2600 Light Sixer Video/Audio Problem

[Byte Knight]

Hi guys,

 

I've got two light-sixers that seem to have similar problems. Both were previously working and I'm hooking them up to CRT TV's. They both give me wavy lines when I turn them on (see picture) and I get no audio. It appears that the game is running as the screen changes when I hit reset (Wizard of Wor is pictured). There's even wavy lines when there's no cartridge in (see other picture). My power supply is giving 14.14V, and I'm getting 10.72V and 4.94V from the voltage regulator. I tried another 9V power supply from Radio Shack and I still get the same video problem so I'm assuming it's not the power supply. I also tried swapping out a known working TIA chip without any change. Any ideas on how to fix this?

 

Thanks!

[Byte Knight]

Someone else must have had this problem - I've got two light sixers doing the same thing! Anyone??

[tetrode kink]

It would seem unlikely that two consoles would go haywire simultaneously.* For that reason, I would suspect the TV. Have you tried them on another TV?

 

BTW, the second picture is consistent with the first; I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but if you start the VCS without a cartridge inserted (several times), you'll get either a blank screen or random vertical bars and random sounds or hums, and it won't generate vertical sync but it will generate horizontal sync.

 

Anyway, if your pictures represent what happens with both your VCSs, maybe the TV is no longer able to lock on to horizontal sync signals.

 

-tet

 

*On the other hand, these things are thirty years old now; it may be soon that we see VCSs malfunctioning en masse.

[Byte Knight]

It would seem unlikely that two consoles would go haywire simultaneously.* For that reason, I would suspect the TV. Have you tried them on another TV?

 

BTW, the second picture is consistent with the first; I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but if you start the VCS without a cartridge inserted (several times), you'll get either a blank screen or random vertical bars and random sounds or hums, and it won't generate vertical sync but it will generate horizontal sync.

 

Anyway, if your pictures represent what happens with both your VCSs, maybe the TV is no longer able to lock on to horizontal sync signals.

 

-tet

 

*On the other hand, these things are thirty years old now; it may be soon that we see VCSs malfunctioning en masse.

 

Thanks for the reply - I've tried it on different TV's without any change and my 2600 Jr. seems to run fine on the current TV... BTW, the two light sixers did not go out at the same time.