Jess Ragan Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 I just got my Atari 5200 in the mail today. There's just one problem... although it will turn on, it only produces a plain white or plain black screen, even with a cartridge in the slot. What's wrong with it? Has the BIOS chip been fried? Is the GTIA chip dead? Can it be repaired, or am I boned? JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SINGLE TOOTH Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 I just got my Atari 5200 in the mail today. There's just one problem... although it will turn on, it only produces a plain white or plain black screen, even with a cartridge in the slot. What's wrong with it? Has the BIOS chip been fried? Is the GTIA chip dead? Can it be repaired, or am I boned? JR Try cleaning it very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classics Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Do you have more than one cartridge to test with? Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Try cracking it open and re-seating all the socketed chips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted August 16, 2007 Author Share Posted August 16, 2007 (edited) I'll give all this advice a shot. Sure is better than shelling out big bucks for another 52K... All right, here's what I've got. There's some wear on the cartridge slot, which was to be expected from a system so old. I've taken a small piece of sandpaper and cleaned up the contacts as best I could. I've also pushed down on all the socketed chips to seat them... however, one of these chips has a single leg lifted from the terminal and coated with dark blue ink. I have to assume this was intentional, so I don't think it would be wise to bend that leg and set it into the terminal along with all the others. Edited August 16, 2007 by Jess Ragan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian R. Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 (edited) I'll give all this advice a shot. Sure is better than shelling out big bucks for another 52K... All right, here's what I've got. There's some wear on the cartridge slot, which was to be expected from a system so old. I've taken a small piece of sandpaper and cleaned up the contacts as best I could. I've also pushed down on all the socketed chips to seat them... however, one of these chips has a single leg lifted from the terminal and coated with dark blue ink. I have to assume this was intentional, so I don't think it would be wise to bend that leg and set it into the terminal along with all the others. That pin is supposed to be bent up like that. I know this because I saw the same thing on a brand new - yes, brand new - motherboard that I bought recently from Best Electronics. I called, asked about it, and got the answer. But you didn't say if the steps you took produced any results. My suggestion is, rather than dealing with this or gambling on another that may be broken too - just buy a new board from Best. It's only $35. That's really cheap. All you gotta do is take off the RF shields from the old board and put them on the new one, and drop it in the console. And trust me, no used or eBay 5200 is going to work as well. Edited August 16, 2007 by Brian R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted August 16, 2007 Author Share Posted August 16, 2007 Hmm... tempting. I may have to wait until my next check comes in, though. I guess this is exactly what I deserve for buying an as-is system for five bucks on the 'bay... JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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