen I get a solid black screen. I think I'm getting closer. Seeing that I'm thinking more and more about trying to fix this thing.

 

Worst case this is a learning experience. I can see what makes this thing tick without risking much more then a system I thought was broken anyway. Best case I fix it and have another working system.

 

I'll post some pics later tonight if I get a chance, and maybe someone with more knowledge on this then I can tell me if something it out of place.

[Benzman66]

More than likely one of the IC chips or transistors may have gotten wet and shorted out, which usually produces the black screen. Neither isn't a hard job to replace.

[HatefulGravey]

Link to info on figuring out what the problem is? Where can I get parts?

[Benzman66]

You can get the parts at;

Best Electronics

 

To get to the guts, you have to open the silver case. When you open it and look at the reverse side, you will see the three larger size chips. If you do a search, there are quite a lot of threads explaining it all.

[HatefulGravey]

You can get the parts at;

Best Electronics

 

To get to the guts, you have to open the silver case. When you open it and look at the reverse side, you will see the three larger size chips. If you do a search, there are quite a lot of threads explaining it all.

 

Um... that website is terrible. I hope I'm not offending anyone, but that thing is slow and poorly designed. I wouldn't trust it if it wasn't recommended to me by an AA member. Just saying.

 

Also, I really really hate the search feature in these forums. I just find it very hard to find what I'm looking for, but I'm on it. I'm on vacation next week with no where to go, so I have decided to make it a video game project week anyway. I'm interested in fixing this thing, so I'm on the search anyway.

 

Thanks for the link and heads up.

[SlowCoder]

Electronics from that era are surprisingly resilient to water. Sure, the chip may have shorted, of maybe the contacts are a little corroded and just need some gentle love. If the chip didn't have electricity flowing to it at the time it got wet, I'd say chances are ok that it still works.

[0078265317]

Electronics from that era are surprisingly resilient to water. Sure, the chip may have shorted, of maybe the contacts are a little corroded and just need some gentle love. If the chip didn't have electricity flowing to it at the time it got wet, I'd say chances are ok that it still works.

 

Yes sometimes. When were we kids I spilled water all over my 5200 and ten years after pulling out of storage it still worked. So sometimes you get lucky.

[HatefulGravey]

So I'll check all the chips for bad solder and such and go from there. I was thinking to do that before I looked more into replacement anyway. Just off my past experience, glad to hear others have had the same luck.

[Benzman66]

Your chips should be socketed, which is the good thing about the sixers. If you have a IC chip puller, you may want to pull them out and make sure the prongs are clean. You can also use a small screwdriver on the end of the chip to pry it up from the socket, but be real careful!

 

Make sure to watch how you take the chips out as they have to go back in the same direction. If you rotate them or put them in backward, you can ruin the chip upon power up.

[HatefulGravey]

Oldly enough I do have a chip puller. I went to college for computer information systems and while the degree does f**k all for me the tools are handy.

[zylon]

Another thing to watch for on the older boards, especially if they've gotten wet, is the colored dot sticker. It covers a trace that can short out the system.

[HatefulGravey]

Here are some pictures of the board I'm dealing with here. The first is of some rust that concerns me. The other is part of the board that looks like it might be missing something. Could someone who knows more then I tell me how bad that rust could really be, and is something is missing in the other picture?