What to do about dead 2600 cartridges ? or carts

[chas10e]

not long ago I came across my first dead atari cart. it was "Space Shuttle" after reading missing manual here in AA & making a crude overlay

 

the game would seem to start then messing with the various console switches if I just graze the cart as it's in the console , it's like I pulled the cart completely out & get a bad screen & tone (zig-zaggy horizintal lines)

 

that was really a first try for that cart.

 

immediately, after that one I tried a game I've played before went bad .... Asteroids

 

that cart I get the score & the space ships & music , but no rocks to shoot at.

 

I tried cleaning the carts with 91% alcohol , I tried cleaning my Vader unit cartridge slot (cloth wrapped around credit card)

 

today I got in the mail "Steeplechase" the PCB pins on it look brand new as it came "cib" all I get is a black screen on this one a few times I'll get two vertical green lines

 

...

did the first bad cart do something to damage both consoles ? ...

what goes wrong with them ?

[Dauber]

I doubt a bad cartridge would ruin a console, tbh.

 

I guess if nothing else, you can send any nonworking cartridges to Albert -- he can use 'em to house homebrews and such, right???

[Serious]

I consider carts with glitches to be an asset, as long as those glitches are interesting.

 

I have a Pitfall 2 cart that has weird colors. The colors are completely off and Pitfall Harry has stripes. This sounds like a joke, but I am serious. I can post a photo, if anyone is interested.

 

I also have a Yar's Revenge cart that doesn't play, but displays the text "ITARATARI" in a small font.

 

 

That Asteroids cart sounds kinda neat to me. I will swap you a working one for it, if you want. I am willing to risk that the rocks will appear.

[TheAtarianGuy]

I consider carts with glitches to be an asset, as long as those glitches are interesting.

 

I have a Pitfall 2 cart that has weird colors. The colors are completely off and Pitfall Harry has stripes. This sounds like a joke, but I am serious. I can post a photo, if anyone is interested.

 

I also have a Yar's Revenge cart that doesn't play, but displays the text "ITARATARI" in a small font.

 

 

That Asteroids cart sounds kinda neat to me. I will swap you a working one for it, if you want. I am willing to risk that the rocks will appear.

I'd like to see pictures of your Pitfall 2 and Yar's Revenge glitches.

[Serious]

I've just uploaded some videos of these cartridges in action.

 

Here is the malfunctioning Yar's Revenge:

 

 

 

And here is Pitfall 2. Harry isn't wearing stripes tonight, for some reason, but the colors are fun:

 

[RickR]

Clean them with alcohol and a q-tip several times (until no more black comes off). Make sure to get both sides of the card, and pay extra attention in getting the pins on the edges. If they still don't work, try cleaning the cart pins gently with a pencil eraser (make sure to NOT scrape with the metal part of the eraser. I find those triangular erasers you put on the end of a pencil work best. Be gentle.

[shadow460]

Good news: your Space Shuttle hasn't gone bad. Either it needs the solder re flowed, or it's simply not compatible with your console. Space Shuttle has, essentially, two different programs out there. We've found carts with FE and (I believe) F8 bankswitching. I don't know the full story, but I do know I stumbled on an FE cart by pure accident when I loaded in up on my 7800. Up to that point, I thought Space Shuttle wouldn't work on a 7800, but I tried anyway, and mine did.

 

Also, over time the solder points in some carts will simply fail. It's an easy fix, and usually manifests as a cart that works intermittently. My advice is to try Space Shuttle in a different console--if it works, it's a compatibility issue, if not, it'll have to be opened. I'm leaning towards the latter.

 

Asteroids is so common that I would just grab another copy. Steeplechase may have a dead ROM IC. I usually re flow any boards I suspect to have a dead ROM, though, just to make sure. In your case, the box and docs from Steeplechase might be worth what you paid for it.

[chas10e]

I have already a replacement for Asteroids ... and it very common , so that's the one I experimented with . ...

 

still no luck with it ...

 

cleaned with 91% alcohol a few time before ... did again to no avail (q-tip wasn't soiled)

 

this is the first cart I had ever taken apart .... almost got entire front label off with out messing it up ( DOH! )

 

cleaned contacts with a high polymer white eraser ... put in console EPROM up as it would be in the cart , same thing

 

I noticed the PCB has holes with solder in them to switch sides of card ...

 

from the EPROM toward the contacts that go into the console ... there is a row of 6 holes , some have more solder in them than others ... next row has 5 & last has 2 .... BOTH rows have no solder in them.

 

this particular cart I know was stored in an unventilated attic for a good number of years (15 or 20 + )

 

the main reason for this post is the $18.00 I payed for a cib I was hoping to give to my niece of "Steeplechase"

 

should I try re-flowing the solder in the holes that have solder ?

do I fill the holes with solder that doesn't have solder?

 

do I put a continuity meter from each contact to a point in the EPROM ?

 

...

I only have a butane soldering iron & not any kind of fancy one

 

...

to bad Pitfall Harries strips didn't come .... did he look more like a fugitive or a mime ?

 

in YARs Revenge I believe "ITARATARI" is the code used to create the force-field in a normal (good thing the programmer didn't use something obscene !!!

[Serious]

 

to bad Pitfall Harries strips didn't come .... did he look more like a fugitive or a mime ?

 

 

He had thin horizontal black stripes, so you could say he was like a fugitive in that regard.

 

The things is, though, he had the stripes on his head, too, so maybe more like a performance artist.

[Aamp]

I have already a replacement for Asteroids ... and it very common , so that's the one I experimented with . ...

 

this is the first cart I had ever taken apart .... almost got entire front label off with out messing it up ( DOH! )

 

 

I just have a question, for anyone.. If you remove the labels to get inside, how would you stick them back on? I may or may not have done something with a dead Yars' Revenge cart beyond cleaning the contacts, without touching the labels or screw, whether this be useful, or bad.. if you know what I'm saying .

[chas10e]

this particular cart I was planning to use double sided tape ... specifically the tape that cam with cold weather window film it happens to be about the exact width of an end label

 

the origonal glue on the face label still seemed pretty useable (picured varient of aeroids) next time I probably would only peel enough to access the screw

 

3M also makes a spray-on adhesive I dunno if theres a roll-on type adhesive

 

but again this cart is for me to practice on ...

 

Good news: your Space Shuttle hasn't gone bad. Either it needs the solder re flowed, or it's simply not compatible with your console. Space Shuttle has, essentially, two different programs out there. We've found carts with FE and (I believe) F8 bankswitching. I don't know the full story, but I do know I stumbled on an FE cart by pure accident when I loaded in up on my 7800. Up to that point, I thought Space Shuttle wouldn't work on a 7800, but I tried anyway, and mine did.

 

Also, over time the solder points in some carts will simply fail. It's an easy fix, and usually manifests as a cart that works intermittently. My advice is to try Space Shuttle in a different console--if it works, it's a compatibility issue, if not, it'll have to be opened. I'm leaning towards the latter.

 

Asteroids is so common that I would just grab another copy. Steeplechase may have a dead ROM IC. I usually re flow any boards I suspect to have a dead ROM, though, just to make sure. In your case, the box and docs from Steeplechase might be worth what you paid for it.

 

I was typing & thinking when you posted this ... it seems to be what might be the deal

 

again I have crude equipment & probably cruder skills at this point ...

 

what would be some good birthday gift ideas I could give to my family ?

warming table?

temperature controlled soldering iron ?

 

techniques on reflowing solder may be helpful

 

if I don't respong to this thread in a couple days ... I probably burned down the house & in the hospital

 

He had thin horizontal black stripes, so you could say he was like a fugitive in that regard.

 

The things is, though, he had the stripes on his head, too, so maybe more like a performance artist.

horizontal stripes ... prolly more like a corrupted referee

 

is the color set correctly on your console & your TV ... I hooked my latest heavy-sixer up to my 55" rear-projection TV & split it to my old 19" & discoverd having it on a "movie or sports" setting affeted the colors greatly .... I did have to adjust the pot inside the console as well .... but first needed to get TV right (Pitfall 1 was one of the carts I used to see if colors looked right.

[Serious]

is the color set correctly on your console & your TV ... I hooked my latest heavy-sixer up to my 55" rear-projection TV & split it to my old 19" & discoverd having it on a "movie or sports" setting affeted the colors greatly .... I did have to adjust the pot inside the console as well .... but first needed to get TV right (Pitfall 1 was one of the carts I used to see if colors looked right.

 

Yes, all other games on that TV and console look normal. It is an anomaly with that particular cartridge. (I have multiple Pitfall 2 copies, and none have ever behaved that way.)

[shadow460]

First, lose the butane iron. Grab yourself an electric pencil style iron that's rated anywhere from 15 to 50 watts. Grab yourself an electric desoldering iron within that wattage range as well.

 

To reflow 'em, tin the iron, then just touch the iron to each joint long enough to get the solder to melt. Add a tiny bit of solder to each. Once you've reflowed that dead Asteroids cart, use the desoldering tool to remove all the solder and do it all again. Repeat this until you're comfortable reflowing and desoldering that cart. If you make a mistake, there's nothing lost since the cart was already dead to begin with.

 

Yes, you can run solder though the empty holes. I typically do this on a reflow if I can't get a response from the cartridge at all. If the cart loads intermittently, I'll skip that part until I've reflowed everything else and tested it.

 

I use a hair dryer to heat labels as I remove them. You have to keep the heat on them as you peel the label back. In the case of Activision carts, it's a good idea to fully remove the label and strip the old glue from the cart with Goo Gone. DO NOT use heat on tape or disk based games!

To re attach the label, I use Elmer's School Glue sticks. They are purple at first, but the stuff dries clear. Heating the label with the hair dryer again will cause the stick glue to set faster, but it'll still work without heating.

 

Bear in mind that there are some labels that can't be removed without being damaged, and that there will likely be some minor flaws even when you've removed and re glued one successfully.

[chas10e]

I'm tottaly going to Radio Shack .... that desoldering thing looks pretty awesome ... I do have a desoldering bulb .... I never tried wick

 

First, lose the butane iron. Grab yourself an electric pencil style iron that's rated anywhere from 15 to 50 watts. Grab yourself an electric desoldering iron within that wattage range as well.

I JUST lite the thing up when I read that ....

 

good for use when your a million miles away from some power ....

 

k , off to teh store ... prolly grab a sammich too

[chas10e]

double post ? ... I'll figure this place out I hope ....

 

went & got corded irons ... 7 bucks @ sears for 30w ... & 12.99 @ Radioshack for desolder-iron ...

I had some solder & it seemed quite expensive to just snag another roll ...

 

the solder I have just says "lead free Rosin Core ... fairly small , maybe the size of pencil-lead ....

 

at first it seemed to work , initial start-up the screen rolled but when I hit reset button the game started .... I played only for a short bit before turning offthen on again

 

then it wouldn't start , got horizontal lines across screen .... Itinkered with re-flowing solder in first row with no change , filled other holes previously that didn't seem to be filled from factory with no change ,

 

I tried other console , no change

 

I wished I took before phot'o's .... I don't really wanna take after photos as the job doesn't look to neat ....

 

I don't think I bridged anything ....

 

To reflow 'em, tin the iron, then just touch the iron to each joint long enough to get the solder to melt. Add a tiny bit of solder to each. Once you've reflowed that dead Asteroids cart, use the desoldering tool to remove all the solder and do it all again. Repeat this until you're comfortable reflowing and desoldering that cart. If you make a mistake, there's nothing lost since the cart was already dead to begin with.

 

Yes, you can run solder though the empty holes. I typically do this on a reflow if I can't get a response from the cartridge at all. If the cart loads intermittently, I'll skip that part until I've reflowed everything else and tested it.

 

 

yeah the whole point of the exercise is the get comfortable soldering , Asteroids , being a great game , is common & I have a repllacement already ( & I think a cib on the way )

 

the de-soldering tool is tricky ...

 

whats the reasoning behind ... re-flowing adding solder then removing it all ? ... I probably only needed to re-flow a bit & add a bit I guess ... OOPSIES

 

I'll rince recycle -repeat tomorrow perhaps .... my eyes are bugging out

 

I did try a reflow on the EPROM pins without removing any solder ,

 

again I don't think anything was bridges unless between the green film somehow ( is that possible ? )

 

if you desire pics of some gorrilla soldering , lemme know I'll just have to figure out the BB-code for these forums

[chas10e]

TRIPLE POST ??? yikes

 

being newto these forums I hope that's ok: ( I don't see an edit button )

 

also i said I was going to post some images so I have to give that a try:

 

I'm not at all proud of the work ... the cart has failed (black screen) for better or worse here it is

 

(flaming to a minimum please)

 

inexperience with the desoldering tool ( looks like a soldering gun with a bulb on top) caused most of the overheating I believe ... tiredness& bad eyesight a contributing factor

the spool of solder I was using originally has no markings on the label to indicate its size & flux ratio ... all it says is that is is "lead free" basically .... I wished I looked at size when I was loking at other spools

 

I bought some helping hands with a magnifying glass attached, a new spool of solder 60/40 rosin core .032" diameter (has lead I imagine) & some desoldering braid

 

to say I didn't care about my Asteroids cart wouldn't be true (to look at it you might not think so) I did get to see it power up for just a short bit though ...

 

so some more questions:

• can I use a continuity meter to determine if there is continuity from the contacts to the EPROM ? ( or both sides of the board before the EPROM)
  
• for a cartridge of a higher rarity value what sort of place would I take it to to be "professionally re-flowed" should my skills not improve ?
  

I do appreciate your time & input and a bit embarrassed about the pics

[Aamp]

Yes, all other games on that TV and console look normal. It is an anomaly with that particular cartridge. (I have multiple Pitfall 2 copies, and none have ever behaved that way.)

 

I was thinking about this while reading a tutorial. I wondered after, if it could for some reason, be calling up PAL Colour Palette which looks on the charts like it maybe corresponds to some of those freaky colours, on NTSC?

 

 

So, why are some holes filled with solder to start with, and not others? My dead one has some only half filled. Other pins leading to holes without solder are actually making connections through the board - looks like a copper coating inside bridging both sides. My cart came from a thrift store; lots of corrosion, also in the holes. I found another Yars' Revenge with an ugly label and swapped the ROMs

 

The third pin from the left, in the top pic, that leads to the dab of solder next to "REV E" looks kinda scraped up or something? in the photo.

 

I used some non-flammable electrical contact cleaner on a cotton swab to clean my games. Not sure it's recommended though, use at risk; it'll eat the plastic on some carts!! I don't noticeably see the double markings from the cart slot on the contacts as much after cleaning though, although I could see with them worn in, the light catching them in a photo and making them look a little dark? *EDIT* actually, if I shine a light where your light source is pointing at the board, I do see them a lot more

Edited January 27, 2013 by Aamp

[chas10e]

The third pin from the left, in the top pic, that leads to the dab of solder next to "REV E" looks kinda scraped up or something? in the photo.

 

yeah that was solder splatter that came off the end of my iron as I was reaching to clean it off .... wasn't there when I started project

 

I wished I took a before photo ... also next time I'll try & crop them before hosting

[CPUWIZ]

This looks futile, you may be bridging not only the through hole and 5V, but also GND.

[chas10e]

I was shipped a Kangaroo cart with some other stuff that the innards of the plastic case was broken, I used the Asteroids case for a replacement. Removing the labels with a hair dryer & re-applying them with Elmer's Rubber Cement worked well.

 

on the case: I used WD-40 to remove the old glue then Rubbing alcohol to remove the WD-40 residue ... I didn't use anything on back of Kangaroo label to remove any old adhesive & a few bumps show but an overall success.

 

Steeplechase:

 

The above experience with the label enabled me to feel comfortable dis-assembling the Steeplechase cart.

 

 

On the IC chip it's very difficult to take a picture of some kind of carbon deposit on the leads that solder into the board.

I scraped 6'th from left off to help distinguish how much.

 

 

I haven't as of yet removed the sheilding over the chip to see if other side is the same.

 

I already have a replacement cart to complete the package shown.

the old label is on Wax paper inside that frame in image

 

my soldering skills have improved. I de-soldered the Asteroids chip & would be able to solder it back in ( prolly took me 3 days though )

 

I have had some other dead carts also: Q-tipping worked on most:

 

I have a Yars Revenge cart with the lamination is bubbled on the board

 

 

 

I have an Enduro cart that I dis-assembled 1: because label need to be re-applied anyways & 2: the contacts were heavily waxed with something I couldn't see til I saw outside of cart ... Wright's Copper Cream worked on that.

 

I may have to try that with a Seaquest cart ... Seaquest works if I have it a little cockeyed in the console ( not fully seated )

 

 

how do I know if IC chip is bad on Steeplechase aside from visible inspection ?

black screen only usually mean dead chip?

color banded screen mean it's possible to recover ?

[shadow460]

If it fails to load after a reflow, it's done. Sometimes I get repeated black screens, sometimes it's repeated color bands.