Atari2008 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I forgot that Flip wrote a test program which is on the multicart which includes a RAM test, did you try that ? The cart port is fairly chunky, should be fairly reliable ? I actually did once I realized that the multi cart came with all these diagnostics. It passed the RAM test as well as all the others so I'm not sure what the issue is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I haven't got one of the carts but there's a jumper that you have to set depending on the version of your Studio II/Clone otherwise you get glitches. Is the jumper something on the multicart that I would adjust or inside the console itself? Not very tech savvy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLD1985 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 It's on the cart Think you have to open the console up to see if you have a revision D or E board but.. Phew - you had me worried there for a while On the Studio II, the cart works with the default setting. If you have an earlier board (Rev D), you can set J2 to position 1-2 (instead of the default 2-3). This bypasses Ed Keefe's TPA circuit that re-creates the full TPA signal on the cart. Without this circuit, the revision E boards seem to mirror the higher address ranges to the lower ones. This is described in Paul Robson technical pages. I can't think of any reason why RCA designers would have done this: it effectively limits the usable address space to $400-$7FF... On the clones, I suspect that the timing is slightly different, so that the TPA circuit struggles with keeping things in sync. I've not looked with a logic analyser, but since bypassing the circuit works, it's not something to worry about. In short: RCA Studio II, revision D: J2 1-2 or 2-3 shouldn't matter RCA Studio II, revision E: J2 must be in position 2-3 (as is on delivery) Clones, including Conic and MPT: J2 must be in position 1-2 FliP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 It's on the cart Think you have to open the console up to see if you have a revision D or E board but.. Ah okay. So I'll take the cart out of the case and see about these jumpers. And I'll open up the console to see if I can determine which board I have. Thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flip Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 Ah okay. So I'll take the cart out of the case and see about these jumpers. And I'll open up the console to see if I can determine which board I have. Thanks for your help! Sorry - I was away for a few days and traveling all day today. Revision Ds have a low serial number, probably lower than 10,000, but I don't think the board revision should matter on an actual Studio II, though it doesn't hurt to try. Move J-2 to the 1-2 position and see whether this makes any difference... It's very odd that cleaning the slot would offer a temporary solution, let alone that some games seem to work. Every time I've seen such behaviour, i've traced it to one or more RAM chips behaving badly. You could try running the RAM test several times to see whether it trips up... Failing that, It might be a timing issue, whereby the oscillator that generates the clock is no longer tuned correctly. That *could* throw the TPA circuit on the cartridge off - but that a long shot, especially if you're getting a good image on the screen... FliP 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Sorry - I was away for a few days and traveling all day today. Revision Ds have a low serial number, probably lower than 10,000, but I don't think the board revision should matter on an actual Studio II, though it doesn't hurt to try. Move J-2 to the 1-2 position and see whether this makes any difference... It's very odd that cleaning the slot would offer a temporary solution, let alone that some games seem to work. Every time I've seen such behaviour, i've traced it to one or more RAM chips behaving badly. You could try running the RAM test several times to see whether it trips up... Failing that, It might be a timing issue, whereby the oscillator that generates the clock is no longer tuned correctly. That *could* throw the TPA circuit on the cartridge off - but that a long shot, especially if you're getting a good image on the screen... FliP Thank you! And no worries, I decided it would only be fair that I bother everyone else on the thread and not just you. Thank you for the tip on the serial number as I have no clue how to determine which board I have. Also what does the jumper look like? I'm just wondering if it's something that'll be obvious to me when I open it or if I need to poke around. I'll try the RAM test a few times, did it about twice and it passed each time, all the tests seemed fine. The image is great actually, even on an LCD, crystal clear. And it is odd that it's inconsistent. I can play Pac-Man fine, he moves in all directions, no glitches, yet Space Invaders without fail the ship just doesn't move, unless I wipe the contacts with alcohol or an air can on the cartridge port, then it moves a bit and locks up again. But it's odd that other games are fine. I'll open it up and see what I cna do with my limited skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLD1985 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 (edited) Thank you! And no worries, I decided it would only be fair that I bother everyone else on the thread and not just you. Thank you for the tip on the serial number as I have no clue how to determine which board I have. Also what does the jumper look like? I'm just wondering if it's something that'll be obvious to me when I open it or if I need to poke around. I'll try the RAM test a few times, did it about twice and it passed each time, all the tests seemed fine. The image is great actually, even on an LCD, crystal clear. And it is odd that it's inconsistent. I can play Pac-Man fine, he moves in all directions, no glitches, yet Space Invaders without fail the ship just doesn't move, unless I wipe the contacts with alcohol or an air can on the cartridge port, then it moves a bit and locks up again. But it's odd that other games are fine. I'll open it up and see what I cna do with my limited skills. you can see a photo of the jumper on the first post in the 4th image. just take it off move it along. (jumper 2) Edited January 6, 2017 by TLD1985 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flip Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 Thank you! And no worries, I decided it would only be fair that I bother everyone else on the thread and not just you. Thank you for the tip on the serial number as I have no clue how to determine which board I have. Also what does the jumper look like? I'm just wondering if it's something that'll be obvious to me when I open it or if I need to poke around. I'll try the RAM test a few times, did it about twice and it passed each time, all the tests seemed fine. The image is great actually, even on an LCD, crystal clear. And it is odd that it's inconsistent. I can play Pac-Man fine, he moves in all directions, no glitches, yet Space Invaders without fail the ship just doesn't move, unless I wipe the contacts with alcohol or an air can on the cartridge port, then it moves a bit and locks up again. But it's odd that other games are fine. I'll open it up and see what I cna do with my limited skills. Just to make sure: the jumper is on the multicart - not inside the console... It has a yellow square on the attached photo. Just move the jumper so the left two pins are connected instead of the two pins on the right... FliP 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KylJoy Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Sounds like a dirty port or card edge connector. DO THE FOLLOWING AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK... What I would do is take a piece of 2000 grit sandpaper and wrap it over an old credit card (or something similar that would fit into the cartridge slot) with the grit out. Then I'd carefully clean the cart slot by moving the sandpaper wrapped card in and out of the slot a few times. I wouldn't move it side to side, just in and out to clean the contacts in the slot. I might also hit the cart contacts if tarnished, but if it is brand-new it is likely fine. This trick also often works with a thin, lint-free cloth that has been moistened With a good alcohol in place of the sandpaper. The sandpaper is for when the cloth fails. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stupus Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 You can also use just a clean piece of heavier white paper wrapped over the edge of a credit card or similar card. Experiment with different ones if thickness is an issue. Also they make little paddles just for doing this that come with cleaning kits, especially for the nes. I would use sandpaper as a very last resort. And I would not use it on the multicart contacts! Also blow it out very good with canned air before you do this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Just to make sure: the jumper is on the multicart - not inside the console... It has a yellow square on the attached photo. Just move the jumper so the left two pins are connected instead of the two pins on the right... FliP Connected the jumper to the two pins to the left and OMG it works so far!!!!!!!! Yayyyy!!! I'm so excited. I've been waiting for years to play games like Space Invaders on the RCA S2. Thank you everyone!!!! :-D :-D 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari2008 Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Oh I do have one more question. I have been turning off the console, unplugging the power supply and removing the multicart after I'm done. But I was wondering, would it be okay to just leave the multi-cart in the console? I don't have any original carts yet so I'm not going to be plugging in any other carts any time soon. But I wanted to check in and see if there is any potential to do damage by doing that given the age of the console. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blinddog Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 Hi I was wondering if you still had any multi carts and composite mod available? If so I'd be interested in purchasing them and the box if you still have one. Thanks Matt blinddog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flip Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 Hi, The first batch of multicarts (about 40, including some complementary ones) is all gone. I need to re-order the PCBs, which I will do in bulk as soon as I've done some testing with an updated design. I post here when they are available again, but it will probably be mid-February... FliP 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLD1985 Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Well, I booted up my system only to have it get a black screen after a few minutes. It initially worked only to crap out on me. Feeling pretty bummed. Is there anyone here on the forums that can repair my unit? Thanks. Are you still having this issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Are you still having this issue? I sent one RCA Studio II for repair. Y-bot sent me another unit with the same issue. Black screen, occasional graphics on screen but no sound or anything else no matter what I push. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbirkel Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 Hi, The first batch of multicarts (about 40, including some complementary ones) is all gone. I need to re-order the PCBs, which I will do in bulk as soon as I've done some testing with an updated design. I post here when they are available again, but it will probably be mid-February... FliP Good morning! I'm a late, or new, joiner here and would appreciate being added to your list of (future) customers. THX :->. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tombstone Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Please add me to the list of those wanting a multicart. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flip Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 Oh I do have one more question. I have been turning off the console, unplugging the power supply and removing the multicart after I'm done. But I was wondering, would it be okay to just leave the multi-cart in the console? I don't have any original carts yet so I'm not going to be plugging in any other carts any time soon. But I wanted to check in and see if there is any potential to do damage by doing that given the age of the console. Thank you! sorry, missed the question here... Leaving the multicart in should be fine - in fact, given the age of the connector, it's probably best to pulg and unplug as little as possible. in addition, leaving a cart in protects the connector from dirt and what have getting in. FliP 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+swlovinist Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 I will be uploading an RCA Studio II video to my channel today. Such an awesome product and will be sending people to this thread. Thank you to all who were involved with making this happen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metarog Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Great video on the Multicart... glad you got your unit repaired. I wish I still had mine but it went missing during the mid-eighties or else I would be all over the Multicart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubersaurus Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 I finally sat down and messed with my multicart after contending with some display issues (short version: my CRT doesn't want to play nice with the Studio II's rf output without going through a demodulator). I'm kind of impressed with the system - Star Wars, Space War, and the homebrew games are all pretty fun! Now to just convince someone to play some Moonship Battle with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattG/Snyper2099 Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 I would like to buy one of these multicast if you make more. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintagegamecrazy Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I'd love one of these since John Hancock did his video. Let me know when they're available again, hopefully for not at least another week or two so I can get some funds together! I'd like cart and shell if possible. Are boxes still available as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricardowilmers Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 I want it ... please !!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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