Please, Your Maintanence Help Is Required!

[Kris Snyder]

Going through my old carts, I have found four of my old Activision titles so far which won't boot up on my 7800 at all - however, other Activision games seem to work just fine.

 

I am afraid to try and clean them myself before I turn to the experts (that's you guys) for your advice - fearing that I might make the problem worse rather than better (especially with some rarer titles, like Pitfall II)... Please, help me out here!

[jaybird3rd]

Have you tried blowing out the dust and cleaning the card edge fingers inside the cartridge with rubbing alcohol? That would be my first step. Just use regular off-the-shelf rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs, and be sure to dry the card edge fingers with the other end of the swab so no residue from the alcohol is left behind.

[+save2600]

I agree that rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip is what you should use to clean the contacts on the cartridge. Keep wiping that sucka until it's clean and NEVER blow into your games or console! You'll just speed up the oxidation process. This is why sooooo many NES games are junk today. If there's something wedged in the cartridge port of the machine, you can use tweezers or very small screwdrivers to get whatever it is out (usually lint, hair or paper shavings).

[jaybird3rd]

NEVER blow into your games or console! You'll just speed up the oxidation process.

Thanks for pointing that out. When I say "blow out the dust," I mean blowing it out using a can of compressed air, which is clean and free of moisture. A puff of compressed air into the cartridge port might help, too.

[Kris Snyder]

I tried the alcohol and cotton swabs - did a really good job of cleaning the connectors, dust out etc. - and it didn't seem to help.

 

They seem to "fit" funny - they just feel weird, you know what I mean? And I don't get that feeling from the other Activision carts I've tested so far...

 

I have never taken a console apart before - I guess I may have to, although I'd be really nervous doing so...

 

Are there any how-to's online for such a procedure?

[jaybird3rd]

If other games work in the console and these few do not, chances are likely that the cartridges are the problem, so there shouldn't be any need to open the console. What I would do next is try them in another 2600/7800 console (if you have one handy) to see if they work there instead; if they don't, the cartridges may just be dead, or they may have corrosion or some other issue which requires more work to repair.

 

Activision 2600 cartridges don't fit comfortably in the 7800 because its cartridge port is narrower than the 2600 port was. This usually isn't enough to keep the cartridge from working, though. There is a way to cut some of the plastic from the corners on the inside of the port so that third-party cartridges fit better, but I think it's more trouble than it's worth.

[+Mitch]

Sometimes multiple cleanings are required.

As you've noticed, Activision games can be a little touchy to get to sit in the slot properly to play.

There are also a couple of Activision Games that don't work on specific 7800s, these include Decathlon, Robot Tank and Space Shuttle.

 

Mitch

[Kris Snyder]

One of the games is Decathalon - are there anymore than the three you listed that sometimes have problems?

 

At any rate, I thank you all for your help - I will definitely hang onto them until I can try them out in another console...

Edited February 4, 2010 by Kris Snyder

[zylon]

These guys have covered the basics pretty well. Here's what I use in extreme cases. I take some 400 grit autobody sandpaper, fold it over twice and gently scrub inside the slot with it. On the games themselves, I use a scotch-brite pad. Press lightly as this can remove metal!

[+save2600]

Light sandpaper is a good idea, but yeah - you have to be careful you don't overdo it. It's funny... I've noticed a LOT of Activision carts throughout the years, their boards seem to be "thinner" than Atari or the other brands. I've often suspected that throughout their runs, they might have gone with a manufacturer with a slightly different and thinner spec. Many of them sure seem to fit real loose in the cartridge slot, so I wouldn't be surprise if that's really what's going on. Homebrews for example, seem to ALL have a thicker PCB than even Atari or any of the other manufacturers. Can someone confirm this? I've never measured it, but I swear it's true.

 

In extreme cases of restoration throughout the years, I've also had to bend the cartridge port pins in closer to each other. You might want to give that a try too and see if that helps. You have to open the Atari of course, remove the plastic cartridge port casing and just use a tiny screwdriver to force those pins closer in. I bet that could help out here and it definitely helps when you've got a loose fitting cartridge that's susceptible to "frying" itself when you accidentally bump it or whatever.

[Underball]

One of the games is Decathalon - are there anymore than the three you listed that sometimes have problems?

 

At any rate, I thank you all for your help - I will definitely hang onto them until I can try them out in another console...

The only other one I've heard people having problems with is Pitfall II The Lost Caverns, but that's not a compatibility issue like with certain versions of Decathlon, Space Shuttle, and Robot Tank. Pitfall II not working is genereally because Activision used some really cheap, too-thin PCB boards in the original run of manufacturing them, and they just don't sit right in the cart slot. You can get them to work by moving hem around in the slot.

[Kris Snyder]

Thanks to you guys and your advice, I've been able to get nearly all (except Decathalon, of course) of my Activision games working in my 7800 again!

 

I didn't give up - just cleaned them again, and did a lot of jostling and re-insertion before they would finally boot up...