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Buggy 600XL


NightSprinter

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Ok, so the 600XL that I got as part of an Atari bag lot seems to not work right. I think it could be the GTIA chip (as it's exhibiting the same problems I had from an XEGS I sold), but I'm not exactly sure what the issue may be. Here's a quick photo I took of the TV (and I tested it on my roomie's CRT, same deal).

post-7715-126808277332_thumb.jpg

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I hooked it back up to my roomie's CRT television, and there's just a blue screen that doesn't change even if I flipped the channel switch on the computer itself. Reseating the chips didn't produce any results, either. Hey, jaybird3rd, since you received the XEGS that exhibited a very similar issue to this, what do you think might be the cause?

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I hooked it back up to my roomie's CRT television, and there's just a blue screen that doesn't change even if I flipped the channel switch on the computer itself. Reseating the chips didn't produce any results, either. Hey, jaybird3rd, since you received the XEGS that exhibited a very similar issue to this, what do you think might be the cause?

Of the two XEGS consoles that you sent me, the one that was completely dead needed a new CPU and RAM; I tried replacing them one at a time, but both were bad. Did you tell me that the other one had graphical glitches? I tested it with a bunch of different software and didn't see anything wrong with the graphics.

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That was really wierd, because the one that didn't have the dead CPU/RAM was buzzing loudly from the TV's speakers and showing flashing and distorted colors without a real image.

I did open it up and blow the dust out of it before I tested it, so maybe there was some debris on the board causing some sort of interference.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Can you just try holding a key down and adjusting the channel tune on the TV and hear the keyclick?

 

Since you might be needing soldering or otherwise getting into the guts... may as well make or buy yourself an A/V cable. Of course, that's only any good if it's a PAL 600XL since the NTSC ones didn't get a monitor jack.

 

The problem I've encountered with much of my old gear is that the RF jacks on the things are just rubbish cheap alloy that corrodes inside. As such, the signal degrades often to the point where you can't tune in properly.

 

One thing you can try is some contact cleaner on the jack... or otherwise a cotton-bud with head-cleaner can do a similar job.

Edited by Rybags
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Do you have a way of testing the power supply with a multi-meter? It should output close to 5V. I've seen some that are fine just plugged into the wall, but put any load on them (test from inside the XL case where the power supply connector is, with the unit on) and the voltage drops below what's needed to keep things running. I even had one recently that would cause the computer to output a black screen at first, and then work after it "warmed" up.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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