Metal Shields for the Intellivision

[+Lathe26]

For folks who have opened up their Intellivision and removed the metal shield(s) that encase the circuit board... do you solder them back on when you're done or do you just leave them off?

 

[Humblejack]

I for one, solder them back on.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I've soldered them back on...only not all the tabs just about half of them.

[MonsterSky]

I opened 3 of them and haven't soldered them back on none of them, just bent the little metal lips a little bit to stay in place

[Duttroid]

Absolutely not!

[IMBerzerk]

I do.  It's part of the grounding and shielding as well as it for heat and protection.

 

I like to return things as they were meant to be.

[Jaxivision]

What is this "Metal Shields" game about?  I never heard of it.

[Walter Ives]

On 5/12/2021 at 7:48 PM, IMBerzerk said:

I do [solder the metal shields back on when reassembling a Master Component].  It's part of the grounding and shielding as well as it for heat and protection.

How considerate of you. That's just what the power-hungry GI chipset needs, to be kept nice and cozy warm.

[IMBerzerk]

 

On 12/3/2022 at 8:18 AM, Walter Ives said:

How considerate of you. That's just what the power-hungry GI chipset needs, to be kept nice and cozy warm.

Thank you. I like to return things back to "OEM" design.  Why add variables that create unknown results.  

 

BTW... Who are you?  I noticed you not only bumped this, but 3 other threads I was in that I answered along with other members.  Did you work for APh, Mattel or some other company at the time?

[SiLic0ne t0aD]

FWIW, I left mine off.

“¯\_(ツ)_/¯“

It's a giant PITA trying to solder it back on, so off it goes! Haven't noted any weird side effects from doing so. 👍

[Walter Ives]

On 12/5/2022 at 6:59 AM, IMBerzerk said:

How considerate of you. That's just what the power-hungry GI chipset needs, to be kept nice and cozy warm.

Thank you. I like to return things back to "OEM" design.  Why add variables that create unknown results.

 

On 12/10/2022 at 6:31 PM, SiLic0ne t0aD said:

FWIW, I left mine off. It's a giant PITA trying to solder it back on, so off it goes! Haven't noted any weird side effects from doing so.

I have to apologize here—the snarky form of my reply apparently obscured the useful information I was trying to convey. Let me try again.

 

The ONLY reason metal shields were added to the Master Component was to meet the FCC radiation requirements then in effect. The FCC's interest was in preventing consumers from interfering with their neighbor's TV reception, even when reception was lousy and their living rooms were back-to-back or immediately above/below. The standards were much tighter for devices intended to be used in the home than for devices intended for use in an office (a business owner could rearrange his office as needed, and what were the employees doing watching television anyway), which is why the IBM PC didn't need shields. There are a lot of transistors on each of the chips in the chip set, they were being driven with 12V, and power goes roughly as the square of the voltage (P=E2/R), so the chips get rather hot. Chips don't function correctly if they get too hot because the transistors operate more slowly. Chips are also more likely to fail permanently or have a shorter life if they get too hot. The shields impede convection by air, so the chips get somewhat hotter when the shields are in place than when they are not. Mattel, GI and Sylvania worked together to balance competing considerations in such a way that the number of returns from heat-induced failures was small enough to be manageable. For example, heat sinks were added to the parts, a fan was not added to the housing (a negative decision is still a decision), the devices were not packaged in ceramic and GI did testing and made process adjustments that allowed them to give their devices a higher temperature rating than normally given commercial devices.

 

Of all the entries on this thread, I picked yours for my reply because you wrote, "It's part of the grounding and shielding as well as it for heat and protection." (Emphasis added.) It struck me as, um, interesting that someone would include keeping the chips warm as part of the reason to keep the shields in place.

 

Back in the day, Mattel engineers didn't reinstall shields on in-house test or demo units that were opened for one reason or another.

 

I get collectors wanting to keep their items in their original condition. That's the only reason for reinstalling the shields (except, well, where are you going to store them if you don't put them back?). If the GI/Mattel engineers did their jobs right, the heat benefit of leaving them off is minimal. As to "it being a giant PITA to solder it back on," you don't have to solder it back on as solidly as it was originally—just tack it back on lightly in two or three places so you can easily remove it again if and when you become so inclined.

 

I should also point out that when the FCC relaxed their requirements, Mattel was able to dispense with the shields for the Intellivision II despite the fact that it used the same chips and the same circuit (except for the power supply).

 

I'm truly sorry that I didn't give you a better answer the first time.

 

WJI

[SiLic0ne t0aD]

I'm not sure why I was quoted, but no need to convey anything again, I'm well aware why the RF shields existed in the first place.

 

As you said, once the FCC relaxed regulations, they totally did away with RF shields on the Intellivision II and I think that says a lot.

 

Besides the hassle of reinstalling them on original 2609 models, the main reason I left mine off was due to lack of adequate ventilation to help keep the motherboard (especially those IC's & transistors) cooler. 2609's were prone to overheating BITD when they first came out, so IMO, leaving it off definitely doesn't hurt in that case.

 

I totally understand wanting to keep consoles as original as possible, and I'm one of those people at times, to a point, but I don't see anything wrong with useful mods either. That's just me though. 👍

[+DZ-Jay]

16 hours ago, SiLic0ne t0aD said:

I'm not sure why I was quoted, but no need to convey anything again, I'm well aware why the RF shields existed in the first place.

 

As you said, once the FCC relaxed regulations, they totally did away with RF shields on the Intellivision II and I think that says a lot.

 

Besides the hassle of reinstalling them on original 2609 models, the main reason I left mine off was due to lack of adequate ventilation to help keep the motherboard (especially those IC's & transistors) cooler. 2609's were prone to overheating BITD when they first came out, so IMO, leaving it off definitely doesn't hurt in that case.

 

I totally understand wanting to keep consoles as original as possible, and I'm one of those people at times, to a point, but I don't see anything wrong with useful mods either. That's just me though. 👍

I believe the main thrust of Mr. Ives' comment was directed at @IMBerzerk.  Your quote was included as collateral support for Mr. Ives' point, I guess, since you suggested the shields could be left off:  Mr. Ives then gave a rather expansive explanation why that is the case.

 

    dZ.