Atari 2600 Heavy Sixer - Not Playing Games

[acromite53]

Hi everyone. I have a Heavy Sixer that isn't functioning correctly. Turning the console on with a game inserted will give either corrupted graphics, colored bars, or just a dark green screen. On Missile Command, the gameplay screen appears for 1 second before flickering out and turning to black. I have cleaned the game's pin. I tried inserting a clean cart with alcohol on it, in and out, to see if that would clean the pins.

Have any ideas what the problem could be? Thanks for the help. I can post more pics or provide more info if needed.

Edited October 1, 2020 by acromite53

[+DrVenkman]

There are a lot of possible causes for this, but we’ll need more info to diagnose things.

First, do you have any another 2600/VCS models that worth with this TV? Second, how are you connecting to the TV - via a switchbox or an RCA-to-coax adapter? Do you have any electronics diagnostic experience? If not, do you at least have some basic tools, like a multimeter? 

[acromite53]

23 minutes ago, DrVenkman said:

There are a lot of possible causes for this, but we’ll need more info to diagnose things.

First, do you have any another 2600/VCS models that worth with this TV? Second, how are you connecting to the TV - via a switchbox or an RCA-to-coax adapter? Do you have any electronics diagnostic experience? If not, do you at least have some basic tools, like a multimeter? 

I have a light 6 switch vcs which works fine on the TV. The power supply works on both consoles. I am using an RCA to coax adapter. Yep I have experience in console repairs/soldering and I've got a multimeter. I've got the console open now looking for any obvious damage.

 

https://console5.com/store/atari-2600-total-refresh-kit-new-capacitors.html

I saw this which could be useful. 

[+DrVenkman]

Okay, my first suggestion then, is to avoid just recapping everything. That’s a 90’s/00’s bad-caps-era cure-all that is typically not necessary for older systems absent signs of failure.

Now having said that, the first thing to do is measure the output of the voltage regulator both cold (right after power-on) and warm, after maybe 5 minutes. If it’s steady at 5V, +/- maybe 0.05V, then your VR is fine. The next suggestion would be to replace the green polystyrene “chiclet” cap on the power supply. That can sometimes cause a snowy picture - I have a Vader that had a problem similar to yours though not as bad. Replacing the power supply chiclet cap corrected it.

 

If replacing the chiclet cap doesn’t resolve things, you’ve likely got something going bad inside the RF modulator. To me, that makes a system a candidate for modding. RF modulators are a pain, they’re getting finicky with age, and fewer TV’s even have RF tuners. If you decide to mod the system, I can heartily suggest a UAV board. They’re more complicated to install than a simple transistor-resistor composite mod, but the output quality is fantastic in both composite and S-video. 

[acromite53]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I measured the input and output of the regulator. It seems to be give consistent cold readings.

Cold:

    Input~10

    Output~3.7

Warm about 10-15 min:

    Input~10.46

    Output~4.57

But then once I measured it

about 2 minutes after power on and it gave me really low results. Could have been a fluke?

    Input~6.5

    Output~1.27

[+DrVenkman]

Yeah, that VR looks like it is definitely done for. I'd start with replacing it before you do anything else. Once you've done that, you can determine if anything else needs addressing. 

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I concur that the VR should be replaced out first to rule that out and it is a cheap part to boot.

 

[acromite53]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. I'll post an update once it's installed.

[acromite53]

Ok, just replaced the Voltage Regulator and the cap above it. Looks like I'm still getting the same issues as before. 

[zylon]

check for +5vdc at pin 3 of RF modulator. Another spot to look is the channel select switch. The ones used on 6ers suck. just holding a screwdriver or paperclip across the two terminals being used will suffice. If picture clears up, switch is toast. Your 1st post pics show possibility of multiple issues.

Edited May 14, 2021 by zylon

[+Stephen Moss]

On 5/14/2021 at 11:32 PM, acromite53 said:

Ok, just replaced the Voltage Regulator and the cap above it. Looks like I'm still getting the same issues as before. 

Going by the earlier images I presume that by "the cap above it" are you referring to the white one, not the large electrolytic at the top of the image.

Because the external covering on the latter looks shredded, unless you know that is down to something physical you have done to it the usual cause for that is expansion due to the electrolyte in the cap boiling.

Therefore, I suggest replacing it and making sure it you put the replacement in the correct way round as electrolytics are not happy when excessive or reverse voltages are applied to them. 

[acromite53]

I replaced the big capacitor. The old one may have been leaking slightly. Replacing it didn't seem to fix it. But didn't have much time to test before the brittle internal rf cable snapped off. Looks like the ground? part of the cable broke off the right connector.

[acromite53]

Ok. I fixed the internal cable. It was very loose and had snapped. I get video now! The 2600 appears to be working. So it was either the big capacitor or this cable that did the trick. Maybe both.

 

Compared to my light sixer model, this heavy sixer has more noise in the video. I see thin vertical lines on the left side. There are also flickering speckles that dance around. Here are the pics.

The first 2 pictures show the Heavy-Sixer video.

The final picture shows clean video from my Light-Sixer.

 

Thank you for the help, everybody!

 

Edited May 28, 2021 by acromite53