Video problems... what's happening, how do I fix this??

[birdie3]

Hello AA. I am new here so I thought I would start things off with a troubleshooting question. I picked up a 7800 console (no power supply) from a thrift store the other day. I performed the cordless phone chargeable battery connection power supply mod listed here on the 7800 FAQ and proceeded to power up my new purchase. The connector barely fit but nonetheless I was happy at this point. I hit the power button and nothing happened at first. So, I assumed I had the polarity reveresed, turned off the console, pulled out the power supply, flipped it over and tried again. This time it worked, the light came on and there was some video response. The problem starts here. The picture was like a rainbow/rolling waterfall-like blurr with recognizable segments of the game I had inserted (2600 Pole Posititon) in the corners of the screen. I have not tried again since I fear that maybe I have fried the system. Could somebody tell me what is going on here and how to fix this??

[birdie3]

Anybody? Please? Help!!! I am begging.... I have 7800 games and I NEED to play them. HHHHEELLLLPPP!!!

[+Mitch]

If it powered up, I don't think you fried anything. How do you have it hooked up to the TV?

 

Mitch

http://atari7800.atari.org

[birdie3]

I agree. I had it hooked up properly I am pretty sure. These things arent all that complicated. Just strange rainbow swirling/rolling screen warp-- like I was holding a big magnet up to the screen or something. Could something be wrong with the unit?? Could there be dirt in the RF cable?? I am kind of scared to try again for fear that I may destroy the system.

[+Mitch]

What are the specs on the power supply you are using?

 

Mitch

http://atari7800.atari.org

[King Atari]

Maybe the system and/or cart needs cleaned?

[birdie3]

I think that the modded power supply is causing the problem. I will have no way to tell until I have some thing to compare it to so I am calling Best Electronics on Monday and ordering two 7800 power supplies. I could be totally wrong. Maybe the unit is dirty or (heaven forbid) faulty. The cart works fine in my 2600 so that is not the problem. The specs for the adaptor are 9v 800 Ma. This supply works fine in my 2600 and that FAQ says that the 2600 power supply works fine with the 7800 so I assumed that this one would too. The units only draw the power they need right?? ARRRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!! I want to play my 7800!!

[King Atari]

It's frustrating when you get a new system and you can't get it to work, just keep trying.

[+Mitch]

800MA is a little low for the 7800 since it wants 1000MA. The 2600 only needs 500MA.

 

Mitch

http://atari7800.atari.org

[birdie3]

AHA!!!!! So, the 7800 actually NEEDS 1000 ma?? You see, the FAQ says that the 2600 adaptor works with the afforementioned modification (cordless phone battery connector to 2600 adaptor) so I thought that 800 ma would be okay because I assumed that all the 7800 needs is 500ma. This is not so. It NEEDS 1000ma?? Yes!!! That's it. Hopefully......

 

 

 

I am just going to buy new ones. This mod stuff is silly. I still have a 2600 I can play until it gets here next week right?? Yeah, that's the ticket.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

well..the FAQ is correct.

 

Turns out a 2600 adapter will work on a 7800 just fine. But the adapter will get really warm and will shorten its life span if used in this manner too much. Something I want to point out is that the RF itself may just need some tuning.

 

If the problem continues after getting your new 7800 power supplies then the RF needing tuning would be my next guess.

 

[birdie3]

I knew that the FAQ was right. I guess it's hard not to convey sarcasm on chat boards and I am sorry. I need to be educated on this subject as much as possible. Crossbow, please help me if you dont mind. How do I tune my RF on my 7800 if I still have this problem?? I was sure that what I in fact was experiencing was RF interference but I needed somebody to confirm that for me. I really hope I can get this console working because they are quite scarce where I am. Thanks!!

[birdie3]

Problem solved. My modded power supply works fine. The problem seems to be that some carts botch the initial start up of the console, so, I try a few different carts and voila, it works. I cant wait to get my joypads from Best. Yehaw!!!!