Atari 2600 crash after a few seconds

[xkenx]

Hi,

 

My AV modded Atari 2600 4 switcher(mainboard rev14), games(all) crashes after a few seconds.

After the crash the screen stays black or there are lines. If I turn off and on directly after the crash I can't get the game running, screen stays black.

If I wait an hour or so, the game start and crash after a few seconds, as in the attached video below.

 

 

 

 

Tested the power regulator, it gives a steady 4.92v

 

Any help is appriciated

 

Thanks

 

Ken

 

[Voxel]

It looks like power has been lost, some component may have gone bad in the supply line.  It's a very clean loss of power like a switch has been flicked.  I say this as it appears a component somewhere is over heating and has gone into shut down.  I can't see what you've done when I say this), did you dither too long on any particular component when soldering. 

 

1 hour ago, xkenx said:

Tested the power regulator, it gives a steady 4.92v

Firstly, with the top off and when the display is blank, is it still giving a steady 4.92v?

 

Also with the top off and powered briefly is there any sign of smoke, or discolouration to the components in the power circuit (following the parts in line from the power jack to the voltage regulator).

[xkenx]

Thanks for the reply.

 

It is not clean loss of power, the display is black but when I power off the unit it shifts to a different "black"

None of the components are getting hot and no smoke. I bought the unit A/V modded, it worked when I got it. 

 

It gives a steady 4.92v all the time(through boot and when the display is black) 

 

The unit is an US NTSC version, I live in a PAL region. 

I'm using a 9V 1A PSU! is 1A to much? 

 

[+Al_Nafuur]

44 minutes ago, xkenx said:

Thanks for the reply.

 

It is not clean loss of power, the display is black but when I power off the unit it shifts to a different "black"

 

 

maybe try a different TV ?

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by Al_Nafuur

[xkenx]

Different TV didn’t help.

 

Thanks

[+Andrew Davie]

2 hours ago, xkenx said:

 

I'm using a 9V 1A PSU! is 1A to much? 

 

 

No. It's the voltage that matters. The amperage only delivers what the components actually "request", if you want to think about it that way.  In other words, the 1A is how much can be delivered, if required. But if your device only uses 50 mA that's perfectly fine - that's all the current that will "flow into the device", so to speak.  If, however, you put a different voltage in than it wants, it's much less likely to be happy.

[xkenx]

Sometimes I can se the AtariAge(Galagon) logo flashing after it crashed. Like it tries to reboot. Make sense?

[xkenx]

 

 

Can Using a A/V modded NTSC 2600 in PAL 220v causing this problem?

 

Isn't it enough to use a 220v to 9v 1A PSU?

As long the TV can handle the NTSC A/V signal?

 

Sorry for my ignorance

 

Thanks

[+Andrew Davie]

35 minutes ago, xkenx said:

 

 

Can Using a A/V modded NTSC 2600 in PAL 220v causing this problem?

 

Isn't it enough to use a 220v to 9v 1A PSU?

As long the TV can handle the NTSC A/V signal?

 

Sorry for my ignorance

 

Thanks

Once the PSU converts the voltage (from 240V AC or thereabouts, in Oz) to 9V DC, it's the same 9V DC no matter where you are, or what the original input voltage was. Of course the PSU needs to be specifically for the input voltage.  Once DC, the polarity of the output is important - center positive or negative. Given you are seeing any picture at all says that the polarity is fine.

 

Me, I'd be a bit worried about the PSU voltage being a bit low. Isn't it supposed to be about 7.5V for the '2600?

4.92 (say, around 5) V just doesn't seem right at all.  That's my first point of call - a power supply fix/replacement.

 

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by Andrew Davie

[xkenx]

I have confirmed that that the PSU gives 9v using a multimedier.
Isn’t the voltade regulator suposed to bring down the voltage to around 5v. Mine is at 4.92v, to low?

[Avenger75]

I  already crashed a 2600 using a 9v power supply with 1 A intensity).

The 2200 uF condensateur that is connected to the power supply didn't stand the intensity.

With a 600 mA intensity power supply and a new 2200 uF condensateur evrything is OK now;

[+Andrew Davie]

14 hours ago, Avenger75 said:

I  already crashed a 2600 using a 9v power supply with 1 A intensity).

The 2200 uF condensateur that is connected to the power supply didn't stand the intensity.

With a 600 mA intensity power supply and a new 2200 uF condensateur evrything is OK now;

Either you, or I, don't understand how power works.

In my world, there's no such thing as "intensity". A circuit draws as much amperage as it needs, and no more.

 

[+Al_Nafuur]

43 minutes ago, Andrew Davie said:

Either you, or I, don't understand how power works.

In my world, there's no such thing as "intensity". A circuit draws as much amperage as it needs, and no more.

 

Yes a circuit draws as much as needed, but if there is a short in the circuit. The circuit draws as much as the power supply is willing to give and as much as the short is able to convert into heat

 

[+Andrew Davie]

3 minutes ago, Al_Nafuur said:

Yes a circuit draws as much as needed, but if there is a short in the circuit. The circuit draws as much as the power supply is willing to give and as much as the short is able to convert into heat

 

 

This follows from what I was saying.  But my point is, there is no such thing as "intensity".  

Otherwise, you would never plug anything into a 240V socket because it can deliver round about 10A - 15A, and if you pump that much through any domestic appliance, it's going to blow up and catch fire.  The point I was trying to make to the OP is that the amperage you connect to is inconsequential; a correctly working device will draw only the amperage it requires. You can't overload it with "intensity".

A faulty device (e.g., short-circuit) is going to die anyway - maybe less spectacularly.

But for every day use of a '2600 it matters not if your supply is 650 mA, or 1A or even 5A.  What matters is the voltage.

The current drawn by the device will be the same regardless of the amperage of the power supply.

 

 

 

 

[+Al_Nafuur]

3 minutes ago, Andrew Davie said:

This follows from what I was saying.

I would never dare to contradict to anything you said

 

4 minutes ago, Andrew Davie said:

But my point is, there is no such thing as "intensity".

maybe we should define it as the amount of spectacle you get when a circuit fails..

[+Andrew Davie]

 

My issue is that the OP will think that a 1A power supply "blows up" Atari 2600s, and a 650 mA one is safe. This is not the case. They are both safe. Your point, and I agree, is that if the Atari 2600 is *faulty* and, for example, has a short-circuit, then the after-effects of a short circuit will be more impressive, the more amps are available. But in that case (a short-circuit '2600) the 650 mA supply is just as likely to "blow it up" as a 1A one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[xkenx]

Thanks 

 

What should be my next step?

[+Andrew Davie]

Firstly I'd make absolutely sure the cartridge connector on the '2600 is clean without debris, etc., inside.

 

[ChildOfCv]

22 hours ago, Avenger75 said:

I  already crashed a 2600 using a 9v power supply with 1 A intensity).

The 2200 uF condensateur that is connected to the power supply didn't stand the intensity.

With a 600 mA intensity power supply and a new 2200 uF condensateur evrything is OK now;

The capacitor failed.  The power supply has nothing to do with it.  Capacitors do fail.  They age and leak.  When they do, they often short out, or at least draw extra current.  They also become less effective at controlling ripple.

So the capacitor is a concern at least.  Look at all the bigger capacitors.  Do they have bulging caps?  Is there a stain around any of them?

 

5 hours ago, Andrew Davie said:

Firstly I'd make absolutely sure the cartridge connector on the '2600 is clean without debris, etc., inside.

Yep, bad contacts is a common problem.

[xkenx]

The capacitors seems ok, how do I test?  The cartridge connectors looks also clean, no debris.

[Horius]

There still could be oxidation on the contacts but your mentioned problem does make me think it has somthing to do with the power delivery circuit. Did you test the voltage on the 7805 regulator? I usually measure the equivalent series resistance and the capacitance to see if they are out of spec and replace if necessary.

[Voxel]

Thanks for the image and confirming the regulator voltage I'm still of the opinion there is a voltage drop causing the display to go.  If you had a psu with a selectable voltage and turned it down from 9v you would suddenly see the display go out, as per what your console is exhibiting.

 

Are you able to confirm if there is good heat transfer between the regulator and the heatsink, do they both heat up? 

[+Al_Nafuur]

As far as I can see in the log files you have already managed to connect your PlusCart to your WiFi. So you can use the PlusCart to sort out if it is a issue with the video part (TIA, 

AV mod, TV) or with the voltage regulator (affecting the whole system)..

Start your system with the PlusCart inserted and navigate with the joystick to a menu folder, then wait until the screen goes black and then press the Joystick button. If the ESP8266 LED starts to blink you know it must be the videosystem, because the Joystick -> RIOT -> CPU -> Cartridge part had worked even when the screen was black.

 

[+Andrew Davie]

I'd also be looking for differences in voltage when it's operating normally, and when you get blackscreen.

For example, if the power supply is faulty under load....?

 

[xkenx]

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

First time I used the plusCart I managed to setup Wi-Fi. Now the system crash before I reach the PlusCart menu. The ESP8266 LED is flashing for a few seconds, then it stops for few seconds and start again. It looks like system tries to reboot. For me this indicates problem with voltage!?
 

I will start with replacing the power regelator. During load it shows 4.90v, lower now than before. 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 24, 2020 by xkenx