The worst fixing nightmare ever in my life

[johannesmutlu]

I bought an atari 2600 jr and i was very happy with it But only those power and b&w-color buttons did feel weird and the motherboard did feel loose so i tout screwing it open to see what’s going on,nothing fancy except that 1 screw was missing so put it back together

 

but then 1 day i decided to search for 1 identical screw in a store by removing 1 screw from the console as an example for comparision and after finding 1 i bought a set of it,then i cut 1 of that screw at the right length and tried it out,but i just couldn’t tight it in,so i tried that original screw and it didn’t tight in either so i decided to accept that screw hole leaving out with no screw so i put that original screw back in that other screw hole were it belongs to be,,,,BUT THEN,,, then once screwing it into place,i all the sudden did heard a crack ,i was like “huh how could that be i rescrew it in before without much force” so i decided to reopen that system to fix it with glue; but then another screw hole broke,so i hardly tryed to fix both screw holes but then i realized that 1 screw hole was already broken before the system reached my doorstep, now in the meantime i accIdentally did spilled glue on the table despite i put that glue on a destance but i didn’t know where i spilled it,i first tout “mmm whatever” now after i painfully repaired those screw holes and carefully screwed everything back together i decided to play some games,everything seemed working fine UNTILL i realized that i somehow couldn’t get any response out of those reset and select buttons,i tested it with another game wich does require the reset and select button to start it all up,i just got no response out of it,so i decided to reopen it up once again (against my will,i couldn’t found anything suspicious except for that strange stain on that strip(did i accidentally dropped glue on that strip?)

anyway after rechecking everything i wanted to put those shells back together BUT then i realized that i put one of those shells incidentally on the part of the table were i did spilled glue on it by accident,thus making it sticky to come off,not only that but i realized that i completely ruined that front shell of that system and those reset and select button were now permanently glued to be stuck for good,and while i did a google search for tips for how to remove powerful glue like putting it in water and vinegar and scraping it with sandpaper but that didn’t help as that glue already dryed up sooo bad, then i tried using a knife to remove that glue from those buttons but that didn’t help either ,so i tried using force BUT then i unintentionally broke those whole fromt shell into pieces instead,thus was for me the last straw leaving me very frustrated,it felt like as if i have lost a lover one am mean

who had ever that because of 1 f!ckin missing screw did lead to such a huge donosour of a problem? Just a huge OUCH, I just still can’t believe it (yes i did took a possible scenario that putting 1 non-original screw could ruin the whole case but not this), if i only knew that such unbelievible shit like this could happen i would,ve never decided to reopen that case,also if only i knew that 1 screw hole was already broken in the first place then i would,ve never ever decided to hunt down for a matching screw,damnit,

now i have ordered a broken atari 2600 jr just for the front shell to hopefully be able to fix my atari 2600 jr but costing a whopping $125 including shipping costs ouch,BUT if i still cannot fix it,then i have to repurchase a working one being again just second hand (duh) , man i still feel like to wanna yell and bang my head against the wall, i could vent my anger on everything coming in my way,because this is something so incredibly stupid and beyond believe,i cannot forgive myself for such surprising mistake wich shouldn’t had to be a mistake,(how could even an original screw just ruin a case without that much force?) well if atari just designed their plastic in such a way to make it more vulnerable for screws in order to make them beyond repair i would be not surprised as this incident have clearly discourage me to never ever wanna open up an atari console just fearing about those screw holes breaking off,why? Damnit??

Edited June 22, 2022 by johannesmutlu

[keithbk]

Interestingly, I attempted a video output mod job on an Atari Jr. a few years back and the brittle casing shattered while drilling a hole. I couldn't believe it.

 

I thought it was a one-off problem, but the Atari Jr. plastic may be too brittle to mess with.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

All of the plastic seems to be getting more and more brittle over the years. The 7800 and 5200 being some of the most brittle I've dealt with. Not that this will help either of you now, but when needing to put holes into the case shells, I start with a 1/16 bit to make the pilot holes and then finish off using forstner bits vs standard twist bits. Step bits work well also. In both cases, the forstner and step bits just remove a little at a time...essentially shaving the material instead of trying to cut into it and so it is easier and much less stressful on the plastics overall.

 

But yeah... there is a reason that my junker parts donor consoles I get for cheap. It is because their cases are broken and so they get offered to me for cheap.

 

[johannesmutlu]

7 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

All of the plastic seems to be getting more and more brittle over the years. The 7800 and 5200 being some of the most brittle I've dealt with. Not that this will help either of you now, but when needing to put holes into the case shells, I start with a 1/16 bit to make the pilot holes and then finish off using forstner bits vs standard twist bits. Step bits work well also. In both cases, the forstner and step bits just remove a little at a time...essentially shaving the material instead of trying to cut into it and so it is easier and much less stressful on the plastics overall.

 

But yeah... there is a reason that my junker parts donor consoles I get for cheap. It is because their cases are broken and so they get offered to me for cheap.

 

Hi,i can offer you some atari 2600 jr systems for cheap once i will recieve them on my doorstep ,i will first try to save another atari 2600 jr with those spare parts,if i will fail,you can get 3 broken atari 2600 jr systems for cheap?

[juansolo]

I think a lot of it depends on how it's been stored over the years. Obviously a lot of it comes down to the plastic itself, it's composition and how it ages. But constant exposure to UV, extremes of temperature and humidity are all going to play a part. We've had machines that were super brittle. Most of those pegs you can save if you gather all the bits and epoxy them back in. Plastic welding can work also on things that are out of view. But occasionally things are beyond saving. I had a paddle controller that I dropped from about a foot from a wooden plinth. It hit it and pretty much exploded into pieces. Yet I've got other's that are just fine.

 

I think we've currently got something like two juniors, a six switch and a 7800 board all good and without cases because they were too far gone. As a proportion of machines we've had pass through our hands, it's not a bad plastic failure rate...

 

It does bring me back to thinking that with the advent of 3D printing, there has to be a demand for replacement cases (like the one @PacManPlus was working on). Likewise there are some machines I'd put in an alternative case in a heartbeat. The Coleco for one, a modded one only needs to be as big as the main board... I'd love to make my coleco a slimline model.  The 5200 you could get some depth from, but it's always gonna be a big bloody thing.

 

EDIT: Which is when you've found out someone already did one: https://technabob.com/blog/2008/08/19/colecovision-mini-console-hits-ebay-casemod/ That said, I don't see any reason why you wouldn't keep the side mountedjacks, and front expansion. Basically make it like the console is, just cut in half without the controller bins. Kinda wish I had a spare case to have a go at just sawing one up...

Edited June 24, 2022 by juansolo

[johannesmutlu]

2 hours ago, juansolo said:

I think a lot of it depends on how it's been stored over the years. Obviously a lot of it comes down to the plastic itself, it's composition and how it ages. But constant exposure to UV, extremes of temperature and humidity are all going to play a part. We've had machines that were super brittle. Most of those pegs you can save if you gather all the bits and epoxy them back in. Plastic welding can work also on things that are out of view. But occasionally things are beyond saving. I had a paddle controller that I dropped from about a foot from a wooden plinth. It hit it and pretty much exploded into pieces. Yet I've got other's that are just fine.

 

I think we've currently got something like two juniors, a six switch and a 7800 board all good and without cases because they were too far gone. As a proportion of machines we've had pass through our hands, it's not a bad plastic failure rate...

 

It does bring me back to thinking that with the advent of 3D printing, there has to be a demand for replacement cases (like the one @PacManPlus was working on). Likewise there are some machines I'd put in an alternative case in a heartbeat. The Coleco for one, a modded one only needs to be as big as the main board... I'd love to make my coleco a slimline model.  The 5200 you could get some depth from, but it's always gonna be a big bloody thing.

 

EDIT: Which is when you've found out someone already did one: https://technabob.com/blog/2008/08/19/colecovision-mini-console-hits-ebay-casemod/ That said, I don't see any reason why you wouldn't keep the side mountedjacks, and front expansion. Basically make it like the console is, just cut in half without the controller bins. Kinda wish I had a spare case to have a go at just sawing one up...

Wow that miniturized colecovision console looks pretty damn nice,once i discovered that the motherbpard only takes half the space i was alway’s wondering why coleco just wasted sooo much plastic for that controller storage compartment,not sure about the intelevision 2 but atari did it fore sure with their atari 5200,the only big reason for what i can think off to make those cases twice as big as the motherboard is probably for heat ventilation and nothing else.

[juansolo]

17 hours ago, johannesmutlu said:

Wow that miniturized colecovision console looks pretty damn nice,once i discovered that the motherbpard only takes half the space i was alway’s wondering why coleco just wasted sooo much plastic for that controller storage compartment,not sure about the intelevision 2 but atari did it fore sure with their atari 5200,the only big reason for what i can think off to make those cases twice as big as the motherboard is probably for heat ventilation and nothing else.

The 5200 board is actually surprisingly large (considering a 600XL isn't). Mostly it's just the controller bin at the back that's all dead space. But the rest of it is pretty much board. The IV you'd struggle shrinking because of the way it's laid out inside. The Coleco for me is the easy win with regards to shrinkage. But the 5200's are one machine that would really stand for new cases. So many of them are damaged or missing the flap at the back at the very least. I'd be nice to have an alternative there.

[johannesmutlu]

I bough a 2 “broken” atari 2600 jr systems from ebay and used one of the top cases for my other atari 2600 jr wich i taped it back together along with 1 screw and now that reset and select switch do work again,but too fucking bad those screw holes from that other plastic shell were broken as well because of it’s brittle plastic (DAMNIT) in fact i do realize now that more atari 2600 jr systems do suffer from this,damn if i was warned about this before on youtube i would never opened an atari 2600 jr unit,and since i have learned such lesson ever since, i swear that i will from now on never ever open an atari 2600 jr again,never ever of my life,from now on am glad i got my atari 2600 become fully useful again?