28 replies to this topic

[19Echo]

More of an 8bit guy and havent really done anything with the 2600. Gave my original away when i left for the Army in 86. Picked up one off of good ole craigslist...... guy swore up and down it worked. Anyways, brought it home, turned it on, nada.... nothing....... I searched around for troubleshooting guides and took it apart and checked the solder points on the power adapter and the on/off switch. Tried it again, nothing. tried a different RF box same results. Tried the rca adapter and same results. different cartridges resulted in same. Static screen. Different power bricks were used with nothing at all. saw a small spark whenever i connected the adapter. tried channel 2, 3, and 4. Out of options. So basically i'm looking for someone who could possibly look at it and see if there is anything that can be to it. Dallas area would be great, but i'm williing to ship it.

Any help would really be appreciated.

Thanks

[19Echo]

so should i just replace the chips?

[Syntaxerror999]

At the risk of sounding douchy the comment "more of an 8 bit Guy" suggests a common misunderstanding of what 8 bit is. The Atari is actually an 8 bit console. Many people think its not cause of its graphics and the whole 8 bit nes / 16 bit. Snes marketing. Its a common mistake and one i made myself until someone explained it to me.

8/16 bit refers to the processors "word size"... in other words how long a single instruction is. In 8 bit instructions the value can be between 0 and 128... a 16 bit instruction can be a value between 0 and 256. 16 bit isn't really faster... you can just do more in a single instruction.

The Nes and the Atari acrualy use the same processor...the 6502...although the ataris... the 6507 is a bare bones version... three less address lines. But more or less the same. Its what the processor controls that makes the difference between the two.

Again sorry if I sound like a douche.

Edited by Syntaxerror999, Sun Jan 29, 2012 4:18 PM.

[Syntaxerror999]

The spark is common. So you get snow as if the power isn't turned on? Do an internet search for the Atari feild service manual. Its a document authorised repair centers used. My guess is the power regulator is bad.

[19Echo]

This is the screen that its giving me.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[19Echo]

Syntaxerror999, on Sun Jan 29, 2012 3:52 PM, said:

At the risk of sounding douchy the comment "more of an 8 bit Guy" suggests a common misunderstanding of what 8 bit is. The Atari is actually an 8 bit console. Many people think its not cause of its graphics and the whole 8 bit nes / 16 bit. Snes marketing. Its a common mistake and one i made myself until someone explained it to me.

8/16 bit refers to the processors "word size"... in other words how long a single instruction is. In 8 bit instructions the value can be between 0 and 128... a 16 bit instruction can be a value between 0 and 256. 16 bit isn't really faster... you can just do more in a single instruction.

The Nes and the Atari acrualy use the same processor...the 6502...although the ataris... the 6507 is a bare bones version... three less address lines. But more or less the same. Its what the processor controls that makes the difference between the two.

Again sorry if I sound like a douche.

no problem, guess i should have said "more of the 800xl guy"

[Syntaxerror999]

19Echo, on Sun Jan 29, 2012 4:13 PM, said:

This is the screen that its giving me.

Check the power regulator. It should be taking in a 9v through the left pin and outputting 5v through the right pin. The middle pin is the ground.

Edited by Syntaxerror999, Sun Jan 29, 2012 4:34 PM.

[19Echo]

is that the one with the screw on the board and reads C8210 El Salvador 78MO5C ?

[Syntaxerror999]

19Echo, on Sun Jan 29, 2012 4:52 PM, said:

is that the one with the screw on the board and reads C8210 El Salvador 78MO5C ?

Looks like a giant transistor with a heat sink plate. If its outputting 5v between the right pin and the middle pin then get the fieild service manual.

http://www.AtariGuid...vice_Manual.pdf

Edited by Syntaxerror999, Sun Jan 29, 2012 5:14 PM.

[GroovyBee]

If you are going to be a douche, be an accurate one

Syntaxerror999, on Sun Jan 29, 2012 3:52 PM, said:

8/16 bit refers to the processors "word size"... in other words how long a single instruction is. In 8 bit instructions the value can be between 0 and 128... a 16 bit instruction can be a value between 0 and 256. 16 bit isn't really faster... you can just do more in a single instruction.

Nope! Instructions on the 6502 are between 1 and 3 bytes. Its accumulator is 8 bits wide and its opcodes are 8 bits wide too. An 8 bit opcode can encode 256 unique instructions. A 16 bit opcode can encode 65536 unique instructions.

Quote

The Nes and the Atari acrualy use the same processor...the 6502...although the ataris... the 6507 is a bare bones version... three less address lines. But more or less the same. Its what the processor controls that makes the difference between the two.

Both 6502 family but not the same processor. The NES CPU (Ricoh 2A03/07) doesn't have BCD instructions and also contains the sound chip and some DMA functionality. The 6507 in the 2600 is a 28 pin version of the 6502. It has 3 less address lines (missing A13, A14 and A15) and does not support any external interrupts (NMI or IRQ). Neither does it have any built in peripheral blocks.

[19Echo]

not getting any reading whatsoever

[GroovyBee]

When you connect your meter between the inside and outside of the power plug what reading do you get?

[Syntaxerror999]

Stung by the groovebee! Thanks for the corrections ill remember to double check my facts.

Edited by Syntaxerror999, Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:04 PM.

[19Echo]

GroovyBee, on Sun Jan 29, 2012 5:34 PM, said:

When you connect your meter between the inside and outside of the power plug what reading do you get?

sorry, a bit confused on what your asking me to do here

[GroovyBee]

Sorry! I meant the round barrel plug that goes into the Atari. You should see up to around 13v DC with no load on it.

[19Echo]

averaged out around 12. also i did notice that the power regulator is getting hot. when turned on, is this normal?

[19Echo]

actually i may have had it on the wrong setting. The left pin on the power regulator is reading 9v the right pin is reading .69

[GroovyBee]

They do get warm. Now check the voltages you see on the pins of the regulator. Do you know how to find pin 1 on an IC? If so check that you see +5v between pins 1 and 20 on TIA.

[GroovyBee]

19Echo, on Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:36 PM, said:

actually i may have had it on the wrong setting. The left pin on the power regulator is reading 9v the right pin is reading .69

Where are you taking the GND reference from to make those readings?

[19Echo]

GroovyBee, on Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:42 PM, said:

19Echo, on Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:36 PM, said:

actually i may have had it on the wrong setting. The left pin on the power regulator is reading 9v the right pin is reading .69

Where are you taking the GND reference from to make those readings?

middle pin right?

[19Echo]

yeah see the pins as well. where do i ground at to take that reading?

[zylon]

I use a more "simple' approach to help troubleshoot these systems. When you turn the power on, is there even the slightest flicker on the screen? If there is, then system is powering up. Next test involves plugging in power cord with system already turned on. If it works, replace regulator.

[GroovyBee]

Ah sorry, hadn't noticed you were on the regulator. If its .69v thats a problem because it should be 5v. Looks like you need to replace the regulator.

[19Echo]

good thing i stopped by radio shack a few minutes ago. Ill replace it and let you all know what happens

[19Echo]

woohoo! yeah thats what it was, replaced the regulator, good to go. thanks a bunch to everyone that helped out on this. I really do appreciate it