LeeJ07 Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Hello, can anyone give me some tips and info on dead carts? I have a copy of Defender that appears to be a dud, but someone recently told me that Atari carts are very resilient, not usually prone to dying so easily. Is there anyway I can ascertain without doubt whether a cart is dead or not? Trying it on another 2600 is out of the question because I only have access to one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodyshots Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Use 100 percent alcohol. Sometimes it is behind the pharmacy counter, so you have to ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Clean the contacts with alcohol or contact cleaner. or Defender is pretty common just get another one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeJ07 Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 Hmm, I never thought of alcohol. I'll try that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Dead carts are not very common. dirty carts are very common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freewheel Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip on the cartridge contacts. Scrub until you see no more black coming off. Alternate wet (with alcohol) and dry Q-tips. As for dead carts... I've seen a few. Maybe 4 or 5 in 1000. Some people really didn't take very good care of their stuff, and while ROM chips shouldn't be sensitive to static, I've always wondered. I have a few carts at home that look absolutely MINT like they were kept in perfect conditions, and yet they will not play on any console I try them in. So *something* has happened. Beyond that - it's Defender. Probably the 2nd or 3rd most common 2600 cart in my experience. I would give you one for free if you were in my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeJ07 Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 I'll try cleaning mine extensively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walter_J64bit Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 If your cart is dead you can sale it to AL that way the cart case can get reused in the AA store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 As for dead carts... I've seen a few. Maybe 4 or 5 in 1000. Was one of them a Pitfall II? I've heard they were not made very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freewheel Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 No, but now that you mention it I did come across a couple of Pitfall IIs that took a lot of TLC to make work. Seems to be par for the course with these guys. They mostly just need to be inserted "just so" - kinda like Intellivisions when the console's been mistreated a bit. You have to be careful not to force them in too far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeJ07 Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 I have a finicky Pitfall! that only works when inserted a certain way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I got a bum Yar's Revenge. Rolling garbage onscreen and ear grating sound. Opened cart, scrubbed the PCB contacts until they were bare copper, and exactly the same symptoms. Got another copy and it worked great no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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