Black screen, no beep with boyfriend's TI

[xabin]

When we first put the new parts in, it worked, and we got the Demonstration and Donkey Kong cartridges working. But when we put in Jawbreaker, it started up, then froze, and we had to restart it, but when we did, and from then on, it comes up white snow with a buzzing sound (not black screen, sorry, white snow, for the most part). We've taken it down to the local retro game store to see if they can diagnose and repair it. We know it has to be something we did that screwed it up, because until we tried playing Jawbreaker, it was working fine.

[Opry99er]

Just because it happened while you were playing doesn't mean anything you did necessarily broke it...

 

Does it beep when you turn it on?

[xabin]

After the issues started up again? No, we just get white snow and a buzzing sound.

[xabin]

Just because it happened while you were playing doesn't mean anything you did necessarily broke it...

 

Does it beep when you turn it on?

We dunno if what we did caused it or not, but we DO know that it was working fine, after we put RickyDean's parts in, until we tried playing Jawbreaker 2. We did notice, though, that when we took out Donkey Kong to put Jawbreaker in, we had to manually reset the console instead of plugging the cartridge in resetting it automatically, and the version of Donkey Kong we got has a rattling in it, which we can't open it up to check out, so...

[+adamantyr]

We dunno if what we did caused it or not, but we DO know that it was working fine, after we put RickyDean's parts in, until we tried playing Jawbreaker 2. We did notice, though, that when we took out Donkey Kong to put Jawbreaker in, we had to manually reset the console instead of plugging the cartridge in resetting it automatically, and the version of Donkey Kong we got has a rattling in it, which we can't open it up to check out, so...

 

That's not unusual, the cartridge port is really sensitive. Some things just leave the machine in an unstable state no matter what, so turning it off and on again is normal.

 

If you have a buzz and snowscreen, it sounds like the video chip or related got overwhelmed. So now it's that way 100% of the time, regardless of what cartridge you have plugged in?

[xabin]

 

That's not unusual, the cartridge port is really sensitive. Some things just leave the machine in an unstable state no matter what, so turning it off and on again is normal.

 

If you have a buzz and snowscreen, it sounds like the video chip or related got overwhelmed. So now it's that way 100% of the time, regardless of what cartridge you have plugged in?

Yeah, it is.

[HOME AUTOMATION]

...are you sure you're not letting the V+ from the RF out socket get into any trouble?

[xabin]

...are you sure you're not letting the V+ from the RF out socket get into any trouble?

I'm not sure. How would we find out? We would use the composite cable I got for it, but the TV we have to test with it we can't find the remote for, so we can't switch it to AV mode.

[HOME AUTOMATION]

So you're using the RF modulator box with the twin lead to screw terminals on the T.V. now?

I got into some trouble recently when I plugged in a system I had pieced together without a clamshell... some case bottoms have a big metal... dare I call it, leaf spring support. I suspect that it shorted out some points on the bottom of the main system board. It seemed to work until I connected the PBOX. probably shifting the main system board downward slightly... I could imagine the cartridge port doing the same.

[xabin]

We made sure to put it in the clamshell first before putting it in. And we are using an RF Modulator box with a balun to connect to the TV.

[xabin]

So, they still haven't figured out what's causing the issue, but they have cleaned the boards and will inspect each connection, to make sure they work. They said that diagnosis would be $20, so I hope it doesn't go much over that...

[xabin]

The guys at the place we took it down still can't get it to work, so we're going to try one more thing, and have them try the composite cable we have. If that works, then we will need to get a working RF terminal, since we can't seem to get the composite to work on either of our TVs.

[xabin]

If we can't get this thing to work, my boyfriend is insisting we return everything we were given by you guys back, since it wouldn't be right in his mind to keep it without a working system. I kinda have to agree, but it's up to you guys what you'd like us to do.

[tater1337]

what state are you in? maybe a fellow TI nut can lend a hand

it might be me if your state was wisconsin

[Opry99er]

Hello tater! I am also in Wisconsin!!! And I'm a TI nut with a whole bunch of TI stuff.

 

What part of the state?

 

 

((Sorry to briefly hijack your thread, xabin))

[xabin]

It's fine. We're in the Mshiana part of Indiana, and we do have a Hamfest in the area (about an hour away), so...

[tater1337]

Hams are nice people, they should be able to help

73, kc9esf

[xabin]

My boyfriend's dad is a Ham Radio expert, gives classes on it, so that's how we know about our local Hamfest. Dunno if he'd know anyone who could help us out, though; he tried himself, since he knows something about electronic repairs, but he didn't get far with it, sadly.

[xabin]

Looks like ours, despite the attempts, is down for the count *sighs* Sorry to everyone who contributed, we wish we had better news on this. We do have some offers to get a working one, and to get this one off our hands for repair practice, so... I guess that's our contribution?

[Opry99er]

Please understand that contributions to the community don't necessarily have to be tangible.

 

Your engagement with our group has been valuable thus far, regardless of outcome--- so No apologies required at all. We hope that you will continue to engage with us with your new TI. Enjoying your computer is contributing....

[xabin]

Apparently, all of the parts inside the TI seem to look fine, but they can't get it to work, still. We're at a loss as to what to do, now. Only option is to ask if there's anyone within an hour's drive of Warsaw, IN (preferably in the Fort Wayne, Columbia City, or Elkhart/Goshen areas) that knows how to fix a TI willing to let us take it over to them and see what they can do with it. At this point, we're thinking it's either a glitch with the RF cable/Composite Cable (we know the former is likely screwed up, but maybe the latter is a dud), or something happened with the cartridge slot that caused a glitch or something. We ARE willing to pay for services, but with our low budget, it'll have to be in installments, if that's okay. We are getting no signal at all, now, with either cable (as in, we don't even get the static or black screen), but it is powering on and it doesn't look like anything was damaged, so...

Edited April 16 by xabin

[xabin]

Final verdict: We got Ksarul's package, and it tested well. Tried it with the old TI, but the old DI doesn't work, still, so we're going to offer that as a parts computer, for anyone who is willing to take it. We've also got a few duplicates we can get rid of, as well.

[Ksarul]

@ILikeTurtles and I tested that one for about a week, so we know it is a good, stable machine. Have much fun with it.