Intellivision repair issue

[birdie3]

The only reason I posted this here is because I wanted more exposure to this thread. Please don't move this. Thanks.

 

I am new to the Intellivision and I am having a problem with the console I just purchased. Hopefully someone can help. Here's what happens:

 

I put a Night Stalker game in. It works fine. I play for about 30 seconds and then the game resets all by it's self. I try a different game - Advanced D&D. It works fine. I play for 30 seconds and then the game freezes.

 

What the heck is wrong and can this be remedied? Please help if you know anything about this problem. Thanks in advance.

[Lord Thag]

This goes without saying, but have you thouroughly cleaned your cart port on the INty? Dirty ports/carts are the #1 cause of funky weirdness. Fine grit sandpaper and rubbing alcohol work great. Check out this thread:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=77848

 

If that doesn't fix it, you've probably got a component on the Inty motherboard that's bad. I'm no tech, but there are plenty of people around here who are. It could very well be overheating and causing the system to reset, but I'd almost bet money that it's just a dirty cart port. I had a system that did the same thing, and after cleaning, it worked fine.

[birdie3]

I will try cleaning the connector first.

[SteveW]

I've always heard that some Intellivisions tend to screw up if they overheat, and the older the consoles get, the easier and quicker the processors overheat. I know that I had that problem with my ECS module. I could only play for about 10 minutes before it would go blank. After a while, it was only about three or four minutes.

[JB]

If I recall, the INTV as the first system to need heatsinks.

Granted, they're just little pieces of sheet metal, but they ARE there.

 

 

Wonder if maybe they're coming loose with age.

[birdie3]

I stripped all but one screw trying to open the freakin' thing. ARRRRGGHHH!!!!

[birdie3]

Well.. I drilled the screws and got her open. Sprayed the power switch and fixed the reset button. Still does it. It actually does seem like a heat issue because it starts off OK and then gradually gets worse until it freezes. Anyone know how to fix this?

[+-^CrossBow^-]

If the console is overheating..as my Model 1 Genesis used to do. Then find a means to add a heatsink to the chips. In most older units, the memory and main processors would get the most hot.

 

So what I would do, is apply fresh solder to most all the pins that are connected to chips, and clean off the residue left over from the days of new. This means, pry off heatsinks, clean the chips good. And then apply new thermal compound and then find a way to hold the heatsinks back into place. I have actually just used Zip ties before to hold some down. My genesis heatsink is still attached well. I used an old heatsink off of a dead video card for my Genesis main proc.

[birdie3]

I think I am just going to keep this one for spare parts. Intellivisions are ususally pretty cheap and easy to find.

[Lauren Tyler]

Is this an Intellivision 1 or Intellivision 2?