Activision Games!!!!

[BONEMAN]

Activision makes the best games, but they're also the cheapest. I can't get half of them to work. Does anyone know how to clean or fix them? I'm dying to play Stampede.

[joeybastard]

I've always just cleaned them repeatedly with alcohol on a q-tip. Sometimes you have to do it 2 or 3 times but it's always worked for me.

[Curt Vendel]

Okay, relax... well get through this

 

Most likely its just the contacts on the edge connector of the carts. First and easiest way to try and fix them, insert and remove them from the VCS 5-6 times, this allows the contacts in the carts to rub against the contacts in the VCS and usually will clean off some of the oxidation.

 

The best way to correct this is go out to a local office supply store and buy a pencil eraser and you may need a knife or exacto blade to cut it down a bit so you can slide it into the cart case opening on each side of the connector.

 

Rub the eraser across the contacts several times, repeat on the other side.

 

Blow out any excess eraser remains.

 

Using a q-tip put a small dab of alcohol on it (no Budweiser is not recommended, rubbing alcohol is better... just don't drink it while doing this

 

Run the q-tip across the contacts a few times on each side and then let it air dry, repeat the above steps once more to make sure.

 

The carts should work fine after this, if not then it may be an issue with the prom on the board has suffered static damage and is no longer working.

 

Best of luck.

 

Curt

[Voch]

Agreed. I've scrubbed the gunk off of several of my Activision carts by using a thin pink block eraser on the contacts and then using isopropyl alcohol and q-tips to clean them off after that.

 

Voch

[sku_u]

I'm not sure why, but the contacts get much dirtier on the Activisoin games I own. It's always been a mystery to me. Other "exposed contact" carts like the INTV ones don't have the same problem.

 

Maybe the Actiplaque is rotting through to the eprom (j/k)

[Curt Vendel]

While the games contained within Activision carts were certainly top notch, the actual carts were built like crap! The contacts weren't very high quality, I've seen many not gold plated at all, they didn't have a protection cover like the Atari's original 2600 carts and I've found that many times when you've opened an activision cart I don't think they ever had the solder resin cleaned which becomes nasty over the years and gunks up the contacts around the components. Also you notice the serious deterioration of the cart labels. I doubt anyone thought these carts would be in used past 10 years and no one would've ever have known back then the long term effects of the glue components in the adhesive of the labels and that they would deteriorate so badly compared with other labels from other companies.

 

Curt

[King Atari]

The graphics are great, but Activision carts just aren't built as durable as Atari released carts are. This is especially true with the early carts that have dust traps, but even the late 80's carts are pretty sturdy.

[Dr Galaga]

I spray contact cleaner on to a stiff cotton swab (the kind you find at the electronic store) and I clean the contacts of the cart with that!

[AtariDude]

Activision was originally founded with ex-Atari game designers who got tired of not receiving credit for their work (a reason why Warren Robinett created the secret room in adventure). They probably did not get a lot of capital at the beginning and had to make cartridges that were made inexpensively, at least that it was I think might have occured.

 

But you can't argue with the quality of the games!

[Krytol]

I finally got my Seaquest working with the eraser/alcohol method. Thanks guys!

[StanJr]

Also, many of my Activision games require a bit of a wiggle, to make the connection, I even have to pull some of them back out a bit to make the connection work.

 

Silly Activision.

[Atari Rescue Group]

Yup, that works for me too when I have trouble getting a game to work. Backing it out just a bit tends to do the trick a lot.