Bringing a Woody back from the dead

[Loon]

Hello all, 

 

This is my first post here. I’m from the UK, in London. I look forward to learning lots from the knowledgeable folk here.

 

I attempted this week to bring a UK “spares or repair” 2600 back to life after watching many a tutorial. The first thing was I replaced the power cable and, hey presto, I now had a functioning console. However, it would flicker between black and white and colour when I switched it on and some of the carts would not work. 
 

I opened the machine up and followed all the cleaning tips and even gave the outer case a wash. Then the cartridges started working after giving them a clean. However, one of the joystick ports would only work when squeezed to the board so I bought myself a soldering kit. I have NEVER soldered in my life and I thought this would be a learning experience.

 

It was. I attempted to solder and, after hours of frustration at my attempts, I thought I might have refreshed the solders. I went to plug the machine in to test the port and... it’s dead. The whole machine is dead. I’ve checked the ribbon and all the connections, but there’s no power.

 

Could I have destroyed it with my attempts to solder the joystick port rows?

 

Or, more accurately, how did I destroy the machine and can I get it back?

 

Many thanks.
 

 

Edited September 13, 2020 by Loon

[djsky717]

It looks like you may have used too much solder and the one of the soldered points is touching the next one, thereby causing a shunt where voltage is shorted to ground. This shunt would bring down the voltage on the voltage regulator which would prevent the entire board from powering up. The solution is to use a desoldering pump to remove the excess. If you have a multimeter, measure resistance between points to ensure there's no more shunting before you attempt to turn it back on. Be careful about turning it on while it's still shunted, otherwise you may burn out the voltage regular. Hope this helps.

Edited September 13, 2020 by djsky717

[Loon]

Thank you. First opportunity I shall remove the solders, check the voltage regulator, and try the solders again. It’s so hard to solder! 

[+Stephen Moss]

9 hours ago, Loon said:

It’s so hard to solder!

If you have not already done so there are several videos on You Tube on how to solder, you might want to watch 2 or 3 different ones as some will be better than others..

 

Essentially you need to put a dab of solder onto the tip (just enough to coat it, not a big blob), place the tip in contact with both the component leg and the PCB pad and leave it for two or three seconds for the heat to penetrate, apply the solder to the point where the tip meets the PCB from the opposite side of the component leg to the tip itself until it flows completely around the joint.

A good joint should be relatively shiny and concave, some of those in the image look a little dull and spherical which usually means the solder has adhered only to the component leg and may at best be making incidental contact with the solder pad.

 

If you are using a standard desolder pump to remove the solder try placing it on the opposite side of the joint to soldering iron tip at about 45 degrees, you have to remove the tip and tilt the desolder pump over the joint and press the button almost in one simultaneous movement. Many beginners take to long between removing the soldering iron and sucking away the solder allowing the solder to cool enough that it cannot be removed. That can result in many attempts remove the solder which can case eventually cause damage to the PCB. 

 

You might want to consider purchasing a small piece of prototyping board or finding an old scrap PCB to practice soldering/desoldering on

[Loon]

Thank you. I am going to try that pump technique as I am definitely slow! 

[Loon]

The saga continues... I have removed all the solder and am pleased to find the console is back working again. However, I did not resolder the joystick prongs and wanted to test it first, but have found the port is not working for movement and pressing the fire button resets the 2600. I’m not sure I can upload a video here, but I’m sure you know what I mean.
 

Is this issue because I need to solder the joints again before testing or does it mean the port is faulty? It needed pressure on it to work previously (this is why I started the soldering to begin with). The picture below is the current state of the port.

 

What would you guys suggest is my next course of action? Solder the joints or order a new joystick port and put that on? 
 

As an utter amateur, I’m enjoying the mystery and hope to get the thrill of getting this woody back to full working order.

 

Many thanks, as always for your help and advice.

 

 

Edited September 18, 2020 by Loon

[djsky717]

Good recovery! The fact that the console powers up again, after removing excess solder, validates my theory in post #2.

 

If you want to test the joystick controller response on the console, you will need to resolder the controller port back onto the board. But this time don't use too much solder otherwise you will run into same problem again.

 

One of your sentence sounds troubling...

1 hour ago, Loon said:

movement and pressing the fire button resets the 2600

 

Are you saying that when you connect your controller to the controller port, upon using the controller, the console will reset? Even if the controller port isn't soldered onto the board?

[Loon]

36 minutes ago, djsky717 said:

Good recovery! The fact that the console powers up again, after removing excess solder, validates my theory in post #2.

 

If you want to test the joystick controller response on the console, you will need to resolder the controller port back onto the board. But this time don't use too much solder otherwise you will run into same problem again.

 

One of your sentence sounds troubling...

 

Are you saying that when you connect your controller to the controller port, upon using the controller, the console will reset? Even if the controller port isn't soldered onto the board?

The controller plugs into the port, but if I press the fire button, the console resets. This definitely did not happen before. Should I try and solder it in case that is the cause? 

 

[djsky717]

Your controller port#2 never had any issue right?

 

Before you resolder controller port #1, try pressing the fire button on controller port #2. It is also resetting the console?

[Loon]

I have now tested both ports with combat. BOTH ports move and port 2 fires. The second I press fire on 1, the Atari resets. 

[djsky717]

3 hours ago, Loon said:

I have now tested both ports with combat. BOTH ports move and port 2 fires. The second I press fire on 1, the Atari resets. 

 

Sounds like you still have the shunting issue with too much solder. Your fire button is Pin #6, so check the soldering point for Pin #6 on that port. Don't forget to check both sides of the board for excess solder. Keep in mind that if you use too much solder on one side of the board, some excess may trickle into the other side of the board and touch another soldering point or a circuit that carries a live 5 Volt line. So you when press the fire button, that essentially shunts the 5v through the controller and into Pin #8 which is ground. And you what happens when the 5v power supply touches ground? It brings down the voltage on the voltage regulator which essentially turns off the entire board. Once you release the fire button, the power gets restored back to 5 volts, thereby resetting the board. Hope this helps.

[eightbit]

On 9/14/2020 at 7:13 PM, Loon said:

Thank you. First opportunity I shall remove the solders, check the voltage regulator, and try the solders again. It’s so hard to solder! 

I used to think that myself. The best thing to do in order to sharpen up your skills is to practice daily with a "junk" board. Practice soldering and de-soldering in it using some good solder and a pump of solder braid. I personally prefer braid but I use both equally. Just keep in mind that solder flows to the heat. If you heat the pin and bring solder to it...it is going to flow to exactly where you want it.

 

It is certainly a skill but most definitely not a difficult one. It's almost like riding a bike. Many moons ago I would be frightened to solder but I think a combination of being determined to learn and not having the cash to send everything off to be repaired helped me overcome that

 

A bit of solder braid over that solder and a hot iron and you would have it as clean as a whistle in a matter of seconds and then you can properly solder all of the pins without creating a short. If you have a magnifying lamp it will be easy to see this up close while you solder to make sure you do not bridge anything. If you don;t have one, get one. I use mine all of the time....sometimes just to SEE (I'm old!)

Edited September 19, 2020 by eightbit

[Loon]

I found the problem! A tiny (TINY) bit of solder connected the fire pin to the 5v. I burned this away and have soldered the rest and — the joystick now works! Fire button and all.

 

Thank you for the help and advice.

 

Next part is I still have the issue of the picture being black and white when I first switch on (I changed the RF cable) and then shifting to colour after around a minute (I am using a Sony Trinitron CRT TV). I tried using a screwdriver to adjust the ASTEC, but it reacts to the screw being touched, the picture vanishes. Does this mean the ASTEC is at fault? 
 

I’m also not sure if I am getting the right colours on the games....

 

 

[Loon]

One thing I should add for anyone in my position. I found changing the head of the soldering iron from the point the the 45 degree angle head made soldering so much easier. 

[djsky717]

Glad to hear my suspicions were correct!

 

You have the PAL version which has slightly different colors from NTSC depending on the game, but it appears okay from looking at your photo.

 

Your ASTEC RF Modulator unit is perfectly fine. Your metal screwdriver essentially changed the value of the metal core used in the adjustable capacitor for RF tuning, which explains why the picture drops out during your attempt.

 

Your B/W and color switching could be an issue with your mechanical switch for the B/W and color mode. Try cleaning the switch by spraying an electronic contact cleaner followed by rapidly toggling the switch for a few seconds to brush off the dirt and oxidation. Spraying WD-40 as a substitute for an electronic contact cleaner may help but it's typically frowned upon because it leaves a residue that may trap more dirt and dust.

Edited September 19, 2020 by djsky717

[Loon]

32 minutes ago, djsky717 said:

Glad to hear my suspicions were correct!

 

You have the PAL version which has slightly different colors from NTSC depending on the game, but it appears okay from looking at your photo.

 

Your ASTEC RF Modulator unit is perfectly fine. Your metal screwdriver essentially changed the value of the metal core used in the adjustable capacitor for RF tuning, which explains why the picture drops out during your attempt.

 

Your B/W and color switching could be an issue with your mechanical switch for the B/W and color mode. Try cleaning the switch by spraying an electronic contact cleaner followed by rapidly toggling the switch for a few seconds to brush off the dirt and oxidation. Spraying WD-40 as a substitute for an electronic contact cleaner may help but it's typically frowned upon because it leaves a residue that may trap more dirt and dust.

Thanks once again for all your advice and assistance. I’m enjoying Ms Pac-Man and have Pitfall on the way. I did clean all the six switches with air and contact cleaner when I opened it, but maybe I should try again as it is the final issue from a fully working Woody.

 

i must look out for a shell as the Atari logo is damaged on this one and a previous owner has scratched their name and address onto the black part at the top. 

Edited September 19, 2020 by Loon