Atari 2600 Turning on Inconsistently

[Conezays]

Hey,
New to the forum and wanted to ask a couple questions regarding my new purchase! I just got an Atari 2600 4-switch Woody model and have been enjoying it lots so far. I've been playing Yars' Revenge, Defender, and Asteroids as I wait for my Harmony Cart I just ordered.

That being said, the system itself seems to power on inconsistently. I typically have gotten no image upon the first try but then subsequently get the correct intro screen (in Yars' Revenge I see the 1981, Atari copyright screen, etc.) Using OEM Atari Power Supply and controllers if that's of any relevance. As mentioned, this issue seems inconsistent; I can turn the system on repeatedly and it does not always produce the startup screen. Sometimes it shows nothing, other times a garbled image, and other times it works without issue. Once the game itself is on I've experienced no image issues.

Is this the fault of the system itself, the games, or just a product of powering on 38 year-old hardware? Additionally, I have been plugging it into an HDTV while I'm staying elsewhere at the moment. I will be plugging it into my CRT when I get back home.

Thanks for your time and really appreciate any help or comments to troubleshoot.

Edited July 16, 2016 by Conezays

[toiletunes]

welcome! If you haven't already, try cleaning the cart connectors with qtips and rubbing alcohol.

[Conezays]

welcome! If you haven't already, try cleaning the cart connectors with qtips and rubbing alcohol.

Thanks. And yeah I have done that for the carts so far, as well as cleaning the system up a bit. Will try cleaning them up more and plugging the system into my CRT later this weekend and report my findings.

Edited July 16, 2016 by Conezays

[Conezays]

Well after some repeated sessions of rubbing alcohol and q-tips the 3 above mentioned games seem to be consistently working now. The other 3 I have (Berzerk, Ms. Pac Man, and Combat) however still don't produce an image. All of the games have dust covers and I've gotten dirt off all of the contacts but still no dice. It's hardly the end of the world but interested in what's stopping them working. The other 3 working better now has me convinced that it's at least an issue with the carts and not the system though.

Edited July 16, 2016 by Conezays

[Conezays]

Well back home again and no change to the remaining carts working but the Atari looks *much* better through my CRT. Can't imagine how good it looks via RGB (have most of my consoles running RGB through a PVM), but still looks fine to me on my 14 " CRT. Hope my beginner troubleshooting uselessness is helpful to someone

 

A picture:

[Conezays]

So I opened it up this afternoon. Defender, Asteroids, and Yars' Revenge are working now quite consistently. Ms. Pac Man, Berzerk, and Combat do not work at all though. I did some minor cleaning and reattached two of the rubber pads.

Is there anything on the internals that looks suspect? I am totally out of my element here, lol.

 

Edited July 17, 2016 by Conezays

[Hannacek]

There are 2 issues you need to worry about, (1) problems with the Atari, and (2) problems with the game carts.

 

(1) You have a 4 switch Atari motherboard. The ICs are pretty reliable, but after the decades the solder joins break down, and the switches need to be cleaned or replaced. If you have basic soldering skills, this should not be a problem to work on. (Otherwise ask a friend for help. The truth is that if you go to get it repaired, they will charge $30-$80 an hour for labor, so it would be cheaper to buy a working 2600 from ebay, then to pay to get it fixed. The parts are cheap, but if you go to a stereo or computer repair place, they charge that much for labor. )

The power switch should be taken apart and cleaned. You should also check out the 7805 linear power regulator. If it's not working properly, it can be causing the problems. Its easy to desolder and replace, just be careful not to lift traces on the board when removing. After that, just check for lose solder joints. The solder can break down over the decades, and needs to be reflowed.

 

 

 

(2) For the problem of Game carts, 99% of 2600 games will work after a good cleaning. So if the game doesn't work, try cleaning it. There are many ways to clean carts, but the best way is to take apart the cart and clean the contacts with a pencil eraser. Using rubbing alcohol isn't as effective. The only problems is that this method takes more time, and you may have to break the labels to take some carts apart. Check out this video that explains how to do it. He shows how to clean NES and Genesis carts, but the principal is the same: remove the screw, take out the board, and erase the oxidation. The only issue is that with many 2600 carts you need to cut a small hole in the label to remove the screw.

Edited July 19, 2016 by Hannacek

[Keatah]

Once you've covered the basics like good power, regulator, contacts, switch, connections, reseating the chips, cleaning stuff.. You can then look at the "reset" transistor or oscillator transistor. IIRC they're 3904 or 3906 run-of-the-mill parts. And when bad, the unit will intermittently turn on with a black screen.

[Conezays]

Thank you for the in-depth responses; much appreciated. I will definitely look into troubleshooting the system further, though perhaps I should be asking for a refund/partial refund from the seller given it in theory is not working as advertised.

Secondly, if these games display these issues with the real carts is it fair to assume that the Harmony Cart will also not display them correctly if the system is indeed at fault?

Edited July 19, 2016 by Conezays

[Conezays]

Seller was nice enough to offer a refund if I wanted so I think I'm going to go the easier route and try my luck buying a different 2600 That being said, having a 2nd Atari that I can tinker with/attempt repairs doesn't sound bad either given they aren't that expensive.

Edited July 19, 2016 by Conezays

[Keatah]

Well. Consider. Classic hardware isn't getting any younger and more and more consoles will need some sort of repair sooner or later.

 

Can't hurt to have a unit for spare parts. I do the same thing with my Apple II material.

[Conezays]

Well. Consider. Classic hardware isn't getting any younger and more and more consoles will need some sort of repair sooner or later.

 

Can't hurt to have a unit for spare parts. I do the same thing with my Apple II material.

 

Agreed, I feel like finding good-condition systems is likely going to get more rare so having a 2nd sounds prudent...at least that's how I'm justifying it Got one that included some of the offending games like Combat and Berzerk so hopeful that I won't encounter the same issue again/can perhaps determine if my carts are in fact not working at all or if the system is at fault.

[Conezays]

So my Harmony Cart arrived today and has turned on every time 100 % and I've played the offending games on it as well. I cleaned those carts thoroughly so I suppose there must be a deeper issue with them. Glad I have the Harmony cart now; I only paid $10 for those loose carts so definitely not the end of the world. Very excited to dive into the 2600 library again; haven't played in 20 years Cheers.

 

Edit: Evidently I spoke too soon and it just took a few times to turn on even with the Harmony Cart. Ugh. Lol

Edited July 23, 2016 by Conezays