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Magnavox odyssey HELP!


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I’ve had my odyssey for a while now and it’s worked perfectly since purchase, I’ve been using it on a ‘94 or so CRT and just recently bought a Curtis Mathis ‘81 to better fit the era (believe me i looked for a 70s... impossible) but now that it’s hooks to this older tv, it’s grainier (not the main issue) but now the wall won’t show! I’ve heard this being an issue before but it was never one for me so I never knew how to fix it. Also there are so many dials on this tv that I have no clue what they do I’ll attack some images if anyone could help me out

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The wall is most likely missing because the picture on the tube is shifted. CRT display have no "absolute" image positionning. With so many tuning options, there must be, usually on hte back of the TV, two or three controls : V-hold, V-size and H-size. Or maybe size, or position.

 

close-up-of-knobs-on-vintage-television-

panasonic-tr-930-cctv-television_1_c157d

 

For the missing wall, I assume it's a wall at the top or bottom of the screen? If the top or bottom of your screen is missing, you want to adjust either V-hold or any control that plays on the "Vertical" picture.

If it's missing on the side, you adjust any "Horizontal" related control.

Any control accessible from the outside of the TV is safe to fiddle with. If your pictures get rolling or distorded, just tune back.

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18 minutes ago, CatPix said:

The wall is most likely missing because the picture on the tube is shifted. CRT display have no "absolute" image positionning. With so many tuning options, there must be, usually on hte back of the TV, two or three controls : V-hold, V-size and H-size. Or maybe size, or position.

 

close-up-of-knobs-on-vintage-television-

panasonic-tr-930-cctv-television_1_c157d

 

For the missing wall, I assume it's a wall at the top or bottom of the screen? If the top or bottom of your screen is missing, you want to adjust either V-hold or any control that plays on the "Vertical" picture.

If it's missing on the side, you adjust any "Horizontal" related control.

Any control accessible from the outside of the TV is safe to fiddle with. If your pictures get rolling or distorded, just tune back.

Awesome thank you for your feedback! But I’ve concluded it is not a problem with the tv anymore it’s my odyssey and she’s opened up right now! But your info did help a lot so thank you!

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They aren't too difficult to repair.  I've repaired a couple.  You'll just need to find the correct board.  Some of the boards are swappable with the same kind of boards in other positions which may be a helpful troubleshooting step.  I think my last issue was a transistor.

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6 hours ago, KylJoy said:

They aren't too difficult to repair.  I've repaired a couple.  You'll just need to find the correct board.  Some of the boards are swappable with the same kind of boards in other positions which may be a helpful troubleshooting step.  I think my last issue was a transistor.

Oh nice! My odyssey works perfect when I don’t put the card all the way in ? a little annoying but works fine, so that means it’s a contact issue then right? And with the board swap, wouldn’t that cause the same issue in another place? I feel like every board has a pretty uprfront necessary job, but I had a paper and removed and cleaned boards top left and second from left on the bottom row (player 1 video and wall video) I cleaned the card and I cleaned the slot and functionality has *improved* but it’s not great, any pointers?

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To clarify, I was referencing the small internal boards that produce the various elements on the screen. Yes, the issue would move if you swapped boards.  That is the point as the moving issue would help you to know which board has the issue.  Be sure to never swap board locations unless the boards are exactly the same.

 

You may need to test the components on the boards to see if one is out of specification or failing.  Unfortunately, some components will need to be removed from the boards (desoldered) or they will not test correctly.

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On 6/23/2020 at 9:12 AM, KylJoy said:

To clarify, I was referencing the small internal boards that produce the various elements on the screen. Yes, the issue would move if you swapped boards.  That is the point as the moving issue would help you to know which board has the issue.  Be sure to never swap board locations unless the boards are exactly the same.

 

You may need to test the components on the boards to see if one is out of specification or failing.  Unfortunately, some components will need to be removed from the boards (desoldered) or they will not test correctly.

I have a sheet that tells me what each board does, so I was able to locate each board and it’s function, but I believe the issue arises from the game card and slot because I have to put the card in a certain way to show all objects, I’ve cleaned both thoroughly but I’m still having the same issue. Again thank you for all your help! 

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Well I’ve nailed it down to a loose card slot and I have no idea what to do for it, I’ve tightened up a littleeeee bit with Rubber bands but obviously isn’t the best, but with that I just need to lean it back a slight bit and it gets a good connection, I could possibly use thin but strong clamps, or try my luck bending the prongs out but if that breaks I’m screwed, it’s not a pop in pop out kinda thing, it’s directly soldered to the board because back in the 70s “easy” wasn’t invented yet... 

Edited by BuckeyeFan_4eva
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If it's soldered to the board with pins, then I smell a cold joint. An easy fix (which, if it does no good, won't do any bad either) is to reflow the solder joints. Its beginner's level unless the access to cramped or blocked by other parts.

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2 hours ago, CatPix said:

If it's soldered to the board with pins, then I smell a cold joint. An easy fix (which, if it does no good, won't do any bad either) is to reflow the solder joints. Its beginner's level unless the access to cramped or blocked by other parts.

Huh, interesting I’ll definitely look into it thank you!

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