miles29 Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 Howdy! I own an Intellivision I that seems to be quite ill: when i power it up, and press reset, each time, something different happens. Sometimes i see the © Mattel screen, but characters are simply missing. Other times i see this entire grid of all kinds of characters in funky colors. Other times the screen just blanks out in red, or green, or another color. This happens to games that i have succesfully played on another INTV unit, and happens with multiple games. Does anyone have a clue what could be wrong with this baby. Would love to get her back on her feet again. Any help is greatly appreciated. I'm not that much of an electrician, merely a fan of classic gaming If needed, i can upload some vids or pics describing the symptoms. Kind regards,Miel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B0B 1ob1aw Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 I had a similar problem. In fact it sounds almost identical. There are guys here who can give you some general troubleshooting advice, but the reality is it most likely requires significant repair. IMHO, you are probably better off buying another unit and keeping the wonky one for parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+JasonlikesINTV Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 Hi Miel, Does this happen with or without a cartridge in the slot? If with a game inserted, is it certain games or all? Games that worked fine in the past? Also, not to state the obvious, but have you tried a normal cleaning? If it's only certain games, I'd try cleaning the cart's pins with a q-tip soaked with isopropanol. If you have any keyboard duster, blow out the cart opening in the console. I've also intentionally left the pins on the cart wet with isopropanol and inserted into the console repeatedly to rub them a bit, then blow out with duster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles29 Posted October 10, 2013 Author Share Posted October 10, 2013 Hi Jason, It happens with each cartridge, although the symptoms differ. (but that's even between different resets on the same cart). Carts work fine in another unit. Still waiting for a new batch of IPA, but i did clean the cart slot with air spray. Would contact cleaner help? Should i open the unit up and clean her guts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+JasonlikesINTV Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 (edited) Contact cleaner would probably be a good idea. If you're comfortable opening up the console, it couldn't hurt. It's not terribly complicated in there If you opened up the case you could probably clean out the cart slot a little better. While you're in there you could check to see if anything looks goofy or dirty. I sometimes see gibberish on my games, but just cleaning the carts and inserting a few times (sometimes partially or at an angle) usually does the trick. If it's every game it could be something else, but fortunately we have tons of other experts that may be more helpful. Good luck! If you have 7 minutes free, this might help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMAMfkvQaK4 Edited October 10, 2013 by JasonlikesINTV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles29 Posted October 10, 2013 Author Share Posted October 10, 2013 I've watched that vid a couple of minutes ago, what a coincidence! Might postpone the surgery until tomorrow (hoping new IPA has arrived by then), but i'll give it a go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+JasonlikesINTV Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 I've watched that vid a couple of minutes ago, what a coincidence! Might postpone the surgery until tomorrow (hoping new IPA has arrived by then), but i'll give it a go IPA is my favorite beer Just kidding.....for the record, don't drink IPA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HunterZero Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 (edited) I recommend using deoxit to clean the cartridge slot and power switch. If that fails to change anything, then you will need to do some surgery. First check the DC power output voltages are correct. If they check out, then the service manual says to suspect a logic problem, and it could be the STIC (standard television interface chip) or any one of a number of RAM/ROM ICs: U2 RA-3-9600 System RAM, U4 AY-3-8900-1 STIC, U5 RO-3-9503-003 GROM, or U7 UGRAM/U8 LGRAM. You could try cleaning and resocketing these ICs. This requires desoldering the logic board sarcophagus shielding to open it, which is a PITA. If this is doesn't fix things, you're best off getting another console and using this one for parts, or finding another dead console to swap parts from. - J Edited October 10, 2013 by HunterZero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HunterZero Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 A visual inspection for bent/damaged cartridge slot pins and a continuity test with the logic board is also a good idea. - J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 A visual inspection for bent/damaged cartridge slot pins and a continuity test with the logic board is also a good idea. - J a continuity test on the ribbon cable is a must as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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