Rockin' Kat Posted June 23, 2002 Share Posted June 23, 2002 Hello, I recently got my first Atari Lynx. No games... ...Now, I have a game (thanks to Nimtene). ...however, I'm not quite out of the dark just yet. It would appear I have a problem. The graphics on this Lynx are all scrambled. Since I've never had a Lynx before I really don't know where to go from here. The sound in the game seems to be fine, so it's just a case of the picture. I'll say that this lynx looked to have been opened some time before it found it's way into my hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 Your on the right track with the cart connector needing cleaning. Also if you haven't already...make sure that STUN runner you got has clean contacts. As for how to go about cleaning the cart connector...I suppose a butter knife, tee shirt and alcohol would work. I have always used thin metal spacers that I wrap some felt cloth around and alcohol with. But then....a butter knfie would probably work. Just make sure that whatever you use isn't going to be any thicker than a lynx cart would be inserted. Otherwise you will get the contacts inside clean...but...you will also bend the contacts too far back and the game won't be readable anymore then either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin' Kat Posted June 24, 2002 Author Share Posted June 24, 2002 Well, the butterknife and t-shirt were about the same thickness as a cartridge so I tried cleaning the cartridge port out using alcohol. Then I cleaned the contacts on the game. I must say that this Lynx wasn't very dirty, usually when I clean systems I get black crud on the shirt, but I didn't get anything with the Lynx. Anyway, the graphics are still scrambled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin' Kat Posted June 24, 2002 Author Share Posted June 24, 2002 I just had this nifty little idea.... why not remove the lid off my scanner and scan the lynx? I scanned these pictures at 300dpi because I had trouble catching the screen at lower resolutions. Both are in jpg format saved at %50 quality. They came out a bit dark in the screen area, I tried lightening it a little, but for some it may still be a big black blob on the screen. I find that photo images always look darker on the Windows machine downstairs than they do on my Mac, which I used to make these pictures. If you can't see anything you may want to try either adjusting your monitor's brightness or open the pictures in a graphics editor and adjust the brightness/contrast there. When I look at these scans I can see the screen well enough to see the problem I'm having with my lynx. The game is S.T.U.N. Runner. lynx screen(100k) Lynx(145k) Both pictures show the same screen...I've never seen a game system before that allowed you to pause on the intro screen, if I couldn't do that I wouldn't have been able to do this with my three-pass scanner. [updated to fix links for new location - 02/09/2004] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimtene Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 If the sound and controls seem to be working fine, then after seeing those jumbled graphics, my first instinct wouldn't be dirty contacts; I would guess a malfunctional LCD screen. I don't know much about LCDs. Not really sure how they work, how they break, or how they can be fixed. So instead of fixing it, probably easiest just to transplant in another LCD that you know is fully functional. I'll mail you out one, if you want it. And lucky for you, you'll get the opportunity to reconnect those that flex circuits again, which I know you enjoyed the first time around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin' Kat Posted June 25, 2002 Author Share Posted June 25, 2002 Sure, I'd like that while your at it, you think you could throw in a couple of those little black long things with the two tabs at either end that hook the flex circuit and that other strip to the main board? I managed to break one tab on each of them . 'later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Videology Posted June 25, 2002 Share Posted June 25, 2002 ...while your at it, you think you could throw in a couple of those little black long things with the two tabs at either end that hook the flex circuit and that other strip to the main board? I managed to break one tab on each of them . That's not good... If you broke the main body of the connector, your going to have to do some soldering. They are a pain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin' Kat Posted June 25, 2002 Author Share Posted June 25, 2002 Oh no, thats not what busted...it's just this little plastic thing that you put the flex ciruit through to plug it into the socket on the main board...the way these things worked are what made it such a pain, the flex circuit kept slipping out of the one that hooks it up right before I could clip it in...I'll go ahead and post a picture of what I'm talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimtene Posted June 25, 2002 Share Posted June 25, 2002 I know what you mean about the black clips, I've broken a few of them myself. I'll include a couple of them for you. Also, didn't you mention that one of the rubber grips from the back was missing? Want one of those as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin' Kat Posted June 25, 2002 Author Share Posted June 25, 2002 I guess I wont need to post any pictures of them. Yeah, this lynx is missing one of the rubber grips, that'd be great to get a replacement one. By the way, so as not to worry about losing another one, do you think rubber sement would be a good glue to use on them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Videology Posted June 26, 2002 Share Posted June 26, 2002 do you think rubber sement would be a good glue to use on them? Rubber cement would probably by a good choice in glue. You don't want anything permanent or Conductive such as superglue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin' Kat Posted June 26, 2002 Author Share Posted June 26, 2002 Oh, I'd never use superglue on something like this. hmm...super glue..... remembers that time in the third or second grade when he superglued the palms of his hands together and ran to show his mom what he just did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin' Kat Posted July 8, 2002 Author Share Posted July 8, 2002 Well, I got the Lynx screen in the mail a couple days ago. Yesterday I removed the old screen and installed the new one. But when I turned the Lynx on I got the same scrambled graphics. I wonder what to do now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimtene Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 Well, there goes my theory out the window. Hope you had a good time playing with the screen installation, anyway. I was hoping against this; I guess there's something wrong with the motherboard. Sorry, but I've got no idea how to go about fixing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian M Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 Well, there goes my theory out thewindow. Hope you had a good time playing with the screen installation, anyway. I was hoping against this; I guess there's something wrong with the motherboard. Sorry, but I've got no idea how to go about fixing it. Oh great and wise poet I recall hearing that you have extra lynxes of varying quality and condition I was hoping that you a generous and kind gamer would be willing to send me a lynx I will provide payment for shipping Please let me know if this is a possibility. I once owned a lynx and have enjoyed them via emulation as of late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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