Jasedude Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 Nooby Nooby Noob here! Just starting out with my lovely new old 4 switch Atari 2600, plugged directly into my aerial socket on the telly (I was surprised to find one!) Some games are better than others, but you can see in my photo I have all kinds of digital ghosts Is this RF interference? Is it the sort of thing that can be fixed with ferro rods? Does anyone please have any advice they can offer? I've enjoyed cleaning out my paddles today, certainly not averse to a bit of DIY! Many thanks in advance Jason 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSchoolRetroGamer Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 Most definitely others will answer with more detailed and likely netter advice. I cannot say whether ferro rod will help, what I DO know from a collection of multiple RF outputting consoles and computers is that display quality CAN very wildly. Not to say things cannot improve, I DO seem to notice your contrast might be off? Too light? What I mean is could you adjust your image so that the blacks are DARKER? Like almost pitch black, as is it looks like a dark grey or light black and for sure with the contrast set to light you would see me artifacts and unwanted / unintended "details". Also, might you have any type of "tuning" option for the input? There might even be an option in your settings menu for "Game MODE" or something similar as that is pretty common and such a mode would treat the input differently. That's all I got for quick or easy options, I think anything else gets more involved like the ferro rod you mention (can't hurt I would think) and beyond that well replacing the actual 2600 RF cable, yes it seems attached though removing the bottom and if I recall it is simply "plugged in" internally. Of course that would mean getting a hold of another RF cable which could be a pain. While inside though I believe there are also some pots or things you can turn or adjust carefully to see if that helps but as to exactly what they are or how you might go about it, I would wait for more experienced to chime in BUT in the meantime try the easy suggestions I gave you at the start and good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddlepaddle Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 Yes, an imperfect signal is typical, but yours is pretty severe. Should be able to improve. A better cable might help, but first try cleaning all the connectors with rubbing alcohol and/or deoxit. Also, if you are using an RF switch box, try a coax to RCA adaptor instead. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasedude Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 Hmm thank you for your answers, I played with the contrast and cleaned the antennae connector, I'm not using a switch box, just going directly to the TV antennae But the problem persists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddlepaddle Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 Next, I would take it apart (six phillips-head screws on the bottom) and look around, and clean the end of the cable that connects to the board inside. While it's open, you might see something out of whack, and there are many things you can test, including swapping the cable. Many people have been down this road, and there are many threads that may assist you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaWarrior Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 1st off it's not the cart or anything, Just a Video Signal 2nd, put it in 4:3 3rd, get a CRT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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