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[boxpressed]

I just got an Astrocade through eBay -- my second in a couple weeks. It's about the second in two weeks to be returned. Before I do, I wanted to find out if there is an easy fix for what's wrong with it.

When I turn it on, the screen image slowly scrolls downward, making the system unplayable. I've tried this on two TVs and on both channels 3 and 4. There's a fuzzy horizontal band across the middle of the screen also. Is this a problem someone with an Astrocade has seen before?

I'm not the handiest guy with a soldering iron, so I'm inclined to just send it back. Thanks for any advice/opinions.

[Stephen Moss]

I remember back in college setting up CRT computer monitors and picture roll was caused by the vertical timebase not running at the correct speed. Although I cannot be certain it is likely that either the frequency of the timebase on your TV's is too far out for the Astrocade or the frequency of the Astrocade off.

You could try replacing the clock ocsillator in the Astrocade (probably a quartz crystal and a couple of capacitors) incase they have gone out of spec over the years but I am only guessing that will be the solution and I have no clue on the fuzzy horizontal band. Probably best to return it as...

a) presumably you only have a limited time in which to do so
b) you won't be able to if you start messing about with it

Presumably you asked the seller if they know what the problem and the solution is?