No Mattel games working

[Jungsi]

Strange problem with my Intellivision:

It does not work any Mattel game - it comes the start screen, which I can not get out then.

It does not matter whether I use the original cartridge or start the game via LTO! Flash.

Third party games work .....

I first suspected the controllers, then cleaned them (but the buttons were already in the LTO! Flash menu before),

so it can not be due to those I think .....

Does anyone have an idea here? Maybe one of the ROM chips?

[nick3092]

I think the main difference here is Mattel games used the title/copyright routine built in the EXEC rom. 3rd party games did not. So it's possible something is wrong in the EXEC roms. Assuming you don't have an Intv 2, the exec I believe was split into two chips. Maybe one is flaky and the other is fine?

 

 

I believe Burgertime was the exception for Mattel games using the EXEC copyright. You could try Burgertime if you have it to see what happens.

[+intvsteve]

I wonder if Bump 'n' Jump and some of the other late releases would also work.

[mr_me]

I think the main difference here is Mattel games used the title/copyright routine built in the EXEC rom. 3rd party games did not. So it's possible something is wrong in the EXEC roms. Assuming you don't have an Intv 2, the exec I believe was split into two chips. Maybe one is flaky and the other is fine?

 

 

I believe Burgertime was the exception for Mattel games using the EXEC copyright. You could try Burgertime if you have it to see what happens.

There's a lot more to the exec than the title/copyright. Burgertime uses the exec. One Mattel game that might not is Masters of the Universe and possibly BumpNjump like Intvsteve said.

 

Also keep in mind that some of the exec resides on the grom chip.

[Jungsi]

I've tried the games you've mentioned:

BumpNjump - Stops at the Titel Screen

Masters of the Universe - is working

Burgertime - is working

I've done a test with the MTE-201 - all looking good until the start of Baseball at the end of the tests.

Then only thin what went wrong: the controller on the right side has problems with the keypad - sometimes there are two numbers lighting at the same time.

Somwhere I'read that such "shorcuts" can also do bad things - maybe I should try opening the Intellivision and disconnect the second controller.....

[+intvsteve]

Yes -- or open the controller and remove the internal circuit matrix. It could be that, or it could be the chip the controller is attached to. If it's just the controller "guts" then removing them should help.

[Jungsi]

Yes -- or open the controller and remove the internal circuit matrix. It could be that, or it could be the chip the controller is attached to. If it's just the controller "guts" then removing them should help.

You were right. I have removed the internal circuit matrix, now the games start again! I've cleaned the matrix but that doesn't help. Is there something more I can do?

[mr_me]

The flex circuit could be fine. Problem could be a short in the controller cable or could be in the intellivision. Open the intellivision and swap the controllers to see where the problem is. If it's the controller do continuity tests on the cable or swap the cables. If you find the cable to be the problem, it can be replaced with a sega genesis extension cable.

 

Edit:. The sega genesis cable is ideal for sears intellivisions. Let's see where the problem is first. Which buttons exactly are the problem.

Edited March 30, 2018 by mr_me

[mr_me]

Make sure the plastic washer, beneath the disc, between the flex-curcuit is there.

[+intvsteve]

You were right. I have removed the internal circuit matrix, now the games start again! I've cleaned the matrix but that doesn't help. Is there something more I can do?

 

Sounds like the next step is to do some more inspection of that controller. Remember, the MTE 201 shows controllers reversed, so the "right" controller in the test program is actually the left​ controller on the console. It's not surprising to me that if a controller is worn out, it's the left one. For some reason, that seemed to be the "dominant" controller - i.e. often 1-player mode only used the left controller.

 

To reiterate: When the controller is reassembled - the "guts" are back inside - it's not working correctly. Like mr_me says, it could be the cable itself, or it could still be the controller matrix if something is shorted out. IMO the matrix is more likely the culprit, as if you only removed that, an internal short in the cable would still have caused the problem.

 

But of course, I may be wrong, too. In any case, if you want to investigate further, the next steps involve opening the console to disconnect the controllers. It's also possible that this was done in the past, but the controllers were reconnected incorrectly. The Intellivision II and Sears versions don't have that problem, but the rest of the versions do.

 

First, be sure to take a picture of how the controllers are connected to the main board - especially​ the one that works properly! In fact, I'd leave that one connected - don't "fix" what isn't broken.

 

The first debugging step after re-assembling the controller to try is to be sure that the connector is installed so all 9 pins are making contact. If that's the case, you can "flip" the connector where it connects to the mainboard and try again - it won't damage anything. An improperly installed controller can cause trouble. In the MTE 201 test, you'd probably see very different values highlighted when you pressed buttons or the disc.

 

If neither orientation for the connector works, then you can try to determine which pins are shorted together using an Ohmmeter. First check with the controller "guts" installed. This may help. In the image at that link, you'll want to have one probe from your Ohmmeter on "Pin 5", and the other probe on one of the other pins. When nothing is being pressed on the controller, you should get an open circuit between "Pin 5" and each of the other pins. Pressing the disc, an action key, or any keypad button will short at least one pin to that "Pin 5". The matrix at that page describes what you should expect.

 

Given your description, it really sounds like the matrix is the problem if only removing that got the system working.

 

As a kid, I used to make my own "washers" by just cutting new ones from a sheet of paper - or tearing paper if scissors weren't handy. Towards the end of its life, I think we had 3 or 4 layers of paper propping the layers apart for the controller disc because it had gotten so worn!