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My intellivision is sick...


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Hi. I'm new to the Atariage forum. I have an Intellivision (I think the model number is 2609?) that when I turn it on,it goes to a black,slightly snowy screen. I try all the usual stuff,like cleaning the cartridges and the contacts,making suring the tv is on the correct channel.I've tried different adapters to the TV,pressing the reset button numerous times. I've also opened the unit and unplugged the controllers and checked the ribbon that goes from the logic board,looks ok. That's about as comfortable as Im willing to go as far as dissasemble (I have no knowledge of soldering).

 

Does anyone know of some other basic things I could try or know of anyone in the Louisville, Ky. area that can repair these things?

 

Thanks in advance and if I posted this the wrong place,I'm sorry. I look forward to having lots of conversations and learning about the INTV and other vintage game consoles,as I'm a new collector of these things.

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Hi, welcome to the forums (and to Intellivision collecting). This is definitely the place to be for all things Intellivision...and occasional off-topic ramblings ;-) I'm not great at diagnosing console issues, but we have some pretty helpful gurus that typically chime in to help. Did it previously work and stop, or have you never been able to get this one to work? Also, are you using an old switchbox tv adapter or the small coax/phono f adapter to connect to the tv? Pics/video of the behavior may also be helpful. Either way, someone more knowledgeable should be along soon with better troubleshooting ideas.

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Well, there are several causes that spring to mind... unfortunately no easy diagnoses... Some on this list aren't tough though.

  • Bad STIC - this isn't a rare problem, sadly. No way to easily test without two units cracked open and swapping out chips.
  • Bad RF modulator - I've only seen this a couple times. I.e. all the chips are good but the modulation unit has gone bad.
  • Bad cable or connection in the RF unit. This is pretty common - the original cables sometimes don't solidly connect or fray internally at the connectors. New patch cords don't always fit right, though.
  • The RF box inside the inty may not be making contact with the signal (male) part of the cable. Been enough years since I've had one open that I can't recall if you can look in the RF box in the unit w/o cracking the shield.
  • As JasonLikesINTV asked - are you using the coax to f adapter? That's my preference for simplicity and elimination of noise.
  • The ribbon cable may look fine but still have a busted connection. Or even a popped solder point.

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Thanks for your replies! I've actually used both the switch box and I 've used an old rf box from the NES-nothing. It has worked before, a long time ago,I'm just brushing it off becuase I recently aquired a bunch of games for it. I just wish i knew someone in the area who fixed the old game system (especially now,since I just found out my 2600 wont turn on either!) The Gaming Gods must hate me!...lol. Is it hard to swap out the chips? If someone has a broken one they dont mind getting rid of,I'll take it off your hands for cheap...or if someone has a working one they will to sell for a good price,I may just ditch this one.

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Most of the ICs are socketed and easy to swap but the hard part is opening the shielding that holds the logic board. It requires desoldering. First try some deoxit to clean the cart slot and chip legs, and invest in a multimeter to check power voltages and continuity of the ribbon cable.

 

- J

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Thanks for your replies! I've actually used both the switch box and I 've used an old rf box from the NES-nothing. It has worked before, a long time ago,I'm just brushing it off becuase I recently aquired a bunch of games for it. I just wish i knew someone in the area who fixed the old game system (especially now,since I just found out my 2600 wont turn on either!) The Gaming Gods must hate me!...lol. Is it hard to swap out the chips? If someone has a broken one they dont mind getting rid of,I'll take it off your hands for cheap...or if someone has a working one they will to sell for a good price,I may just ditch this one.

i have working 2600 boards if you are interested. may or may not have switches and cart plug on them. just depends on what you need
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You guys have a lot of wonderful advice. I may just try another old school switchbox or get try to bypass that altogether by getting the adapter that plugs straight into the TV. I realized Ive only tested with auto RF boxes like the one for NES or the box that came with the 2600-that box may be bad. I hope I get these consoles working soon, I've got about 150 games between the 2 units I want to play.

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If you cannot find the problem, simply purchase another system all together! They are over 30 years old, and unless you are buying one from a retro-gaming outlet or a collector, you should be able to pick up another one for about $20 at the most [probably with some games thrown in too].

 

Just a suggestion...and more than likely, a more affordable one...

 

- Ash

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  • 3 weeks later...

http://www.intvfunhouse.com/faq/intv_faq7.php

http://wiki.intellivision.us/index.php?title=Main_Page

http://www.kohtz.com/andrew/intv_sm/index.html

Some parts and other stuff: http://console5.com/store/catalogsearch/result/index/?console_type_revision=74&q=intellivision

 

Anyway, DuckDuckGo.com stuff... Hope this helps! probably won't :P

 

But, my 2 cents worth advice, it's not the video circuits and more logic side of things. CPU or Memory, as what your describing with the problem exhibiting itself in a reproducible manner. Maybe the CPU or other logic IC's have electromigrated itself to death, as it seems the 1st gen intellivisions seemed to do. When I play Astrosmash, mine gets *really* warm and am thinking of adding vent holes and maybe a 5v fan to help with longevity.

 

Any other games cause the Intellivision to work extra hard like Astrosmash does?

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Any other games cause the Intellivision to work extra hard like Astrosmash does?

 

Beauty and the Beast works the Inty pretty hard. In general though the Inty does get very hot. I remember it being very warm to the touch after a long game of AD&D Tarmin's Treasure. A cooling fan is a good idea.

 

- J

Edited by HunterZero
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  • 2 months later...

Hello everyone. I am also new to this forum. When I was a kid I bought an intellivision with my paper route money back in 1980. I remember seeing the system in the store and I just had to get it!! I remember buying some of the sports games for the system at the start. I eventually had over 70 games. By the late eighties I still collected games for the system from INT Corp. I also bought an ECS at a garage sale for really cheap. I had all the rare games too. I gave all my Intellivision stuff away to a friend. I later found out that my friends mother donated everything to the local trash pick-up. I am still pissed to this day! Anyway I have recently started to collect for the system again. I just picked up an intellivision 2 with some loose games. I saw that there is another multicart coming out so I have to get one being that I missed out on the cuttle cart 3. Just wanted to introduce myself. This forum is awesome! My favorite game all time is D&D Cloudy Mountain!!!!

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Welcome back to the party. This is definitely the place to be for all things Intellivision. The gamers and collectors here are a great resource for information, news, trading opportunities, pricing, and the occasional laugh. Now is definitely the time to get back into the hobby, as the last few years have brought tons of new games and game related swag. Additionally, there are many new games/items on the horizon. Good times!

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Thanks for the responses. I agree with your comments about the new homebrew games. I played the new Donkey Kong and I must say this game is awesome! Like others have said on this forum. "This is what Donkey Kong shouid have been". I have the intellivision set up on the jzintvwii. Its not the same as playing the games on real hardware though. I had to go out and buy the system. I really like the Intellivision system 2, but I need to buy the Sears system next. I really just want the controllers.Intellivision is still my favorite system of all time. I was one of the origional Intellivision owners when the system first came out. I loved all the D&D games, especially when Tower of Doom came out through mail order. My all time favorite game is still the origional D&D Cloudy Mtn. I can play this game over and over and never get bored with it. I wish somone would do a remake of this game or a different version of it. AD&D Cloudy Mountain part 2!!

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