Back2Atari Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 (edited) Hello, I am having trouble with the Clarity of my 2600. When I first purchased this Atari and tried it on my tv there was a lot of snow and color shift. The video looked bad, so I went to Radio Shack. This is what I picked up.. 6-Ft. Shielded Cable, RCA Plug to RCA Plug Gold-Plated "F" Jack Connector to Phono Plug Right-Angle RCA Phono Plug to RCA Phono Jack Snap Choke Core I disassembled my Atari and removed the stock RCA cable and removed the dust inside the shell and board. I installed the right angle RCA adapter, connected the 6' cable, attached the Choke Core toward the other end and finally attached the "F" Jack connector. When I connected it to the tv and powered it on I thought it looked great. Over a short period of time I noticed the brightness would change occasionally and the picture would be blurred or wavey lines noticeable in bright colors in the screen. This problem leads to small objects in games very hard to see at times. Anyone have suggestions on how I can fix this problem or perhaps constructive criticism on subject? Here is a few pictures of my Atari main board and my set up. Click here to see more photos of the board. - Thank You - Edited March 6, 2013 by Back2Atari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 (edited) Welcome to AtariAge! My 4 switch woodgrain had a similar issue. See my first post on AtariAge: http://www.atariage....uzzy-reception/ I recommend replacing the 5V regulator and the green "chicklet" capacitor. I did and my Atari has been running flawless ever since. I also replaced the RCA cable with a right angle RCA-F (TV coax) adapter, and am using strait coax out of my Atari for best picture. I also added a huge RF block to the RF cable as well. Edited March 6, 2013 by stardust4ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back2Atari Posted March 6, 2013 Author Share Posted March 6, 2013 (edited) Welcome to AtariAge! My 4 switch woodgrain had a similar issue. See my first post on AtariAge: http://www.atariage....uzzy-reception/ I recommend replacing the 5V regulator and the green "chicklet" capacitor. I did and my Atari has been running flawless ever since. I also replaced the RCA cable with a right angle RCA-F (TV coax) adapter, and am using strait coax out of my Atari for best picture. I also added a huge RF block to the RF cable as well. Thank You Stardust4ever for the welcome and the helpful information. I will read through that in the morning. Does this picture below reference to the correct 5V regulator and green "chicklet"? Will this work for the rca-f adapter? Here is a video I uploaded of that snowy look I am having. It is a rough looking video I took with my camera. Starting :30 shows it the best. -Thank You- Edited March 6, 2013 by Back2Atari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 (edited) Yeah, those are the right parts. You'll need to be careful desoldering that you don't tug on the components, which can damage traces on the motherboard. You can push on the back of the component leads with the soldering iron. The regulator and capacitor (green chicklet) will be discarded anyway, so if it's easier, you can clip the leads, then what's left will fall off the board when heated up by the iron. A desolder braid or suction bulb will also help. If I remember correctly, the green rectangle capacitor was .2uF for 6 switch models and .1uF ( uF = microfarad) for 4 switch models, including the "vader" units. If you want, a right angle coax adapter with a real TV cable leading out of the console will help get the best possible RF signal to your TV set. You may also find that an RF block over the coax TV cable will help to reduce noise as well (a big square ferrite block with a round hole for the cable and a snap-on case that locks it around the wire - this blocks unidirectional interference and noise but passes the intended bidirectional signal), but the intermittent snow should be permanently gone after you replace the cap and power regulator. Coax TV cabling just provides the cleanest signal possible without doing a complete AV mod. You may see a tiny amount of bleed on the edges of pixels with the newly clean RF signal, that will be only noticeable for the first time with a very clean picture (it's not a fault but an integral part of the way the RF modulator encodes the video signal - modern cable boxes avoid this effect by using a sophisticated pre-emphasis filter). Good luck with your repairs! Edited March 6, 2013 by stardust4ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back2Atari Posted March 6, 2013 Author Share Posted March 6, 2013 (edited) Good read, I read through your thread and all the threads posted in your thread on this subject. In regards to soldering, unfortunately a few days ago I mangled my right wrist in a moving accident and just had surgery. Fortunately, I discovered a local computer & electronics repair business that told me they would do the soldering. I found a +5V Fixed-Voltage Regulator 7805 at Radio Shack. Is that thermal compound under that Regulator shown in the picture I posted above? I haven't found a capacitor as of yet. I need a .1uf ceramic 25 volt capacitor, is this correct? Can the volts be be higher than 25 if it is only option at my local component store? I will connect the Right-Angle "F" Plug to RCA Jack adapter directly to the RF Modulator. Drill a hole in the back of console shell and install a coax coupler. Then connect a coax cable from the right angle adapter to the coupler inside the console. Is this what you did? I tried to find a right-angle RCA coax connector so I wouldn't have to use a adapter but i had no luck. Also, did you use the ferrite choke on the coax cable inside the console close to the coupler? Last but not least, do most Atari RF Modulators ride this high up? -Thank You- Edited March 6, 2013 by Back2Atari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uzumaki Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 In just about all the 2600 I took apart, the RF modulator is always parallel to the PCB so it looks like yours had a bad mount/solder at the factory or someone did a very poor job when they swapped RF modulator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back2Atari Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share Posted March 8, 2013 Yeah, bummer. it seems to be ok. i hope. I will see after I do what is discussed aboved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 (edited) I plan to do some Atari service today, and there is a Vader on the list. When I open it, I'll compare what I see to your photo. Other than that, I really don't know what's causing trouble for your console. Edited March 9, 2013 by shadow460 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back2Atari Posted March 9, 2013 Author Share Posted March 9, 2013 (edited) I plan to do some Atari service today, and there is a Vader on the list. When I open it, I'll compare what I see to your photo. Other than that, I really don't know what's causing trouble for your console. According to the posts Stardust4ever brought to my attention he sounds right on about the problem. Just thought my RF Modulator was kind of strange. Edited March 9, 2013 by Back2Atari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertski Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Why do you need to unsolder the old Chicklet' looking capacitor. On My old 4-switch, there are two unused holes, ?? wonder why?? Probably because they were thinking of using two different styles of caps. You could just solder an o.1 capacitor in place.. and/or cut or remove the original because it may be faulty. It is easier to do I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApolloBoy Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Just try replacing the capacitor, I highly doubt the 7805 or the sloppily-installed RF modulator are causing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 I'm looking right at a motherboard from a woody. For what it's worth, the RF box is flush with the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back2Atari Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 Just try replacing the capacitor, I highly doubt the 7805 or the sloppily-installed RF modulator are causing it. Do you know the way to San Jose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertski Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Hey Back2Atari, I google mapped it if you need it I can pm it to you... Did you get that video fixed, I would add a composite out to it, I can sell you a small addon board I use to mod mine. Instructions are very easy... but if you want to go back to Atari headquarters, they are in ca, the old address is 675 Sycamore Drive, Milpitas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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